Posted on 07/14/2012 9:39:40 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Fans of the late-1970s "Star Wars" movies probably know that Luke Skywalker, a reluctant hero battling his way through the film's evil Galactic Empire, was raised on the windswept plains of Tatooine, a desert wasteland planet located on the outer rim of director/writer George Lucas’ fictional galaxy.
In reality, Skywalker’s house - known as the Lars homestead - is actually located in southern Tunisia. The whitewashed ranch was constructed on an outdoor movie set in a desert region known as Tozeur.
And after more than three decades of blowing sands and extreme Saharan heat, Skywalker’s domed home was beginning to fall into disrepair.
That’s where "Star Wars" superfan Mark Dermul comes in.
Dermul, who lives in Belgium, noticed that Skywalker's "Star Wars" home was crumbling while he was on holiday in Tunisia in 2010. The 42-year-old banker has experience in the region; over the past decade, he has moonlighted as a tour guide to Tunisia's multiple Star Wars set locations for around 50 fans.
"When we were there in 2010, I saw that the Lars homestead was decaying," Dermul told CNN via telephone Thursday. "Some of us joked about putting up a restoration campaign on Facebook."
But Dermul and five of his friends decided to actually launch a campaign. And legions of die-hard "Star Wars" fans didn't think they were joking.
Dermul said they managed to raise $10,000 in just 10 months on their website, Save the Lars Homestead. More than 400 fans contributed to the effort.
“'Star Wars' fans are a tight-knit community. We had someone from Texas donate $600 just because he wanted to show his grandchildren (the Lars homestead in Tunisia) someday,” said Dermul.
For Dermul, it was also about preserving an important part of cinematic history. He also wanted to be able to take his own
(Excerpt) Read more at insidethemiddleeast.blogs.cnn.com ...
In Tunisia?
Why not simply build a replica in far West Texas or in NM. White Sands is beautiful.
So are they going to take Star Wars tours to it, in the future? Who exactly owns the land on which the house sits?
Don’t worry the Islamists will eventually blow it up like a Buddha carved into a mountain side...
Just like the Pyramids will be...
Couldn’t they go to Kenya and work on Barry’s half-brother’s “Hut Sweet Hut?
It just occurred to me that Luke’s hut was like Dr. Who’s Phone Booth, bigger on the inside than the outside.
Think of how many children this could have fed, clothed or provided medical care.
Think about all the greenhouse gasses created to restore fiction.
Oh, Lucas is a lib.........well, then it’s OK!
Looks like the sandpeople got to their bodies!
I guess that I'll always have my Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen action figures:
For those who haven’t seen it, here is the video parody of “Trooper Cops”. About 10 minutes, but they did a good job on it. (Assume modestly NSFW)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MMAoOPa0Pg
And, while we’re at it, “Trooper Clerks”, also about 10 minutes. (Also somewhat NSFW)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8JNp-_BEvI
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