Disney’s Bob Iger Talks Quarter Earnings and The Force Awakens.

Disney Earnings CallThursday, November 6th, 2014 suddenly became a momentous day in Star Wars history as Episode VII Principal Photography officially concluded along with the official reveal of the subtitle as The Force Awakens. But in the wake of this BIG news you may have missed some other things that we noticed . . . after the jump.

 

While the Blogosphere was frantically going haywire – and rightfully so – with the sudden drop of the new Star Wars title, Bob Iger presented Disney’s fourth quarter earnings call. No surprises here that the Disney conglomerate, encompassing ABC/ESPN, the family of Disney Channels, PIXAR, Marvel, The Muppets, and Lucasfilm Ltd., has earned a staggering $12.38 billion in revenue. Yes, that’s BILLION with a “B!” in the fourth quarter alone! While we won’t bore you with all the details of this massive moneypie we will only focus on the Star Wars tid-bits we gleaned from the earnings call thanks to The Hollywood Reporter:

Addressing a soft TV advertising market, which has been a theme this earnings season for media companies, Iger was cautiously optimistic.

 

“Some money has siphoned out of traditional media and into digital platforms,” he acknowledged. “That said, there’s still huge value in the 30-second spot.”

 

Coupled with the recent Avengers 2 trailers, we can interpret Iger’s statement as an interesting sign. IF you recall Disney planned to drop the Age of Ultron trailer during an airing of their ABC show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” only to be thwarted by that evil Hydra, er, some unknown leaker. Iger’s statement suggests that IF there is a Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens teaser trailer ready to roll TV might be fair play to air it, perhaps during an episode of Rebels??? This is purely speculation, but clearly Disney sees the value in the 30 second TV spot and logically, it would seem, that Disney would want to self-promote = use their own franchises to promote their newest ventures. With this in mind, Big Hero 6 is the only movie slated for a November release as the recent rumors suggest. Into the Woods for December. Stay tuned on this one, folks . . .

 

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Meanwhile, Anthony Daniels and Peter Mayhew and Kevin Smith have been talking-up The Force Awakens BIG TIME some 400+ days outside it’s release. But Bob Iger also used the earnings call to espouse some thoughts of his own regarding the highly anticipated Episode VII:

Iger also raved about the scenes he has seen from the upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII –The Force Awakens and he reminisced that there weren’t many lining up to direct the film before the studio chose J.J. Abrams. “That’s a tall order. That’s a lot of pressure,” he said.

 

Marc Graser, of Variety, expounded on the “raved” quote by supplying some detail via Twitter:

 

 

Apparently Bob didn’t do his homework on how rabid the Star Wars fanbase is. But while it is Iger’s job to paint a rosy picture for the company’s future success his enthusiasm for The Force Awakens adds yet another positive review to the most important film in Star Wars history!

 

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72 thoughts on “Disney’s Bob Iger Talks Quarter Earnings and The Force Awakens.

  • November 7, 2014 at 5:21 pm
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    I’m still saddened that we will no longer see the 20th Century Fox fanfare at the opening of 7, but I will try to get over it.

    • November 7, 2014 at 5:29 pm
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      True, but the moment that ‘A long time ago in a galaxy far far away’ pops up I will have forgotten it, and when STAR WARS hits the screen with John Williams I will be having an internal breakdown. Fox, Disney, whoever they are, are essentially just the distrubuters and the men in suits. As long as it’s actually made by Lucasfilm, it will always feel like star wars to me.

      • November 7, 2014 at 8:57 pm
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        dude calm down. enjoy it as it comes. except it. this is all we have for now as far as star wars. I am personally stoked for it.

      • November 8, 2014 at 11:42 pm
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        Can we be sure about the Fox fanfare being gone? Disney acquired Lucasfilm, and I’m speculating that that includes its contract with Fox for distribution of Star Wars. Disney is making the money Lucas would have made, but Fox still gets a cut for distributing. (They’d be pretty stupid to let go of that deal, so unless the contract finally expired or was nullified by the sale somehow, I think we will see the Fox logo/fanfare followed by Disney, followed by Lucasfilm. Bad Robot may be in there too, but they might keep it as an end credit.

