"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" raked in an estimated $120.5 million in its first full day in US and Canadian theaters, setting an industry record, Disney said Saturday.
The movie is likely to become the highest grossing film in an opening weekend Disney added, while reporting that it had already made $250 million globally.
The latest Star Wars installment easily overtook "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," which had held the opening-day record at $91 million.
The highly anticipated space epic already smashed the opening night record in the United States and Canada when it grossed $57 million Thursday.
It crushed the previous record -- $43.5 million -- set in 2011 by the same "Harry Potter" film.
Disney said that the strong showing for the latest "Star Wars," which is playing at 4,134 North American theaters, "keeps us forecasting an opening weekend near $220 million."
That would set a record and beat the current opening weekend title holder, "Jurassic World," which premiered earlier this year to $208.8 million at the box office.
"The Force Awakens," which has had its legions of fans frothing at the mouth ever since its mooted release, has grossed an estimated 129.5 million internationally since it opened overseas on Wednesday, setting records in Britain, Germany, Norway and Sweden.
Analysts predict that the seventh instalment of the iconic space saga, which cost Disney an estimated $200 million to produce, could become the biggest film of all time.
As far as all-time box office sales, two films by James Cameron hold the record -- "Avatar" ($2.78 billion) and "Titanic" ($2.18 billion).
"The potential for 'The Force Awakens' to ultimately break into the $2 billion club worldwide is certainly in the realm of possibility," said Paul Dergarabedian, of box office tracker Rentrak.
Bureau amassed huge file from 1943 on writer of classic songs – and even sent an agent to his school
The campaigning singer Pete Seeger, composer of classic American folk tunes including If I Had a Hammer and Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, was spied on by FBI agents for more than two decades because he wrote a protest letter as a young man concerned about plans to deport tens of thousands of Japanese American citizens at the end of the second world war.
A vast file on Seeger was released to the independent American news website Mother Jones in response to a request under the freedom of information act. It reveals that the bureau’s spies first took an interest in the singer in 1943. Seeger, a 23-year-old army private at the time, had written denouncing a plan for mass deportation drafted by the California chapter of the American Legion, a veterans’ association.
“If you bar from citizenship descendants of Japanese, why not descendants of English? After all, we once fought with them too. America is great and strong as she is because we have so far been a haven to all oppressed. I felt sick at heart to read of this matter,” he wrote.
His angry letter prompted close scrutiny of his political views and associations by the bureau that ran on into the early 1970s. The suspicion was that Seeger, who died in early 2014, was a security risk with close connections to the Communist party.
The FBI file on him has nearly 1,800 pages – 90 of them are still withheld for security reasons – and journalist David Corn has unearthed details within it of the elaborate efforts made by government agents to document Seeger’s activities, even back to his school days.
An agent sent out to his Connecticut high school found evidence that he had worn “bohemian” clothes. Another was sent to Harvard, where the singer had spent a year studying, and was told the student’s grades had been “fair” and that he had been secretary of the student union. Mililtary intelligence also contacted the performer Woody Guthrie, who had played with Seeger in a leftwing group called the Almanac Singers.
Seeger, who was later to become one of the earliest backers of Bob Dylan, inviting him to perform at the Newport Folk Festival, had been drafted into the army in 1942 and was trained as an aviation mechanic in Mississippi. His early letter of protest was quickly sent on to the FBI in San Francisco and within weeks military intelligence was investigating him and updating the bureau.
As a result, the young mechanic was not sent into action and became increasingly frustrated. He wondered if his engagement to a Japanese-American woman, Toshi Ohta, was a problem. At the time Seeger wrote to his grandmother: “It is possible that I am being held here because of my former connections with the Almanac Singers and because of my engagement to a Japanese-American, but I doubt it. I have never tried to hide either fact.”
Military intelligence also investigated Ohta herself and Seeger’s father, Charles, a noted musicologist. After setting up a fake pretext for an interview with his father, the agent was told the musician had “bummed around” the country, playing the banjo and singing and was “very much interested in the common people”. A friendship with the renowned folk singer Lead Belly was also examined. An official report described Lead Belly as “a negro murderer who escaped from prison a few years ago”. In fact Lead Belly was jailed for killing a relative, but was pardoned in 1925.
Guthrie was approached about Seeger in May 1943 and he told the government agent that Seeger could be trusted and should be put to good use by the army. But the agent’s report also noted that Guthrie’s apartment contained a guitar bearing the inscription: “This machine kills fascists.” “This bears out the belief that the Almanac Players were active singing Communist songs and spreading propaganda,” concluded the agent.
After the probe into Seeger’s background, a report judged that Seeger was “potentially subversive” and “an idealist whose devotion to radical ideologies is such as to make his loyalty to the US under all circumstances questionable”. The document was sent to J Edgar Hoover, director of the FBI.
