Steve Lubot
Posted by Steve on
Number of people currently in line: 0
Sixteen-year-old Steve Lubot recently toured California with the marching/concert band from Lakeland Regional High School in Wanaque, NJ. While most of his peers were interested in going to Disneyland or seeing Hollywood, Lubot has a different agenda. "He begged, pleaded and borrowed to get the bus to stop at the Mann's Chinese Theater," Eric Lubot, Steve's father, says. But Lubot wasn't as interested in the landmark theater or the Hollywood Walk of Fame as he was in meeting somebody who's become somewhat of a fixture in front of the Mann's - Lincoln Gasking, the Australian organizer of the countingdown.com line for "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
"I'd known Lincoln for months from the Internet," Lubot says. After exchanging email and logging into Gasking's web site, Steve wanted the chance to sit face-to-face with Gasking to discuss their favorite movie. Somehow, Lubot managed to persuade his band director into stopping the busses at the theater, despite the presence of his classmates.
"They walked around and took pictures of Mann's theater while I talked to Lincoln," Lubot says.
This meeting of the minds was inevitable, as anybody who logs into the "Star Wars" Internet bulletin boards could attest. At the May 1 lineup at New York's Ziegfeld Theater, anybody familiar with the boards immediately recognized Lubot when he announced his screen name, Ceaser2.
People not familiar with Lubot from the Internet, however, might be taken aback by his knowledge of and love for the ""Star Wars" universe. The lithe, dark-haired young man, sporting a sprained wrist garnered during a Hacky Sack game, is yet another example of how the "Star Wars" phenomenon crosses cultural and general boundaries. Unlike many of his fellow line members, Lubot wasn't old enough to appreciate movies before the entire trilogy had been relegated to the shelves at video stores.
"I saw them for the first time when I was about six," Lubot says. "After that, I watched the films about once a week." Lubot's interest in "Star Wars" cemented two years later, when his father took him to a book store and pulled Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire" off the shelf. Eric Lubot, a professor of math and computer science at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ, wanted to encourage his son's fascination with books by introducing him to familiar subjects.
"He reads avidly," Lubot says. "That's why I got him started with the 'Star Wars' books." Lubot's strategy paid off, and his son now owns every "Star Wars" book in release.
"Star Wars" books aren't the only things Steve Lubot collects, though. Hs has an impressive assortment of toys and action figures, as well as posters and other related memorabilia. "My room's plastered with things," Lubot says. Only one things was lacking - the experience of seeing the "Star Wars" trilogy on the big screen. When the opportunity presented itself, Lubot proved the theatrical experience isn't a prerequisite for being the number one fan in New York City: He was first in line for the premiere showing of the "Star Wars" Special Edition at the Ziegfeld Theater in January 1997.
"I'd always dreamed of seeing it on the big screen," Lubot says. The experience lived up to his expectations and when he heard a new Star Wars movie was in the works, he immediately logged on the Internet.
"I've been reading and posting on countingdown.com since day 286," Lubot says. He began corresponding with Gasking, and signed up to participate in the Ziegfeld line. He will be in the audience when the lights dim at 12:01 a.m. May 19, and can't wait for the moment. "I'll be in awe of every scene," he says. "It's 'Star Wars' I haven't seen."
As much as he anticipates Episode I, though, Lubot says he is already looking ahead to the release of Episode II in May 2002. Though he enjoys being a participant in the New York line, Lubot says he wants to join Gasking and the other fans at Mann's Chinese Theater for the next film.
"The last thing I said to Lincoln before we left Mann's was 'See you in three years for Episode II,'" Lubot says.