Sith & the City: Morning-After Absenteeism

Rina Rina

Published May 19, 2005

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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Rina Rina

Published May 19, 2005

Modified Mar 7, 2008

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Continuing our Star Wars coverage, Gothamist wanted to know just how powerful are Star Wars’ die-hard fans? Enough to affect the economy. Worker absenteeism for last night and today's showings of Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is expected to cost NYC millions and U.S. employers $627-million, according to The Globe and Mail. If you're also interested in taking today or tomorrow off, Geek Squad has created customizable "fail-safe" excuse notes that will help even the most beleaguered employee get out of the office and into a theatre.

Throngs of balding jedis, cops in stormtrooper helmets, a man in a gorilla suit posing as a wookie (who later battled Obi Won using an umbrella as his lightsaber), a Geek Squad task force bus, and way too many Imperial members were at the Ziegfeld for the Nerdocalypse: the much-anticipated bittersweet ending of George Lucas' intergalactic saga. Gothamist was on the scene, in-line and ready, for what seemed like a geeked-out Mardi Gras.

Interestingly, when we spoke to these “really, really excited” fans, we were amazed to discover most intended to skip work for a 2nd helping of showings and that many were hoping to find significant others - some were even hunting for their "own Princess Leia” or “Han Solo.” Insanely long Star Wars lines are hotter than JDate – who knew! And of course, when several Star Wars uber-fans approached us, asking which bar we’d suggest for an after-party, we could only point them to the coolest nerd hangout: The Magician.