Into that other galaxy

A long time ago (well, it was actually 30 years ago this Friday, to be precise), a California dreamer named George Lucas introduced us to a galaxy far, far away with a quirky and grand space opera called “Star Wars.” It blatantly copped elements of Flash Gordon, “The Wizard of Oz,” “Lawrence of Arabia” and Camelot, but it also created something wholly new and revolutionary in American cinema.

And, while some films have quaint, footnote anniversaries, the local laws of physics do not apply to the Lucas galaxies. The reason is Celebration IV, the massive, Lucas-approved “official” anniversary event that will fill the Los Angeles Convention Center today through Monday night with all things Jedi.

Though it could be easily dismissed as an orgy of collectible sales and costume contests, upon closer inspection, it looks to have some wry surprises for adults and full-on, hyperspace fun for kids.

“This is an event that is like no other,” said Steve Sansweet, director of fan relations for Lucasfilm. “There is so much to see and do that it’s hard to know where to start. You can’t do everything, but you can try.”

Well, as one green-hued philosopher once said: “Do, or do not. There is no try.” And if you are going to Celebration IV, here are some things you should do.

Darth Warhol?

One of the most interesting exhibitions is also one of the most unexpected. The Vader Project takes the iconic helmet of Darth Vader and puts it into the sometimes subversive hands of contemporary artists. DKE Toys, one of the largest art-toy distributors in the world, sent full-size Vader masks to 75 figures in underground art, graffiti circles, the lowbrow scene, the tattoo sector and the comics world and asked them to customize as they saw fit. The results are wildly eclectic and, in some spots, hysterical. The artists include Paul Frank, Shag, Tim Biskup, Winston Smith, Ron English, Joe Ledbetter, Frank Kozik, Robbie Conal, Marc Ecko, David Horvath, Gary Baseman, Amanda Visell, J.otto Seibold, Nathan Cabrera, Urban Medium and Jeff Soto.

“I took an esoteric approach and went to the dictionary and looked up ‘esoteric,’ ” said one of the artists, Attaboy, describing his approach in a statement through Lucasfilm. “I then gave up, painted it in urban camo and coated him with brine-devouring cephalopods. It’s sorta my thing -- if I had a thing.”

The Vader Project will premiere here and move to other exhibition spaces in the U.S. and beyond. The exhibition is included in the price of the registration badge and the display adjacent to the dealer’s showroom. It will be open from 9 a.m. to midnight today through Monday.

Postcard from ...

With all the space hardware and Jedi platitudes, “Star Wars” could easily have become a pretty creaky affair, but thankfully the movie had Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia exchanging feisty, firecracker dialogue with Harrison Ford as Han Solo. And then there was that slave-girl costume in “Return of the Jedi.”

Fisher, herself a princess by birth in Hollywood, is one of the funniest survivors and storytellers in show business, and the plan is to not slow her down with a panel or onstage interviewer -- she is scheduled for a one-hour, one-woman show Saturday night that will probably make some of the fan boys blush. It’s one of the few events that comes with an extra charge ($15) but will almost certainly fill up fast.

Fisher also will be interviewed at 1:30 p.m. Friday (no extra charge for that one) on the Concourse Stage. Other cast members who will be at the event onstage include Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian), Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), Ray Park (Darth Maul) and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca). They will all be signing at the autograph hall, as will dozens of other cast members, right down to some of the guys who wore Jawa suits.

And though Fisher is the biggest name to be scheduled, another key cast member from the original trilogy may now be making a surprise appearance, thanks to a change in his work schedule. You’ll have to use a Jedi mind trick to figure out who it is, though.

For the younglings

There is plenty of kid stuff, including Jedi training, where your offspring can learn mad skills on the lightsaber. If that’s too aggro, try Anakin’s Workshop and its Lego-building competitions for prizes. Arts and crafts most notably include a diorama of the Endor forest, where volunteers will help fans create trees, huts and bridges from paper, paint and other materials.

Finger-painting, face-painting and storytelling are all designed to keep the youngest “Star Wars” fans busy and away from the Dark Side of toddler fatigue. “Every Celebration, we see more and more families and people passing on their love of ‘Star Wars’ to their kids and even grandkids.”

Yoda would be so proud.

All about the gear

The last official “Star Wars” convention was in Indianapolis in 2005, and one of the most popular parts of the event was the limited-time, exclusive collector’s items sold at the Celebration official store. The problem is the store got too popular. “There were huge lines, people waiting for hours,” Sansweet said. “They missed all these wonderful moments and programs at the rest of the convention.”

This time, the Lucasfilm people took a lesson from Disneyland and there will be a “fast pass” program of sorts, which gives fans an assigned time to come to the official convention store. There also will be 40 cashiers on duty, and the store is open 24 hours a day. (Seriously.)

The hot item? That would be the get-it-now-or-pay-$200-on-EBay action figures of C-3PO and R2-D2 modeled on very early storyboards for the original “Star Wars” film. C-3PO looks very “Metropolis,” and R2 has a bouquet of tools on his head that makes him look like a Swiss army knife mated with a garbage can. If you want to give a hard-core fan a heart attack, buy one of these collectibles and just rip it open and start playing with it.

Fan boys gone wild

The way of the Jedi is a virtual religion to those who get all tingly whenever they hear that John Williams theme music. Mock it if you will, but their constituency is significant -- which is why the mayor of Los Angeles is scheduled to drop by the convention Friday (which he will declare to be “Star Wars” day in Los Angeles) and a top official with the U.S. Postal Service will show off a new series of stamps.

“Star Wars” means different things to different people. For some, it’s the reason they spend $1,200 assembling their own storm trooper costumes. The proud members of the Imperial 501st Legion (as they call themselves) will be panting hard inside their helmets at the storm trooper Olympics at 11 a.m. Saturday. Wait, it gets better: Fan-made R2-D2 robots will be paraded or raced every day at 2 p.m.

There’s a lot of pop-culture echo to “Star Wars” too. Scenes from a new one-hour episode of “The Family Guy” that revolves around the Lucas universe will be screened Saturday during a presentation by creator Seth McFarlane. There’s also a sneak peek at “Fanboys,” a movie produced by Kevin Spacey that follows the funny and sad cross-country road trip of some “Star Wars” fans looking for Lucas. Then there’s a Canadian actor named Charlie Ross, who will be doing a one-man show based on the original trilogy. He must do a mean Wookiee imitation.

geoff.boucher@latimes.com

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Star Wars: Celebration IV

Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S. Figueroa St., L.A.

When: Noon to midnight today (for Star Wars Fan Club members only); 9 a.m. to midnight Friday through Sunday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday.

Price: One-day badges are $45 for adults, $25 for kids ages 6 to 12, and free for youngsters under 6. Four-day badges are $125, $55 and free for kids under 6.

Info: www.gencon.com/2007/swciv/info/general.aspx