The musician eventually joined the army division that entertained the troops. Yet he remained an FBI target after the war. Throughout the 1950s, when Seeger was part of the Weavers folk group, the bureau commissioned hundreds of reports on him, many tracking his musical performances. As the Weavers scored chart hits, Seeger was blacklisted for his suspected Communist party links.
In 1955 he was called before the House Committee on un-American Activities and asked if he was a communist. “I am not going to answer any questions as to my associations, my philosophical or religious beliefs or my political beliefs or how I voted in any election or any of these private affairs. I think these are very improper questions for any American to be asked,” Seeger replied. Two years later he was cited for contempt of Congress and then, four years later, found guilty and sentenced to a year in prison. Let free on bail, Seeger’s conviction was overturned a year later.
After a 1963 concert in Hawaii, an agent reported that an audience member had heard Seeger sing a song that was “low-keyed propaganda to the effect that America is a land of conformity” as well as a song from Japan about nuclear bombs.
Towards the end of his life Seeger became an environmental crusader who cruised the Hudson river in his sailing boat, Clearwater. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972, he was awarded a national medal of arts by President Clinton in 1994 and sang on the steps of the Lincoln memorial at one of President Obama’s inaugural concerts.
Seeger did acknowledge he had been in the Communist party in the 1940s and once said he should have left earlier.
Indeed, the Star Wars saga taps into the very storytelling devices that have structured myths and religious tales for centuries. And with every new film, fans are able to reinforce their unique communities in a world that has grown, in many ways, increasingly isolated.
A universal hero
Lucas freely admits he based his Star Wars epic on the “hero’s quest” that mythologist Joseph Campbell, in his 1949 book Hero with a Thousand Faces, argued underscores many myths and religious tales.
According to Campbell, hero quests have similar trajectories: the hero leaves his ordinary world and ventures to a place of supernatural wonders. He faces a series of trials to prove his mettle, survives a supreme ordeal, is granted some sort of boon or treasure and returns home to share his knowledge or treasure with those he left behind.
Following this formula, Lucas substituted his own characters for the heroes, villains, and saviors of earlier hero quests.
Take Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope: the hero (Luke Skywalker) leaves his ordinary world (Tatooine) after receiving “a call to adventure” (Princess Leia’s hologram message) and learns he has the special talents of a Jedi. A supportive mentor (Obi Wan Kenobi) offers supernatural aid (lightsaber) and guidance. Then Luke faces a series of trials to prove his mettle (stormtroopers, Jabba the Hutt), survives a supreme ordeal (Death Star, Darth Vader) and returns home wiser and victorious.
I became fascinated with how culture is transmitted through fairy tales and myth. Fairy tales are about how people learn about good and evil…it’s the most intimate struggle that we cope with – trying to do the right thing and what’s expected of us by society, by our peers, and in our hearts.
These stories typically appear during times of doubt and can help viewers reclaim the goodness and innocence in themselves, reminding them they can overcome the evil they see in the world. When Lucas set out to create Star Wars – against the backdrop of Vietnam, Watergate and the assassinations of the Kennedy brothers and Martin Luther King, Jr – he had his work cut out for him.
Lucas acknowledges he wrote Star Wars because he believed our society was in dire need of fairy tales, myth and fantasy – a “new myth” would provide a “New Hope” for an audience that had grown cynical and demoralized.
Today’s anxieties are just as acute. Exhausted by the wars in the Middle East, faced with global terrorism and beset with economic woes, the American people yearn for a mythic narrative that will reaffirm their view of the world, with a traditional American hero who will triumph over evil and ensure “everything will turn out okay.”
Looking into the mirror
Lucas is sometimes accused of promoting escapism. But he’s actually tapping into some key facets of the human condition. After all, it’s in the telling of mythic or religious stories that we attempt to answer fundamental questions like “Who am I?” and, ultimately, “What does it all mean?”
It’s no wonder, then, that in an increasingly secularized society, many find themselves gazing away from the pulpit, instead finding meaning in the stories playing out on screens in living rooms and movie theaters across the country.
Film is sometimes described as a “dream screen” – a mirror, when held in front of an audience, reflects both the personal and collective subconscious of our culture. It’s a place where all our hopes, fears and desires find expression.
Considering Star Wars' mythic foundation, it’s not surprising that it packs such a powerful, emotional punch, stirring the hearts of passionate fans yearning to see the next chapter of the Star Wars universe.
Myths are about creating meaning, reinforcing connections between the I and Thou, and mending the rift between the sacred and profane. They give us heroes we can identify with, who allow us to eventually realize that divinity is not outside the self, but within. In the beginning, Luke might be the character you wanted to pretend to be. With time “playing Luke” helps you become the person you always wanted to be.
