Hello there! In 1977, things seemed hopeful for the new space opera hitting the silver screen.
If only we at WBIR had the foresight to think so too
because we don't have any local footage from Episode 4: A New Hope
in our archives, and due to this galactic mishap, a dark presence made its way to the station in 1980.
He is the ultimate evil character in the Star Wars series.
Darth Vader, even the name conjures up visions of treachery.
In person, the man behind the costume, Tom Callahan, isn't quite so evil.
Even though he looks awesome, standing 7 feet, 3 inches tall.
Callahan is even nice to children.
Something Vader wouldn't even consider.
Callahan is one of three stuntmen who played Vader in the original Star Wars.
He's in town to promote the new movie, The Empire Strikes Back.
We put on a little...
I give a little talk on Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back and we'll be signing autographs and
selling some pictures and I'll try to answer any of the questions that all the kids put up to us.
Callahan travels around the country appearing as Vader and has many stories about what has happened at shows,
including a time a child came up to him carrying a Darth Vader doll and said, "I hate you"
just before he ripped the doll's head off.
Callahan says that was an unusual case, most of the time children can relate to his character.
I think something unusual that they can associate with.
Something that, you know, they're like the bad guy in the cowboy movie.
For a while, they associated with him until the hero came riding in.
After the Sith lord returned to his castle on Mustafar,
we made sure to attend every subsequent Star Wars movie premiere.
Like in 1983, with the release of Return of the Jedi
WOO!
I thought it was wonderful. It was extravagant. I loved it.
[laughs]
It was great. It was worth waiting for.
Thought it was a great movie. It was real action-packed. I thought it was better than the first two.
For 16 years, we thought all was quiet in the empire.
Little did we know, our schools were teaching young padawans the ways of the force.
And we're gonna have snack in just a minute.
We're gonna eat some Wookie Cookies, some Death Star Doughnuts, some Yoda Soda.
And a Phantom Menace was on the horizon.
Even our own staff was tempted by the dark side,
as they plotted to retrieve the coveted Episode 1 tickets from the vault of Schwall.
Maybe this is it.
Nope. Can't get in.
Luckily, our shields prevented these scruffy-looking nerf herders
from claiming their prize.
Hey, get out of there! What are you doing?
Even our own reporters used Jedi mind tricks on the general public to ensure they could score a seat.
Star Wars uh no...
The big Phantom Menace show?
No, no, I don't think I'll be going to see Star Wars.
[laughs]
Do you know the movie? What it's about?
I don't even know what you're talking about. I'm sorry.
Luckily, the movie theaters had the wampa's share of tickets, which brought in fans from as far away as Endor.
We can only get 12 tickets per person so we have about 15 to 18 people in line.
My dad tells me how it was so cool and everything.
He tells me it was the greatest thing to stand in line for hours and hours and it was like the highlight of his life.
And I just thought, you know, this is the biggest thing that's happened in my generation.
And as luck would have it, the force brought us to Jedi Knight Josh Webb.
This getup is basically an old judo gi and a t-shirt. I got the flashlight here for my lightsaber,
and my grandmother made the cloak for me so it's kind of a patchwork.
And moviegoers weren't shy about handing over gratuitous amounts of galactic credits
for that sweet sweet Star Wars merch.
Well, I spent money on the video game.
That was 60 bucks and then the soundtrack was $20 or so.
You expect that you'll sell more and more as the kids see it,
especially if it's a movie that has some new characters.
Over $300 so far on the figures and some of the cars and both the movie posters.
This is actually the newest piece. We just got it hung the other day.
This is the newest one with Darth Maul.
And all these others I wear for church and special events.
These are 50 paperback novels.
Originally marketed as a clothes hamper for kids but I've used it as a toy box.
[heavy breathing] Most impressive.
He used to pretend he was Luke Skywalker.
He would ask for something like a drink or a salt shaker.
I said, "Close your eyes and use the force."
And he finally peeked at me one time and saw me moving across the table for him.
So that worked pretty good for a little while.
[Jabba the Hut impression]
[Salacious B. Crumb impression]
And on opening night, over 2,100 people at West Town Mall celebrated the origin of Anakin Skywalker.
I was with my father in 1977 to see Star Wars at the Cedar Bluff 1-2, which doesn't exist anymore,
and I'm here to see it 20 years later together with him so it feels pretty good.
It's great. I've been looking forward to this for a long time myself.
I'm hoping it's everything the first ones were and more,
and I wasn't around to see the first movies in theater
and I hope this lives up to its name.
The Phantom Menace proved divisive among the fan base.
So I'm going to kick you, James.
Nevertheless, the Star Wars diehards showed up for the opening of Attack of the Clones.
