January 4, 2002

10:31 PM

Seattle Star Wars Society member gets in line for Star Wars tickets. Well, I guess he is the line, for now.He says it's an "art project" and he's trying to set a new world record. Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones opens May 16, 2002.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet (53 comments total)

It'd be one thing if he was waiting for a good movie.
posted by kv at 10:37 PM on January 4, 2002

Yeah, why couldn't he just wait a few months and do this project with LOTR:TTT?
posted by hincandenza at 10:41 PM on January 4, 2002

hincandenza: Word.

Perhaps the best thing that will come out of the success of the LOTR films is the wide realization that Lucas is a plagiarizing hack.
posted by Optamystic at 10:51 PM on January 4, 2002

But this is also an art project

... not to mention a fine excuse for the fact that this clown has no life.
posted by diddlegnome at 10:57 PM on January 4, 2002

Jeff Tweiten, you sir, are a loser.
posted by spinifex at 11:01 PM on January 4, 2002

Post your questions and I'll go interview him for MeFi - hurry before he starts to smell!
posted by roboto at 11:03 PM on January 4, 2002

Jeff also said, "Special thanks to the Seattle Police Department for making the city of Seattle safe enough to pull off a project of this type."

Yeah if someone tried this in south Dallas he'd get picked off on the next regularly scheduled drive by. God I love Texas. "Feel MAH force, dude!" BLAM BLAM BLAM! So long as there's no more WTO meetings in Seattle this guy should be safe and sound. At least he's doing something with his life. All I'm doing is looking for a job.
posted by ZachsMind at 11:08 PM on January 4, 2002

There is still plenty of time for someone else to plan the same thing for the next LOTR and beat his time too. Then he certainly would be a loser.
What does he think of that? It's not to late, he's got plenty of time to change his mind still.
posted by genapathy at 11:08 PM on January 4, 2002

At least he's doing something with his life. All I'm doing is looking for a job.

Let's see, standing in a line that doesn't exist just to prove one's allegiance to a fictional alternate reality versus seeking an opportunity to generate income and do something for someone. . . I'd say you're points ahead in the "doing someting with your life" race, Zach. Many, many points.
posted by Dreama at 11:12 PM on January 4, 2002

OK, I'm a Star Wars geek... but this guy is just a total loser. Boo.
posted by spilon at 11:13 PM on January 4, 2002

Post your questions and I'll go interview him for MeFi - hurry before he starts to smell!

Ask him if he knows the movie is going to suck, and I'd like to know the exact moment he can recall realizing Lucas wasn't that great of a filmmaker afterall.
posted by mathowie at 11:25 PM on January 4, 2002

why doesnt he just paint a picture of him standing in line?
posted by tsarfan at 11:26 PM on January 4, 2002

Dreama, I appreciate your idealistic sentiments but I've been trying to find a job since July, and I might as well be standing in line for tickets to Ghostbusters III. The jobhunt right now is like fishing in a polluted lake. Believe me, this Star Wars geek loser in Seattle is making headway against me. I mean at least he's got people writing webpages about him.

Roboto, go ask him this for me: has he already sold the cable tv movie rights of the next six months of his life to TNN?
posted by ZachsMind at 11:30 PM on January 4, 2002

"Feel MAH force, dude!"

Ha! Thanks for my laugh of the evening, ZachsMind.

Roboto: Ask him who he thinks would win the fight: Darth Vader in his prime or Gandalf. Just to see if he takes the question seriously. (The Gray Wanderer, of course, would kick the Dark Father's ass.)
posted by diddlegnome at 11:47 PM on January 4, 2002

If its for the art why pick something as over-hyped as Star Wars? It would be a lot more impressive if he picked some obscure movie that doesn't have a cult following.

