logo Sign In

How would you prepare your Star Wars marathon? (Drinks, Gimmicks, Decoration etc.)

Author
Date
Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

Hello all,

I would like to exchange ideas for hosting a themed Star Wars Marathon. There are some websites that already give you inspiration for parties or children's birthdays. Some interesting things, even for the "older age".

People on this board might have even better and more elaborated ideas, because they are more into the movies (as we are all nerds). So this thread should serve as a collection for that.

-----

I will host one marathon for about eight people in about two weeks. Not everyone knows the movies. There will be some alcohol in the game, my ideas so far were:

• Take of those beer kegs (5 litres), spay-paint it and then glue some colored paper to it to make it look like R2! Or just C-3PO's face.

• Make blue milk inspired by the White Russian: Vodka, Kahlua, Milk/Cream and food dye. Has anyone tried Blue Russian with Blue Curacao? I think the orange taste would not be how I image blue milk to taste like.

I am still looking for the perfect midnight snack. We boycott our local pizza delivery because they refused to draw lightsabers on the pizza boxes the last time.

-----

Please share your personal ideas/experiences or interesting links on any Star Wars marathon related food, gimmicks, decoration, drinks or other cool stuff. Which things are well received by other people, which are not?

Darth Id on ‘Why “Ben”?’:

And while we’re at it, we need to figure out why they kept calling Mark Hamill’s character “Luke Skywalker,” since it’s my subjective opinion that his name is actually Schnarzle Shnuzzle.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Damn you George Lucas for never explaining why they all keep calling Schnarzle “Luke”!

Damn You!!!

Author
Time
Post link

I've never held a SW marathon, but if I did, there'd definitely be leather, chains, whips, a rack, and at least one iron maiden involved in the proceedings.

Author
Time
Post link

Stop with the Blue Milk! It's poison I tell you!

Nobody sang The Bunny Song in years…

Author
Time
Post link

DuracellEnergizer said:

I've never held a SW marathon, but if I did, there'd definitely be leather, chains, whips, a rack, and at least one iron maiden involved in the proceedings.

 All of that certainly would be a welcome relief from the on-screen torture...

Author
Time
Post link

Sorry to detract from all the trolling (what exactly did the - perfectly reasonable - OP do to deserve all the lame attempts at 'humor', anyway?)

Here's a Star Wars drinking game I first read about in a home theatre magazine 20 years ago, though I suspect it may be even older than that:

Begin by inserting your weatherbeaten “Star Wars” videotape into the big slot on your VCR. Play the tape. Dim the lights for dramatic effect if you have not already. The game begins right as “20th Century Fox” appears. Basically, every time one of the listed events occurs, everybody takes a sip of their drink. If you are using alcoholic beverages, I really do not recommend emptying a whole glass each time. You will lose consciousness before Vader even says “Do not underestimate the Force”. Drink whenever:

  • Someone has a bad feeling about this
  • It is Luke’s destiny
  • A TIE fighter explodes for no reason
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi materialises for a guest appearance
  • Luke discovers a long-lost relative
  • Han brags about the Millennium Falcon
  • Anybody insults the Millenium Falcon
  • Tarkin brags about the Death Star
  • Leia insults somebody
  • Luke whines
  • The Emperor cackles evilly
  • Yoda uses bad grammar
  • Yoda talks like a fortune cookie
  • An entire planet is described as having one climate
  • It is their only hope
  • R2-D2 gets thrashed
  • C-3PO loses a body part (Take two drinks if he is completely dismembered)
  • Luke fights monsters or savages
  • Obi-Wan plays detective (“… Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.”)
  • Boba Fett talks
  • Somebody gets choked
  • A gigantic technological marvel explodes in a single blast
  • There is a tremor in the Force
  • Luke does some nifty acrobatic flip
  • Stormtroopers shoot everywhere but where they are aiming
  • R2-D2 plugs into the wrong socket and his head spins around
  • An old Jedi starts to ramble about the Force (Vader counts)
  • An Ewok dies, and the camera lingers longer than it did when the Death Star killed billions of people. (Fourteen seconds. Count em.)
  • Somebody’s hand gets cut off
  • The Emperor has foreseen something
  • Luke teeters on the brink of a chasm
  • Stormtrooper armour proves useless
  • C-3PO informs us of just how many forms of communication he is familiar with
  • It is not someones fault
  • One or more heroes are almost eaten by a Thing
  • Leia wears an outfit that covers everything except her face and hands
    • Twice if it covers her neck
    • Three times if she is almost totally nude
  • A Jedi is much more powerful than he looks
  • A woman other than Leia is on screen
    • twice if she is a Rebel
    • the whole container of whatever you are drinking if she is an Imperial (dont worry, it’ll never happen)
  • Something doesnt work on the Falcon
  • Twice if its the hyperdrive
  • Someone exclaims “No!”
  • Luke is upside-down
  • Someone does something apparently suicidal that turns out to be a good idea
    • Twice if its not Han
  • Someone wears the same outfit in all three movies – it counts if they change at the end (I think Han counts, although his clothes do change a little.)
  • Luke and Lando are in the same place at the same time
  • Twice if they speak to each other
  • Vader runs into one of his kids and doesnt recognise them
    • Twice if he tries to kill them
  • Someone is mind-controlled using the Force
  • Lukes parentage is Foreshadowed
  • People kiss
  • A Rebel pilot is of a race other than white
    • Twice if theyre non human (co-pilots count)
  • A good guy wears white or a bad guy wears black
    • Twice if a bad guy wears white and a good guy wears black (for uniforms – only the first person on screen counts)
    • Three times if someone hovering in between wears grey
  • Every time you find yourself talking to the people on screen
  • Luke refuses to take someones advice
  • An elaborately made up alien has no lines
  • Someone or something tries to get money from Han

