Special event taking place at Lucasfilm LDAC in S.F.

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

This is not an event request or sign-up. But it is a special event that I'd like to announce to our members because I'm very proud that Endor Base was invited to be a part of it! It is the first time our Rebel Legion Endor Base costumers have formally been invited to appear at an event taking place at Lucasfilm at the Letterman Digital Arts center complex! (And I'd say, it's probably a first for the Rebel Legion).

This was not opened up to the legion at large to apply for because the original request was only for 4 costumed characters (501st & RL combined) and was actually only originally intended for the 501st Golden Gate Garrison. There were very specific characters LFL wanted.

WHAT: A lecture on the anthropology of Tatooine and Endor

Note from Lucas Arts: This event will feature a local Archeologist and Anthropologist lecturing about some of the major Star Wars races from a scientific perspective; using local Californian history and research as a template to explore the culture and societies of the star wars universe (specifically Tusken Raiders and Ewoks). It would be fabulous if we could have some folks from the 501st in attendance featured in scenes from Tatooine or Endor. I don't believe you folks have any ewoks, but if any of your members happen to have Tuskan Raider Garb- that would be amazing! (This lecture will be recorded and added to the Lucas Archives- anyone that participates may be filmed or asked to participate in some way- fyi). It will also be covered for Starwars.com.

WHERE: Lucas Arts - Letterman Digital Arts Center, San Francisco - CA
WHEN: Monday November 23rd 11am - Noon
CHARACTER TYPES THEY WERE LOOKING FOR: Ewoks, Tusken Raiders, Jawas, and possibly other characters who lived or appeared in scenes on Tatooine and Endor. 501st costumes specifically requested were Sandtrooper, ScoutTroopers, Stormtroopers, AT-ST Driver, Imperial Officers, Darth Vader

INDIVIDUALS SELECTED FROM RL FOR THE APPEARANCE:

Mother Tusken (Bette) as a Female Tusken
Crazy Old Wizard (Barry) as Old Ben Kenobi from Tatooine
Trooperdad's son (Cooper) - OK'd by Lucasfilm as a Jawa. They really wanted one since this is a creature native to Tatooine, and this is their choice to have a minor in costume. He is not taking a spot away from a Rebel Legion or 501st member.
Trooperdad (Don) - Attending as an escort for Cooper

(If ObiJuan/Obihave could have gotten time off on Monday, he was approved as a Male Tusken).

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How the costume submission process evolved:

The 501st Golden Gate Garrison was originally invited to provide 4 costume characters for this anthropology lecture - first come first serve. However, they were lacking Tuskens - one of the key character types the organizers were really hoping for! There was also only one tentative Jawa available through the 501st. I was given permission from the Golden Gate Garrison to get in touch with their contact at Lucas Arts to introduce her to the Rebel Legion. I asked if it would be possible for our Male and Female Tusken to make an appearance (sending her profile photos of each). I also sent her photos of Cooper's Jawa costume, and Barry's "Old Ben" costume, since Kenobi did live on Tatooine for some time and Barry meets the high profile requirements.

It turned out the Lucas Arts coordinator was thrilled to have our Rebel Legion members fill in the character gaps, and our spots would be in addition to the 501st original request of 4 (we would not have to bump any armored folks off of the list who had already signed up through the GGG forums). She indicated she may have room for up to 6 Rebels total (this included any handlers like Don) so I sent her our membership roster and asked if she'd be interested in Luke, Rebel Fleet Troopers, X-wing Pilots, Padme or Generic Jedi. But it turned out there was no need/desire for these additional characters and given that there were some extra sign-ups through the 501st she needed to put a cap on our volunteers. Thus, the event request never made it to a phase where I could ask people to submit costumes for review, or apply to be a handler. But I did try to open it to as many volunteers/guests as I could

Congratulations to Bette, Barry and Cooper on their upcoming costume appearance at LFL! I know they will all do Rebel Legion proud. And thanks to Matt Tolosa for being on the ball and bringing it to the GGG's attention that the RL did have Tuskens!
_________________
Base Webmaster

Rebel Legion - Endor Base
Kay-Dee's Costume Site
Facebook: Kay Dee Collection and Costumes

[DocBev (Nicky Blum)]

What a neat event!
Congratulations!
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Nicky "Doc_Bev" Blum
The Rebel Legion: Echo Base
501st Legion: Garrison Events Coordinator
RAID - Fire Team Echo & KJO - Blumfruit Temple

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

Wow, Stacy at Lucasfilm really went all out to make this a special day for the 501st and Rebel Legion members attending the Anthropology lecture! Stacy took the afternoon to give us a brief tour of part of the LDAC complex where there are many matte paintings, props, and models on display from all of the classic movies ILM has created effects for over the years. We got the OK to take photos there which was an extra special treat... but our tour was so fast it was hard to really capture everything we saw. (Hopefully between Matt and I, we got some good documentation to share with everyone).

