JonathanLB
May 5th, 2002, 04:48:07 PM
Actually, I have spent a lot more than $1,000, but I don't want to exaggerate so I'll leave it at that amount because it sounds better than to say $1,500+, which is more like it :)
BUT I have some really really cool stuff so check this out...
-I got two original pieces of artwork, both from Richard Chasemore, illustrator of STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES Original Cross-sections as well as for the previous books in the DK series. My two pieces of artwork are ACTUAL originals sent to the printer for the book, then returned to the artist and they are his final and only renditions. I would tell you to flip to so-and-so page to see each one, but I do not have that book with me, just the AOTC one (getting to that). They are both small pictures, pretty tiny really, but super detailed and wonderful I think. The first ($300) is of the main spire in the middle of the Senate building where you see Vallorum standing with the two people next to him. I'm pretty sure you can find it by that description. The second ($200) is of Fode and Beed in the Podrace area where they announce the races. These are two of my finest collectibles now because I do not have any other totally original pieces and these are actual originals of the mass-merchandised book, so they are just awesome I think...
-AOTC Cross-sections signed by Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore.
-Celebration II program SIGNED by the cover artist, on the cover, and inside signed by AOTC co-screenwriter Jonathan Hales (I met him and got him to sign it!) and David West Reynolds, author of the Visual Dictionary for AOTC and also the TPM incredible cross sections (but not the AOTC one). The program was $10, but it's worth a lot more than that now after the signatures I am sure. I'm personally quite proud of that :)
-AOTC pin set limited to 2002, framed, and numbered ($95).
-Original Trilogy pin set limited to 1977, framed, and numbered ($95).
-Every single AOTC Rawcliffe collectible besides the keychains ($195).
-7 autographed Celebration II pictures, 10 total autographs (one pic has 2, another has 3), including one of Carrie Fischer in her bikini ;) ($160 -- includes all COAs).
-22 (!!!) boxes of collectible card games from Decipher. As in actual booster pack boxes. This one guy was selling them for SO cheap I could not resist. $10 per box of Young Jedi when they used to be $90 or $100 or whatever, so I got 6 of them plus 16 of the OT sets from A New Hope and Premiere to Endor and Death Star II and everything, literally everything, between. Cost of all that was about $530 (pretty good considering, hehe).
-Signed (by Salvatore) and limited (to 500) special AOTC book with special cover and case only available at Celebration II -- unlike last time where they just SAID that (and there were 5,000), this time they were down to 15 left when I saw just before they closed, so that is it. ($150).
-Badge set of 14 Celebration badges in a tin, shipped to me later. ($50).
-Stamp set limited to 5,000 and numbered, apparently available only at Celebration II also ($30).
-8 Star Wars lithographs (and one Indiana Jones one my mom wanted) signed by Dave Dorman (Star Wars artist, did a bunch of Marvel work earlier that I love too). ($300 for all).
-5 Ralph McQuarrie lithographs that are also very small and framed, of course also signed, $30 each. ($150 total). (On a side note I have 16 signed McQuarrie lithos at home already, a few thousand dollars worth, so that is one of the best parts of my collection, plus I got his photo signed at the last Celebration).
-Celebration II "25 years of Star Wars" poster. $20 (I think...).
-Celebration II exclusive poster signed by the artist ($20).
-The Art of STAR WARS: EPISODE II -- ATTACK OF THE CLONES signed by the author (this guy, Mark Cota Vaz, is really nice and he is just awesome!). ($35).
Uhhh, that is all of the main "cool" stuff I can think of actually but you never know I may be forgetting something. Honestly that does seem like it surely must be all of it, LOL. Oh wait, no, the exclusive action figure of George Lucas (with a different name) available only at Celebration II, plus this Celebration II pin I got there, kinda cool... cheap though.
So ok you're probably thinking, "What DIDN'T you get?" but honestly as a SW fan this was just heaven. I could not resist getting so much because this happens one time every three years and that is only right now! There will not be more of these with such regularity after Episode III, so then it is basically no more except maybe a 30th anniversary one or a 50th anniversary one or whatever. You have to get this stuff when you can and this seemed like a good opportunity to get it, so... I went for it :)
This is just after blowing $1,500 at MasterReplicas.com on Wednesday night, by the way. So there goes at least $3,000 on Star Wars in less than 5 days. LOL.
