Star Wars rules - 30 years on
2007-05-28 11:31
Los Angeles - White-armoured storm
troopers, robed Jedi knights and bun-haired Princess Leia
look-alikes roamed the Los Angeles Convention Centre on Friday
to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars film
phenomenon.
The sprawling event, billed as the world's biggest Star
Wars party, opened to the general public as thousands of fans
young and old shopped for memorabilia, posed for photographs
and generally immersed themselves in ways of "the Force."
"This can be one-stop shopping for fans to experience
everything they would want in the Star Wars world," said John
Singh, a spokesperson for Star Wars creator George Lucas'
production company, Lucasfilm, a sponsor of the event.
Special activities included Star Wars laser tag, "Slave
Leia" belly-dancing lessons, a storm trooper Olympics, R2-D2
android racing, a costume workshop and an appearance by Carrie
Fisher, who starred as Princess Leia.
'Blown away'
The US Postal Service on Friday used the event to
dedicate its first stamps commemorating the 30th anniversary of
the movie that revolutionised special-effects filmmaking.
Promoters said 20 000 tickets were sold in advance, and
they expected at least another 10 000 admissions over the
Memorial Day weekend.
One of them, Rob Howes, 35, of Anaheim, California, said he
was 6 years old when the original Star Wars film opened in
1977, and recalls being "blown away."
"I was a very impressionable young man when Star Wars
came out, and it just grabbed me and didn't let go," said
Howes, dressed as a Rebel Hoth fighter pilot in an orange suit,
as he gobbled down a tuna-fish sandwich.
From the other side of the Empire marched Evan Greenwood,
28, of Hugoton, Kansas, plying the halls in a helmeted,
robot-like storm trooper uniform, complete with hydration pack
and a 12-volt pump to circulate cooling water under the suit.
"It's probably 120 degrees (49 C) in here," he said,
identifying himself as a member of a worldwide fan club known
as the Storm Troopers 501st Legion, named for an actual unit of
Darth Vader's forces in the original film.
Duels with Darth Vader
"We marched up the steps with Darth as he slaughtered the
Jedi," Greenwood said as he paused to remove his helmet.
Bob Gordon, 45, of Weeki Wachee, Florida, north of Tampa,
was in more of a hurry, visibly perspiring in his brown Jedi
robe as he rushed to enter his 9-year-old daughter, Jennifer,
in the costume contest.
She was dressed as one of the more obscure Star Wars
characters from the first movie, the bounty hunter Aurra Sing.
"You only see her on screen for about five seconds, but
she's in about 10 (Star Wars) books," he said.
Other young fans lined up at the convention's Jedi Training
Academy, where they took turns engaging in one-on-one light
sabre duels with a very authentic-looking Darth Vader, and
received guidance from a Jedi master.
"Just keep smiling at him, it really upsets him," the
instructor told one enthusiastic pupil.
Back at the food court, in a real-life scene almost as
bizarre as the memorable alien bar in the first Star Wars, a
non-costumed couple from suburban Dallas sat with their
9-year-old son and his friend, both dressed as Siths.
She dabbed their foreheads with black shoe polish
as they finished lunch.
"They need a touch-up after eating," she said.