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Celebration II

Star Wars Celebration May, 2002

I was presented with a wonderful opportunity to go to the Star Wars Celebration II held in early May at the Indy Convetion Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was great fun. The lines, as you can see, were very long - to the point that I later called the Celebration the "Lucas Line Festival".

The 501st kept everyone well in line, though it was a little odd being orderd around by Imperial Storm Troopers. They were great though and the event went a little smoother thanks to them. I'd dress up too, but I am not nearly tall enough.

I am looking forward to the next Star Wars Celebration, it was just very convenient that this one was held in Indy where I have friends and family.



This is a panoramic shot my friend, Tom Woody, took is of one of the many, many long lines that became a feature of the celebration. In spite of the lines, most people I ran into were very tolorant and polite. The crowds were a two edge sword to this event. They created a lot of hassle to get into some of the events yet the event wouldn't have been nearly as fun without all the other fans.



This is none other than C3P0 himself, Anthony Daniels!

I was standing in line Friday and he came pushing and running hs way straight up through the line. I was caught totally off guard. From what I hear, he likes doing that to people.

I had to run to catch up to him, he moves fast. Fast enough that I ran ahead of where he was going to be and snapped this shot while he stood still for a second.

You can find more information about about Anthony Daniels here at IMDB.



This guy was one I really wanted to see! This is R. A. Salvatore! He and his wife were at the celebration because he wrote the novelization for Atttack of the Clones. He was also the author tasked with killing off Chewbacca. Here is a great picture of Peter Meyhew and Bob Salvatore. Pretty funny.

Fortunately the moderators didn't restrict him from answering questions about his other books in the Forgotten Realms series. He was able to answer some interesting questions about Drizzt Do'Urden, and Wulfgar. I am very much looking forward to his new book, "The Thousand Orcs". He said that Drizzt gets mad... now that should be interesting if you follow that character.

Bob was nice enough to pose with me, when it came time to say "Cheese" he said "I killed Chewbacca" instead! I thanked his wife for standing by him and allowing/helping him write all the books I've so come to enjoy over the years. She was very nice. It was great to meet the man responsible for so many hours of enjoyment in my life.



This is a full-size model of Obi-Wan's Jedi starfighter. The detail on this model was just amazing.



This is a picture of Temuera Morrison and Daniel Logan from the "Attack of the Fetts" show. Temuera played Jango Fett and Daniel played Young Boba Fett. Jeremy Bolloch, who played Boba Fett in "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" was also there.

They traded playful barbs about why Jango's armor was so nice and neat while Boba's was all banged up. Of course in the movie you see why. They answered questions about what it was like the played the most feared bounty hunters in the Star Wars universe. Apparently all that armor and helmet make it difficult to move, see and sit down. In fact, Temuera bangs his head against Slave I, his ship when boarding it.



Don Bies is the guy who controls R2D2 when Kenny Baker is not inside of it. He and Anthony Daniels talked about the challenges of operating Artoo in the various environments. Apparently it is not easy.

During his part, they hosted an audience "Ask Artoo" section - one person asked about all of Artoo's attachments that lead to a funny innuendo laced answer. Apparently they enjoy Artoo's rather spunky personality.

More information about Don Bies can be found in IMDB.



Lorne Peterson is one of the chief model builders at Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). He created models of all the sets like the arena in "Attack Of The Clones" and many others. The work is very meticulous and stunning in the detail.

I am rather surprised this shot came out at all. Flashes were strictly forbidden during this show. I hardly ever used my flash during the celebration anyway. This was taken at a considerable distance and I had my little digicam zoomed all the way in. Low light + fully zoomed camera will generally net you a blurry shot. I plan to bring a small tripod next time I go to one of these.



Carrie Fisher played one of the best known and loved charaters from the Star Wars saga, Princess Leia Organa.

The line to get her autograph was just insane it took over 5 hours to get to her to sign. I had my friends get her autograph for me, so this was the only time I saw her. It would appear the years and her have not been overly kind to her.

The interview was quite interesting, it covered some of the odd lines George Lucas had her say during the movie and her reaction to some of the costumes she had to wear. She also talked about some of what has been going on after the movies.

I took this picture at the very end of the show. I charged up to the edge of the stage and joined the rest of the camera posse before she was out of sight. I had only one exposure left and one chance to get it. I wish I were a little more zoomed in but I simply didn't have time.



Billy Dee Williams played Lando Calrissian in "Empire Strikes Back" and "Return Of the Jedi".

I went to the "Lando/Lobot Reunion" show where Williams talked about several things from his artistic ventures to what drew him to the series. He was a big fan of Joeseph Campbell who Lucas used as inpiration for his movies.

This picture was of him signing autographs. When it comes to that, he's all business. I think he hardly looked up the whole time. He keeps the line moving though!



David Prowse is better known as Darth Vader. He was the body at least. The voice of course was provided by James Earl Jones of course.

David Prowse was very nice and easy going, the line to get to him was horrendious! I had to wait close to four hours to get it.



Jeremy Bolloch is better known as Boba Fett. He was nice enough to smile for me and I got this picture of him. His signature was one of the most beautiful of all I saw there. Very consistent and easy to read.



John Hollis played Lobot, Lando's assistant. He was quite nice and posed for this photo. His signature is quite rough though - pretty difficult to read.



Kenneth Colley played the fortunate(?) Admiral Piett.

Admiral Piett was the only Imperial Admiral to appear in more than one Star Wars movie.

I really wanted to get his autograph but I ran out of tickets before I could get to him. I have heard he is very nice - I sincerely wanted to get his autograph, especially since he posed for me! But alas I ran out of time to get the ticket and couldn't get it. My friend managed to get his autograph later on, so I don't feel so bad.



Kenny Baker is better known as R2D2. How he manages to crank out so many legible signatures with those small hands of his is a bit of a mystery for me. He was nice enough to pose for this picture after signing my Artoo poster.

More information on Kenny Baker can be found on his IMDB page.



Peter Mayhew played everyone's favorite Wookie, Chewbacca. He is big. The first time I saw him he was walking towards the restroom. It's odd seeing a person walk exactly like Chewbacca but the does.

He seems the quiet sort, he barely said anything the whole time I watched him. Just the same, it was great to meet him and he was polite enough to allow me to get this picture.

You can see Peter Mayhew's IMDB page here.

Warwick Davis seems to get all kinds of roles with George Lucas. He played the lead role of Willow Ufgood in "Willow", young Greedo and a crowd spectator in "The Phantom Menace", and the Ewok Wicket in "Return Of The Jedi".

Warwick was very easy going and chatty. He posed for this picture after autographing my picture.



Bill Hootkins played the unfortunate X-Wing pilot Jek Porkins - Red Six. He was something else, very jovial and nice.

I mentioned his role in "Raiders Of the Lost Arc" and he joked about his "Top men" line that is so well remembered. This picture was taken right after he pop-quizzed me on Shakespere. It would've been nice if I could've nailed his question but I was caught flat-footed - of course I'm no expert on Shakespere either... Still, he was one of my favorite stars I ran into there.