Leave the mask and light saber at home for biggest film of the year
Fans told to avoid face coverings or imitation weapons amid cinema fears of terrorist attack
THEY have been queuing around the clock, clamouring at box offices across the world, and lovingly preparing costumes of their favourite characters.
But as Hollywood geared up for the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night, fans have been told to leave their Darth Vader masks and light sabers at home.
Cinemas in the UK and United States have asked them not to wear fancy dress which covers their faces or carry any replica weapons, because of concerns that showings could become terrorist targets.
In Britain, the Odeon, Vue and Cineworld chains – which have reported record advanced sales – have threatened to confiscate offending items.
An Odeon spokesman said that while the chain was looking forward to some “amazing costumes”, it was asking people to “be sensible” and not bring anything resembling a gun or a blade.
In the US, posters for the Cinemark chain have warned that anyone carrying imitation weapons or covering their face will be barred, while AMC has asked ticketholders “to leave the blaster and Darth Vader mask at home”.
While the public worldwide must officially wait until Friday to see the seventh instalment in the Star Wars saga, last night the red carpet was rolled out for celebrities and the well connected, by invitation only, for the most eagerlyanticipated film of the year.
So tight was security ahead of what has been described as perhaps Hollywood’s biggest ever premiere that a huge marquee was erected over the entrance to the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars, and El Capitan were holding simultaneous premieres, such was the demand. A half-mile section of Hollywood Boulevard had been closed to traffic and a giant opaque tent lined four blocks.
Some fans have been camping out for a week in the hope of getting hold of precious tickets for the public opening. More than 180 have been sleeping outside the Chinese Theatre for nine days.
Styling their gathering as “The Line [queue] Awakens”, they said they were queuing to keep alive a tradition of public enthusiasm going back to the original
Star Wars in 1977, even though modern technology meant they could have booked tickets online.
“I was three and a half when the first film came out and my earliest Star Wars memory was standing in line for that movie, although I can’t actually remember the movie itself,” said Ric Peralta, 42, who had been queuing with his wife and daughter, Eliza, seven.
“I expect the movie to be good but truly, from the heart, it could be the most God-awful film and we wouldn’t care. People are doing this because they want to reunite with the fellow
Star Wars fans and friends they made from standing in line for the previous films. This is all about love and friendship.”
The campers also included an Australian couple, Caroline Ritter, 34, and her fiancée, Andrew Porters, 29, who will get married outside the Chinese Theatre on Thursday shortly before the first public showing at midnight, in a ceremony conducted by a registrar.
“This seemed like the perfect place,” said Ms Ritter, a coal miner who had camped out for two previous Star Wars films and turned Mr Porters into a fan.
The cast and crew have been sworn to secrecy over the plot, but Steven Spielberg said on Sunday that JJ Abrams, the director, was “terrified” about its reception. The latest instal- ment needs to rake in more than $1.5 billion (£1 billion) to be considered a success, after Disney bought LucasFilms in 2012 for $4 billion.
The film-making budget alone was $200 million.
“Oh, JJ is terrified,” said Spielberg. “There’s a lot of pressure on JJ to start paying Disney back for, you know, the franchise they bought from George Lucas.”
Spielberg said he recommended Abrams as the director of the latest film because “he just reminded me of a cartoon character that was so full of magnetic energy and ideas coming out of him”.
Abrams said the film was more than a movie. “It’s bigger than all of us,” he said. “It’s almost a religion for people. You just know that there will be people, no matter what you do, that will have issues with some aspect.”
Box-office analysts think he will be fine. Fans have already reportedly bought more than $50 million in advance tickets. Tracking for the film already suggests $2.5 billion in sales internationally, and in the UK, Odeon has reported more than 500,000 advance ticket sales, double the previous record, held by October’s Spectre.
Many box-office experts predict the biggest US opening in history, exceeding the $208.8 million earned by
Jurassic World in June.