AFICIONADO REVIEW: 'STAR WARS STORYBOARDS - THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY'

STAR WARS STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY

Edited by J.W. Rinzler

Foreword by Joe Johnston

Introduction by Nilo Rodis-Jamero

Published by ABRAMS BOOKS

Reviewed by Scott Weller

Another Holy Grail for STAR WARS fans finally materializes from the hidden depths of the LUCASFILM ARCHIVES- the book that Classic Fans in particular have waited years for. J.W. Rinzler and ABRAMS BOOKS previous collaboration with STORYBOARDS: THE PREQUEL TRILOGY was a bona fide visual feast, but STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY…? Well, this is a veritable banquet!

▶ Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy - Book Trailer - YouTube

Beautifully compiled and designed to the highest stands of visual excellence, bearing an immense 1,200 pieces of art, its no wonder that artist and director Joe Johnston, possessing such a high-calibre reputation as one of STAR WARS finest visualists after the equally distinguished Ralph McQuarrie, calls it one of the best behind the scenes STAR WARS books ever published. And after other equally worthy book companies had tried and failed in securing his work/contributions in book form, its pleasing to see Johnston deciding to play ball and begin to enjoy his previous association and important historical contributions to the original STAR WARS universe, joining forces with Lucasfilm in assembling this superb package.

 

Late 1975: Joe Johnston choreographs future storyboard movements using the original Colin Cantwell models created for THE STAR WARS.  

Back in the day one couldn’t underestimate the key role storyboards were to Hollywood movie making, especially for a project as large, vivid and production complex as the original STAR WARS and its subsequent sequels would be. Early animatics cobbled together from old war films would be a factor in helping the newly launched ILM visual effects crew get a sense of speed, urgency and rhythm to the action that creator George Lucas had planned, but the pencil and ink drawings rendered by Johnston and his team over nearly eight years would be equally important and valid- their relatively small frames setting up camera directions and all the required frame elements (live action and effects) needed in a shot, and forever more recognized in setting up the incredible and richly diverse realms emerging from Lucas’s imagination. ILM would soon become the dream cathedral- the place where artistry would become unparallelled, its pencil and ink fantasists quickly joining the elite “superstar’s club” of visual effects history.

 

1979: Ralph McQuarrie at work on storyboards in London, for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

Within its 352 pages and gorgeous showcase spreads (including never before seen, recently unearthed material), work from 15 incredible artists (the likes of Johnston, Ivor Beddoes, Alex Tavoularis and Ralph McQuarrie, as well as lesser known names like Roy Carnon and David Russell) show us the early genesis of incredible spaceships, like Han Solo’s trusty Millennium Falcon, heroic and industry-sleek X and Y wing fighters, and the TIE fighters that, like real-life Bumble Bees, shouldn’t be aerodynamically possible, but fly into battle for the necessary realms of sci-fi storytelling. Other rare gems to behold, some seen in rare embryonic form here: Ben Kenobi’s non-demise in the original storyboards for EPISODE IV, and looks at planets and vistas that disappeared and re-appeared in the evolving stories, to specific ambitious shots that would be tweaked, replaced or re-engineered over time, some inching to be reincarnated within the late nineties love ‘em or hate ‘em SPECIAL EDITIONS.

 

Battle on the Blockade Runner. Art by Alex Tavoularis.

From the floating world of the Aldreraanian prison planet years before it became the Bespin mining colony of EPISODE V, to the haunting visages of the Death Star superweapon above the forest moon of Endor, it’s a treasure trove- a window into spellbinding beauty, some of it perfectly translated to the screen, whilst others that never quite made fruition prove equally compelling in their own way, giving us an intriguing look into the STAR WARS that could have been had other certain artistic choices and additional production budget funds been available. Used and unused, all are beautifully presented, put on the page in an easy on the eye yet compulsive to savour style from designer Liam Flanagan. You can see how encouraged in their ideas and input Johnston and colleagues would be by Lucas, who often changed his storytelling to bring in their material.

 

"Death Star approaching." Art by Joe Johnston.

Despite the family space fantasy aura that the Classic Trilogy often projects, there’s also a sense of the Gothic in some areas of the books visual revelations- moments that may have been just too much for young viewers if such boards had been realized, like Luke’s decapitated hand moving of its own volition during the sail barge battle of JEDI. In general, decapitation would become a large part of the STAR WARS universe, and more had been planned-look for JEDI storyboard carnage showing a detailed battle between Luke and ruthless Boba Fett, slightly different to the one we saw in the final film, as our Jedi hero literally takes the bounty hunter’s gun arm off. Thirty years on, and into my adult sensibilities, that would have been such a cool moment!

 

The Imperial Death Fleet. Art by Nilo Rodis-Jamero

The What If’s of the book are mostly linked to the original film, though, what with its in-development space ships and environments ever changing with the revised scripts and pruned back budgets. The ambition and scope broaden noticeably with each subsequent STAR WARS film, however, and these are equally paid tribute: the drama and excitement of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, with its incredible opening Snow Battle and the later asteroid field chase, and RETURN OF THE JEDI’s full-on spectacle, of which many of that films presented boards, whether they were revised or not in the pre and post production phases, made their way into the completed film. JEDI has enough action for three movies let alone one STAR WARS adventure, with its huge scenes of Rebels against Stormtroopers on Endor and the eye-capturing epic space battle- situations key to making that particular film so beloved. And the road to that latter sequence was a fraught one: hundreds of elements and moments from it would be altered, deleted or completely replaced at the last minute under orders from Lucas during his complex editing process. This book gives us an all too brief glimpse of some of the sequences likely filmed and still so far not yet to have seen the light of day as deleted scenes footage on DVD or Blu-ray.

 

The Ewoks attack! Art by George Jenson, Rodis-Jamero and Johnston.

I know that the book’s main objective is to keep to the chronologically filmed sequences, but one disappointment is the lack of storyboards accompanying the then 1981 original scripting of RETURN OF THE JEDI, before it changed quite considerably by the time of shooting in 1982. Omissions like the original world of Sicemon, the two Death Stars and the finale lava cave duel between Vader and Luke are notable and would have been nice to see. Perhaps the material is being saved for a second book?

Surely one of the most time-consuming projects to assemble, J.W. Rinzler excels once more in his continued status as the most respected behind the scenes archivist and history-charter that George Lucas and STAR WARS could ever have, helping to solve mysteries from the Classic Trilogy’s production that have occasionally lingered - some of these specially solved for the publication of this book, alongside his hunting down, in a nice way, the names of specific artists who left LUCASFILM’s employ once their freelance contacts were up in 1983/84. He also provides short but articulate passages on key plot and behind the scenes information, giving us more background on the emerging ILM art department, as they also individually recall how they got to be involved in the project/saga, alongside conveyances and reminiscences on the attitudes and teamwork of ILM and the general ambiance of that magical and intense time period.

