Friend of TFN Lissa M. sent us this write up of a Star Wars Tribute at Modesto Junior College on June 2nd. See below...

"There's going to be a very cool event going on in George Lucas' hometown of Modesto on June 2nd. Modesto Junior College is presenting a 30th Anniversary Tribute to Star Wars that features some interesting guest speakers including Peter Kramer, the author of "The Course of Film History: From Bonnie and Cyde to Star Wars", and Reg Harris, the co-author of "The Hero's Journey: A Guide to Literature and Life". But the guest I'm mostly jazzed about (and why I'm going to drive all the way to Fresno from where I live) is C. Andrew Nelson. I got to meet him recently at a signing he did at Travis Air Force Base and he was totally cool. Nelson worked for more than a decade for Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and ILM. He's a visual effects artist and animator who created effects for the Star Wars prequels (and other non-SW films) and also helped create and design a bunch of my favorite classic games like Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, Rebel Assault II, Shadows of the Empire, Rogue Squadron and others. And he's been playing Darth Vader for Lucasfilm for years now. He's Vader in the Special Edition and in games like Rebel Assault II and in tons of commercials and shows. Andrew was so great to meet at Travis AFB and he took the time to chat with all the Star Wars fans and answer their questions. He had some amazing stories to tell from behind the scenes. I hadn't seen anything mentioned yet on TF.N about this event in Modesto so I thought I'd bring it to your attention. I think it'll be totally worth going to (if fans don't live too far away) at the very least to hear C. Andrew Nelson talk. He mentioned at Travis that he'll be speaking about how Star Wars completely changed the way movies are made and how Star Wars revolutionized visual effects in 1977 and how it's still pushing the envelope now. And he said he'll also talk about his experiences playing Vader. His Vader stories (I heard him talk about at Travis) were hilarious. He's such an upbeat, inspiring guy who knows so much about Star Wars and the film business. I'm amazed he's not a featured guest at more conventions. Oh and the 501st will be at the event too which is always a treat."

Click here to visit http://www.StarWarsTribute.com.

Click here to visit the site of C. Andrew Nelson.

Thanks Lissa!!!

UPDATE: Click here for a story at The Modesto Bee website regarding the tribute.