I'd rather see a chronicle involving people slightly more interesting than mouth-breathing Star Wars fanatics. I think the conversations and photos that would come about from waiting in line for four months to see, say, the Princess Diaries would be a lot more bizzare and ground-breaking. Instead we're bound to see him talking to a guy dressed as Boba Fett every few days and a journal that constantly mentions "those annoying teenagers and their damn eggs."

No art, just attention and record breaking.
posted by skallas at 11:50 PM on January 4, 2002

I wonder what his girlfriend said....

oh wait...
posted by dopamine at 11:57 PM on January 4, 2002

I wonder what his girlfriend said....

"Yo, Luke Skywalker! I need to be reinflated!"
posted by diddlegnome at 12:07 AM on January 5, 2002

my boyfriend actually knows this guy, and they're friends online. *hangs head in shame*
posted by mabelcolby at 12:18 AM on January 5, 2002

Good point, Skallas. I'm not impressed really with someone standing in line for a movie that will definitely be a pop favorite (whether or not SW2 will suck from a critical standpoint, it's gonna make money no doubt). If I heard of a guy standing in line for Blair Witch Three, THEN I'd be impressed! That would be some immense loyalty and dedication right there.
posted by ZachsMind at 12:20 AM on January 5, 2002

> Jeff also said, "Special thanks to the Seattle Police
> Department for making the city of Seattle safe enough
> to pull off a project of this type."

He'd change his tune if they cracked down on loitering.
posted by pracowity at 12:35 AM on January 5, 2002

he can totally set a new world record if he starts waiting for star wars episode 3.
posted by cqny at 1:12 AM on January 5, 2002

Roboto: Ask him what precautions he's taking against not freezing and not starving and not having some guy whose name IS NOT j.edwards come up in the night and pour honey and maple syrup all over him. Just to.. um... check.
posted by j.edwards at 1:56 AM on January 5, 2002

Hey, roboto, ask him if he knew that The voice of the Pod Race announcer in Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace was inspired by Seattle Mariners broadcast announcer Ron Fairly.
When he says 'yes', punch him in the kidneys until he pees blood, okay? I'll send you the bail.

Be the westward reaching hand of dong_resin, roboto.
Buddy would have wanted it that way.
posted by dong_resin at 2:09 AM on January 5, 2002

Bail offer does not in fact entitle you to reimbursement. Bail offer not good in Seattle.
posted by dong_resin at 2:16 AM on January 5, 2002

That's a trick question the pod race announcer had two heads and two voices.
posted by skallas at 2:16 AM on January 5, 2002

Dreama, I'm so sorry your sense of sarcasm died.
posted by bryanboyer at 3:23 AM on January 5, 2002

Ha ha ha ha ha.....ha ha ha ha ha....ha ha....ha ha ha. I bet he doesn't know that those buffoons from NSync will be in that terrible movie.
posted by lostbyanecho at 3:48 AM on January 5, 2002

John & Jeff also said, "Special thanks to the Seattle Police Department for making the city of Seattle safe enough to pull off a project of this type."

Is it "safe" for John and Jeff to sit in their folding chairs outside Seattle's Cinerama Theatre? Not necessarily, per SMC 15.48.040: "Sitting or lying down on public sidewalks in downtown and neighborhood commercial zones."
posted by Carol Anne at 4:38 AM on January 5, 2002

I'm so glad to know I have a life...
posted by Macboy at 5:22 AM on January 5, 2002

Let's see, standing in a line that doesn't exist just to prove one's allegiance to a fictional alternate reality ...

How can you stand in a line that doesn't exist? Even if you question their lifestyle choice, don't undermine the philosophical reality of line formation.

The Seattle Star Wars Society has a Web site, and Jeff shows up regularly in the minutes (!) of their meetings.