Transcending the screen
If all roads of the hero’s journey lead inward, then film, as a shared cultural artifact, begs us to take the first step.
Unlike a simple, standalone artifact (such as a piece of pottery), film is a shared experience. For the audience, the story, its characters and unique props (like the lightsaber) become stored in an emotional and psychological cache. Filed into memory, they become part of the viewer’s personal history and identity.
So, rather than Star Wars existing as something outside of viewers, it takes root within. Many were exposed to the Star Wars films as children. Some acted out scenes at home and at school, investing time and creative energy into a fictional universe and characters who became like an extended family. For them, their “best birthday ever” became indistinguishable from the experience of playing with friends, the cutting of the cake – and their new Star Wars action figures.
In this way, Star Wars no longer remains just a film; it becomes much more.
For this reason, minor changes in the Star Wars narrative can unnerve fans. Denying that Han Solo shot first is like finding out you’re adopted; it’s akin to changing your fundamental understanding of the truth.
Forging connections to the past
Star Wars has further transcended the screen in the form of t-shirts, action figures, theme parks, and in cosplay and fan fiction.
As powerful as any holy relic (which, among believers, can provide affirmation and emotional support), buying and collecting Star Wars merchandise can trigger memories of the past. Accessing positive memories and tapping into nostalgia have been shown to be a critical component of forming a meaningful personal narrative, and the simple act of picking up a toy light saber can return fans to childhood, to a time when they felt happy and secure.
Even if someone didn’t have the rosiest childhood, he or she can still escape to the Star Wars universe, creating an alternate reality where cherished friends, caring mentors and happily-ever-afters await.
Situated in an advertising and media landscape that often overpromises and underdelivers (“Buy this and you will be happy”), the Star Wars universe helps fans create meaning when they might otherwise be unfulfilled.
Cosplaying for community
Watching a Star Wars film or buying Star Wars memorabilia doesn’t only remind us of the “good old days.” It serves a more meaningful purpose: it builds community in a world that has grown increasingly isolated, that has traded the physical for the virtual.
If the decline of social capital in public life (which includes religion) is partially responsible for this phenomenon, the rise of technology is equally at fault.
On the other hand, Star Wars, via play – whether it’s cosplay or swinging a light saber with a friend – demands social interaction, communication and engagement. (Some theorists have even argued that play served as the seed from which all human culture, including religion, evolved.)
Waiting in line for days to buy tickets, wearing your favorite Star Wars t-shirt to school and dressing up as your favorite character at a convention are all social touchstones – icebreakers that facilitate a sense of community and belonging.
It is in this shared storytelling space where history lives and meaning dwells. As cultural critic Lewis Hyde writes, meaningful stories can induce a “moment of grace, a communion, a period during which we too know the hidden coherence of our being and feel the fullness of our lives.”
Once upon a time, we gathered around fires to tell stories. Today we assemble in movie theaters to watch with wonder and awe the flicker of our stories on the screen.
Star Wars is, of course, different from religion in a number of ways. But it still allows us to transcend the everyday and enter a sacred realm – a place where we can glimpse the Holy Land of our better selves and become the heroes we want to be.
When she declared herself a feminist in blazing lights at the 2014 VMAs, Beyoncé ignited a fierce debate among her fans and critics, who questioned her role in the gender equality movement. Since the release of her visual album and explicit alignment with feminism, her role as a pillar of pop culture has only solidified. Perhaps the greatest signal of her position is this: just the fact that she doesn’t give interviews generates more noise than a single word from anyone else.
But there is one realm where Beyoncé’s influence is not taken as a given: academia. It’s something professor Kevin Allred has been tackling since he first designed his Politicizing Beyoncé course at Rutgers University back in 2010, and which he’s taught for 11 sessions.
Allred crafted the class around Beyoncé’s work, using her artistry and persona as an access point for the study of race, gender and sexuality through a syllabus composed entirely of black feminists.
Through the work of influential writers and theorists such as Alice Walker , Audre Lorde and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , he encourages students to interrogate the treatment of black women through Beyoncé’s modern-day commentary.“I wanted to teach a course grounded entirely in black feminism,” Allred told the Guardian. “There are a lot of ways to teach that information, but I thought using Beyoncé would bring a younger and more engaged audience.”
“I think she’s a good lens for the material, because she is a prominent black woman and the only artist putting feminist messages explicitly in her music,” he continued. “She’s dropping all these pieces and asking us to unravel her message. There is so much to work with.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Politicizing Beyoncé is among the most popular of the university’s offerings, consistently filling to capacity. But this spring, for the first time since it was reintroduced in the summer of 2014, the class is not being renewed.
“Behind the scenes, they told me that because so many people wanted to take it, it was detracting from other courses,” Allred said. “But beyond that, I have seen a larger issue with Beyoncé intervening in academic debates and black feminism in general.”
