While digging through YouTube for an upcoming YouTube Excavation: CIII post, I found a video that I needed to hear more about. This video, posted to YouTube by Scott Powers, is titled “George Lucas visits R2Builders at Celebration III”. The six minute clip shows George Lucas and producer Rick McCallum being shown around the exhibit alongside Don Bies, who operated Artoo throughout the prequels.
Sadly, the video was from a bit of a distance, so you couldn’t quite hear what anyone was saying. Still, it was great to see George visiting these incredibly talented fans! I decided to search for someone who was there, asking one of my droid building friends (shout out to Darren aka @drscifi) if they had any idea who might have been there. He mentioned Michael McMaster of McMaster Robots, so I reached out.
Turns out there was ANOTHER video on YouTube showing this great moment, filmed by Michael himself. And this one was really high quality, close up, and you could hear every word they’re saying. This clip, titled “C3 – The George Lucas Visit” and posted by R2 Chronicles, has less than 100 views at the time of writing, which is criminal, because it is…amazing.
The video starts with the club preparing for his potential visit, which Michael told me was organized by Don Bies, as they figure out the best positioning for a group photo when (and if) George gets there, and they take some test photos. The sound of droids beep in the background.
“I think being able to get a picture with him, in our room, surrounded by us, is gonna be probably one of the biggest things we could ever do,” says Jason Smith, who was in charge of the display at CIII.
The next thing you know, there’s George, entering the room. This was filmed April 23, the same day as his presentations at CIII, so I figure he probably came straight from the stage. Jason leads him around the room and gives him a few stats, as a large security guard is not too far behind.
My favorite moment by far is when Jason tells George how many droid builders are out there. He says, “We have about 3,500 members worldwide,” and George just kind of stops, turns around, and says “…how many?” I think that number truly did shock him in the moment.
Also there with George is a young Jett Lucas, Rick McCallum, and Don Bies. George talks about how he wishes these builders were around back when he started. He also says, “Now we know where to go for the TV series.” He’s referencing, of course, the live action series that had just been confirmed at his presentations that morning. This line really gives me chills because now we DO have Star Wars TV, and many of the props and droids are made by and with the help of fans.
They go around the room and then take the group picture they had rehearsed for, which Michael sent to me and you can see below. “It was the first time George had interacted with fans like that, and you could tell he was impressed with the droids on display,” Michael said.
The best moment comes at the very end of the video, when George leaves and the room erupts with cheers. I like to think that George was still close enough to the open door that he could hear their celebration.
This wasn’t the last time George would come by, Michael told me. “He would visit the droid builders a few more times over the course of many Celebrations, and was always very kind, asked lots of questions and was quite enthusiastic,” he said. But this time, at CIII, with Revenge of the Sith and the end of the prequels just weeks away, was his first visit, and how lucky are we that it’s caught on camera?
Find Michael and McMaster Robots on Instagram and learn more about the Droid Builders here. If you were there for this CIII moment or have any other Celebration stories to share, send an e-mail!
the celebration database 