January 2001:

2. Casey, as Gaming Director, has thoroughly researched the Star Wars Role-playing Game book. He is currently looking at the store Games & Gizmos (in Capital Hill) as a potential location for gaming. Gabriel’s house was also mentioned as possible alternate gaming site. Casey will be meeting with Jeff Tweiten on Friday, January 5th to discuss the game and play it. (Note: this meeting was actually cancelled and will be reset before the next Board Meeting in February).

posted by rcade at 5:45 AM on January 5, 2002

Ask him if he thinks George Lucas is still his god after putting N'Sync into a Science Fiction movie for no reason whatsoever.
posted by benjh at 6:58 AM on January 5, 2002

"Waiting for Star Wars is an art project designed to capture the evolution and journey of one person's wait for a single event."

I am waiting for a single event: my death.
My life is the art project in progress.
I sincerely hope to break their record.
posted by quercus at 7:45 AM on January 5, 2002

The theater should wait until two before the movie opens and then say "We've decided not to show the film in favor of Freddy Prinze Jr.'s latest blockbuster".
posted by obfusciatrist at 8:47 AM on January 5, 2002

For quercus


Like one betrothed I get
Each evening a letter.
And late at night sit down to write
An answer to my friend.

Low in the sky there shines a star
Between two trunks of trees.
So calmly promising to me
That what I dream, shall be.

I am staying with white death
On my way to darkness.
Do no evil, gentle one,
To anyone on Earth.

Anna Akmatova
Translated Natalie Duddington
posted by y2karl at 9:02 AM on January 5, 2002

I think I saw a picture of this guy; sitting out on the street, straggly looking in a karate Gi, with a sign that said, "Will Work for Midichlorians"
posted by Perigee at 10:24 AM on January 5, 2002

Article in the Seattle Times about the two guys.
posted by gluechunk at 10:32 AM on January 5, 2002

Good point from the article: "'I admire their enthusiasm for the movie, but as it's been proven in the past, everyone who wants to see this or any other film will be able to get tickets for it,' said Brian Callaghan, the spokesman for General Cinema, which manages the Cinerama. "

On the day of the movie, as one of the guys returns from one of his "short, alternating breaks", everyone behind him in line should not let him back in. "Hey, no cutting! If you really wanted to see this movie, you wouldn't have gotten out of line. The line starts back there, buddy!"
posted by hitsman at 10:46 AM on January 5, 2002

Ahh, so that's what the guy is doing. I saw him perched out there the other day with a sign that said "Waiting for Star Wars" and thought maybe it was some weird performance-art project. The sign was kind of incongruous considering there were roughly two hundred people standing there waiting to buy "Fellowship of the Ring" tickets.

-Mars
posted by Mars Saxman at 11:28 AM on January 5, 2002

I went to high school with Jeff Tweiten. Here's an important piece of that Times article:

"We're trying to capture the art of waiting," said Tweiten, a former art student who said he had been living with his parents on Bainbridge Island prior to the sidewalk campout.

As you can see, I'm one of the lucky few who managed to move out of my parent's house when I graduated. Regardless, I applaud these guys for getting a lot of press. That counts for something.
posted by arielmeadow at 11:34 AM on January 5, 2002

if he really wants to capture the art of waiting, he'd sit outside Wrigley Field waiting for the Cubs world series tickets.
posted by tsarfan at 1:27 PM on January 5, 2002

I just can't get over the fact that people are bashing this guy for being a loser and then in the next sentence talking about how much the next Lord of the Rings film is gonna rawk!

It's all a matter of degree, friends.
posted by anildash at 3:30 PM on January 5, 2002

OK, I just read something scary in this thread The *NSync guys are gonna be in Attack of the Clowns? This can't possibly be for real, can it?

I mean, next thing you know, Britney Spears will have her own movie.

