FILM-STAR WARS/HARRISON FORD Harrison Ford makes surprise appearance at "Star Wars : The Force Awakens" Disney fan event

Record ID: 143783

  • Title: FILM-STAR WARS/HARRISON FORD Harrison Ford makes surprise appearance at "Star Wars : The Force Awakens" Disney fan event
  • Date: 16th August 2015
  • Summary: ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 15, 2015) (REUTERS) ACTOR, OSCAR ISAAC, SPEAKING WITH MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, OSCAR ISAAC, SAYING: "The loudest cheer I heard was when everyone found out that Harrison was actually there and he walked on the stage and there was a massive ovation and there was just a roar from the crowd like a religious moment of ecstasy
  • Embargoed: 31st August 2015 13:00
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  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA6CROO4Q07GHYKXYPTGRP33BCP
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Harrison Ford made a surprise appearance at the D23 Expo "Star Wars : The Force Awakens" fan event on Saturday (August 15), joining the cast on stage in front of about 7, 500 fans.
    Harrison Ford, who reprises the role of Han Solo, received a standing ovation at the fan convention and led the cast of the new film, including Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o and British newcomer John Boyega.
    Actor, Oscar Isaac, confirmed that the loudest cheer came when the one and only Han Solo walked into the room.
    "The loudest cheer I heard was when everyone found out that Harrison was actually there and he walked on the stage and there was a massive ovation and there was just a roar from the crowd like a religious moment of ecstasy so that was pretty intense," Isaac said.
    An exclusive D23 'The Force Awakens' poster was gifted to the fans in attendance, actor John Boyega also generously presented one of his own personal copies of the poster backstage to a Star Wars fan and reporter who jokingly asked 'Where's my exclusive poster?' after the panel concluded.
    "I think the biggest thing about being with the fans is just how much they love this project, I mean they are so enthusiastic and so happy that Star Wars is coming back and to share that with them, to give them an exclusive 'Star Wars : Force Awakes' D23 poster today, it was an amazing this to do, because they are on it, they support this movie in terms they are going to be there on December 18th so we have to be there for them so that's what I love about this, D23 is dope," actor, John Boyega said.
    The first "Star Wars" movie was released in 1977 and became embedded in pop culture, its fan base has consistently grown globally and across age groups ever since.
    Its latest instalment and the first out of Disney/Lucas Films is working to build even further on that history.
    "Well you get someone like J.J. Abrams to direct it and you get Larry Kasdan who wrote the originals to come in and write it and you get Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher and Anthony Daniels and you write something, and you approach it in a way that they want to do it as well so, and you approach from a place of generosity and I think that if you do it without cynicism and with good intent and you deliver then it doesn't matter if you've been a fan for ages or you have never seen the movie before I think it will mean something to you," Isaac responded when asked about the challenges of bridging the generations between the fans from film to film.
    Director J.J. Abrams was able to expand on the point as well.
    "I think the simplest answer is that the history of the characters that are in this time and in this place is the history we know from the movies that have preceded it so the idea is clearly to tell a new story, we can't just tell a story we all know already but we have to use these characters as a way to tell that story, to fuel that story, to inspire that story and so I think that in many ways this movie is in a way kind of a bridge because it's using things we know but hopefully in a way you don't expect," Abrams said.
    Leads, John Boyega as Finn and Daisy Ridley as Rey have not had the last names of their characters released, leading to speculation as to what those names could reveal about their characters' lineage and background.
    "Mystery plays a big part in the Star Wars universe because we all remember, well I don't I wasn't existing, but we all remember how an audience felt when Darth Vader told Luke Skywalker, 'I am your father' and that moment wouldn't have been solid without that air of mystery. Now we're in that age of social media, cameras, and we still need to keep that mystery so fans get to enjoy it when they watch it so for me it's really, really, really easy for me to keep that down because I know as a fan I do want to give you guys the whole script, I even want to act it out to you guys live but I want you guys to enjoy it, I want you guys to watch it at an AMC somewhere so yeah it's going to be brilliant," Boyega told Reuters.
    "The Force Awakens" will be set 30 years after "Return of the Jedi," the third film in George Lucas' first "Star Wars" trilogy released between 1977 and 1983.
    It is the first of three new "Star Wars" films being produced by Walt Disney Co since it purchased the franchise from Lucasfilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion.
    The six previously released "Star Wars" films have grossed more than $4.4 billion at the world-wide box office since 1977 and spawned a legion of devoted fans.
    "Star Wars: Episode VIII" is already in the works, with writer-director Rian Johnson at the helm.
    "Jurassic World"'s Colin Trevorrow was announced as the director of "Star Wars: Episode IX," on Saturday (August 15) at the D23 Expo in Anaheim.
    "The Force Awakens' is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 18.
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