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An Afternoon With Dan Madsen
Posted by Dustin on September 27, 2007 at 12:00 AM CST:
WHAT?: An Afternoon with Dan Madsen
WHERE?: College of Lake County
19351 West Washington
Grayslake, Illinois 60031
C005 Auditorium
WHEN?: October 4, 2007 from 12 until 2 PM
COST?: FREE!
WEB!: www.clcillinois.edu
You might recognize Dan Madsen from his cameo in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Yet, Dan Madsen is a Star Wars and Star Trek fan who has accomplished even greater things. When Dan Madsen was a teenager in the 1970s, he self published a grassroots Star Trek fan newsletter for fun. He accepted work at a local printing press and in lieu of pay, he was allowed to print his newsletter. He liked Star Trek's positive messages of tolerance. Because of the popularity of his newsletter, Paramount, and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry, asked him to negotiate to become the Official Star Trek Fan Club. Dan eventually grew his publishing business employing nearly 100 people and publishing a magazine, the Star Trek Communicator, with over 100,000 subscribers worldwide. Many television and movie based magazines mimic the model created by Dan Madsen years ago.
Dan would eventually get the license for the Official Star Wars Fan Club from Lucasfilm in 1987. Besides interviewing nearly every major person from these genres, Dan was instrumental in bringing the 1999 Star Wars Celebration I to the fractured communities of Colorado after Columbine. He eventually launched The Official Lord of the Rings Fan Club in 2001 as well and its official magazine. Besides his interest in science fiction/fantasy, Dan Madsen's role model is Abraham Lincoln and he is very knowledgeable about the Great Emancipator.
Writer Phillip Watson has said of Dan Madsen, "He likes people, sees the best in them, and does his utmost to be the friend we all wish we could be....He's given fans the world over unparalleled access to their favorite shows, movies and actors, and his primary motivation has always been to share his enthusiasm and imagination" (ST Communicator, Issue 150).
Dan will speak about the future of Star Trek and Star Wars, how to keep positive despite adversities, the new documentary The Force Among Us (www.theforceamongus.com) that looks at Star Wars fans including TheForce.net's own Dustin Roberts, Dan Madsen's feature film Short Story, which is loosely based on his life as a "little person" and other issues of interest to the audience. For more information, please contact John Tenuto 847-543-2537 or jtenuto@clcillinois.edu.
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