MTV Awards Spoilers! How Did 'The Force Awakens' Do?

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart hosted the show, opening it "Mad Max" style by riding through Warner Bros. Studios strapped to the front of a tricked-out truck. Later, they performed a rap song about the year's films that repeated the refrain "Leo got (expletive) by a bear" in reference to "The Revenant."

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was named movie of the year at the 25th MTV Movie Awards on Saturday. The audience at Warner Bros. Studios waved what looked like red and blue lightsabers as star Daisy Ridley and director J.J. Abrams accepted the final golden popcorn trophy at Saturday night's ceremony.

The film was nominated for 11 awards going into the Los Angeles ceremony, but only won three including prizes for its stars Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver. Ridley beat her Star Wars co-star John Boyega to win the breakthrough performance award, while Driver was voted best villain for his role in the franchise.

Following on from his Oscar win in February, Leonardo DiCaprio won best male performance for his role in The Revenant.

Will Smith and Melissa McCarthy each received special honors, and their heartfelt speeches were respites of sincerity in an expletive-laden show that featured more F-bombs than awards.

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Daisy Talks Episode VIII Filming & More

Daisy Ridley sat down Monday for a Facebook live chat about the home release of Episode VII, of course the topic of Episode VIII inevitably came up. Ridley was asked to compare her experiences working on the two films. The actress said they are two different animals--for a number of reasons. She also mentions she's not sure just yet if she'll even be in Episode IX.

“They’re honestly two very different things,” Ridley said. “[The Force Awakens] was like the beginning of the whole thing, and it was terrifying and incredibly rewarding. I felt like I pushed myself beyond boundaries I thought I had. Now I feel more together and present. Now I look at things and think, how are people going to react to that?”

This response made Ridley sound a little like her alter ego, Rey, who has gone from a desert loner searching for home to a Jedi adept ready to accept her role in the Force. Ridley added that she now feels a “responsibility” to both the character and her fans.

“Carrie [Fisher] calls herself the custodian of Leia, and now I feel like the custodian of Rey,” Ridley said. “I know what people liked in [The Force Awakens] and now I feel like I’m carrying that responsibility, which is nicer cause I feel like I’m more part of it. I couldn’t say I’m enjoying either one more. It’s all this incredible journey. And then if I am in 9, all three will be one amazing journey that involves thousands of people. I think of Episodes VII, VIII, and IX as part of one experience, not three different ones.”

Overall, Ridley said she couldn't say which movie, Episode VII or Episode VIII, she's enjoyed making more. Instead, she sees the overall new trilogy--spanning Episodes VII through IX, as an "incredible journey." Also, interestingly, she said she's not completely sure that she will be in Episode IX.

I for one can't wait for the next chapter of this 'journey'! I'm very happy about the choice for Rey and I'm excited to see how Finn, Poe, and the rest of the gang come into their own.

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Sources:  EW, Gamespot

The Force Breaks More Records In The New Year! Surpasses Some BIG Ones.

Building towards the inevitable overtaking of Avatar, Star Wars TFA breaks new records today. Some big names like Titanic and Jurassic World have already fallen!

NBC reports:

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" marched confidently into the new year, raking in an additional $88.3 million over the New Year's weekend and topping the box office for a third week, according to studio estimates Sunday.

In addition to setting a new high mark in New Year's box office history, the record-busting film blew past the domestic grosses of both "Jurassic World" ($652.3 million) and "Titanic" ($658.7 million) to become the second-highest earner of all time with $740.3 million in just 19 days of release. 

The top domestic film is "Avatar" with a $760.5 million lifetime domestic gross, but "Star Wars" is barreling in to surpass it soon. For context, it took "Avatar" 72 days to reach $700 million. "Star Wars" did that in 16 days.

Well, how many times have you seen it? When will it overtake Avatar?

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"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has now made $1 billion! How many times have you seen it?

CNN reports:

Disney (DIS) said Sunday that its blockbuster broke the $1 billion mark around the world faster than any other film in history.

The sci-fi adventure movie reached the milestone 12 days after its global release. That is one day earlier than the previous record holder -- Universal's "Jurassic World," which was released earlier this year.

