Who knew the last week of October would be full of so many newsy surprises? While not all were welcome, like Hurricane Sandy, the news of Disney's acquisition of LucasFilm and plans for new "Star Wars" movies has set the fanboys and Internet ablaze with extreme curiosity, delight and sometimes anxiety.

It doesn't take much to remind us what a powerful hold George Lucas' epic franchise still has on pop culture. Director Kevin Smith, a celebrity fan and self-proclaimed geek, told MTV News that his love for "Star Wars" in many ways helped launch his career.

"If you think about it, in 'Clerks' and 'Mallrats' and 'Chasing Amy' there are so many 'Star Wars' references," the "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" director told us earlier this year when we asked about the franchise's impact on him. "I got such a boost in my career from 'Star Wars.' I loved it growing up and then in my movies I just started talking about the things I loved, comics, hockey, 'Star Wars.' "

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Smith went on to say that after his first film, "Clerks," was released in 1994, before the "Star Wars" re-releases and prequels, fans were more likely to ask him about the various "Star Wars" references in it than they were to ask about the film itself, and the same thing happened when his second film, "Mallrats," was released one year later.

"The Internet didn't exist yet, that was a big help too. We became identified with 'Star Wars' because of the Death Star contractor scene, Silent Bob at the end of 'Mallrats' trying to do the Jedi mind trick. So 'Star Wars,' something that I was an eager fan of as a kid, it really panned out for me later on for the first ten years of my career I didn't write scripts I wrote 'Star Wars' jokes. I'm here today because of that."

Smith's support of Lucas' unforgettable space adventure is unwavering. The writer/director took to his Facebook page following the big announcement to express his enthusiasm for the Disney/LucasFilm deal.

"I'm all for it," Smith wrote. "Can't wait to see all the new movies they're gonna make. The 7-year-old Kev who saw 'Star Wars' during its initial release in 1977 is finally gonna get all nine 'Star Wars' movies he was promised back then. I'll be first in line to pay for whatever they do."

He was also quick to point out the savvy business sense that likely motivated Disney's big purchase.

"The Disney Princess market gave the Mouse all the little girls they could sell an Ariel costume to but Disney couldn't interest boys in their wonderful world beyond the single digit years," Smith wrote about Disney wanting more young male eyes and ears on their products. "Few boys are clamoring to play with a Peter Pan action figure and hooking the audience while they're young is an important component of long term brand loyalty. So rather than develop their own boys brand in-house, they started buying 'boy' stuff. It started with Marvel and it now continues with the world of 'Star Wars.' "

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