Hey folks, Harry here... I have two types of reports here on STAR WARS: CELEBRATION, the convention/gathering of fans celebrating their mutual love and adoration for all things (or as some would have it, not quite all things) STAR WARS. The first report is actually more of a juicy delivery for all of us that couldn't fly out to the event in Indianapolis. The greatest thing about the footage that IG-U7 has put up for all of us isn't the resolution... taint that great, but rather.... the audio. The audio of thousands of Star Wars fans losing a load in their pants and dresses and pantalones. WARNING, THE FOOTAGE IS HEAVY SPOILERISH!!! BUT CAPABLE OF MAKING YOU SHRIEK WITH GLEE!!!
It is quicktime in somewhat poor resolution, but hey, it was the best that could be done in the setting. I am sure that you have heard that there was new footage shown at Celebration 2, particularly the spiderman/yoda "trailer".
VERY IMPORTANT!!!! Turn the quicktime video setting of brightness to almost full in order to see the most detail - if you post these, PLEASE remind people! If it is dark, you can see almost nothing.
I'll go by IG-U7 for now.
Have fun with it! and maybe you can help share it.
P.S. Here Is where I put it! I hope people like it!
Next is a report from Keith, who had some issues with the organizational abilities of the convention and some suggestions for what to do better. Here's Keith...
Harry:
It will be after the fact by the time any readers of your site see this, but I thought I would send along word on the Star Wars Celebration II in Indianapolis.
As those of us who went to Celebration in Denver three years ago know, the event was extremely disorganized and marred, to some degree, by incessant rain. The fact that it was held outdoors at a former military base and that most events took place under leaky tents (dealers scurrying to protect their wares from rain was quite a sight) only made it worse.
The good news is that Celebration II is indoors, in the Indiana Convention Center, which is more than big enough for the estimated 25,000 attendees.
The bad news is that the sponsors (Wizards of the Coast, this time around) were woefully disorganized.
You would think that the people who sold the tickets ($75 for three days) would have kept count of the number sold and would not be surprised when a big crowd showed up. But they appeared to be. Fans who stood in a long line were sent to another by staffers who had no idea what they were doing. Upon reaching that line, the fans were sent back to the original line - the end of it, this time. Those of us who arrived two hours in advance on Friday missed the opening ceremonies.
That isn't so surprising, perhaps, considering they were trying to fit 25,000 people into a 3,000-seat auditorium used for the main shows.
But the organizers were totally unprepared to handle crowds once they got inside the convention center. After a couple of hours of watching thousands of fans standing in lines to events in the main room, the organizers began handing out old-fashioned movie theater/raffle tickets, color-coded to allow admission to a session (Rick McCallum, for instance, or Hayden Christensen) hours later. The system worked, but was ridiculously low tech.
The autograph sessions were also a bust. Carrie Fisher's session was held in a separate room (marked by a long line, of course) but most of the celebrities were put in a corral-type enclosure. Fans bought admission to the enclosure but were not told which celebrities were present at any time; they took their chances that the people they wanted would be there. They were allowed in again later, I'm told.
The full-service autograph service was likewise a wash. People who paid (for example) nearly $60 for three autographs on Friday were told to come back for the finished product on Saturday. On Saturday they were told the autographs wouldn't be ready until Sunday. Ooops - hope you don't have to fly out tonight!
Otherwise, the convention was enjoyable. Anthony Daniels repeated hosting duties (and some schtick) from Denver and was fine. No big secrets were given away at the panels, of course.
The dealers were just what you would expect, and there were the standard exhibits of SW props and costumes and screenings.
The fans were remarkably easygoing despite the frustrations. This was a very family-oriented crowd, with lots of kids and babies in tow.
My friend and I would like to attend Celebration III three years from now, but will no longer assume that a new organizer will mean better organization.
Thanks,
Keith
