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11:20 a.m. - 2005-05-19
Star Wars wasn't anything terribly brilliant. There were no huge shockers, nothing that wasn't expected. But it still was pretty amazing.
The posse showed up around 8 to get seats. Even though we had tickets, that didn't mean we'd find seats all together. David and Anne braved the crowds and collected some pretty choice vantage points. Three in front, two behind ("So we don't have to worry about anyone obnoxious breathing down our necks). I got off work at 10:30, headed home to change, then went straight away to Evergreen Parkway. After parking approximately 8 miles away, I trudged through the rain and called Anne up to meet me outside.
Within the theater was chaos that I've honestly never seen before. They had it playing on 4 screens, and people from each theater were mingling out in the lobby, talking about what they expected and so on. I got glares from many 'Anakins' for not wearing proper attire (Excuse me for not owning mass amounts of Star Wars memorabilia to prance about in), but it wasn't that bad.
Anne brought me to the seats, where Brendan and David were watching intently as a group of teenagers pushed the limits of an exasperated manager, who was desperately trying to maintain order in Theater 13. Once she left, things quieted down for all of 2 seconds, when one kid got up and screamed, "LIGHT SABER DUEL! JEDIS ON THE RIGHT, SITH ON THE LEFT!". At that point, hundreds of Anakins and Obi-Wans stormed down to duke it out in front of the screen. I was laughing so hard I almost peed.
Kevin called about 20 minutes later and said he needed help. He had gone to the Oregon State Student Store and had loaded up on stuff. He gets a ridiculous discount or something so we J00ed our way out of paying 7 bucks for a kernel of popcorn. David and I immediately ran outside and proceeded to stuff various and sundry food items in our pockets, down our shirts, and anywhere else we could cram them. We got back to our seats and talked for a bit.
Kevin had forgotten to bring drinks, so we were more or less forced to go buy some from the concession stand. The lines were HUGE. I was reminded of the day after Thanksgiving madness. We split up into different lines and agreed to jump to whoever made it to the front first. In the meantime, I had a great time analyzing the crowds with two nameless guys. We agreed that many of the people standing there would have a mass suicide after the movie was over, because they would have nothing left to live for. Either that, or they'd go back to their tents and wait for the very first showing in the morning. Sad, but true.
Time passed, and at last the manager came back into the theater and started a massive count down. The lights dimmed, the curtains opened, and...the previews began. Thankfully there were only three. When the Lucas Arts screen popped up, a deafening roar escaped from the crowd. There was applause and dozens of light sabers lit up.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Probably one of the most memorable moments of the night was the crowd literally SCREAMING the first lines of the introduction. WAR!
I don't think anyone reads this anymore, but just in case someone does, I won't ruin the film. Let's just say there were many more moments that prompted huge applause and thunder from the audience, and it was by no means a happy film. It's not something you should wait to see until the crowds die down, because honestly they make the experience all the more better.
All in all, it was a night to remember.