'Star Wars' draws residents, alumni

Every time IU graduate George Starkey sits down for a cup of coffee at the Starbucks in Broad Ripple, a neighborhood on the north side of Indianapolis, someone wants to know. It happens so often that Starkey even has a name for it: He gets "Lucas-ized."\n"First someone turns around, and then you can start hearing necks snapping," said Starkey, who learned as a teenager of his uncanny resemblance to "Star Wars" creator George Lucas. "People say, 'Are you him?' I say, 'Just call me George.'"\nBut Starkey's look is doing more than just turning heads. It earned him a role as the famed director in the movie "Saving Star Wars," which premiered locally Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. IU graduates Starkey and Jim Peterson, who also stars in the film, returned to Bloomington for the local reception. Though most of the crowd was on hand to meet Darth Vader actor Dave Prowse, the screening also served as a homecoming of sorts for Starkey and Peterson.\n"It's cool that people are interested in the movie and I'm proud to be representing the IU theater department, even though I didn't actually major in it," said Peterson, who plays Hank, the nerdy, "Star Wars"-obsessed sidekick and friend to Woody, the film's protagonist. "It's been a great experience and fun exposure. I'm not quitting my teaching job to go out to Hollywood or anything like that, but it was a lot of fun to do."\nFor Starkey, it all started when he ran into "Saving Star Wars" director Gary Wood at Celebration II, a colossal "Star Wars" convention held in Indianapolis. After one look at Starkey's face, Wood, who was searching for an actor to portray Lucas in the film, offered him the role. \n"I was like, 'Oh God, the last time I acted was a background football player in a high school production,'" Starkey said. \nAs the cast search continued, Starkey recruited a friend he met while studying at IU who had a few more acting credentials. He asked Peterson, a drama teacher at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind., to audition. Three try outs later and the IU alumni and friends were reunited, dedicating their weekends to starring in the low-budget, all-volunteer production. \nIt has already paid off for Peterson. He won Best Supporting Actor at the London Sci-Fi Film Festival, an international competition that pitted "Saving Star Wars" against multi-million dollar productions. \n"Gary called me up one morning and I had just gotten out of the shower getting ready for work and he said, 'What would you say if I told you you won?'" Peterson said. "I had no idea what to say. I'm like alright, it's a really cool accolade. It goes on my resume, that's for sure."\nSome of Peterson's drama students have even watched the movie, after convincing their teacher to screen it. He was happy to do so, though he described one scene as "incredibly embarrassing," where Hank, dressed as a Jedi knight, urinates on the roadside while making spaceship noises. \n"Some of the kids have begged me at school to show them the movie and I've shown it a couple of times in different classes," Peterson said. "They laugh, they think it's really funny ... But it is kind of weird for them to see their teacher go up and act like a goof."\nNow that the movie has been completed, life has returned to normal for Peterson and Starkey. That is, until Lucas appears on TV or in the newspapers in the Indianapolis area, when Starkey can look forward to a new barrage of Lucas-izing. \n"I'm just a guy, honest to God, and I look like this all the time," Starkey said. "But I don't mind. I think it's fun. It's hilarious."\n

Prowse draws crowd

\nSpringville, Ind., resident Will King saw the first "Star Wars" movie at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. So it was only fitting that he met Darth Vader at the very same venue. \n"Vader's been his hero since he was a kid," said King's son, Elisha, who attended the screening with him. \n"It ws pretty cool to meet Vader here where I saw the first one," he said. "It was definitely worth the trip."\nAfter the screening, Prowse spoke to the crowd, sharing stories and thoughts ranging from his experiences as Darth Vader to those on "Saving Star Wars." \nHe said he thought the crowd enjoyed the screening.\n"From your reactions, I could tell that you obviously thoroughly enjoyed the film," Prowse said. "Hopefully, it was as much as we enjoyed making it."\nAs for "Star Wars," Prowse said the response came as a surprise to him. \n"It's a phenomenon we never, ever thought would happen," Prowse said. "I thought we were making a load of rubbish and couldn't wait to get off it."\nHe asked the crowd for questions, and challenged them to ask one he'd never heard of. An audience member asked Prowse's best "Star Wars" memory, which probably didn't qualify as an original question, though it did spur a humorous response. \n"Receiving my first residual check," Prowse quipped. "I had never seen that much money before in my life."\nProwse closed his talk with a sing-along, set to the tune of the famous "Star Wars" theme by John Williams, with new lyrics: "'Star Wars' made me a fortune/ Paid off the mortgage/ Bought me a car."\nProwse then moved to a table to sign autographs and chat with fans, and a line quickly formed from the front of the theater all the way to the lobby. \nJunior Michael Rongo met with Prowse and talked with him about working with Stanley Kubrick on "A Clockwork Orange."\n"I had to see Darth Vader," Rongo said. "I used to be a huge fanatic. It's one of those childhood things coming back"