Got a Star Wars experience you want documented for all time within the Lucasfilm Archives? Then make sure you check out the Star Wars Stories Project Schedule we recently posted for Comic-Con attendees (and for non-attendees online!). Come on, we know you've got a story of your first time seeing Empire, or waiting in line for Phantom Menace, or finding that rare friend who loves Ewoks as much as you...
Having trouble jogging your memory? Here are a few excerpts from fan testimonials we collected earlier this year that might warm you up:
In 1999 I was so desperate to make sure I got to see the first showing of The Phantom Menace on opening day that I send a letter to my local theater offering to do anything, including wearing a Slave Leia costume in their lobby every day for a week. In the end, tickets ended up going on sale a week early and I got in that line at the crack of dawn. I had stayed up all night and made little "welcome to the Star Wars line" treats (goodie bags made out of Star Wars wrapping paper) that I handed out to the first 30 people in line (I was tenth in line). I quickly became the line "hostess" and whenever a newspaper or news reporter came for an interview, they were pointed in my direction. I made a bunch of friendships in that line that are still going strong today.
-- Lori Sartre
I was projection manager at AMC Neshaminy 24 during Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I managed to sync seven prints in 16 houses to come in 6th in the nation for attendance for the midnight [showings] of Sith. Very proud of that factoid.
-- Steven H. Marcus
My father was the biggest sci-fi fan I know. I remember him taking me to see the first showing of A New Hope. After that we talked about Star Wars when he became ill with lung cancer. It was a favorite topic. When he passed away, I found a plastic bin full of original figures -- and my passion for collecting Star Wars memorabilia began. I have a whole bedroom dedicated to Star Wars. It represents my motivation, my fun and the best times with my father.
-- Joslyn S. Stewart
Star Wars has impacted my life in multiple ways. It's been in my life since I was about two. It sparked my love of science fiction and has helped me direct my life into wanting to write stories on the scale of the movies and Expanded Universe. Maybe one day I'll get to be like Timothy Zahn or Kevin J. Anderson. Star Wars is just huge for me. What can I say -- my Mandalorian skull tattoo says it all.
-- Marcus Jones
Prior to 1999, while I was only a young kid, I hardly read any books short of comics. Upon the release of Phantom Menace, not only was I open to the galaxy of Star Wars, but was brought into an imaginative world presented within the novels. Star Wars got me into reading in general and has captivated me ever since.
-- Gary Romeo
[Waiting in line for Episode I,] I ran extension cords from a Ben and Jerry's to the front of the line so we could watch the original trilogy on TV and play Shadows of the Empire and Episode I: Racer on my Nintendo 64. We ended up waiting in line for 24 hours -- it was one of the greatest nerd moments of my life.
-- Matthew Jeffrey
Camping out at [San Francisco's Coronet Theater in 1999] for a three-week period was like being in a 1960s commune. I remember starting my first shift and crashing in the bed of a truck that night of a guy named Chris -- someone I just met that day. There were no worries of anyone taking you stuff while you went to do an errand. It was just a bunch of cool, fairly laid-back geeks -- hanging out, talking about, writing about and just living Star Wars while we would get a "daily workout" by play-fighting with our plastic Hasbro lightsabers...
-- Dale Tolosa
Got a Star Wars memory you want to share? If you're going to Comic-Con, be sure to stop by the Star Wars Stories booth -- if not, send us your memories online!
