San A, TX Waiting To Hear From Our C-3 Attendees

To those who went I hope you had a super fun weekend. I know I am one who is anxious to hear all the stories and see all the pics you guys took.

 

You and me both Alex - I know that Lisa will be heading over here today (I am off all week to work on costumes and armor). We're meeting up to finalize what all we need to do for our upcoming activities so you are welcome to head over here and hopefully Brent and Marselles may wanna join in as well . . .

Take Care

John

 

A religious experience for me.

I can't really explain the insanity of standing in the freezing rain from midnight to 6am waiting for George Saturday morning. It is something I can only share with the thousands of people who were actually there enduring that pain. Truly a shared experience - ONLY to have that sacrifice diminished by Lisa who was able to just walk in later that morning, AFTER STANDING IN LINE FOR ONLY 30 MINUTES to see the second or third show (according to a person who attended the second show it is likely that Lisa saw the third show).

No BITTERNESS HERE!!!!!

Anyway, other than that fiasco - I wanted to just hug somebody as I left Sunday to feel some sort of closure. The best I got was a handshake from a guy at the airport bar. He saw the second show. We compared notes and bonded over a few drinks before I caught my plane. That handshake was a powerful goodbye to my C3 experience.

-Brent

 

Okay, here's my rather incoherent report about C3. I saw Lisa there, and Marselles from a distance though I never caught up with him. And other people kept telling me they met some San Antonians who I didn't know. There was apparently a really great Mace running around from SA.

Anyway, what can I say? Celebration was super fantastic! Some people have complained about the lines, and it's true that the line for the store was insane. But I just didn't worry about that stuff. The longest I stood in any line was maybe an hour. Sometimes we just walked right in. But then maybe it helped that I have been here before and had some experience. This time I focused a lot more on the fans, because really that's the best part. I took lots of pics of the fans in costume and all the fan-built stuff.

The costumes last time were great, but I really think they were even better this time around. Seemed like there were a lot more costumes of obscure characters, and also crazy themes. And there were TONS more Fetts, and not just Jango and Boba, but lots of original Fett armor. There was Owen and Beru with baby Luke, lots of Tuskens, Hermione Bagwa, a Yuzhan Vong, quite a few Endor Leias, a Luke on a Taun Taun IN an action figure package, several Quinlans, a 10yo Lando and a 7yo Mara Jade and a 6 month old Leia with bun hairdo. Elvis stormtrooper, Redneck Jedi, Stormtrooper janitorial service, a Captain Jack stormtrooper, a hippie stormtrooper, ewoks, Max Rebo, Darth Jar Jar, Rancor Guard. Oh, the list goes on and on.

I didn't get in to see George Lucas, but then I didn't even try. However, I did get in to see host Jay Laga'aia with Nick Gillard and John Knoll. Saw the Spectacular Spectacular four or five times (can't remember how many now) and met the original Mon Mothma, Rena Owen (Taun We), and Jan Duursema (Quinlan comics).

Okay, so here's kind of a rundown of what happened each day (that I can remember).

Thursday: When I arrived at the airport, I already was seeing SW t-shirts and even a Jedi at the baggage claim. It was so exciting! Met some friends and we got in line, and it was really frikkin' long. We got in around 11:00 and didn't get into the place until 1:30.

I don't remember what we did first. Walked around the exhibit hall? Let's see, that day we also went to the Archive hall. There was the new Hayden Vader costume, and the Ani, Padme and Obi costumes. And the Obi and Ani costumes had little burn holes in them from, oh I don't know, maybe lava??? Also a small model of Mustafar, and three Wookiees, including Chewie. Also Yoda from TESB and the Millenium Falcon and the Jawa Sandcrawler, and Hoth Leia, Han, and Wampa, and I got a picture of Luke's lightsaber.

When we were eating hotdogs, we sat on the floor next to a little girl in a Mara Jade outfit. She is 7 years old and had been to Celebration 2. She is a huge fan and showed us her book with the Mara Jade and Aayla Secura autographs in it, and the picture she drew for Mara Jade. And she showed us her costume, and that her baby sister was named Aayla. She was such a cutie! The little fans were all adorable. She had the Mara pose down, too, and I also have a pic of a little Boba who couldn't be more than four, doing a great pose. We also met a father and son TIE fighter pilots. They had little rebel symbols to show their kills: the dad had four, the kid had six!

