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one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. | :00:00. | :00:15. | |
Welcome to a special edition of Talking Movies, devoted to what for | :00:16. | :00:23. | |
many has been most eagerly awaited movie of 2015, Star Wars The Force | :00:24. | :00:31. | |
Awakens. We report on the launch in Los Angeles. | :00:32. | :00:36. | |
Who came and what they said. This isn't about recapturing what we did | :00:37. | :00:41. | |
before. It is about making that jumped to hyperspace into the | :00:42. | :00:43. | |
future. How does the new picture rate, what | :00:44. | :00:50. | |
to critics make of it? Everybody seems to love this movie. | :00:51. | :00:55. | |
We also go back to the origins of Star Wars and the cultural impacts | :00:56. | :01:01. | |
on George Lucas when he was created. -- when he created it. | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
I want to bring Star Wars intimate everyday life. | :01:08. | :01:10. | |
And white Hollywood was never quite the same again after Star Wars made | :01:11. | :01:15. | |
its mark. And two actors at the forefront of | :01:16. | :01:22. | |
the new film and be explorer Star Wars' long-standing British | :01:23. | :01:25. | |
connection. All that and more on this special | :01:26. | :01:33. | |
Star Wars edition of Talking Movies. The force is very much with us. Star | :01:34. | :01:39. | |
Wars is currently viewable at cinemas across the planet, except in | :01:40. | :01:43. | |
China where it will be released next month. At the intense, some would | :01:44. | :01:48. | |
say absurd, levels of speculation, we can tell you everything we know | :01:49. | :01:57. | |
about Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was given a massive premiere in | :01:58. | :02:04. | |
Los Angeles, the first... Fans have been waiting for days to | :02:05. | :02:08. | |
see this extravaganza. The fiction Star Wars act as word beer including | :02:09. | :02:13. | |
Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker. | :02:14. | :02:18. | |
He cautioned to keep it all in perspective. It is only a movie and | :02:19. | :02:23. | |
if you think you are going to go into the movie and recapture your | :02:24. | :02:27. | |
childhood, you're setting yourself for disappointment. | :02:28. | :02:31. | |
The new film is set several decades after the return of -- the end of | :02:32. | :02:41. | |
the Return of the Jedi. Rey gets involved in efforts to find Luke | :02:42. | :02:44. | |
Skywalker, all the while saving the galaxy from the villainous first | :02:45. | :02:48. | |
order. There are certain things you will | :02:49. | :02:52. | |
see in this movie that feel incredibly familiar and will be | :02:53. | :02:56. | |
things that feel new. This is just the next chapter. So you want to see | :02:57. | :03:00. | |
and experience new places, new characters. But it is also a | :03:01. | :03:06. | |
continuum and the idea was with the number of years having pasta that | :03:07. | :03:11. | |
this movie be a bridge that uses the things that have come before, the | :03:12. | :03:17. | |
history, the characters, the world, and use those elements as the DNA | :03:18. | :03:21. | |
for telling a news story. The Force Awakens puts a new | :03:22. | :03:25. | |
spotlight on a new generation of characters and actors. There is | :03:26. | :03:35. | |
Finn, a storm trooper played by British actor. John Boyega feels at | :03:36. | :03:45. | |
home in his character's shoes. It is second nature, it feels muscle | :03:46. | :03:49. | |
memory. It feels good to walk in his shoes. I know that the majority of | :03:50. | :03:56. | |
fans will love it. And Daisy Ridley is impressed by the | :03:57. | :03:59. | |
female power in the film. It is wonderful that women are | :04:00. | :04:04. | |
represented as much as men. It doesn't happen enough yet but it is | :04:05. | :04:09. | |
wonderful to be part of a felon that it is happening in. | :04:10. | :04:14. | |
Full Mac is benefiting from masses of fan love and publicity. Some even | :04:15. | :04:26. | |
