Day Three - Friday, May 25, 2007 (30th Anniversary of Star Wars)
This was the day I was really waiting for. While this entire convention was a celebration of 30 years of Star Wars, May 25, 2007 was the actual 30th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. What better way to celebrate this anniversary than with thousands of passionatefans at the [temporary] Star Wars capitol of the world?
Basically, the day started out similar to the day before, except we were up later the previous night and we had to get up earlier (6:00AM) since the doors opened at 10:00AM instead of noon. So, as before, we went through our normal routine of getting ready and preparing, and we caught our shuttle. What was great was that those guys that we hung out with the night before (their names slip me at the moment), were riding the shuttle at the same time we were. So we now had some line buddies to wait with until the Convention doors opened! Half the fun of these events is the people you meet along the way, so every opportunity we get to talk with other fans and create friendships is always taken.
We noticed that someone in line had some particular merchandise that my dad was looking for: the new US Postage Stamps commemorating the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. My uncle works for the Post Office, and so we promised him that we would pick up the stamps for him, since his is a fan as well. This was the first issuing of the stamps. There was a separate line outside where you could pick them up, and so my dad decided to go wait in that line while Steve and I and our line buddies waited for general admission into the Convention Center.
Once the doors opened, and all the Jedi, Princesses, Dark Lords, Stormtroopers, etc. started moving, I was off to get Carrie Fisher's autograph. However, our line buddies got left behind since this was their first day and they would not let them in unless they had a lanyard for their badges. They were only allowed entrance to the Celebration store to get lanyards, and then they could proceed to the rest of the convention. Anyhow, Steve and I moved on to the Autograph Hall, while my dad still waited for the stamps. We never saw our line buddies again after that - even though we were staying in the same hotel!
I was quite excited to know that in just a couple hours (because of the long wait in the autograph line) I would actually meet Princess Leia. Not only that, but I had just seen her on her new TV show On the Lot! I was not sure what to expect. Would she be kind and polite? Or rude and cynical? You just never know with celebrities. I figured she might be a little cranky since the line to get her autograph was so huge and she had to sign so many photos, toys, posters, etc.
Steve was waiting in line with me, and we were all ready to go - except for one thing: I had nothing for Carrie to sign! I had picked up my pre-ordered autograph ticket, but had forgotten to purchase a photo coupon for her. The way the autograph system worked was that you purchase coupons for autographs, and you have the option to purchase photo coupons as well. So, I had Steve get out of line and purchase a photo coupon for me, in hopes that he could get back in line with me. Unfortunately, he could not get back in line, however he was able to give the photo coupon to a volunteer and he gave the coupon to me. Whew! Do not feel bad though, because Steve was not getting Carrie's autograph until the next day. However, I was sort of waiting alone, and the people around me were not all that conversational, which is unusual at this sort of thing. So I was a little bored waiting in line.
Finally, the time came for me to get her autograph. However, they had said no photography or video recording. Apparantely Carrie Fisher was willing to have her picture taken, but because of the long line, the volunteers decided it would be best if she avoided that entirely so that the line would move faster. But, being the sneeky guy I am, I decided to take some hidden video on my Kodak camera. While most people nowadays know that digital cameras can take video as well, they usually do not suspect a picture camera to be recording video - particularly if you are not looking through the view finder or at the display screen. I simply just turned my camera on and kind of held it in a position where I thought it would pick up the best shots! So I got some video of the experience, although it did not turn out as good as I had hoped. I missed much of Carrie Fisher's face and mostly caught a view of her signing the photo I bought. I did capture a few shots of her face, but not a whole lot. At least it is proof that she actually autographed my photo. What was amazing was that she actually dated the photo "5/25/07," the 30th anniversary. Who would have thought that exactly 30 years after the premiere of the original Star Wars that Princess Leia would be giving me her autograph?
Carrie was quite kind and polite, to my surprise. She was just as well spoken as she is on TV. Many times celebrities put on a great face on camera, but are kind of the other way around in real life. I recall her saying something like, "They're moving us along, aren't they? I can feel it!" I could tell by the tone of her voice that she actually wanted to spend a little longer with each fan than what the volunteers were allowing. Oh well. The experience was still a great one. I gained a little more respect for her that day. I mean, it takes a lot from a celebrity to actually want to spend quality time with the fans when there are literally hundreds of fans lined up for an autograph. She just seemed to have a great deal of patience and enthusiasm for us.
We had finally gotten in contact with my dad after that. He picked up some great stamp stuff, including a framed stamp collection, cancelled for use. It was time for lunch for my dad and I. I cannot remember what Steve went off to do. But at that point I was not thinking about that. After I had gotten something to eat, I realized that I had set my show bag down somewhere and walked off without it! It had a couple of my exclusive figures in it, as well as my $5.00 program, sunglasses, etc. I was so caught up in the experience of getting Fisher's autograph that I became abscent-minded and forgot to grab my bag on the way out! So, after I got done eating I went back to where I thought I left it, and of course it was not there. Crap. So I wandered around with my dad to find out where a lost and found might be. I finally found out where it was after much aimless walking and wrote down a description of the bag and its contents, as well as my cell phone number. I figured no one would turn it in, and so I just planned on purchasing more exclusive figures from the store. The contents of the bag were not all that valuable, so I really did not let myself get upset over it. I just accepted my abscent-mindedness and moved on, because I was in L.A. hanging out with Star Wars fans and celebrities having the time of my life. Why let some stupid thing like this ruin it?