A few comments about the Celebration, if you are still reading :)
Let's put it this way -- Yoda with a lightsaber is the greatest thing ever. Episode II is going to be the best movie of the saga, IMO, until Episode III which I believe is honestly going to be the new fan favorite for obvious reasons. Although it may seem like I just name the newest SW film my favorite, I think in time TPM may settle into a lower spot for me simply because it is an introductory part and the meat of the saga is really, well, 2-6. I think TPM is a great film and for sentimental reasons it'll always be my favorite in some way because I saw it first in theaters at midnight and nothing compared with that, but honestly Episode II just seems like it is going to be my new favorite, after seeing EIGHT MINUTES of exclusive footage you won't see anywhere else until it hits theaters ;)
It was all presented digitally, by the way :D
Listening to Jonathan Hales talk about the film and the screenplay also gave me very positive vibes about it, not to mention I talked to a few fans with press passes or exhibitor passes who have actually seen the film and I heard nothing but how much it rocks and how they loved it... not a bad word so far. You also get the feeling that if Hales didn't like it, he would honestly say so, LOL, because he somewhat worked on The Scorpion King and said he wanted his agent to take his name off it -- he mostly had no control and called it, in his exact words, "illiterate crap." He hated the final screenplay and never even bothered seeing the movie. LOL. This guy is awesome, he has a lot of talent and I have faith that the screenplay for AOTC is going to be fantastic. Of course I love them all so far, but this should please just about everyone imaginable including the critics.
Wait until you see the trailer (if you haven't already) that starts out looking like an ad for Spider-Man and then says something about "The Biggest Action Hero of the Summer," then shows Yoda and Yoda is absolutely, well, awesome. There. I won't spoil anything, but just... you gotta see it.
Those 8 minutes were so incredible that I just cannot imagine 2 hours and 14 minutes of a movie this breathtakingly awesome. It will be so cool...
I also got to see Ewan's stunt double and he was great, talked about the onset experiences and he was actually really funny. Seeing Hayden had to be a highlight, though, plus Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Kenny Baker (saw him last time too though), Steve Sansweet, John Knoll, Ben Burtt (again), etc. etc. I skipped seeing Carrie to be honest, didn't even try, lines were too long and it didn't interest me at all as much as the actual AOTC coverage.
What can I say, the Celebration kicked major butt. It was a super fun weekend and really helped ease the total lack of a social life I have here while taking a semester off for college and waiting for all my friends to return from college (although I visited them last week). Talking to all of the Star Wars fans is great, all of the fans are so great, you do not meet too many rude fans in line and they all seem so excited to be there, nobody really minds the lines and you meet tons of people, so it is always worthwhile at these Celebrations. I never have to regret not doing anything really because at least I've done all of the Star Wars stuff I can fit in with the prequels so far, haha.
I regret not meeting up with Jedieb, though, I know we sometimes have our debates and arguments but it would have been great meeting you, EB, and I hope you also had a fun time at the Celebration. There is always Celebration III also, I will be there, maybe you can come too! :)
I hope a few more of you guys can make it out to the third, I know what a money problem it can be, but perhaps for the final one a few of you guys could make it. That would be so cool...
As I said before in another post, at least among the fans the excitement over AOTC is not "muted" as some critics tried to suggest, it's DEFINITELY every bit as great as with TPM, if not a bit greater because I feel like Celebration II was much much less about all of the sponsors and it was more about actually seeing the cool actors/actresses and interacting with the fans. Overall, far better planned than Denver, Colorado's Celebration and it was more enjoyable. I got to see and do more, although there is nothing quite like the first day where I got in the longest line man has probably ever seen! LOL
Jedieb, maybe you were there at roughly the same time, but maybe you weren't as dumb as me and actually got there super early, but anyway, if you showed up at like 10 on Friday you could vouch for that line being about a MILE long. It was honestly about a mile to a mile and a half long, took a solid 10 minutes at least to get to the end of it from the convention center. We just kept walking and walking and finally got to the end, then got into the Celebration at about 11:30 or 11:45 I think it was. Pretty insane, and everyone there was more amazed than annoyed. As big as Spider-Man is, the guys in front of me and I were joking that there sure isn't any Spider-Man convention or celebration. There weren't people lining up for that film since January 1. Star Wars is still the Big Cheese and the King of Summer, so AOTC is going to be absolutely massive just as all of the last SW films have been. It was quite an experience :)
BUT I have some really really cool stuff so check this out...