Friday: We got up rather late, and it was nasty raining outside. We got to the convention about 11:00, this time I was wearing my Jedi costume. Even though Jedi are a dime a dozen, I got several compliments on my costume. Went to see Nick Gillard. We were in that line for about an hour, but turned out we could have just walked in as there were plenty of seats left. But that was okay, because we got lunch and ate in line. Oh! Before that we went into the R2-D2 builders hall, where there were all kinds of droids, including Gonks and mouse droids and a Jar Jar in carbonite, and a Bomarr Monk (the spidery things in the background in ROTJ). Which was all very cool! And all of them made by fans.

 

I just wanted to respond to Rita by saying that I too was at the Nick presentation on Firday. I was near the front of the line and got a clear photo of Nick walking by. That was a great show and I would have to say that every question asked (even by teenagers) were solid questions. His answers regarding the fighting techniques created for Sidious and the General were very interesting.

As for the musical, I ranted about this to Lisa so I built it up pretty big - so she was probably a little disappointed, but I just absolutely loved that thing!! Everything from the props, the staging of Leia's message (in silent mode while Luke and Ben are talking), the killing of Jar Jar, and for me the most memorable songs were definitely "Don't Cry for Me Princess Leia" and Luke and Owen singing to the music of West Side Story's "I want to be in America " (I forget the actual title). The song was based on Uncle Owen trying to convince Luke to stay on the farm. It was hilarious as the Jawas and droids began dancing a little "cha-cha". I wish there was an actual recording of that show.

Absolutely loved the musical!

-Brent

 

I'm glad everyone returned safely, we all definitely need to catch up cause I wanna hear some more C3 moments from yall, plus I was talking to Lisa tonight on the upcoming activities we have ahead of us so I hope none of you are Star Wars'd out cause this upcoming month is gonna be one heck of a month for the SA FanForce . . .

Take Care Friends

John

 

Must ask - did anyone take a pic of Jar Jar in carbonite? Would love to see that.

 

Okay, I know everyone has been dying to hear my report! I just got back today around 9:30am after driving straight from Indy. It's amazing how much Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas look alike. Anyway, it was taxing, a lot of standing in line, and very cold and damp, but I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Here's how things went with me:

Thursday: Got to the convention center bright and early to be greeted with a fan club line that wrapped around the building. I actually think the non-club line was quicker. An hour early my butt. I saw Lisa, Mom, and Lisa's friend (whose name I can't recall). John, you'll loooove this; I ran into Pete (with Wookie in pocket)and his cronies. I made sure to mention SA Fanforce and your name, which made him uneasy. HA! I met up with Lisa and Mom and they took me under their wing and guided me to the autograph hall after our attempt to infiltrate the store was dashed. The line was "capped" (a word that was repeated many times over the 4 days) after just 15 minutes. The store rarely stayed open more than an hour each day. So many people were trying to get in there that the Indy Fire Marshall shut it down. I did stand in line with Mom for David Prowse's autograph. I got Jeremy Bulloch's too. I shook their hands and told them what an honor it was to meet them. THAT WAS THE COOLEST. I can't describe, but anyone who has met them know what I mean. I also got one of Cat's prints, which were soooo beautiful. I even ran into Steve Sansweet, who had purchased one of every artist's print. I asked where he was going to find room for everything and he said He'd make room, like we all do.

I got to see the spectacular footage on thursday! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I was sitting in on the ILM slide show and Rick McCallum just strolled in and showed the footage, albeit without sound, but it was THE FRICKIN BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN. ESB couldn't hold this stuff's jockstrap. Yoda and Palpatine!!! Grievous!!! Mace and Palpatine!!!! Wookies!!! Clonetroopers!!! ANAKIN AND OBI-WAN!!!! DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMNNNNNNNNNN!!!!

After recovering from that ecstasy I ended the night watching A New Hope. It was like Mystery Science Theater 3000 in the 500 Ballroom with all the heckling. Okay, it was me, a rather scarcastic Obi Wan, and a really randy Princess Leia with small buns (hair buns) that did all the heckling, but everyone loved it. The movie too. Her real buns were quite nice by the way. She looked a little like Morgan Webb, who I heard was in attendance with Adam Sessler. Heck, she may have been Morgan Webb. Yeah, I wish!!!!

Friday: I saw the Lucasfilm Archives, which were superb. I've got serious video footage of that. I saw the Spectacular again with sound (WOW again!). Checked out the exhibit halls with all the toys and the life size X-wing mock-up. I checked in on Cat and she was selling the sketch cards like hotcakes. I wanted to see ESB, but missed it. I did catch ROTJ. There was much heckling again, and it was good. BUT HERE IS THE COOLEST THING THAT HAPPENED TO ME ALL WEEKEND; while using the phones to get ahold of my roomies, I literally ran into Rick McCallum!!!! WOAH!!! I told him how impressive the spectacular was and how great it was that he could be here to share the footage with us. We chatted for about 2 or 3 minutes. He was nothing but awesome!! Later that eveing at my hotel, my rideshare peeps (Carlos, Bianca, and Teresa) got extremely inebriated with the Ohio Garrison. They couldn't really call themselves the 501st, because they were kinda booted for being too raucous. I saw why after that night. Note: Fruit Loops and Bud Light go suprisingly well together.