We camped out and slept here for a while.
And, of course, you get your shouts of nerd and geek and all that stuff.
And we had some close encounters with some other folks, but it is pretty good all around.
[laughing]
And as the Clone Wars began, the Sith plotted revenge.
[Star Wars theme played on guitar]
I take it you're here to see the new Ashton Kutcher movie.
Not quite.
My friends and I spent the entire day today watching the first, well, the four, five, six, one, and two all straight in a row.
Grilled hamburgers in the middle. It's all we've done all day.
Regardless of Anakin's position,
fans thought Episode 3 ended on the high ground.
I thought it was a lot better than the other ones,
and it explained a lot more than the rest of them did.
Well, I thought it was very interesting. I thought it was really really good.
Normally, I don't care too much for those type of movies, but this particular one
I really really liked pretty well.
I thought it was great. I'd love to go right back and see it again but I got to go to work.
As the curtain closed on the prequel trilogy, we thought this was the end.
But it seemed the dark side had clouded our judgment.
Chewie, we're home.
Yes, sir.
In the year 2014, the First Order seized control over one of our theaters
as Regal Pinnacle was one of only seven theaters nationwide to show the teaser trailer for The Force Awakens.
I don't think it's going to reveal a lot, which every teaser doesn't.
It'll leave me hanging, which is even better.
It'll last me for another year so that's fine.
This Jedi Master proved prophetic, as although the teaser trailer left many things shrouded in mystery,
just a short year later a Rey of hope shined on Knoxville.
The Pinnacle was chosen once again.
This time as one of only 22 theaters across the country to show a marathon of the prequel and original trilogies.
All leading up to the premiere of The Force Awakens.
I scheduled off three months ago soon as soon as I got the marathon tickets.
I've been ready. It's been on the calendar marked off and everybody's asking me,
"Why's Ron off that day? What's he doing that day?"
I was like, "I want to go watch Star Wars movies."
The first films came out in the 70s so I mean, I know that they have a loyal fan base, you know, back then.
But they've...the parents have grown up telling their kids about it and they've grown up watching it.
So even though they're older films, they're still classics.
It's just, it's the geek culture. It's what we do. It's our hobby.
And just to, you know, experience it with so many great people
and it's just, it's who we are and what we do.
By all accounts, it seemed the force had indeed awakened once again.
Shortly thereafter, our station was invaded.
This time by the First Order, who kidnapped beloved meteorologist Todd Howell,
And is it OK, guys, if I go do a little weather?
whose only hope was The Last Ledi.
Leslie Ackerson is here.
WOO! [laughs]
And she is way too good at that.
She's here to quiz us. Leslie.
Are you guys ready for this?
But it seems the only thing stronger than the flow of the force is the power of love.
Where's the next one?
Yeah, when's the next one?
Lots of cliffhangers with the next one.
[laughs]
Cool, anything else you guys want to say that we didn't talk about?
Um yeah, actually, if you don't mind holding this...
Nuh uh
Will you marry me?
[gasps]
Will you?
Are you for real?
Yes, I'm for real.
Yeah.
[off camera] My man's a genius.
Gotta give me your hand.
[cheers]
And with the Rise of Skywalker, the binary suns of Tatooine were setting on the Star Wars saga.
It's almost a religious experience to see a Star Wars movie.
My Star Wars love affair started when I was 6 years old.
I was 7 when I...when originally when it first came out.
I've been waiting over 40 years to see the final one.
Back then, it was so cool, all the effects and stuff.
We was like, "Wow, I can't believe it!"
Like nothing we've ever seen before.
Butter is strong with this one.
It was the big scale of the entire thing.
The space battles, the characters.
It just reaches all generations, like my kids, when they were first born the pre-sequels were out
and they got to see Star Wars then.
Maybe down the years, my grandkids and stuff, they'll be able to experience Star Wars with us.
It's just awesome.
The best part about this premiere is getting able to be with other Star Wars fans.
I mean, there's nothing like seeing a premiere like this when the lights come up and everybody cheers, everybody claps.
it's like being at a live show
Anything in these divisive times that can bring millions of people together with a common thread is a good thing.
This is a finale, but I hope they continue making more movies.
To see the culmination of all of this come to an end, it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, man.
Can't miss it.
We want two. We're not going to the dark side.
Star Wars is the movie-going experience of my lifetime.
I mean there have been movies that made more money.
There have been movies that may be better artistically, stylistically.
But everybody, no matter who you are, no matter what walk of life you come from
if I say Star wars, you know what I'm talking about.
I can't imagine my life without Star Wars.
It's a ride that I will never forget.