- Title: USA: FANS OF "STAR WARS" MOVIE QUEUE EARLY FOR NEW RELEASE
- Date: 14th April 1999
- Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (APRIL 12, 1999) (RTN) PAN FROM MANN'S CHINESE THEATRE, WHERE "STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE" WILL FIRST SHOW TO PUBLIC, TO CONSTRUCTED VILLAGE OF FANS WAITING FOR OPENING PAN FROM POSTER FOR CHARITY PEOPLE IN LINE ARE SUPPORTING, TO GATHERING OF PEOPLE IN LINE CLOSE-UP OF MAN ON WWW.COUNTINGDOWN.COM, OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF
- Embargoed: 29th April 1999 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVAERVH9XKW750FX1IF71JSUD2R
- Story Text: With the premiere of the latest installment still six weeks away, die-hard fans of "Star Wars" have begun queueing up at theatres set to show the film.While frenzied obsession guides some, others are moved by mere good works.
Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace - won't play in theatres until May 19 but scores of fans are already lining up at Mann's Chinese Theatre to assure they have a seat waiting for them.
But rather than fighting one another for better spots, these lineholders are working together, taking turns holding places.
Setting aside their selfish interests for the moment, they have established a community, in line and online.
With an official website www.countingdown.com up and running, these "phantomites" have set their sights on helping people while queueing up.
At Mann's Chinese and other theatres, like-minded fans are soliciting pledges from sponsors for their time spent in line.
For dollars 75 (usd) in pledges, any one is free to join the line.Each individual's time spent waiting is tallied on the website.
As a true community, one's place on the line my be "saved" by another, should he or she need to carry out other business.Prior to opening day, actual places in the line will be established by total time spent waiting.Pledge money is being donated to The Starlight Foundation, an organisation devoted to granting terminally ill children their dying wish.
Corporate sponsors provide those in line with certain amenities and a few luxuries in return for free advertising on the web page and in and around the makeshift encampment those in line have established near the venerable Chinese Theatre, where so many stars have laid their hands and feet in cement.
While the internet access and web page of the group keeps it in communication with several other similar queues around the nation, one cannot live on the information highway alone.
So the group has also been granted exclusive rights to payphones near their tent city, the numbers of which they post on their web site.
This democratic spirit may seem lost on the Godfather of the movement: George Lucas.
Among the concessions he's landed are that the film must run in the biggest theater in a multiplex and cannot be moved to a smaller one without permission; runs will be a minimum of eight to 12 weeks; if the movie starts running on two or three screens in a multiplex, it must stay on those screens; no passes will be honored by theaters for the first eight weeks; paid onscreen ads will be prohibited for the first two weeks; no more than eight minutes of trailers may run before the film.
Lucas showed some understanding on Monday (April 12) when his company LucasFilm, and the distributor, Fox, reversed their policy against advance ticket sales.
Theatres are expected to to offer ticket purchases at least one week before the film's May 19 opening. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None