Star Wars Celebration V: Day 3 & 4

Sorry it’s taken me so long to get this post up! Last week/weekend was such a hectic whirlwind of Star Wars awesomeness, to be hit full in the face with the realities of work and real life is equivalent to a proton torpedo in the exhaust port! I hope you were all following me on Twitter; I was able to get some great pictures and juicy news out to the Twitter-verse, right from my phone. But, for those of you waiting for the full breakdown, here it is:

Day 3

Saturday, we got up EARLY – like 3:30am early! The shuttles weren’t running to the convention center yet, so we cabbed it. Not surprisingly, we were NOT the first ones in line for the George Lucas/John Stewart Main Event. There were already about 2,000 people in line! I heard later that the first person in line had been there since 5pm on Friday! Hats off to you, uber-dedicated fan.

For being so early (and so freakin’ muggy) everyone was in surprisingly high spirits. At 6am, they let the line inside the convention center, blessing us with A/C and coffee. There were only a limited number of seats available in the “Celebration Stage,” the theatre where George would be live, in person, in the flesh. They had several other theatres set aside to stream the video coverage. As we drew nearer the door, the yellow wristbands for the Celebration Stage were dwindling…dwindling…almost there…GOT ONE! We made it (by only about 75 people!) into the live stage! I was super psyched.

Once inside, people slept, read, talked, watched Star Wars on iPads and laptops. There was a guy making Star Wars-themed balloon art which was pretty impressive. Finally, at around 10:30 (yes, we were in line for six hours) they let us into the theatre. The place was buzzing and once John Stewart stepped out on stage (with a complete stormtrooper escort) the crowd was going crazy. Without much ado, John introduced the man of the hour (literally, it was only an hour), George Lucas! The place went nuts, myself included.

To be honest, I was on such a high (lack of sleep and crazed fanboy overstimulation will do that to you) that I don’t remember every single word that was said. John was asking questions from a list of fan-submitted queries. He was funny and everyone was soaking it all up. George talked about the original movies, how no one knew what they were or how they’d do at the box office. He talked about the generational spread Star Wars has (the Original Trilogy for one generation, the Prequels for another, The Clone Wars for yet another). At some point during the show, George presented John with his very own action figure! John returned the favor by showing an old Japanese commercial, featuring Ewoks, Chewbacca and George himself, sufficiently embarrassing The Maker.

Then the juicy stuff. George revealed quite a bit about The Clone Wars Season 3. His cameo in Episode III, Baron Papanoida, will make an appearance, along with his family. The voices will be provided by George himself and his children. A clip was shown, where the Baron enters a cantina brawl with duel pistols blazing. Then, a clip was shown of the Nightsister witch Talsain, introducing Count Dooku to a new apprentice: a Zabrak named Savage Oppress. George revealed that Savage is actually…Darth Maul’s brother! A collective gasp rose from the ranks of nerds, followed quickly by roaring cheers.

But that’s not all folks! George announced that all six Star Wars movies will be released on Blu-ray sometime in 2011…and…that there would be some never-before-seen deleted scenes from the Original Trilogy! They showed one of the scenes from Return of the Jedi, showing Darth Vader tempting Luke to the dark side, while Luke is building his new green lightsaber in Obi-Wan’s hovel, right before sending R2-D2 and C-3PO to Jabba’s Palace. Once Luke activated his new green lightsaber, the crowd exploded, whooping and hollering (with maybe a few sobs of joy thrown in there).

Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher made surprise guest appearances, talking briefly. Carrie had the whole house rolling, saying she was glad her sex scene with Jabba the Hutt would finally see the light of day on the Blu-ray release; although she blamed this particular scene for her eventual descent into drug addiction.

And that was it. Mark, Carrie, George and John waved their good-byes and the biggest event of the week came to a close.

But it was only noon! The day was still young. Walking the exhibit hall, we saw Ashley Eckstein host a Star Wars fashion show, got to see some more killer costumes (including a young woman as a Rebel pilot…inside an X-Wing!). We saw a screening of the first ever 3D Star Wars fan film, The Solo Adventures – it was pretty awesome! (If you have the red/blue 3D glasses, you can actually watch it here or watch it in 2D here).

Went to the Fate of the Jedi panel later that day. Authors Troy Denning, Christie Golden and Aaron Allston were there, along with editor Shelly Shapiro and moderator Pablo Hidalgo. Not a lot of groundbreaking news, other than the title for the last book in the series, Apocalypse. After this series, it looks like they will focus more on standalone novels and trilogies/duologies instead of the longer series. Should be some good stuff coming out of Del Rey and Co. in the coming years!