-I got two original pieces of artwork, both from Richard Chasemore, illustrator of STAR WARS: ATTACK OF THE CLONES Original Cross-sections as well as for the previous books in the DK series. My two pieces of artwork are ACTUAL originals sent to the printer for the book, then returned to the artist and they are his final and only renditions. I would tell you to flip to so-and-so page to see each one, but I do not have that book with me, just the AOTC one (getting to that). They are both small pictures, pretty tiny really, but super detailed and wonderful I think. The first ($300) is of the main spire in the middle of the Senate building where you see Vallorum standing with the two people next to him. I'm pretty sure you can find it by that description. The second ($200) is of Fode and Beed in the Podrace area where they announce the races. These are two of my finest collectibles now because I do not have any other totally original pieces and these are actual originals of the mass-merchandised book, so they are just awesome I think...
-AOTC Cross-sections signed by Hans Jenssen and Richard Chasemore.
-Celebration II program SIGNED by the cover artist, on the cover, and inside signed by AOTC co-screenwriter Jonathan Hales (I met him and got him to sign it!) and David West Reynolds, author of the Visual Dictionary for AOTC and also the TPM incredible cross sections (but not the AOTC one). The program was $10, but it's worth a lot more than that now after the signatures I am sure. I'm personally quite proud of that :)
-AOTC pin set limited to 2002, framed, and numbered ($95).
-Original Trilogy pin set limited to 1977, framed, and numbered ($95).
-Every single AOTC Rawcliffe collectible besides the keychains ($195).
-7 autographed Celebration II pictures, 10 total autographs (one pic has 2, another has 3), including one of Carrie Fischer in her bikini ;) ($160 -- includes all COAs).
-22 (!!!) boxes of collectible card games from Decipher. As in actual booster pack boxes. This one guy was selling them for SO cheap I could not resist. $10 per box of Young Jedi when they used to be $90 or $100 or whatever, so I got 6 of them plus 16 of the OT sets from A New Hope and Premiere to Endor and Death Star II and everything, literally everything, between. Cost of all that was about $530 (pretty good considering, hehe).
-Signed (by Salvatore) and limited (to 500) special AOTC book with special cover and case only available at Celebration II -- unlike last time where they just SAID that (and there were 5,000), this time they were down to 15 left when I saw just before they closed, so that is it. ($150).
-Badge set of 14 Celebration badges in a tin, shipped to me later. ($50).
-Stamp set limited to 5,000 and numbered, apparently available only at Celebration II also ($30).
-8 Star Wars lithographs (and one Indiana Jones one my mom wanted) signed by Dave Dorman (Star Wars artist, did a bunch of Marvel work earlier that I love too). ($300 for all).
-5 Ralph McQuarrie lithographs that are also very small and framed, of course also signed, $30 each. ($150 total). (On a side note I have 16 signed McQuarrie lithos at home already, a few thousand dollars worth, so that is one of the best parts of my collection, plus I got his photo signed at the last Celebration).
-Celebration II "25 years of Star Wars" poster. $20 (I think...).
-Celebration II exclusive poster signed by the artist ($20).
-The Art of STAR WARS: EPISODE II -- ATTACK OF THE CLONES signed by the author (this guy, Mark Cota Vaz, is really nice and he is just awesome!). ($35).
Uhhh, that is all of the main "cool" stuff I can think of actually but you never know I may be forgetting something. Honestly that does seem like it surely must be all of it, LOL. Oh wait, no, the exclusive action figure of George Lucas (with a different name) available only at Celebration II, plus this Celebration II pin I got there, kinda cool... cheap though.
So ok you're probably thinking, "What DIDN'T you get?" but honestly as a SW fan this was just heaven. I could not resist getting so much because this happens one time every three years and that is only right now! There will not be more of these with such regularity after Episode III, so then it is basically no more except maybe a 30th anniversary one or a 50th anniversary one or whatever. You have to get this stuff when you can and this seemed like a good opportunity to get it, so... I went for it :)
This is just after blowing $1,500 at MasterReplicas.com on Wednesday night, by the way. So there goes at least $3,000 on Star Wars in less than 5 days. LOL.
