FLASHBACK: CELEBRATING THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF "STAR WARS"

John Alvin's spirited poster leads the Tenth Anniversary celebration charge for STAR WARS.

With the apparently imminent news from REED of their CELEBRATION VI convention, presumably planned for 2012 (the Thirty Fifth anniversary of the original STAR WARS, the Tenth for EPISODE II and the Fifth of THE CLONE WARS), there will soon be lots for fans to celebrate and for costume fans to get into their best Stormtrooper and Jedi outfits for!

Until then, however, I thought it might be nice to go back in time and do a mini flashback to 1987 and the very first major anniversary event of any kind linked to STAR WARS: the Tenth Anniversary. The period of STAR WARS inactivity between the end of RETURN OF THE JEDI in 1983 and the re-invigorated interest in the saga with Timothy Zahn's Thrawn Trilogy books in 1991 may have been a long one, but this bright spark of joy was the first signpost for a great many ambitious things to come.

As well as interview footage from the time, enclosed are some nice images and info on merchandise and events linked to that great and memorable year which was well celebrated by STAR WARS fans in the US.

Enjoy the CBS FOX VHS tape release celebration trailer: YouTube - Star Wars: The First Ten Years 1977-1987 Trailer

A Tenth Anniversary feature on US TV: YouTube - Star Wars Feature - Today Show 1987

Surely the highlight of the year had to be the massive STARLOG magazine organised convention-A Tenth Anniversary Tribute to STAR WARS and George Lucas- which took place in Los Angeles during the weekend of 24th May 1987, and saw participation not only from many of the films luminary behind the scenes talent and cast, but also had a very rare appearance from Lucas himself, who talked at length to the 9,000 plus fans crammed into the auditorium about the saga-past, present and future- and answered questions from the audience. Darth Vader returned, voiced by James Earl Jones, and he would also prior introduce Lucas's appearance on stage (check out this brilliant clip:  YouTube - REAL Darth Vader Standup Intro To George Lucas).

The much missed UK magazine STARBURST magazine had several reporters covering this historic and much beloved event. Check out this PDF for more information:STAR WARS 10TH ANNIV

If anyone out there has any further specific memories of the event, or has additional pics/info, please share them with us. And, beyond the US, if anyone else celebrated the Tenth Anniversary in their own countries please get in touch and tell us about it -we'd love to hear from you...

The lovely limited edition FIRST TEN YEARS poster.

The distinctive Vader cover for the then new OMNIBUS edition of the movie adaptations.

The limited edition BLACKTHORNE PUBLISHING three part STAR WARS 3-D comic, with a story written by comics legend Len Wein, and inside art drawn by Patrick Zircher.

Limited edition badge pin utilizing character drawings first done for JEDI in 1983

STARLOG magazine celebrated the saga in style with a fantastic special issue, packed with rare photos, artwork and behind the scenes info and quotes.

They also produced this lovely brochure for a special celebration convention that year which saw guests from the films and behind the scenes mix with the fans for a memorable event.

A look inside the brochure which contained may personal tributes from STAR WARS cast and crew members, as well as rare photos and then previously unpublished B/W artwork from EMPIRE's Vader/Luke duel by Ralph McQuarrie.

A selection of guests who attended the event, including George Lucas and Irvin Kershner, Peter Mayhew, Gary Kurtz and Charles Lippincott, Anthony Daniels signing for the fans and Ralph McQuarrie.

Back in his Threepio costume, Anthony Daniels (with Artoo), and George Lucas toast and unveil the enormous Tenth Anniversary card signed by the fans for the event. Image: Dan Madsen

When Great Makers meet! STAR TREK creator Gene Roddenberry makes a surprise appearance on stage and congratulates Lucas on the creation of the STAR WARS universe. Image: Dan Madsen

AFICIONADO COMMENT: A SNUB FROM BAFTA....

