Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a film.
The Academy Awards , now known officially as the Oscars , is a set of twenty-four awards for artistic and technical merit in the American film industry , given annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) , to recognize excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy 's voting membership . Creative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have consulted on a movie screenplay . Principal photography . Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed , with actors on set and cameras rolling , as distinct from pre-production and post-production . Star Wars: The Force Awakens . Lucas served as creative consultant during the film 's early production . The Star Wars sequel trilogy is the third film trilogy in the Star Wars American space opera franchise , created by George Lucas .