The 'Star Wars' Premiere = Basically The Oscars

Monday, December 14 marked the moment Star Wars fans have been waiting nearly 40 years for: The world premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens . And this definitely wasn't your typical film premiere. The film was shown to its very first full audiences ever across a span of three different theaters, estimating a total of about 5,632 filled seats of anxious movie-goers, filmmakers, and press sitting in the three theaters for the 6:30 p.m. PST Dolby Vision movie start time. All for the chance to be some of the first people to see the movie suspected to make history at this weekend's box office. For that reason, the event was not only full of excitement, but also quite extravagant in comparison to what one might normally expect from a Hollywood premiere. In fact, it seems that this premiere was almost — if not more — than what Hollywood might expect come Oscars night.

Yes, you heard that right. What makes it compare to Hollywood's biggest night of the year? The massive amounts of security needed for all three theaters. I'm talking the complete shutdown of Hollywood Boulevard as four blocks were closed down from Highland Avenue to La Brea Avenue, along with the additional metal detectors for all entering movie-goers and complete removal of all phones and electronic devices from every since person entering the theater (But, maybe not from Harrison Ford. Who knows?!). A set-up that is not only (obviously) extravagant, but one that took nearly an entire day to put together. It all closed down at 11 pm on Sunday, November 13th the night before — and, for good reason. Theater workers and the LAPD were responsible for putting together a space-ship like dome and full tent that was nothing less than intense:

With three theaters for screenings, tons more press then usually allowed inside the Oscars, an array of Stormtroopers, and two extra blocks closed off than what usually is for the Oscars, the expectations are high for just this one movie. Talk about a lot of pressure on the cast and crew?

Anyway, all fan Star Wars homage aside, while the red carpet might be as big as the Academy Awards, is it even going to make it into the nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards? Star Wars: The Force Awakens may have missed it's chance of being considered for the Golden Globes, but its odds for awards in categories such as sound design and visual effects might be possible shoe-ins for nominations. And when it comes to the higher regarded categories? There may also be a slight chance that the film could get it's first nab for categories including Best Picture, Best Director, or even Best Supporting Actor (Harrison Ford) simply because of the massive scale of the film itself. I mean, why would the Academy want to reject audiences of that scale, right?

All-in-all, we'll just have to wait and see. But, one thing's for sure: If you're a Star Wars fan — Monday night's premiere was your Oscars. And nobody could take that Force away from you.