Saturday: I saw Star Wars: The Musical Edition. It was hilarious. The two best parts were Obi Wan killing Jar Jar and the stormtroopers dancing and singing about not having names!! HEHEHEHE!!!! Caught the R2-D2 builders club and did see the Carbonite Jar Jar (which I have sweet video of, by the way) I ran across Lisa again while she was waiting in line for SW in 30 minutes (This may have occurre

 

Who was it that came up to me and said they were a friend of John's? I think it was on Friday maybe. I can't remember the guy's name.

-Natasha

 

It was Friday and it was me. I had just arrived after a late night. I was still in recovery mode.

Brent

 

Oh ok. Sorry I couldn't remember your name. I met a lot of people this past weekend and couldn't keep it all straight.

 

Yes, I know my post is late.

The first thing I have to say is the Brent is my hero! You are truly the most die hard fan among us!

Ok, where do I start? I arrived in Indy on Wednesday, and ran into Cat while I was picking up my friend, Stevie's pass. I also saw Peter Mayhew and Rena Owen in the Marriott bar when I went to drop Cat's Hyperspace lanyard off to her.

Thursday, we tried to go in through the skywalk in the mall, but it didn't work, so we got in the fanclub line at about 11, and saw lots of costumes (including inexplicable Jedi in headbands), saw Pete and his stuffed wookiee *snicker* and ran into Marselles too. We got in at about 1:30 and were planning on going straight to the C3 store, but that didn't work, so we headed over to see Cat and bought some prints. We also ran into Marselles along the way, and I wish we could have spent more time with him. Then we went to the Autograph hall and got the Trilogy autographed. Everyone was really great about it, and we let them know that it was for our Children's Shelter raffle. I also gave Jeremy Bulloch a few pics from the Austin show he came to last year. Anyway, I'm going to hate to give up the Trilogy because it is so cool, but it's definitely for a good cause so it's totally worth it.

Then we got in line for the Opening Ceremonies. The wait was really long, and the whole system they had for the line was really stupid. What made it even worse was that we were in a perfect spot to watch people walking by with their cases of Vader figures. It was sort of infuriating. My mom and my friend were just about ready to kill me by the time we got inside, and Stevie was even ready to bolt, but then we got to see the new footage, hear the music, see lots of the celebrities and see little previews of the SW Musical, the 1 Man Trilogy and the Trilogy in 30 Minutes. I got tons of pictures of the stars, and Peter Mayhew even had on a fabulous shirt that Cat painted for him. I also discovered that after coming 1000 miles, my neighbors at the hotel were Wes and Brandy from right here in SA! Very small world!

On Friday, due to some strong arming from my mom, we got in through the mall crosswalk, and headed straight for the store, and got figures and the C3 package that is also for the raffle. And my friend Stevie and I undertook our mission to hug assorted stormtroopers. We took tons of pictures of costumes, and we went to the Musical, the 1 Man Trilogy, and the Trilogy in 30 Minutes. They were all fantastic! And I was not disappointed in the Musical at all, Brent, but I still have to say that the 30 minute trilogy is still my favorite. We also met Tim Zahn and got him to sign our "Thrawn Lives" shirts that I made, and took pictures with the assorted Thrawns that we encountered during the day. I also got to talk to Jan Duursema, my favorite comic book artist. I had sent her a fan fiction I wrote, and she was fabulous and incredibly encouraging about the writing. I also got to take a picture with her and Quinlan Vos. Definitely one of the many high points of the weekend for me! Oh, and I almost forgot that we went to see the amazing Rick McCallum Spectacular!!! My mom saw it twice that day.

On Saturday morning, I checked my phone and had a message from Brent out in the cold and rain at 5:37am. We had no intention of going to see George. We were just going to try to go in through the mall skywalk and get Stevie's Darth Maul autograph and some of my figures autographed. We waited there even though they said they weren't going to let us in, but there were so many of us at that point that there was no way they had enough security to get rid of us. Anyway, we were even contemplating taking up a collection to bribe the guard to let us in, but luckily that wasn't necessary. Once the doors were open, we thought that we were just going to head downstairs; we had absolutely no idea that we were being ushered into the Sagamore ballroom until a trooper shouted at us "If you want to see George Lucas, you better move!" I just started screaming, and everyone around us just cou

 

Wow!!! I am impressed with you total recall of the weekends events! I on the othere hand do not know if I am coming or going!!!
I have to say that was the most exciting and exhausting conventions I have ever attended. It was so wonderful of you guys to stop by and say hello. I am soo glad we got to see each other and Lisa, thanks for the lanyard fetching. Brent I never saw you in costume. Marselles thanks again.

