With the film's release on May 25, the media was caught off guard when crowds had massed outside the handful of theaters booked to premiere Star Wars on opening day. They wondered how a film that had virtually no pre-release advertising could open so big. The grassroots approach Lippincott used to promote Star Wars was undoubtedly responsible for generating the level of interest seen on opening day. The side effect of this approach, however, was that most of the positive buzz had gone virtually undetected by mainstream media, accounting for the dumbfounded reporters standing outside movie theaters that Memorial Day weekend.
Returning to the San Diego Comic-Con in late July 1977, Lippincott was able to carry with him an air of hard-earned legitimacy. Ever the intrepid publicist, he continued to bolster the film's momentum by offering a one-hour "Making of Star Wars" slide show and discussion to fans fascinated with the creative process behind Star Wars. Though the focus was now off the comic books, Lippincott had successfully demonstrated that the comic book community was a viable audience for projects such as Star Wars. Once news of Lippincott's underground strategy made the rounds in Hollywood, the San Diego Comic-Con was seen in a whole new light. Today, it has become a major marketing venue for studios wishing to promote film genres ranging from high adventure to horror.
Lippincott's feelings about his legacy to comic conventions are mixed. "If you've got an unusual product," explains Lippincott, "like, let's say, a Star Wars, with no stars, or nobody you can recognize, you're going to have an extremely difficult sell. Everybody's going to be looking for an Angelina Jolie or something recognizable and familiar. And when you're up against somebody who's showing every genre trailer and attaching them all together in a 30-minute reel, you're doing something. The more presentations you do, the less effective it is."
"You aren't going to find it that way," continues Lippincott. "Have them come for a sense of discovery, which is what I felt was extremely important about Star Wars -- bonding people together and making them feel like they're part of something."
Today, that 'something' has grown into one of the largest and most diverse fan bases ever devoted to a movie saga, spawned in part by a publicist who had the foresight to plant the seeds of fandom within a small but passionate culture of comic book enthusiasts. After Star Wars, movies, and comics, and their interaction on the pop culture playing field would never be the same.
