G4’s “Attack of the Show” host Blair Butler interviews The Vader Project co-curator Sarah Jo Marks and artist Wade Lageose about the popularity of the artsy helmets, as well the new additions to the collection as it’s shown at Celebration Japan.
VIDEO: Sweet Darth Vader Helmets
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Celebration Japan, Star Wars Art, The Vader Project, in the media | 
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Posted by bonniegrrl
Words and Photos: Bonnie Burton
A few weeks back I went to Star Wars Celebration Japan in Chiba outside of Tokyo. I had never been to Japan before so the elaborate toilets, immaculate train stations and the super-nice hospitality were a bit of a shocker for this jaded American. In a good way! I had some amazing food, met awesome new friends and got to see Japanese Star Wars fans on their own turf. I had a blast!
Here are some of my highlights:
BEST LIKENESS OF GEORGE LUCAS: George in Carbonite
As soon as I took a bunch of photos of this I blog bombed it to everyone I knew from Boing Boing to /Film. Even the celeb-obsessed blog Defamer took notice. This was the thing that got the most press stateside (and still is) from bloggers who wanted to see really weird stuff from CJ. Mission accomplished. I wish we had this thing at Lucasfilm’s offices. We already have Jar Jar in carbonite in the ILM lobby, so I’m thinking this would fit nicely in the LFL lobby. HINT HINT. But maybe that’s just me. Either way, it’s most impressive.
BEST ATTRACTION: Life-size Dewback
Yeah, that’s me on Dewy. This fan-made attraction had the longest lines and the fans loved LOVED loved it. I kinda wish Lucasfilm would buy it for our next Celebration in the States. This thing was AWESOME! I interviewed Goro who made it if you want to find out more: The Dewback Project
CUTEST GIRL COSTUME: Sexy Ewok
She was the belle of Celebration Japan — being asked every few feet to get her photo taken by media, fans and smitten teen boys. Makes you wonder if Ewoks looked like her instead of teddy bears with spears, we might have a few more fans of the Yub Nub song.
3 Comments » | Celebration Japan | Permalink
Posted by bonniegrrl
(photo by Bonnie Burton)
Words: Bonnie Burton
Chances are if you attended Celebration Japan, you got to climb onto the full-size dewback created by Japanese Garrison member Goro Inoue and his dedicated crew which include Kayo Saeki, Ruriko Tsutsumi, Yayoi Negishi, Otoe Takahashi, Jun Agata, Daisuke Togami, Takatoshi Makiuchi, Masaaki Fukada, Kakuyuki Yamazaki, Hiroshi Shounai, Keisuke Aiso, and Masaru Sato; with special thanks to Mish’al Samman, Takefumi Tenshima, Toshio Fujisawa, Toshiki and Kaori Komiya, Art Andrews, Kazuhisa Kawahara, Takeshi Ogawa, Mary Frankin, Steve Sansweet, the Dented Helmet, the 501st Legion and Lucasfilm Ltd.
Walking past the dewback, I spied everyone from little kids and their parents, to fans dressed as Princess Leia and Obi-Wan Kenobi, among others. The dewback always had a long of people eager to get the photo op of a lifetime.
I chatted with Goro about his fantastic creation, and what prompted him to donate his blood, sweat and money to The Dewback Project.
25 Comments » | Celebration Japan, crafts | Permalink
Posted by bonniegrrl
It has been 30 years since I first stood on a lonely planet, Tatooine, and I said the opening lines of the first Star Wars movie ever. “Did you hear that? They shut down the main reactor! We’ll be destroyed for sure!” Well, nobody got destroyed and we went on to go five more movies, and I got the honor of saying the last line in the last movie. Do you remember what that one is? “Oh no!”
(photo by Bonnie Burton)
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Posted by Pabawan
“One of the things we wanted to do in The Clone Wars is bring a new look, something different to Star Wars,” says director Dave Filoni. “George Lucas talked early on about having an anime influence. Well, rather than just have an influence, we flew all the way to Japan and worked with Production I.G., bringing one of their really great artists, Atsushi Takeuchi, right into The Clone Wars.”
9 Comments » | Celebration Japan, Clone Wars | Permalink
Posted by Pabawan
When John Scoleri, co-author of the recent Art of Ralph McQuarrie book, discovered that a stash of early Star Wars illustrations had been uncovered behind a broken furnace in the artist’s home, he was elated — and frustrated. He and co-author Stan Stice had just sent their Art of Ralph McQuarrie to print — too late to include the new material. Fortunately for us, along came Celebration Japan.
Scoleri and Stice felt the event would be a great opportunity to showcase some of this lost art, and have put together a fantastic convention exclusive that’s sure to have many Star Wars and Mcquarrie fans calling in favors to their Japanese friends.
See more lost McQuarrie artwork after the jump –
8 Comments » | Celebration Japan, Collecting, Star Wars Art, conventions | Permalink
Posted by pvilmur
Throughout Celebration Japan on the digital stage is a video greeting/interview from George Lucas, who could not attend but nonetheless sent his best wishes. Here is a transcript of that video:
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Posted by Pabawan
One of the rare opportunities offered by the Japanese venue for this year’s Celebration is a chance to hear first hand from expert Japanese collectors about rare items and the often obscure histories associated with them. Most of these collectibles and the stories behind them rarely make their way across the Pacific.
On Saturday, poster collector Hideyuki Takizawa and candy premium collector You Katagiri discussed some little-known facts about some of the extremely rare collectibles produced during the late ’70s and early ’80s in Japan, complete with a Powerpoint presentation showcasing many never-before-seen images.
More after the jump –
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Posted by pvilmur
In 1978, Star Wars opened in Japan a year after it had made its debut Stateside, continuing its journey around the globe to become a worldwide phenomenon. That movie introduced Mark Hamill to Japan, but Japan had already been introduced to Hamill, as he explained to huge crowd assembled at the digital stage at Celebration Japan today.
“I went to high school in Yokosuka,” said Hamill. ”My father was in the Navy, so we moved around every few years. But we never stayed longer than about three years in any place. And we were living in Virginia, and he was working in Washington D.C. and he got transferred to Yokosuka. Where is Yokosuka? Well, it’s in Japan. Japan? Do they have the Beatles in Japan? That was one of my first questions.”
15 Comments » | Celebration Japan | Permalink
Posted by Pabawan
Where else but Star Wars Celebration Japan would you possibly expect to see this sight: A real life Ahsoka Tano joined on stage by members of AKB48, an all-female idol group dressed as Japanese school girls?
Early during the run of Celebration Japan, this is how the first Clone Wars panel started out. After the girls left the stage, the screen came to life with a special behind-the-scenes video introducing The Clone Wars. As with all Lucasfilm produced shows, the sound was cranked up to eleven, and the ground shook. No, really it shook, because as this intro video played, an earthquake sent tremors through the floor and made the ceiling lamps sway. The few seasoned San Franciscans in the audience — Lucasfilm employees sent to document the convention — gave each other knowing glances as the quake subsided. No one blinked an eye, though, and as the video wrapped up, Clone Wars director Dave Filoni took the stage. What follows is a transcript of his responses.
3 Comments » | Celebration Japan | Permalink
Posted by Pabawan
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