Although one could argue (and many do) that the 25th of May is the better-suited date, the geeky play-on-words "May the 4th Be With You" seems to have triumphed this year as pop culture's official "Star Wars Day." Despite somewhat unexpected roots, the saying's ubiquitous presence in Internet memes, t-shirts and media reports was additionally sanctified by a special day-long event at Disney's Hollywood Studios independent of Star Wars Weekends, as well as a meager, but nonetheless official, Lucasfilm PR campaign with which the 501st Legion was asked to participate.
With just a few weeks' notice, Lucasfilm Senior Events Lead Mary Franklin put out the call for photos celebrating this unique Star Wars holiday by posing near local landmarks. I presume that the message went out through multiple channels, but it was largely 501st members who responded based upon the photos that were featured on starwars.com.
I'm somewhat isolated from the big cities so there's not a lot of true landmarks, but just 43 minutes from my house is the world's largest peach-shaped water tower in the South Carolina town of Gaffney. The Peachoid was built in 1981 as a tribute to the region's status as a top peach-producer, and was even featured on the Netflix series House of Cards, so this was as close as I was going to get to a bonafide landmark.
Early on a Sunday morning, my wife helped me suit up in the parking lot of the Fatz restaurant within the shadow of the gargantuan steel fruit as curious passers-by stopped to ask questions and honked from I-26...fortunately I didn't cause any accidents.
On your way to Dragon*Con, think of me as you marvel at the grand (and somewhat awkwardly-shaped) peach.
A long time ago, on this very blog, I posted something nebulous about rapper Kanye West. Bear in mind that was prior to his notoriously career-killing racist rants and his "Imma Let You Finish" interruption of Taylor Swift's acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards.
Some four years later, I can finally reveal what that was all about. Admittedly, this will be somewhat anti-climactic. Back in 2008, Kanye's stardom was something that the 501st LegionStar Wars costuming organization felt could be leveraged. Historically, any alignment with celebrities meant more publicity for the group, more legitimacy for the art of costuming and more interest in any charitable efforts. As such, when Kanye West's representatives approached the 501st with a request for a suit of Stormtrooper armor, we wanted to jump at the opportunity to associate our name with that of one of the best-selling and most-awarded musical artists of the time.
Once we had all of Kanye's measurements (5' 8" with size 12 shoes?!), Legion Commanding Officer Mark Fordham (SL-096) led the effort of acquiring all of the necessary components for a respectable Stormtooper suit, requesting donations of parts and funds from the volunteer membership on a very tight timeline. (Note: My personal contribution paid for the gloves.) Mark succeeded in delivering the armor on time and worked out an agreement by which the 501st would get the used armor back so that it could be auctioned on Ebay with proceeds going to a charity of Kanye's choice (the ill-fated and somewhat suspicious Kanye West Foundation). To recap: the 501st pays for and supplies the armor, Kanye wears said armor and autographs it and the 501st auctions it for charity. Aside from the fact that it was a complete Stormtrooper costume valued at around $1000 US, we figured it would fetch considerably more after it was worn by hip-hop superstar Kanye West, right? Fate, however, had a different plan.
Kanye toured and we did get the armor back with an autograph and some stickers indicating it was part of the production. Still, an auction like this would perform much better with some photographic evidence of Kanye in the suit. Despite numerous requests, no pictures were sent. Over time, our contacts with the West camp slowly dissolved until months of waiting turned into years of silence. Kanye's charitable foundation flopped with a bad rap (no pun intended). The man made a fool of himself in the media. The fans turned against him. At this point, we'd be lucky to give away the armor.
After letting the dust settle for a few years, the 501st decided there was no real reason to hold back the auction any further---the value of the armor had clearly already peaked and we needed to monetize it for charity as was the original intent and we chose our good friends at Make-A-Wish as the beneficiaries. Mark once again picked up the reins and posted the listing on Ebay in August of 2012, with hopes that Kanye would stay out of the public eye until the auction ended:
To promote the auction, we posted about it on Facebook. Public opinion was swift and to the point with comments like "Honestly I think him wearing it devalued the armor," "I have never wanted to destroy a piece of stormtrooper armor more than I do right now" and "Does it still smell of douchebag?" Fortunately, a single bid just prior to the auction's conclusion met the reserve of $1000 and this infamous piece of history went quietly into someone's personal collection, with proceeds going to Make-A-Wish.
