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JAMM AQUINO / JAUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
In this Mos Eisley Cantina scene from Star Wars, a Jedi knight played by Jon Minami, left, talks with R2-D2 played by Melissa Downey, as Han Solo, played by Keith Verrier, shares a conversation with Slave Leia, played by Erin Smith. Meanwhile, the Dark Side villains Emperor Palpatine, played by Christian Colotario and a Mandalorian played by Manu Hoapili discuss the drink list, while new Episode VII characters Rey, played by Taylor Higa, and Kylo Ren, played by Zach Manzano, give each other a wary eye.
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JAMM AQUINO / JAUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
In this Mos Eisley Cantina scene from Star Wars, a Jedi knight played by Jon Minami, left, talks with R2-D2 played by Melissa Downey, as Han Solo, played by Keith Verrier, shares a conversation with Slave Leia, played by Erin Smith. Meanwhile, the Dark Side villains Emperor Palpatine, played by Christian Colotario and a Mandalorian played by Manu Hoapili discuss the drink list, while new Episode VII characters Rey, played by Taylor Higa, and Kylo Ren, played by Zach Manzano, give each other a wary eye.
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It didn’t take much to enlist a willing cast of cosplayers to help us pay homage to the Mos Eisley Cantina scene in the very first “Star Wars” film from 1977. Helping us organize the intergalactic gathering at Downbeat Lounge in Chinatown was singer-songwriter Erin Smith, an avowed “Star Wars” fan who admits she owns a Death Star area rug and an ice cube tray that makes ice in the shape of Han Solo frozen in carbonite.
Smith fearlessly dressed in the slave bikini worn by Princess Leia in “Return of the Jedi” while surrounded by, clockwise from left, Jon Minami, 25, as a Jedi Knight; Keith Verrier, 38, as Han Solo; Christian Colotario, 43, as Emperor Palpatine; Manu Hoapili, 41, as a Mandalorian bounty hunter; Zach Manzano, 30, as villain Kylo Ren from “The Force Awakens”; Taylor Higa, 20, as Rey from the new movie; and Melissa Downey, 31, wearing an R2D2 dress from Hot Topic.
Hoapili explained the appeal of the “Star Wars” saga: “The story reaches the imagination of many people, of many different cultures, of many different ages around the world, binding us … no matter what our beliefs are.”