    • November 7, 2014 at 5:32 pm
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      Yeah would have been cool if they could have worked something out there with Fox. I know I know…just dreaming 🙂

      • November 7, 2014 at 8:05 pm
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        You forget that Lawrence Kasdan co-wrote this.

        • November 7, 2014 at 8:26 pm
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          As a prequel basher of yore I can assure you that there’s no need to bash Episode VII before you’ve seen it

      • November 7, 2014 at 8:35 pm
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        To me the reason for eliminating Episode VII is obvious. When you are planning many films some in sequence, some stand-alone, numbers don’t fit anymore. It would be like numbering Marvel movies when you have Avengers going on, Thor, X-men, etc.

      • November 7, 2014 at 8:51 pm
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        As you admit to being an 18 year old, I can assure you that you have a lot of maturing to do. Not the fact that you don’t like the prequels (as I don’t much care for them either) but for things such as: “pre qual cock suckers” and “fagget ass mouse”. It’s very unfortunate that you can’t put your apparent energy into constructing an adult conversation. Also, I would advise you to not bash the movie before seeing it (much less seeing any footage at all) just because you don’t agree with the title. The Empire Strikes Back is a pretty silly name but no one thinks it is anymore because the movie was amazing.

      • November 7, 2014 at 11:19 pm
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        OT experience? I wasn’t around when the OT got released. I started wacthing them on VHS at a young age years before Episode 1. The OT experience is the movies, whether its watching it on VHS for the first time or on your Ipad or the movie theaters it dosen’t matter. It doesn’t make you less of a Star Wars fan to have not been around when it started.

    • November 7, 2014 at 5:38 pm
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      I seriously don’t want to see any mouse ears or tinkerbell castle in the new logo. I also don’t want to see any Bad Robot logo. Maybe Disney should work on a more appealing logo made specially for Star Wars, more in line with the older dramatic Fox style.

      • November 7, 2014 at 6:03 pm
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        …and rather than having a brand new little musical piece to accompany the special logo, maybe a small snippet of OT music (such as from Luke’s theme) would work well for those few seconds, then cue “A Long Time Ago” blah blah, and the usual Star Wars opening.

        • November 7, 2014 at 6:28 pm
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          How about something like the beginning of Fanfare For The Common Man by Copland? A Big Gong and a couple of timpani strokes followed by a pregnant pause….

      • November 7, 2014 at 6:27 pm
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        We are going to get a bad robot no matter what. I agree they should have a Star Wars opening like marvel has there own. I’m sure right before the opening we will get the green Lucas film logo too. I don’t think we will see the Disney Castle just like we don’t see it for marvel movies.

        • November 7, 2014 at 6:30 pm
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          I think he will defer the Bad Robot Logo for the sake of the franchise. At least I hope he has the good taste to do so, as it would really cheapen the setup.

          • November 7, 2014 at 8:17 pm
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            Let’s hope so. The last thing I want to see is that Bad Robot logo. It seems too silly to start a Star Wars film. And it would just be for this one film, since he’s not doing the others.

            I understand that they were working under the Lucasfilm umbrella. He was just using the people he was comfortable with of course, and using Bad Robots post production house along with Skywalker Ranch and ILM.

          • November 7, 2014 at 8:31 pm
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            since JJ is only directing ep.VII , it will be the only sequel movie where bad robot is involved & for that reason there is no point in having the bad robot logo in opening of the movie, but it will surely be in the end credits

    • November 7, 2014 at 6:21 pm
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      yea get over it. because without Disney this would have still. Hold on to the past dork its warmer there

    • November 7, 2014 at 7:34 pm
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      I can take a Disney castle with an X-wing fly by… I mean their theme isn’t horrible. That or they’ll just skip it.

    • November 7, 2014 at 8:04 pm
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      why is Fox logo important?

      • November 8, 2014 at 1:09 am
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        It’s the music – people have always considered that little fanfare to be a prelude to the title theme of sorts. They work well together.

