A ROGUE CALLED YOUNG: A STAR WARS FAN’S STORY

A couple of weeks ago in a convention centre pretty far away…

It is a period of intense fandom. The Force bringing together thousands of eager fans in London for Star Wars Celebration Europe. Among them was Orange City Life’s official Star Wars correspondent, Peter Young…

I was fortunate to attend last year’s Celebration in Anaheim, California, for two days, and this time around, I was joined by Millthorpe’s very own Chris McAlister, and two mates from the UK, Lisa and Jim. My wife was a conscientious objector. 

An official event managed by Lucasfilm / Disney, Celebration is four whole days of Star Wars goodness, and queues. It is certainly not for the faint-hearted and can cause major damage to your wallet, but it’s the holy grail of worldwide events for anyone who believes that Han shot first.

PANELS

Disney/Lucasfilm save major announcements for events such as Celebration. Imagine being in an arena filled to capacity with lightsaber-wielding die-hard Star Wars fans when Daisy Ridley (Rey) steps onto the stage unannounced with the news of a new Skywalker saga motion picture! Well, I have to imagine too as tickets to the major panels were distributed via online lottery and, like many, I won absolutely nothing.

There are three new movies in the works. One from Dave Feloni, the brains behind the Clone Wars and Rebels animated series, which will be the equivalent of an Avengers film, bringing together characters from current and upcoming Star Wars TV shows. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film will focus on Rey as she builds a new Jedi Order following the events of Rise of Skywalker. And I’m most excited about James Mangold’s take on the Dawn of the Jedi. Of course, this will be coming off the back of Mangold’s new Indiana Jones film.

Not all of the news was about the silver screen. In the next 12 months, there will be plenty of new Star Wars content including Young Jedi Adventures (May 4), Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 (May 4), Ashoka (August), Skeleton Crew (2024), The Acolyte (2024) and Andor Season 2 (August 2024). What a great time to be a television owner and a Star Wars fan!

AUTOGRAPHS and PHOTOS

A major part of any pop culture convention is meeting the stars and Celebration is no different. From the youngest and newest members of the Star Wars alumni, such as 11-year-old Vivien Lyra Blair, who played young Leia in the recent Kenobi series, to the oldest, Billy Dee Williams (Lando), who at 86 must be attending his last Celebration, adding photos and autographs to your collection is an essential activity… for a price!

From around $100 upwards, plus a lot of time in the queue, you can have a brief interaction with a performer. Generally, you have a little more time during an autograph session, perhaps 20 seconds, to say hello and maybe ask a question.

For a photo session, you are herded into a booth where there is only time to pose and smile before you are ushered out to collect your print.

Hayden Christensen, Ewen McGregor and Billy Dee Williams were the top-tier stars  and commanded around $400 per experience. Combo photos with multiple stars were also available.

The whole operation is very efficient and must be making someone a bucket of money, but I didn’t travel to the other side of the planet to not have my precious seconds with Lando Calrissian and come away with my action figure collectible signed! And what a handsome man.

Most fans wouldn’t be aware that there are official and non-official circuits for Star Wars-affiliated performers. At several non-sanctioned evening events, featured extras and minor character actors and suit performers were available for photos and autographs for around $40. Cash payment only of course. My highlight was meeting two brothers who played Jawas as children in Tunisia in 1977. Their father was a stuntman on A New Hope.

Here’s my official photo and autograph haul: Billy Dee Williams (Lando); Mads Mikkelson (Galen Erso); Denis Lawson (Wedge); Sean Crawford (Yak Face); Andy Serkis (Snoke and Kino Loy); Ming-Na Wen (Fennec Shand); Warwick Davis (Wicket the Ewok); Gwendoline Christie (Captain Phasma); and Rosario Dawson (Ahsoka Tano).

COSPLAY

Besides attending Supernova Sydney for a day dressed as an obscure character, The Log Lady, from cult TV head-scratcher, Twin Peaks, I have not been a cosplayer. With thousands of fans bringing their high-end costumes from around the world, how could I compete with a limited budget and even more limited suitcase space? Simple. A check shirt from Big W. Cheap wigs, beards and Harry Potter glasses from Amazon. Instant George Lucas cosplay. And not just one George Lucas, three! That’s right, my little gang of three became George Lucas clones. Jim was a conscientious objector.

Of course, it did cross my mind that this low-fi attempt would not go down well amongst the Star Wars cosplay elite, including the 501st, a worldwide club where membership is reliant on your Stormtrooper costume being inspected and approved, but my worry was unnecessary. Despite minimal reaction on the light rail, the moment we stepped inside the venue we were rock stars.

Everywhere the three of us went, we were stopped for photos. As soon as one camera phone came out, others instantly appeared. We would have posed for over a hundred photos. We soon developed a little plan for each occasion. Hands in pockets looking disinterested. Crossed arms looking disinterested. Classic George Lucas. At one point, we met up with another two cosplayers with the same idea and we had five George Luci*. 

Our day of cosplay was topped off by being stopped for on-camera interviews with an official Disney film crew. Sorry screen perfect Boba Fett cosplayers, the “House of Mouse” wants to talk to the guys in the Big W flannies.

See you in Tokyo for Star Wars Celebration Japan in 2025!

* A plural of my own devising