Up until recently, we really had no idea just how the armor was used, except that he wore it on stage a few times while touring with N.E.R.D. back in 2008. However, an October 2012 tweet by Kim Kardashian led me to find that the armor was also (partially) used in the pilot episode of a failed "hip hop Muppet Show" titled Alligator Boots. Weird.
Hey, I bought those gloves for Kanye! Here's a link to the some behind-the-scenes video. Enjoy! Or not....
Only two years after 2010's Star Wars Celebration V, Orlando played host once again to the year's largest Star Wars convention as 30,000+ fans from around the world converged on Central Florida's Orange County Convention Center to revel in four geeky days in honor of that galaxy far, far away.
I've always enjoyed being involved with the planning of the 501st Legion's presence at any event (the Legion's reputation precedes us and one does not want to disappoint), but the tremendous amount of work that went into this Celebration was simply astounding. I was privy to and deeply engaged with more than a year's worth of volunteer preparation that escalated over time from an occasional e-mail to a daily regimen of communiques concerning everything from hotel contracts and celebrity appearances to writing dialog for General Grievous and George Lucas. Oh, and I even managed to squeeze in some time in armor.
Knowing how much was going to happen behind-the-scenes, I arrived in Orlando a day early and, after securing my Exhibitor badge, made my way to the 501st Experience room to help set up 5,355 square feet of amazing fan-made costumes, props, backdrops, displays and signage. Although we had the same room at the last Celebration, this year's charity exhibit was located in the main exhibit hall giving us room to include new features such as an awesome Death Star Superlaser control station, Trash Compactor set, Detention Block AA-23, Clone Trooper Locker Room and the Midsouth Garrison's new 1:1 scale Dewback prop---a mobile two-man puppet which won "Best in Show" at the CVI costume contest.
I also helped as a handler for an amazing project that debuted at this show---Roxy the Rancor. The life-size 700-pound sculpture was created by Rick Bohler of Pizzazz Scenic Contractors with assistance from the 501st's Matt Paisley and was undoubtedly one of the most iconic interactive backdrops for Celebration VI. In fact, Roxy even got a private visit from George Lucas and Mark Hamill during their very secretive visits to the con floor. One of the contributions I made was helping produce an mp3 loop of roars, screams and Stormtrooper intercom chatter that provided an audioscape for Roxy's appearance.
Always a hit (and always a major headache to coordinate) was the 501st group photo. How to arrange our members in a fair and logical manner has always been a challenge. Do one-of-a-kind costumes get preferential treatment up front, or the ones that are most recognizable...or most logical as "leaders" of the Empire? What colors look good together? Do AT-AT Drivers go next to the Snowtroopers or the Stormtroopers? Where do we put Honorary Members? All things considered (and realizing that it's virtually impossible to make everyone happy), I was happy with how the Florida Garrison tried something new by having members in the center of the group form a large "CVI" to commemorate the picture.
Far Away Creations also contributed their fantastic Han in Carbonite display as seen in Jabba's Palace, however this particular set piece was first used for the 501st Bash on Friday night. This sold-out event was one of the highlights of the con as the Legion played host to members, fans and celebrities at Rosen Centre following a private members only 501st Banquet that had its own surprises including an epic Darth Vader cake by Oakleaf Cakes and personal visits from Ian McDiarmid, Peter Mayhew, Anthony Daniels, Bonnie Piesse and other celebrities. I was also honored to receive a coin and patch for my service as a long-time Legion Command Staff member.
Our friends at Doctrine Creative helped document the entire event in a well-produced DVD which is available here. Check out the trailer for a taste of the exciting blur that was Star Wars Celebration VI.
Today was the first time I've trooped in more than a year. If it weren't for the good graces of my Carolina Garrison CO, I'd be on the inactive list.