        • November 8, 2014 at 5:35 pm
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          I can see Disney’s logo with 20th music. (Can you imagine? ;P)
          That would be weird. You would like it or not, but for sure adrenaline will be prepeared for the movie itself. 😉
          And that movie will be a new Star Wars movie, baby!! Enjoy it!!

    • November 7, 2014 at 11:42 pm
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      Since I was little the Fox Fanfare has always made me think of Star Wars – but I won’t miss it.

      What I’m wondering is how they will work in the opening credits. Unless every Star Wars director wants to get booted from the union, the opening credits have to be there, but I’m betting a lot of Star Wars fans will get worked up about it.

  • November 7, 2014 at 5:58 pm
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    When I was a kid I thought the fanfare was apart of Star Wars. I was little and didn’t know any better so I will be sad too.

    • November 7, 2014 at 6:31 pm
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      The Main Title was written specifically to follow Alfred Newman’s fanfare. Newman himself was present for Williams recording of the titles, as well as for the subsequent re-recording of his Fanfare for 20th Century Fox films from Empire onwards.

      • November 7, 2014 at 7:55 pm
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        Alfred Newman died in 1970, and therefore was not present for Star Wars or Empire’s recording.

        • November 7, 2014 at 8:26 pm
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          His force ghost was there I heard.

  • November 7, 2014 at 6:52 pm
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    I want a more Star Wars themed opening for the Disney ‘fanfare’

    Oh shit, there’s a castle in that concept art..

    Help me Obi Wan Kenobi

  • November 7, 2014 at 7:08 pm
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    I think there is danger of overhype.

    • November 7, 2014 at 7:40 pm
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      I agree. While I don’t hate the new title… I was sobered by the prospect it could just be… ok. Not legendary.

      It could just hit all the right plot points but lack the charm or magic. It could deliver the charm/magic and not have a decent plot!

      So many things could go so wrong. I can’t contain the hype deep down inside but I still have some reservations!

      Either way a fresh take from someone outside of Lucas is our best chance at a new and great Star Wars.

  • November 7, 2014 at 8:28 pm
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    I agreed with everything you said up until the mouse comment. Mickey is a heterosexual mouse.

    • November 7, 2014 at 8:33 pm
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      No way, Mickey is gay and has his ears set on 3PO

      • November 8, 2014 at 4:31 pm
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        Mickey isn’t gay, he’s narcissistic, that’s why he hangs out with Minnie, a chipper submissive girl who looks identical to him.

  • November 7, 2014 at 8:39 pm
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    Nice try troll. You’re showing your age.

    • November 9, 2014 at 4:10 pm
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      and you are showing yours

  • November 7, 2014 at 8:42 pm
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    I agree, but please Disney, just DON’T KILL LUKE SKYWALKER!

    • November 7, 2014 at 10:23 pm
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      But the mentor always dies in the first film of a trilogy

      • November 8, 2014 at 12:59 am
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        Now what? We mirror every single fart from the other movies? We want to see again and again and again the same? Yeah, this is the first, the wise old dude dies at the end…..yeah this is the middle….what happened in the previous middle acts? Aaaah, this, why to change anything? Why to do something new? Why to figure out something new? Lets do it old way – fans expect it after all….

        • November 20, 2014 at 1:30 pm
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          Maybe Han is the mentor this time

      • November 8, 2014 at 1:14 am
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        Oh god he’s right

    • November 8, 2014 at 12:54 am
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      Yeah! Kill Harrison Solo! To him Star Wars was always less than s…. Star Wars have the whole Hamill´s heart – he deserves better…

  • November 7, 2014 at 9:07 pm
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    Free tickets for everyone?
    Thats really kind of Disney.
    See when someone gets rich you just stay pstient snd good things will follow

  • November 7, 2014 at 9:31 pm
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    Why is it, that I read al those criticizing comments about something that nobody ever laid eyes on? Sure, I think the title isn’t that catchy (yet). But why bother on speculating about this movie, part of a concept we all love, which hasn’t even come forth yet?

