Steve Sansweet has probably one of the best and worst jobs related to the Star Wars empire (get it? empire?) -- he's the Director of Content Management at Lucasfilm, as well as the Head of Fan Relations. It's that second half of his title that we're a bit more interested in, and presents some of the more fun, and more strenuous parts of the job, I imagine. We caught up with Steve while he was in Los Angeles for something he really enjoys doing; meeting the Star Wars fans in person.

Today marks the 30th anniversary to the day that Stars Wars: A New Hope came out in theaters and sparked the big sci-fi revolution, and not coincidentally, the massive fan pleasing Star Wars Celebration IV is taking place at the Los Angeles Convention center from now through Monday. There's a lot going on, ranging from "An Hour With Carrie Fisher" (she won't be wearing that slave-girl outfit, we'll bet) to a massive amount of material from the Lucasfilm Archives on display, including some things "That haven't been unpacked for 30 years" according to Steve.

Getting to know the man behind / in front of the fans, Steve is the author of ten books about the Star Wars universe (soon to be eleven when his 'Inside the Star Wars Vault' is published) and he is a genuine Star Wars nut. He owns a staggering amount of Star Wars memorabilia (including one of the original Darth Vader costumes from The Empire Strikes Back), knows the films inside and out, and sports a George Lucas-esque salt and pepper beard. I asked him if Lucasfilm had a beard requirement policy, to which he replied, "Of course!"

The Los Angeles Convention Center will be hosting Star Wars Celebration IV from May 24 - 28 of this year. The event is being built around a red-letter date in Star Wars history -- May 25, 2007 -- the thirtieth anniversary of the theatrical release of Star Wars. This year's jamboree promises "entertainment, guest stars and special surprises," and will feature a Fan Film Awards ceremony on May 27. The award winners will be presented with golden versions of C-3P0 and R2-D2; the top prize will be a "George Lucas Selects Trophy" meaning selected by George Lucas himself.

Celebrity guests "from all six films" are also promised for the event, along with personalities from the television and video game properties, although that sounds like a such a tall order that it makes me think that many of the guests might be on the order of "Padme's third hand-maiden" or something like that. Nevertheless, the Forcenet.com story notes that Official Pix, the licensed Star Wars autograph supplier, has a good track record of roping in guests at previous Star Wars events. In addition to signings, there will also be panels for the guests to sit on to discuss their involvement in the series and take questions from the rabid fans.

The most interesting draw this year will be droid-focused activities. There will be a group of "droid builders" on hand who will present a display of "movie-real models" of droids from the Star Wars films. It's not clear if these droids will be up for sale, but I assume so, if the price is right. There will also be a droid trivia challenge and an "XXtreme Droid Challenge," which I guess means droids doing battle with each other, like on that television show. The droid builders will also have panels to sit on and -- wait for it -- they will lead an actual droid parade. Did Lucas have any idea what he was getting into when he sat down to write that damn movie?