We’re hoping that the new art and design teams of the upcoming STAR WARS Sequels enjoy this new book as much as the fans do, and that its superb images are inspiring them to concoct equally worthy and exciting new avenues for the continuing past future adventures of the Skywalker family.

AFICIONADO RATING: A truly dynamic and breathtaking look at the universe of STAR WARS, STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY is the essential book purchase of the year so far. 4.5 out of 5

STORYBOARD NOTES/HIGHLIGHTS

"I got him!" Art by Joe Johnston.

STAR WARS (1977)

Alex Tavoularis: His work on the opening scenes show a more adult and violent take on the battle between Rebels and Stormtroopers than we’ve seen before: bodies with leaking pools of blood, heads being blown up, and Darth Vader’s cruelly decapitating a rebel trooper- perhaps the genesis of the limb losses that would affect the saga on and off!

There’s also more human looking versions of Threepio and Artoo, plus the approach and Imperial capture of “the pirate ship”, later named the Millennium Falcon, towards the Alderaan prison facility high up in the clouds.

More on Tavoularis’s work recently found, linked to the second and third drafts of the movie, show Luke when he had briefly changed to a girl searching for her captured brother, whilst Chewbacca is a more lemur-like being. Plus, a couple of boards more heavily realized from Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art.

Joe Johnston: His refinement of the early Colin Cantwell spaceship designs in the run up to effects filming, and his work on the changing face of the epic Death Star trench battle, with help from Ronnie Shepherd and Paul Huston. There's also the intense process of creating the boards and how, during the original STAR WARS, the behind the scenes pressure saw him create a record breaking forty boards in one twelve-hour day!

The Falcon escapes Cloud City. Art by Joe Johnston 

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980)

The superlative Walker battle – the longest and most changed/evolved boarded sequence of the movie. Its also one that Johnston is most proud of.

Its interesting to see just how similar Johnston, Rodis-Jamero and new recruit David Carson’s artistic styles are on the boards, contrasting the different but nonetheless effective styles of Ivor Beddoes and, later on, Roy Carnon and Brook Temple. Also, spot the cute in-jokes that Johnston and co. often put into their boards for both this and JEDI.

Working alongside Ivor Beddoes and director Irvin Kershner in the UK during 1979, many previously unpublished Ralph McQuarrie storyboards make the book, notably for the worlds of Hoth and Dagobah.

An intriguing deleted scene: an early Hoth wilderness shot where the Probot blasts a Wampa in the ice- a scene filmed in Norway either with the snow beast or with a rodent-like creature instead.

Ivor Beddoes prime showcase in this section is his work on the Dagobah swamp world showing Luke interacting with the diminutive Jedi Master Yoda, revealing several training scenes and intriguing character moments that never made the film- some being too complex to bring to the screen. His later Bespin lightsaber duel imagery is methodically and meticulously worked out for the director and stuntmen to consider.

Luke Skywalker has a limb fetish for Boba Fett. Image: Artist Unknown. 

RETURN OF THE JEDI (1983)

British artist Roy Carnon (who prior worked on RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK) and ILM-based George Jenson are highlighted here: Jabba’s Tatooine stronghold and Palace, and parts of the Shield Generator conflict on Endor- enjoy some of the rare forest battle comedy gag boards with the Ewoks and Chewbacca.

A less lighthearted early depiction of Jabba’s palace and its creature nightmares is boarded: the grotesque gangster, prior to inheriting Threepio, uses its tail to whack a former protocol droid interpreter senseless, which is then hacked to bits by Gamorrean guards! Later on, Johnston gives us an early deleted Luke and his new lightsaber scene, plus one further special board linked to the infamous Sandstorm sequence.

Another key Johnston highlight: the entire board sequence for the Endor speederbike chase adapted from early animatic tests, which pretty much appears intact from the page to its final onscreen realization. Keep an eye out for a few intriguing omissions, though...

Superb Endor space and land battle images are further assembled from Johnston, Rodis-Jamero, and David’s Carson and Russell: later difficult to shoot B-wings and Y-wings swoop into battle during the space bound aspects of the Battle of Endor, plus a colourful, differently choreographed Roy Carnon take on the opening part of the lightsaber duel between Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker (wearing attire very much like his farmboy look from EPISODE IV).

Get hold of STAR WARS STORYBOARDS: THE ORIGINAL TRILOGY here: Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy: Amazon.co.uk: J.W. Rinzler: Books

AFICONADO REVIEW (2009): 'LEGACY OF THE FORCE: INVINCIBLE'

STAR WARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE 

BOOK NINE- INVINCIBLE

By Troy Denning

Released in paperback in the UK by ARROW BOOKS

Reviewed by Scott Weller

With the intriguing Tatooine Ghost and the epic volume Star by Star of THE NEW JEDI ORDER already under his literary belt, popular sci-fi novelist Troy Denning knows the characters, old and new, of the STAR WARS SAGA and its EXPANDED UNIVERSE by heart-and he has a writing style, alongside Matthew Stover, that fans have always enjoyed. So it is no surprise to discover that he had been chosen by the people at LUCAS BOOKS to bring to all-important life the next, and final, chapter of the LEGACY OF THE FORCE saga after previous devastating developments in books like Sacrifice and Revelation. And if you thought your heart strings had been effectively plucked out with the former, and the tragic murder of Mara Jade Skywalker, brace yourselves for the darkness ahead, as INVINCIBLE takes four of our primary characters –in particular the two key children of the Solo family- into a arena of evil and conflict, and a lightsaber showdown, that make you wonder if they’ll ever get out of it…they say it’s always darkest before the dawn and INVINCIBLE may prove it!

This final novel has so much to tie up there are moments when you wonder whether it can be done successfully and so live up to reader expectations. Well, for the most part it does. And, fortunately for us, Denning has never been afraid of such challenges. Surprisingly, many fans expected an adventure the size of STAR BY STAR-which you can damage your fingers from holding-it’s that weighty!! But, as any good book reader knows, the page count shouldn’t matter as long as the story is told well and can be read well. Despite that smaller page count, the author puts everything into INVINCIBLE’s story and characters that needs to be told.

Denning’s writing style is fast and fluid as expected and the descriptions of the action are fine, as are the stronger characterizations which, intriguingly, many feel are far superior than they have been in the last few LOTF books and in certain parts of Denning’s previous novels within the cycle.

