In A Galaxy Far, Far From Reality
Geeks around the world (pictured: Peruvian Star Wars nerd as Darth Vader) turned out for the final Star Wars installment, which premiered to the public at midnight (SFist, of course, had already seen it). Meanwhile, rebel h4xx0rs managed to get a message out from behind the Empire's lines, smuggling a work print from the Death Star aboard the BitTorrent Falcon, Han and Lando style.
After the jump, reports of Star Wars fever from across the Bay Area -- which is where the movie magic happened (except, of course, for the principal photography, which was done in Australia so Lucas could work with a non-union crew and actors).
AP photo by Karel Navarro, via Something Complicated.
Storm Trooper Adriel
"Best fan moment at the 12:10 a.m. showing of Star Wars in Walnut Creek:
"Two Jedi-costumed men work to rally the crowd at about 11:15. After
they get a couple decent waves out of the packed house -- which they
reminded, 'This is the last time you'll ever get to see Star Wars for
the first time,' -- they bid this goodbye: 'You're about to experience
two and a half hours of OUR LIVES."
Angry Wookie Isaac
"It was a pretty awesome scene. Way less crowded than I would have imagined though, I suspect because of the rain. We saw the 12:01 show with the digital projector. The geeks were certainly out in force (heh), and there was about an hour of raffles of free swag, including a rather bitching lifesize Stormtrooper thingy that I did not win. I was not the only person who snuck in a bottle of wine, that much was evident from the grace with which people leap to catch the free tee-shirts they were tossing into the crowd. I scored a mini thing of Fruit Loops and a light saber spoon. After the endearing fan site guys finished their raffle, someone from Lucas warned us about video cameras, saying that their security people would be checking in regularly (with night-vision goggles, no less!) to make sure no one was pirating. We didn't see anyone get busted though.
"The movie itself was great, totally worth seeing unless you are an a**hole who does not like to have fun. As always, drinking a gallon of Coke (with or without rum) is not advised unless you want to miss the scene where the Emperor kills (censored for your protection) because you are peeing."
Jedi Knight Emily
"I saw it in Redwood City, and the geeks were out in full force: Some awesome Darth Vaders complete w/voice modulators and an Obi look alike who had must have grown his hair out special for the event. Oh, and way way way too many grown men play fighting with their light sabers. Terrifying, really. There were also a lot of people wearing other costumes (batman, superman, wetsuits and masks, etcetera). Movie was better than the last one by far. Jar Jar, sadly, has been silenced. No free swag at the showing I went to."