Count former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush among the fans and critics who think that director J.J. Abrams made the right move by leaning on "old-school" filmmaking techniques while making "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

In an interview with Business Insider, Bush said that he's looking forward to seeing how Abrams attempted to recreate the aesthetic feel of the original films by shunning computer graphics whenever possible and shooting on film instead of digitally.

"I want to see the subtlety," Bush said. "They could've made massive technological advances, cause now, the technologies that are available to transform 'Star Wars' into something — you know, another futuristic movie. But it looks to me that they, with great subtlety, have made small advances. I want to see how that plays out, and how people respond to it. I think that'll be fascinating."

Watch below:

Abrams has repeatedly emphasized in interviews that a major part of winning over fans of the original series involved ensuring that the new films had the same aesthetic stamp, which Abrams hoped to achieve by using elaborate sets and detailed puppets instead of computer graphics.

"The big thing for me was, I was nervous about CG being the master we were serving,"Abrams said in an interview with Stephen Colbert in November. "On this movie, we knew, OK, it's 'Star Wars.' There are going to be a lot of ships flying, there will a lot of things we couldn't possibly ever do, of course, physically. But we knew that there needed to be a standard that those shots were adhering to and we'd try to match. So, it was really important to me to shoot on film."

Bush paid tribute to the series earlier this year with a GIF that incorporated a lightsaber into his official campaign logo.

But don't expect to find the former camped out in front of any theaters on the campaign trail this week. Asked if he'd be seeing the film, Bush admitted that he had failed to secure tickets for opening night.

"I will, but it won't be, obviously, soon, since I haven't pre-purchased my tickets. So it'll probably be in March, which is pretty extraordinary," Bush said.

But Bush did attempt to maintain some Star Wars fanboy credibility.

Asked by Business Insider if he liked the prequel trilogy, Episodes I through III, which were released in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bush shook his head.

"No, I like the first ones. The prequels — the last three? Not as big a fan," Bush said.

"Sorry, George," he added, referring to George Lucas, the creator of the franchise.

SEE ALSO: JEB BUSH: Here's the plan to jump-start my campaign, defeat Donald Trump, and win the GOP nomination

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A weather reporter for Channel 5 in the UK honored the release of the latest "Star Wars" movie by jamming her latest forecast with "Star Wars" puns. Sian Welby pulled off a similar weather report for "Back in the Future" in October.

"The Force Awakens" will be out in theaters on December 18th.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Carl Mueller

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SEE ALSO: The genius path George Lucas took to making billions off of 'Star Wars'

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Major geopolitical events have often been followed by volatility in the economy and financial markets.

World War II helped to shake the US out of the Great Depression. The Civil War set the economy of the Southern US back for generations.

Now you can add to those annals of financial catastrophes the Rebel Alliance's destruction of the Galactic Empire's Death Star.

Zachary Feinstein, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, published a study of the financial impact of the events in the Star Wars films on the economy of the fictional galaxy.

With tongue almost certainly in cheek, Feinstein wrote the paper exactly as you would any other academic finding.

"In this paper we study the financial repercussions of the destruction of two fully armed and operational moon-sized battle stations (“Death Stars”) in a 4-year period and the dissolution of the galactic government in Star Wars," began the abstract of the study.

"The emphasis of this work is to calibrate and simulate a model of the banking and financial systems within the galaxy. Along these lines, we measure the level of systemic risk that may have been generated by the death of Emperor Palpatine and the destruction of the second Death Star."

With full on footnotes and in-text citations to "Lucas" and "Kershner" (the screenwriters of Star Wars, George and Irvin respectively), Feinstein found that the destruction of the Death Stars and collapse of the Galactic Empire would throw the galactic economy into chaos.

"In this case study we found that the Rebel Alliance would need to prepare a bailout of at least 15%, and likely at least 20%, of [Gross Galactic Product] in order to mitigate the systemic risks and the sudden and catastrophic economic collapse," said the study. "Without such funds at the ready, it likely the Galactic economy would enter an economic depression of astronomical proportions."