As mentioned earlier, the book focuses on four characters who have proved highly popular with LOTF readers- Jacen, Jaina, their father, Han Solo, and Luke’s son, Ben (the latter mostly in a B plot that utilizes his character in a better way than most of the previous books in the LOTF series), though primarily on Jaina and the challenge of meeting her destiny as “Sword of the Jedi”. Many fans may bemoan the lack of participation of most the other main classic characters (like Luke and Leia) in major ways this time, and miss the way all the previous STAR WARS books have criss-crossed the stars in following the numerous plotlines-there is less of that here and the story is much more concentrated in a manner that you could say is all the better for it-there’s no serious epic Death Star type weapon or major league Imperial plot to be blown up, or a race against time in that kind of sense. The search-and-destroy mission aspect of this book is not handled the way you expect. Also positively, many readers have enjoyed Boba Fett’s appearance in this adventure much more than previously in this particular series, and he has some enjoyable in-character dialogue…has he outstayed his welcome? Probably, but everyone loves him regardless!

Additionally, as well as Jaina, hero turned baddie Dark Lord Jacen Solo also has some fine character moments, and there are links to the past thrown in that work effectively for long term readers, too. The final duel between brother and sister, as depicted on the nicely realized cover, is a finely described one, though again some readers may find it a bit anti-climactic as part of the overall arc of the series story…

To reveal too much of the book and its story would be a crime, and we at AFICIONADO aren’t party-poopers! All in all, there are some pure STAR WARS/ space opera moments of the best sense and some well described action… and loyal readers may get a shock surprise at the end of the adventure, too…

Judge for yourself and then look forward to STAR WARS: FATE OF THE JEDI!

AFICIONADO RATING: Whether INVINCIBLE ends the LEGACY OF THE FORCE saga in the manner that you’re after is up to you and “your own point of view.” However, with a writer of Troy Denning’s calibre on board to helm such a special LUCAS BOOKS event, you have a better chance of enjoying this read than with some of the other authors out there… 8 out of 10

CLASSIC REVIEW: 'FATE OF THE JEDI - ASCENSION'

STAR WARS - FATE OF THE JEDI

BOOK EIGHT: ASCENSION

By Christie Golden

Published in the UK by CENTURY PUBLISHING and in paperback by ARROW

Reviewed by Scott Weller

Having greatly enjoyed Timothy Zahn’s recent triumphant return to the STAR WARS EXPANDED UNIVERSE realm with Choices of One, I threw myself into the next instalment of the Lucas publishing schedule- book eight of the FATE OF THE JEDI series- with a greater sense of renewed reading optimism than I’ve had for the run in several years, hoping that some of Zahn’s story telling fire and magic may subconsciously help me to enjoy this penultimate tale of the new LUCAS BOOKS conceived saga, and that the plot and character developments within its 410 pages would have greatly improved from what I’d read previously in the series. Sadly, I’m afraid that ASCENSION, from recent fan favourite novelist Christie Golden, didn’t quite deliver the expected, and necessary, goods I wanted from a STAR WARS adventure…

As ever there’s lots of fast paced action, traps and escapes, and events are finally, finally moving towards their conclusion, but as has been mentioned in my previous reviews too many times before, this book series really has been padded out to a length far longer than it should have (at least a fifth of the book namely linked to the ongoing Lost Tribe of the Sith aspect in particular (though there are interesting moments here), and the pursuit of the Abeloth creature by Luke and Ben), with the overall novels strained from the heavy burden. Worryingly, certain plot elements from earlier in the series also seemed to have been either shortened or dropped (unless there’s more developments to come in the finale?), which I’m sure will annoy long-term readers of the EU cannon.

Character interactions of our favourite Classic Trilogy heroes feel incoherent and out of character once again, and sometimes I feel that their dialogue often simply doesn’t ring true. Complaints from some fans that Golden’s wordage also feels a bit too juvenile ring true in some sections. On the plus side, though, there is firm development of the supporting characters, namely the ones Golden herself introduced in previous books, in particular the interesting Vestara, who, with her still conflicted Sith heart, continues her strong relationship with Ben Skywalker, which has been an important part of the latter books of the series and which enters an important new phase here. There’s also a new development for the Jedi Order in general-already caught in the quagmire of dangers within intergalactic politics- as Luke makes an important decision regarding their future and their role with the Alliance. There’s also the death of a supporting character that fans of the series will be surprised to read about, too…

And, though the ultimate raison d’etre behind the Abeloth creature, one of the books major opponents for our Force users, is sadly not as all that exciting as its earlier promise indicated, it does at least get to show off some of its major league Dark Side powers quite vigorously towards Darish Vol, the Grand Lord of the Lost Tribe of the Sith (now that’s a mouthful to say!), alongside its accompanying semi-sentient Ship.

The book sees in subplots galore as we reach the story’s last third on Coruscant, of which conspiracies and bids for control of the Galactic Alliance begin to quickly (perhaps too quickly) form and coalesce from a multitude of relatively new Senate characters, though the deposed Chief of State, Daala, surely hoping to be as formidable as our reality’s Margaret Thatcher, isn’t out of the fight yet now that she ‘s allied with Bounty hunter fave Boba Fett and his Mandalorians. There are better moments within all this Political intrigue, witch-hunting, double dealings, intrigue and subterfuge run rampant, but none totally thrill or generate the excitement that this Saga truly deserves and should have had right from the start…

Beyond all the political stuff, readers can still enjoy further aforementioned bouts of traps, daring escapes and fast action sequences (but no lightsaber duels?!) linked to the Sith and the Abeloth quest. But none of that works anywhere near as well if you don’t have an involving, nay compelling, plot. Alas, in that respect, ASCENSION doesn’t quite make the full grade. Plainly put, there are great fantasy writers who can create great STAR WARS adventures, and then there are great fantasy writers. I think Miss Golden is in the overall latter category than the former. 

Despite the books important positioning, it all feels a bit anticlimactic, so let’s hope that the upcoming finale, APOCALYPSE, can at least end the series in some noteworthy, and respectable, style.

AFICIONADO RATING: 3 out of 5

AFICIONADO CLASSIC REVIEW: 'JEDI-CON' 2008

DESTINATION: DUSSELDORF!

A REVIEW OF THE GERMAN “JEDI CON” EVENT- 21^ST TO 23^RD MARCH 2008

By Scott Weller

I had never been to Germany before, and the idea of combining a visit there with a STAR WARS convention was too delicious an opportunity to pass up, especially as, over the years, I had heard that the four-yearly event known as JEDI CON, organized by the Official German STAR WARS Fan Club, had attracted some serious heavy hitter star guests over the years (including, I believe, Mark Hamill and Billy Dee Williams). With the lack of a CELEBRATION event this year, the opportunity to go to a smaller STAR WARS convention, that would also hopefully weigh less on my bank balance, sounded great fun. My good buddy, fellow AFICIONADO Contributor (or should that be conspirator?)), Ian Trussler, had similar intentions to go, so we joined forces once again for the Easter trip to Dusseldorf.

