Friday, November 11, 2011

NYCC '11: Mark Hamill Spotlight

As I mentioned in my Amazing Spider-Man post, I sat in on that so I would have a guaranteed seat at the Mark Hamill Spotlight. While I was there I got to chat with several people including the person who has just become [insertgeekhere]'s newest contributor, Teacup!
When I first met Mark Hamill, he stood about four inches tall, lived on a desert planet with two suns, and spoke in a high pitched voice some people might call whiny. I was nine years old and my best friend had brought over the entire original Star Wars trilogy for a day long marathon to introduce me to the series. By the time the credits rolled on Return of the Jedi, I was hooked.
Redesigned movie posters for the original Star Wars series
Olly Moss redesigned posters for the original Star Wars series. Aren't they gorgeous?
The Star Wars trilogy, as one of the most popular sci-fi creations of the past fifty years, is a gateway series into science fiction and geekery for many young people. I attribute those three films as my first steps on the way to becoming the geek I am today, as well as the series responsible for my first celebrity crush. Mark Hamill was not unattractive during the time the movies were filmed, even with the minor surgery he received between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back to correct damage done in a car crash. While the crush has since faded (except in a nostalgic way), my appreciation for Mark as an actor has not. So when the fine folks at NYCC announced the man himself would be attending New York Comic Con as a guest this year, I was overjoyed.
Luke Skywalker on Tatooine
One handsome man