The scale of the Galactic economy, as modeled by Feinstein, is massive. Average Gross Galactic Product, similar to our GDP, during the 20 year reign of the Empire is around $4.6 sextillion a year. For reference, a sextillion is a 1 followed by 21 zeros (in the US) and 59 million times the Earth's 2014 GDP.

Feinstein estimates that based on the cost of building the Death Stars, loans from the Galactic Banking system and a fiscally conservative Emperor, the government would default on $515.5 quintillion (1 and 18 zeroes in the US) in bonds.

This would then cause the galactic banking system to collapse, necessitating a bailout as over 1,700 banks would be "too big to fail."

As mentioned by Feinstein, this would again be a problem as the central government structure would most likely collapse after the death of the Emperor and the "scrappy underdogs", as Feinstein says, of the Rebel Alliance would be unlikely to pick up the slack.

Based on all of this analysis, maybe we should have been rooting for Darth Vader after all.

SEE ALSO: From Mariah Carey to 10-month-old pizza sauce — here are the oddest things execs told investors

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Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

Perhaps the biggest mystery heading into the new "Star Wars" movie is figuring out what happened to Luke Skywalker.

Mark Hamill's iconic character was cleverly hidden from marketing from "The Force Awakens" and was noticeably absent from trailers and television spots save one shot of his hand and a pre-recorded voiceover in a trailer.

Now that the movie's finally out we know exactly what happened to Luke.

In fact, we learn he's at the heart of the entire film.

Last chance to head back before spoilers!

"The Force Awakens" is a giant manhunt to track down Skywalker.

From the moment the opening crawl appears we learn Luke has disappeared in the years since "Return of the Jedi" and everyone's looking for him.

The new villains of the series, the First Order, want to kill him to wipe any remaining Jedi from existence and the resistance fighters, led by Princess Leia (now General Organa) want to reach Luke before that happens.  

Why did Luke go into hiding?

It turns out he was trying to train a group of new Jedi and his new apprentice turned against him to become Kylo Ren.

If that sounds like déjà vu, it's because it sounds an awful lot like Obi-Wan's relationship with Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker, in the prequel series. 

Apparently, Luke was haunted by what had happened and disappeared in search of a Jedi Temple.

The reason Luke isn't in any marketing for "The Force Awakens" is because he's barely in the movie. He doesn't even have any lines in the new film.

We don't get introduced to Luke until the movie's final shots, and when we do see him, he doesn't appear to have gone to the dark side as many predicted.

No, he's hiding out on a remote island dressed in Jedi robes, an image that won't be new to anyone who's seen leaked images online. 

He looks like a wise Jedi similar to Obi-Wan in 1977's "A New Hope" except he appears extremely burdened and upset as he looks down upon a young Rey (Daisy Ridley).

Though we still have a lot to learn about exactly why Luke ran off and cut out all contact with his family and friends, it's clear the next film will put him in a Yoda-like role where he'll be in a position to train Rey in the ways of the Force.

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NOW WATCH: Everything that happened in the first six ‘Star Wars’ movies in 4 minutes

Warning: If you haven't seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" there are spoilers ahead.

We have a lot of questions after seeing "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," but one of the biggest mysteries revolves around the main protagonist of the film.

Who is Rey?

When we talked to fans at New York Comic Con, many believed she and Kylo Ren were brother and sister, the twin siblings of Han Solo and Princess Leia. It was the most logical guess for fans to make considering the characters seem similar on the surface to Han and Leia's twins Jacen and Jaina from the "Star Wars" expanded universe. 

The only problem with that theory is that everything in the EU isn't considered canon anymore since Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012. 

While there's a slight possibility Kylo and Rey may be siblings — Kylo's interest piqued whenever he heard about Rey — it looks like that probably isn't the case.

So who is Rey?

The best guess is that she's Luke's daughter and Kylo's cousin.

This is the theory many fans already have on Reddit and it seemed heavily hinted at in the film. There are a lot of coincidences to ignore.

Rey happens to be a ridiculously good pilot without any training.

Who else do we know who are naturally good pilots?

Anakin and Luke Skywalker.

