Hundreds attend Star Wars auditions in Britain

[WedgeAntilles]

Hundreds attend Star Wars auditions in Britain

AFP
November 10, 2013, 3:21 am

London (AFP) - Hundreds of people queued for open auditions in the English city of Bristol on Saturday as the search began for lead roles in the next Star Wars film.

Disney announced this week they were looking for actors to play a "street-smart" 17-year-old woman and a "smart, capable" man aged between 19 and 23 for roles in "Star Wars Episode VII", according to the casting call.

The two-day audition at the city's Arnolfini arts centre is the first of a series of open sessions being held across Britain and Ireland over the coming weeks, including Manchester, Glasgow, London and Dublin.

Doors at the Arnolfini opened at 11:00 am Saturday and were due to stay open until 3:00 pm, according to organisers, though some people arrived as early as 2:00 pm on Friday.

TV pictures showed hundreds braving the rain outside the venue, though some were left disappointed after entry to the queue was reportedly closed a few minutes early.

"Disgraceful planning Disney," a woman whose son was travelling to Bristol for the audition posted on Twitter.

The seventh film in the cult science fiction series and the first of a new trilogy will be directed by Star Trek film-maker JJ Abrams, and is due to go into production next year with a planned release in December 2015.

According to Disney, the new trilogy will carry the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond "Return of the Jedi", the sixth film in the saga.

Star Wars creator George Lucas launched production house Lucasfilm in 1971 and the first film was released in 1977. Disney bought Lucasfilm a year ago for for 2.6 billion pounds ($4 billion).