Okay. So it wasn't "… a long time ago in a galaxy far, far
away." It was just last week in a place called O-Lando.
Photo by Angela Ragno
But Star Wars enthusiasts from all over the planet (some 35,000
of them. Or so say my sources at the Orange County Convention Center) made their
way to Central Florida August 12 – 15th. So that they could then be
on hand for Star Wars Celebration V.
Which was supposed to be " … THE official Lucasfilm fan convention and the
biggest Star WarsTM party in the galaxy!"
Photo by Angela Ragno
Truth be told, Celebration V was basically a Star
Wars-centric Comic-Con. Which meant that – when you weren't getting your
picture taken with / collecting the autograph of some performer who'd appeared
in a Lucasfilm production …
Julian Glover (center), who played Imperial General Maximilian Veers in "Star Wars V:
The Empire Strikes Back" and Walter Donovan in "Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade", posed with fans at Star Wars Celebration V. Photo by Angela Ragno
… You were either taking pictures of some of the cleverer Star
Wars-themed costumes that you'd see wandering around the exhibition hall …
Photo by Angela Ragno
… or you were standing in line, waiting to get into one of
the panels that were presented over the course of this four-day-long event.
Photo by Angela Ragno
Mind you, many of these presentations were hugely
entertaining. During his "Return of the Jedi!" panel, Mark Hamill told some genuinely
charming stories about his dealings with Sir Alec Guinness. He also shared his
thoughts on the "Star Wars" film series as a whole (i.e. Hamill believes that the real key to this series' success was that "Star Wars" was more fairy tale than
sci-fi epic).
Photo by Angela Ragno
But this being Orlando and all … To be honest, you didn't
actually have to go to the Orange County Convention Center in order to get in
on all the fun & excitement of Star Wars Celebration V. If you kept your
eyes open while you were out & about in the theme parks last weekend,
chances are that you'd then see some of the celebrities who'd flown into O-town
just to take part in this event. People
like Seth Green …
Photo by Kevin Kolczynski. Copyright 2010 Universal Orlando
Resort.
All rights reserved
… Who's not only got another Star Wars Robot Chicken show in
the works (Which will be shown as part of the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
line-up sometime in December of this year) but he's also got a brand-new
animated series in the works for Lucasfilm (which George Lucas hopes will be this
" … fun little cartoon show like Spongebob Squarepants for four- and
five-year-olds" that then opens the Star Wars world up to a whole new audience).
Anyway … Seth took advantage of being in town for Star Wars
Celebration V to head on over to Universal Orlando so that he could then experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Whereas Jon Stewart …
Photo by Todd Anderson. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
… (who come to Central Florida to serve as the moderator of "The
Main Event." Which is where George Lucas sat onstage and answered questions
that Star Wars Celebration V attendees had submitted) made his way to Disney's
Hollywood Studios. So that Stewart would then be sure to get in one last ride
of the original version of "Star Tours."
Photo by Todd Anderson. Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc.
All rights reserved
And as for George … He too made his way to DHS. Mostly so Lucas could then be
on hand for Saturday night's "Last Tour to Endor" event. Many Celebration V conventioneers joined
George at this theme park that night so they'd then be able to secure a seat on
one of the StarSpeeder 3000's final voyages.
Copyright Disney Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved
Of course, those who were looking to get a preview of Star
Wars II made a point of heading over to Booth 441. Which is where Disney Parks
was operating a merchandise booth where attendees could purchase a special "sneak
preview" version of the StarSpeeder 1000. Which is the retro version of this
simulator that WDW Guests will get to ride starting in 2011.
But as Sunday evening arrived, and Star Wars Celebration V attendees
had taken their last pictures of the props …
Photo by Angela Ragno
… and toys that were on display …
Photo by Angela Ragno
… or perhaps dropped by The Star Wars Commitment Chapel to
reaffirm their relationship with their personal Padmés.
Photo by Angela Ragno
At that point, all talk turned to Star Wars Celebration VI.
Which – given the brutal heat that Central Florida has been experiencing these past
few weeks – attendees hoped would be held anywhere but Orlando in August. Which –
to quote Jon Stewart – gave conventioneers the " … chance to experience the
actual atmosphere conditions on Dagobah."
Copyright 2010 Lucasfilm. All rights reserved
Did any of you JHM readers get to attend Star Wars
Celebration V? If so, what was your favorite part and/or least favorite part of " … THE official Lucasfilm fan convention
and the biggest Star WarsTM party in the galaxy!"
Your thoughts?