Lorenza Jerez, a student at Rutgers, says administrators need to look beyond the title of the class and recognize the importance of its subject matter. “I think the pushback for the course comes from an ignorance to what the class is actually about,” she said. “Some people might hear ‘a class on Beyoncé’ and roll their eyes. Its approach to feminism is just received better [through] a respected artist that we’ve grown up with.”
Allred found out he wouldn’t be teaching the class this spring through a department-wide email. The schedule had been finalized, it informed him, and his class wasn’t listed. The head of undergraduate studies, Nikol Floyd-Alexander, declined to comment beyond confirming the course was no longer being offered.
“Pushback is nothing new,” Allred said. “That started as soon as people heard of the class. You know, ‘Oh my God, my tax dollars are going to a class about Beyoncé?’ ”
Louis Masur, the acting chair of Rutgers’s American studies department, argues that pop culture figures, such as Beyoncé or Bruce Springsteen (the subject of a class he teaches), are worthy of academic pursuit.
“Imagine when the first courses on film and television were offered in history departments and communication departments,” he laughed. “You can have a course on the French revolution that is a joke and a course on Beyoncé that is the most serious course you will have ever taken.”
When Allred proposed his dissertation studying Beyoncé through black feminists, there was hesitation about the pop star but also a question of whether his chosen theorists were sufficient.
“The whole point of my work was that black feminist thinkers and writers have been doing all the things that these white men were doing,” he said. “So, to have to make citations beyond black feminist thinkers and writers seemed to discount black feminism in general.”
In his dissertation, Allred has set out to prove a point about analyzing Beyoncé outside of the traditional lens of academia. He links the theories of bell hooks with Beyoncé’s storytelling in Partition and Jealous, focusing on the hypersexualization of black bodies in private and public. He ties Melissa Harris-Perry’s Sister Citizen theory of the crooked room to the way Beyoncé combats structural constraints from her position of fame and relative privilege.
“They basically asked me where all the white men were,” Allred said of the approval committee. “It was, ‘Where’s Foucault? Where’s Deleuze?’ ”
They basically asked me where all the white men were. It was, ‘Where’s Foucault? Where’s Deleuze?’
Kevin Allred
The struggle around legitimizing the study of black feminism is not specific to Rutgers, Allred or Beyoncé. While Beyoncé is taught at other colleges – the University of Waterloo and University of Victoria both have courses around her work – she is typically studied as a performer or musician. The itchiness around Politicizing Beyoncé seems to come specifically from attaching her to black feminism, a realm of study that is in danger of being dismissed even when it is not attached to a controversial pop star.Evelyn Simian, a professor at the University of Connecticut’s department of political science and institute for Africana studies, is all too aware of the issues attached to black feminism in the academic landscape.
“You often need to speak their language. It’s called code-switching,” she said. “If you’re going to introduce a marginalized topic or something that’s considered ‘easy’, how do you then make it more rigorous to that very audience that you’re receiving pushback from? Sometimes, you have to learn to use the master’s tools.”
“Some of this certainly has to do as well with a general social ire toward Beyoncé,” said Brittany Cooper, a black feminist theorist in the women’s and gender studies department at Rutgers. She noted that Politicizing Beyoncé is probably the only course at the school with a named black woman in the title, despite the fact that it’s standard practice to have an entire directory of classes titled after white men.
“Disdain feels appropriate to [detractors], because they’re like, ‘Oh, it’s just because we don’t like Beyoncé and don’t think she’s serious,’ ” Cooper continued. “But it turns out that, structurally, we don’t take very many black women seriously in university curriculum. Period.”
As for the future of the course, Masur and Allred met earlier this week to talk about moving it to the American studies schedule. In fall of 2016, Politicizing Beyoncé will be resuscitated in Masur’s department, among the likes of Masur’s Springsteen course, History and Culture of Hip Hop or the class just called Spike Lee.
“The idea is that Beyoncé isn’t enough,” he said. “That black feminism isn’t enough.”
Star Wars: The Force Awakens director JJ Abrams said that it had been his intention from the start that a woman should be at the centre of the film.
Speaking to journalists at a press conference following The Force Awakens’ European premiere, Abrams said: “From the beginning of discussions [with writer Lawrence Kasdan]. the notion of a woman at the centre of the story was always something that was compelling and exciting to me. And not just at the centre. We knew that, in addition to Leia who was a critical piece of this puzzle, we wanted to have other women – not necessarily human, but female – characters in the story.”
“We have Lupita [Nyong’o] playing Maz Kanata, who is the voice of Force wisdom in the story and Phasma leading the evil side of the stormtroopers; we wanted to have female stormtroopers, and pilots, which we did. We just wanted to make thing this thing not feel like it was not inclusive.”
