bonniegrrl | Having Fun Storming Indy: Star Wars Celebration III

When I took the job as an online content developer (that's code for online writer) at Lucasfilm I never thought that one day I'd be surrounded by Stormtroopers (or hit on by one for that matter). Of course, Stormtroopers (or Stormies as I like to call them) are probably the only guys I find attractive in uniform. But hey, that's just me. *ahem*

When I showed up in Indianapolis for Celebration III, the largest Star Wars convention in this galaxy, I had no idea what I was in for. Granted, I'd been to countless Comic-Cons, where our Stormies are often intermixed with overweight Batmans, short Spider-Mans, numerous Trekkies and plenty of booth bimbos. This was something much different.

At this convention, not only was everything all about the Force, but there was something a bit more sentimental about it. There were so many little kids (many dressed like their favorite characters) that it made me realize that my job is much more than just informing fans of the latest toys, comics, news tidbits, events and so on, but it was to remind people why Star Wars is so dang cool. And not just to the usual comic book nerds either, but to little kids who think this is all real, and to girls who still have crushes on Han Solo -- or worse Vader, and to hordes of other folks who want to relive the magic of attending this Star Wars film with a gigantic last hurrah.

As soon as I got to the hotel, it was swarming with fans with a few of the Star Wars cast and crew milling around in the lobby. I flirted with Kit Fisto in the elevator -- before I knew he was one of our actors, mind you. I'm a sucker for a boy with dreds and an Aussie accent, what can I say? I stopped by our computer room (lovingly called the "War Room") in the convention center, picked up my all-access Staff Badge which I would soon grow to adore for not having to stand in 6-hour lines) and grabbed some coffee before taking my camera out and about to document the madness that would become my daily routine for the next 4 days. I hung out at the initial pre-party where I met up with my Star Wars artist buddies, the Hodges', of course my coworker pals, and whatyaknow that cute Aussie boy.

Of course, the next day was less about me flirting with Jedi actors, and more about
me running around at as many events I could, writing quick notes during presentations and Q&As, taking snapshots, running back to the War Room, typing up stories, sending them to my editor and then running out to do it again and again and again. The few of my friends who found me, wouldn't exactly find me, but a version of myself that resembled more of a headless chicken. (Nice visual, huh?)

These are the events I was frantically writing about:

Stormtrooper Olympics
Dan Gregoire's Animatics presentation about his work on Revenge of the Sith
the elaborate Opening Cermonies
Hayden Christensen's live feed interview from the set of his latest movie in Italy
stuntmaster Nick Gillard's Q&A
Star Wars Costume Pageant
Star Wars Fan Film Awards (I was a presenter)
the media-frenzied George Lucas Q&A
Billy Dee Williams Q&A
Stormtrooper documentary Heart of an Empire
the Jedi extras Q&A
the crazy Celebration III Party
incredibly cool Tattoo Competition

Plus I was constantly snapping photos of kids in costume, tricked out Star Wars cars, Stormies marching around including the HUGE 501st Parade in the street and so much more!

One of the highlights was a party that we (meaning myself and my boss/Star Wars guru Pablo Hidalgo) to a Webcammer Party to meet some of the fans who truly love the little webcam that we take everywhere with us so folks can see what they're missing -- click here to see what I mean. They were so happy to see us -- they even had Tom Hodges make a shirt with US ON IT. I don't think I've ever been on a shirt before! ;-) I should have asked for one!

I ran into old buddies, saw some online pals face-to-face for the first time, met some new folks, laughed until my sides hurt with my Disney lads Aaron and Dave, and had one hell of a time as you can tell from the pictures below.

Celebration III Photos: