Osborne committed £25 million of British taxpayers' money to 'The Force Awakens', but individual ministers are not customarily credited in movies.
Eagle-eyed Star Wars fans have reacted with incredulity as they discovered that British chancellor George Osborne was credited personally in the end title sequences of The Force Awakens.
Following the release of the movie on Thursday (December 17th), a number of fans posted screenshots of the end credits, one of which shows on the fourth line from the top: “George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer and First Secretary of State, United Kingdom”. Ed Vaizey, the minister for culture and the digital economy, is also mentioned by name in the credits.
George Osborne received a 'special thanks' credit in 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'
The chancellor, 44, committed £25 million of taxpayers’ money to support the seventh instalment of the massively popular film franchise. However, while it is common practice to mention governments in credits when they make contributions like this, it is highly unusual for individual ministers to be named, and fans of the movie duly reacted to the credit.
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Osborne, who is reportedly a fan of Star Wars and has named his favourite character as Han Solo in a previous interview this week, was apparently booed as he turned up at the premiere on Thursday.
Chancellor @George_Osborne and Culture Minister @edvaizey both thanked in the #StarWars #TheForceAwakens credits. pic.twitter.com/ErOvO983Lc
— Liam Walker (@_Liam_Walker_) December 18, 2015
It comes after Disney apparently paid £24,000 to hire Trafalgar Square and transformed the iconic London monument into a neon blue lightsaber to commemorate the movie’s release and its European premiere.
“It’s a great day for film-making in this country and it clearly shows the force is with us,” he had said in an interview with Sky News on Wednesday. “It’s a boost for our culture and our film industry. We fought very hard as a government to get Star Wars made in Britain because we knew it would bring jobs and investment, it would mean that we had great opportunities for British actors.”
More: Stars and Stormtroopers turn out for ‘The Force Awakens’ premiere [pictures]
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