“We always wanted to write Rey as the central character, but it was just one of the things we knew we wanted to do: to make the film look and feel more like the way the world looks and feels.”
As to the vexed issue of “spoiler jihad” and Philadelphia police’s suggestion that spoilers should me made illegal , Abrams said it was “no surprise” that some internet users had been giving away key plot details, but Harrison Ford thanked the media for adhering to the film-maker’s requests that as little as possible should be revealed. Ford said: “I am amazed by the way the press has respected their readership in this regard, and has not spilled the beans. We are all very grateful.”
However, as has been the case at previous promotional events, the presence of Carrie Fisher has considerably enlivened proceedings . When asked what advice she had given the younger actors who were newcomers to the Star Wars franchise she replied: “Don’t go through the crew like wildfire.” Another questioner asked what were the strangest Star Wars merchandising items they had seen, and Fisher said: “Shampoo bottle, because you can twist off your head” – before pointing out a Princess Leia strain of marijuana was available. “Not from me – but I have friends!” More comedy was provided by the late arrival of actor John Boyega, who apologised for oversleeping and blamed a “very busy night”.
Fisher also positively contrasted the experience of working with Abrams with that of the original’s director George Lucas. She said: “George was wonderful but he never spoke. I mean, he just said ‘Faster’ and ‘More intense’. But [JJ] talks a lot ... and he has a lot of energy. We didn’t have any energy on the first film. It was sad. Right?” Ford, in emphatic tones, agreed: “Exactly right.” Fisher raised another laugh by saying Abrams “really loved making the movie, except with me”.
Ford continued with his implied criticism of Lucas’ creative skills – of which he has well-documented disdain – by saying: “I have actually relished this entire experience in a way I had not anticipated.” He continued: “A lot of the credit goes to JJ and Larry [Kasdan] – this is a rare experience in my old life.”
Ford also said that he had no involvement whatsoever in the projected Star Wars spin-off featuring a young Han Solo. “I don’t know what to think about that. I am glad someone else will have the burden of being young, it’s well beyond my understanding or control, and I of course want nothing to do with it, in the nicest possible way.”
The closest the session got to any remotely controversial topic was about the film production’s presence on the remote Irish islet of Skellig Michael, which had aroused considerable protest over its protected status as a Unesco world heritage site . Saying he “couldn’t believe they let us shoot there”, Abrams added that on the first day of their three-day shoot there were huge numbers of puffins on the islet, but that they had all disappeared the next day. “It was very strange; apparently it was the last day before they all fly away.”
If you should accidentally discover, before you’ve even had the chance to view Star Wars: The Force Awakens for yourself, that Maz Kanata is Luke Skywalker’s twin, or that Chewbacca is BB-8’s uncle, you might well think the perpetrator of said spoiler ought to be locked up. According to police in Philadelphia, a change in the law is indeed well overdue: officers have taken to an official Twitter feed to declare that leaking Star Wars secrets ought to be illegal.
The Philadelphia Police Department’s post, in which it reluctantly admitted that posting spoilers was not a criminal offence, has now been retweeted more than 9,000 times. Officers from the (ahem) force later joined in the fun by posing for photographs with fans dressed as stormtroopers, who they appeared to be arresting.
Meanwhile, Reddit users who post spoilers risk finding themselves being handed the online equivalent of jail time, according to reports . Administrators on the popular bulletin site have already started to ban anyone who posts vital plot information about the Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens in the US at 12.01 tonight.
“We’ve banned dozens of users so far for this,” said TheGreatZiegfeld, one of Reddit’s moderators, in an online post. “I think all the mods have had it spoiled for them by now. We’ll do our best to make sure you guys don’t suffer the same fate.”
The move follows threats by a group of rogue Star Wars fans to spoil The Force Awakens on social media unless studio Disney agrees to film the saga’s abandoned “expanded universe” stories. Members of the Alliance to Preserve the Expanded Universe have been caught making threats to reveal The Force Awakens’ deepest secrets via social media in a process dubbed “spoiler jihad” in online circles.
Rights groups on Wednesday called on US hip-hop star Nicki Minaj to cancel an upcoming concert in Angola, saying her performance would endorse the authoritarian rule of long-time President Jose Eduardo dos Santos.
Minaj is due on stage on Saturday in the Angolan capital Luanda for a Christmas concert hosted by the Unitel communications firm, which is part owned by dos Santos's family.
Fellow US singer Mariah Carey was criticised in 2013 for performing in front of President dos Santos, who has governed the southern African nation for 36 years.
"Nicki Minaj is following in the footsteps of Mariah Carey, callously taking money from a dictator... who has effectively and ruthlessly choked free expression," said Jeffery Smith, of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights centre.
