Just two weeks before Celebration 3 took over the Indiana Convention Center, a huge announcement appeared on the official Star Wars site. A very special guest would be appearing at the convention…the most special Star Wars guest there is. The Maker himself, George Lucas, would be in attendance.
This was George’s first convention appearance since the Starlog 10th anniversary event in 1987, colloquially known as Celebration Zero. That was the first officially acknowledged Star Wars convention, setting the tone for what Celebration would later become. Now, 18 years later, George would be in Indianapolis to honor the upcoming release of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
So how did the news unfold? Let’s start by taking a look at the official April 5, 2005 announcement from the Star Wars website. (Read it here, preserved by the Wayback Machine) “The filmmaker will be appearing on the Sagamore Ballroom stage with host Jay Laga’aia, where he will answer questions about his experiences creating the Star Wars saga, the surprises along the way, and his thoughts about what might come next both for him as a filmmaker and for Star Wars after Revenge of the Sith leaves the big screen,” the article says.
At this point on April 5, final details were still “being arranged”, with no official information beyond “Lucas has confirmed his plans to be in Indianapolis at some point during the four-day Celebration III”. Registration for the event had actually closed April 1, but with this announcement, it reopened for three days, ending April 8.
The fandom was already excited for C3 but this news sent the hype levels into the stratosphere. A few quotes from this Rebel Scum Forum post titled “The Maker Himself.. GEORGE LUCAS AT C3 !!” include “Whoah! I’m impressed. Now that’s going to be bringing it up to a proper fever pitch” and “Wow. If everything else wasn’t enough, this made the whole thing worth it.”
The post left many questions open about logistics and timing regarding the details of his appearance. These were (mostly) answered just about a week later on April 13th when George’s schedule was posted on the official site. This article announced that George would “answer fans’ questions at three sessions on Saturday, April 23 at the Indiana Convention Center.” These half-hour sessions would run at 8:45, 9:35, and 10:25 in the morning.
“We didn’t have enough room for all the people who would want to see George so we asked him if he would do it three times in a row,” Steve Sansweet told me on my podcast in April of 2024. “I can’t believe we asked him! And that he said yes!”
The article then listed the line details and instructions, which read as a little bit convoluted, and it’s unclear exactly how much of it went to plan. But one thing is for sure…if you wanted to see George on Saturday morning, you were most likely going to be lining up on Friday night.
An extensively detailed blog on the great Fantha Tracks features some recounting of the tumultuous George Lucas line. The weather that night was unseasonably cold, rainy, even slightly snowy, and brutal. A few hours past midnight, when the line was officially allowed to begin, says Fantha Tracks, “a group of fans returned to the lineup and tried to claim they were actually in line before the existing line. They had created an honor system of numbers, as the fan I spoke to described it, where they thought they could just re-enter the lineup at a later point.” This went over about as well as you’d think it would. Says the Fantha Tracks recounting, “At one point, the fan with whom I spoke indicated he thought a riot was going to break out because of the heated debate between members of the numbered lineup group and those already in line waiting since midnight.” Thankfully, that situation was resolved when the supposed “numbered” fans were simply sent to the back of the line. According to Fantha Tracks, “The situation became ridiculous to the point of laughter, where fans in line would joke around about having a number, who has a number, what the number says, and what the number means.”
Although the front of the line issue was resolved, fans still greatly struggled with the temperatures and conditions as they waited outside. Says Jason Gibner from Blast Points Podcast, “When we got in line it was very long, it was raining and it was windy. I just remember standing outside and it was raining SO HARD and it was so cold. People looked miserable.” Thankfully, the line was moved inside at around 4:30 AM, as police were starting to believe the conditions were dangerous. This offered relief to most, as the wait continued. According to Fantha Tracks, “Ultimately, everyone who waited the night was rewarded with a rare chance to see the man who brought the world its greatest saga: George Lucas. With three shows, and 3,300 people per show, almost 10,000 people could see Lucas total”.
So what happened when the huddling masses were finally let in to hear George speak? Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder! On YouTube, the channel IndyDefense has uploaded audio from all three of the sessions (#1 / #2 / #3), saying in one comment that it was pulled from a previous Hyperspace Fan Club mp3.
According to theforce.net’s report, each session started “with a short bio video with hilarious clips of him clowning around on set.” This included footage of George being painted blue, for what we now know would be his Revenge of the Sith cameo as Baron Papanoida. The video was followed by “a short introduction of Lucas by his children.” Next came questions from the audience, each asker introduced by their name and hometown.
There are many, many gems in these Q&A sessions. Some of my favorites have to be the little voices of kids asking George questions. Thinking about where these kids are 20 years later…I hope they know these recordings exist! And the biggest news from George’s three sessions was talk about Star Wars moving to TV. From that same theforce.net report, George said “The first series is 3-D animation, a regular series that will last 1/2 hour per episode.” This, of course, was Clone Wars! The other bit of info that was dropped was about “a spinoff TV series for characters that have appeared in the films. It will be live-action, and based on what he called a ‘really great idea’.” This was almost certainly in reference to the unproduced Star Wars: Underworld show that has been in the news just recently.
This appearance by George in Indianapolis further solidifies the historical importance of Celebration III. The Revenge of the Sith was George’s final Star Wars movie, and no one knew what the future of the franchise would be, nor could they anticipate where we are today. The whole convention had the vibe of an era ending, and having George there adds to that even more.
Overall, George’s first Celebration appearance was accompanied by an appropriate amount of hysteria and madness. Says theforce.net, “It was a great time – terribly short – but really a unique opportunity to see the man behind it all”. Fantha Tracks reported “I talked to about ten fans who saw Lucas and all of them said the wait, despite its difficulties, was worthwhile.” Jason Gibner agrees. “Don’t regret a thing,” he says.
Check out the YouTube links above to listen to the full session audio, or tune into this great 2024 episode of Blast Points Podcast where Jason and Gabe talk about their own experience attending the panel and discuss all the fan questions!
the celebration database 