BB-8 at Star Wars Celebration

(YouTube link)

When we saw the first trailer for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens, everyone was amazed by the new droid design. We all assumed it was some sort of CGI, but today, he appeared in the flesh, so to speak. Real people got a close-up look at the droid named BB-8 at Star Wars Celebration going on this week in Anaheim, as he was unveiled during a panel discussion with JJ Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy. R2D2 was there, too, and had a few words to say to the newer droid.

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My understanding is that Abrams, unlike Lucas, filmed this in 35mm to get the film-feel of the original three movies. One article I read said that while CGI will be used, it'll more often be to remove things (I presume stuff like buildings) than to add. Apparently the explosion in the trailer where they are walking away from it (like cool people do) was a practical/real effect.

I've only just been reading up on this side of TFA, but to me it bodes well. Of course, everything else in the movie could be crud. ;)

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We assumed it was CGI, because that's been the trend for everything Star Wars. I was more disappointed at how cartoony it seemed, speeding across the desert like the road runner - I suspect a little CGI may have been involved. One of the problems with Star Wars was its heavy handed use of droids as comic relief, to the point of stretching credibility.
How many times can R2 stick his gizmo into a power outlet by accident? How long could a war possibly last against the grossly incompetent Keystone Kop droid army?

Well-played way on their part to show how not everything in the movie will be CGI.

My guess about how it works is magnets are somehow involved.

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Thanks for that video. I stared in disbelief; initially thinking even this appearance at the panel had to be CGI. Now I have to wonder if Gollum accepting awards and Smaug on Colbert were real, too.

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