A few comments about the Celebration, if you are still reading :)
Let's put it this way -- Yoda with a lightsaber is the greatest thing ever. Episode II is going to be the best movie of the saga, IMO, until Episode III which I believe is honestly going to be the new fan favorite for obvious reasons. Although it may seem like I just name the newest SW film my favorite, I think in time TPM may settle into a lower spot for me simply because it is an introductory part and the meat of the saga is really, well, 2-6. I think TPM is a great film and for sentimental reasons it'll always be my favorite in some way because I saw it first in theaters at midnight and nothing compared with that, but honestly Episode II just seems like it is going to be my new favorite, after seeing EIGHT MINUTES of exclusive footage you won't see anywhere else until it hits theaters ;)
It was all presented digitally, by the way :D
Listening to Jonathan Hales talk about the film and the screenplay also gave me very positive vibes about it, not to mention I talked to a few fans with press passes or exhibitor passes who have actually seen the film and I heard nothing but how much it rocks and how they loved it... not a bad word so far. You also get the feeling that if Hales didn't like it, he would honestly say so, LOL, because he somewhat worked on The Scorpion King and said he wanted his agent to take his name off it -- he mostly had no control and called it, in his exact words, "illiterate crap." He hated the final screenplay and never even bothered seeing the movie. LOL. This guy is awesome, he has a lot of talent and I have faith that the screenplay for AOTC is going to be fantastic. Of course I love them all so far, but this should please just about everyone imaginable including the critics.
Wait until you see the trailer (if you haven't already) that starts out looking like an ad for Spider-Man and then says something about "The Biggest Action Hero of the Summer," then shows Yoda and Yoda is absolutely, well, awesome. There. I won't spoil anything, but just... you gotta see it.
Those 8 minutes were so incredible that I just cannot imagine 2 hours and 14 minutes of a movie this breathtakingly awesome. It will be so cool...
I also got to see Ewan's stunt double and he was great, talked about the onset experiences and he was actually really funny. Seeing Hayden had to be a highlight, though, plus Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Kenny Baker (saw him last time too though), Steve Sansweet, John Knoll, Ben Burtt (again), etc. etc. I skipped seeing Carrie to be honest, didn't even try, lines were too long and it didn't interest me at all as much as the actual AOTC coverage.
What can I say, the Celebration kicked major butt. It was a super fun weekend and really helped ease the total lack of a social life I have here while taking a semester off for college and waiting for all my friends to return from college (although I visited them last week). Talking to all of the Star Wars fans is great, all of the fans are so great, you do not meet too many rude fans in line and they all seem so excited to be there, nobody really minds the lines and you meet tons of people, so it is always worthwhile at these Celebrations. I never have to regret not doing anything really because at least I've done all of the Star Wars stuff I can fit in with the prequels so far, haha.
I regret not meeting up with Jedieb, though, I know we sometimes have our debates and arguments but it would have been great meeting you, EB, and I hope you also had a fun time at the Celebration. There is always Celebration III also, I will be there, maybe you can come too! :)
I hope a few more of you guys can make it out to the third, I know what a money problem it can be, but perhaps for the final one a few of you guys could make it. That would be so cool...
As I said before in another post, at least among the fans the excitement over AOTC is not "muted" as some critics tried to suggest, it's DEFINITELY every bit as great as with TPM, if not a bit greater because I feel like Celebration II was much much less about all of the sponsors and it was more about actually seeing the cool actors/actresses and interacting with the fans. Overall, far better planned than Denver, Colorado's Celebration and it was more enjoyable. I got to see and do more, although there is nothing quite like the first day where I got in the longest line man has probably ever seen! LOL
Jedieb, maybe you were there at roughly the same time, but maybe you weren't as dumb as me and actually got there super early, but anyway, if you showed up at like 10 on Friday you could vouch for that line being about a MILE long. It was honestly about a mile to a mile and a half long, took a solid 10 minutes at least to get to the end of it from the convention center. We just kept walking and walking and finally got to the end, then got into the Celebration at about 11:30 or 11:45 I think it was. Pretty insane, and everyone there was more amazed than annoyed. As big as Spider-Man is, the guys in front of me and I were joking that there sure isn't any Spider-Man convention or celebration. There weren't people lining up for that film since January 1. Star Wars is still the Big Cheese and the King of Summer, so AOTC is going to be absolutely massive just as all of the last SW films have been. It was quite an experience :)