J.J. Abrams Thanks Spielberg At The Rise Of Skywalker Premiere

Last night, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premiered in Hollywood. The star studded event included appearances by the Star Wars cast and Steven Spielberg. Before the film started, director J.J. Abrams addressed the large crowd in attendance and also took a moment to thank Steven Spielberg.

From Vanity Fair:

Abrams also shouted out to an iconic filmmaker who has never actually had a Star Wars credit. "I’d like to thank Mr. Steven Spielberg," Abrams said, pointing him out in the audience. "Your generosity and your optimism knows no bounds. We should all aspire to that. Your help on this picture has meant the world to me, and your friendship has meant so much more."

Exactly what Spielberg contributed to the creative process on The Rise of Skywalkeris something Star Wars fans will be eager to learn. His connection to Abrams goes back decades, to when the younger filmmaker was a teenager. Abrams even brought up the story at the premiere. The full version is told in this Vanity Fair article from 2015, but the short version is: Abrams and his friend Matt Reeves (best known for the Dawn of the Planet of the Apes movies, and now making the new Batman film) had won a student film festival in the early ’80s, and an article in the Los Angeles Times about them led Kennedy to ask the boys to assist Spielberg by helping archive and preserve some of his own childhood film projects.

Read more at Vanity Fair.