Tag: john boyega

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John Boyega: Racist backlash to first The Force Awakens appearance was “unnecessary”

TFA - John Boyega

John Boyega talks about getting cast in The Force Awakens, being on set, and the racist reaction to the first trailer with V Magazine:

“It was unnecessary,” he says of the negativity. “I’m in the movie, what are you going to do about it? You either enjoy it or you don’t. I’m not saying get used to the future, but what is already happening. People of color and women are increasingly being shown on-screen. For things to be whitewashed just doesn’t make sense.”

He says his career choices have been about sidestepping sterotypical roles for black actors. “All the films I’ve done have had a secret commentary on stereotypical mentalities,” he says. “It’s about getting people to drop a prejudiced state of mind and realize, ‘Oh shit we’re just watching normal people.’”

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The Force Awakens: Tour Jakku with a new 360 video

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StarWars.com debuted a 360 video – itself a brand-new feature – on Facebook this afternoon, letting fans ‘ride’ Rey’s speeder through a part of Jakku. This is the second time that The Force Awakens has been an active participant in introducing a new feature on a social media site. Last time was Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) and their new widescreen option.

→ Per a new survey, The Force Awakens and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 are not just the most-anticipated releases of late 2015, but the most-anticipated fall/winter movies in the five years this specific survey has been done.

→ In a new interview with GQ Style, John Boyega says he cried when he read the script. He’s on one of the three covers of the latest issue.

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Roundup: Benicio del Toro says he’s “like the villain” in Episode VIII

It's clearly not a mystery box.
It’s clearly not a mystery box.
Benicio del Toro continues to be less than secretive about his status regarding Episode VIII. He told a Spanish radio station (transcribed and translated by a Star Wars 7 News reader) that he’s “like the villain” and that he believes they begin shooting in March.

→ A new image banner, has been spotted – it’s made up of two fairly familiar pieces, though: The First Order images we saw on Empire and the First Order assembled. (via)

→ An analyst estimates that The Force Awakens “could generate $5 billion in consumer merchandise sales in its first year of release,” per The Hollywood Reporter. In $150 increments, I expect.

→ Speaking of merchandise, there have been a handful of reviews of the Cover Girl line poping up. Today’s is from Tracy and Amanda at Making Star Wars, and another of a couple of the lipsticks from Love for Lacquer.

→ Five questions with John Boyega.

→ ComicBook.com has a preview of Shattered Empire #1

→ Spoiler(ish) corner: Indie Revolver has some luggabeast concept art.

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Drew Struzan gushes about The Force Awakens

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Legendary poster artist Drew Struzan told Movie Weekly that The Force Awakens is “probably going to be the best Star Wars you’ve ever seen.” Pretty high praise, even from a guy being paid by Lucasfilm. He also talks about how J.J. Abrams called him up, how much of the film he’s seen, his process, and why the lightsaber colors on the Revenge of the Jedi poster were reversed.

→ Lucasfilm has trademarked new new names. They could be for The Force Awakens, Rogue One, or just about anything, really.

→ Yet more D23 video: Lupita Nyong’o on being a part of the franchise and her other Disney roles, Abrams on what fans can expect, Oscar Isaac’s favorite character, and Daisy Ridley hopes that her and John Boyega’s friendship comes through on screen.

→ Spoiler corner: A tiny bite-sized scoop of information about Poe Dameron’s squadron name.

→ On that note, a nice, if top-heavy, piece from newcomer The Star Wars Post on if Star Wars 7 News leaking the Luke Skywalker image crossed a spoiler line. I’ll just say that SW7N has never exactly been known for their sound judgement, which is why I tend to warn so profusly when linking them.

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Did we just learn part of The Force Awakens’ opening crawl?

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Amid the flood of The Force Awakens stuff being found on store shelves, a box was found that had a very specific kind of wording. Could it be movie’s opening crawl? The box images have been removed, but head over to Making Star Wars to read it.

→ Daisy Ridley revealed (via her brand-new Instagram) that she and John Boyega are featured in the September issue of Vogue. (Keep an eye out for the one with the Beyonce cover.)

→ It’s not really news, but it’s cute edition: Oscar Isaac was on Live with Kelly Jane Lynch and Michael the other day, and he talked a little about his family’s themed Star Wars parties. And J.J. Abrams talks to Entertainment Weekly about the first time he saw Star Wars.

→ Stop asking about Darth Plagueis already. It’s just embarrassing at this point.

→ John Boyega’s next step? He’s going to be in an adaption of Dave Eggers’ The Circle with Tom Hanks and Emma Watson.