I have to say that even though it was last week it feels like a year ago. I so enjouyed sharing a room with tom Hodgesa dn his wife terri. I have not laughed that hard in forever. I think I lost ten pounds just form laughing. Getting to meet all of the other artists was amazing and meeting some of my idols like Adam Hughes, Tommy Lee Edwards, and Dave Dormin. WOW!! We spent three hours in the Star Wars shop line on Wed. night to get out goodies...I saaw Peter and he told me to go to the Opening Ceremonies as he would be wearing my shirt. Well the Art Show closed at 8:00pm on thursday and by the time we got over there...as those who attended my know...the line was capped. So Lisa....PICS PLEASE!!!! Dinner with the artists, got picked on by Jeremy.

Friday was kinda uneventful for us...worked the show...missed Ricks spectacular twice! Mostly just worked...Had a great dinner with the artists. Got picked on by Jeremy.

Saturday. We decieded to try to see George...but knew it would be a cold chance on Hoth to do it, but the foce was strong with us as we ran into a wonderful friend with connections and we got in the first show. That was a wonderful treat and another thing I owe this person. I have to say I teared up when he came on stage. That evening we were again, by the same person, given passes to the party. Went to dinner, got picked on by Jeremy. Kinda funky that party was. But fun. I finally got to meet the Lucas Film folks that I needed to meet. Went to the hotel bar and met Jengo Fett!! We also finally met Amy, Michonne, Orli, and finally caught up with Rena.

Sunday. Worked the show got the last minute goodies I wanted. Breezed through the autograph hall and said hello and good bye to some new friends. Got to see the Spectacular footage.......OMG!!!!!!! *tears*
Did not get to see the Archives!!!!!! Marselles...video please!!! Closed down the art show and got to go in with the volunteers and see the footage again...Mary and Steve were there...We made Mary cry...with a standing ovation!! I love you Mary!!
Watched the movie footage and a voice came over the room..."Wanna see it again?!" Whoooo Hooooo!!!! So Steve says run the ILM footage and show the other stuff again!!!! YEA! BABY!!!

So I start to tell every one thank you and thank you and good bye and Steve says.."We'll see you at the party later right?" Party?! The Lucas Film Party!!?? ME?!?!?!But I was going home now!!

Sunday Night!!! WOW!!! After an fantasatic dinner with a lot of the artists, We all head back over to the Marriot and head to Mary's suite for the Lucas Film Party! that was the best way to cap off such a fantastic weekend!!!! I got to meet everyone one more time and meet some more folks I did not meet before. What a sureal experience. We eventually moved down to the lobby because we were noisy!! but around midnight I turned into a sleepy pumpkin and had to call it a night. Dropped Tom and Terri off at the airport around 3:00am and Zach and I headed home! I am still pinching myself!!!

 

SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET. I'm soooo jealous of all you Lucas seeing people!!! I guess I'll have to make do with meeting Rick McCallum. DANG!!! I'm getting the feeling that my fandom is in question. Although I think that if I went to C3 alone that they would have had to kick me out, but I was kinda at the mercy of my roadtrip peeps. On thursday night I had to spend 25 bucks and take a cab back to my hotel because they left without me. I was locked out of the hotel for about 3 hours in the rain and cold. So, I learned to be vary conscious and cautious so as not to get left again.

Cat, you got to meet the Lucasfilm people, and go to the party? I'm greener than Yoda with envy. Tears of ridiculous inadequacy are rolling down my face right now.

 

But you met RICK!!!....of all the people you could have run into...you run into Rick!!! He was not at the party!

 

Yeah, but it was totally by random chance. I was using the phone and he was leaving the 500 ballroom with his assistants and whatnot. Heck, if I was a minute sooner or later, or not paying attention, I would have missed him. I was soo starstruck that I forgot to even tell him my name, but I bet he gets that a bunch. I prolly wasn't the first tard that day who did that.

 

we really need a chat forum!!! other wise marselles and i are going to clog the boards with out convo!!

 

Heh, I'm a chatty person. What can I say?

 

i too would enjoy a pic of jar jar in carbonite. buahaha