#SWCO: Day 2

Star Wars!!!

So after the grueling rigors of the day prior, having eaten and recharged all devices and backup chargers, we found our still sore feet back en route to Star Wars Celebration. I could hardly believe that after a FAR less than luxurious night, I was actually headed- eagerly- to do it again! 

And why, do you ask?

Because this year was exceedingly special. Not only was there the par-for-the-course groundbreaking Thursday, but (due to this being the 40th Anniversary Celebration) they'd already used their Thursday for that! Which meant that they had to have a SECOND groundbreaking day to cover ground over the biggest thing happening in Lucasfilm this year. The follow up to 2015's "The Force Awakens," number 8 in the overall Star Wars saga, the film title who traded classic yellow outlines for a sinister red, that's right I'm talking about...

The Last Jedi.

Let's talk about this for a minute.

The original trilogy was titled: "A New Hope," "Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." The prequel trilogy was titled: "The Phantom Menace," "Attack of the Clones," and "Revenge of the Sith." Notice how the Force is not explicitly included in any of those titles. And, even with a mere cursory knowledge of Star Wars or syntax, one can glean the overall looping story flow and see how each trilogy really revolves around one person. The avenging Sith IS the former menace phantom, who used the attacking clones to wage his war. The returning Jedi IS the aforementioned hope anew, who reached a turning point in his power defying the Empire's strike.

I'm keeping it simple and surface for sake of illustration.

The Original Trilogy is about Luke Skywalker.

The Prequel Trilogy is about Emperor Palpatine.

Now let's examine the two revealed Sequel Trilogy titles: "The Force Awakens," and "The Last Jedi." What is this?! A break from formula! It's unnerved me a bit. We've got the Force explicitly in the title AND we've got a direct opposition to the final installment of the original (or classic) trilogy. The Force clearly awakened in Rey, but the prismatic event horizon potential of a title like "The Last Jedi" could literally go anywhere. With a twice break from formula and resistance to remaining couched in the shadow of its predecessor, I was at a loss. Admittedly, without the final title, the picture is incomplete and that's what kept me torn between hopeful anticipation and pending dread.

I couldn't draw a bead on what they were going to do, and as a result, couldn't predict what they might reveal. All I knew for sure, was that they were going to show us the trailer. 

My feet scuffed against the concrete, furiously intent on keeping pace with my scurrying thoughts, until we arrived back at the convention center and had our first surprise. The line was PACKED. Mind you, we'd actually a arrived EARLIER than we had the night before, but apparently everyone who missed the 40th Anniversary panel took it personally- I later learned that some people had literally been in line since 2pm the day before. Insane.

However, I remained unperturbed. We'll make it in, I confidently reassured. So we made our way to the back of the line. Just down the way a little bit and, oh. It continues around this corner. No worries, just round the corner we go and- oh. It's still going. That's what's up. Little more people than I expected, excuse me while we... Ho-lee CRAP this line is long! Well... it's probably because it's a thinner line than yesterday, I'm still sure we'll get in, and goodness gracious I'm still walking.

We walked so far around the convention center trying to reach the back of the line, that by the time we got there I realized we should have taken the other way around, seeing as we'd nearly circled around the entire premises. 

And still, I was unperturbed.

We're going to make it in.

And that's when I learned a very valuable lesson about belief. It's ALWAYS impractical. Never logical. So using "that doesn't make sense" as a reason to disregard a belief is actually a misnomer, because all deep beliefs are functions of faith. The thing to focus on is what are we going to believe?

We can unpack that at another time.

So we got in line and went through the very long process of entering the building, going through security, and entering the queue. The night passed much like the night previous with one glaring exception. Instead of a dance party in the wee hours, we were visited by none other than the director of The Last Jedi himself-

Rian C. Johnson!

This man spent three to four hours taking pictures with every single person who wanted to take a picture and signing at least one item for everyone who desired it. Everyone. This man is a hero for that. I was among the ones who managed to snag both a picture and an autograph and once the carnival of chaos had passed beyond my designated sleeping spot, I was in awe that it had actually happened. Most folks just don't DO stuff like that.

