Hello Everybody!

So as you can see by the thread title I had an interesting reaction to Episode VIII. Having not written a single word since the Spring of '99, a year before I fled Los Angeles, I found myself back in front of the keyboard. I'm not going to go on about why Episode VIII was such a disappointment, I think many of you already know why or at least have your own reasons why it failed to deliver not only as a Star Wars movie but as a movie in general. A good analogy would be that, as a Star Wars fan, having a new movie come out is like being on the Price is Right and being told you just won a new car and then finding out it's a Matchbox 2-inch collectible.

Not exactly up to expectations.

Anyhow, I digress. So I started on December 21st and finished just this past week. When I took up the task I had several things in mind:

1. Dial it up to 11 from the first scene and don't let up. Blow the audience to the back of theater (the one in their mind, anyway, since this will only ever be on the page) and keep them there.

2. Be true to the characters. Emotionally true, that is. Emotional truth is very important in writing. Not just is a character's story arc but in a characters emotions. For example: Steven Spielberg has said that if he were to make CEOT3K today, Roy would never get on the mothership at the end. Why? Because, now being a father and husband. Spielberg realizes that a good father/husband would never just up and abandon their family which is precisely what Roy does when he gets on the mothership. A Rogue One example is Jyn's mother who abandon's her only child to go on a crazy suicide mission to save her husband. It just doesn't ring true. Unless Disney is saying she's a bad mother. I mean, just because she buys her clothes at the Jedi Outlet store doesn't mean she has to be a bad mother.

3. Stay away as best as possible from "Fan Fiction" moments. Another example from Rogue One. Jyn is walking around Jedha and who does she bump into? The two guys from the Mos Eisley cantina. They have no point in the story, the moment brings the story to a screeching halt for a few seconds, and it just sticks out as being pointless and nothing more than a wink to fans. Also, how in the world did they escape Jedha before it got blown to heck? There's nothing wrong with fan service if it doesn't hurt/slow down the story. I'll admit, there's a brief moment or two in my script but they don't interrupt the flow of the story and the characters appear where you'd expect them to be.

4. Make it epic. This is the final film in the Skywalker saga. Not just the current trilogy. NINE films. 40 years in the waiting. The Lord of the Rings got a 3 1/2 hour finale, 4 hours if you consider the extended version, so why the hell shouldn't a saga that's been going on for 40 years not get as big, if not bigger, send off?

Now, I haven't written in 19 years so I'm a bit rusty and I'm my harshest critic. I hate my dialogue. I hate writing dialogue. My partners at work say its fine but, again, I criticize myself quite harshly.

I split it into two parts because it was just too big to be a single film so I went the way of Twilight, Harry Potter, and The Hunger Games. Funny thing is two years ago I told myself I'd be pissed if Disney did that. Two years later . . . . oops lol. Of course, the other reasoning behind the length is to make up for Episode VIII which really didn't add anything to the overall story, IMHO.

So I'll shut up now and let you get to it if you so choose to do so. I hope you enjoy this "alternative" Episode IX. I wrote it for the fans.

I wrote it for you.

DOWNLOAD HERE:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7d97eye1gd...%2018.pdf?dl=0

Some metrics on the script: