'Star Wars: Force for Change' Winner Announced
By Graeme McMillan
The name D.C. Barns may not be a familiar one in Star Wars fandom just yet, but that’s only a matter of time now that the Denver, Colorado man has been announced as the winner of the Star Wars: Force for Change draw to be flown over to the United Kingdom and appear in next year’s Star Wars: Episode VII.
The draw was part of a fundraising campaign for UNICEF’s Innovation Labs, with Star Wars fans being invited to donate money not only for a chance to be entered into the draw, but also win private screenings of the money ahead of its release as well as exclusive merchandise related to the project. In total, the campaign raised an impressive $4,261,410 for the organization, with Disney pledging an additional $1,000,000 on top of that amount.
Barns was notified of his win over video conference, telling organizers that he had been a fan since the original movie's release in 1977. “I think it really split my head open. I loved it. I just couldn’t get it out of my head for 35 years,” he explained to organizers of the campaign. “There’s movies that you love, and then there’s Star Wars.” The video of him learning of his win was released Monday by Disney, allowing for his wonderful reaction (“Now I’m gonna throw up”) to be immortalized online.
Watch the video below. Star Wars: Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams will be released December 2015; keep an eye out for Barns in the background of any crowd scene, just in case.
