A force awakens in heart of Star Wars fans

Excitement is building, movie tickets purchased months ago lay at the ready, and every self-proclaimed Star Wars nerd in the world anxiously awaits the opening of what some fans call the most anticipated movie of all time.

Jeff Baltenbach of Myrtle Beach fits right into the category of zealous Star Wars fan stoked to see the seventh installment in the series titled, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

Born two weeks after the release of the initial Star Wars movie in 1977 that sparked a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, his fandom includes naming his now 3-year-old daughter Mara Jade after Luke Skywalker’s wife in the Star Wars Expanded Universe books, comics and computer games. He has also helped start a Star Wars Collectors Community on Facebook.

A collector of all things Star Wars, Baltenbach is prepared to be one of the first to see the latest release in the Star Wars franchise. Baltenbach purchased his tickets two months ago and will be one of the select to have a seat at the first showing of the movie Dec. 17 at Grand 14 Cinemas.

“I’m not going to risk it on this one,” he said, noting that waiting in line for a ticket for this movie is no option for a true Star Wars fan. “I’ll be seeing the first showing at The Market Common at 7 p.m. on Thursday night.”

Surrounded by Star Wars memorabilia that fills shelf after shelf in his home, Baltenbach said he was thrilled when they announced JJ Abrams would direct the new movie for the Walt Disney Co., which bought LucasFilm in 2012 for $4.05 billion. Begun by George Lucas, the series introduced space travel in a fictional galaxy far, far away into the imaginations of generations of children who thrilled at the site of various species of aliens living alongside robotic droids like the popular R2D2 and C3P0.

“I thought, ‘OK, we’re in good hands now,’” said the fan who takes his family to Disney’s Star Wars Weekends every year.

The general manager of a retail store, Baltenbach’s collection leans heavily toward the good guys. “I’ve always been a good guys first type of fan. You can’t beat the aesthetic of the Imperial forces and the designs of their Stormtroopers and various ships but I’ve always leaned toward being a Rebel. I’ve always wanted to be the hero,” he said.

Also known as “Star Wars: Episode VII,” the official release date for the movie is Dec. 18.

Anyone who did not plan like Baltenbach, could find themselves waiting awhile to see the movie or at the very least waiting in a long ticket line.

Even with an advance ticket, Duane Farmer, general manager of Grand 14 Cinemas, a multiplex with 14 theaters at The Market Common, urges fans to come early to wait outside each theater in a holding line so they can claim their favorite seat when the doors open.

Farmer said at least six screens will be showing the movie until Christmas. He said shows will open starting at 7 p.m. Thursday including some in 3D. Due to recent violence, Farmer said theaters nationwide are avoiding the traditionally popular midnight showings with the last show to begin at 10:45. In addition, while fans are welcome to enjoy the movie in costume, he said safety measures prohibit face paint, masks and weapons.

“We are close to selling out for Thursday and at least two theaters are sold out for Friday,” Farmer said, adding it is the biggest pre-sale event since the last Harry Potter movie release in July 2011.

Fans anticipate passing of the torch

There may be no bigger Star Wars self-proclaimed nerds than Steve Haines, general manager, and Robin Roberts, owner, of X Con Comics in downtown Myrtle Beach. The two have made a living out of collecting and selling many items among them Star Wars memorabilia and comic books.

Haines said he has owned three separate Star Wars collections over the years, including a set he played with from the time he was age 7. He sold that collection when he moved to Myrtle Beach some 20 years ago. When the second series of movies came out, Haines said he bought as an adult all the things he did not get as child. Haines said he is the only member of his family who is a collector.

“Star Wars was such a big deal. As a kid, it was imprinted on me. I collected ravenously. Any gift giving opportunity I wanted Star Wars,” he said. He was so into the series he even joined the Star Wars fan club.

Haines recalls how the first Christmas after the Star Wars movie release, the toys were not available yet and children received coupons, making that first batch of toys rare, he said. He said toys in original packages can sell into the thousands of dollars. Because he frequently wanted to enjoy his collectibles while also maintaining their like-new integrity, he would buy two of the same thing.

While he is trying to downsize his collections, Haines said he went shopping to view the new products. “I did see one gigantic Chewbacca (a Wookiee male warrior in the movies) calling my name,” he said.