Quickly getting us into the STAR WARS (or should that be the German KRIEG DER STERNE?) mood whilst at Heathrow Airport, entering the departure lounge we pretty much walked into the always friendly Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Bulloch, who, despite being asked to attend the convention at quite a late stage after several guests (including Ray Park and Rick McCallum) had pulled out, were greatly looking forward to returning to Germany for the event and meeting the country’s ever loyal fans. As our plane touched down and we quickly made our way through the Airport, the Bulloch’s travelled pretty much alongside us as we checked in and were great company. Arriving at the Convention Hotel, the luxurious MARITIM, and waving hello to a newly arrived and highly spirited Mike Edmonds (who had also been a last minute guest called into convention service only the Sunday before) we were greatly impressed with our new surroundings. Having only just opened the previous December it was a very spacious big glass and building affair, and the hotel’s rooms were gorgeously comfortable, modern and very trendy looking (I would have liked to have stayed in there and called it home-though I think the Hotel management would have had a problem with that!!). So cosy and warm they were, perhaps a little bit too warm in the evening when trying to sleep (which I didn’t really get much of during the event) - though it needed to be, I suppose, what with the varying cold weather hitting the country over that weekend-with varying temperatures far ranging enough to plague a STAR WARS film had one been shooting!! Dusseldorf itself, when we travelled into it from the hotel a short time later, was a very straightforward city-like many others around the world- but sadly it was pretty much a ghost town what with everything closed with the Easter Holidays. That first evening was a very drizzly affair, of which when we arrived there, it’s inhabitants were all closing down shop and going home (the result of our flight being late to arrive in-we weren’t able to look at many shops, though if you wanted to get your hair done there were plenty still open!!) and, having consumed some junk food inside the train/underground terminal, we returned to the hotel around eight-ish to get ready for the busy next day that awaited us.

AFICIONADO Editor Scott Weller enjoys the company of an old friend.

FRIDAY

After the usual breakfast, and getting used to where everything was, we entered the main lobby-surprisingly full of cigarette smoking-an interesting site as the UK has pretty much banned it from public places now (we know that Robert Watts must have been very happy with the German situation, finally attending a STAR WARS event where he could be left in peace to smoke quite contentedly!!)-we discovered the German world of STAR WARS and it’s many fans-just as enthusiastic and excited as they are in the UK and US, with many excellent costume replications, droids and Leia/Padme look-a-likes to last a lifetime-all of a very good quality. Once into the spacious main hall (named Corellia,), and having previously collected our badge and goodies bags (a very nice package including a cloth material (Eco-friendly!!) bag with STAR WARS OFFICIAL GERMAN MAGAZINE folder, top trumps card, a nicely designed glossy magazine for the convention and other bits and pieces (from earlier registration), we were treated to a rare film show kicking off the event in the main conference room (known as Coruscant). Though Ian and I had already seen the majority of it, we were aware that many fans hadn’t (including the BABYHUM fan release of the 1980 UK children’s making of film programme CLAPPERBOARD on the making of EMPIRE, and Brandon Alinger’s DELETED MAGIC DVD-of which they showed one of the Luke/Biggs scenes at Anchorhead). There were also, however, some intriguing general clips we hadn’t seen before, including samples of Eric Walker’s making of the Ewok TV specials/films video footage and some 1977 footage of cinema goers at STAR WARS original theatrical release in London and Germany, several German JEDI TV commercial trailers and a weird comedy music sketch from 1980, presumably the German equivalent of THE TWO RONNIES, to German voice over scenes from EMPIRE, and starring Mark Hamill in the flesh during its finale, and wearing the most ridiculous yellow space outfit that looks liked it had been previously worn by Gil Gerard on BUCK ROGERS from around that time. It blew my mind with its daftness!

Outside the convention hall corridor (known as Tatooine) where the tea/snacks and the main information/merchandise booth were was an impressive DEATH STAR wall background where you could pose for photos with Stormtroopers and Darth Vader’s of varying shape and size (though there was one Vader with a very bad beer pot belly who shouldn’t have even attempted to be the Dark Lord! If you’re reading this, then you know who you are!!).

Scott meets the lovely Orli Shoshan.

From there we skipped the STAR WARS GERMAN AUDIO DRAMAS presentation, as it would all have been in German (which neither of us spoke beyond “Danke”!!) and the Christian Simpson panel (regrettable, but there was much to do on that first day), as we headed into the small but comfortable ground floor merchandising area (named Corellia). It was small but had a good selection of items to cater to fans tastes-old to modern-from figures to rare magazines. Even Steve Sansweet managed to get hold of some rare EWOK comic books that he hadn’t had before, whilst some beautiful Japanese photo books on EMPIRE and the Prequels also made their way into my shopping bag. Being a smaller convention, it was nice once more to take our time and see merchandise on sale-we devoured the section in true fan ways, looking for any rare and interesting material, not only from Germany but worldwide, and found some intriguing nuggets-and Ian bought some superb merchandise at very reasonable euros, too. We also got the chance to catch up with the gorgeous Orli Shoshan who was signing with OFFICIAL PIX in the room-she was her lovely self, smiling, enthusiastic, talking to the fans and posing for pictures (oh, by the way, did I mention the fact that she looked terrific!!). Steve Sansweet, Head of LUCASFILM Fan Relations and all round Major Domo of STAR WARS collecting, would also be there signing and responding to fans over the next few days. Both guests did brisk business over the three days but, for reasons unknown, OFFICIAL PIX, of which co-founder Ben Stevens was present at the event, had no other stills product available for people to buy apart from the autographees-a great shame as that was one area of the dealers room that was severely under-represented (surely he could have put a box of about four hundred or so images together in a carry on and brought them with him?), and again I think that the German fans would have spent some good money there – I’m not aware of any official photo licencees in that territory, unless someone can correct me on this? A wasted opportunity to make profit and make STAR WARS fans happy with quality photography.

One of the terrific fan-made droids.

As a side note, special mention should also be made of the souvenirs of JEDI.CON, which were of an extremely high quality, and the line to get the items was very well organized, never too long and there were never any fights to get things as there were at one CELEBRATION in Los Angeles. People knew what they were doing and everybody was happy with what they ordered. Attendees had the chance to get hold of apparel ranging from jackets, umbrellas, two special exclusive t-shirts, cups, and pens, to the nicely packaged HASBRO special edition SHADOW TROOPERS (now available, I see, on STAR WARS.COM)-many of the attendees bought the latter items, some bought boxes of them-though we aren’t fans of the dealers who do this and then sell them for outrageous prices in the dealers room the next day-when that happens with limited edition items, we at AFICIONADO get very angry when it stops other fans from getting them at the prices they should be paying!!

Producer Robert Watts kindly lets Scott wear his Norway jacket and hold TESB's clapperboard. 

