Happy Star Wars Day!

Grab your light saber and celebrate! It's Star Wars day here in Los Angeles. Only in L.A. would the city council:

"RESOLVE to DECLARE May 25, 2007 as Star Wars Day in the City of Los Angeles and also recognize George Lucas’ 1977 film Star Wars for its tremendous impact on the citizenry of Los Angeles, the film industry and the world, and for continuing to inspire after thirty years millions of people to explore movies, fantasy, literature, and science as means of achieving their goals and dreams..."

(More hyperbole and a full copy of the resolution can be found here: http://la.curbed.com/2007-05-starwarsres-big.jpg)

Meanwhile here on earth, Chewbacca, one of the illustrious characters from this fabled story, can be found here in Hollywood in front of the Grauman's Chinese Theater much to the delight, or horror, of tourists. In the spirit of the day, maybe Mayor Villaraigosa will pardon him since Chewbacca was arrested a few months back for head-butting a tour guide who said Chewbacca shouldn't be begging money from the tourists. How far we've fallen since traveling around a galaxy far, far away as Hans Solo's reluctant sidekick fighting evil. Another Hollywood story gone bad.

Thirty years ago today Star Wars was released. I wish I could say that Star Wars exceeded my movie-watching expectations but the truth was that it set the threshold. The only two movies I remember seeing previously were Pete's Dragon and Snow White, which were fairly calm experiences. The buzz from the movie was so great that I already knew it was suppose to be a great movie even before watching it. I wasn't surprised by the experience. Actually, as an adult, I would have hated the first time I saw Star Wars. We went to a matinee showing on a hot summer day and and the theatre was packed full of kids who kept talking during the movie and running up and down the aisle to go to the bathroom or to purchase more candy to continue their sugar high. As an eight-year-old kid, though, it was all very exciting. I remember returning to school in the fall and all the kids were talking about seeing the movie during the summer. Some even saw it more than once! This one girl's older brother saw the movie eight times. We all thought she was so cool because of that...well, that and the fact her brother attended a Kiss concert during that summer too.

Happy 30th Anniversary Star Wars! The movie and merchandising industries haven't been the same since.