R2LA XVII

Today was R2LA 17, the first time in four years that we've been able to get together at Mike and Amy Senna's house, and it was a blast.



I arrived a little before 10am with donuts, to start the day off right.



Several of us made short work of setup. By 10:20am all the tables and chairs had been set up, and we were ready for business.



Around 11am the event officially kicked off, and people lined up to get their name tags.



Over 60 droids were in attendance! We had an area for Disney+ screen-used droids, and my mouse droid squeaked in (pun barely intended), since it was in an episode of Kenobi.



Matt Hobbs brought out his surprise project, a mash up of WALL•E and an R2 unit that was pretty awesome.



Chris Lee brought his animatronic C-3PO.



Around 1pm lunch was served (Panda Express) and folks sat down to eat.



A look at some more droids that were in attendance.



I brought my droid #1 as R5-D4. To my surprise, it was the only R5-D4 there.



Around 2:30pm all the builders gathered outside for a group picture. There were something like 150+ in attendance, although not everyone was there for the (first) group picture.



We also had several people from the Disney+ productions in attendance, including Vivian Blair, who played young Princess Leia in the Kenobi series, and Robert Smith, who is in the show that Mike and I worked on, the upcoming series Skeleton Crew.



Leilani Shiu, who most often portrays a Jawa but has also performed several other rolls in the Disney+ Star Wars shows, was also in attendance.



Others from behind the scenes included our Skeleton Crew 1st AD Eric Lasko, our Key 2nd AD Franny Stafford, our Security team Michael Sullivan and Zachary Quemore, Kenobi Prop Master Brad Elliot and Kenobi Art Department Artist Bethany Barton. It was great seeing them, as I wondered if I would ever see them again after we wrapped shooting earlier this year.

Shortly after the human group photo, we took the droid group photo.



After that, it was time for the mouse droid races/demolition derby/death match.



Leilani Shiu didn't make it in the first group photo, so she requested we take another that included her, and we gladly obliged.



Things slowly wound down over the hours, and by 10:30pm we started folding up the tables and stacking the chairs. We chit-chatted a little longer, and a little after 11pm I loaded the droid and headed home.



Everyone had a fantastic time. Between the fact that it had been 4 years since the last R2LA and the shear number of people and droids in attendance, it was a really enjoyable event. As always, I look forward to the next one.

May the 4th be with You at CHOC

Childrens Hospital Orange County was marking Star Wars Day with their May the 4th be with You event, and R2 was there to help celebrate.



R2 was joined by Count Dooku, Darth Vader, and Kylo Ren. While we were outnumbered 3 to 1, it is R2 we're talking about, so he was able to hold his own. The kids were remarkably unworried as they lined up for photos, although as usual, I don't have photos with the kids.



They had activity books and other things for the kids to do while they visited the second floor.



The staff also enjoyed the characters.



After about an hour on the second floor having the kids come to us, we split up and were escorted by the staff to do room-to-room visits for another hour. R2 visited patients in the pediatric oncology floor, and they were happy to see him. No pictures of that portion of the visit.

I hope to be back at CHOC with R2 in the not too distant future.

Kindergarten Visit

Today R2 met some kindergarten students at Todd Elementary School. The children had been learning a little bit about Star Wars and R2 this week, and R2 was a special guest. I checked in at the office and the staff was excited to meet R2.



R2 hung out in the teachers lounge in between classroom visits.



We spent time with two kindergarten classes, interacting with each class and answering questions. Every student was able to get an individual photo with R2, and we also got group pictures of each entire classes together. I didn't want to take a picture of the students, but I was able to get a shot of R2 in front of the classroom.



Needless to say, the students and staff enjoyed the visit very much, as did R2 and I.

Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium - 2023

Tonight was Star Wars Night at Dodger Stadium, and R2 did not want to miss out.



I arrived at the stadium with my former roommate from years ago Manny a little before the 4:10pm call time and unloaded the droid.



Once we were inside, I took a panorama of the beautiful ballpark, where I've been coming since I was a child, and where I once had season tickets.



Employees and others arriving early got pictures with R2, including this evening's military honoree.



Around 5pm we started to make our way out to where we'd do the photo ops for arriving fans.



Initially we just did ad hoc photos, but as I warned them, it was quickly apparent we would need to form a formal line, and we did. R2 was paired with Din Djarin and Grogu.



A couple of times they stopped the line for character appearances on the pregame show. (In the picture below, R2 may look like he's facing the wrong way, but his dome is pointing at the camera. I couldn't move the body because Baby Yoda/Grogu was near the feet, and I certainly didn't want to knock him over on camera.)



Around 6:45 the escorted three of us through the center field gate and onto the warning track, where made our way to the home plate area. My buddy Manny wasn't allowed to go with us, which was a major bummer, but he was able to take pictures from a distance.

I've done this drive the last couple of years without problem, but this time the warning track dirt was reminiscent of riverbank sand, and there were a few times R2 spun his wheels in the wet and thick warning track dirt, so I had to give him an assist by lifting him up by the skirt to help with traction. The drivetrain itself was fine, it was just a lack of traction in the deep wet dirt that was the problem. Regardless, we made it to the home plate area safe and sound.



Once there, folks on the field got pictures with R2 and the characters.



The Mandalorian season 3 show runner and director Rick Famuyiwa was throwing out the first pitch. I was able to chat with him for a moment and he was happy to take a selfie with me. He was very friendly.



Meanwhile, Manny relocated and was able to get a picture from the stands. R2 is near the middle of the photo and I'm just above the 76 circle.



After the singing of the national anthem, it was time to head the short distance to the wheelchair elevator to get R2 below the field, where he egresses. I was able to get a picture of some of the Dodgers coaches, including manager Dave Roberts, and a picture of Rick and our characters coming off the field.



As usual, R2 took the wheelchair escalator up the stairs.



From there we hopped on the elevator and returned to the changing area on the club level, near the offices. More pictures!



At that point I stowed R2 in the Droidmobile, and we finally had a chance to watch the game, from some excellent seats on the field level.



The Dodgers ended up winning the game 13-1 against the Philadelphia Phillies, bringing R2's record with the Dodgers to 11-3. I hope we are able to come back next year.