16 days, people!!
I’m not talking about setting up a saucer with cookies and milk on it, eating it and pretending it was for a fat guy with a big beard.
Or enrolling in a Debt Recovery course for 2016 to cover all the gift buying you did that you couldn’t afford of things people didn’t really need but will appreciate for at least the next three weeks.
I’m not even talking about finding new ways to be annoyed because people are replacing the Christ in Christmas with an X, insisting on saying ‘Happy Holidays’ or if you’re in Americaland daring to serve overpriced exploitative coffee from a plain red cup that doesn’t have a picture of baby Jesus on it at all.
No, Christmas will come, and when it does you will still get to hear the excited pitter patter of tiny feet as your children run to sneak a look under the tree. Assuming you have children, if you don’t then hopefully you won’t hear any pitter pattering because that would be a bit creepy. And there will be shrieks of delight, and you will awaken.
But I am talking about a different AWAKENing that will be taking place 9 whole days before then. And will there be shrieks of delight to accompany that one? Or will it be JarJarGate all over again?
THE FORCE AWAKENS
That’s right, I’m talking Star Wars Episode VII which will be arriving in South Africa with a bang, or at least a [insert Chewbacca sound] at local theatres.
Probably the biggest movie event anticipation that has happened since… well… the last time Star Wars brought out some new movies. Which was all of 16 years ago in 1999? Wow. How is that possible? Check my pacemaker.
It happened in 1999 when George Lucas and his team brought out The Phantom Menace and the following two movies as prequels to the biggest movie trilogy series of all time.
And the fans went crazy. People queued for nights, sleeping on sidewalks, buying up tickets and there was a fervour never before seen for an upcoming movie.
But The Phantom Menace disappointed. There was slightly less excitement when Attack of the Clones came out and it was better but not quite there. Revenge of the Sith came closest to feeling like a real live Star Wars movie, but by then it was possibly too little, too late. Will audiences be up for another try?
WHY THEY MIGHT
There are a number of reasons to hold on to hope though. George Lucas is no longer the man wielding the power. Having done such a good job at creating the Universe in the first place, he has wisely stepped aside to allow the talented J.J. Abrams to direct the new episode. Abrams was successful in rebooting the Star Trek Franchise in 2009 against many odds and what’s going for him even more here is that he is a HUGE Star Wars fan. The combination of previous cast members [We don’t have to imagine Star Wars without Luke, Leia and Han just yet] plus some really talented new additions including Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Max von Sydow, Lupita Nyong’o and Domhnall Gleeson as just a few of the multi-talented personalities joining the mix. Add John Williams to the mix for his award-winning music and most of the ingredients will be in place.
Over $50 million in pre-sales tickets also gives you an indication of what Star Wars: The Force Awakens might be on track to do. And that’s before anyone has even seen it yet. If this movie is close to any good, it won’t just be the big guy in the fat suit and beard chanting “Ho! Ho! Ho!” come year end.
What about you? Are you planning on watching it? First night camp-outside-the-cinema tickets? Or wait a little till the hype calms down?