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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) —
Stores closed their gates, kiosks were covered and even Santa left his sleigh at the Mall of America shortly before hundreds of protesters began chanting for justice during a Black Lives Matter protest on Wednesday.
The protesters gathered in the mall's central rotunda on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and then abruptly walked outside. Many chanted "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!" Police urged onlookers out of the mall's central rotunda, threatening arrest.
Organizers said protesters, who were heading to a nearby light-rail train station, wanted to draw attention to the police shooting last month of Jamar Clark. The 24-year-old black man died the day after he was shot by Minneapolis police responding to a recent assault complaint.
A similar demonstration last December drew hundreds of demonstrators angry over the absence of charges following the police killings of unarmed black men in New York City and Ferguson, Missouri. Stores in the mall had to close, and dozens of people were arrested.
The privately owned mall said another demonstration would mean lost sales. The massive retail center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington houses an amusement park and more than 500 shops spread across four floors, attracting shoppers from around the globe.
Neither mall officials nor Bloomington police said what security measures they put in place to prepare for the protest, though special event staff members were searching bags and stationed at every mall entrance. Security guards cordoned off parts of the central rotunda, and officers from several cities patrolled inside.
Dozens of stores had closed their gates shortly before the protest started.
The mall sought a court order blocking the planned protest. A judge on Tuesday barred three organizers from attending the demonstration, but said she doesn't have the power to block unidentified protesters associated with Black Lives Matter — or the movement as a whole — from showing up.
Bloomington Police Deputy Chief Denis Otterness confirmed officers would be at the mall, but declined to discuss their plans for handling the protest.
"We're just not releasing that at this point," he said. "Our number one priority is the safety of everybody out at the Mall of America today."
Gov. Mark Dayton also told reporters early Wednesday that 30 Minnesota State Patrol officers will be on scene at the local police department's request. He said he sympathizes with protesters' concerns, but he stressed that the mall is private property.
Kandace Montgomery, one of three organizers barred by the judge's order, said the group isn't deterred by the ban. She declined to say if she or her fellow organizers still planned to go to the mall, but she said she expects at least 700 people to show up — including some who are prepared to be arrested.
On one of the busiest shopping days of the year, Montgomery said the retail mecca is the perfect venue for their demonstration to pressure authorities involved in the investigation of Clark's death to release video footage.
"When you disrupt their flow of capital ... they actually start paying attention," she said. "That's the only way that they'll hear us."
LOS ANGELES (AP) —
J.J. Abrams never intended to guide "Star Wars" fans in the wrong direction.
The writer-director says — spoiler alert! — that while trailers for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" feature footage and dialogue that didn't ultimately end up in the final cut of the movie, the discrepancies weren't meant to throw anyone off.
"It's a fairly common occurrence when you're working on a movie, and it's a year or six months out," said Abrams. "We were still editing, refining and adjusting the film. That evolution process is something that's hard to predict."
In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Abrams detailed his decisions (along with editors Mary Jo Markey and Maryann Brandon) on what footage landed in "The Force Awakens" and what was sent down the garbage chute.
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CALL FROM LIGHT
"Star Wars" fans flipped their Stormtrooper helmets when a pair of beams flared out from the side of Kylo Ren's lightsaber in the first teaser trailer. However, "The Force Awakens" doesn't actually feature the moment when the masked baddie ignites his flickering lightsaber hilt.
"There might be a look or scene in a trailer that identifies as being powerful in that short form, but sometimes that doesn't jibe with what's happening in the long form," said Abrams. "There were a couple of shots that ended up not being used in the film, simply because we were doing our best to make the movie be the best version of itself, which sometimes means losing a moment here or there."
Other trailer portions cut from the film include Rey (Daisy Ridley) entering a derelict Star Destroyer on her home planet and an ominous exchange between the spunky scavenger and itty-bitty pirate Maz Kanata (Lupita Nyong'o).
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IT'LL GUIDE YOU
In the second trailer, Maz Kanata is seen passing a lightsaber to another woman. But it's Finn (John Boyega) who takes it from her yellow hand in the movie. Abrams acknowledged that after Maz Kanata's castle is leveled by the First Order, the big-eyed buccaneer originally traveled to the Resistance's base to hand off Luke Skywalker's signature weapon to his sister, Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher).
"It ended up being an unnecessary hot potato," said Abrams. "It felt like the movie was stronger if we skipped over that moment. It definitely wasn't meant to be diversionary. It was a scene in the movie I later realized I had put the entire crew through shooting, only to cut it."
"Star Wars" fans shouldn't expect an extended edition of "The Force Awakens" with such moments folded back into the narrative. Unlike his predecessor, Abrams isn't interested in rereleases.
"I'm not a huge fan of directors' cuts and modifications to a movie," he said. "I feel the movie that comes out is the movie that should be the intended final product."
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WHO TALKS FIRST
Mark Hamill delivered a new rendition on dialogue uttered by Luke Skywalker in 1983's "Return Of The Jedi" in the second trailer, although the chilling monologue isn't included in "The Force Awakens."
In fact, Skywalker doesn't spew a single word when on screen at the end of the movie. Abrams noted that the filmmakers never intended for the last Jedi to open his trap.
"There were all sorts of different ideas pitched over the past three years," said Abrams. "When it became clear what this story was and where 'Episode VIII" and 'Episode IX" would go, the end of this movie was very much intended to be a cliffhanger. Obviously, the Luke storyline will continue in a very strong way, but it wasn't material for this movie."
NEW YORK (AP) —
Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo has been added to Golden Globe nominations list for her work on Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" from the "Fifty Shades of Grey" soundtrack.
Lo, who co-wrote the song, was not originally listed as a nominee for best original song when the Globes announced its nominations earlier this month. But the Globes told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Lo will now compete for the award because she wrote the pop hit along with nominees Max Martin, Savan Kotecha, Ilya Salmanzadeh and Ali Payami.
Neither the Globes nor the label that released the song immediately responded to emails asking why Lo had originally been left off the list.
"Love Me Like You Do" became a multi-platinum success this year and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. It earned Lo and her songwriting collaborators a Grammy nomination for best song written for visual media and Goulding a nod for best pop solo performance.
At the Globes, which airs Jan. 10, "Love Me Like You Do" will compete with Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth's "See You Again" ("Furious 7"); Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" ("Spectre"); Brian Wilson's "One Kind of Love" ("Love & Mercy"); and David Lang's "Simple Song #3" ("Youth").
Best original song nominees include songwriters and composers; performers are only nominated if they write or co-write the song.
Lo has also written songs for Lea Michele and Hilary Duff, among others. But her success isn't only behind the scenes: She sings on Coldplay's latest album and her debut single, "Habits (Stay High)," reached multi-platinum status and peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 chart. She followed it with another platinum-plus hit this year, "Talking Body," which peaked at No. 12.