She's also force sensitive and is mysteriously drawn to Luke and Anakin's original lightsaber deep in a mysterious room in Maz Kanata's palace. 

Similar to Luke in the original prequel movies, Rey has a spunky, proactive do-it-herself attitude. Luke often went off on his own, unafraid of whatever danger was set before him in the prequels. He leaves his friends in search of Yoda in the Dagobah system in "Empire Strikes Back" and later leaves Han and Leia in search of Vader in "Return of the Jedi."

Rey is much the same way.

Rey lives on her own on the desert planet of Jakku for most of her life. By the time Finn and Han go to rescue her from the clutches of the First Order she has already made her escape. She's seen scaling walls on her own. She certainly doesn't anyone looking out for her, and by the end of the film she heads off in search of Luke with only Chewbacca by her side.

Her force abilities are what have me most convinced this is Luke's daughter. She appears to be the only one powerful enough to stand up to Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa and Luke's nephew.

Anakin and Luke are the strongest of any Jedi who have ever lived. Leia should be pretty powerful, too, but because she had a child with someone who isn't force sensitive — Han — we could expect that Kylo's powers may not be as powerful as a child from Luke, provided he had a child with another person who was force sensitive. 

That's part of the problem. We have no idea who Rey's potential mother could be. It's possible Luke could have found other long lost Jedi who had been in hiding since the end of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." 

Viewers were made to believe that Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi were the only two out of thousands of Jedi to make it out alive. But many ongoing stories in the "Star Wars" expanded universe revolved around other surviving Jedi knights including Kanan Jarrus, a character in the animated "Star Wars Rebels" series which takes places 14 years following "Revenge of the Sith."

It's highly possible after Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine were destroyed after the events of "Return of the Jedi" that Jedi who were in hiding for decades finally resurfaced and made themselves known to Luke. Maybe he found a companion in one of them.

You can't deny that at the end of "The Force Awakens," Luke appears pretty rattled when he lays eyes on Rey. 

Though it would be pretty messed up for Luke to then abandon his daughter Rey and leave her on a desert planet at a young age. I guess he'd have to have a good reason.

At the least, Rey is most likely a Skywalker.

There's evidence in the expanded universe to support this, too.

Yes, we know Disney scrapped everything in the EU from canon, but that doesn't mean the new films can't take inspiration from the many novelizations that came before them.

In the "Star Wars" EU, Luke has a son with Mara Jade, an assassin who was originally sent to kill him, but the two ultimately married. They ended up having a son, Ben Skywalker. Maybe Episode VII genderswapped Ben for Rey.

The argument for Rey being Kylo's sister. 

Maybe Rey is Ben Solo's long lost sister. 

Han had a real attachment to Rey. Every time the two were on screen together they instantly gelled. If the two could have finished each other's sentences they probably would have.

Plus, Kylo seemed really affected any time someone brought up conversations about Rey. He was really intrigued by her but didn't seem to know who she was.

The biggest problem with this theory is that Han doesn't make any mention about a daughter, let alone other children. Wouldn't Leia have said something to Rey when she saw her? Did Leia keep another child she had hidden from Han? And if so, why?

We probably won't learn who Rey is until "Star Wars: Episode VIII." 

Who do you think Rey is?

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NOW WATCH: Everything that happened in the first six ‘Star Wars’ movies in 4 minutes

Since Disney’s $4bn acquisition of Star Wars in 2012 the blockbuster franchise has been on the receiving end of the “Marvel” treatment, as the media giant looks to build a narrative around the release of The Force Awakens across many mediums.

Marketers at the media giant are about to feel the force of the blockbuster franchise with its latest entry tipped to make $500m in merchandising revenues alone in 12 months following its debut. Box office projections for the latest film are so dizzyingly high that even if it were a critical failure it would most certainly not be a commercial one - as the widely abhorred prequels prove.

Its status as a cash cow is a testament to the power of the brand but also to the ruthlessly efficient way Disney pulled the Star Wars franchise together with one coherent content plan that’s miles apart from the schism it had become under Lucasfilm. To date, there are five movies scheduled to be released in the next four years. 