I'll have to work on a mission report. I'm not certain I can get it done before I leave for Thanksgiving with my family tomorrow... but I'll try. If not, I'll finish it up next week after Thanksgiving.

For now, enjoy the photos!
http://imageevent.com/kay_dee/rebellegion/lucasfilmldacanthropologyofsw?n=0&z=2&c=4&x=0&m=36&w=0&p=66
_________________
Base Webmaster

Rebel Legion - Endor Base
Kay-Dee's Costume Site
Facebook: Kay Dee Collection and Costumes

[JedHead (Matt Tolosa)]

Here are my pics:

http://s43.photobucket.com/albums/e385/JedHead1/LFL%20Lecture%2011-23-09/

That was so cool!
_________________
"You like me because I'm a scoundrel."

http://endorbase.org/

In Loving Memory of Chanel Vanecek, aka "Padme_Skywalkr" (Feb. 7, 1980 - Oct. 25, 2003) xoxo
http://endorbase.org/members.html

[Jada ()]

What a cool event. I love them slide about the Ewoks - cuteness factor in over-drive surpassing even Shirley Temple levels of toxicity.
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Retired:
LXO, BCO, DCO, LCJ

Founder - Blue Ridge Base

Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

[Mother Tusken ()]

Barry and I had a wonderful time on Monday and appreciate the way everyone at LFL made us feel welcome. It was a blast trooping with the GGG as well as being among Endor members. Being out here in the OuterRim makes these types of events a special treat. Of course this was truely special and my Skywalker Ranch shopping bag will be displayed with my 'bag collection.'
The Matte paintings were incredible to see along with all the other art and props lining the walls but I think Licensing was one of my favorite places with the boxes of toys and other items everywhere plus the 'bedroom.'
Our thanks to Stacy for putting together a great day.

Bette
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I'm in Ep. II; for just a few seconds, then Anakin kills me.

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

Mission Report Posted:

EVENT NAME: A Lecture on the Anthropology and Archeology of Ewoks and Tusken Raiders
LOCATION: Lucasfilm - Letterman Digital Arts Center - San Francisco, CA
DATE: 11-23-09
PHOTOS: Kay Dee's Photos
JedHead's Photos
PARTICIPANTS:

Rebel Legion:
Bette (Mother Tusken) - Female Tusken Raider
Barry (Crazy Old Wizard) - Old Ben Kenobi
Cooper (Don "Trooperdad"'s son) - Jawa
Don (Trooperdad) - lecture guest/handler
Derek - (DerekM1767) Last minute lecture guest
Scott - (RunAmuk) Last minute lecture guest

Dual 501st/Rebel Legion:
Dale (AnasianSkywalker) - Biker Scout
Matt (JedHead) - lecture guest
Kathy (Kay Dee) - lecture guest
Karen (Kitfox) - lecture guest

501st:
Bill - Stormtrooper
David - Bikerscout
Garet- Stormtrooper
Marcus - Stormtrooper



A few members of Rebel Legion Endor Base recently had a very special opportunity to visit Lucasfilm’s Letterman Digital Arts center at the Presidio, in California. As some of you may know, this is the headquarters for several divisions of LFL including ILM, Lucas Arts, Lucasfilm Animation, and Licensing. Occasionally, LFL puts together fun events and informative lectures for their employees; and on this occasion Lucas Arts had invited Archaeologist Matthew Asrmstrong to give a presentation about the Anthropology and Archeology of Tatooine and Endor. The production coordinator was looking for costumed characters from the 501st Golden Gate Garrison to lend atmosphere to the event, however, they were lacking some of the key characters from Tatooine and Endor. In addition to Biker Scouts and Stormtroppers, Lucas Arts had hoped for Ewoks, Tusken Raiders, Jawas, and other individuals living on Tatooine and Endor. With kind permission from the GGG, Kathy (Kay Dee) was able to contact Stacy at Lucas Arts and introduce her to the Rebel Legion and a variety of the costumed characters available in Endor Base. Ironically, Endor Base did not have any Ewoks to offer; but we had a few Tuskens, old “Ben” Kenobi from Tatooine, and a member with a young son who often troops with us as a Jawa!




