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Star Wars never tasted so good
The thrill of the chase

Latest book from 'Star Wars' guru scrapbooks trilogy madness

Web posted on: Friday, November 20, 1998 3:53:57 PM EST

By CNN Interactive Writer
Jamie Allen

ATLANTA (CNN) -- He is the Yoda of "Star Wars" collectibles, and when you tell him this, he laughs.

Stephen Sansweet is like that. He doesn't take himself, or his hobby-turned-career, too seriously. This is a 53-year-old guy who started collecting "Star Wars" things because of the hard-to-explain, deep-down thrill of owning a piece of celluloid history.

And now, because he stoked that thrill time and time again, he holds a prime job with "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' film company, and is considered such an expert on paraphernalia from the galaxy far, far away that he can sway the market with a few words.

But, again, Sansweet doesn't take himself seriously. He's having fun.

This is a man who owns over 30,000 items connected to the "Star Wars" movie franchise, and in the same ho-hum breath he says that the number could be much higher, depending on how you tally.

"If you count every trading card, there's probably 10,000 right there," Sansweet says.

His collection is so big, Sansweet has a "big out building, a sort of barn structure" at his Northern California home where he houses all these items -- some life-like portrayals of the characters in the "Star Wars" trilogy, some as small as a matchbook. They are currently wrapped in boxes, and Sansweet gets excited talking about how he will turn the structure into a Star Wars museum of his own making.

And lest we forget, Sansweet has just published his sixth book about "Star Wars" collectibles, this one a scrapbook of some of his favorite pieces.

But again, Sansweet doesn't take his profitable hobby seriously. Well, OK, Sansweet is pretty serious. But he's having serious fun.

'The next hot thing'

"Some people have an inquisitive personality and it's a step down from obsession or compulsion," he says. "But there is something about collecting and trying to complete a set of something. It's pleasure. It gives you a sense of completing and let's you relive whatever turned you on to this thing in the first place."

Sansweet remembers when he first became interested in collecting. It was in 1976, and he was a writer for the "Wall Street Journal", interviewing a guy about toys, when the guy opened up a case and pulled out small plastic robots. "He said, 'These are the next hot thing,'" Sansweet recalls.

Box office beauties: A ticket to a private screening of "Return of the Jedi" (left) and Japanese tickets to various movies (right)

A year later, "Star Wars" swept into theaters and the rest is movie marketing history, action figures galore, and a cult of fans who wanted more, more, more -- Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Yoda, light sabres, Ewoks, Millennium Falcons, Boba Fett, anything with the words "Star Wars" printed on it. And Sansweet, mesmerized by the George Lucas blockbuster and enjoying a headstart from his tip the year before, was the lead runner in the race.

But, uh, exactly what race are we talking about here?

"There's a bumper sticker, 'He who dies with the most toys wins,'" Sansweet says. "That's not quite my philosophy, but close. I'm not looking to amass size (in the collection) as much as cool things when they show up."

Scrapbooking 'Star Wars'

Any movie fan this side of the Milky Way knows the success of the "Star Wars" movie franchise, from the first adventures of Luke, Princess Leah, and Han Solo as they save their own galaxy from the Dark Force. Each of the three films made by Lucas -- "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi" -- are among the most successful in movie history.

And in May of 1999, Lucas will launch the first of three prequels to "Star Wars," titled "Episode I: The Phantom Menace." Already, the hype is building with a just-released movie trailer.

So Sansweet's latest book, "Star Wars Scrapbook: The Essential Collection" (Chronicle Books) comes at a key time -- at the cusp of a new marketing rush, and just in time to summarize some favorite items he owns now, before he joins the madness that's sure to grip collectors young and old as "The Phantom Menace" invades theaters around the world.

"I'm sure there are collectors who keep things hidden away and never show it off," Sansweet says. "That's hard for me to understand because part of what has made 'Star Wars' collection so wonderful to me is the chance to share and meet with all kinds of people."

ALSO: "Star Wars" is a hot commodity in the book world.

Share your thoughts about the return of 'Star Wars'.

Located in the book's pages are reproductions of dozens of Sansweet's favorite "scrapbook-sized" items. Some of this is tedious stuff, just the kind of minutiae collector's enjoy: a call sheet from the filming of "The Empire Strikes Back," "Star Wars" movie posters from Spain and Japan, a punch-out X-wing glider from a Lucky Charms box, the first newsletter of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, "Intergalactic Passports" that were really backstage passes to the filming of "The Empire Strikes Back," a special advanced screening ticket to "Return of the Jedi."

Many items act as a window to unique stories about the filming of the series. There's the matchbook that says "3PO is human!" It was created by Anthony Daniels, who played the android, because he felt that he spent so much time in his costume that the crew had begun ignoring him, forgetting that he was living and breathing inside the shiny metal suit.

There's also an original poster featuring a sword-wielding figure that was a cross between the characters Han Solo and Luke Starkiller (his name was later changed to Skywalker). The caption reads, "The Star Wars." The "the" was later dropped, making the poster a rare collector's item.

To the outsider, the book makes it apparent that virtually everything related to, or merely capitalizing on, Lucas' creation is now "collectible." And if one holds a mirror to a mirror, it could be assumed that Sansweet's own creation, his scrapbook, is now a collectible.

'Buying Chewbacca barrettes'

So, does Sansweet, who is not married, ever feel odd about collecting toys for a living?

"I did feel silly about going up to a counter and buying Chewbacca barrettes," Sansweet says. "The cashier says, 'I hope your daughter will love it.' You just nod and hope the red is not in your cheeks too much."

After all, this is serious business. The fate of the galaxy, or at least the galaxy of "Star Wars" memorabilia, is up for grabs. And without a market for collectible action figures, where would the movie franchise be?

A Sansweet book comes with a Skywalker doll (top) while "The Art of Ralph McQuarrie" includes stamps issued with Star Wars scenes

"I am convinced that the merchandising of 'Star Wars' is something that has made it such a big part of pop culture," says Sansweet, who met George Lucas in person in 1992 shortly after releasing his first "Star Wars" book, "Star Wars: From Concept to Screen to Collectible." Four years later, he was hired by Lucasfilm as the director of fan relations and content management.

"(Collecting) plays a very important part of my life," Sansweet admits. "But when I go to work, it's work that I do. Being that it involves 'Star Wars' makes it special. The things that are important to me are friendships and relationships. 'Star Wars' is high up on the list, but it's not at the top of the list."

Then he adds: "Suffice to say, I've spent a good deal of income on my collection."

The chase

So, what does a guy who owns -- give or take -- 30,000 items, including an original Darth Vader costume that he has admitted looking "ridiculous" in, have his covetous eyes set on now?

Sansweet avoids this question like the Dark Force itself. The last time an interviewer asked him, Sansweet admitted being in the market for a Huffy "Return of the Jedi" bike for kids.

"Immediately, the price went up ten-fold, because people knew I didn't have it in my collection," Sansweet says, claiming one guy wanted $2,000 for the prize.

Such are the downfalls of being the Yoda of your field -- much is expected of you. But Sansweet, like many collectors, doesn't feel pressured to stop searching for the next great thing, nor does he want to stop.

"I still collect because it's fun and I enjoy it and there's the thrill of the chase," he says. "Nobody can have everything. I have a large portion of the stuff out there but there's always something new. The chase is what keeps that excitement going."

And the chase will heat up again very soon.



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