Around four o’clock, we headed to the buses to go to Disney World for The Last Tour to Endor event! The Star Tours ride is closing, with a new version opening next year (new storyline, happening between Episodes III and IV, new locations, 3D – see a preview video here), so they were having a big shindig, just for the Star Wars fans to enjoy the ride one last time.

This event was awesome. The park was reserved just for the fans, Star Wars music was piped through the park all night long, the lines to the rides (like Rock ‘n’ Roll Coaster and Tower of Terror) were non-existent – and Star Tours is so awesome when you’re riding with a packed starspeeder of cheering Star Wars fans! We rode all the rides twice, picked up some merchandise (including the limited edition Last Tour to Endor t-shirt) and enjoyed just walking around, having the park to ourselves.

At 10pm, we waited in line for the live action theatre event, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Jedi Temple of Doom – most epic title ever! The line was long, the weather was sweltering (I think I was sweating even more than Jabba in a sauna), but we got good seats. Right before the show, George Lucas showed up, amid cheers and a bazillion camera flashes. The show started and the directors called some special guests out of the audience to act as extras – Seth Green, Jaime King and Anthony Daniels!

There really was no plot to the show, but it was every fanboy’s dream to see Indy fighting Boba Fett, swinging from rooftops with Slave Leia and dueling with Darth Maul. Pyrotechnics, humor and overall geekiness made for a thoroughly enjoyable show!

At midnight, Disney put on the best fireworks show I have ever seen. A full 15 minutes of perfectly timed fireworks, set to John Williams’ brilliant Star Wars score. It was enough to give me goosebumps, even in the disgusting humidity!

Finally, 1am rolled around (yep, almost been up for 24 hours!) and the closing ceremony of Star Tours commenced. R2-D2 and C-3PO made an appearance, along with Darth Vader and Boba Fett. Vader tasked Fett with destroying the old ride in preparation for the new one. With a well aimed thermal detonator, a blast of fire and sparks marked the close of an amazing and exhausting day.

Day 4

After such a crazy Day 3, Day 4 was mercifully low-key. I was able to test out my Force abilities with the Force Trainer toy, where I confirmed my suspicions – I am, indeed, a Jedi Master! Checked out the massive Hoth dioramas that people had been working on all week, browsed the Ralph McQuarrie art exhibit, and got an exclusive interview with Star Wars author extraordinaire, Dan Wallace, where he revealed some awesome details about his upcoming book, The Jedi Path (will post the interview soon, so keep an eye out for it!).

Then off to the tattoo booths to get my long-overdue, Star Wars tattoo! With the Jedi symbol inked firmly beneath my skin, I made my way to The Clone Wars Season 3 panel.

Dave Filoni and Joel Aron didn’t reveal a whole lot (George let loose more details in his Main Event panel than they expected), but they had some juicy tid-bits. They showed a bunch of clips: Asajj Ventress and Count Dooku attacking the cloning facilities on Kamino with Trident ships and new Aqua droids; Dooku having a late-night lightsaber duel with three invisibility-cloaked Jedi assassins; Ventress heading to her homeworld (Dathomir!), where we learn she has some connections with the Nightsisters; Savage Oppress is revealed again; and finally, a “mega” trailer for Season 3, teasing at a whole lot of crazy happening this fall!

Dave was pretty cagey, not really answering many questions – he’s definitely mastered the art of the evasive answer. But he confirmed Delta Squad’s appearance and revealed that “a location from the Original Trilogy” will be featured. Lots to look forward to in Season 3 people!

Unfortunately, Carrie Fisher cancelled her panel. I was super bummed; I think she is hilarious, and was really looking forward to an hour of her being crazy funny. Maybe next time.

The day was winding down: grabbed a few more pictures then headed to the shuttles to go back to the hotel – exhausted, ecstatic and totally satisfied.

Day 3 picture gallery

Day 4 picture gallery

Once again, sorry it took me so long to get this last post up. Had almost 20 hours worth of plane delays getting home and was running on a measly amount of sleep – but it was all worth it!

Hope you all enjoyed the coverage and the pictures. Stay tuned for my interview with Dan Wallace; should be up beginning of next week.