"This sustained crackdown on basic human rights in Angola has swept up activists, opposition members, journalists, and even musicians."
Dos Santos, 73, has been accused of overseeing corruption, misrule and intimidation in a country that suffers endemic poverty despite being Africa's second-largest oil producer.
"Nicki Minaj is a global artist. There is no good reason for her to do business with the corrupt Angolan dictatorship and endorse the ruler's family company," said Human Rights Foundation president Thor Halvorssen.
Angola marked 40 years of independence from Portugal last month, with dos Santos vowing to bring progress to the country, but critics accuse him of ruling through fear and repression.
Minaj has appeared in a Unitel clip on Facebook, promoting her Angola show.
The White House Correspondents' Association said Comedy Central late-night host Larry Wilmore would headline its annual April dinner, which is known for its playful ribbing of both politicians and the news media.
The host of "The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore" will be the main performer at the mixer of Washington's political and media elite, the association said on Wednesday.
Wilmore's "edgy, even provocative, brand of humor means he's certainly up to the task of skewering politicians of all ideological stripes," association President Carol Lee said in a statement.
"We don't expect the nation's news media to escape unscathed, either," said Lee, a Wall Street Journal reporter.
Before hosting his own show, Wilmore wrote for NBC's "The Office" and appeared on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" as the "senior black correspondent."
He took to Twitter to respond to the announcement Wednesday, tweeting: "I'm beyond excited for this!"
The association will also honor student scholarship recipients at the April 30 dinner.
Past performers at the event, which has been held for more than eight decades, include Jay Leno, Steven Colbert, Cedric the Entertainer and Conan O'Brien. Last year, "Saturday Night Live" performer Cecily Strong became the fourth woman ever to headline it.
(Reporting by Megan Cassella; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
As global anticipation builds for what is undoubtedly the cinematic event of the year, if not the decade, Star Wars: The Force Awakens had its world premiere in Los Angeles in advance of its worldwide release.
Three auditoriums at the Hollywood and Highland complex in Los Angeles – including the legendary cinema formerly known as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre – were taken over for the world’s first public screening of the seventh episode of the science fiction series, originally created by George Lucas but since acquired by Disney and with JJ Abrams installed in the director’s chair.
The Force Awakens has recalled the original trilogy cast members Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, as well as introducing a host of new faces into the labyrinthine Star Wars narrative – including little-known British actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, established figures Lupita Nyong’o, Oscar Isaac and Adam Driver, and screen legend Max von Sydow.
Despite a heavy security operation, which included bomb-sniffing dogs and some 50 police officers, the arrival of the principal cast members on the red carpet triggered raucous cheers from assembled fans, many of whom had arrived in costume.
True to her unconventional style, Fisher swore copiously on a live TV feed while describing her younger self to an interviewer: “She was very busy partying, partying to make sure I would look like shit later.”
Also making a splash on the red carpet were celebrity fans not involved in the film itself. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dark Knight Rises and Looper star, turned up dressed as Yoda, while The Office’s Rainn Wilson wore an Obi-Wan Kenobi costume. Lucas, who directed the first Star Wars film in 1977, as well as all three of the tepidly received but financially successful prequel trilogy – The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith – was welcomed with a standing ovation.
Although Disney insisted on a global embargo on critics’ reviews until 8am UK time today, initial reactions from the premiere audience have begun to emerge. Composed largely of Hollywood insiders and entertainment journalists, comment was bound to be positive. Wilson tweeted : “It was epic, awesome & perfect. The cast was stellar”; the actor Patton Oswalt wrote : “JJ [Abrams] did it”; and Pitch Perfect director Elizabeth Banks tweeted : “#StarWarsForceAwakens totally delivers … just #wow”.
Entertainment reporters also tweeted positively, with the LA Times’s Rebecca Keegan suggesting : “Story, characters, design, humor – #StarWars fans, this is the movie you’re looking for”, as well as noting that the film appeared to pass the Bechdel test for female-friendly content. Some, however, were qualified in their praise, with Mashable’s Josh Lincoln Dickey tweeting it rated “#3 in the series” and Collider’s Steven Weintraub saying Force Awakens was “the best STAR WARS since 1983 … maybe 1980”.
Anticipation for The Force Awakens remains huge, with pre-release ticket sales reaching record levels.
In the UK, the Odeon chain, Britain’s largest, has reported selling more than 500,000 tickets as it prepares to screen the film around the clock from a minute past midnight tonight, more than double the amount for Spectre, the previous record holder.
Vue, the third largest chain, says more than 355,000 advance tickets have gone. In the US current figures are not available, but industry magazines reported that over $50m in presales had been recorded – of which around a fifth were for the Imax format. Estimates suggest Star Wars presales could reach $100m by time of release.
