Archive for ‘Fans and Community’



Suffering from Star Wars Celebration V Withdrawal?

Bonnie Burton | August 20, 2010

Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando, Florida is over. And quite frankly many of us are depressed and going through withdrawal.

Here’s some ways on how to lessen your sadness now that you can’t look over your shoulder and see a giant AT-AT lurking behind you.

1. Have a Star Wars film marathon at home. Crank up your heater and humidifier to simulate Orlando weather.

2. Go on a Star Wars Celebration V shopping spree! Check out all the stuff you can buy like men’s Eau Lando Cologne, women’s “I Heart Scoundrels” T-shirt, Classic Yoda Ears Retro Cap and more!

3. Dress up as an Ewok and head to your local park for a picnic. It might not relieve you of all your depression, but it sure will entertain the squirrels.

4. Call up all your friends that have remote control R2-D2 toys, meet up at the mall, and have a DIY droid parade!

5. Put on the Lando mustache from the Celebration V Disguise Kit and wear it all week. Prepare to be flirted with non-stop.

Be sure to post your own ideas on how to deal with Star Wars Celebration V withdrawal symptoms — in the comments below.

Or share your tips on Twitter, using the hashtag #swcvwithdrawal. Follow us at @starwars

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Romancing the Droid: Why I Married R2-D2

Bonnie Burton | August 18, 2010

photos: Amanda Jean Camarillo & Jenny Elwick

Sometimes a girl just has to follow her heart no matter where it may lead.

After suffering through too many broken hearts thanks to dating boys who never quite appreciated my geek girl ways, I made a vow never to give my heart to anyone ever again who rolled their eyes when I attempted a Wookiee roar. I guess you could say I was looking for love in Alderaan places.

There’s nothing wrong with humans. I just find them to be a bit boring. They rarely have a screwdriver handy when you need it. They never seem interested in listening about your day. They always get lost on trips. They refuse to go out dancing. They hate relaying complicated messages to your friends. They’re so insecure with who they are; they never know what they want or how to express their true feelings.

R2-D2 puts all you human boys to shame. He’s got a built-in GPS (so says Uncle George) so he never gets lost. Plus you should see Artoo’s dance moves! And yes, he’s got more gadgets and charm than James Bond himself.

I’ve always had a secret crush on Artoo ever since I first saw him in A New Hope. Granted, I was just a kid then. What did I know about astromech love? But I kept a special place in my heart for him, fully knowing I may never meet him face to dome. It wasn’t until many years later when I landed a job as Lucasfilm that I took my chance and made the first move.

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Speed Dating at Star Wars Celebration V

StarWars.com Team | August 15, 2010

Photo by Liz Lee

“Attachment is forbidden. Possession is forbidden. Compassion, which I would define as unconditional love, is essential to a Jedi’s life. So you might say, that we are encouraged to love.” – Anakin Skywalker

On Thursday and Saturday at Star Wars Celebration V fans (and droids) had the chance to talk to a wide assortment of potential “love connections” all assembled in Orlando to express their love for Star Wars.

While fans agree on who shot first or whether Jar Jar should have been thrown in carbonite, they can at least find out whether the have the that certain chemistry that brings two hearts together.

On Thursday and Saturday at Star Wars Celebration fans (and droids!) were able to break the ice with potential suitors. StarWars.com chats with host Ryan Glitch about the ins and outs of speed dating and whether or not cupid took a break from the madness to bring fans looking for love together.

Why did you decide to have a Speed Dating event at Celebration V?

I submitted the idea on the Celebration website, and a few emails later between Mary Franklin, Lauren Sadowski, and Peter Tatarra, I was given a contract to run the event! I just thought it could be a great a great way give a little push to those who were looking for love in all the wrong cantinas!

How did this speed dating event work? What are the rules?

The speed dating event worked phenomenally! The rules are simple, you date as fast you as you can, get to know as much as you can, if you like them, you write down the dater’s ID number, and at the end, you will head to the tables and leave your contact info with only people that you liked, and you will get the lists of contact info that has been left for you! The rules are that during the date you cannot give
out personal contact info to the dater directly, you can’t give our your name during the dates.

Did anyone make a love connection?

I was told that 2 couples did commitment ceremonies after meeting at my event, and I
have seen 9 couples out and about that met at my event.

What tips do you have for fans who want to try speed dating
post-Celebration?

Be yourself!

Additional comments about the event?

It has been an absolute blast to run this event at CV and I Just want to thank Reed Exhibitions and Lucasfilm for allowing me to play in their sandbox.

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A Tattoo Tribute to The Clone Wars

StarWars.com Team | August 4, 2010

photos: courtesy of Shane Donnelly

Fans show off their Star Wars pride through costuming, droid building, gaming, writing fan fiction, making fan films and a zillion other ways. But it takes a certain level of dedication to get a tattoo of your favorite Star Wars character, vehicle, creature, droid or scene.

Star Wars fan Shane Donnelly recently payed tribute to The Clone Wars with this epic tattoo. StarWars.com chats with him about why he chose to give the animated series some permanent love.

Why did you go with The Clone Wars as a theme?

I went with The Clone Wars theme because, first I hadn’t seen any of the current series. (There is of course, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series). And second, because I wanted to celebrate the continuation of the Star Wars story. After Ep. III none of us were really sure if or when we’d see new Star Wars other than books, comics, etc. And third, because it’s just too cool.

