|
The Lightsabre Interview Jules Corellia
Welcome to
Lightsabre. Our latest guest is the
webmaster of the excellent costuming site Corellian Dawn. Please welcome to Lightsabre Jules Corellia. Q - Julia, welcome to
Lightsabre. A - Thanks, Mark, for the invitation. Feels good to be here. Q – You clearly love
the Star Wars films, as evidenced by the brilliant costumes shown off by
yourself and your fellow posters on Corellian Dawn. What is it about Star Wars that attracts
you? A – Gee, saying I don't really know wouldn't sound cool now, would it? I've seen the movies on TV when I was 12, and I was an instant fan. The magic was just there, and I never really thought about where it came from. I've always been fascinated by space flight and astronomy, and also technological developments, and I guess that in combination with the epic battles between good and evil was what did the trick for me. Oh, and of course there's the Lightsabre’s, THE coolest weapons ever ;)
It's been 15 years
now, and the fascination is still there and even growing stronger.
Q – Tell us something about yourself. What kick-started your interest in costuming and what led you to Corellian Dawn?
A - Well,
I didn't wake up one day saying “I'm going to be a cosplayer now” – It was
more like a slow development that started with a funny comment from a friend
at college. I've always been a passionate gamer, and people knew I was a fan
of Lara Croft as well, and someday he told me that he thought my way of
dressing was very “Lara Croft style” (which of course doesn't mean that I'm
running around in tight shorts and with guns strapped to my legs every other
day!!) - so the next Halloween, I decided to
try and dress up as Lara for fun. I did some costume research on the
internet, and found out that there was actually a *huge* community of people
doing just that, dressing up as Lara or other characters and having fun
sharing their photos. I had never before heard the word “cosplay" back
then, and I was overwhelmed at the love and dedication people put into their
costumes. Seeing all the wonderful photos inspired me to improve my own
stuff, so that I could join up and become a part of that international
community. I've
been making websites since 1998, and I've set up and deleted more than a few
over time. I designed some for friends and family, and later for myself.
I used to have a website back in 2005 where I presented my costumes, but
after getting a lot of insulting guestbook entries and e-mails I decided to
take it offline again. I was close to giving up cosplay completely, but… in
the end I couldn't. So I set up a new, better website, one that wasn't going
to be about me, but dedicated to cosplay in general, where everyone who
wanted could have their pictures posted without having to worry about their
looks, age, or their costume's quality. It started out pretty small, with
only a handful of girls from the forums letting me publish their pics, but it's grown a lot in the last year. We now have
almost 40 cosplayers sharing their works and sending updates regularly Q – What is it like
to be a part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- Its cool,and it's a lot of fun. The
fan base is so incredibly huge, and every single fan doing his very personal
thing, even if it's the tiniest contribution, is equally important, as it's
the works of the million fans that made this wonderful community what it is
today. People from all countries, of different age, skin colour, and
confession, are drawn together by that unique phenomenon. It's good to know
that there are things bringing people together regardless of their origin and
lifestyle. If that isn't larger than life, I don't know what is ;-) I enjoy the occasional dip into this universe, and I am grateful beyond words for the many lovely friends I have found, who are the most creative, supportive, and cool people I know.
Q – Costuming, more
than almost any other fan activity, is a labour of love. What drives you to perfect your costumes? A – I have to admit that I'm not a perfectionist at all. Most of my costumes are far from being perfect when you look at them close-up. I'm also not a very competitive person, so when I see someone posting brilliant pictures, that doesn't drive me to say I want to be as good or better. I just do what I can, and I try not to spend too much money. I mostly want to have fun doing it, and enjoy the time, not stress out over being perfect ;-)
Q – Costuming is very
labour intensive. How do you fit it
into your weekly schedule? A –
Being self employed (I
work as a freelance graphic designer for a public relations agency) , I have little trouble finding spare time for making
costumes and maintaining my website. There are times I even feel like I spend
way too much time at the computer doing all this stuff and managing photos
and profiles. Sometimes it takes a lot to drag me away from this and get me
back into the "real" world. Q – The new Star Wars
TV shows are on the way. What are you
hoping to see from them? A –
Whew… I'm not sure. I
hope to see stories that fit in with the classic universe both in plot and
style. Whatever lies ahead, I'm very excited about it and can't wait to catch
a first glimpse. We here in Austria will of course have to wait a lot longer
to see anything on TV than people in the US or UK. Q – You also have a
great affinity for Lara Croft of Tomb Raider.