Disney has taken what it learned from the Marvel franchise and upped the ante. Upon its initial $4bn investment in 2009, Disney has built the Marvel Cinematic Universe, connecting each Marvel movie giving viewers a sense of familiarity with characters and allowing substantial tie-ins like that of the Avengers.

The bold move has proved greatly profitable. In the first half of 2015, Disney generated over $8bn from Marvel-related movies and TV shows alone, excluding merchandising and partnerships. Similarly, it has leveraged the power of Star Wars  to build a great degree of hype with subtle trailers and a cast and director passionate about the series.

Jacques de Cock, a faculty member at London School of Marketing, told The Drum that Disney’s ‘Marvel Treatment’ of Star Wars will see “content delivered across a diverse portfolio of businesses including movies, television, consumer products, games and theme parks”.

He said that the wider utilisation of the movies means that them, "their characters, objects and events are based on overall appeal not simply on story and film requirements".

"If that makes for good movies or not is unclear but now the film is both the object of, and also part of, the marketing plan. This is the genius of Disney.”

Disney’s experience in product marketing will give it a foot up on LucasFilm’s previous marketing efforts he argued claiming its extensive ‘in house’ force helps it “keep more of the revenue through its own toys, shops, theme parks and more”.

The commercial partnerships are too numerous to fully document but here’s a taster of just some of the brands on board: Fiat Chrysler, General Mills, Campbell’s Soup, Kraft,Walmart, HP, Toys R Us, Duracell, Sphero, Lego, Unicef, Air Hogs, Monopoly, Coffee-Mate, Duck Tape, Subway, Verizon, Google, Target, EA Games, NBA, PS4, ESPN and Waze.

The force flows through products in almost every imaginable sector as Disney looks to bombard the public with its newly launched franchise. De Cock argues that the extensive bond with top brands actually “enhances the Star Wars brand” as it is “tightly controlled”.

However, Chris Hassell, founder of Ralph disagrees with De Cock to an extent. He claims that Disney has “gone pretty crazy” with the sheer number of partnerships it has established.

“Star Wars practically invented film merchandising and this is where Lucas really made his cash. The Force Awakens has obviously got all the merchandising across all types of products, some good, some rubbish.

“Marketing directors are now the age of true Star Wars fandom so that probably helps get this stuff signed off, but apparently you can get Star Wars oranges in a major supermarket, perhaps a bit too far.”

The buzz permeates into cinema ad-roll too with Davina Barker, head of agency sales at Digital Cinema Media telling The Drum that Star Wars will represent “DCM’s busiest [launch] yet, with a record number of playlists scheduled – nearly 10,000 for the day of release alone".

During launch week in the UK, from 18 December, over 180 campaigns are scheduled, with almost 100,000 playlists across all films.

She concluded: “Several global brand partners already associated with the film have chosen to feature in the Star Wars ad-reel, however there’s a whole range of other brands booked into the film, who are looking to engage Star Wars super fans.”

The franchise’s appeal has snapped up brands in the automotive, financial, retail and entertainment sectors in addition to bringing “several new advertisers to the big screen”.        

Will Star Wars maintain its magnetic draw to advertisers with an annual movie entry? It's likely, but The Force Awakens will have to dodge the pitfalls George Lucas' ill-fated prequels fell into first.

Earlier this month, The Drum editor Stephen Lepitak caught up with Charles Lippincott, the man who originally marketed the original Star Wars movie in 1977 in addition to other science fiction classics such as Alien, Judge Dredd and Flash Gordon.

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Amy Poehler broke down and just couldn't fake caring about "Star Wars" anymore during Thursday's "Late Night with Seth Meyers."

Poehler appeared alongside Tina Fey and their cast mates from the new movie "Sisters": Ike Barinholtz, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, and Maya Rudolph.

The comedy premieres this weekend, just like "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." So Meyers thought it would be fun to sell "Sisters" using "Star Wars" characters' action figures.

Barinholtz and Fey played along, but Poehler just couldn't hold in her true feelings any longer.

First, she couldn't recall the name of her figure, Constable Zuvio. And then she just lost it.

