C-3PO's Daniels To Star At 'Star Wars' Convention

C-3PO, human-cyborg relations, is about to relate to his biggest crowd of humans yet.

That's because Anthony Daniels will be at the helm when an estimated 20,000 fans or more of the "Star Wars" films are expected to descend upon the Indianapolis Convention Center this weekend for "Celebration II."

One of the largest conventions of its kind, the monolithic gathering that will feature over 30 actors from all five "Star Wars" films (including Hayden Christensen, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew, Kenny "R2D2" Baker, and Temuera "Jango Fett" Morrison), as well as exhibits of movie props and toy collections, variety shows, a fan film festival, and more.

For Daniels, who either donned the droid's suit or provided the voice in all five "Star Wars" films, the decision to participate in the event was a no-brainer.

"I very rarely do conventions -- they're hard work and very draining," Daniels told me in a recent @ The Movies interview. "It's quite a responsibility to be the person who represents the movies at that moment. I do as well as I can, and hopefully people like what I do. I do try and choose events like 'Celebration II,' and the 'Magic & Myth Exhibit' (openings) because they have weight to them."

Celebration II is aptly named for its relation to the second "Star Wars" prequel "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which debuts in theaters May 16. It's the second such celebration of its kind. "Celebration I," which preceded the release of "Episode I -- The Phantom Menace," was held in Denver in 1999.

Ironically, Daniel's participation in the "Star Wars" films and its ancillary projects over the past 25 years almost never happened. He didn't want to interview with George Lucas for the role, mainly because -- apart from the British television series "Dr. Who" -- he loathed science fiction, he said.

In fact, when he screened Stanley Kubrick's opus "2001: A Space Odyssey" after it came out in 1968, he left the film early and asked for his money back from the theater manager.

"I love it now -- how wrong I was all those years ago," Daniels mused.

Daniels is still a tough critic, but the genre, thanks to the "Star Wars" experience, has grown on him.

"There's a kind of inventiveness and something hypnotic about outer space," Daniels said. "One of my favorite films is (the Douglas Trumbull film) 'Silent Running ' -- I was always moved by that. 'Alien' is OK -- it's just a basic storyline."

In addition to being the emcee at the opening night ceremony, Daniels will preside over the "Star Wars" costume contest at Celebration II. The first time he saw such an event, Daniels admits he didn't get the fascination, but now he fully embraces it.

"The first time I went to a convention I went, 'How pathetic,' seeing all these people dressing up in silly costumes. Then I thought, "Well, wait a minute -- this is exactly what I do for a job! I better shut up," Daniels said, laughing.

For those planning on taking part in the costume event, Daniels dropped a huge hint that will score points -- be original.

"I'm not interested in somebody walking onstage in a Don Post helmet they bought, and a cloak, pretending to be Darth Vader," Daniels said. "I'm interested in somebody who has made one out of papier-mache, or made C-3PO out of something, that's great. Also, when they are the role, instead of just wearing the costume, then that's fun."

What Daniels enjoys most about the costume competition is that, win or lose, fans get to become a part of the "Star Wars" experience, rather than just being an audience member watching the films.

"I'm really amazed at innocent ingenuity that people bring to this stuff - they're doing this at home, they don't have the vast Industrial Light and Magic workshops behind them like we do," Daniels said. "It's a pleasure to see people come on stage and have a good time and become a part of it all at that moment with an audience. They do go a sense of being in a show for a while."

Like the fans of "Star Wars," Daniels too, has a passion: He likes eating at restaurants.

"I'm very interested in food and wine, that's awful, isn't it?" Daniels asked, laughing. Oddly enough, his passion could run interference when he's asked to don his C-3PO costume.

"I lost 10 pounds to get back into the costume (for 'Episode II')," Daniels said. "It was worthwhile. It's only me that hurts if I don't fit in there, so it took willpower."

While Daniels couldn't talk too much about the highly anticipated 'Episode II,' what he could say is that C-3PO is back again, this time with an upgrade from his exposed look from "Episode I."

"I don't have the gold yet," Daniels said. "It's a completely new look, which Justin Dix in Australia painted up. It's very grunge -- a new fashion for robots."

Daniels also confirmed that he will he have a cameo as a human in the film, reported to be that of Lt. Dannl Faytonni by the Internet Movie Database.

"I laughed when I saw it (in the film) - I was very amused that it was still there," Daniels said. "I just said to George that 'I want to be in this movie as myself and he said sure.' So they gave me a uniform and two very beautiful girls to be with. And, I got all the rest of the crew around me involved as well, so they're all extras in the same shot."

Daniels said he's never been able to enjoy the "Star Wars" films as much as the fans have, mainly because being a member of the production made him privy to the action as it happened.

Even so, he admits he was pleasantly surprised with what he saw in "Episode II."

"This new one has so much magic that's done by computers and so on that I could enjoy huge chunks of the science fiction bit of it," Daniels said. "For the first time in this one, everything is seamless -- you're not sure what's a model or what's a real thing, or what's a computer graphic."

And while he won't get to experience the fan's look of wonderment at "Episode II" at the convention, he's looking forward to seeing everything else the experience brings them - "the look on their faces, and their thrill and enjoyment in being involved in some way," he said.

And even after the convention, Daniels encourages the fans' participation, and encourages that they write him with questions at his Web site. He's always enjoyed meeting and talking with fans over the years, listening to what they have to say about the films.

"I've never found anybody other than respectful," Daniels said. "People suggested that I need to be given an armed guard at the previous celebration and I just rolled with laugher. Maybe two or three people in 25 years have been inappropriate."

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