We also had a quick chance to look at the autograph room (named Geonosis) and see the guests-both of us getting numerous autographs, including Robert Watts (who had several great photos for signing, alongside some of this own personal items on display (he was brave trusting airport luggage control with his EMPIRE clapperboard”!!), Tim Dry, Barrie Holland. Also present were Derek Lyons (who really does like Germany and its Frauleins. To quote Frankie Howerd: “Oh, er..Missus!!”) and the ever cheerful Mike Edmonds (who humorously referred to fellow small actor Rusty Goffe as “Chesty Cough”!!). Watts’s autograph singing was terrific, thrilling the fans of all ages with histories about the making of the STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES films, and giving people the opportunity to hold the camera take slate clapperboard used during the original filming of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK and to wear his original blue snow jacket, specially made to be worn by the numerous cast and crew members during the filming of EMPIRE in Finse, Norway (one devoted EMPIRE fan even came to the convention in his own fan-made version and it was an excellent replica). Robert kindly let me and Ian wear the jacket for posed photographs and it’s lovely-extremely warm-far warmer than I actually thought it would be.

By 4.00pm we re-entered the hall for the HUMOROUS STAR WARS COLLECTIBLES panel, hosted by the amiable US super collector Duncan Jenkins, who gave a very enjoyable slide presentation of said products ranging from the DIE EWOKS German comics (their comic titling being much more precise to fan feeling than the US titled edition could ever be!!), which Jenkins especially liked, to even more weird and wacky items from around the world. We were surprised to find that the event had started earlier than planned (something that surprised even Jenkins we understand!!) and many fans were still coming in as the presentation was closing-a bit of a shame that-after that Friday, however, things would be smoother running and proper notification of any changes was readily apparent on TV screens in the area outside the conference room/stage.

Contributor Ian Trussler and Scott meet fan favourite Barrie Holland.

By 17.00, legendary and well respected producer Robert Watts showed off his linguistic skills quite easily and fluently to the German fans (though he said that he was a little rusty and couldn’t remember lots, he could have fooled me-we also found out he was pretty good at Japanese too) - a talent that will hopefully hold him in good stead if he goes to CELEBRATION JAPAN. Watts was now on stage to hold a Q and A alongside with Tim Dry, who was the mimic/operator of one of the characters, Whiphid, in RETURN OF THE JEDI's Jabba's Palace scenes. Dry is also working on a biography of Watts varied and vast career (which won’t be as straight forward in the telling as you think-it goes into areas we won’t be expecting, apparently), as well as his own book about his part in the making of JEDI and other films that he has been involved with. Both were good value for money in their talk together. Unusually, this wasn’t a sit down panel with Wattsand his good buddy (of which Watts was a bit surprised by this and worried that there may not be any questions from the audience. Don’t worry, Robert, we had lots of questions). So the pair were literally on stage asking/hoping for questions. Though things were a little slow and uncomfortable to start off with, the panel soon got going and the very desert dry wit of Tim Dry became apparent. Robert, as ever, was excellent value, providing information and anecdotes on the making of his six films with LUCASFILM as well as other big name productions he has been involved with over fifty years, and his memory of events, times and places is excellent. We look forward to his upcoming biography, which Dry is writing for/with him, with great interest. The only sad aspect of things was that the audience for their talk wasn’t very large-all of those people who didn’t attend, you missed out, and Watts contribution to the success of the STAR WARS and INDY films cannot be overlooked.

Boba Fett lurks...

After a break, at 8.30pm the main Opening Ceremony had begun, and we enjoyed it-a lot-once again it was smaller and more intimate than any of the CELEBRATIONS we had attended, and had a great sense of camaraderie and family. The guests coming up on the stage were all enjoying themselves. Amongst the mini events starting off the ceremony was Belgian STAR WARS fan Mark Dermul’s annual ritual, as he and his dancing trio brought some further fun with his merry stage adaptation of the STAR WARS Cantina Song from “Weird Al” Yankovich-a sight you wouldn’t normally see at a CELEBRATION event.

The JEDI stunt fighting sequence which formed the opening part (and later closing parts of the convention ceremonies) were extremely good and it was nice to see a well realized Darth Vader make his entrance at the latter and take out the surviving Jedi Knight from the challenge with a Force choke-we all knew Vader wasn’t going to waste any time-and this was done well. The opening ceremony also had a neat little comedy fan film-a sort of STAR WARS meets SCROOGE, meets BACK TO THE FUTURE a story about a father (played by mad compere Horst Wust-more on him later!!) who has his daughter gets rid of her STAR WARS collection, unaware until told by numerous STAR WARS characters, of the consequences of her actions-she turns into an overweight, obsessed STAR TREK fan and the father is devastated, resulting in the future STAR WARS timeline being disrupted and it’s universe clashing for survival with that of STAR TREK in an epic, bizarrely mad but highly fun on-stage battle between STAR TREKs the Borg androids and the Jedi-in a sequence obviously inspired, and not unlike, the kinds of ambition seen in the live action/3-D integrated TERMINATOR experience at UNIVERSAL STUDIOS in the US. We understand that a major new German movie theme park is opening up this year–we wish it all the very best of success-if it has the enthusiasm shown by the fans here then it’s bound to be a big European hit-blimey, we really do need something like it.

As the guests walked onto the stage to receive their well deserved applause and say their welcomes, a cartoon image of each of them appeared on the screen as an intro banner-all of the art pieces representing them were fun and great to look at apart from poor Robert Watts-whose comic image made him look like a cross between Victor Meldrew and Albert Steptoe from the BBC UK comedies ONE FOOT IN THE GRAVE and STEPTOE AND SON!! Not a very flattering artist’s representation!! We can only assume he/she didn’t have any photos to look at- we hope they get it right next time!!

The loss of guest Eric Walker-Mace Towani from the Ewok films-was a sad one for the event (due to passport complications) and, like many others, we were greatly looking forward to meeting him-and he very much looked like a young Mark Hamill in those two tv films. The same with Ray Park (filming GI JOE) and Rick McCallum (always busy anyway)-they were missed but life went on without them, and it went on pretty well organized in that respect.

Even the Sandpeople like to have a wander.

After the opening was the event that the majority of fans, including myself and Ian, were really looking forward to: the Steve Sansweet presentation, where he talked about everything coming up in the STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES universes. Though there was sadly nothing new to talk about, and all of the material shown was what we had already seen-presumably all that can be released for now-especially with regards to the new CLONE WARS animated series, it was very nice to see the INDIANA JONES trailer on a big screen finally (though it was the CGI changed version with the guns not pointed directly at Ford and Winstone in one of the shots). Sansweet was very enthusiastic about INDY and, all in all, it was a good presentation, with him then opening up the floor to questions and providing the best responses he could to certain things-some questions couldn’t be answered yet as the LUCASFILM schedule beyond the next year is still being sorted out.