Anyhow, after that we met up with Steve to wait in line for the Carrie Fisher interview with Jay Laga'aia (Captain Typho from Episodes II and III). Can you tell this day was all about Carrie Fisher? We met a couple cool people (husband and wife) in line who were dressed up as Imperial officers. I cannot remember their names either (I do not think I remember anyone's name I met!), but we ran into each other a couple more times throughout the convention. They had different costumes for each day, which was really cool.
Needless to say, Carrie Fisher's interview was a delight and very funny. She was quite humorous and personable. She answered many questions from fans in the audience with such a caring earnestness. Aside from losing some of my belongings, this was such a great day so far. At it was only 2:30 PM!
What came next? Actually, my dad and I went to get Bruce Spence's (Tion Medon, Revenge of the Sith ) autograph. What a great dude. Completely personable. We both love him as Tion Medon, but we also thought he was so cool as the Mouth of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition). He even said his line for us in the Mouth of Sauron voice: "I have a token I was bidden to show thee!" It was amazing.
The next thing would be waiting in line for the Opening Ceremonies. This is sort of the welcoming ceremony to kick off the start of the Convention. We waited a good long time before the line even moved. And when it moved for the first time, it was simply everyone scrunching together to make the line not stretch as far. We talked quite a while with a British lad named Phil (the only name I remember from all the people we met), who was cool to talk to. I always enjoy hearing an authentic british accent. It was mostly him and my dad talking, but I listened and contributed a little. The rest of the time I just tried to sleep, while Steve took a walk. I was quite exhausted, and it was only the second day of the convention!
Finally, after a couple hours or so of waiting, we got into the Opening Ceremonies. It was a good thing we got in line when we did, because apparently there was a bomb scare and many people still waiting in line were evacuated while everyone who made inside remained inside (evidently they determined we would be safer inside and the outside people would be safer a couple blocks away). There was a suspcious package left at the Convention center, and so precautionary meaures were taken. This was probably caused because the Mayor of L.A. was there to commemerate this day as Star Wars Day. But we were inside and able to enjoy the ceremonies. We were unaware of the bomb scare when we were inside. It was not until we went to catch our shuttle to go back to our hotel that we found out about it.
I do not think these Opening Ceremonies were as good as the ones at Celebration III, but I still had a good time. Star Wars Day was delcared, the official winner of the US Postal Service Star Wars stamp was revealed (it was Yoda), Steve Sansweet (Head of Fan Relations, owner of Rancho Obi-Wan) came out in a giant Ewok costume, etc. But then, to celebrate the birth of Star Wars, they served a slice of birthday cake to everyone in the audience (around 6,000 people)! Many Star Wars celebrities were on stage already and they ate as well. What a great moment it was to see David Prowse (Darth Vader) eating cake!
There were also previews of The Force Unleashed video game and the new Lego Star Wars Saga game (both looked cool), the Robot Chicken: Star Wars Adult Swim episode, the Fanboys film (due out in January 2008) and the upcoming hour-long Family Guy episode which parodies Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. All were great to watch. George Lucas had a pre-recorded video message wecloming the fans as well. He was not there this time, unfortunately. However, I do not know if I was quite ready to wait all night in line to see him again!
Probably the highlight of the Opening Ceremonies has to be Boba Fett. This was not just any old Boba. This was Boba Fett - with a real jet pack!! Steve Sansweet had told everyone to stick around for a special surprise. Little did the audience know that their ears drums would explode to the sound of this raging jet pack. At first, there was a lot of confusion, as the sound sounded like the speaker system went static. It was incredibly loud. But then we all saw this figure flying onto the stage. It was amazing. Check out the YouTube clips of the flying Fett below!
Well, once again it was time to go home. It had been a great day and I could not wait for the days to come. However, I was still wired, and so I decided to put some of the video I shot onto my iPod. Then I would go to bed.
Once the doors opened, and all the Jedi, Princesses, Dark Lords, Stormtroopers, etc. started moving, I was off to get Carrie Fisher's autograph. However, our line buddies got left behind since this was their first day and they would not let them in unless they had a lanyard for their badges. They were only allowed entrance to the Celebration store to get lanyards, and then they could proceed to the rest of the convention. Anyhow, Steve and I moved on to the Autograph Hall, while my dad still waited for the stamps. We never saw our line buddies again after that - even though we were staying in the same hotel! 
I was quite excited to know that in just a couple hours (because of the long wait in the autograph line) I would actually meet Princess Leia. Not only that, but I had just seen her on her new TV show On the Lot! I was not sure what to expect. Would she be kind and polite? Or rude and cynical? You just never know with celebrities. I figured she might be a little cranky since the line to get her autograph was so huge and she had to sign so many photos, toys, posters, etc.
Anyhow, after that we met up with Steve to wait in line for the Carrie Fisher interview with Jay Laga'aia (Captain Typho from Episodes II and III). Can you tell this day was all about Carrie Fisher? We met a couple cool people (husband and wife) in line who were dressed up as Imperial officers. I cannot remember their names either (I do not think I remember anyone's name I met!), but we ran into each other a couple more times throughout the convention. They had different costumes for each day, which was really cool. 