Seriously, though, *NSync? Say it ain't so!
posted by diddlegnome at 4:34 PM on January 5, 2002

I am starting a campaign against this dumbass, see for people who know nothing about Seattle, we have these great laws called "civility laws" which make it illegal for people to sit or lay on the street, they have a nice name but they basically make it illegal to be homeless in our most worldly of cities....

so I am going to call the cops on this guy till he gets arrested, or give a star wars ticket to every homeless person I see downtown and instruct them to sit with this joker...

hypocrisy lives on!!
posted by vincentmeanie at 4:44 PM on January 5, 2002

You too can join the Imperial fight by joining the 501st Legion. "The Rebellion will soon be eliminated and peace will be restored back to earth." (link via "the greatest Stormtrooper unit in the Northwest, 'Garrison Titan'" via the Seattle Star Wars Society.)

Oh, brother...
posted by thatweirdguy2 at 5:16 PM on January 5, 2002

I might as well be standing in line for tickets to Ghostbusters III
What a cool idea! I think you're onto something here. Get a bunch of people together, and like, get in line for a film that you really want someone to make, get a bunch of reporters out and say you're going to sit there until a director agrees to make it, writes a script, signs the cast, shoots it and releases it!! What a goddamn caper! I should do it myself, and write a goddamn book about it!
This guy's project sounds only slightly more potty than that guy last year who made an inventory of every single possession he owned, then let people watch as he put them all in a crusher, one-by-one. He said it was a comment on consumerism. I say he's a twat.
posted by RokkitNite at 5:33 PM on January 5, 2002

Four months wasted. For what? The opportunity to be the first in line to see a crappy movie?

Part of me hopes this zero is actually mocking those that wait in line for crappy movies, but the rest of me just gapes at the depths of stupidity the human race continues to explore.

The same thing happened for Episode 1. I was curious to see it too, but damn, I went to the theater about 4 days after it came out, and the afternoon matinee was half-full. I had a perfect seat in the geometric center of the theater. I still dozed off...

If the dude really wants to see it that badly, his 4 months would be better served befriending a PR flack, radio employee, or agents' assistant, or somehow finagling a way to catch a pre-release screening. Dang, hang out on the Santa Monica Promenade, they practically beg you to pre-screen this shit all the time.

Better yet, get a job, enrich your life, and pay to see the damn movie on a Sunday afternoon.
posted by Fofer at 1:31 AM on January 6, 2002

Four months wasted. For what? The opportunity to be the first in line to see a crappy movie?

Part of me hopes this zero is actually mocking those that wait in line for crappy movies, but the rest of me just gapes at the depths of stupidity the human race continues to explore.

The same thing happened for Episode 1. I was curious to see it too, but damn, I went to the theater about 4 days after it came out, and the afternoon matinee was half-full. I had a perfect seat in the geometric center of the theater. I still dozed off...

If the dude really wants to see it that badly, his 4 months would be better served befriending a PR flack, radio employee, or agents' assistant, or somehow finagling a way to catch a pre-release screening. Dang, hang out on the Santa Monica Promenade, they practically beg you to pre-screen this shit all the time.

Better yet, get a job, enrich your life, and pay to see the damn movie on a Sunday afternoon.
posted by Fofer at 1:32 AM on January 6, 2002

(oops, sorry, I didn't click "Post" twice, I swear)
posted by Fofer at 1:33 AM on January 6, 2002

I want to get in line behind him and repeatedly say "I like The Wizard Of Oz. I like the Tin Man."

"yeah kid."
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 10:12 AM on January 6, 2002

Is it just me, or is this guy in the bandana too cute to be a storm trooper?
posted by arielmeadow at 4:43 PM on January 6, 2002

It is not on their site, but a report about this on CNN - the television version - just said that "the theater manager states that they don't know if they will be showing Attack of the Clones when it comes out." These guys might really be standing in line for Ghostbusters III.
posted by colt45 at 4:22 AM on January 7, 2002

update: I stopped by to see if Jeff had finished responding to your questions and he was chatting up a couple girls! Between interviews and mackin, he hasn't had time....maybe tomorrow.
posted by roboto at 5:00 AM on January 7, 2002

NO HE WASN'T.
posted by dong_resin at 2:51 AM on January 9, 2002