Star Wars: The Force Awakens has awakened in a major way: J.J. Abrams’ installment of the beloved franchise opened to record-breaking numbers at the box office and an impressive 95 percent approval rating on RottenTomatoes.com; landed a spot on the AFI’s list of the top 10 films of the year; was added on to the list of best picture Critics’ Choice Award nominees; and, last but certainly not least, was warmly embraced by Oscar voters — at its premiere, at its official Academy screening on Saturday and at a Disney-organized screening at the Academy on Friday night, after which I moderated a Q&A with many of the key talent behind the film.
Friday night’s screening, which drew more than 200 Academy members (in addition to 600 others from the various guilds), couldn’t have gone over any better with attendees. There was enthusiastic applause in all the right places — as each beloved character from the previous installments resurfaced, and for a full minute at the end of the film — and certainly in response to a number of answers during the Q&A, which featured Abrams, producer Kathleen Kennedy, co-writer Lawrence Kasdan, VFX supervisor Roger Guyett, editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon, cinematographer Daniel Mindel, costume designer Michael Kaplan and co-production designer Rick Carter, all of whom had returned to L.A. from the film’s London premiere only hours earlier.
Click below to see the video interview.