Apart from the obvious physical resemblance, what draws you to Lara? A – A
pretty girl going her way and kicking butt… how can you not be drawn
to that? I guess it's the combination of smart and beautiful that makes Lara
so attractive not only for me but for the millions of other fans as well.
Somebody once said "Women want to be her, men want to be with her" – I
think that pretty much hits the point. She's drop-dead gorgeous, but also has
the brains and self confidence to go her own way. Plus, I've always been very
interested in archaeology and ancient history, which also added to the
attraction. I wish I was a little more like Lara in real life. Q – Which of the
myriad Star Wars characters do you feel the most affinity for? A – Jaina Solo and Mara Jade. Both are strong
women and know what they want, but they aren't smooth personalities or plain
lovely or good characters. They have
their flaws and desperate times, and they've brushed with the Dark Side too.
I love complex characters that are more than meets the eye and also have that
little spark of darkness inside. Other than that,
my favourite characters also include Kyle Katarn
and Jagged Fel, and I'm a huge fan of Boba Fett. Fett's
way of dealing with the world and his dislike of unessential conversation is
something I could always identify with, and I admire his professionalism and
his straightforward-ness. I have to say, though,
that I always loved the mystery surrounding Fett's
origin and past, and that I would have preferred if if
had remained a mystery forever.
Q – Tell us something of your other interests outside of costuming? A – I
also write fan fiction stories… or say I'm trying to. I've been writing and
making up stories for more than 10 years now, but while most of them are
complete in my mind, only little of the stuff made it to paper/the screen
yet. Typing isn't something I'm good at, and I'm not patient either (hell,
I'd make a crappy Jedi wouldn't I?). I do have a life other than sci-fi and computer stuff
too, which includes caring for our many pets (we have bunnies, a dog, a bird,
and a hamster), working in the garden, or just relaxing with a good book. I
read a lot, I collect DVDs, and I love going to the movies and riding my
motorbike. In summer, I enjoy biking and swimming, and in winter I go skiing
with my family, sledging, or ice skating. There are the advantages of living
in an alpine country. Some other things I'm interested in are cooking with
friends, good food, drawing, archaeology, geology, tech gadgets, playing console
games… the list is never-ending I guess. I'm also a huge soccer fan, and I'm
very excited about next year's Euro 2008 taking place here in Q – Do you have much contact with other costumers, or are you a
member of the 501st? A – I
wish I were. Living in a country where cosplay isn't nearly as popular as
elsewhere in the world (and people still look at you like you're a total
lunatic when you tell them you're dressing up as your favourite characters)
it's hard to really be a part of some fan club or organisation that requires
active membership. However, I'm in daily contact with cosplayers from all
over the world, but only online. I'm on various message boards and websites,
sharing my experiences, dreams, and pictures with others. Q - What lies ahead
for you in the future? A –
Hmmm…clouded the future
is, always in motion. Primarily, and for the near future, I hope Corellian
Dawn will continue growing. That means more regular users, more photos, and
also the opening of the fan fiction section we have planned for a while now,
but we're still lacking content there. Also, I hope that our brand new
message board and discussion forum (forum.corelliandawn.uk.tt)
will gain popularity and attract a lot of regular posters who are interesting
in sharing and discussing their costume works, the movies, and games. We
really want that place crowded! Personally, I have some projects for new costumes, a huuuge list of collectibles I want to get, and I hope
that someday, my fan fiction series will be finished and maybe even published
somewhere online. And my big dream, of course, is to be at one of the really
large conventions in the
Q – A quick question
about our site, Lightsabre. Any
comments? A – Lovely site, and well organized! Would you accept our
Corellian Dawn web award? :D Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Lara Croft, Jaina
Solo and Ailyn Vel are at
the foot of a mountain. The first one
to reach the summit wins a cool million dollars. Which one wins, and how? A – I'd say Jaina. Apart from being
a Jedi and having a lightsaber, she'd know how to outmanoeuvre
the others. Jaina's pretty straightforward, while
Lara would probably get hooked on some puzzle along the way or be too busy collecting secrets, and Ailyn
would probably try to take the secrets from Lara to make some quick cash to
buy more information about her father… so Jaina
wins. |
