In the mid-1980s, screenwriter Bob Dolman worked on the script for “Willow.”
“Star Wars” mastermind George Lucas tried to get the facility up and running long before “Star Wars,” but filmmaker Ron Howard and MGM got on board. Things didn’t move until
Later, with Dolman on board, he and Lucas were heavily involved in the writing process. It proved to be a very different experience from Dolman’s time in the just-launched “Willow” sequel television series.
Speaking to THR about writing the new series, Dolman said it had a “more corporate feel” than the original experience, suggesting the studio may have been a little too involved in the creative process. .
“We felt like the studio was way over our shoulders. The studios are Disney and Lucasfilm. They had good opinions. They had good notes. The series needed to go forward.” and we need to be involved in it, but it’s not enough for us alone to be able to brainstorm ideas and have the freedom that we had when we were working with George and Ron. I felt that.”
He says that while he received a lot of input from Lucas on the film’s script, he was free to experiment with his own ideas about it.
“George was really hands-on and wanted to go through each draft page by page, talk about everything we were doing, and then send me back to work on another draft. [I prefer to] I don’t care if it’s a good idea or a bad idea, I just try and take a chance, have the courage to find even a bad idea, and know that it can lead to a good idea.
Decades later, not only are the natures of film and television different, but that level of freedom in screenwriting no longer exists.
“There are a lot of voices, and some of them aren’t necessarily the ones that know more than the person who was hired. But those voices are heard and they are given notes. The TV series” In Willow’s writing room, there was constant input from other sources outside the room. So it felt like we were never alone in the room. ”
Despite his concerns, the new “Willow” has received higher ratings than the original. The series is clearly better at 83% and 70/100 at the same outlet.
In the new Willow, Warwick Davis and Joan Worley reprise their roles in a new dark fantasy adventure as they lead a new party to rescue the kidnapped twins.
Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kelleyman, Tony Revolori and Amar Chadha-Patel co-starred in the series, which released the first two of eight episodes on November 30.
