The fear of being exploited has prevented some longtime fans from committing to Star Wars Celebration. "If it's just going to be a chance to look at props or see toys that are released three days later and bits and pieces of the movie, I don't know if it's going to be worth it," say Brian Graham, a 27-year-old machinist from Dubuque, Iowa.
Graham measures his life in intervals of 45 seconds--the time it takes for the machine he operates to finish casting the piece of machinery it's making. During those intervals, he lets his mind drift off to a time long, long ago. "Star Wars reminds me of the fun I had as child with my brother, playing with the toys. It reminds me of the pleasant memories of when I was younger. It makes you feel good."
And while he concedes that the upcoming celebration will be a "once-in-a-lifetime experience," Graham doesn't want to have those good feelings tarnished by commercialism.
Fantastic Media recognizes the problem. According to Snyder, Star Wars Celebration planners are currently grappling with how to strike the appropriate balance between those who merely want to immerse themselves in their favorite distraction and those who want to take home souvenirs from it. So while there will be some opportunity for signature-collecting, the films' actors will not be the ones signing autographs. And although there will be a collectors' tent, it will be off to the side. That way, organizers hope to keep the focus on the excitement of the new film.
And there's no one more excited about that new film than Madsen and Snyder. Not because they're positioned to make a killing off its success. Not because they're dying to know how the story will unfold cinematically (both have already read the script). Not because this first installment continues the journey these two have been on for the last two decades.
No, they're excited because they're in the film--as extras.
"It's basically a pain in the ass," says Snyder of his film debut, trying--and failing--to sound blase. "You're standing around all day in this dorky-ass costume. It was fun and great and all, but being an extra is a lot of standing around." He plays a citizen of Naboo--that's a planet--in a crowd scene with Ewan McGregor (the young Obi-Wan), Jake Lloyd (the young Darth Vader, then going by the name Anakin Skywalker) and Natalie Portman (who plays Queen Amidala--don't ask).
Yeah, no big deal. Of course, when he opens the door this Halloween to find some eight-year-old kid dressed as a citizen of Naboo--because every other kid is dressed as Darth Maul, the film's new bad guy, and this kid wants to show he knows even the minor characters--Snyder may change his mind.
Madsen doesn't even try to feign nonchalance. "I can't wait to get into a theater and watch it with an audience," he says. "I'll tell you, I can't wait. I'm a fan to the core when it comes to that stuff."
And so Madsen's hoping that his big scene--the film's last--will make it to the final cut. (At this point, he's hearing it will.) His tiny role required him to grab the reins of a giant animal (digitally added after he shot the scene) and hold on.
You won't be able to miss him: Madsen will be the little person riding a great beast off into the distance, the little person turned twenty feet tall on the big screen.