The seventh film in the "Star Wars" saga has made $544.5 million in the U.S.
After only 10 days, it is the fifth biggest film in U.S. box office history.
"The Force Awakens" made $1 billion in half the time it took another Disney hit franchise, Marvel's"Avengers: Age of Ultron," to do so this summer.

So, how many times have you seen it? Did you watch it by yourself?

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The Big Day Is Here! Let Us Know What You Think Of The Force Awakens.

There has been an Awakening... HAVE YOU FELT IT?

Just watched TFA last night. Did you get to watch it yet? You won't find any spoilers in this article, however feel free to comment you reviews, critiques, and questions in the comments of our group or page.

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Funny Or Die Does A Brand New Take On The Star Wars Holiday Special

Remember the awesome Star Wars Holiday Special of 1978? Well, I kid... Some of you can never get that out of your memory bank :)

In the parody below, posted Friday by Funny or Die, the makers of "The Star Wars Holiday Special" decide to make a brand new Star Wars special based on information gleaned from all the teasers, trailers, on-set footage and fan rumors about the characters of "The Force Awakens" and how they would celebrate Droid Day (as opposed to the original Wookiee Life Day).

The video covers a lot of territory in almost 10 minutes: Kylo Ren, droid BB-8, Captain Phasma, R2-D2, Anakin Skywalker's ghost and celebrity guest stars like model Lydia Hearst, DJ Qualls, and the band Train, singing a special song all about Droid Day.

Check it out below and let us know what you think:

New International Ep. VII Trailer Shows Epic New Battle Scenes!

Check this new one out!

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Magnificent Star Wars Ice Sculptures In Belgium

Have you seen these ice sculptures from Belgium? They have a festival there and using over 500 tons of ice made these incredible pieces of art. Over 30 artists worked on the figurines.

Alex Girard, Artistic Director, Star Wars Ice Sculpture Festival: "All of the carvers here are not necessarily fanatics of Star Wars, but when you're, we had a fan view sight, because we say hey, there will be fans. So is this at the good side, does the sword, is it that way? What is the garment that they are wearing? We have to be really precise. The form, the design of the helmets of the troopers and all of those elements had to be studied in detail."

Let us know which one you like the best. 

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Google Has Hidden Easter Eggs In It's Programming For Episode VII

Go type "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" into a google search bar. Go ahead - I'll wait...

For those of you that didn't, it triggers a 'Star Wars Crawl' for the results! Pretty cool, huh? That's just one of the hidden Easter Eggs for the Episode VII buildup.

In a blog post they revealed that google.com/starwars will allow you to choose either the light or dark side to change your Google theme on lots of different apps.

This decision will alter the Google experience. Everyday apps such as Gmail, Google Maps, and others will reflect the moral decision that users made – giving off a Jedi or Sith theme. Google Maps Street View will also put users into the cockpit of an X-Wing if they opt to choose the light side of the force.

Let us know what other Easter Eggs you can find. 

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BRAND NEW Teaser With Poe, Chewie, and Finn In Action!

BRAND NEW FRESH TEASER THIS MORNING!

Poe gives orders and new action from Kylo Ren, Chewie, Han, and Finn. 

Check it out below:

Anyone Watch SNL Last Night? TFA Audition Skit Was Hilarious!

Bobby Moynihan was dead-on with his Lucas impression!

Actually watched a little of SNL last night, and I'm glad I did.

In honor of Star Wars: The Force Awakens' impending release date, director JJ Abrams stopped by SNL Saturday night to share some "never-before-seen screen tests" of famous celebrities reading for various roles.

Actual cast members Daisy Ridley and John Boyega were there to provide support to the SNL cast's best celebrity impressions, with a few surprise appearances mixed in.

And the result was one of SNL's strongest sketches all season:

What Does The New Disneyland Launch Bay Reveal?

Who is the hero?

Disneyland has relaunched the 'Launch Bay' with new exhibits! They try not to reveal too much but is that a clue in itself? Take a look at a few of the ones we found, and you decide.

