Written and photographed for LAist by Cecil Castellucci, author of The Plain Janes and Beige. More pics available here.
The force was strong with everyone at Star Wars Celebration IV. There really was a lot to do, which is a quality problem to have at a convention.
Besides the Vader Project, which, by the way I am still totally obsessed with I can't say I did much more than walk around, buy a dark side t-shirt, a bunch of Burger King Empire Strikes Back glasses, ogle the great costumes, hang around at the Petree Stage hosted by Scott Chernoff and meet that scoundrel Lando Calrissian.
That's right. Billy Dee Williams.
I didn't even get to go to the Fan Stage for the screening of the Special Edition of the Starwoids documentary (which I was in) or see any of that fan art, which I'm sure was awesome. But I did get recognized! Some guy said: "Hey, you're my favorite character from that movie Starwoids!"
I was like, dude, I wasn't acting that I was living on the street for Star Wars tickets. That was my actual life.
But I digress.
Walking around there were so many people dressed up it was kind of terrific. I liked it when there'd be, like, a whole bunch of Leia's hanging out. One thing, though, and this is really just a note, because the detail on almost every costume, was so terrific, is that maybe sometimes people looked really good from the front, but not so much from the back. OK. I'll admit it. I'm mostly talking about the Slave Leia's. Some of them had a syndrome that I'll call Slave Leia Butts. I'm just saying that, Ladies, you might want to check out the back of your costume, especially if you're wearing one where your butt is hanging out.
The costume pageant was really fun to watch. And I think there is one thing that the whole world can universally agree on: Kids in costumes are the cutest.
Sunday night's winners were well deserved.
Other than that, I gotta say that guys named Seth who like Star Wars rule!
It's the two Seth's - McFarlane and Green - that made me really fall in love with Star Wars again. The panels I attended with the previews of Seth McFarlane's Family Guy Star Wars Special and Seth Green's Robot Chicken Star Wars Special were so awesome that they made me want to get cable television just so I can watch them. Their clear love and adoration for the films and genuine excitement and total nerd devotion to the minute details of the films made me giddy, swoony, goose-bumpy and like I totally wanted to be their bff.
The thing is, Star Wars is forever. And I'd like to thank the Star Wars Celebration IV for doing what I thought was impossible - giving me back my joy for Star Wars.
Happy 30th birthday.
I can't wait for the 40th. I'll be there. Hopefully wearing my Slave Leia outfit with my little Jedi babies, hanging off the arm of my very own Obi Wan Kenobi.
(The guy in the Chewbacca costume on the left won Sunday night's pageant.)
