Woodsy's World Of Star Wars: The Annual Lucasfilm-ILM Halloween Party!
So every year our good buddy George Lucas throws an ILM Halloween party. And let me say, speaking from personal experience (wink wink) George does not disappoint.
Here is a gander at this year’s invite:
My first Lucas employee bash was the Holiday Party in 1993 where I drunkenly approached George to tell him how great I was. Now that’s a mistake you only make twice. Nonetheless it was a spectacular party and I thought “How in the galaxy will George outdo himself?”
Well imagine this, you get invited to the ILM Halloween party with the chance to participate in the most impressive costume party in the universe, at ILM’s Windward Stage. (Location may have been changed since my time.) I thought my sexy Catholic schoolgirl outfit with blinking horns made by my friend Grant Imahara would blow people away. Boy was I wrong.
ILM has been home to some of the most talented award-winning artists in the world, and they like to trump the rest of the crowd come Halloween. Damn them.
Grant--who prior to his MythBusters days, worked on R2-D2 in the creature model shop--co-designed, with the help of fellow ILM designer, Nelson Hall, what could be one of the craziest costumes of all time; Disney’s Main Street Electrical Parade! And when I say parade, I don’t mean just one foolish float, I mean the entire kit and kaboodle, people! Lights were amassed everywhere and out from the top popped Grant’s little head steering his stellar piece of amazement through the crowd. He even had the music playing and it brought back childhood memories of seeing the parade with my parents.
Check it here:
Other noteworthy costumes were included but not limited to:
- Toy Story alien claw machine. And again, because it’s ILM and award-winning artists, I don’t mean just the alien - I mean the whole massive claw machine! I couldn’t take my eyes off it! Word has it Kathryn, the maker, almost passed out from carrying all that weight
- Garth Maul, done by my good buddy Melanie, who brought down the house!
- The Titanic, in pieces (the photo really says it all)
- Family in home-made Hoth battle scene
- The Pumpkin King by Jonathan Harb, he won first place! And first class airline tickets! Nice work!
But one of my most memorable costumes was my friend’s Cotton Candy outfit. Being a very creative chick, she put together a scrumptious assortment of cotton, pink spray paint, glitter, pink Doc Martin’s and topped it off with a B52’s-esque pink wig.
What was even more fascinating was her Jedi journey through the evening. We all arrived at the party around 8pm (normally you were allowed one guest but security loved me so I normally brought about 6). The beginning of the night was full of friends, cocktails, watching coworkers make out and small plates.
I was minding my own business, dancing with my friend Craig when MY BOSS approached me and said “I think you’re friend’s locked herself in the porta potty.”
“Oh really? How do you know it’s MY friend?”
“She keeps telling people she’s your guest, plus she’s dressed as cotton candy.”
“Oh.” Oopsy.
Apparently my good buddy had been “over served,” panicked and needed a place to sit down and rest. In the company porta potty.
“How long has she been in there?”
“About 45 minutes, and we really need that porta potty available, because we only got one for every 400 people.”
Yikes.
I knocked on the plastic door, “Cotton Candy (no names mentioned), let me in, it’s Laurel.”
“Nooooooooo,” in a high-pitched child’s voice.
“Candy, come on, these people need to use the bathroom.”
Did I happen to mention that all the people in line behind my good buddy had to start over at the end of another porta potty line? My coworkers???
Cotton Candy’s date and I knocked and banged on the door for another 45 minutes, surrounded by a very “antsy” crowd, before her date finally jimmied the large dark green vessel open.
And this is where the story goes to a new low. For lack of better words, let’s just say that “when the porta potty’s a rockin, don’t come a knockin!” Nuff said.
Cotton Candy and date exited the porta potty at the stroke of midnight to a massive audience clapping ecstatically...just like when the Chilean miners were released.
Cotton Candy had made a miraculous recovery and made a beeline for the food court, or what was left of it. After a very eventful night of cocktail projectiles and a porta potty sweat lodge, this girl was hungry jack.
The following Monday at work, Cotton Candy was the talk of the town, everybody wanted her phone number.
And luckily the Force was with me and I wasn’t fired and I ended up having a very nice time.
And George checked me out - OH YES YOU DID.
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