try to get a quote from you order. Fans couldn't get enough and the | :04:27. | :04:31. | |
verdict from the first to see it was positive. | :04:32. | :04:34. | |
It was amazing, it was everything we had been waiting for. | :04:35. | :04:37. | |
You want to be disappointed. Critics have been equally buoyant. I | :04:38. | :04:42. | |
think the initial critical responses over the moon. Everyone seems to | :04:43. | :04:46. | |
love this movie. Working at the first screening, everybody seemed | :04:47. | :04:51. | |
positive. Going into it, people have memories of the prequels and what a | :04:52. | :04:54. | |
disappointment that was for people and critics alike. The bottom line | :04:55. | :05:01. | |
is that this is a return to what George Lucas created in the first | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
trilogy and much closer in spirit to those films so that registered with | :05:06. | :05:06. | |
critics. You can detect that it has been | :05:07. | :05:10. | |
lovingly put together but it also has the hallmarks of a carefully | :05:11. | :05:15. | |
calibrated corporate product. Disney and worry. The Force Awakens has | :05:16. | :05:19. | |
effectively rebooted one of cinema's greatest franchises and handed the | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
reins over to a new generation of talented Star Wars actors. Star Wars | :05:24. | :05:31. | |
is in just a film franchise. It is beloved by legions of fans around | :05:32. | :05:35. | |
the world who have turned it into a merchandising phenomenon. The | :05:36. | :05:38. | |
franchise makes more money through merchandising than tickets sales. | :05:39. | :05:42. | |
What is interesting the Star Wars is that the merchandising helps to tell | :05:43. | :05:46. | |
the story. And how female fans are among the franchise's most ardent. | :05:47. | :05:57. | |
The merchandising of the Star Wars franchise has resulted in over $20 | :05:58. | :06:05. | |
billion in sales since the first 's film was released in 1977. Now with | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
hype at an all-time high, it is expected that could reach 5 billion | :06:11. | :06:15. | |
in sales in the next few years alone. | :06:16. | :06:19. | |
I am so inspired by Star Wars. It is a story of hope, and overcoming | :06:20. | :06:23. | |
evil. I want to bring Star Wars intimate everyday life. | :06:24. | :06:32. | |
Ashley is the voice of on the television animation series and a | :06:33. | :06:36. | |
super fan in her own right. I have a Star Wars jacket. When I | :06:37. | :06:40. | |
put it on, it is more than a fashion statement. I feel very empowered. I | :06:41. | :06:46. | |
feel like I am putting on Star Wars and so throughout that day I am | :06:47. | :06:50. | |
going to be able to fight off evil and just fight for good and I think | :06:51. | :06:55. | |
that is what merchandise brings to fans. It is really empowering. | :06:56. | :07:04. | |
Before Star Wars came along, film merchandising that exist. Charlie | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
Chaplin argue blue launched the concept of products and toys related | :07:09. | :07:15. | |
to his character in the 1920s. Disney followed suit but Star Wars | :07:16. | :07:19. | |
went deeper, extending the story is any series of novels and comics. | :07:20. | :07:23. | |
With guidance from what is called the story group, who helped in the | :07:24. | :07:32. | |
original franchise, they have helped plot out the developments in the new | :07:33. | :07:37. | |
film. They frequently appear on the New York Times bestseller list. | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
The characters and stories are so flexible that it can appeal to a | :07:42. | :07:46. | |
mass group of people. Annie stall is an associate director | :07:47. | :07:51. | |
I have been a Star Wars fan all my I have been a Star Wars fan all my | :07:52. | :07:56. | |
life. I love the clothes and the design and the artwork. | :07:57. | :08:02. | |
