A Star Wars exhibit featuring memorabilia from the iconic movie franchise has been packing in visitors to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley for months.
"It brings back a lot of memories," said Rick Savers. The Arizona man is visiting the Presidential Library for the first time, and says the Star Wars exhibition is a huge bonus.
"Seeing it was amazing...it was wonderful," said Savers.
It features everything from light sabers to Darth Vader's helmet.
But now, the exhibition has a new twist. Todd Fischer, Carrie Fisher’s brother, loaned two dozen artifacts from the family’s private collection to the exhibition. The items range from Fisher’s original scripts from two of the movies to her director’s chair. And, perhaps the most infamous item is the metal bikini she wore in Return of the Jedi, when Princess Leia was being held as a slave.
"The Star Wars story is a part of the American fabric," said Fisher. "In my mind, it's probably one of the most influential movies of all time. I can mention other movies...you might say Casablanca. Very important movies. But, let's face it. Star Wars has got every generation since the movie was made hooked."
Fisher says it was his mother who first appreciated the importance of movie memorabilia.
"My mother (Debbie Reynolds) was the largest collector of memorabilia in the world," said Fisher. "She raised Carrie and I with this awareness, and appreciation."
When the movie industry refused to help, Reynolds collected a number of cinema treasures. She opened museums in Las Vegas and later Hollywood, but later had to sell much of her collection.
But, the family still had some items, and Todd and Carrie added to the collection. When he heard about the Reagan Library exhibition, he was thrilled to loan about two dozen Star Wars related items to it. The additional items went on display this week.
"We are incredibly excited to bring more real life artifacts to the museum," said Janet Tran, who is Director of the Presidential Library and Museum.
Museum Supervisory Curator Randy Swan says they changed the exhibition to accommodate the Fisher family’s artifacts. "We created the initial exhibit," said Swan. He said when Todd volunteered to help, they were excited to reconfigure things for the additions.
There's a crowd on hand as the new version of the exhibition goes on display. People are excited when they realize Todd Fisher is here. He admits he gets interesting questions because of his mother’s, and sister’s legacy.
"People seven years old, they walk up to me and ask if I am Princess Leia's brother," Fisher laughed.
The exhibition is a blend of things with the Star Wars name. There are the items from the movie franchise, which include everything from light sabers to a land speeder used in one of the movies.
There’s also artifacts from Ronald Reagan’s controversial defense initiative which was dubbed by the media Star Wars, because it called for the development of new futuristic technology. The idea is to give visitors a mix of entertainment and political history under the Star Wars banner.
The Defending America and the Galaxy: Star Wars and SDI exhibition runs through September 8.