Describe all the cool stuff going on in your tattoo? Was there an overall theme?

There’s not much of a theme to it. Basically you have the hologram Sidious over shadowing everything with Obi-Wan and Anakin (the heroes of the Republic) on either side of him; which is kind of symbolic to the story.

I also wanted to have a strong female presence. Star Wars has always had strong female characters so I wanted to show that. That’s represented by Ventress, Ahsoka and Aayla. I also have Rex with another clone trooper because, well clone troopers are cool.

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The Sharks of Star Wars

StarWars.com Team | August 3, 2010

In honor of Discovery Channel’s epic Shark Week, here’s a few of our favorite sharks mentioned in the Star Wars saga and Expanded Universe!

Creatures!

  • Emerald shark: An emerald shark was a type of shark found in Dubrillion Aquarium.
  • Firaxan shark: A fierce underwater creature that inhabited the seas of Manaan. They were extremely deadly and were known to attack anyone who dared to swim in their waters.
  • Frist shark: Marine predators from Trandosha. These animals had a row of six fang-like teeth, similar to, and compared to, the Bitthævrian race of Guiteica.
  • Ithorian razor sharks: Aquatic predators native to Ithor. This predatory fish lives in the oceans of Ithor, and has dagger-like teeth lining its large mouth.
  • Lambro sharks: Predatory fish whose flesh was considered a delicacy by many beings throughout the galaxy.
  • Swamp sharks: Meter-long predatory fish on Marca.

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Chewie Rides a Giant Squirrel Artist Revealed

Bonnie Burton | July 28, 2010

art: Tyler Edlin

When I first came across this epic piece of fan art of Chewbacca riding a giant squirrel into battle against the Nazis all I could think was “This is Wookiee-tastic!”

I tracked down the artist Tyler Edlin to chat about his masterpiece and its back story.

What is your art background?

I attended a 2 year certificate program at the Art Institute of Boston At Lesley University. I also have experience in photography and hold a Bachelors degree in design.

What is the story behind that awesome piece of art depicting Chewbacca riding a giant squirrel into battle against Nazi soldiers?

I asked my friend Gary what he would like a for a wedding present. At first he said Chewbacca riding a giant squirrel into battle against an unseen force living in the shadows.

He added, “give him long flowing fur and his mount should look adorable. He should be riding to expected death on a last charge.”

Eventually he settled on him battling Nazis. So there is the finished a product a wedding commission.

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Improv Everywhere: Star Wars Subway Car

StarWars.com Team | July 14, 2010

Star Wars is everywhere so it was only a matter of time before Improv Everywhere took their own stab at bringing their favorite scenes to the masses. Since 2001, Improv Everywhere has entertained the public at random in New York City. Some of their 100 improv stunts include Frozen Grand Central, the Food Court Musical, and the famous No Pants Subway Ride, and now Star Wars Subway.

For their latest mission, the group staged a reenactment of the first Princess Leia and Darth Vader scene from Star Wars on a New York City subway car.

The white walls and sliding doors on the train reminded us of the Rebel ship from the movie, and we thought it would be fun to see how people would react to a surprise appearance by the iconic characters. We spread out the actors along the train line, staging it so they would enter the right car at the right time.

The people on the train went crazy for Vader. I think they thought the joke was over once the Stormtroopers got on, but Vader just topped it so well. One thing we learned is that almost every human will immediately take out their camera when they see Darth Vader. We’ve done lots of crazy missions on the subway over the years, but I have never seen so many people taking photographs of our performance. How can you not take a photo of Darth Vader? It’s impossible to resist!

WATCH VIDEO: Star Wars Subway Car

Be sure to check out the Improv Everywhere site for the behind-the-scenes story about the Star Wars Subway Car stunt.

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My Pet AT-AT?

StarWars.com Team | June 28, 2010

Filmmaker and Star Wars fan Patrick Boivin made this heartwarming and adorable short movie about an AT-AT toy that lives its life like the family dog.

Boivin says: “When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker.”

WATCH VIDEO: AT-AT day afternoon
(via Vimeo)

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Stumbling Upon Empire Strikes Back at Elstree Studios

StarWars.com Team | June 25, 2010

With The Empire Strikes Back celebrating its 30th Anniversary, many of our Star Wars fans have been sharing their childhood memories of one of their favorite films of the saga.

Star Wars artist David Rabbitte sent us this awesome story of how as a kid he stumbled upon Elstree Studios when Empire was being made!

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Star Wars Couture Force Fashion?

Bonnie Burton | June 22, 2010

Say what you will about Darth Vader, the guy knew how to make a fashion statement. Illustrator John Woo not only understood the power of dark side threads, he decided to give some of the most well-known characters in the Star Wars galaxy a high fashion makeover.

Hong Kong-based illustrator John Woo presents his latest series of works, dubbed He Wears It. The series takes on an obvious theme, highlights key characters from the Star Wars film franchise and decking them out in today’s more hyped brands. Featured brands include the likes of COMME des GARCONS, Viktor & Rolf, Supreme, visvim, Maison Martin Margiela, Thom Browne and Band of Outsiders.

Read more about it here:
Star Wars: He Wears It by John Woo
(via Hypebeast)

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