The Things That Made CIII great For Me

I had a lot of fun at CIII... more fun at CII, but hey... Hayden was there so that pretty much explains that hahahaha.

My high points:

- Star Wars in 30 minutes... OMG what a riot!!
- Ray parks talk/demonstration
- The Hayden phone call (video didn't work, and I didn't expect to enjoy it, but ya know, it was pretty entertaining!)
- One man Star Wars (this guy is nuts! haha)
- The Master Replicas Party (lightsaber demo and many of the celebs just hangin out, seeing Jake Llyod all grown up was cool hehe)
- Wearing my Battle Padme costume on Saturday (lots of stops for photos and many pats on the back from fellow costumers )

 

James, I would love to see any pics you have! You can PM me if you want.

Go-Mer-Tonic, thank you! We don't really have a CD or DVD or anything-- when we did the show two years ago we recorded it, but just for ourselves. LFL really didn't want us to record the performance at C3; we're trying to figure out if we can get a copy of *their* recording or not.

 

my list:

-above all else, what i absolutely LOVED about C3 (and C1 and C2) was the sense of community. i had the privilege of being there with probably 40,000 other people, who even though i didn't know all of them, seemed like family to me. i felt like it was one enormous group of brothers and sisters. and, even through waiting FOREVER for the store, and the other lines, blah blah blah, my dad and I kept things very well in perspective, and it annoys me to hear all the whining from people who can't get past the un-escapable fact that, yeah, when there are a lot of people that all wanna do the same stuff, you're going to have to wait. period. even while i was stuck in a line for something, i still tried to look around and just absorb everything as much as i possibly could. the experience of going to an event like that, where there are so many people who all feel so passionately about the same thing, is truly beyond words to me. THAT, more than anything else, is what makes me cherish the Celebrations.

-finally meeting Ray Park and getting his autograph, after years of admiring and marveling over his awesome Ep. 1 performance

-during the opening ceremonies, when the 501st all stormed out to the imperial march at the beginning, and the entire place just absolutely EXPLODED. it was sooooo beyond awesome, because the cheers started soft, and steadily grew louder and louder when more people noticed them standing towards the back. then, when the music hit, and they all started power-walking out, led by Vader, it literally gave me goosebumps. on that night, in that room, during those few moments, nothing could have hurt any of us. we were all invincible, standing as one, and serving notice that Star Wars IS forever, and the brotherhood and kinship we all share will NEVER die!

-one-man SW.....OMG, that was one of the most absolutely amazing and hysterical things EVER

-SW in 30 - you guys all did an AWESOME job

-spotting at least one fellow Edge-bearer (i'm straight edge, and even though i never got to talk to him, i saw another bro there that i knew that was.....so, if you have those tattoos on the back of your arms, and if you're on these boards, PM me, dude, and say what's up!

-the standing ovation that everyone gave Lucas at the end of his show (feelings that go beyond words)

 

I was at the first Lucas presentation, and we had a standing ovation as well. I couldn't hold back the tears when the last kid who got up to ask a question mereley said "thank you".

It seems all too often I hear what people want from Lucas, how he should have done stuff, how he shouldn't have done other stuff.

It was so representative of where I am coming from to just thank Lucas for what he has done.

By the way, what's an "Edge Bearer"?

 

Go-Mer-Tonic - "edge-bearer" is a term that some people use to refer to someone who is Straight Edge

 

...which means....

 

The Master Replicas Party (lightsaber demo and many of the celebs just hangin out,

Could you describe this with more detail please? I spent $150 in the vendor area on items I liked, but I kick myself in the butt for not putting all my fundage towards Master Replicas. I'll be heading to Borders Books this weekend because they carry them.

 

First off I would like to thank all of the total strangers that had to put up with me this past weekend. Thank you for not booting me to the lobby to disturb other with my apparent snoring/moaning. Anyways, you guys were cool. The biggest high light for me was being able to go? now on to the name dropping. I stayed at the Hyatt, but drank at the Marriott. You had to be a total dope not to run into Star Wars celebrities at that place. I had the fortunate chance of having dinner with Ian ?Wes Janson? Liston a rather straight forward, down-to-earth bloke. He treated me and my roommates to dinner at Champions Saturday night. Meet and hung out with Barrie ?Rebel Scum? Holland on Friday night after the 501st party. The man is a 67 yr old ball of energy. Found it rather interesting that he let Nalini Krishan that he could hear her doing you know what in the other room the previous night. The guy was a total trip and I?m glad to see that they wised up and stuck him in the autograph hall? even if it was on the last day. Getting a head nod from Tem, and meeting Bodie was a real pleasure. Talking with Rena at Champions on Thursday night and asking her about ?Once Were Warriors? and telling her that I broke up with a girlfriend after seeing that movie in the theatres. Standing in line at 2:15am till 8:45am was not cool at all. But I did get to sleep in all the next morning in a bed by myself. Seeing Richard LeParmentier with glass of wine in hand talking to beautiful woman who had no idea who he really was in Star Wars tell them that he had thousands of Stormtroopers around the world carrying out his orders. Buying a round of drinks for Richard, Ian, and Jeremy Bulloch was an honor. And finally meeting Miles Lane in the Marriott bar and having a rather intelligent and revealing conversation on all things Star Wars. Miles you are the man! I just wanted to thank everyone who didn?t get pissed caused they had to standing in outrageous lines for hours on end. The fans and your costumes and your attitudes were what made this experience enjoyable. Oh, and One Man Star Wars Trilogy rocked!

 

Okay, I've had nearly a week to reflect on it all, so here goes...