    I for example am really excited about 7, and share all the fears and hopes many of you have. And I also discuss it with a few people. But just don’t keep complaining about something you aren’t entitled to form an solid opinion about…

    • November 8, 2014 at 5:36 am
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      That wizard is just a crazy old man- Owen Lars
      Now a new foreshadowing from A NEW HOPE, if crazed Luke rumours are true.
      I’m wandering if what we dont know about Leia is key to understanding much of the Luke/Han rumours.
      Also King Arthur had a period of recluse before he returned as king.
      I pray they don’t ruin Luke.

  • November 7, 2014 at 11:41 pm
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    Star Wars is a lot bigger than Disney or George Lucas. Star Wars is it’s own animal now, and not to be messed with, we learnt this with the last three movies. You can’t just put some piece of bantha doo doo out there with the Star Wars label on it and hope that it makes it past the fans, we vote with our dollars. So it’s encouraging to see the first of the new Star Wars films being made by a real fan of what made Star Wars truly great. I for one, can sit back on my Jabba the Hutt bean bag and smile, safe in the knowledge that Star Wars is going to be great again. 🙂

    • November 8, 2014 at 3:27 am
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      We vote with our dollars, yes, and the prequels cashed in A LOT.

      • November 8, 2014 at 4:48 am
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        I can’t disagree with you there.

        • November 8, 2014 at 5:08 am
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          I can. Compared to reasonable expectation ep 2 and 3 bombed at the box office 1 wa the only prequel movie to have Star Wars like success and that was all off of the hype and love the ot. After seeing ep 1 witch people hated. The next two were a huge huge drop off .

          • November 8, 2014 at 6:16 am
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            Historical revisionism. Attack Of The Clones brought home twice its budget domestically alone, and Revenge Of The Sith brought home thrice as much as its budget. Don’t believe me? Check BoxOfficeMojo – the proof is in the pudding.

            While The Phantom Menace made well over triple its budget domestically (and all three of the Prequels had roughly the same budget), and thus the other two movies did have a drop-off (a small decrease in profit is usually expected for a sequel), you’re neglecting to note that the first movie had the advantage of having an absurdly large ad campaign across literally dozens of products, while the ad campaigns for the other two films were comparatively smaller. Compare that to something like this year’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which was considered a “hit” but barely broke even domestically. There’s no way that movies like that could be called “flops” by any stretch of the imagination.

            Not to mention that you’re completely neglecting to mention the huge differences in the markets of the 1970s and 1980s. Piracy, which has exponentially grown with the dawn of the digital era, severely cuts into the amount of time that a movie can stay in theaters before being released in home markets. Or the flooding of the market, which limits the amount of time a film can make an impression before the public moves on to see something else.

            Oh, and did I neglect to mention that according to Wikipedia, both Episode I and Episode III (the first of which was only re-released once) grossed substantially more worldwide than Episode IV (which was re-released multiple times) did when adjusted for inflation? Those two movies sit at 16 and 38 in the top 50 highest-grossing movies ever, with the original sitting at the last spot on the table.

            So, what was that about the Prequels bombing?

          • November 8, 2014 at 8:32 am
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            pomojema I’ll refute your claim. On the numbers.com it has a list of the biggest box offices since 1977 adjusted for inflation anh is #1 empire #5 Jedi#9
            U will notice while there is a drop off with each sequel it is minor. Now ep 1 is #7 on the list. You know what ep2 ranks? #46 ! And how about ep3? Not on the list. It goes down the #919 and includes such beloved classics as tmnt 2! ( yeah the one with vanilla ice) and bring it on. But ep3. Not even on the list. complete flops!!!people like seem to not understand that Disney did not buy the franchise do they can the kind of money that any sci-if/fantasy movie will make in this day an age. The ot was something special an that is what Disney is after.

          • November 9, 2014 at 4:55 am
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            If you’re referring to this list:

            http://www.the-numbers.com/movie/records/All-Time-Inflation-Adjusted

            …Then you’re reading the data incorrectly. All six of the Star Wars movies are in the top fifty, and The Phantom Menace actually made more money than Return Of The Jedi. Also keep in mind that some of the biggest box-office hits ever were released between 1977 and now. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies don’t even show up until well past 200.

            I don’t understand where you’re getting that version of the list from, but I’d be interested in seeing it.

