‘The Force Awakens’ and Takes Over Hollywood – Star Wars Mania Descends as Premier Looms

‘The Force Awakens’ and Takes Over Hollywood – Star Wars Mania Descends as Premier Looms

Die hard Star Wars fans are about to be thrilled. The premiere of ‘The Force Awakens’ will be this next Monday and the construction of a massive tent on Hollywood Blvd. is already underway. Four blocks of the iconic street, all the way from Highland Ave. to La Brea Ave. were already closed to traffic Thursday night at 11 p.m. On Friday, a large white tent was being erected on the boulevard, which hosts the famous Hollywood stars on its sidewalk. Stores aren’t being shut down for the premier, but a number of them are voluntarily shuttering their stores in honor of the Star Wars debut. The expectations for this movie are huge.

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From The Hollywood Reporter:

“This is definitely bigger than the Oscars,” one production manager told THR Friday. The Oscars, held at the end of February, close down one block on Hollywood Blvd., from Highland Ave. to Orange Dr.

Disney and Lucasfilm have not officially told guests which theaters will be used in Hollywood for the premiere. The blocks of Hollywood Blvd. that are closed include three: The Dolby (where the Oscars are held), El Capitan Theater and the TCL Chinese Theater.

In spite of the street closure, the sidewalks on Hollywood Blvd. will remain open through the weekend, allowing foot access to all businesses along that stretch. Public parking at the Hollywood & Highland center also remains open. However some shop owners tell THR that they plan to be closed on Monday, when the actual premiere takes place.

On Friday, street performers on Hollywood Blvd. were already capitalizing on the Star Wars hysteria. A guitar player strummed an acoustic version of the famous John Williams score, while a balloon artist made “lightsabers” for children, which looked less like force-powered weaponry and more like regular swords.

The group of Star Wars fans that has been camping out in front of the TCL Chinese theater since Dec. 5 plan to stay there until a 7 p.m. Dec. 17 screening of the J.J. Abrams-directed franchise film. They will have to move for the premiere, but the TCL theater will hold their camping equipment until they are allowed to return.

The movie is on track to have the biggest December opening ever, topping “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” which took in $85 million in the U.S. and Canada on its opening weekend in December 2012. Ticket seller Fandango says advance ticket sales for “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens” has already topped every other movie and Imax says it has sold double the previous record. Imax receipts account for a third of pre-release sales for this movie. The movie is sure to own the month of January with fans flocking to see it. A single ticket in big cities can cost $25 or more after paying for extras like Imax and 3-D. Social media activity is also off the charts, according to entertainment news website Moviepilot Inc. As great as it sounds and as big a fan as I am, I think I’ll wait for the DVD, thank you very much.

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton

Terresa Monroe-Hamilton is an editor and writer for Right Wing News. She owns and blogs at NoisyRoom.net. She is a Constitutional Conservative and NoisyRoom focuses on political and national issues of interest to the American public. Terresa is the editor at Trevor Loudon's site, New Zeal - trevorloudon.com. She also does research at KeyWiki.org. You can email Terresa here. NoisyRoom can be found on Facebook and on Twitter.

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