With Eric Walker to have ended the event at 22.40 with a talk about the Ewok films now having been cancelled, we assume that Mike Edmonds bravely filled in the late night closing presentation in his absence, and presumably with some of the Ewok movie footage being shown at the same time (though we are not aware of Edmonds being in the two movies as they were predominantly shot in the US). We had decided it was time to end the day so we were weren’t actually able to see the Edmonds panel-anyone want to get in touch and let us know what it was like?

Friday was actually the busiest day for us and so, once we had the lay of the land, we could now afford to relax and really enjoy the convention. Day 2 was soon on the dawn.

Cover brochure art for the event.

SATURDAY

The HEADING FOR HOTH panel was certainly one of the nicest ways to start day deux, as the relaxed and professional Mark Dermul returned to the stage (watched in the front row by his brave expedition groupies) and presented his travelogue to the beautiful but harsh wilderness of Finse, where he and his organized party of thirteen traversed all manner of adversity (lost luggage being delivered to the 1222 hotel late in the day) and severe cold, to travel and recreate certain scenes at the Finse location (copies of his intriguing travel books, one on Finse and one on the sites of Tunisia, can be found at: http://markdermul.be/hoth/) Though there were a couple of bits of funny swearing used in the presentation that might have irked some family members with their young children, HEADING FOR HOTH was very enjoyable and we wish Mark further future luck with his travels to Naboo (Italy) and a return to Tunisia in a few years time (barring Al-Queada of course, after current frightening events in the country!!). We were back in the autographs and dealers areas after that (now moved from it’s original Geonosis location (a quite small room) and into the first floor main linking corridor area (named Hoth) -a good move as it was a more congenial place for everyone, certainly more comfortable for the guest artists and there was also greater accessibility for people to meet them and get the autographs. We also had a look at the Fan Area (named Alderaan) which housed there Art Room where there were many splendid artists works on displays, some excellent replica costumes masks and diorama (especially of the Mos Eisley Cantina and it’s interior) as well as other displays on show- giving proof that more than re-iterated the fact that the Germans are just as dedicated STAR WARS fans as any in the world.

Ready for action!

There was also the Charity tombola which I enjoyed and Ianbriefly became addicted to as if he were a possessed old granny on a slot machine in Vegas. I joined him in taking part the next day and he and I both won some great merchandise (one particular item which Ian acquired being the 1978 Bob Seidemann photographed STAR WARS action figure/birthday cake poster-a very nice item indeed!!). It was then back to the main conference hall for Gus Lopez’s presentation on movie prop and costume collecting-again, a nice smooth running affair, with Lopez, though guarded when asked about the items in his collection, going through all the do’s and don’ts of original prop collecting, giving good advice to wannabe collectors and tips on what to look out for so that people can get authentic pieces for their collections.

Our hungry stomachs were activating and soon after that there was a need to return to the dealers room and then to catch up on our autographs (including Derek Lyons who talked about his friendship with Peter Mayhew and Mark Hamill during the original film’s shooting in 1976 at Shepperton Studios). Being upstairs prompted us to miss out on the Oliver Doring STAR WARS presentation (again, it was probably all in natural German anyway), but we were soon back for the Auction. Interestingly, rather than raising money for charity, a lot of the money raised would be to help the German STAR WARS Fan Club (I hope that they aren’t in any difficulties and that LUCASFILM are helping them on this front..).

A brilliant fan recreation of the Vader helmet and shoulder costume from ROTJ.

I always love the auctions-I can’t afford to buy any items but it’s nice to cheer people on (I liked the opening auction item-the leather INDIANA JONES filofax-for the price it went for I could actually have bought that piece) and see what is being made available-though there were some hideous items being sold (a Chewbacca t-shirt in particular!), some great items included very rare props (including some 1977 original STAR WARS ILM Death Star pieces, presumably from Gus Lopez), and some props items that shouldn’t have been released (pieces picked off of Tunisian locations (sacrilege to us at AFICIONADO as those items are already decaying!!)) but on the whole, most of the items were pretty good, as Steve Sansweet and GERMAN INSIDER Staffer/Editor Marco Fromter braved a large audience to work out who was buying what. Some items went beyond the reserve price, some didn’t (which annoyed a few people) but I think everyone had a good time at the event. One more break followed and it was back to Robert Watts who had his own panel –and once again, it was very good, with a lot more varied questions, and more discussion of his work on both the INDIANA JONES and JAMES BOND movies. Sadly his talk, once again, was not a crowd filler-a fact that was a great disappointment to me, especially with his long and distinguished career-you have to make the most of talking and listening to people of this history and calibre who have worked within the film industries-once these guys and gals are gone, many stories of the making of classic films will be lost forever. Watt’s likability and his astonishing memory to remember key and fascinating behind the scenes stories going back to the sixties was incredible. We look forward to his upcoming interview in STAR WARS INSIDER and, despite it’s appalling layout, hope it lives up to it’s promise (in the UK, I wish we had the German version of the magazine in English-a much nicer product, better designed in some parts and printed on good paper for a start!!)

STAR WARS characters mix and match!

Leaving the stage twenty minutes early (interestingly, instead of people coming up to tell you you’re out of time, the guests cue to depart or wrap up was normally dry ice smoke wafting onto the stage-one thing was for sure, not only was it a good signal to end but it also unfortunately had people rushing out of the auditorium to stop themselves from coughing to death!!!), the crowd were about to leave the hall when, coming out of the stage mists like a desert apparition (almost like Omar Sharif in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA!), in an ethereal, almost slow motion moment, a fellow Brit named Dave Tree introduced himself for a talk in which he has been responsible for an intriguing new fan compilation DVD comprising numerous television adverts from the original UK PALITOY commercials (as well as other UK advertising memorabilia from the Classic Trilogy Era). His surprise presentation, one that he literally managed to slot in with thanks to Marco Fromter, was terrific and played to an enthusiastic audience, and proved to be one of our convention highlights. We had to meet this guy and help him spread the publicity cause for this project!!  Though we were unable to find him for the rest of the day, we, particularly a salivating with interest Ian (one of the biggest STAR WARS toy fans you could ever get to meet!!), were determined to find him on Sunday…

We decided that we were going to see Jeremy Bulloch for his individual talk the next day, instead of seeing him with Daniel Logan, so it was back to having a look at things in the reception area with the fans and their costumes, the dealers room and the upstairs areas-really soaking in the atmosphere of it all. Food then returned to our bellies as we joined the mass throng of people going into the restaurant for the Saturday night buffet-a pleasant affair, of which the events family-like atmosphere continued, with many of the paying customers happy with the vast amount of food on display to be gobbled up for their price of 25 euros (whether it was worth that price “depends greatly on your own point of view”)-it was also nice to see all of the convention guests pretty much there-and Jeremy Bulloch kindly stopped by to say hello to us at our table and provide some laughs along the way. I think everyone agreed that the food was on the whole very good and the service very polite and extremely efficient (at times too efficient-at the breakfasts they were so dedicated in taking the dirty plates away there were times when Ian and I had to stop them from doing it as wanted seconds !!). Once the evening food was consumed, many of the Guest departed for the evening but Derek Lyons and Barrie Holland, both of whom speak some German, would go on to attend the SATURDAY NIGHT STAR WARS FEVER event as Judges.

