The Right Tools
The Verge on J.J. Abrams interview with Collider:
Abrams also spoke to Collider briefly about his use of computer-generated effects in Episode VII. We’ve known all along that Abrams is leaning heavily on real sets and effects, but it’s also a Star Wars movie, so there’s no escaping CG. It turns out, Abrams use of CG is actually more reductive than additive — which is basically the total opposite approach that George Lucas would take.
“I feel like the beauty of this age of filmmaking is that there are more tools at your disposal, but it doesn’t mean that any of these new tools are automatically the right tools,” Abrams says. “And there are a lot of situations where we went very much old school and in fact used CG more to remove things than to add things.”
In a similar way as Apple has prospered despite the death of Steve Jobs, it’s great to see there’s the potential (we haven’t seen the new Star Wars movie) for the Star Wars franchise to prosper in the absence of George Lucas.