- The CIII store. Yep, all 4.75 hours of it (that's how long it took for me, at least). Yes, it redefined the term "disorganized". Yes, it actually moved slower than the sun through the sky. What I should really say was the whole experience of the CIII store was SO BAD that it actually became quite magical, in the "I can't believe this is really happening" sense. It defied all explanation, you just had to marvel at the whole thing.

- Pink Five! Guss all you want about the guy in the General Grievous get-up. My pick for best cosplay of the weekend went to a girl named Starr who dressed up as Pink Five and shocked the hell out of Trey Stokes and Amy Earhart before the start of the fan film panel on Friday morning. You can read about it at rop5.blogspot.com

- The Fan Film Awards. Just a 1st-class production through and through. Loved how the presenters were comprised of LFL bigwigs. Throw in Trey & Amy's debut of the full RETURN OF PINK FIVE trailer and the bonus screening of RETURN OF THE EWOK and you had a great way to cap off Friday night.

- The line for George Lucas. I loved the people I met in that line, and the weather made you feel like a war vet when it was all over. Plus, hearing George finally address the progress of a STAR TOURS update in the 1st Q&A gave me a happy. A big one. Now if only we'd get word on a CAPTAIN EO sequel...

- "My Only Hope" from the Star Wars Musical Edition, sung to the tune of "A Whole New World". Being a huge Disney freak, this number touched me more than any other in the show. Would love to have an MP3 of this.

- Recognizing ObiWill from his multiple encounters with Triumph, then getting a picture with him while the line for Celebration at CIII was still a "line".

- "Sophisticated Wookie", the final performance of the Costume Cabaret on Sunday. Absolutely brilliant, especially after seeing these guys as Han, Chewie, and "hot Slave Leia" all weekend long without ever having a clue how much talent lay underneath. Okay, so Christy Marie didn't have a whole lot to do with the number, but kudos for getting Chewie on stage. I cannot even imagine how long it took to rehearse this routine. Extra credit for the opportunity to snap photos of "hot Slave Leia" on stage with ample lighting after the group won their well-deserved "Best in Show" award.

That's all I got for now. Keep 'em coming!

 

I had the best time I have ever had on a vacation. The good stuff far outweighed the bad. The bad was only really the lines.

I didn't really meet anyone except people around me in lines, but that is not why I went. (No offense) I got to spend some time with my brother and see a TON of panels and presentations.

Got to see:

1. Archives - More sparse than I would have thought, but still cool.

2. Saw talk with "Behind the Scenes" Editor JW Rinzler

3. Saw ILM's Lorne Peterson

4. Saw "ILM 30 Years" and got the shock of a lifetime when Rick McCallum showed up unannounced and showed us the "Spectacular" footage a day before anyone else

5. Saw the One-Man Trilogy. Biggest Surprise of the weekend! Fricken' AWESOME!

6. Saw the Actual Rick McCallum Show with the sound and Q and A.

7. Saw Nick Gillard in Sagamore.

8. Saw Matt Wood with the great General Grievous fight footage.

9. Saw John Knoll's great presentation.

10. Got in Early on Sunday and my brother only had to wait 3 hours to get into the C3 store. Thet were out of almost all good stuff by then. But got my 2 figures and a light up hat that I suppose I can wear to a midnight showing of Ep 3 and then probably never again. Maybe C4!

11. Saw the "Bad Girls" presentation.

12. Ate some GREAT meals. The 2 that stick out are: Ruth's Chris Thursday night and Buca de Beppo's on Sunday.

13. Got 300 great pictures!

I didn't Even attempt to see Lucas and slept in Saturday. Walked right in at 10am with no line and great sleep the night before

The Celebration at Celebration was lame to me only because it was too crowded. 2500 should have been the limit or 2 halls used. (or even the Dome if it was available) I actually thought it was a decent idea.

Stuff I didn't get to do because of time conflicts.
1. Hear Tim Zahn talk.
2. See the unveiling of the New Story Arc of books
3. See SW in 30 min. Should have been in a larger hall. Line was always too long, particularly as word of mouth spread as to how good it was.

Another great thing was how you could throw out an obscure reference or joke about SW and everyone would get it and laugh. Loved that. And I got to fly commercial for the first time! That was cool.

Best buy of the weekend? The Ep 3 Movie Guide! $10 and if you don't mind being spoiled, It was freakin' GREAT! Easily could have gone for $15 or $20 and still been worth it. I'm medium spoiled, so I looked it over, gawked at the pictures, but did not read the in depth text. As soon as I see Ep. 3 I will officially devour it

Best vacation EVER!

-Doc

 

-hanging with my friends
-the autograph hall
-seeing the ROTS footage
-watching the fan films - some were hysterical!
-getting a kiss on the cheek from Ray Park
-getting a picture taken with Jerome Blake
-seeing the amazing work people did on their costumes
-amaretto sours
-Stormtroopers ( I love a man in uniform!)
-the archives
-finding some cool stuff in the exhibit hall
-having Ben & Jerry's ice cream ( we don't have that where I am from )

 

Hmmmmm...seeing many, many, many attractive Slave Leia's?
Yes, that's it.

 

The whole thing was great basically. We managed to see:
-Opening Ceremonies
-SW in 30
-Costume contest
-SW the musical
-GL
-McCallum and the ROTS footage
-501st party

We also got in and out of the store in good time, got the autographs we wanted, got the Gentle Giant figure and scored some nice pieces of artwork. The volunteering went well also, allowing us to meet many other SW geeks

The topper, of course, was the engagement
Nope, no complaints at all.