The game ends when a bunch of Ewoks start dancing. No matter what youve been drinking, you will remember this image. The last person to give up drinking on each cue is the winner. Of course, ties are possible. If at some point you find that no one can successfully operate the VCR anymore, the game may as well be abandoned.

Author
Time
Post link

Jonno said:

Sorry to detract from all the trolling (what exactly did the - perfectly reasonable - OP do to deserve all the lame attempts at 'humor', anyway?)

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was being dead serious. 

Author
Time
Post link

And the zaniness continues.

Author
Time
Post link

DuracellEnergizer said:

Jonno said:

Sorry to detract from all the trolling (what exactly did the - perfectly reasonable - OP do to deserve all the lame attempts at 'humor', anyway?)

I can't speak for anyone else, but I was being dead serious. 

 You fail humor forever.

“That Darth Vader, man. Sure does love eating Jedi.”

Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

Thanks Jonno.

That game reminds me of this one for LotR that we have tried a few years ago:

http://i.imgur.com/GHr8rVV.jpg

If you plan to kill yourself, those are definitely ways where you can still have lots of fun before your exitus!

To come back to Star Wars, we have also tried something similar, but not with such an extensive list. We picked a few words/phrases before the movies, for example "Roger, Roger", "Jedi", "Force", "Droid(s)", and for every word dropped in the movie you had to take a shot.

Needless to say that we had to split up the marathon into three seperate nights because after two movies we were not... "concentrated" enough anymore...

To alleviate this a bit for the next time, we now might elect a "Jedi Master" person who can decide over drinking or not every time. He will probably get a pool noodle lightsaber for fun. If he misses a word to give a decision to, the other members of the "Council" should point it out and the lightsaber will be passed to the next one. That somehow gives everyone The Force to have an influence on the consumption ;)

Another silly idea: Give everyone one of those noodle lightsabers in different colours (maybe just red, green and blue to even it out a bit) and everytime a lightsaber get ignited or retracted in the movies, the corresponding person has to take a sip or shot.

After explaining all this, I feel like an alcoholic now.

Darth Id on ‘Why “Ben”?’:

And while we’re at it, we need to figure out why they kept calling Mark Hamill’s character “Luke Skywalker,” since it’s my subjective opinion that his name is actually Schnarzle Shnuzzle.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Damn you George Lucas for never explaining why they all keep calling Schnarzle “Luke”!

Damn You!!!

Author
Time
Post link

So getting back to the OP, I plan on showing SW to a friend who has never watched it. I am making it an interactive experience that goes through the chronology of what it was like before May 77.

So first I will show him the special effects of old space shows and movies (Star Trek [shudder]). Then I will show him what sci-fi films were like in the 70's - propagandistic, survivalist.

Then I will be guiding him through the amount of promotional material, beginning with the Chakin poster, then the trailer, novelization, radio spots, comic book, etc.

He is a Humanities professor so for him never to have seen it is terrible in it of itself, but he should appreciate everything surrounding this piece of art.

Author
Time
Post link

Wow, that sounds - immersive! For the right audience that could be an intriguing way in to a first viewing.

