30 Years of Star Wars In Germany

Monday, April 13, 2009

Easter weekend last year I attended the Jedicon in Duesseldorf, celebrating 30 years of Star Wars in Germany. I recently posted some pictures at Flickr, so I thought that I write a post about it here.

First off you might think that the movie came out in 1977, so it should have been 31 years, but apparently the counting of years goes back to 1978, when it played in Germany.  I was told by a friend that the convention was typically held every other year, I had never attended  a Star Wars convention and l decided that the 30 year celebration was a good reason to attend.

Star Wars came out when I was 10 and at an impressionable age.  It quickly became one of my favorite movies.  My devotion never reached the fabled heights of some fans (i.e. a rumored fan that saw the movie 17 times that first summer, must have liked the popcorn I used to joke).  Like many other fans I was excited to hear that Episodes I-III were going to be made.

I was only there on the Saturday, but I did get to hear Robert Watts, Jeremy Bulloch, and Daniel Logan talk about their experiences with Star Wars.  Robert Watts was involved in the production of the first three movies and one or two Indiana Jones movies, so he had some interesting stories to tell.  Jeremy Bulloch was Boba Fett in the orginal films, while Daniel Logan played Boba Fett in the newer movies. Saturday night was a variety show and of course there was all kinds of stuff that you could buy. 

It is nice to do something like this to meet other fans, to meet people involved, and to learn more about things behind the scenes. It is hard to believe that Star Wars has been around for over 30 years (sure makes you feel old sometimes).  So heres to 30 plus years, "May the Force Be With You."




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Stormtroopers in full force



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Stormtrooper ready for Easter



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Boba Fett



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Yoda in Carbonite



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Droids on display



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Darth Vader under the helmut