Fun Friday–I’m a Star Wars Geek
I know I’ve quoted from the movies (and George Lucas just this week) and used them to illustrate story/writing concepts in the past. But have I ever actually admitted that I’m a Star Wars geek? No, it doesn’t go so far as collecting figurines or posters or trading cards or anything like that. But growing up, the original Star Wars (now re-titled Star Wars IV: A New Hope) was my FAVORITE movie—and one that I could quote almost word-for-word before we ever had a VCR or a copy of the movie in our house, thanks to its extended run in movie theaters and the 8-track tape we had that had most of the film’s dialogue on it (not to mention the music and sound effects). So today, I’m coming out in the open and admitting it as clearly as I can: I’m a Star Wars geek. Just to prove it, today’s post is dedicated to the movies—from funny clips I’ve found online to links to other posts on the blog where I’ve expounded upon the story, highlighted characters, used quotes from it, or used examples to make a writing point.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with the story, here’s a quick recap:
From my “Some Favorite Movie Quotes” post:
“Good shot, Red Two!” (Denis Lawson as Wedge Antilles, Return of the Jedi)
Other favorite Star Wars quotes:
Darth Vader: I find your lack of faith disturbing.
Princess Leia: Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you’re my only hope.
Darth Vader: I’ve been waiting for you, Obi-Wan. We meet again, at last. The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner; now I am the master.
Obi-Wan: Only a master of evil, Darth.
Han Solo: Traveling through hyperspace ain’t like dusting crops, boy!
Obi-Wan: That’s no moon. It’s a space station.
Han Solo: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.
Luke: I’m Luke Skywalker. I’m here to rescue you.
Princess Leia: You’re who?
Princess Leia: Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?
Wedge Antilles: Look at the *size* of that thing!
Obi-Wan: The Force will be with you, always.
Now, since most of the music has been taken down from YouTube because of copyright infringement (which I can totally understand), here’s another way to experience the story/the great themes by John Williams, as recorded by the group Moosebutter (another guy named Cory recorded a video lipsynching this song):
Some favorite Empire Strikes Back quotes:
Princess Leia: Why, you stuck up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder.
Han Solo: Who’s scruffy-looking?
C-3PO: Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.
Han Solo: Never tell me the odds.
Han Solo: It’s not my fault.
Han Solo: Afraid I was gonna leave without giving you a goodbye kiss?
Princess Leia: I’d just as soon kiss a Wookiee.
Han Solo: I can arrange that. You could use a good kiss.
Han Solo: Laugh it up, fuzzball.
Yoda: No. Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.
Luke: I don’t—I don’t believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.
Princess Leia [to Han]: You have your moments. Not many of them, but you do have them.
Princess Leia: I love you.
Han Solo: I know.
Darth Vader: If you only knew the power of the Dark Side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father.
Luke: He told me enough! He told me you killed him!
Darth Vader: No. I am your father.
Now, more links:
See the Best On-Screen Kisses post for a scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
To see a montage of some of my favorite costumes from the movies, visit the Great Movie Costumes post.
Find out who from this series finds a place on my list of greatest Underappreciated Characters as well as why the movies have some of my Favorite Settings on Film.
And I used the storyline of the first (i.e., original first) movie in the Thematic vs. Actual Conflict post in the Conflict series.
And just because you’ve always been curious, here are some behind-the-scenes clips
Some great quotes from Return of the Jedi (do you know I can actually remember the original movie promos in which the title was Revenge of the Jedi?):
Obi-Wan: What I told you was true… from a certain point of view.
Han Solo: I think my eyes are getting better. Instead of a big dark blur, I see a big bright blur.
Luke: There’s nothing to see. I used to live here, you know.
Han Solo: You’re gonna die here, you know. Convenient.
Han Solo: I love you.
Princess Leia: I know.
Luke: Greetings, exalted one. [this is the sound-clip that plays whenever I get a new e-mail]
Yoda: There is… another… Sky… walker.
Han Solo: Together again, huh?
Luke: Wouldn’t miss it.
Han Solo: How we doin’?
Luke: Same as always.
Han Solo: That bad, huh?
Han Solo: Now don’t get jittery, Luke. There are a lot of command ships. Keep your distance, though, Chewie, but don’t look like you’re trying to keeping your distance. … I don’t know. Fly casual.
And the ultimate Star Wars universe quote—the one that appears in all six movies:
I have a really bad feeling about this.
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KayeDacus.com 
Hmm…I have the movies, a poster, toys, two dozen or so of the books, and CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS!! I even had a SW Insider subscription for two or three years. Yeah, my own Star Wars obsession is a little insane.
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Oh! I totally forgot to mention—I have one of the book series: the X-Wing series which features Wedge Antilles as the commander of Rogue Squadron (and eventually the new start-up Wraith Squadron) in events that happen after what happens in Return of the Jedi. I have those in book and audio book format. I also have a hard-cover copy of the novel I, Jedi and original (as in, year of release) copies of the novelizations of the original three movies.
I also have the unabridged audio books of the novelizations of Episodes 1-3 (the three newer movies), as well as audio books of the Jedi Academy Omnibus, The Courtship of Princess Leia and a few other audio books in the Extended Universe.
Can’t believe I forgot to mention all those!
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I actually never read the X-Wing series. My fav SW authors were Timothy Zahn, Kevin J. Anderson, Kathy Tyers, and Barbra Hambly. Oh, and something-Crispin – wrote the Han Solo trilogy. LOVED those books! The only thing I have in audio format are the CDs of the radio dramas (I think done by NPR??). Those are great (especially A New Hope & The Empire Strikes Back…Jedi was made about ten-fifteen years later and there are new actors in many of the key roles).
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ROFL – I loved the music clip. That was absolutely completely hilarious. I was trying so hard not to laugh out loud (I’m at work right now).
I used to be a big Star Wars fan too… I read the novelizations LONG before I ever saw the movies…. and then I saw Empire and Return before I ever got to see the original.
I used to eat up the books. Loved them. Haven’t read them in forever though.
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Man, Kaye, we were so close to making it through this without mentioning Episodes I – III until that second comment. Do the audio books somehow make those better?
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@Caleb – I just don’t see how ANYTHING could make episodes 1-3 better. 😛
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Actually yes, the novelizations (especially of Ep. III) are much better than the movies. There isn’t all the bad acting (Jake, Hayden, Natalie . . .), you don’t have to actually watch JarJar Binks’s antics, they get more into the emotional and psychological aspects of the characters (which is great with Anakin’s slow turn to the Dark Side, which is much more believable in the book), there are a lot of scenes included in the books that aren’t in the films, and they’re better written than the films.
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Well, I actually really enjoy Episode III. It’s still not nearly the quality of the originals, but compared to Episode I and II it’s Best Picture material.
And don’t blame my beloved Natalie. She didn’t have anything to work with. Hayden sucked, the dialogue sucked, it’s not her fault! Even Ewan McGregor couldn’t pull that crap off.
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You’re just excusing her because you think she’s cute. I’ve never seen her in anything that has convinced me she’s a good actress.
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Let’s just say she’s at LEAST as good at acting as The Rock and leave it at that.
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Yeah, and he’s made some real duds (I mean, come on, really? The last fight scene in Doom? The computer-generated Rock-as-Scorpion in the second Mummy movie? And let’s not even get started on The Scorpion King. But he does look good when he’s kicking some a$$.
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Just as Natalie looks adorable simply sitting there.
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