From Collider:

As just one element of the new Season of the Force experience at Disneyland, which Collider was invited to tour as part of the recent media preview, Star Wars Launch Bay is located in the heart of Tomorrowland and it’s the central locale for guests to celebrate the past, present and future of the hugely popular film franchise. Located on the lower level of the Tomorrowland Expo Center (formerly known as Innoventions), fans will be greeted by a welcoming text scroll, inspired by the iconic opening crawl in every Star Wars film, as they enter the experience.

Once inside, guests are encouraged to join either the Dark Side or the Light Side to take part in one of two character greeting experiences. If you choose Chewbacca, you will get a fully immersive 360-degree meeting in a space inspired by a Rebel base. But if you choose Darth Vader, it will be a space inspired by the Star Destroyer. The experiences are fun and kids are especially assured to find them delightful, as both Chewbacca and Darth Vader maintain character throughout.

One of the coolest areas of the Expo Center are the galleries full of treasured memorabilia and authentic replicas of artifacts, props and costumes from both the Light and Dark sides. The Preview Gallery even includes a collection from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with everything from a Flametrooper and weapons (including Daisy Ridley‘s Rey’s blaster) to ship models and helmets. It’s easy to get lost for hours, just looking at all of the details.

See all the photos and full article here

Quillons? Those are the crossguard blades.

Upsilon-class? That's Kylo's shuttle.

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Great Wall Of China Taken Over By The First Order

Disney is yet to announce a release date for episode seven in China but that didn't stop the Stormtroopers! In an epic marketing stunt to push the coming seventh Star Wars film, Disney lined up 500 Stormtroopers at the Great Wall of China.

The figures stood still on the historic steps of the wall, making an impressive background for the hundreds of fans who had come to pose against the iconic characters. Along with the hundreds of marching stormtroopers, Disney also handed out lightsabers to the Chinese fans who showed up for the spectacle, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi all showed at Shanghai international film festival in June, though many audiences had seen them already via illegal downloads or DVDs.

With more than 10,000 cinema screens, the country is set to overtake the US as the world’s largest box office by 2020, offering director JJ Abrams and the Force Awakens producers another huge bite of the global audience for what is already set to be a record-breaking release when it premieres at Christmas.

China's box office takings continue to surge. In September, its revenue hit 30 billion yuan(US$4.7 billion), growing 48.5% over 2014, and overtaking all of last year's earnings.

So now, ahead of the seventh installment of Star Wars, it's small wonder why Disney is pulling out the stops to drum up Chinese interest in the space opera franchise.

Do you think China will release Episode VII in theaters? Sound off in the comments.

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Source:  The Guardian, Mashable, HollywoodReporter

Cooking With R2... Get yours today!

Star Wars Ep. VII Tickets Will Be Available Monday October 19th!!

LISTEN UP!!!!

A limited number of Episode VII tickets will go on pre-sale nationwide following the new trailer premiere during Monday Night Football on ESPN!

According to Yahoo Movies, the trailer will likely air somewhere between 9:30 & 10:00 pm Eastern but there is no official confirmation on the exact time! What they do know is that after the trailer, those tickets will go on sale for showtimes beginning at 7:00 pm Decembet 17th through January 3rd!

Have your PCs, tablets & smart phones at the ready! However also realize that thousands of others will be doing the same thing, so expect plenty of website crashes, timeouts, or just plain bad luck with tickets selling out before you even get a chance to pick a date/time.

Good luck to you all, and may the Force be with you!!!

Episode VII Post Credit Scene Rumored To Introduce Rogue One

Everyone knows you never leave your seat when the credits roll at the end of a Marvel movie. As expected, Disney is expanding that practice to the Star Wars franchise. Rumors of a post credit scene at the end of Episode VII have now been confirmed. However, the subject of that scene has sparked a new rumor.

According to CinemaBlend, the post credit scene is rumored to introduce Rogue One. While it would be interesting to see some more footage outside the teaser we've already seen, post credit scenes are normally used to tease future installments that are linked to the one you just watched. Teasing Rogue One would be a bit odd because the events of that movie take place over 3 decades before Episode VII. It would make more sense if the post credit scenes were to tease Episode VIII instead....but like we said earlier, the content of the post credits scene is a rumor for now.

Star Wars: Rogue One main cast photo

You can be sure we will update all of you about this once the rumors are confirmed!

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First Look At 'The Force Awakens' Funkos

Why is 3PO's arm red?  Nice Saber!