As for the upcoming movie, Haines said, “I have been surprised about how nostalgic I have been.” He is glad to see people coming into X Con Comics purchasing the new Star Wars comics. “They are reading and enjoying them and not just putting them away. It is nice to see people buy and enjoy a new issue.”

Haines said R2D2 and C3PO were the only characters in all six of the previous movies and he hopes they will be in all nine (two additional movies are expected after Episode VII). He is excited that Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and his other favorite actors from the original series will appear in the latest series to capture a whole new generation of fans.

Roberts, who was 9 when he first saw Star Wars with his dad, said he feels the old cast has been brought back to “hand off the torch and introduce a new cast to help legitimize the future movies.”

Roberts recalled the night he and his dad waited in line to see the original movie. “Everybody knew it changed everything in movie making. There was such a depth of special effects. This was the new gold standard.”

He saw the movie at least three more times that summer and was drawn to the heroes’ ending.

“As a kid, you felt so good about it like you were there saving the Empire,” he said. Roberts said the Star Wars effect carried over to the playground where every kid wanted to be Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star.

Haines and Roberts both said they have felt very nostalgic since the new movie trailers were released. “It’s our childhood again,” Roberts said, adding his youngest daughter watches the Star Wars cartoons and knows the characters and storyline so well it makes his eyes a little misty.

As for operating a store where they are surrounded by some of their favorite collectibles, Roberts said, “Steve is the reason we have a store. It’s fun to collect but more fun to make money off people who collect. But it is hard. The nostalgia hits you.”

Haines agrees it is a difficult business to be in as a collector. As for watching the new movie, they may try to close the store for a bit and sneak off or they may go in costume. What they will watch for most are what they call Easter eggs, those little moments in the film designed to tug at the heartstrings of passionate fans. “Things in the movie you have to know to appreciate,” Roberts said.

Regardless of whether the movie is good or bad, Roberts and Haines predict it will be the biggest grossing movie of all time. “That’s how strong the fan base is,” Roberts said.

Escape into fantasy

Joel Watson, a local business software developer, said he is a fan of the Star Wars movies primarily due to “escapism into the fantasy world of George Lucas.”

Watson has a collection of R2D2 figurines, his favorite character collected over many Christmases since he first saw the movie at age 8. “I can still remember going to the $1 theater in Charlotte a year after the movie came out, then seeing The Empire Strikes Back when I was 10,” he said.

Watson said watching the movies was like watching pirates of space who were on a mission. The series reinforced his love of science fiction. “As a child it kind of opened my mind to thinking we aren’t the only ones in the universe. They (movie characters) were so advanced in their time and so long, long ago makes you think there are universes just developing at different times.”

Watson’s collecting has resulted in about $4,000 worth of random action figures including different versions of Darth Vader, the dark nemesis, and Jedi Luke Skywalker, kept in their boxes in the dark to avoid light from fading the packaging. The 44-year-old father of an 18-year-old daughter has passed on his love of the story through marathon movie days where the two of them watched the entire trilogy to catch up before the new release.

That is what David and Lisa Laing say they will do with their three children by purchasing the movie series and watching them over Christmas break. If they can sneak away closer to the opening of the movie, they might enjoy dressing in costume for the event.

David Laing, pastor of Grand Strand Church, said Star Wars is a part of American childhood and something he and his three siblings enjoyed repeatedly when growing up. Laing said it has been exciting to see how the directors have tied the old with the new and how the stories have evolved. Seeing the new version, he said, will be like “reliving a piece of my childhood.”

Watson said he can wait a day or two if he does not get in to see the movie on the first day of release. For Thursday’s preview, however, Baltenbach will be accompanied by his wife, Chrystie, sans children, so they can soak in the story and the nostalgia on the first of what will be many viewings of the movie. Having already noticed a clue in one of the movie trailers, he is wondering if fan favorite figure Boba Fetts, one of the “coolest bad guys” in the series supposedly killed in “Return of the Jedi” will be brought back to life.

Not one to hide his enthusiasm as a collector and fan, Baltenbach said, “This is our generation’s mythology. It is the closest thing we have for a real myth of our time.”

When these ardent fans see their favorite characters reappear 38 years after their original portrayal, there could be some gleeful noise in the theater. “People are literally going to be jumping up in the movie,” Baltenbach predicts. “It’s really exciting to see what it is going to be.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A force awakens in heart of Star Wars fans."