"I don't care. I don't care about 'Star Wars'!" she yelled. "And I never f--king did!"

As the audience cheered, she continued, "I'm sorry. I'm tired of pretending. I don't care about it."

She then tried to go on with the game, but just couldn't complete the task.

Watch her hilarious confession at about 1:10 into the video below:

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NOW WATCH: Tina Fey and Amy Poehler just made a hilarious behind-the-scenes 'Star Wars' parody

Warning: There are some spoilers ahead if you haven't seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

Ever since the first full trailer for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" came out in October, I've had one big issue with Kylo Ren.

I was hoping after seeing the movie that this would be cleared up, but it wasn't. 

Kylo Ren's revenge plan makes no sense. 

In the October trailer, we seem him telling a melted Darth Vader helmet that he will finish what he started.

There's just one problem with that.

There is nothing to finish. When Vader died in 1983's "Return of the Jedi" he was at peace with himself and his son Luke.

So what does Kylo think he's fighting for?

My best guess is that no one — outside of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader — really know how Vader and Emperor Palpatine died.

They don't know that, in his last moments, Vader turned against the Emperor and saved his son. 

Vader's last act was for the light side. He was no longer filled with vengeance. "What he started" was finished long ago. Vader died as Anakin Skywalker.

All the Sith know is that Vader and Palpatine are dead and Luke lived. The immediate conclusion to draw is that Luke killed both of them and the Dark Side is furious with Luke.

We have proof of that.

Throughout "The Force Awakens" we know Luke is being hunted down by the new Empire, now called The First Order.

So maybe Kylo is just unaware he's on a false crusade to avenge Vader.

Here's my problem with that after watching "The Force Awakens."

Warning: Huge spoiler ahead.

We learn that Kylo Ren is Han and Leia's son, Ben Solo and Luke was training him to be a Jedi before Ben decided to turn to the dark side. 

If Ben was drawn to the dark side to "finish" what his grandfather started then why wouldn't Luke tell his nephew about Vader's final moments?

It seems like that would solve a lot of problems.

Let's give Luke the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he did try and tell his nephew, but Ben didn't believe Uncle Luke's story. Maybe the new mysterious Sith Lord, Supreme Leader Snoke, convinced Ben his uncle's a liar.

If that's the case, why hasn't Darth Vader's force ghost, seen at the end of "Return of the Jedi," shown up to tell his grandson he's wrong? 

I hope "Episode VIII" will help shed some light on the situation because I seriously do not understand Kylo's motivation for being on the dark side at the moment.

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NOW WATCH: The original design of the Millennium Falcon in 'Star Wars' was completely different

Now that you can go out and see “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” you can also stream the score, created by the franchise’s maestro, John Williams, who has scored its every film.

The music is a lot like “The Force Awakens” itself — a jumble of familiar classics and new additions.

Particularly great is the “Rey Theme” that follows the film’s hero (played by Daisy Ridley) throughout the movie.

Williams, at 83 years young and a 5-time Oscar winner, hasn’t lost any zip on his fastball.

Listen to the complete “The Force Awakens” score via Spotify below:

SEE ALSO: I saw "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," and I have one big complaint about the movie

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"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" has topped the Thursday night preview showing record for gross with an incredible $57 million take in the US.

The previous record holder was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," which earned $43.5 million in July 2011.

Though Disney has not released any internal projections of how "The Force Awakens" will do, rival studios project the film will make around $210 million in the US alone this weekend, according to Variety. That would break the existing opening weekend record currently held by the summer's hit "Jurassic World" with $208.4 million.

However, some projections have "Awakens" making upwards of $220 million by Sunday.

Whatever the end number is, it's highly likely we're looking at a record-breaking weekend.

And just showing that no other studio should have stood in its way. Variety reports that "The Force Awakens" grossed about 70 times the amount taken in Thursday night by Universal's release "Sisters," starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. It took in $769,000.

"The Force Awakens" is also opening in 32 foreign markets this weekend. It's already broken records overseas.

Expect "Star Wars" collecting more records over the weekend.

