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daily kansan
A long time ago in a strip mall far, far away, rebel spies stake out positions outside an Imperial Wal-Mart, awaiting the arrival of Jedi merchandise that might aid their struggling star systems. Trade federation droids, cruising by in their Pintos, throw out insults of "nerf herder" and "space dweeb." But the rebels do not despair, and their efforts are rewarded with six-inch-high warriors of plastic and die-cast metal, ensuring peace across the galaxy...
The Fantom Menace
story by jeremy "jedi master" doherty photos by matt daugherty and aaron lindberg
Bryan Anderson, Lawrence senior and self-professed Jedi, displays his collection of Star Wars goodies.
Star Wars fever is in full-swing, and Lawrence citizens have caught the wave.
The upcoming release of Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace — the first in a planned series of three prequels — opens May 19 on more than 2,000 North American screens. Fans came out in the wee hours of the morning last week to grab the latest tie-in merchandise from the flick.
Action figures, plastic light sabers and novelizations all flew off store shelves and the eager hands of
into the eager hands or
Star Wars fans — some young, and some not so young.
Bryan Anderson, Lawrence senior, was among those who participated in the mayhem. Anderson, whose answering machine blares the familiar Star Wars theme before listeners can leave messages, traces his
fascination with the George Lucas space opera back to his mother. Literally.
"My mom saw it when she was pregnant with me," Anderson said. "So, it was kind of the first movie I went to. When it was on TV later, my eyes kind of lit up."
the release of the original trilogy of pictures — Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi
- helped respark Anderson's fascination with the series. His hopes are high for The Phantom Menace, which tells the story of Anakin Skywalker, the young Jedi who eventually becomes bad-guy extraordinaire Darth Vader.
"I'm really interested to see the Jedi in action and
the new computer effects,
Anderson said, describing
the saga as a modern-day,
philosophical myth about
honor and magic. "This has affected the people from my generation. I've not met anyone who doesn't really like it."
Even so, there are a few, such as John Tibbetts, associate professor of film, who are disgusted with the commercialism that's associated with Lucas' creation.
"There was a wonderful surprise to the original tie-in merchandise with the first series." Tibbets said.
In the 70s and 80s, people purchased the Star Wars items for play. Now, many of the people buying the toys, Tibbets said, are collectors who are only interested in making an investment.
"What's the good of buying an action figure if you keep it in the box?" he said. "And why are we worrying about the value in the first place?"
But the billions of dollars that Star Wars merchandise pulls in has an advantage, others said. The profits from Lucas' merchandise deals with Pepsi and Hasbro — as well as from his home-grown special effects firm, Industrial Light & Magic — allow him to finance the pictures independently. In a recent interview with Premiere magazine, Lucas described himself as an independent filmmaker with a distant relationship with Hollywood.
"He's not using any Hollywood money to make the prequels, he's
using his own, and maintaining artistic control," Anderson said. "But people like it, and he doesn't have to go to a studio and beg them to get the movie made the way he wants it."
Added to the merchandising is the extensive hype surrounding The Phantom Menace. Easily, it's one of the most eagerly anticipated films of all time, and the Internet rumor has been swirling for years with false reports, "spoiler" information and other prequel innuendo. Most of the online reports — including those that actors Kenneth Branagh and James Van der Beek had been approached for acting roles in later episodes — have been denounced by Lucas.
tions to keep his movie secret until May 19, plot points are now in the public domain.
Tibbetts shudders to think that by the time he makes it to that first screening of The Phantom Menace,the plot will no longer be a novelty.
Some movie gossip sites such as "Ain't It Cool News" and "Corona Coming Attractions" have already posted reviews of The Phantom Menace's screenplay and reports from press screenings last week. Despite Lucas' inten-
"People are determined to
"People are deter m destroy any surprise that this movie offers," he said. "They want to find out everything about it before they see it. I have tried very hard to preserve some innocence. I want to preserve that first love."
Not so,
s a i d
Harry
Falk,
Los
Altos, Calif., freshman, who said he and friends once became so determined to find Star Wars merchandise that they were able to learn when a particular store would receive new shipments.
"If I go on the 19th, and I find out all that stuff in advance, I'll still go," Falk said.
That, of course, begs the question: What if The Phantom Menace doesn't live up to the hope?
"Well, it is only a movie, of course," Anderson said. "I will be disappointed. But I'm expecting it to be incredible."
Chris Lapine, left, and Anthony Biello, Lawrence seniors, pick out their favorite The Phantom Menace action figures. Star Wars fans flocked to stores last week to purchase the action figures. Photo by Aaron Lindberg/KANSAN
A word to the wise
Star Wars fiends should gather their camping gear to get first dibs on tickets to The Phantom Manage
Harlan Wendelman
Southwind Theaters, 3433 Iowa St. will be the only local theater showing the film and will not be selling advance tickets, said Jon Rattlaff. Lawrence senior and manager of Southwind theaters.
Ratzlaff said the computer system was not capable of recording advance tickets. Hence, the management is preparing for the likelihood of campouts before the movie opens on May 19th. "I imagine some people will try to camp out." Ratzlaff said. "Unfortunately, sleeping here and things like that can't happen."
Showing the film has its own stipulations too. At the moment, the theater will only have two prints, or two reels of the movie. This means that there only will be two showings
Contributed art
on two different screens a day. Ratzlaid said the theater was not allowed to do any promotions in connection with the film. Movie goers must pay in cash Super Savers and movie passes will not be accepted
"At the moment we are thinking about a ten ticket limit," he said.
The first showing of the film will be 12.01 Wednesday morning, Ratzlaff said. "I'm excited to see it, not exactly excited to work it." he said.