I would like to thank STAR WARS INSIDER Editor Jonathan Wilkins for getting in touch with the UK's BAFTA film fellowship to inquire why the late film director Irvin Kershner, the brilliant director of the critical and audience acclaimed THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, and numerous other wide ranging and diverse films over a fifty year career, wasn't included in the tribute section of this years BAFTA AWARDS ceremony shown on the BBC last weekend. For him not to have been included I felt was an absolute insult, and BAFTA's excuse being a lack of time to include him was outright PATHETIC! A four to six second clip from EMPIRE and a pic of Kershner could easily have been done. And it certainly could have been done if they had restrained the verbal diarrhoea that often came out of the shows long running and highly smug TV presenter Jonathan Ross at regular intervals. Kershner's non-inclusion as director of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is bad enough, but worse when you consider what a popular and acknowledged film-maker and teacher he had been to the likes of many of the talents within the film and TV industry in general. I rate this insult to his friends and family, STAR WARS and film fans in general as bad a situation as it was a few years back for classic STAR TREK fans when the late DeForest Kelly, an actor of some repute before playing their beloved Doctor McCoy, with a list of classic noir thrillers and westerns behind him, as well as the six TREK movies released theatrically across the world, was also not deemed good enough for inclusion by the US Academy Awards fellowship! That, like BAFTA's attitude towards Kershner, is equally unforgivable.

Shame on you, BAFTA!

For more on this story, check it out with the good folk at http://www.jedinews.co.uk/

GOODBYE, IRVIN KERSHNER

The late Irvin Kershner watches the filming of a scene in the Rebel Hangar bay for THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, alongside off-camera actor John Ratzenberger as Major Derlin.

The sad, very sad, news has come in that top film director Irvin Kershner-the man who put such fantasy sparkle and dramatic intensity into the STAR WARS saga with his directorial work on THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK-has sadly died today at the age of 87, and in the very year of the films Thirtieth Anniversary. Our greatest of condolences to his family and close friends for their loss, and his departure from us really is a major loss, not only to world cinema but to STAR WARS in general.

May the Force be with him...always!

Braving the Finse elements, Kershner directs Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca.

A true actors director, Kershner goes through a tense scene for Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.

Kershner spends some quality time with Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew)

Trio of talent: Kershner with George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan.

UPDATE 30/11/2010: A links selection of additional features and tributes (with thanks to Chris Baker):

Irvin Kershner: Remembering The Empire Strikes Back - (From an interview w/ Dan Madsen - April 1, 1990):  http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/insideronline/11/indexp2.html

More comments, thoughts articles & reactions from the Official Star Wars Blog:

http://starwarsblog.starwars.com/index.php/2010/11/29/celeb-fans-celebrate-director-irvin-kershner/ 

 

Coppola, Streisand & Billy Dee pay tribute:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/11/29/obit.irvin.kershner/

WIRED MAGAZINE:  

http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2010/11/farewell-to-empire-strikes-back-director-irvin-kershner/

 

MTV:

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/11/29/irvin-kershner-empire-strikes-back/

IRVIN KERSHNER: CREATING A FINE SECOND ACT...

EMPIRE director Irvin Kershner has some fun on the Falcon set with Harrison Ford

VANITY FAIR scores another hit-a very palpable hit!- with their great new interview with EMPIRE director Irvin Kershner.

Check it out here:

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/10/irvin-kershner.html

...and then enjoy all of its fine coverage related to the recently released THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK book, written by J.W. Rinzler, published by RANDOM HOUSE and AURUM PRESS.

CLASSIC IMAGE: SNOW RAGE!

Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) braves the outside sub-zero temperatures of the icy planet Hoth and barks out his dissent to the nearby Imperial Probe Droid, for a scene filmed by Irvin Kershner and his EMPIRE first unit crew on location at Finse, Norway in March 1979.

"THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK" - AN IMAGE EXTRAVAGANZA

Left to right: Irvin Kershner watches Ford, Fisher and Billy Dee Williams in a break before filming our heroes infamous dinner with Darth Vader. One of many great rare images in THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK book, out now in the UK from AURUM PRESS.

VANITY FAIR have a lovely picture gallery of rare colour and B/W behind the scenes images from the new THE MAKING OF THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK book by J. W. Rinzler, which is in bookstores now.

Check out the gallery (which includes the great above image) here:

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/features/2010/10/the-making-of-the-empire-strikes-back-201010?currentPage=10