Another great fan head.

Thinking it was going to be a costume event /disco party of some kind, Ian and I travelled back down from our sixth floor rooms and were soon in for an unexpected surprise as what the “event” actually turned out to be.

Now, I love a good knees up, and to not go to a party or a Costume Party at a convention is criminal in my book-they are always a good laugh and fun entertainment-and a lot of the fan costumes can be sensational. So, at the Saturday evening, I was intrigued at what SATURDAY NIGHT STAR WARS FEVER was going to be like in the main CORUSCANT room. Walking through the linking corridor we had asked one of the waiters if it was open and he gave us a look that, in hindsight, pretty much said it all about the evening’s entertainment. Though the event started off fun enough with the costume part, including several Boba Fett’s, a cute English family as Leia from STAR WARS, a little Wicket, an Empire Chewbacca (with Threepio attached) and an EPISODE ONE Padme, Aurra Sing, numerous Padme’s from across all three Prequel films, a superb Imperial Walker trundling across the conference room to ear piercingly loud euro rock backing track, the rest of the evening turned into a rather bizarre affair and, being completely in German, there were times when Ian and I were baffled as to what was going on. Equally bizarre were some of the other “acts” that were to appear in this talent contest /X-FACTOR meets STAR WARS “event”, including a Stormtrooper costumed singer whose song seemed to just go on forever, and a strange magicians act in which I was completely lost with what he was attempting to achieve-I know it involved the names Han Solo and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and lots of children were screaming out to him (I’m assuming they were telling him to get off the stage!!-I hope!!) but that was about it, really….. Boy, it was surreal (though I actually regret that we missed the equally surreal moment where a group of Twi’Leks performed the ABBA song GIMME GIMME GIMME A MAN AFTER MIDNIGHT, though part of it is up on YOUTUBE!!)-and at times I was shouting “LEIA!!” in pain, in the same way Luke did on the underbelly gantry from EMPIRE. Myself andIan left after two hours-we had strangely felt compelled to stay and see how each “act” was going to top the others-and there were some great fan efforts-particularly the previously mentioned stomping Walker, but things were getting worse and we left at about 11pm-though we understand that this “extravaganza”, where I’m not sure even the German/ British Judges (which included Barrie Holland and Derek Lyons) knew exactly what was going on, went on for another hour-and it had already been on two!!! We really couldn’t take any more of that one, and the German host seemed and acted like a deranged BUTLINS Holiday Camp Red Coat entertainer- and we understand from conversation with fellow fans that he got a little too pervy with the female fan dressed as Leia in the gold bikini-certainly not for a family audience. The whole event made the Japanese STAR WARS experience stage show from the early nineties seem normal.

Tim Dry's rare photo autograph.

Presumably to catch up on some liquid refreshment and cigarettes missing from his internal system earlier in the day, as well as doing other stuff, Robert Watts and friend Tim Dry managed to leave the event just as the bizarreness reached new heights, staying until after a couple got engaged live onstage (the groom-to-be actually dressed up as Darth Vader whilst doing it). We tried to not let them go, but they simply wouldn’t have it!

SUNDAY

The final day finally brought sun into Dusseldorf and it was a nice crisp blue sky that awakened us and led to another relaxed period of conventioneering- this time with the opening presentation linked to the German 501 Stormtrooper Garrison, with an additional Q and A to accompany it with Steve Sansweet (though the majority of it was in German, the actual scope of the 501 presence across the world was quite staggering to this writer (the video of the US garrison on parade from a few years back went on a bit, though, and I was starting to giggle as memories of the dancing Stormtroopers on the 1977 DONNIE AND MARIE show started to haunt me!)). The excellent costume 501 fans on stage were mostly excellent, including the charming, and very cute, female PINK FIVE Snowtrooper character, as well as other types of various trooper (one of which, one of the Garrison’s leaders, had an Easter Bunnies head on (reminding us all of the terrible character from the early seventies STAR WARS MARVEL comic). Though I’m not a “get into a Stormtrooper outfit” type of guy, and I’d certainly be typecast as an overweight Jedi Knight if I did put the robes on (that wouldn’t be too good, I can tell ya!!), the 501 dedication to helping charities around the world alongside LUCASFILM must be applauded. Interestingly, Steve Sansweet then gave a history of the LUCASFILM relationship with the 501 since 1995/1996-though there have been a few bumps on the road from time to time, it has been a pretty harmonious relationship, with Lucas himself impressed with the 501’s vast legion of Imperial officers at events he has attended, specifically requesting their presence at the ROSE BALL PARADE in 2007, with members selected from garrisons all around the world, something which would have cost vast amounts of money to organize and which, had it not been for Lucas himself initiating the idea, LUCASFILM’s marketing and fan relations would probably not have done due to expense.

A nicely realized fan diorama.

We missed the Derek Lyons panel (sorry about that, Derek) to return to the autograph lines and finish getting outstanding things done (sadly, despite enjoying the event, Christian Simpson had returned to England due to an illness in the family-we hope everything’s okay there). I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed that Boba Fett to-be Daniel Logan had put up his autograph fee price up from the previous first day –you now had to pay fifteen euros for an autograph and an extra five euros to get the signature signed on any photo!! I thought that was a little too pricey considering everybody else, including more worthy longtime STAR WARS legends like Bulloch and Watts, were charging fifteen euros (including a photo). Despite his friendliness with the fans, I have to say, that his doing this with the price put me off of him and getting his autograph, though we once more chatted with the ever amiable Barrie (“You Rebel Scum”) Holland before he did his own presentation, then we returned to the dealer’s room, soaked up some more atmosphere and took pictures of numerous costumes characters.

Some more of the droid builder's work.

The Artoo Builder’s Club room, which appeared closed when we wanted to see it yesterday, was opened up and we ventured into the small area which boasted numerous excellent Artoo/Astro Droid creations and a beautiful mural behind them of the droid hold from THE PHANTOM MENACE.

