New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer

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by Steve Withers
Movies & TV Shows News

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New Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer
In a first for Star Wars Celebration, the convention live streamed a special Q&A about Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
The panel was hosted by Entertainment Weekly's Anthony Breznican and included writer/producer/director J. J. Abrams and producer, not to mention Head of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy. They began by talking about when they first saw a Star Wars film and Abrams mentioned about how the world that George Lucas created really transported him as an eleven year old. He also mentioned that he was especially moved by the sense of hope that the original filmed created - a new hope indeed.

Katheleen Kennedy then spoke about how she became involved with Lucasfilm and a meeting she had with George Lucas three years previously. At that lunch he told her he was thinking of retiring and then shocked her by asking if she would be interested in running the company. She then said that although it was an honour she wouldn't have been able to do it without Abrams' help and that initially he refused her offer to direct Episode VII.

Abrams explained his reason for initially being reticent before deciding to accept. He then discussed his retro approach to the film and the importance of building practical effects and prosthetics, to a huge roar of approval from the crowd. Abrams spoke about the sense of reality created in A New Hope and he wanted to retain that sense of realism. So they built as much as they possibly could, which meant that when editing they could see most of the movie before the effects were even added by ILM.

As part of this mantra of greater realism they began by shooting in Abu Dhabi which was representing a desert planet but not Tatooine according to Abrams. It's actually a planet called Jakoo and we'll learn more about this new location later in the Q&A. The pair then spoke about 'Force For Change' programme which has been hugely successful in raising money for UNICEF.

Abrams admitted that he had been to Star Wars Celebration before as a fan and he loved coming back and seeing all the booths and fans again. Kennedy then spoke about coming to her first Celebration two years ago, where she saw the fan-built R2D2s. She told the Creature Shop to hire the two English guys who had built the R2s she saw at Celebration.

Then Oliver Steeples and Lee Towersley came out with one of the R2D2s used in The Force Awakens. Abrams thanked them for the work they did and ensuring that there was never a costly droid delay. Then new droid BB8 rolled out, that's the little droid that sits on top of a ball that we all saw in the first teaser trailer. Again Abrams wanted to find a way to create the droid practically and the results are really impressive. Bob Iger, the Head of Disney, actually found the company that was able to create the technology to bring BB8 to life.
The latest teaser looks epic, with the right blend of realism and fantasy - not to mention Han Solo!.
The panel then spoke about Harrison Ford's recent plane crash, they wished him well and Kennedy said that Han Solo will be back in time for the release of the film in December and that Ford really wanted to be there today. Then they spoke about three of the new faces in the film - Oscar Isaac, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega and out they came.

Obviously seven months out from the release of The Force Awakens they still can't talk about their characters too much but Riley plays Rey, who starts the film on Jakoo where she's a scavenger until she meets another character and heads off on an adventure. Boyega's Finn might be a stormtrooper, whilst Isaac's Poe Dameron is an X-Wing pilot sent on a mission by Princess Leia.

Then there were some questions from the audience and someone asked - if you were to put yourself in Star Wars what character would you play? Kennedy made the good point that in the original trilogy she wouldn't have much choice but that's about to change. Not just in Episode VII but also in the other films they have planned. Abrams was asked how hard it was to find the right balance between the battered world of the original trilogy and the polished one of the prequels. Abrams said that he always wanted the used look of the original trilogy and he paid homage to Ralph McQuarrie's concept art on the original Star Wars.

Abrams was then asked how he can keep all the fans happy and he said that he hopes to make a film that moves the story forward in exciting and imaginative ways. When asked how much they take into account the fan's perspective when conceiving and writing the new films, Kennedy said that the filmmakers, everyone at Lucasfilm and even many of those at Disney are all fans and so they want to keep the fans happy because no one is more important.

Then the new stormtroopers marched out and the design looks very cool, basically an update version after thirty years. After that Anthony Daniels, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew and Mark Hamill all came on stage. Anthony Daniel's spoke about being in all six films and how on the original Star Wars no one thought there would be much of an audience. Daniels admitted how wrong he was and now there are three generations of fans.

Fisher said that there might be an alternative to her famous hair buns but definitely no metal bikini! Hamill said that Lucas called Star Wars the most expensive low budget film in history during production but Hamill thought it would out-gross Planet of the Apes! Hamill then spoke about the love he felt from UPF (Ultra Passionate Fans), how they feel like family and what an honour it has been to be a part of so many peoples' childhoods. Fisher also thanked the fans for playing with her when she was a toy...

Finally, right at the end after everyone else had left the stage, Abrams and Kennedy asked the audience if they'd like to see a new teaser and this is what they showed:

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