From Funko Pop Checklist:

The Force Awakens toys are starting to pop (pun intended) up across the web.  Here's some of our favorites from Funko!  Enjoy the #Forcestrong commentary attached to each pic ;)

Will this be the one offered in the new SW crates?

This is my favorite, by far!  -T

How does Chewie look even younger?

What no last name... ;)

Looking a lot like a Skywalker :)

You mean more Hoth is coming?

Nice gun, hope it comes with sights...

Stay tuned to this blog for more when toys come on the market in September! Until then get all of your favorite from Amazon here.

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New Episode VII Character? We May Have Found Some!

We've all been there. You know how it feels...You're sitting at home bored out of your mind with nothing to do, so you decide to browse the internet. Today was such a morning for me. Only I decided to just search the heck out of anything I could find about The Force Awakens.

That search is what brought me to a page called DisneyWiki, and upon searching for Star Wars Episode VII, I came across a gem of a database. It contains NO PLOT SPOILERS, but it does have an up to date character list, that has yet to be completed. Keep in mind, that while one is a confirmed character, the other two remain classified as rumored.

I would like to share with you 3 names in particular that I found on that list. Two of these names have been subject to a great many guesses as to who they are, and the third was recently revealed as an un-named character in one of our previous articles.

CHARACTER SPOILERS AHEAD!!

1.  Max Von Sydow

The most prevalent speculation has been that he would portray an aged Boba Fett, who survived the Sarlacc pit. The only image of him in character has been this production artwork, and a few other design sketches that suggested he may have cybernetic implants.

According to the wiki entry, his name is Vicar Montross. An elderly man who is a friend to Rey, and spends most of his day at Rey's repair shop/home.

2.  Domnhall Gleeson

He as only been known as "The General" thus far. A man who serves the First Order and reports to the Supreme Leader. No images exist of Domnhall in character as "The General" as of yet.

The wiki has him listed as GENERAL TARKIN! This may bring the adversarial rivalry between the Resistance and First Order to a whole new personal level! General Tarkin is the descendant of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. He will undoubtedly be out for blood to make them pay for the death of his father (or perhaps grandfather?). All I can say is old wounds do not always fully heal.

EDIT: At SDCC It was revealed that his name is actually General Hux of Starkiller Base. The wiki entry has been updated to reflect this new information.

While the above turned out to be a rumor, Hux is said to be a vicious adversary.

3.  Greg Grunberg

We recently revealed that Greg Grunberg will be playing an X-Wing Pilot in Episodes VII though IX.

Click HERE to see Greg's character and his name.

You can click HERE to see the full Disneywiki entry.

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Greg "Grunny" Grunberg's Role Revealed & 2 Classic Characters Return in Ep. VII!

Back in February, we did an article about Greg Grunberg aka "Grunny" and his connection to J.J.Abrams. 

*Click HERE to see the February article about Greg Grunberg & J.J. Abrams*

We talked about how they have been best friends since childhood, and that Grunny always jumps at the chance to work with J.J. We also talked about how he initially went it to shoot a cameo, but it ended up being a 6 week shoot. Many speculated his role had been expanded, and Grunny himself would not reveal any details.

That has all changed.

Thanks to set images obtained by StarWars7News.com, we now have proof that Grunny is part of the Rebel Alliance, known as the "Resistance" for this trilogy. I had predicted he would play a cantina owner, and I have never been happier to be wrong!

I give you...X-WING PILOT GRUNBERG! (Character name unknown as of yet)
UPDATE 06/29/2015: Character name identified as Gorwyn! Source: DisneyWiki

He's not just a garden variety background character either. He'll be in the thick of things, FOR ALL 3 MOVIES! SW7News is affectionately referring to him as the Wedge Antilles of the new trilogy, with his own action figure to be released!

In addition to Grunny's revelation, we are also treated to 2 familiar faces from the original trilogy that have survived and are still active in the Resistance.

NIEN NUNB & ADMIRAL ACKBAR!!!

All 3 images are from actual photo shoots!!

I don't know about you, but my excitement level just went up 3 notches!

You know what to do....Head over to our Facebook Group & express yourself!

Source: StarWars7News.com