As a certain little green Jedi master might say, an affair to remember, it was.
Star Wars mastermind George Lucas was feted Thursday night at a black-tie gala dinner in Hollywood, where he became the 33rd recipient of the prestigious Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
And turning up at the ceremony at the Kodak Theater to pay tribute to the filmmaker who helped usher in the age of the blockbuster and revolutionized special effects were some long-time friends and even a few intergalactic cohorts. Among them: Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Robert Duvall, Richard Dreyfuss, along with C-3P0, R2-D2, Chewbacca and, we are not making this up, a crooning William Shatner backed by some singing and dancing stormtroopers.
Now that's a party.
Dreyfuss told E! about working with Lucas on his breakthrough hit: 1973's American Graffiti, which jumpstarted the nostalgia craze for the late '50s and early '60s.
"We don't have enough time [to tell you all the behind-the-scenes stories], but it was a great movie," he said. Then upon seeing a 1957 Chevy from the movie, he added, "It was a great car--actually the 1963 Chevy was a better car, but [the '57] was a sexier car, because it had a bigger back seat."
The main attraction of the night, of course, was a movie franchise set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
The Force was indeed out in force. Hamill and Fisher--who played Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia, respectively, in the original Star Warstrilogy--reflected back with adulation on the impact the film had on their lives.
Fisher couldn't resist riffing on the merchandising bonanza that made Lucas millions and turned her bun-headed character into a Pez dispenser, electric toothbrush, doll and action figure.
"Hi. I am Mrs. Han Solo, and I am an alcoholic because George Lucas ruined by life," Fisher joked. "George Lucas is a sadist, but like any other young girl in a metal suit chained to a metal [Jabba], I keep coming back for more."
She then talked about the unexpected success of the original 1977 pop-culture phenomenon.
"People are still asking me if I knew it was going to be that big of a hit," Fisher said. "Yes, we all knew. The only one who didn't know was George."
For his part, Ford quipped that despite playing Han Solo and Indiana Jones, he could never get a meeting with Lucas--and was essentially a casting afterthought for both Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark. But that wouldn't stop him from teaming up with Lucas again.
"I do love Indiana Jones, and if you guys can dream up more ways to torture me, I'll be there for Indiana Jones 4," said Ford, who has also received the AFI award.
Speaking of Indy, Lucas told E! that now that Star Wars is finally over, he plans to finally get to work with Spielberg and Ford on that long-planned fourth installment of their globe-trotting archaeologist frachise--or as Lucas calls it, "another Raiders-type thing."
"I don't know [when it will be finished]," he said. "I've been working with the writers and hopefully we'll have something for those guys to look at in the fall."
When asked what the AFI prize meant to him, Lucas went into aw-shucks mode.
"Well this is the American Film Institute, it's an important institution and the people who have won this award before are important people, so to be included in that is wonderful," he said. Lucas had actually deferred on receiving the award earlier, saying he wanted to wait until he was at least 60 (he's 61 now) to be considered in the same stellar league as past winners Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Bette Davis, Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood and Spielberg.
Perhaps the highlight of the ceremony was the surprise appearance by a fellow star voyager from a rival franchise. Captain Kirk alter ego Shatner put his own spin on Frank Sinatra's "My Way," complete with a chorus line of stormtroopers telling Lucas, "You did it your way."
"Live long," Shatner said. "You've already prospered enough."
Lucas was presented with the AFI prize by old pal Spielberg, who said Lucas' impact on the genre of science-fiction rivaled that of H.G. Wells and Jules Vernes.
"You have many years ahead of you to create the dreams that we can't even imagine dreaming," said Spielberg. "You have done more for the collective unconscious of this planet than you will ever know."
Accepting the award onstage, Lucas said he was "honored and a bit bewildered" by it all since, by his count, he's only made three movies--THX 1138, American Graffiti and the six Star Wars flicks, which he considers to be one gargantuan epic.
"I halfway expected to have a room full of stormtroopers and Princess Leias [in the audience]," Lucas quipped.
Lucas kept the jokes coming. Poking fun at his penchant for bad dialogue, he thanked mentor Francis Ford Coppola for teaching him how to write.
"He took me from not being able to write a word in terms of writing screenplays to being the king of wooden dialogue," said Lucas.
By the end, though, he struck a more serious note.
"I'm also extremely grateful that I discovered my passion. I love movies," Lucas said. "I love to watch them, I love to make them."
The AFI tribute to Lucas is scheduled to air on the USA Network on June 20.