Star Wars News Update 7.1

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Episode VII Movie News Summary

Okay, apologies all around if anybody was expecting me to live up to my word about sharing Episode VII news.  Between writing, audiobooks, junkets, and weddings... I've been a tad busy.  I'm not going to promise anything, but I will try to keep an update once a week from here on out.

So, the big news of the week came yesterday (Thursday, October 24, 2013) when Lucasfilm announced that Michael Arndt was out as writer of "Episode VII" and J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan were in. Also buried in the press release was the fact that Ben Burtt is returning. Here's the press release:

As "Episode VII" continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of several classic Lucasfilm productions, writing the screenplay for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and serving as co-screenwriter for "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi." Acclaimed director and screenwriter Abrams' credits include "Super 8," "Mission: Impossible III," "Fringe," and "Lost."

"I am very excited about the story we have in place and thrilled to have Larry and J.J. working on the script," states Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy. "There are very few people who fundamentally understand the way a "Star Wars" story works like Larry, and it is nothing short of incredible to have him even more deeply involved in its return to the big screen. J.J. of course is an incredible storyteller in his own right. Michael Arndt has done a terrific job bringing us to this point and we have an amazing filmmaking and design team in place already prepping for production."

Location scouting, production design, casting, and costume design are already underway on "Episode VII." A team of gifted artists are working to bring the latest installment of the "Star Wars" saga, including director of photography Dan Mindel ("Mission: Impossible III," "Star Trek"), production designers Rick Carter ("Lincoln," "Avatar") and Darren Gilford ("Oblivion," "TRON: Legacy"), costume designer Michael Kaplan ("Star Trek Into Darkness," "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"), special effects supervisor Chris Corbould ("Skyfall," "The Dark Knight Rises"), sound designer Ben Burtt ("Lincoln," "Star Wars: Episodes I-VI"), re-recording mixer Gary Rydstrom ("Jurassic Park," "Saving Private Ryan"), supervising sound editor Matthew Wood ("Star Trek Into Darkness," "The Master") of Skywalker Sound, and visual effects supervisor Roger Guyett ("Star Trek Into Darkness," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End") of Industrial Light & Magic. Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, and Bryan Burk are producing, with Tommy Harper ("Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," "Star Trek Into Darkness") and Jason McGatlin ("Tintin," "War of the Worlds") serving as executive producers.

John Williams is returning to score Star Wars: Episode VII.

Shooting is scheduled to begin Spring 2014 at Pinewood Studios for an expected 2015 release.

Special thanks to comingsoon.net for compiled information.