Did you go to Celebration V? Share some of your favorite moments in the comments! Can’t wait for Celebration VI? Share what you hope to see in three years (I’m hoping it’s in Vegas next time – close and cooler!).

May the Force be with you!

UPDATE: Check out what happened on days 1 & 2!

A Comicon Virgin’s First Time…

My first Comicon was a rousing success! I wasn’t able to attend the Thursday night preview or Friday, but I definitely made up for lost time on Saturday and Sunday.

[Click the various links for more photos or view the whole slideshow here and the videos on YouTube here.]

Saturday

Got to the Convention Center around 9 o’clock on Saturday, picked up my weekend passes and stood in line (which, by the time 10 o’clock hit, was wrapped around the building) for the Exhibition Hall. There were three main areas: the smaller breakout rooms (for panels and such), the South Hall (for big events like Stan Lee, etc.) and the Exhibition Hall, where all the vendors and autograph signing tables were set up.

Bombarded with crazy costumed fans, boxes overflowing with comics, massive art prints on easels, racks of action figures…it was a bit overwhelming. I headed over to the autograph signing tables to catch a glimpse of John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville), James Marsters (Buffy, Smallville), Daniel Logan (Boba Fett, Attack of the Clones) and Ray Park (Darth Maul, The Phantom Menace, G.I. Joe, X-Men). I decided to purchase a photograph with Daniel and Ray, which I think turned out awesome, and was a way better deal than getting their individual autographs. They were both super friendly and seemed genuinely excited to be meeting with fans.

Me with Daniel Logan (Young Boba Fett) & Ray Park (Darth Maul)

There was a designated Star Wars area toward the back of the Hall; so, naturally, that’s where I headed. A large tent bore the banners of five fan groups: the ISO Girls, the Mandalorian Mercs, the 501^st Legion, the Rebel Legion and the R2-D2 Builders. It’s always great to see these truly devoted fans out in force for events – and as ever, their costumes and armor rocked! The R2-D2 Builders really outdid themselves with two fully functional R2-D2s, complete with sounds, lights, movement, even a working periscope!

As a Star Wars action figure collector, I found some great deals on some figures I’d been looking for and even went on the hunt for the 6 part comic miniseries Superman: Man of Steel (after all, don’t you need to get a comic at Comicon?). Over the course of the two days, we found 5 of the 6…still looking for part 5!

John Schneider

I caught the John Schneider panel later that afternoon. He talked a bit about The Dukes of Hazzard, how he turned down a cameo in the 2005 reboot film and how the “awful” movie killed any chance of a successful remake, but most people were there to hear about his time as Jonathan Kent on Smallville. He expressed fond memories of working on the show and working with Tom Welling. For the most part, the audience asked great questions and John shared some nice behind-the-scenes tidbits. He even shared his ideal ending for Smallville:

“Clark would be looking into a mirror, contemplating some hard decision…then you’d see my hands fasten the [Superman] cape around his shoulders…and the camera would pan back and you’d see my reflection in the mirror and I’d say, ‘It’s ok, son.’ And that would be it. But that will never happen.”

The audience applauded, and frankly, I think the idea’s not half bad!

Sunday

While Saturday was spent mostly in the Exhibition Hall, Sunday was full of exciting panels and talkback sessions in the smaller rooms. Since I already had my passes, there was no waiting in line, so I didn’t show up until around 10:45, catching the tail end of the “Sci-Fi and Social Media” panel (seemed fitting, as I’m a sci-fi fan and work with social media for a living!).

Michael A. Stackpole

Michael A. Stackpole, of Star Wars: X-Wing fame, was sitting on the “Sci-Fi and Social Media” panel. While there was little said that wasn’t already known to me, it was interesting to hear it all from a writer’s perspective: when to respond to comments, when not to, how to handle personal matters online, etc. If nothing else, it encouraged me to get back to writing and continue my blogging efforts!

Later, I sat in on Michael’s “Star Wars Expanded Universe” panel. I really enjoyed getting some more insight into the X-Wing novels and I, Jedi, especially the behind-the-scenes politics with editors and Lucasfilm. I hadn’t thought about it, but it’s been a decade since his last Star Wars title, after his supposed Dark Tide trilogy was cut short due to conflicts with the editor. It’s a shame, because Stackpole’s books are some of my favorites!

He talked about his close collaboration with Timothy Zahn, both with the short stories Side Trip and Interlude at Darkknell and also Zahn’s Hand of Thrawn duology.