She perched designs for Star Wars products to Lucasfilm and they | :08:03. | :08:06. | |
accepted them, meaning you can see her work on various items. Star Wars | :08:07. | :08:12. | |
is unique in allowing that kind of fancy back but for a long time | :08:13. | :08:17. | |
e-mail fans felt like they were not being represented in Star Wars | :08:18. | :08:21. | |
merchandise that female fans. Star Wars a trailblazer for ... | :08:22. | :08:38. | |
The idea that Star Wars is a boys club is being rapidly dispelled. Not | :08:39. | :08:46. | |
only by the makers of the films but also the producers of merchandise. | :08:47. | :08:50. | |
As a little kid, I never had the sense that it was a boys club. Me | :08:51. | :08:56. | |
and my dad and my brother played together. I never felt that it | :08:57. | :09:05. | |
wasn't for girls. I duly little short for a storm | :09:06. | :09:08. | |
trooper? I started doing my research and | :09:09. | :09:14. | |
found out that half of all Star Wars fans are women and 85% of consumer | :09:15. | :09:19. | |
purchases are made by women. Ashley started to run company which | :09:20. | :09:24. | |
sells Star Wars inspired fashion to female fans along with apparel | :09:25. | :09:31. | |
inspired by other geeky franchises like Dr Who and Star Trek. Her | :09:32. | :09:36. | |
business has expanded rapidly in recent years. A fashion labels are | :09:37. | :09:44. | |
now getting in on it as well. Bloomingdale's recently hosted a | :09:45. | :09:47. | |
fashion show with Star Wars inspired designs for both men and women when | :09:48. | :09:53. | |
major designers, including Giles Deacon. It is the latest sign that | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
Star Wars fandom is not only something that is cool to flaunt but | :09:59. | :10:01. | |
something that everyone can enjoy together. | :10:02. | :10:08. | |
Star Wars has brought fans more than just a movie-going experience. It is | :10:09. | :10:11. | |
a collection of characters and adventures that have made an | :10:12. | :10:15. | |
unusually strong connection with audiences. Why has it been such a | :10:16. | :10:20. | |
successful narrative? We have gone back to the origins to see what was | :10:21. | :10:25. | |
influencing the mind of George Lucas when he was creating Star Wars in | :10:26. | :10:29. | |
the mid-19 70s. George Lucas is now 71 years old and | :10:30. | :10:34. | |
was 33 when the first Star Wars film was released. In fashioning the | :10:35. | :10:38. | |
picture, he was inspired by brought range of cultural influences like | :10:39. | :10:45. | |
Flash Gordon and the Japanese picture the Headon Fortress. -- | :10:46. | :10:54. | |
Headon he lives and breathes Star Wars. The | :10:55. | :11:12. | |
lamb war also find expression in the Star Wars film. | :11:13. | :11:15. | |
The original conception of the Emperor was very much a Nixon like | :11:16. | :11:20. | |
politician. Something that was largely discarded as the cycle moved | :11:21. | :11:21. | |
along. This man is a philosopher who use of | :11:22. | :12:25. | |
Star Wars. Western traditions. It will be sort of reduced to what he | :12:26. | :12:31. | |
calls the heroes journey. There is something universally fanatic and a | :12:32. | :12:34. | |
great success of Star Wars I think is that it draws on that. Whatever | :12:35. | :12:41. | |
George Lucas did, Star Wars had an energising and spellbinding effect. | :12:42. | :12:46. | |
There is something about the timeless struggle of light and dark | :12:47. | :12:51. | |
and swords, it is everything put together. It is so many different | :12:52. | :12:55. | |
types of genres melded into one thing, it appeals to some people. | :12:56. | :13:03. | |
Some film critics claim Star Wars had a destructive impact on movie | :13:04. | :13:04. | |
culture. going to bury what movie culture had | :13:05. | :13:26. | |
been into an unreality zone where movies would now be about fantasy, | :13:27. | :13:32. | |
comic books, et cetera. Star Wars fans are not concerned, they are | :13:33. | :13:38. | |
