Behind the Scenes of the Biggest Movie of the Year

Only ten days remain before the opening of the movie we never thought we’d see, and then lost our minds over when we found out otherwise. The December issue of Rolling Stone magazine has an extensive look at everything they know about Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Everyone involved signed what Hamill calls "this massive, oppressive sword-of-Damocles NDA hanging over my head," so they can't say much about the plot without being thrown into the Burbank equivalent of the Sarlacc pit. But there was still plenty to talk about – memories to be probed, mysteries to be solved: Could Abrams recapture the magic that Lucas himself summoned only intermittently in his three digitized prequels, in between council-meeting scenes and wretched dialogue ("I don't like sand")? Did Boyega and Ridley understand they were about to send their lives, if not necessarily their careers, into hyperspace? How did the original trio feel about resuming roles that haunted them for decades? Could a Rolling Stone writer keep it together while hanging out with human editions of his childhood toys?

To find out, there were pilgrimages to be made to the homes of Hamill and Fisher, wisdom to be sought from Ford. Abrams' hidden base needed to be invaded. The new stars had to be interrogated. So passage was booked to that wretched hive of scum and villainy, Los Angeles, where the search would begin for signs of humanity, and of the Force itself, within a vast and corporate saga…

They did find out about JJ Abrams hashing out the storyline under the pressure of time. About Harrison Ford (“the best-looking 73-year-old man on this or any planet“) and his injuries, both on and off the set. About John Boyega and Adam Driver trying to put away their fandom long enough to do their jobs. About how eccentric Mark Hamill is and how funny Carrie Fisher is. It’s a long and satisfying read, and will no doubt get you pumped for The Force Awakens. -via Metafilter