A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a helmetless storm trooper appeared in frame, panicked and sweaty in the middle of vast desert landscape, kicking off the first official look at "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
After months of leaked images and idle speculation around director J.J. Abrams' film, Disney and Lucasfilm on Friday debuted an 88-second teaser trailer for the seventh entry into the blockbuster franchise online and in about 30 North American theaters.
The dark, energetic teaser, which has been watched nearly 3 million times on YouTube, blasts viewers with quick, disjointed images of classic and slightly altered "Star Wars" images, like TIE Fighters, X-Wings, droids and the Millennium Falcon.
Set to a new John Williams score, audiences get a peek at newcomers John Boyega (the storm trooper in question), Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac and a mysterious caped man in a frozen forest carrying a three-pronged light saber. Many assume the sinister, lumbering figure to be Adam Driver, who is rumored to be playing a villain in the highly secretive movie.
Andy Serkis is responsible for the haunting voiceover narration throughout the short spot, which previews a world 30 years after the events of "Return of the Jedi."
Despite some negative reaction, overall, fans were not disappointed, even with the sobering knowledge that the actual film doesn't hit theaters till Dec. 18, 2015.
"That 'Star Wars' trailer gave me the tingles," director Edgar Wright said on Twitter.
"Language and emojis fail to express what's in my heart at this moment," actress Anna Kendrick added emphatically.
"Guardians of the Galaxy" director James Gunn also weighed in, writing, "Because everyone keeps asking me my opinion, I LOVED the Star Wars trailer. It infused me with a giddy-little-kidness."
Commenters on the longstanding "Star Wars" fan site TheForce.net were similarly delighted by the visuals, which seemed to pay homage to the grungy aesthetic of George Lucas's original trilogy.
There may have been no plot clues to be gleaned from the advertisement, but fan interest has certainly been piqued with the exciting array of images and the notable lack of original cast members Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford.
It might be some time before audiences get another opportunity to feast on new "Episode VII" images, but fan excitement, much like the force, is definitely awake.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More