Category Archives: Star Wars Celebration
INSIDE CELEBRATION ANAHEIM’S PODCAST STAGE
Via Starwars.com:
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim saw the premiere of the Celebration Podcast Stage, and with it, fans got to experience some of their favorite podcasts live! Located in room 208A of the Anaheim Convention Center, the Podcast Stage allowed for fans to enjoy many different types of Star Wars podcasts in person, as well as the opportunity to interact with listeners, both old and new. Before the show took place, I asked Mary Franklin of ReedPop (formerly of Lucasfilm) how the Podcast Stage came to be.
Star Wars.com: This will be the first Podcast Stage at Celebration. How did the idea come about?
Mary Franklin: We’ve had a lot of requests from podcasters over the years to broadcast from Celebration, but we just didn’t have a place that random podcasting fit very well. I was thinking about it, and all the really good Star Wars podcasts that are out there, and thought “Why don’t we try a dedicated Podcast Stage?”
Star Wars.com: What has the response been like, both from podcasters and from fans?
Mary Franklin: The response from the podcasters has been outstanding, and I think we have a really good group represented at the show. We had to turn good ones away because we just didn’t have the time to fit them all in. I look forward to sticking my head in the Podcast Stage often to see how it’s going. I look forward to hearing the subjects the podcasters choose to report on at Celebration, too!
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Ep VII Costume Exhibit at Star Wars Celebration
The whole world was at a standstill during J. J. Abrams panel during Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim California while the second Star Wars Episode 7 The Force Awakens Trailer. It was a truly profound experience that brought tears to many people’s faces to include myself. We got to see the new stars of the new Star Wars Trilogy and we got to see the old stars that we have all grown so attached to over the past 35 years.
To everyone’s delight we got to see many new costumes and characters. At Star Wars Celebration all of the fans who attended where privileged to get to see some of the new characters costumes from Episode VII, but it did not come without sacrifice. There was an average wait time of 3 hours just to get into the exhibit. The line wrapped around the whole second floor of the Anaheim convention center. Lots of people grew impatient and complained about the wait, some people left the line because the wait was just too long, but for those who patiently waited until the go into the exhibited felt it was so worth it and was a magical experience. On display were several costumes and props from the Millennium to the all new Flame Trooper we even got to see the new droid that has gained a lot of attention BB-8. This was truly one of the highlights of Star Wars Celebration and I could have stood there for hours but there were others waiting to get in. With Star Wars having so many creatures species and characters I am sure we will see lots more come the premier of Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens December 18, 2015. Until then we will all have to wait.
Check out the gallery images below (FYI – if you want to stay 100% spoiler free, there may be very minor ones in this gallery)
Star Wars Celebration Over Sized Topps Vintage Cards Winner!
Congrats to Dan. D from NJ – He was the random winner of the Topps Lando set from Celebration. Look for your prize to arrive from Topps in about 2 weeks!
17 ‘Star Wars’ Cosplayers Who Prove The Awesome Is Strong With These Ones
Via Mtv.com:
This year, Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim gave us so much to geek out about. A new trailer for “The Force Awakens!” More details about the “Rogue One” spin-off! A new “Star Wars: Battlefront” game! The unbearable cuteness of BB-8!
But as with any convention, it’s all of the exceptional cosplay that takes a large gathering of nerds and make it into something truly special. Here are just a few of our favorites:
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Five Things I Learned At The World’s Top Star Wars Convention
Via Forbes.com:
Over the past four days, more than 60,000 people descended upon the Anaheim Convention Center in order to take part in Star Wars Celebration, the top gathering of fans of the fictional universe.
Given that Disney—one of the largest companies in the media and entertainment world—shelled out a little over $4 billion in 2012 for Lucasfilm and all the Star Wars intellectual property therein, it seemed a worthy target for coverage.
Of course, adding to the intrigue was the fact that I’ve always considered myself a Star Wars connoisseur. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen all the movies released during my lifetime the night of their launch at midnight; I can tell you the proper spelling of Chewbacca’s home planet; I even auditioned for the role of Anakin in my youth.
I still felt I there was a chance I’d feel a bit out of my league in Anaheim—and my suspicions were more correct than I could have imagined. There were people, sometimes dozens at a time (more on that later), dressed up as characters I didn’t recognize, as well as conversations about books I’d never read and a general level of knowledge I could never hope to attain.
And that’s precisely why I left Anaheim more convinced than ever that Disney’s Star Wars purchase will prove to be a $4 billion bargain. Far from driven away by changes instituted since the deal, the fan base is as energized as ever in the leadup to the new trilogy set to debut in December, beginning with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and continuing with Rogue One prior to Episode VIII.