The actual box office total for The Force Awakens is set to be huge. Jurassic World’s opening-weekend US record of $208m is a possibility and if it is to overcome the same film’s epic opening-week total of $525m worldwide, it will have to do it without the increasingly significant Chinese box office, where it is not opening until the new year. Moreover, it has been delayed a week in India, so as not to clash with a pair of Bollywood blockbusters, Dilwale and Bajirao Mastani. Box office analysts all agree the all time record – Avatar’s $2.78bn in 2009 – is certainly in danger.
The figures suggest the $4bn Disney paid for Star Wars in 2012 was money well spent . Factoring in sales of merchandise, analysts estimate the company will earn half that amount back on this film alone. Given there are plans to produce at least two more Star Wars features, and two spinoffs ( including a Han Solo “origins” film ), Disney’s investment would appear sound.
Fans cheered the highly anticipated Hollywood premiere of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" with standing ovations, applause and screams of delight as the space epic resumes under tight security.
Police cordoned off the area around the famed Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard hosting the premiere along with other nearby theaters hosting some 5,000 guests, setting up metal detectors and deploying scores of officers and sniffer dogs.
As the stars of the latest installment of the epic walked the red carpet, fans -- some who had camped out for days in their "Star Wars" costumes -- went into a frenzy seeking autographs and pictures of the beloved movie characters.
"This is like the Academy Awards or something," Harrison Ford, who plays Han Solo, told AFP.
Jeff Bock, an analyst at box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said "this is probably the biggest opening in decades."
Disney CEO Bob Iger hailed what "could be the biggest premiere we have ever done."
Ever since 1977, when "Star Wars" introduced the world to the Force, Jedi knights, Darth Vader, Wookiees and clever droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, the sci-fi saga has built a devoted global fan base that spans generations.
"I've been here since 3:00 am because I wanted to get a good spot," said James Salazar, 19, outside the Chinese Theatre. "I've been a fan all my life, it's my favorite movie and my dad's also."
The premiere on Monday will be followed by a global rollout taking in a dozen countries beginning Wednesday before the film officially reaches US theaters Friday.
The intergalactic tale of good versus evil, friendship, loyalty and love created a defining moment in the history of popular culture and launched one of the biggest movie franchises ever.
The original blockbuster turned Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill -- who play its heroes Han Solo, Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker -- into stars overnight.
Much to the delight of legions of fans, the beloved veterans return in the new installment -- which picks up 30 years after the events of 1983's "Return of the Jedi."
But "The Force Awakens" also brings a host of fresh faces, among them British actors John Boyega and Daisy Ridley, who could be the breakout stars of the new film.
"You could say it's the themes, it's the Force, it's the lightsaber -- there's just something in this that touches people, and I don't think you can summarize that," said 23-year-old Ridley, who plays a scavenger called Rey.
Boyega plays a character called Finn, portrayed in the trailer as a renegade Stormtrooper.
Other franchise newcomers include Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o, who plays Maz Kanata, a motion-captured pirate character whose castle is packed with smugglers from across the galaxy.
- Plot a closely kept secret -
Director J.J. Abrams had the daunting task of taking the intergalactic tale created by George Lucas forward while trying to meet the high expectations of fans.
The last "Star Wars" film came out a decade ago -- the final chapter in a prequel trilogy that was less well-received than the original three films from 1977 to 1983.
So far, the plot of "The Force Awakens" -- Episode VII in the franchise -- remains a fiercely guarded mystery and those eager to read reviews must wait until Wednesday when a media embargo is lifted.
"Everyone knows we keep it secret for the right reasons," Ridley said.
"Even the people that really want to know about it, they want to see it in the film."
The secrecy has sparked much speculation, with Abrams promising it won't be a nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Is Darth Vader really dead? Will the hero of the first trilogy, Luke Skywalker, return? And could Rey, whose last name hasn't been revealed, be linked to the Skywalker dynasty?
What is already known for sure is that "The Force Awakens" cast counts far more women than previous renditions.
Aside from Fisher, Ridley and Nyong'o, it also features Gwendoline Christie, who made a name as the formidable warrior Brienne of Tarth in "Game of Thrones" and plays Captain Phasma, one of the film's villains.
"This is... a female character we are not used to seeing on our screens because we relate to her due to the choices she makes and to character and she is wearing armor," thus not flashing flesh, Christie said.
"That to me feels like a modern concept and... I hope it will encourage further diversity in filmmaking."
Anticipation for "The Force Awakens" has been building steadily for months, with Disney unleashing a well-orchestrated advertising campaign of merchandise tieups, trailers and interviews with cast members.
"It was fun, emotional. I felt like I was reliving my childhood," said Mike Caren, after watching the film.
