Hamill said the new film can’t live up to the expectations of the devoted “Star Wars” fan base.
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Actress Carrie Fisher attends the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures and Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Star Wars fans have been queueing – some for more than 12 days – in front of the cinema, hoping to catch a glimpse of the film’s cast and pick up coveted tickets for when it opens to the public.
Monday’s event was a preview of what will happen at theaters across the country in the early hours of Thursday when the movie is released in the United States and more than a dozen other countries.
(Film Frame/Disney/Lucasfilm via AP). “George Lucas, from the bottom of my heart, and behalf of everyone involved with ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens, ‘ thank you, sir”.
Police dogs checked areas adjacent to the massive tent shrouding the red carpet, and pedestrians in the area had to go through metal detectors. Inside the tent, a whole constellation of stars were assembled, including Harrison Ford, Lupita Nyong’o, Jon Favreau and Janelle Monae.
Also on the red carpet: Elizabeth Banks, Jaime King and Sarah Highland.
Daisy Ridley, who plays new star Rey, revealed that she was “Feeling quite sick, but now it’s kinda cool”.
Ford reflected on the impact of the film and the role that catapulted him to superstardom.
The premiere was expected to take place at Los Angeles’ TCL Chinese Theatre, the Dolby Theatre – home of the Oscars – and the El Capitan Theatre.
Before some of the film’s human stars arrived, the droid BB-8 rolled by the cameras.
Stormtroopers joined robots C-3PO and R2D2 on the red carpet as the human stars arrived.
Abrams wryly thanked Disney for putting on “this incredibly low-key premiere” and expressed his gratitude to Kennedy “for meeting filmmakers who rejected this opportunity so I could direct a “Star Wars” movie”.
“It’s very surreal. I’ve never seen this kind of thing”, he told Starwars.com.
“I am a Star Wars fan so I feel like we’re paying homage to a film that I really respect, so I feel good”, said Boyega.
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Fans of the franchise will be delighted to see Dublin celebrate the release of the most-anticipated film of the year. He said his action figures mean he already has Christmas presents sorted: “I’m set for this year and the next couple of years”.