 

Funny side story: I knew who Rian was, of course, but I actually had no idea what he looked like. Lol So when he showed up, I asked someone who he was. 😂

After that the night returned to normal.

Time wound itself around and (after being rudely line cut by about 50 people) I found myself in the live stage room with The Last Jedi panel about to take place. Excited energy rippled through the air. Josh Gad hosted this panel (hilariously I might add) and Kathleen Kennedy appeared. Wild applause. They speak for a little and then bring out Rian. More wild applause. The three of them converse for a moment, before Josh gets to his feet and invites the female hero icon of this generation to the stage.

Daisy Ridley.

As she bantered with Josh and stunned us all with her bewitching red dress, I honed in on her face. Something had changed. She didn't look... sad, per se. She had the eyes of someone who had experienced a deep revelation and was still working out how to fit that captivating reality into her regular life. I wish I could've spoken to her in person. Sometimes I see certain celebrities and wish I could help. Not as like a therapist, but just to be an authentic friend amid the chaos- a friend to help carry the load...

John Boyega was onstage next, buoyed by his usual energy and increasingly suave demeanor. He's just... COOL man. You can tell he's got a lot of intelligent things to say, but bites his tongue and bleeds his inner dialogue liberally into his art. Shortly after that, we were introduced to Kelly Marie Tran- newcomer to the franchise and the trilogy. More playful banter and some very cryptic sound bites about the movie. 

Then Rian took the mic and showed us something special... on a screen the size of Goliath pumped full of steroids, he debuted the poster contained at the top of this entry. Beautiful. And then... and THEN... the moment we'd all been waiting for.

"Is there a trailer? OF COURSE THERE'S A TRAILER!" he yelled, cueing the lights.

We watched it, enraptured, haunted by Luke's closing words. Rian came back out for a second, then played it again. It really is an enchanting teaser. Upon his stage return, he shared that he's very proud of this film and looking forward to us being able to see the whole thing. Kathleen had said that Rian "got" Star Wars and that not only was he quickly becoming one of her favorite directors, but that he was well on track to standing among the great directing legends.

We were dismissed and happily gifted a physical copy of that poster. Amazing. A perfect example of the phrase that dominated Thursday...

WORTH IT.

The showroom floor awaited me. 

But more than that as I was about to discover.

Barely halfway through and I hear a slight commotion. My eyes lift and- What? It's John Boyega! I disappeared in a flash, instantly in a jockeying position to grab a selfie. Ever mindful of real life, however I waited to see the nature of his guards and when someone just ahead of me grabbed a selfie with no problem, I dove in and made an epic memory.

Apparently my phone got over excited too, and blurred John a bit  (also, I have no idea what I'm lookin at 😂), but it happened!

Back to the showroom floor, on a mad hunt for the Her Universe booth, because she always has the BEST Star Wars clothes. Couldn't find it anywhere. Come to find out, she was located in the official Celebration Store this year. That line was 3 hours. No thanks. So we traveled the floor a little bit longer, before heading upstairs to wait for a Star Wars Novel Writers panel to start. Timothy Zahn was supposed to be there, which is the main reason I wanted to go. 

It... was okay. True to his titular Thrawn character, Tim didn't talk much and the panel host/moderator was... wanting. To put it mildly. The rest of the writers up to here were cool, but didn't have any new information for me, which confirmed two things. 

1) It's time for me to write.

2) I need to get an agent, so I can get tapped to write a Star Wars novel.

After that, feet begging for relief, we elected to leave. It was about 5 in the afternoon anyway. A good day's work. Pizza was the immediate priority (and a milkshake of course), followed by the preciously delicious sensation of being able to finally relax and sleep on a mattress rather than a cold, hard floor. 

Two days down.

Missions accomplished.

Saturday, here I come.

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