Experts say that the movie, which could generate $400 million by the end of the year if it is well received, could help make 2015 the biggest year ever for the box office.
Products tied to the film could bring in up to $5 billion in revenue for Walt Disney Company, which paid $4 billion for Lucasfilm in 2012.
Sport Illustrated has named tennis champion Serena Williams as its 2015 Sportsperson of the Year, but conservatives and others are incensed that the publication chose to honor Williams rather than horse-racing triple crown winner American Pharoah.
"She was the most deserving person for the award. She had an amazing year. The way she won her events; the fact that she's done this for so many years at such a high level," said Paul Fichtenbaum -- editor of the Sports Illustrated Group -- to USA Today. "She was a terrific candidate in a year of terrific candidates."
Not everyone was pleased with the choice, however.
Columnist Brian Zipse at HorseRacingNation.com was outraged that the horse was "denied" the title.
"But...American Pharoah won the Grand Slam, and Serena Williams did not," Zipse fumed. "Once again, Thoroughbred horse racing has been denied by mainstream sports media."
"Sports Illustrated, your agenda is showing," he said.
On Twitter, the publication's mentions bristled with ire.
More than a thousand new members a day are signing up to join the Church of Jediism as fans prepare for the release this week of new Star Wars movie The Force Awakens, it is claimed.
Patrick Day-Childs, a member of the UK-based organisation’s five-strong council, told the Daily Telegraph that the group now boasted more than 250,000 followers.
“It’s gone up substantially in the past couple of days,” he said. “The real test will be in a couple of weeks when the film hype has died off.
“I think people are shying away from traditional religion because it doesn’t reflect their views,” he added. “We’ve got no problem with homosexuality or anything like that. We are very accepting.”
Interest in Jedi as a religion began in 2001, when the UK and a number of other Commonwealth countries, including Australia and New Zealand, held censuses in which respondents were asked to detail their religious beliefs. In England and Wales, 390,127 identified as “Jedi” in the census, equivalent to almost 0.8% of the population.
The Church of Jediism is not the only body claiming authority over the mystical energy field imagined by George Lucas in 1977’s Star Wars and its many sequels. The New Zealand-based Jedi Church and the “international” Temple of the Jedi Order are among other claimants.
The world premiere of The Force Awakens is due to take place in Los Angeles tonight, in three different cinemas, reportedly the Chinese, Dolby and El Capitan theatres , all of which are a short walk from each other in Hollywood. Preparations have been described as far more elaborate than those undertaken for the Oscars, with studio Disney setting up a huge tent – covering four blocks of Hollywood Boulevard – in an effort to maintain secrecy. Some fans have been queuing to be among the first to see the film at the Chinese theatre since early December.
Abrams’ mentor, the three-times Oscar-winning film-maker Steven Spielberg, has described the pressure his friend is under ahead of the release of The Force Awakens, which is tipped to break the all-time box-office world record of $2.78bn, held by Avatar.
“JJ is terrified,” Spielberg told CBS’s 60 Minutes . “There’s a lot of pressure on JJ to start paying Disney back for, you know, the franchise they bought from George Lucas [for $4bn].”
Added Spielberg: “You just know that there will be people, no matter what you do, that will have issues with some aspect. You just know there is some number that is being thrown out there that will not be hit. You just know.”
The Democratic candidate and stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer shared photos as ‘three best friends on the set’ of comedy series’ upcoming third season
Hillary Clinton is cool. She made Lena Dunham a fangirl. She sang arm in arm with Kate McKinnon. And in her latest attempt to appeal to millennial women, Clinton will appear alongside comedy’s hottest stars Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer on their show, Broad City.
Clinton broke the news posting a photo of herself with the show’s stars and Amy Poehler, an executive director. The show’s Twitter account also released a photo that showed a frame of Clinton on the Broad City set with Jacobson and Glazer.
In the frame, Clinton is almost glowing as sun beams through a stain-glass window of her campaign logo. Is she trying to match the show’s Oprah mosaic wall art?
“Just three best friends on the set of @BroadCity season 3!” read the caption.
Clinton is counting on women and millennials for support, which seems like a natural fit. But her rabble-rousing challenger, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, has been peeling away some of the youth vote. A recent NBC News/SurveyMonkey poll found that young voters between the ages of 18 and 29 favored Clinton’s rival by a margin of 48% percent to her 33%.
As for Clinton’s appearance on the show, there are few details. Will she play herself or take on a new character? Will Poehler impersonate her like old times? Clinton shined as Val the Bartender opposite her doppelgänger on SNL.
Poehler -- as erstwhile parks administrator Leslie Knope on Parks and Recreation -- once called her “the strongest, smartest punching bag in the world”. (Knope also kept a framed photo of the former first lady in her office.)
The show’s third season debuts on Feb. 17 on Comedy Central.