happy to buy into the unreality, they don't think they are being | :13:39. | :13:40. | |
harmed, far from it. They believe there is something sacred in this | :13:41. | :13:43. | |
saga, which is to them a cultural unifier. The believers, George Lucas | :13:44. | :13:50. | |
gave himself a gift to the ever expanding universe. With the novels | :13:51. | :13:56. | |
and comic books and role-playing, people love playing in that world. | :13:57. | :14:01. | |
It is sacred to them, and that is what great sci-fi films provide. The | :14:02. | :14:19. | |
film itself was shot largely in the UK, as was the original trilogy. Al | :14:20. | :14:24. | |
Maloney has been exploring the Star Wars British connection. | :14:25. | :14:29. | |
The title card may read a galaxy far far away, but for many the UK is the | :14:30. | :14:38. | |
spiritual world of the universe. It goes back almost 40 years to when a | :14:39. | :14:41. | |
young George Lucas was desperately searching for a location to film his | :14:42. | :14:48. | |
space opera. This is where it all began, Elstree Studios, the home of | :14:49. | :14:52. | |
the shining, the Indiana Jones films, Dambusters, and many others. | :14:53. | :14:58. | |
And also the original Star Wars trilogy. It could have all been so | :14:59. | :15:06. | |
different, at the time Elstree was closed and the movie producers were | :15:07. | :15:09. | |
close to agreeing a deal to film in Rome, that is until they found out | :15:10. | :15:13. | |
that he Italian sound stages weren't soundproof. George Lucas had further | :15:14. | :15:19. | |
negotiations with Elstree, owned by EMI at the time. We were having | :15:20. | :15:30. | |
discussions with EMI to see if they would give a discount, and I am | :15:31. | :15:36. | |
believed we were turned down because they didn't think there was much of | :15:37. | :15:43. | |
a future for science-fiction films. The deal was agreed eventually, and | :15:44. | :15:49. | |
why it went over budget and over schedule, on its release it became a | :15:50. | :15:53. | |
phenomenon. Record box office takings in short a sequel and a | :15:54. | :15:57. | |
return to Elstree. On the set of the Empire strikes back in 1979, | :15:58. | :16:02. | |
director Irving Kirsch was full of praise for the British troops. The | :16:03. | :16:07. | |
technicians I'm working with now are extraordinary. They are willing, | :16:08. | :16:11. | |
able, and they are highly motivated. I think they liked the | :16:12. | :16:17. | |
picture they are working on, and I find it very easy to communicate. It | :16:18. | :16:25. | |
was in English, and it has been a good experience. But it wasn't just | :16:26. | :16:31. | |
the British locations and crew that helped to turn Star Wars into a | :16:32. | :16:35. | |
global industry. While the three main actors were American, the rest | :16:36. | :16:39. | |
of the cast was largely made up of British acting talent. Giving | :16:40. | :16:43. | |
gravitas to an otherwise fantastical tale. It continues to this day, with | :16:44. | :16:52. | |
relative newcomer Daisy Ridley and John Gwynne acre taking centre | :16:53. | :16:54. | |
stage. And in 17 and laugh and cry and was | :16:55. | :17:17. | |
just so wonderful. I got an open a little bit and we were lucky to find | :17:18. | :17:23. | |
all these actors. Filming on Episode VII has | :17:24. | :17:28. | |
contributed $220 million to the UK economy. The franchise is a massive | :17:29. | :17:34. | |
boost to the UK film industry. What Star Wars did was establish the | :17:35. | :17:42. | |
industry as the place to go for a collar Road productions. It has | :17:43. | :17:44. | |
stayed that way ever since. Were such a universe to explore, UK | :17:45. | :17:54. | |
fans will be keeping their fingers crossed hoping fans are tuned in to | :17:55. | :18:02. | |
a galaxy far away for a long time. When the first film arrived in 1977, | :18:03. | :18:09. | |
it didn't just mesmerised audiences, change the film industry forever. It | :18:10. | :18:14. | |
