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“Fan” doesn’t even begin to describe Vic Wertz and Lisa Stevens Star Wars hobby. The owners of Paizo Publishing created the Official Star Wars Fan Club. They also publish Star Wars fan zines, including Star Wars Insider. When they were building their home several years ago on the outskirts of Seattle, Wash., these movie insiders recruited Hollywood designers to turn their home theater into the Death Star.
“They’re Star Wars fanatics,” says Craig Abplanalp, vice president of Definitive Audio in Bellevue, Wash., a company that made this multimedia theater look and sound the part of a futuristic space odyssey. He says Definitive, along with Dillon Works, a fabrication company in Seattle, and a Hollywood stylist from the original film trilogy, built a replica of the Death Star in the couple’s elaborate home theater, which is the main focus of a massive whole-house entertainment system.
The theater, which opens up near the main entrance of the couple’s sprawling home, is built as the control deck of the Death Star, says Eric Ward, custom sales manager at Definitive Audio. The project took more than 36 months to complete and features a Meridian digital theater system and Runco DLP projector. The theater forms a Y-shape, he says, with the projection system in the center. Life-sized Han Solo, C-3PO and Boba Fett figures greet theater guests.
“It’s as if you were walking onto the deck of the control room,” says Ward. “All the hard surfaces are made of acoustic panels. The client also wanted very high-end product.” Definitive was charged with finding product that not only sounded great, but looked the part. Black-lacquered Meridian speakers were chosen because they resemble Darth Vader’s helmet.
The theater also features a backlit floor, fiber-optic starfield and automated doors that make guests feel like they’ve entered a genuine sci-fi realm. “The doors even make that Star Wars sound,” says Ward. The theater, measuring 22 feet from the back wall to screen, includes three levels of stadium seating and a stage. Ward says the plush seats were each hand-built in Germany and equipped with motorized features that make them interact with the film. There’s even a hidden media room where the couple store their extensive Star Wars video collection, as well as a sleek wet bar and working kitchen.
In addition to the home theater, the sci-fi fanatics also house a Star Wars museum in their home that showcases a huge collection of memorabilia from the movie sets, including a model of the Millennium Falcon and a light saber used by Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi.
“Everyone was blown away,” says Ward, who says vendors flew in from all over the country just to see the theater. “Not only did we create a theme room,” says Ward, “but we made it sound good.” Even George Lucas would be proud. yy
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