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"Star Wars" is filled with a whole galaxy of incredible planets, from the dusty dunes of Tatooine to the frozen wasteland of Hoth. 

Even though the galaxy in "Star Wars" is science fiction, the planets that make it up aren't too unlike the planets in our own Milky Way galaxy, as NASA points out in a blog post.

NASA's Kepler Space Telescope is constantly discovering new planets outside our solar system, and some of them are just like the iconic planets in "Star Wars."

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Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine, with it's iconic double sunset...

...is pretty similar to Kepler-16b, which circles two stars.

According to NASA, Kepler-16b was the first exoplanet that astronomers discovered in circumbinary orbit — meaning it's orbiting two stars. 

That means you'd be able to see a double sunset if you were standing on Kepler-16b.

However, its stars are a lot cooler than our own sun, so Kepler-16b probably can't support life.

The frozen ice world of Hoth...

Warning: There are HUGE spoilers ahead if you have not seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

The first showings for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" have let out and there is a lot to discuss.

However, the biggest moment fans will be talking about is the death of a huge character which comes near the end of the movie. 

Last chance to head back before spoilers.

Toward the end of "The Force Awakens," Han Solo confronts the menacing Kylo Ren.

We learn Kylo's his and Leia's son, Ben Solo, and has been swayed by the dark side of the force. Han, sensing there's still good in Ben, hopes to bring him back to the Resistance. 

For some reason, Han thinks it's a good idea to meet his son on a narrow bridge. From the moment he steps foot on the platform, you get the sense someone's not coming back from this.

And when Kylo tells his father, "I'm being torn apart. I want to be free of this pain," you think he may have a change of heart. 

Nope.

Kylo strikes down his father with his lightsaber, solidifying his place as one of the darkest villains in the series. Not even Darth Vader could kill a family member.

Did your mouth drop open as you watched the smuggler fall to his demise? 

Here's the biggest problem I've seen with Han's death after discussing with a few people I've seen it with: You see it coming a mile away so when Han actually steps onto the bridge to meet Kylo you're not completely surprised. The moment he said goodbye to Leia my brother, sitting next to me, whispered, "Oh Han's dead."

I'm also not really sure that Han's death was really earned. It seemed a little rushed to be honest. Were we really supposed to believe that Han was going to be able to sway his son back over to the light side with one talk in the first movie of a new trilogy? No way. We still have two movies to go.

Plus, any time you're on a narrow bridge with two characters someone has got to go.

While we're mourning the loss of Han, there may be something greater to get excited over.

There's been a lot of talk about bringing Harrison Ford back for another "Indiana Jones" movie, another Lucasfilm property owned by Disney. Ford and director Steven Spielberg have said they're on board for a fifth movie and Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair it would happen "one day." 

Maybe Ford agreed to do "The Force Awakens" under the condition he could do another Indy movie as well.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Everything that happened in the first six ‘Star Wars’ movies in 4 minutes

A selection of photos from some of this week's biggest news that you might have missed.

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Martin Shkreli, the former hedge fund manager under fire for buying a pharmaceutical company and ratcheting up the price of a life-saving drug, is escorted by law enforcement agents in New York Thursday, Dec. 17, 2015, after being taken into custody following a securities probe.

President Barack Obama delivers a statement at the National Counterterrorism Center in Mclean, Virginia, December 17, 2015. Obama said that the US has entered "a new phase of terrorism."

Pallbearers rest their hands on the casket of San Bernardino shooting victim Tin Nguyen during her funeral at Saint Barbara's Catholic Church in Santa Ana, California, December 12, 2015.

Going to see a "Star Wars" movie on opening night is a rite of passage for die-hard fans. 

But I am not the world's most die-hard "Star Wars" fan.

Sure, I've always enjoyed the franchise, but I was never somebody who went opening night, bought all the merchandise, and brainstormed fan theories all day.

But in the past year, "Star Wars" has basically taken over the world in anticipation of the release of "The Force Awakens." My appreciation for the franchise has grown exponentially over the past year.