had a major industry and Holyrood in of technology deployed and on the | :18:15. | :18:22. | |
kinds of films that got made. Richard Taylor reports from San | :18:23. | :18:27. | |
Francisco. A long time ago and movie-making galaxy which by today's | :18:28. | :18:33. | |
standards seem so far away, movie-making history was being made. | :18:34. | :18:36. | |
Quite literally handcrafted. Teams worked they and night for months on | :18:37. | :18:45. | |
end to bring light to George Lucas' vision. The scale was unprecedented | :18:46. | :18:50. | |
and so was the success. With this lovable characters, | :18:51. | :18:55. | |
multifaceted story team and pace, it became the highest grossing film | :18:56. | :18:58. | |
ever seen. George Lucas had been a renegade who had escaped the evil | :18:59. | :19:04. | |
Empire of the oppressive studio system 400 miles south and come here | :19:05. | :19:07. | |
to northern California. It was an irony that has single creation had | :19:08. | :19:15. | |
such a massive impact on Hollywood, unwittingly creating | :19:16. | :19:19. | |
special effects laden blockbuster. Phil Tippett led the team making | :19:20. | :19:25. | |
Star Wars creatures. Today he runs is on special effects studio. He | :19:26. | :19:30. | |
told me that although Star Wars turned into a commercial juggernaut, | :19:31. | :19:34. | |
there was something special about working on the first one. | :19:35. | :19:38. | |
We were like heads at the candy store. It was fun. I didn't look at | :19:39. | :19:44. | |
it like a huge opportunity. We get to work on a feature film for once. | :19:45. | :19:49. | |
George did not know what he had when Star Wars came out. He was as | :19:50. | :19:54. | |
surprised as anyone else to see those lines around the block. It was | :19:55. | :20:00. | |
incredible. George explained to me like when you write the wild | :20:01. | :20:03. | |
elephant, you go with the elephant goes. He wanted to be a mogul and | :20:04. | :20:10. | |
call his own shots. He has said and so many of words that he feels like | :20:11. | :20:14. | |
he became Darth Vader because he went where it took them. | :20:15. | :20:19. | |
I'd buy the success of the franchise, the effects department | :20:20. | :20:24. | |
became a powerhouse, not just a its own hurts but for other productions. | :20:25. | :20:29. | |
It kick-started the entire computer graphics and video games industries | :20:30. | :20:32. | |
and was the breeding ground -- breeding ground for Pixar. By the | :20:33. | :20:41. | |
late 90s, Star Wars was continuing to pioneer, now with digital | :20:42. | :20:47. | |
technology. Creating characters in a blue screen environment was | :20:48. | :20:53. | |
arresting and more cost-effective. But it was challenging for actors | :20:54. | :21:02. | |
and the prequels were criticised as digitally rendered style over | :21:03. | :21:06. | |
substance, also measure that modern movies. This man worked at eight | :21:07. | :21:17. | |
graphics supervisor on the scene. We used to computer graphics to | :21:18. | :21:22. | |
realise the vision of this huge universe and as such there was the | :21:23. | :21:28. | |
sense that the grandeur of what were trying to do distracted from the | :21:29. | :21:34. | |
essence of Star Wars and I am afraid I was along with them. | :21:35. | :21:40. | |
They are now insuring that the Star Wars legacy is to be continued. | :21:41. | :21:49. | |
Working on a massive audience interaction and shaping the | :21:50. | :21:52. | |
movie-going experience. That brings this special star Wars | :21:53. | :21:57. | |
edition of Talking Movies to a close. We hope you enjoyed the | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
programme. Remember you can always reach us online and can find us on | :22:03. | :22:06. | |
Facebook. From me and the rest of the Talking Movies production team, | :22:07. | :22:10. | |
it is good by as we leave you with these sounds and images of Star Wars | :22:11. | :22:12. | |
over the decades. | :22:13. | :22:17. |