          • November 8, 2014 at 4:47 pm
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            Very good point. But I things have changed, not just inflation, but people and population and demographics have changed as well.
            Nowadays basically everyone went to see at least one of the Prequels. Even people who didn’t like it or were iffy about it went to see it, if nothing else out of sheer curiosity. People wanted to say “well, now I know what happened to Vader” even if they didn’t like Hayden Christensen.
            The Prequels also had basically a thirty-year marketing campaign what with the other three’s exposure.
            I imagine that the OT came out in a less hospitable environment, not EVERYONE was gonna’ go see a space-movie. (that’s my impression, do correct me if i’m wrong)
            To say the prequels had a distinct advantage would be an understatement.

  • November 8, 2014 at 12:01 am
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    Glad to see so many of the new generation enjoying the OT,but sad to say you have never experienced it the way us old-farts did, simply because it was one of a kind.

    • November 8, 2014 at 5:45 am
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      When you see Ep7 bring your Depends.

  • November 8, 2014 at 12:31 am
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    Hum. It’s interesting if still true.

    Still think it will far outclass prequels.

    Just a small point to make aswell. The shooting has not stopped. I have evidence that production crew and cast are doing some sort of re-shoots in Wales.
    Look out for “Los Alamos” their code name for shooting.
    Not 100% on whether this might be the start of location etc for the spin offs.

    • November 8, 2014 at 8:32 pm
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      The latter, probably. After the US military acquired Los Alamos, and up until Hiroshima, all work (The Manhatten Project) going on at the site was ultra secret.

  • November 8, 2014 at 1:24 am
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    Most important Star Wars film ever? I’m sure it will be very good and will do very well, but it is not going to have the cultural impact of ‘A New Hope’, however good it is. The OT was a bolt of inspiration from nowhere, a once in a lifetime thing..

  • November 8, 2014 at 5:43 am
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    Will the word Redemption be in Ep9 title?
    I’m not sure but, “of the” most likely will be.
    The Redemption of the Whills works for me.
    I just hope it isn’t “The Force Naps”

  • November 8, 2014 at 5:49 am
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    Look at the Picture of Iger with the Wookie just before he got his arm pulled off.
    ( Iger suggested to JJ that the Wookie wear pants!!)

  • November 8, 2014 at 5:57 am
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    This comment section has been pruned of a certain foulmouthed anonymous user, who contributed nothing to the page except for pointlessly flaming everybody he talked with.

    He was a sad, strange little man.

  • November 8, 2014 at 4:52 pm
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    How come Chewie’s hair isn’t grey yet? I guess Wookies age slowly but this is getting ridiculous. He looks the same (sort-of) as he did fighting those droids.

    • November 9, 2014 at 4:16 pm
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      Wookies don’t start to grey till they’re like 350 years old or so

  • November 8, 2014 at 8:18 pm
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    30-second spot = Superbowl commercial to debut a teaser trailer for Episode VII…not on Star Wars Rebels…come on…visibility on a small TV show compared with the most widely watched tv event on the planet..that is a no-brainer.

  • November 8, 2014 at 9:17 pm
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    Put it on youtube ,,most movie companies are doing that.

    Everyone around the world gets to see it.

  • November 9, 2014 at 4:42 pm
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    youtube? maybe, but why not BOTH? Superbowl would be a smart move. If this movie goes well alongside a football game then there is hope for it’s OT cred. If JJ shies away from choosing the all-american time to reveal it, then he knows this is gonna be just another sci-fi movie.
    back on youtube though, there was that one movie Lone Survivor a while back that leaked THE ENTIRE MOVIE on PURPOSE (in full quality no less) to generate buzz.
    Seriously doubt they would do that for this movie though
    I hope,
    I hope they can keep the movie safe from us until it’s time.

  • November 9, 2014 at 6:32 pm
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    Okay so maybe not youtube..
    Already there are fan trailers being put up .

    It might just be Into The Woods which airs before Christmas that the trailer could appear.

    Superbowl during halftime might work
    if done right.

  • October 8, 2015 at 4:40 pm
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    ha! classic

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