By Courtney L. Woods
Super-fans; everyone has their own something that they practically obsess over. My own happen to be classic rock and roll and it’s memorabilia, indie films, and (of all things) “Lord of the Rings.” However, in May I was lucky enough to experience first-hand the power of “The Force.” Yes, that’s right; I attended the three-day Woodstock of science fiction conventions – “Star Wars” Celebration II, held in Indianapolis.
I know what you’re thinking; You think that I went to some convention. I thought the same thing; I thought it would be like the documentary “Trekkies,” only in place of “Star Trek” fans there’d be “Star Wars” devotees. Ah, but this was no mere gathering of fans; this was the mother of all conventions brought to us only every three years by the folks at Lucasfilm to coincide with the release of the prequels (the last one was in Denver in 1999).
So my best friend Beth (a “Star Wars” aficionado and Harrison Ford super-fan) and I spent Derby weekend at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, which was filled with Jedi, Sith, Wookies, and Stormtroopers (they actually ran security). People came from all over the world (New Zealand, Mexico, Germany, etc.) just to buy exclusive merchandise (like the George Lucas action figure, named “Jorg Sacul”), listen to seminars, see props and archives from the films, and meet celebrities and many of their “Star Wars” kindred.
Yes, celebrities did come. Most notably Hayden Christensen (Anakin Skywalker), Billy Dee Williams (Lando) and Princess Leia herself – Carrie Fisher. I was personally kind of bummed that Ewan McGregor didn’t show, but I had fun meeting Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) and taking my picture with a life-size Obi-Wan Kenobi standee. As for Hayden Christensen, I saw his question and answer sessions and I felt sorry for the kid. Mainly because all of the guys asked, “What was it like making out with Natalie Portman?” and all of the girls asked, “Did you know you have an Estrogen Brigade?” I’m not quite sure I know what an Estrogen Brigade is; but I am sure young Mr. Christensen seemed to be creeped out by it.
Beth and I met some pretty interesting people that weekend while waiting in the line which already wrapped around the convention center at eight in the morning. There were these four guys from Colorado who brought a digital camera to record the proceedings and seemed to be a tad bit obsessed with director Kevin Smith (who is a super-fan himself). Also, there was an older fellow around fifty-five, who took pictures of everyone who came in costume; this wasn’t a small feat, as there were literally thousands of people in costume.
Beth spent most of her time looking for specific vintage action figures (like “Skiff-Guard Lando” and the ever-elusive 1983 “Jabba’s Palace” play set) while I watched people ask the guy in the Darth Vader costume to “choke” them for a picture. I toyed with the idea of buying the Obi-Wan Kenobi standee (which I ended up not doing) and raiding the free posters.
The absolute best part of the weekend, however, was listening to Carrie Fisher. She also signed autographs, if you were willing to wait in her line (which they eventually capped) for eight hours. She has this real honesty about her experiences and was very frank about George Lucas and his thing for putting his leading ladies in chains (Princess Leia in “Return of the Jedi” and Padme Amidala in “Attack of the Clones.”), his directing them with phrases “do that just the same, but better” and how he’d relate to his actors better if they were foam rubber puppets.
