The Force is strong in this family

This past weekend, Great Lakes Base welcomed several Star Wars media guest to Motor City Comic Con.  Among those scheduled to appear at what has become the signature convention in our region were: Sam Witwer, Deep Roy, Rena Owen and Billy Dee Williams.  Joining this cast of characters from "a galaxy far, far away" was Corey Dee Williams (son of Billy Dee Williams) and Stephen Costantino.

photos courtesy of
Corey Dee Williams

"It was a real honor to be included and invited to join my father at Motor City Comic Con.  Our experience at Motor City was particularly special... not only was it a great opportunity for us to spend time together, but after many years we were reunited with my friend Stephen Costantino -- who worked on Jedi with us," said Corey Dee Williams.

In fact, during their Q/A session on Sunday, Billy Dee Williams talked with great pride about being able to tour conventions with his son... as well as Stephen; whom Mr. Williams described as something of a surrogate son.  That sentiment was clearly evident by everyone who visited the Williams and Costantino tables for photos, autographs and simply welcome them to Great Lakes Base; for them -- this was a family reunion.

When asked asked how he felt about joining his father within the worldwide community of Star Wars -- Corey Dee explained, "when we went to the desert to participate in the production of Return Of The Jedi many years ago, I never imagined it would come to anything like this!  Star Wars continues to span generations, and Lando Calrissian is a significant part of my father's legacy.  It was truly an unforgettable experience for me."

Rebel Legion
Honorary Member Induction

On Friday, a welcome committee from Great Lakes Base -- led by Chris Blackstock/Lumpy -- presented Corey Dee and Stephen Costantino with Honorary Member plaques on behalf of The Rebel Legion; for their work on ROTJ.  Corey Dee later described the experience as, "I would have to say I was quite surprised when you guys showed up and presented us with honorary memberships!  I think it's a great privlage to be part of a group with so much enthusiasm! Many of the costumes were some of the best I've seen, and the attention to detail extraordinary!"

We'll have more on Motor City Comic Con weekend in upcoming posts.  In the meantime, AWRI is off to Columbus for a baseball game with some other guy named "Krash?"