Of course, there are other opportunities in the 'installation' approach. You could take the Secret Cinema route and do a bit of world building, i.e. turn your screening room into the cantina or a rebel/Imperial briefing room.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars--the-empire-strikes-back/secret-cinema/

Or for something less labour intensive (and closer to Hooterdear's suggestion) you could recreate a 1970s/1980s cinema, with contemporary decor, snacks and on-screen materials.

Some details of my own efforts in that area here: http://originaltrilogy.com/forum/topic.cfm/1977-UK-theatre-intro-reconstruction/topic/14490/

Author
Time
Post link

Jonno,

I think the Secret Cinema route is a bit too consuming for me right now, but it would be awesome. Your '77 intro video is pretty great. I think I may have to use it if its alright. I do wish there was a US version, but the world aint perfect.

I hope to show it to him tomorrow, so I'll let you know how things go!

Author
Time
Post link

I'd be honoured! If you'd like a more recent / better quality version let me know - I keep tinkering with it.

As for a US version, I've put together some drive-in style discs - typically double bills - using the old Filmack ads and links. The trouble is that they're quite hard to find in DVD (let alone Blu-ray) quality, and it's harder for me to judge the correct vintage than it is with the UK ads.

Still, the trailers will be the same so it might be worth a go. I wonder if there's any record of a B feature shown with Star Wars? Damnation Alley, perhaps :-)

Author
Time
Post link

Jonno,

I peaked around and found a newer version of your video on vimeo. I actually edited out a couple commercials and a trailer, but my friends really got into it.

And actually, he liked my presentation so much that he has asked me to teach it in his college courses!

I talked about the state of sci-fi in film and the depressing social events of the 70's but I'm looking for more. Does anyone know of any good resources that discuss how Star Wars changed the artistic and cultural landscape in '77?

Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

How did things go, Hooterdear? I am quite impressed by the thought you put into it. If I was the first time viewer that you showed all the stuff to, I don't know if I could sit through all of it because of its length, haha!

JEDIT: Damn, I was too busy resizing those images so I was missing your post in the meantime.

I am in preparation for our marathon tomorrow and I have found one (kind of, at least) last-minute idea earlier this week. One internet shop offered discounts on their articles, and I ordered this cardboard-R2:

Height is 96cm. I have cut about fifteen R2-D2 bleeps from the movies (with pauses), put the files on my Smartphone and connected a bluetooth speaker to it, which sits behind R2. Then put it on random playback for a nearly authentic R2 in your living room.

By the way, my blue milk is also ready. Not the perfect colour, but good taste: 

(click to enlarge image)

Darth Id on ‘Why “Ben”?’:

And while we’re at it, we need to figure out why they kept calling Mark Hamill’s character “Luke Skywalker,” since it’s my subjective opinion that his name is actually Schnarzle Shnuzzle.  It just doesn’t make sense!

Damn you George Lucas for never explaining why they all keep calling Schnarzle “Luke”!

Damn You!!!

Author
Time
 (Edited)
Post link

Here was my rundown:

I began with the obligatory, "forget everything you know about Star Wars - names, images, cultural artifcacts, etc."

I showed a video of the Star Trek intro with lame effects

I then showed a "Top 20 70's sci-fi films" video - detailing the lack of a physical villain the audience can hate, the heavy-handed social and philosophical agendas, many are allegorical and "clean space"

Then I kinda began a story... "So its Summer '76 and you visit your cousin in San Diego. He has a crazy-looking poster he got from a comic convention a few months earlier." I then pull out the Howard Chaykin poster.

"This lingers with you until you see Rocky on Christmas night. A trailer for that cool poster comes up." (We watch it) "It's weird but still has potential. With your Christmas money you go to purchase the novelization" (Show him the book with the McQuarrie art on front, skim a few pages). "Luke Skywalker - cool name"

"Back at school a friend has the first issue. Its awesome. Can the movie live up to it??"

I show him a few pics of the lines that some of you had to stand in to watch it. I queued up Jonno's video, threw in a vintage Dolby intro and we were off the the despecialized edition. I'm thinking I can eventually use -1's print version to be more accurate for the first-time-in-77 effect I am going for.

After the movie, I was going to go into detail about the groundbreaking effects from ILM, the great music and editing, themes, etc. I also wanted to show him some of the test reactions from the pre-screening floating around the internets. But we ran out of time.

Like I said, though, he loved it!