Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a work.
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 . Bad Robot Productions ( more commonly known as Bad Robot ) is an American film and television production company owned by J. J. Abrams and Bryan Burk . Creative consultant is a credit that has - particularly in the past - been given to screenwriters who have consulted on a movie screenplay . Star Wars : The Force Awakens ( also known as Star Wars : Episode VII -- The Force Awakens ) is a 2015 American epic space opera film directed , co-produced , and co-written by J. J. Abrams . Filming began in April 2014 in Abu Dhabi and Iceland , with principal photography also taking place in Ireland and Pinewood Studios in England , and concluded in November 2014 .