The force awakens in Macon, Star Wars fans celebrate new movie
Storm troopers, jedi knights and Death Star guards were among the characters sipping cocktails Wednesday night in downtown Macon to celebrate Thursday's premiere of the new Star Wars movie, "The Force Awakens."
De O'Brien, a 54-year-old who cleans houses in downtown Macon, was dressed as Darth Traya, a character who didn't appear in the movies but was featured in earlier video games and comics.
A self-proclaimed Star Wars fanatic, O'Brien fondly recalled being the second person in line to see the first movie as a 15-year-old at a Tampa, Florida, movie theater in 1977. Her favorite part about the pop culture saga is "the characters, the story, the hero story. The visual. It's just amazing. It makes you feel like a kid again."
O'Brien was among more than 100 people who packed into the Second Street gallery for the red carpet-style gala. Movie posters and tickets were given away in a free raffle, and AmStar Cinemas sold merchandise to benefit Joshua's Wish Foundation.
The gala was a partnership between AmStar Cinemas and gallery owner Terrell Sandefur.
AmStar Cinemas on Zebulon Road will start its first showing, which is already sold out, on the Imax screen at 7 p.m Thursday. However, a new showing will begin about every 20 minutes on nine of the theater's 16 screens, said Michelle Duren, the theater's operations manager.
"We have plenty (of tickets)," Duren said. "Since we're all digital, we have the possibility of playing it across all 16 (screens) if business warrants it."
Though a midnight premiere is an event of the past for the Macon AmStar, Duren said she has received phone calls from "people asking if they could camp out."
"We told everybody the earliest we'll go is 8 a.m., so we're expecting people at 8 a.m.," Duren said. "You'll have the die-hard fans that will be out there lined up."
Duren said she's watched the movie to make sure everything runs smoothly Thursday and said "it's going to make all demographics happy."
Sandefur, who currently has on display a Star Wars exhibit featuring artists in New York, Atlanta and Macon, said he wanted to "harness pop culture" and create an event down here to bring people together.
"Once Star Wars starts, it will all be in north Macon and it will all be at that theater and nothing will be down here," Sandefur said. "So, (the gala) is a good way to have some downtown Star Wars love."
O'Brien was not the only one in costume. She was accompanied by members of the 501st Legion, an all-volunteer organization formed to bring together costume enthusiasts to promote an interest in Star Wars as well as contribute to communities through charity work, according to the group's website.
Darth Vader was supposed to be a part of the group, but he "pooped out on us because of the rain," O'Brien said.
Though she's seen online spoilers and even said she's heard about the plot from other fans, "nothing is spoiled," O'Brien said.
"If I get any more excited, I'm going to explode," O'Brien said. "I'm like a tuning fork on the inside. I am so ready to see it. I want to see it all."
To contact Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.
This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 10:32 PM with the headline "The force awakens in Macon, Star Wars fans celebrate new movie ."