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PSWCS.org Sells Out of Darth Vader Medallions at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim
Star Wars Celebration Anaheim was a huge success for PSWCS.org which sold a Darth Vader medallion in support of Castaway Critters, a no-kill animal shelter in Harrisburg, PA. The limited edition medallion, with only 1,000 pieces, sold out on Sunday afternoon raising over $6,700 for Castaway Critters.
PSWCS.org and the Pennsylvania Star Wars Collecting Society want to thank everyone that stopped by our booth during Celebration Anaheim and purchased a medallion for this excellent cause.
But our fundraising is not done yet. Actor Steve Blum, who voices Zeb Orrelios on the animated show Star Wars: Rebels, donated a signed photo that is be auctioned on eBay with all proceeds also going to Castaway Critters. The auction can be found here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281670228214
This is the third Celebration where a collectible medallion was released for charity but it’s the first time the entire run was sold out during the course of the event. The response to the medallion and the charity were overwhelming and on behalf of Castaway Critters, PSWCS.org would like to thank everyone that purchased a medallion or made a donation.
Star Wars Cloud City diorama time-lapse from Hasbro’s Star Wars Celebration Booth
This past weekend at Star Wars Celebration, Frank D’iorio’s Diorama Workshop built a massive Cloud City diorama at the Hasbro booth! Constructed over the course of 4 days, the diorama was created through a combination of the Diorama Workshop’s team of 12 builders and the help of approximately 1500 fans who customized pieces at Star Wars Celebration. The diorama is 640 square feet and consists of over 400 se tpieces, including approximately 800 figures and toys by Hasbro and Kenner. (Video was provided to us from Hasbro PR)
60,000 + At Celebration Ahaheim 2015
Via Theviewpoint.com:
Smells of lilac and palm were everywhere, hanging in the air. The Imperial trooper removed his white sculpted helmet and breathed in the spring morning. Immediately, the pleasant smell of Anaheim was replaced with the riper fragrance of Star Wars Town, a smell of sweaty excitement and, also, of sweat. It was the smell of the Anaheim Convention Center floor, where more than 60,000 “Star Wars” fans descended on each day of Star Wars Celebration, the giant, semi-occasional, Lucasfilm-produced bacchanal to all things from a galaxy far, far away.
It was the smell of men and women dancing in Darth Vader and Boba Fett armor, and 45-year-old parental “Star Wars” fans towing hordes of kids with light sabers; it was the smell of long lines to hear to Mark “Luke Skywalker” Hamill discuss his life and to attend a rare screening of the original “Star Wars” translated into Navajo.
Star Wars Town was a quirky place, and if you stayed long enough, the world itself started to look like “Star Wars.” You realized you were standing knee-deep in Sith.
Normally this place is thought of as Disneyland; the park and resort sits across the street from the convention center and dominates cultural life. But Disney announced it was buying Lucasfilm for $4 billion in 2012, a purchase that was controversial with the residents of Star Wars Town, and so the Mouse kept his distance during the convention, which ended Sunday. Because Star Wars Town is real, an autonomous place. Or was. Here are some notes from my visit.
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Star Wars Celebration: Princess Leia Fans Praise Her Strength And Femininity
Via Latimes.com:
The love for Princess Leia Organa was strong among the “Star Wars” professionals, fans and professional fans attending the “What Princess Leia Means to Me” panel on Sunday at the Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim. Panelists and audience members took the occasion to share the many ways the iconic character has influenced their lives.
The panel, moderated by Jennifer Heddie, a senior editor at Lucasfilm, featured actress Catherine Taber, artists Cat Staggs and Katie Cook, author Christie Golden and Lucasfilm creative executive Rayne Roberts.
For a number of the panelists Princess Leia was the first example they encountered in media that showed women could have agency.
Princess Leia was “the first female character I remember that wasn’t the one that needed to be saved,” said Staggs, a comic book artist whose “Star Wars” related work includes illustrating trading cards and art for StarWars.com. What stood out to her about Leia was the fact that “she took charge.”
For Taber, the actress who voices Padme Amidala in the animated “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” TV series, Leia’s significance is that she sent the messages to girls watching the films that “you need to be the masters of your own life.” A message, she added, that girls even now need to hear.
Panelists discussed how the existence of Princess Leia also affected the roles available to them while they were growing up playing with boys during their formative years.
When playing “Star Wars” with other children, because of Princess Leia, “I wasn’t stuck in the closet waiting to be saved,” said Golden, a sci-fi and fantasy author whose resume includes a few “Star Wars” novels.
Staggs agreed, adding that “it was fun to play a character and not be pigeonholed as the damsel in distress.”
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