While my family and work are still the number one priorities in my life, trooping at the First Annual Asheville Tattoo Fest reminded me that I still immensely enjoy suiting up in the white armor to bring smiles to kids of all ages---even the ones with kids (or grandkids) of their own. You might wonder what a tattoo convention has to do with Star Wars, but you should know that Star Wars-themed skin art is a genre unto itself as demonstrated by books like Shane Turgeon's The Force in the Flesh. Either way, the organizers were thrilled to have Boba Fett (BH-4413), a Tusken Raider (DZ-6975) and a Stormtrooper (me) walking the floor and taking photos with the guests. They even offered us moonshine---but troopers don't drink on the job.
As I mentioned before, it had been a while since I attended a 501st appearance, but the reactions were the same as always. Awe from those who remember you from their childhood...
Excitement from those who can't wait to tweet about who they saw at the show...
Fear from those who aren't quite sure if you intend them harm...
And then there's the silent acknowledgement in passing from those who think they're a little too old to still love Star Wars. Quite a few of those. But as limited as my vision might be inside that Stormtrooper helmet, I saw you taking a picture of me from across the room. It's okay, bro, Star Wars is for everyone.
As far as highlights from this event, two moments stick out in my mind. One was when Mamie White of The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia stepped off the stage to take a photo with us. The other was when Boba Fett stumbled across a guy getting a tattoo of Boba Fett. Meta, dude.
A big thank you to my wife (DZ-4009) for acting as our handler and photographer for this event.
Some sage advice: Whether you run into troublesome kids who want to jump on your back or just a fan who needs you to take a photo with their camera, a handler is invaluable to any 501st appearance. Thanks to TK-7404 for getting us into the show! Keep on troopin'!
Here's the Reuters article from July 27, 2011, that gives us an update on the lawsuit between Lucasfilm and Andrew Ainsworth's Shepperton Design Studios surrounding the rights to replicate Stormtrooper armor and helmets. Lucasfilm won in California courts, but was recently ruled against in the UK. This essentially means that SDS can't ship to the States, but will continue producing armor.
The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that the High Court doesn't consider movie props and costumes to be works of art. That's just a slap in the face to everyone in the film industry including Andrew Ainsworth.
It also bothers me (to a lesser degree) that the media likes to use stock images/video of the 501st Legion to illustrate these articles, although SDS armor makes up a very small percentage of the suits worn by Legion members, mainly due to the price point of SDS's unlicensed product.
Okay, so the term "flash mob" is a bit of an exaggeration. This early-morning 501st event in uptown Charlotte, NC, was a planned promotion for Star Wars Celebration V on behalf of Lucasfilm and Reed Expositions (the folks running the big summer 2010 Star Wars fan gathering). We were asked to help drum up some media coverage in regions outside of the Florida market to ensure that fans in the Southeast USA were aware of the August event. I created some picket signs with relevant phrases like "TO ORLANDO...HAVE BLASTER WILL TRAVEL," "THIS IS THE VACATION YOU'RE LOOKING FOR" and "STAR WARS CELEBRATION OR BUST!" David, TI-1626, even went shirtless as a vacationing TIE Pilot complete with swim shorts.
Jon Wilson of the local FOX Charlotte television early morning show, who has helped the 501st promote various events over the years, met us in front of the Omni Hotel at 6 in the morning with his faithful cameraman and we amused and confused passers-by and commuters on their way to work. The end result was about 10-15 minutes of teasers promoting Celebration V and the 501st Legion. Lucasfilm was pleased and I squeezed in another event for 2010. Not a bad result for a last-minute Friday morning troop. Thanks to David, Andy, Cher, Hope, Ken and Ryan for showing up!
Click here for video (not sure how long they keep the link active).
It's been a few years since Museum Replicas acquired the license to produce Star Wars costume replicas, but we finally got a gander at the new original trilogy Stormtrooper armor this past week at San Diego Comic-Con 2010.