As fans went from place to place, Stormtroopers hustled and bustled, Jawas went “outini” and Ewoks brandished their fighting sticks, the staff at the MARITIM hotel were lovely people-always efficient, mostly English speaking, fast workers and very friendly. I bet many of them were not STAR WARS fans or had probably been only vaguely aware of it when it was released and re-released. If they were bemused by it all they certainly handled it well and were not nasty or mickey taking (we wonder what the mostly snooty air stewardesses thought, however, when they had their stopovers there during the weekend!)  It all went smoothly. The Convention also had a very good technical crew-nothing broke down and there were no major sound problems that have plagued other conventions that I have gone to in the past. There are always convention hic-cups like events having to be rescheduled and guests having to pull out at the moment, but those are things that fans of all types of science fiction genres have lived with since any type of convention started in the Forties.

Food time, and it was a short time after that we managed to find Mister PALITOY man himself- Dave Tree- who kindly talked to us at great length about the upcoming release of his fan DVD compilation of the PALITOY toy commercials between 1978 and 1985 (more on this will follow in a separate review..so keep an eye out for it on the main site)-I swear itwas a pleasant sight seeing Mister Trussler dribbling at the thought of all those PALITOY commercials he would soon acquire in his collection!! He couldn’t wait to purchase a DVD and neither could I.

The Walker has a new stomping ground.

We then returned to the conference room where Sansweet was now giving his own general Q and A talk (see the separate notes for more info on what was discussed). Carefully and concisely answering questions to the audience, he revealed his love of science fiction literature though there was a lot he hasn’t yet had time to read, referring to the fact that he’ll have a shelf of books to read when he’s retired, and fully answered fans questions as best as he could with regards to upcoming info and decisions on future releases and plans regarding things like computer games, and the upcoming animated and live action TV series (there will also be imminent news on the future of CELEBRATION conventions worldwide very shortly (with the rumours of an event in Chicago, as well as Australia)). Once again, a smooth running and enjoyable panel.

Staying where we were seating wise, the final event of the day before the closing ceremony was Jeremy Bulloch. Bulloch, to me the main star/guest of honour of the convention and still the only man worthy of inhabiting the Boba Fett costume and bringing him to life, was on fine form. Always a very generous, highly amiable person, his finale audience talk was quietly enjoyable with a look back at his varied film and TV career (on a specially compiled disc that he brought with him, playing his compilation to the effective song NOBODY DOES IT BETTER, first sung by Carly Simon for the JAMES BOND movie THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, of which Bulloch also appeared in (it was equally nice to see those fun GEORGE AND MILDRED and ROBIN HOOD TV clips), answering some questions about STAR WARS and his other films, and getting members of the audience (including AFICIONADO contributor Ian Trussler) up for some fun/embarrassing (take your pick if you were there) lessons in “acting” out a scene that might end up in an alternative comedy version of SPEED’s elevator sequence, as well as two other convention attendees who got the chance to utilize Bulloch’s body language talent at becoming Boba Fett. It was nice to Jeremy doing some different things at this convention, being more interactive with the audience-something that I wish would be done by more of the STAR WARS guest artists. Mister Bulloch is one of the true ambassadors for STAR WARS and we salute you, sir!

Watch out for thermal detonators!

Sadly, despite it being the penultimate event of the convention, and like the previous individual Robert Watts talks we went to, very few people attended Jeremy Bulloch’s individual talk event (presumably due to the fact that, with the session being so near the conventions end, fans were probably still trying to by last minute things in the dealer room), though this didn’t phase Bulloch, who was as friendly with the enthusiastic Saturday theatre matinee type fan crowd as ever.

And so, with the Closing Ceremonies, the joy of being immersed in STAR WARS was over. As mentioned previously, it was so nice to be at a convention that was more intimate and relaxed, and, even better-apart from one at the beginning of the first day- no horrendous lines to get in to for events.

As the guests returned to the stage to say goodbye (including some sprightly moves from Mister Bulloch and equally enthusiastic gymnastics from Daniel Logan), and Mark Dermul (I think the Kamino Cloners must have been working overtime-he seemed to be everywhere at the event!!) returned with his posse to sing out the event with another “Weird Al” song linked to EPISODE ONE, all the technical crews and stewards were thanked and a final celebrational video of the weekend’s guest and fan highlights was played as people departed. I’m always a little sad when Conventions are over, but always cheer up with the thought that there will be other events in the near future, and the Saga will continue..

A rare autograph image from Robert Watts, featuring him, Jim Bloom and the ROTJ cast.

Our plane trip back to the UK was also an enjoyable affair as we were in the airport and journey to the UK with Jeremy and his wife, Robert Watts and Tim Dry (don’t worry guys, we’re not stalkers!). On the small plane, Dry would jokingly (well, we hope it was a joke!) start: “oh no, watch out, more STAR WARS fans”. To which I equally jokingly replied, “Yeah, we should all have a public health hazard warning printed on our heads.” One interesting tit-bit on the way back was that Watts, once his production company is up and running, may be involved in the making of Mark Hamill’s BLACK PEARL-the pair having previously reunited at CELEBRATION EUROPE.

As the plane touched down after it’s brief one hour flight, I suddenly realized, as I looked back at the drizzly bleak world of Heathrow Airport, that normality had crept back into my life. The party was over but it had certainly been a good one if you had been a STAR WARS fan that Easter Weekend.

So, all in all, despite the loss of some major guests several weeks before, the JEDI CON faced adversity well and I felt it was a big success for everyone. It reached a peak level of 2,000 people attending the event over the three days with the ages of fans ranging from four weeks old (the baby was even dressed as a Stormtrooper! Yes, believe it!) to seventy years!! As ever, STAR WARS crosses the generational boundaries and provides entertainment for everyone on all kinds of levels-of which a good STAR WARS convention is a great place to channel all of that love and excitement of the saga. It was also nice this year to be at a convention that wasn’t as massive as the previous CELEBRATION, to take a breather, to get to see and meet people over three days and have a lot more to time to relax as you’re doing it. And special mention must be made to organizers Robert Eiba and Marco Fromter who did a terrific job (Marco, it was finally nice to meet you after five years!! And congratulations on the start of your family) against those previously mentioned difficult hurdles in putting it all together-well done.

Though there will be other CELEBRATION/LUCASFILM run conventions in the US and Europe (and beyond) in the near future, we hope that the JEDI CON events will continue to occur, separate and individual from the Big Gun events, for the many fans who have enjoyed them past, present and future…

Long may the fun continue...

Photos by Scott Weller and Ian Trussler

Video highlights of the event:▶ Best off Jedi-Con 2008 - YouTube
▶ Star Wars - Jedi-Con 2008 - Dusseldorf - Video #8 - YouTube

JEDICON 2014 is coming: Jedi-Con - Official Star Wars Convention

UPDATE 2015: Scott is still waiting for that promised autograph picture from Eric Walker!