Partially to avoid an onslaught of spoilers, I decided it was time to buy a ticket to see "The Force Awakens" on opening night here in New York City. Sure, it required a long wait, but two hours, instead of two weeks, in advance was good enough. It also helped to be around an intensely energetic crowd. Nights like this remind you why going to the theater is both fun and important.

"Star Wars" is, we all know, more than just a movie. Here was my experience going to my first ever "Star Wars" opening night.

SEE ALSO: I saw 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens,' and I have one big complaint about the movie

I arrived at the theater at 7:30 p.m. The movie wasn't until 10:15 p.m., but I was told to arrive early. There was already a massive line.

Surprisingly, there weren't many people in costume.

Luckily, I came prepared.

Many people are heading out to see "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" this weekend. 

For anyone who hasn't seen the film yet or those planning to see it after what should be a very packed weekend, you're probably wondering what ticket you should buy.

I've now seen "The Force Awakens" in both 2D and 3D IMAX — the showings that will be most easily accessible to the public — and it's clear that one version is better than the other.

Unless you're seeing this on a true IMAX screen and in 70mm (one of these theaters), go with the 2D tickets. 

The film wasn't made in 3D. 

Other than a handful of scenes — there's one in particular where I wanted to reach my hand out to touch a ship flying overhead — there wasn't much reason to see this in 3D in my opinion. Plus, any time I turned my head too much to the left or the right you could tell you were watching 3D because the picture would get out of focus. You had to watch the movie straight on.

Yes, a sequence of the film was shot in IMAX (see the above photos), but, again, unless you're seeing it on a true 80-foot-tall screen, you're not getting the most out of the experience. 

Even the screening Disney showed press on Tuesday evening was in 2D. Typically, when I head to these screenings the studios will show it to you in the best possible format. Originally, I thought I was going to see "The Force Awakens" on the big IMAX screen inside New York City's AMC Lincoln Square (it's my favorite theater to see a movie on for the sheer enormity of the screen), but that wasn't the case. 

According to ScreenCrush, the AMC Lincoln Square, the theater with the biggest screen in NYC, is showing the film in digital until it installs "IMAX with laser," which won't be installed until mid-January. (Boo.)

If 2D's good enough for Disney's press screening, then it's probably good enough for everyone else.

Also, I recommend going to a theater with reserved seating if possible.

I've gone to many midnight fan premieres. If you're a fan this is the way you want to see these movies, with the people who enjoy them the most, because they're high energy and everyone is as equally excited to see the film. The downside is they can also be quite hectic as everyone scrambles to get the best seats in the house.

If you're seeing the film this weekend, chances are screenings will be filled with plenty of fanboys heading out in large groups arriving at theaters early to save seats. There may be some fighting and arguing over said seats.

Thursday evening I had reserved seats at a 3D IMAX screening and it made all the difference. I didn't have to worry about showing up at the theater hours early. People were rolling into the theater ten minutes before the movie began because they had peace of mind that no one was going to take their seats. It was the least stressful opening showing I've ever attended.

In contrast, my colleague Kim Renfro headed to a theater without reserved seating, and while she had no problem getting inside, she said it was chaotic outside her theater with people lined up and cutting waiting to enter the building.

No thanks. 

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With "The Force Awakens" now out in theaters — opening with a record-breaking $57 million — everybody has "Star Wars" fever.

Two die hard "Star Wars" fans decided to use the film's opening night at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles to throw "Star Wars"-themed nuptials.

While some people bring their dogs to their wedding, this couple had R2-D2 as a ring bearer. Meanwhile, Stormtroopers and Chewbacca alike gathered for the occasion.

The first thing the newlyweds did together? They watched "The Force Awakens," which is now playing in theaters.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Stephen Parkhurst

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SEE ALSO: What it's like seeing 'Star Wars' during the madness of opening night

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Oscar Isaac is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood right now and he's only about to get bigger. 

Often compared to 1970s movie stars like Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Isaac has become known in the past few years for churning out dark, brilliant performances in "Drive,""Inside Llewyn Davis," and 2014's "A Most Violent Year".

2015 has already been a stellar year for 36-year-old actor.