I asked him if/when they decide to kill off Wedge Antilles or Corran Horn (two characters that feature prominently in the X-Wing series, the latter of which was created by Stackpole), would he want the job. He said he would kill off Corran if invited to do so, but he wouldn’t want to kill off Wedge. He chuckled at this, probably aniticpating the negative fan reaction that comes with killing off major characters. Some asked if he’d be ok if someone else killed Corran (similar to when Karen Traviss killed Zahn’s creation and fan favorite, Mara Jade). Stackpole said he’d be sad, but he’d given Corran the arc he wanted and would be ok if that was it. Side Note: Stackpole said Zahn was not consulted at all about Mara’s death and found out only days prior to Sacrifice’s release…ouch!

Michael also discussed his wish that they would have kept Anakin Solo alive (thus his prominence in the Dark Tide duology). Alas, they killed him anyway, a waste in Stackpole’s eyes.

I was able to get a picture with Michael and had him sign my oft-read copy of I, Jedi.

Me and Michael A. Stackpole

Ray Park & Daniel Logan

The “Darth Maul vs. Boba Fett” panel was a lot of fun. Both Ray Park and Daniel Logan were enthusiastic and were more than happy to answer fans’ questions.

Daniel talked about his early acting career, doing commercials in his home country of New Zealand. He later told a humorous story about his U.S. citizenship process. His agent had told him it might take months to complete all the paperwork. Included in his application was a handwritten “recommendation” letter from George Lucas himself. A day after the paperwork was submitted, Daniel got a call from his agent, informing him that he had already been approved! Daniel said he is convinced there was a Star Wars fan working in the immigration office. While a funny story, I found it even more hilarious due to all the immigration controversy happening in Arizona – I wonder if Daniel was aware of any of it!

Ray talked a lot about his martial arts background and how he doesn’t mind taking on the heavily made-up or masked roles (Darth Maul, Toad, Snake Eyes) as long as he can show off his martial arts skills. He admitted that he still makes his own sound effects on set, saying, “When I stop enjoying it and stop being Peter Pan, then I’ll stop acting.”

A bit later he made a little kid’s dream come true by calling him up on stage, toy lightsaber and all, and staged a lightsaber fight! Getting to fight Darth Maul at Comicon? A memory that kid will never forget.

Coming to an End…

I knew I wanted some art, so when I found Tom Hodges (artist for The Clone Wars online webcomics) doing $10 commissioned sketches, I was psyched! In under a minute, he turned out a kick-ass Slave Leia and an awesome Superman! Definitely going in a frame!

I didn’t pay to go and meet Stan Lee, but was able to snap a few photos from afar!

As the Exhibition Hall cleared out, Phoenix Comicon 2010 was drawing to an end. I’m glad I went, glad I got to meet some awesome people, see some crazy things and walk away with some unforgettable souvenirs and memories. Will definitely be going next year!

Congrats to the men and women who put on this great event – I’m sure it was a beast. And thanks to all the artists, writers, actors and celebs who took time out of their busy schedules to share some love with the fans – it wouldn’t have been the same without you!

Did you go to this year’s Phoenix Comicon? Share your favorite Comicon story in the comments!

Phoenix Comicon: A Prologue

Phoenix Comicon started last night, kicking off a weekend full of elaborate costumes, geek-tastic panels, celebrity sightings and more. Comicon is to nerds what a room full of scantily clad Twi’lek dancers is to a Hutt…irresistible. Yet, I’ve managed to never attend a single one.

So, this year, I’ve decide to rectify this unfortunate situation. With guests like Daniel Logan (young Boba Fett, Attack of the Clones), Ray Park (Darth Maul, The Phantom Menace), John Schneider (Jonathan Kent, Smallville) and James Marsters (Milton Fine/Brainiac, Smallville), this seemed like as good a year as any to attend.

I’ll be chronicling my first ever Con event, taking pictures, recording panel highlights, etc. Make sure to follow my Twitter hashtag (#popgoestheculture) and the official hashtag for the Con (#PHXCC) to get up-to-date info on all the weekend’s happenings. And check back on Monday for a complete recap of my first Phoenix Comicon, complete with pictures and whatever else I can cram into a post-Con blog post!

Are you attending Phoenix Comicon? Have you attended a Comicon in the past? Share some of your own plans for this year’s Comicon, whether Phoenix’s or your own hometown’s!