Highlights from last night’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens world premiere from The New York Times.
A veritable army of security guards, publicists and event staffers. Quadruple the typical number of invited guests. A lavish after-party, replete with Stormtroopers and a roaming Chewbacca, stretching for four city blocks.
Even by the razzmatazz standards of the Walt Disney Company, the high-security, spare-no-expense world premiere for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” on Monday was something to behold. “Sincere apologies to the neighborhood,” the film’s director, J. J. Abrams, said in his introductory remarks, dryly calling the event “incredibly low key.”
For fans, and there were plenty among the A-listers in attendance (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who is not in the film, turned up in green face paint and Yoda ears), the premiere was a chance to revel in the restart of the “Star Wars” franchise after a decade of theatrical absence. “The Force Awakens” focuses on a young woman, Rey, as she becomes entwined with efforts — led by General Leia, no longer a princess — to locate a vanished Luke Skywalker and generally save the galaxy from evil combatants called the First Order.