Bearing in mind that some costumers are very particular about the accuracy of their reproductions---sometimes down to the inclusion of what are clearly shortcomings/errors---this armor is the best licensed offering of white armor we've seen thus far (one could argue that the Shepperton suits are more accurate, but he's not officially licensed by Lucasfilm to sell anything). Sticklers will immediately call foul on parts like the one-piece molded right knee "ammo belt" or the grommets in the webbing belt or even the lack of a separating strip down the backs of the calf armor...or the funky abdomen buttons...or the lack of sharpness on certain parts...you get the idea.
Still, the armor isn't set for release until 2011 and there will likely be changes and improvements between now and the time these hit the market. Maybe fans can offer up some suggestions that might result in a better end-product. No word on price-point or accessories (like the blaster or the special storage crate) at this time.
Click here to see the full-size detailed photos of the prototype. Photos courtesy of the very generous Lesley Farquhar.
The company known as eFX Collectibles acquired the license to produce certain items that were being made by the now-defunct Master Replicas. While the Master Replicas Collectors Edition (MRCE) Stormtrooper helmet is still available though a number of online retailers, eFX is now releasing an Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back version that appears to be made from the same molds as the MRCE. The paint scheme is a bit different---most notably the black vs. gray frown---and the manufacturer is now calling this a Precision Cast Replica (PCR) made from injection-molded ABS (same as the MRCE).
Click here to pre-order from elitecollectiblesinc.com or here redfordfilms.com for $159.99 US. Both sites offer free shipping. They claim these will be a limited edition (as were the plentiful MRCEs) shipping in early July 2010.
Essentially what we're seeing is a $40 jump in price for the same helmet which still requires modifications to meet 501st standards, but at least this style of fairly-accurate TK helmet won't be in short supply.
Rain or shine, the trooping must go on. Trooped in armor for the first time in more than a year and was glad that that suit still fits, albeit repairs are in order. The Carolina Garrison was helping to promote the Star Wars: In Concert tour which will be at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC, on Thursday, November 5th. Ticket sales are suffering from some high priced seats and a weeknight event (not geared towards school kids), so the 501st was out at the Greenville Saturday Market to help get the word out. On a side note, I am an advocate of the local food movement in general...I even sell fresh eggs at our own farmer's market. Despite a constant but light rain, attendance wasn't too bad and we handed out flyers offering a $10 discount on tickets and interacted with the public. Being Halloween, a lot of kids came in costume and it's nice to see that Star Wars is still popular. The event hosts (Bi-Lo Center's marketing team) were kind enough to provide complimentary admission for all of the attending 501st plus up to 5 guests---a wonderful gesture that was much appreciated by the Empire. Due to my work schedule, I won't be at the November 5th concert, but the rest of the family will enjoy a night of live music from that galaxy far, far away. I did get to see the show in Los Angeles, though, and I have to say it's very cool to see and hear the music you've grown up with performed live in front of you. Be sure to catch the show if you can...no telling when you'll have another chance like this!
Amazing! Sensing the huge amount of support for the top two entries in the Chick-fil-A Cow Appreciation Day contest, the food chain decided to award TWO grand prizes. Both the Jobe Family of Boone, NC, and Noel (TK-8541) Green will receive a year's worth of meals. Noel, of course, has pledged to donate his winnings to his local New Mexico food bank to assist those less fortunate. As an added bonus, Noel reports that his local Chick-fil-A restaurant will be hosting a special day where a percentage of their sales will go to the same food bank charity! Thank you to all of you who supported this fun and worthy cause---it's astounding that people can make a difference like this when they combine their efforts. Here's the winning announcement from Chick-fil-A's official facebook page: http://bit.ly/s9txN
Since April 2002, I've been trooping with the 501st Legion, an international Star Wars costuming organization with more than 8000 active members. My Legion ID number is TK-899. This unique volunteer group specializes in improving the quality of fan-made props and costumes, promoting the Star Wars brand for Lucasfilm Ltd, and performing community service through fundraising and charitible events.
I'm somewhat isolated from the big cities so there's not a lot of true landmarks, but just 43 minutes from my house is the world's largest peach-shaped water tower in the South Carolina town of Gaffney. The Peachoid was built in 1981 as a tribute to the region's status as a top peach-producer, and was even featured on the Netflix series House of Cards, so this was as close as I was going to get to a bonafide landmark.
