GeekTyrant has a special sneak preview of an upcoming episode of Pop Culture Quest featuring Mark Hamill, who of course played Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars films. Prop Store’s Brandon Alinger appears with Mr. Hamill and shows him the original hero lightsaber that he used in Return of the Jedi, which was also used by Alec Guinness in A New Hope. You can check out a preview of the scene on YouTube. [Read more…]
From Luke’s yellow ladder A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back to his hero lightsaber from Return of the Jedi, the “Star Wars Original Props and Costumes” discussion panel at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim ran the gamut of obscure background props to the best of the best. Participants included Stephen Lane and Brandon Alinger from Prop Store, Tom Spina from Tom Spina Designs, and legendary collector Gus Lopez, creator of the Star Wars Collectors Archive. Each panelist took us through one of their own “prop story” tales, showcasing the background of one of the prized pieces in their own collection. Of note was that this was the first public announcement by Brandon Alinger that he owns what is essentially the hero Luke Skywalker lightsaber from Return of the Jedi, which was also used by Sir Alec Guiness in A New Hope as a fighting lightsaber (and not to be left out, it was also a practice dueling saber employed in The Empire Strikes Back). It was an incredible display of both knowledge and images, and overall it underscored the importance of collectors in tracking down, identifying, restoring and preserving these important pop culture artifacts. [Read more…]
The “Secrets of the Cantina” panel at Star Wars Celebration was one of the events that I was most looking forward to, and it did not disappoint. Featuring co-presenters Pablo Hidalgo from the Lucasfilm Story Group and Tom Spina of Tom Spina Designs, they delved deep into the mythos of one of the most popular scenes from Star Wars: A New Hope, talking exclusively about those creatures (and ugly humans) that inhabited that infamous bar. At times playing out like a spoken word CSI: Tatooine, they talked about some of the crazy methods they’ve developed to identify some of the actors behind the monsters, as well as the actors who played parts with make-up but without the masks. [Read more…]
In terms of excitement generated from Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim, I would say the second development right behind the JJ Abrams/Kathleen Kennedy panel the opening morning and release of the new trailer for The Force Awakens is the exhibition of props, costumes, and models from the all-new film installment to the franchise. On the upper floor of the Anaheim Convention Center is space dedication to the display of artifacts from the upcoming Episode VII, due in December 2015. This feature includes about 130 quality photos from this exhibit. [Read more…]
Following my pictorial preview of Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim for 2015 last night (Wednesday night, before officially starting), below are photos I took of the exhibit hall on the first full day (Thursday). Being my first Celebration, it was bigger than I expected, but still not a massive as San Diego Comic Con (and thankfully, many of the aisles are much wider as well). The calm before the storm was when the doors opened but the J.J. Abrams/Kathleen Kennedy panel was going. For those who elected not to sleep overnight within the convention center to attend in person, the jumbo monitors at the LEGO booth streamed it all in real time, to the astonishment of fans who were thrilled by the premiere airing of the new “teaser” trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens. [Read more…]
Prop Store’s exhibitor booth (#1140) for Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim in 2015 is both familiar and different. While the size and scale is comparable to what I’ve seen at San Diego Comic Con over the past five years, obviously with Celebration it is going to be 100% Star Wars-related content. With this show, they brought out some of the important pieces from the Prop Store Collection (i.e. owned by the principals of the company and not for sale), including a Darth Vader helmet, Han Solo jacket, and a Princess Leia gown. [Read more…]
My friends at Prop Store have a very big presence with Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim in 2015… in addition to their impressive exhibitor booth (#1140, replete with hero-class original production props, costumes, and artwork), Brandon Alinger (Chief Operating Officer) and Stephen Lane (Chief Executive Officer) are participating in several high profile discussion panels to the packed crowds at the Anaheim Convention Center. I took time today attend the Star Wars Costumes: The Original Trilogy panel, which consisted of Lucasfilm executive editor J.W. Rinzler, Brandon Alinger, and Delia Greve, senior editor at Becker Mayer. [Read more…]
Star Wars Celebration officially kicks off tomorrow (running April 16th – 19th), but there is already a substantial massive line in the belly of the Anaheim Convention Center, filled with fans queued up for The Force Awakens panel featuring J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy. As I walked in to check it out, dozens of pizzas were being hand-delivered to fans (courtesy J.J. Abrams and Kathleen Kennedy), starting with those at the front of the massive crowd. It was announced today that 4-Day passes/badges have sold out, and when I picked up my media badge at around 5:00 this afternoon, they only had about 400 Saturday tickets left to sell at the door. Below are some photos I took while walking around the convention center. [Read more…]