The 501st and Rebel Legion were given a warm welcome by Stacy at Lucas Arts and the rest of the staff at Lucasfilm. They really do appreciate the help we give them, and all of the work we do for charity throughout the year. Stacy was able to reserve extra seats in the theater so that a few non-costumed members of the 501st could attend the lecture, as well as friends and family of the costume volunteers.

The purpose of Mr. Armstrong’s lecture was to expose employees at LFL to the fields of archaeology and anthropology. He used two well know alien races from the Star Wars universe, Tusken Raiders and Ewoks, in order to introduce some of the fundamental topics and questions that Archaeologists and Anthropologists ask when studying ancient civilizations. He was able to take the little that we do know about Ewok and Tusken cultures, and compare them to ancient tribes that resided in California and Australia. Mr. Armstrong touched on many aspects that define a culture. What are the forms of subsistence (How plentiful is the food and where is it found? How is it gathered?)? What leadership model do they use (How does the Ewok culture lead by a Chief and Shaman differ from a culture like the Sandpeople that are lead by a ‘big man’?)? How do they interact with outside/non-native cultures? In one humorous portion of the lecture Mr. Armstrong sited what he liked to call the “Cuteness Factor.” Essentially, the ability of one race or civilization to get along with another often has to do with how appealing they are to one another on a sort of intangible, personal level. Are you repulsive or cute? The Ewoks were described as being “obnoxiously cute” so it is no wonder they appealed to the humans; and after a somewhat rough start, the Rebels formed an alliance with cuddly critters. By contrast, the Tuskens are far from cute – and not surprisingly, they don’t seem to get along with any of the outside settlers on Tatooine.







In addition to attending the lecture, we were invited to eat lunch at the LFL cafeteria. Some of our members remained in costume and were really a sight to see in the lunch line.




After lunch we were treated to a special tour of the facility which included the Lucasfilm Gift Shop, and a peek inside the licensing room! Young Cooper, the son of Don “Trooperdad” Ganschow, was definitely the honorary trooper of the day in his Jawa costume. ILM had a special welcome sign at the reception desk with his name on it, and Lucas Licensing presented him a special Jawa figure from Japan.








You can learn more about Archeaologist Matthew Armstrong by visiting his blog, where he discusses his recent trip to LFL and the basis of his presentation: http://anthroslug.blogspot.com/2009/11/photographic-evidence-of-my-dark-side.html Our members all had a great time chatting with Mr. Armstrong before and after the lecture, and he told us at the end of the day that he enjoyed spending time with the volunteers from the 501st and Rebel Legion. He seemed to appreciate our ability to remain professional and respectful, while still having fun and never taking ourselves too seriously. Stacy from Lucas Arts was an excellent hostess and said, “Having you all come visit was such a blast; the office was buzzing all day yesterday- there's just nothing better than seeing stormtroopers, etc in the dining halll!!!!” Thanks to Bette (Mother Tusken), Barry (Crazy Old Wizard), Derek (DerekM1767), Cooper, Don (Trooperdad), and Scott (RunAmuk) for representing the Rebel Legion so well on this special occasion.
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Base Webmaster

Rebel Legion - Endor Base
Kay-Dee's Costume Site
Facebook: Kay Dee Collection and Costumes

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

Stacy from Lucas Arts sent the Rebel Legion a Christmas Card

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Base Webmaster

Rebel Legion - Endor Base
Kay-Dee's Costume Site
Facebook: Kay Dee Collection and Costumes

[Kay_Dee (Kathy)]

Photos taken by RL/501st member Kitfox have been added to the last few pages of my photo album:

http://imageevent.com/kay_dee/rebellegion/lucasfilmldacanthropologyofsw?n=145&z=2&c=4&x=0&m=36&w=0&p=144
_________________
Base Webmaster

Rebel Legion - Endor Base
Kay-Dee's Costume Site
Facebook: Kay Dee Collection and Costumes