After an excellent performance in sci-fi indie "Ex Machina" and a lead role in HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero," Isaac has his first blockbuster role in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

With an upcoming role in next year's "X-Men" sequel on the horizon, it looks Isaac is truly about to become a huge movie star. 

See how Oscar Isaac went from class troublemaker to future blockbuster star.

Oscar Isaac Hernandez was born in 1979 in Guatemala. His family left and moved all around the United States before finally settling in Miami.

Source: Details

Isaac shortened his name as a young actor in Miami to avoid being cast as the "Latino Gangster.""Being called Oscar Hernández in Miami is like being called John Smith; there are 15 pages of us in the phone book." said Isaac in 2014.

Source: The Telegraph

As a kid, he frequently got into trouble. In the seventh grade, Isaac was expelled from private school for many reasons, one of them being that he broke into somebody's ranch who bordered his school, and pet the animals.

Isaac liked to cause trouble at his private grade school when he was growing up. “I set off a fire extinguisher in the gym, defaced a mural, just stupid stuff,” he told The Globe And Mail in an interview.

Source: Details

Warning: There are massive spoilers ahead. Do not read on if you have not seen "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

The day has finally come! "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is finally out in theaters. 

Fans who headed out on premiere night to see the film are undoubtedly left with more questions than answers about Rey, Kylo Ren, and Luke Skywalker.

These are the biggest questions we have after seeing "The Force Awakens."

Let's get to it!

Who is Rey?

We made it through the whole movie and still only know Rey's first name.

We know she's force sensitive and that she's a great pilot. Anakin's lightsaber called to her and she was able to overpower Kylo. The current theory is that she's Luke's daughter, but could she be Kylo's secret sister? Maybe she's someone unconnected to the Skywalker clan all together.

Why does Kylo harbor so much anger towards his father?

He senses that Rey sees Han as a father figure and then tells her she'd be disappointed by him. What did he do that was so bad in Kylo's eyes? 

Maybe Han never invited him for trips on the Millennium Falcon.

Who is Supreme Leader Snoke?

Is the new Sith lord someone we already know or is he a completely new character. Leia appeared to make it seem as if she may have been familiar with him.

The other thought is that he may be Darth Plagueis, a Sith lord referenced in "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith." Though Plageuis died years ago he was apparently so knowledgable in the dark side he could prevent people from dying. Could he have found a way to bring himself back to life or is he just someone entirely different?

President Barack Obama started and ended his year-end press conference on Friday by talking about the new "Star Wars" film.

"Good afternoon everybody," Obama began. "Clearly this is not the most important event that's taking place in the White House today: There's a screening of 'Star Wars' for Gold Star families and children coming up. So I'll try to be relatively succinct."

After about an hour of taking questions from reporters, the president left the briefing room by simply stating: "OK everybody. I got to get to 'Star Wars.' Thank you."

In an unusual twist, White House press secretary Josh Earnest then emerged with two people in Stormtrooper costumes and R2-D2, the famous "Star Wars" droid.

According to a pool report — which referred to the incident a "some deep-level sponsored content"— the characters were there for the Gold Star families' children. The Gold Star program is for the families of those who died serving in the US military.

"Reporters joked that this now clears up which side of the Force the administration is on," the pool report said.

Watch part of the photo-op below:

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I just saw "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."The reviews are correct. It's good. Really good. It's so good, in fact, that I think it's second only to "The Empire Strikes Back," which pretty much everyone agrees is the best of the bunch.

Here's my spoiler-free, definitive ranking of "Star Wars" movies from best to worst:

1. "Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back"
2. "Episode VII: The Force Awakens"
3. "Episode IV: A New Hope"
4. "Episode VI: Return of the Jedi"
5. "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith"
6. "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"
7. "Episode II: Attack of the Clones"

Some people will say I ranked "The Force Awakens" so high because I just saw it and I'm geeked out. I disagree. I walked out of all three prequel movies hating each one. This is different. Yes, it follows almost the same formula as "A New Hope." But I'm OK with that. I was never bored. And I think it sets things up nicely for what is sure to be another epic two movies.

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