JCFantasy23

Havent seen this posted yet. If it's here somewhere and I missed it, sorry in advance.


'Star Wars' fans wait at wrong theater
Studio says film will open May 19 at ArcLight, not Chinese

Thursday, April 7, 2005 Posted: 12:25 AM EDT (0425 GMT)

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- "Star Wars" fans will have to find the right theater before they can leave for the dark side.

Seven weeks before its release, "Star Wars" fanatics started lining up outside Grauman's Chinese Theater for the sixth installment of the popular George Lucas movie series. The vigil began Saturday.

But there's a problem: "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith" won't be showing at the Hollywood landmark when the movie is released May 19. The studio, 20th Century Fox, opted instead to open the film a mile away at the ArcLight theater.

Still, the resolute "Star Wars" die-hards aren't moving on. Beneath a makeshift awning, 11 people refused to relinquish their spots in line.

"We've heard all this before," fan Sarah Sprague said, noting there were plenty of rumors in 1999 and 2002 that previous "Star Wars" movies weren't opening at the Chinese Theater. The rumors were false and the films were shown there.

Fox and the ArcLight haven't completed their "Star Wars" deal, but executives on both sides told Daily Variety that "Revenge of the Sith" will play at the ArcLight, not the Chinese.

Yet Sprague was adamant the line wouldn't be moving to the ArcLight.

"This is still the epicenter for 'Star Wars' fans. For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here. They weren't at the Cinerama Dome (at the ArcLight)," Sprague said.

Lucas' final "Star Wars" chapter spells out the last dark steps the once goodhearted young Anakin Skywalker takes to become the villain Darth Vader.

devilshalo

Being discussed here...

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=417010

and here. http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...&page=83&pp=25

SinCity

lol. but i cant rag on em since they are doing it for charity. this aint AotS.....lol

Jackskeleton

charity is a cheap excuse and not a shield to hide behind. They are doing it for themselves. charity or not, they'll still be doing it.

SinCity

???? youre being kindof harsh, man. theyre doing it for themselves? what use would waiting outside a theater for 6 weeks do when you can just show up +hours ahead of the first showing and probably be one of the first in line. theyre doing it for charity, man. its no thin veil or conspiracy.

Jackskeleton

Well, the history of the line is to hang out with other star wars fans and, as tor puts it, make fun of those making fun of them.

If it was just for charity, there is a shit lot more productive means to give to charity.

Also, wrap your mind around this one, youngin'. If it was about giving to charity, they could easily pay the $250.00 or whatever amount for a charity screening ticket that Lucas holds for the films in various cities. Not only would they be giving to charity, but they would also be seeing the movie a week early with various other charity givers.

As it stands, they are standing outside the wrong theater (well... right theater for history sakes, but wrong theater for who will be showing it) and are the laughing butt of plenty of jokes on late night programing and news papers around the world.

They are doing it for themselves. As said in this post by a person who is in the line
http://dvdtalk.com/forum/showpost.ph...&postcount=171
No conspiracy or thin veil even implied. It's a given that the charity is just to justify a hobby that many see as insane.

SinCity

of course they have fun, too. do you think they would wait for almost two months outside a theater just for shits and giggles? No. They're doing it for charity first and foremost, and also having fun with their peers. Just becuase blow-hards like Kevin Perriera, local news teams and Conan O' Brian make fun of them does not justify the notion that they are simply doing it cuz theyre losers. I guess for some its hard to reason why people should be generous and struggle to raise money, rather than just buying tickets to see an early screening and establishing themselves as people who would really rather see the movie earlier than others to satisfy their fanboyishisms (?).

William Fuld

How much money are they raising? I assume people are "sponsoring" them or something?

SinCity

alot of money, judging from what ive heard.

and even though theyre getting trashed and made fun of by the media, everytime they get mentioned is probably another $10,000+ they make.

Jackskeleton

you really do show your age. No, they are doing it because it's fun. The Charity angle is how they defend it to their wives, girlfriends, bosses and anyone else who looks at them like this

um.. if you are going to come into the defense atleast get some information and some numbers figured out before saying anything. so far they've raised $8,100. that is far from your claim that with each media mention or news paper article of them brings in another 10k. Especially when the news article mentions the potential and ever growing chance that the film isn't even going to be shown there.

I said this in the other thread,
48 days * 8 hours * $8 wage = $3,072
$3,072 x participants

So if 100 of them took part time jobs and put in the wages from the time spent working, subtracted whatever amount for the charity screening and donated the rest, they could potentially shot for 250,000 AND see the film a week earlier.

The last word you could use to describe the actions this group is doing is struggle. they sit on a curb all day and hang out with other star wars fans, chat and have a good ol' time. Struggle is something these folks don't do. I understand the appeal of doing that or hyping the event. But I have to laugh a little when the defense is used that it's all for charity and it does bring a question as to why not go to the other theater since it is looking more and more each day that it wont even be at the Mann's. The Charity is a neat bonus, but it's not the underlinging reason behind it or the original intent. The main purpose is to wait for star wars and be the most hardcore fan around.


May I also add, that the site says this: "Let's Hit Our Goal Donate now and help us raise more than $20,000 for the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation!".

Doing my numbers they could do ten times that if it was really a struggle. I command them for donating, but I don't think it should be considered as the main purpose of this course of action in geekdom.

Numanoid

Wait, I thought we were talking about the Star Wars geeks.

Groucho

It's sad that they have to wait in line like that just to be the first to get tickets. It's 2005. Theaters should offer a way for folks to pre-order movie tickets right off the internet, or barring that the phone.

Cygnet74

beyond that, the arclight (where ROTS will be opening this time) let's you choose an assigned seat. you don't even have to deal with a line to secure a good one. viva la cinermama dome!

Giles

technical question: does both the Arclight and Chinese theatre feature DLP, was there a reason why the Arclight was chosen over Grauman's Chinese Theater?

Cygnet74

both are outfitted with dlp projection. the Arclight (which includes the Cinerama Dome) is the best venue in los angeles.

Jaymole

I'm hoping that Triumph makes another visit real soon.

SinCity

the last Triumph Star Wars skit i saw was one of the funniest sketches ive ever seen on Cable Television (Internet, not so much.....)

Triumph: And what is that on your chest?

Guy in Vader Suit: Well, this is a mechanical breathing and communicating mechanism...

Triumph: ....and which one calls your mom to come and pick you up?

Catch 21

I'll be making fun of them and taunting them just like I did 3 years ago.I must admit there were a few that paid to get in the last screening who sat next to me. They went ape shit during the movie. It was scary, especially during that Yoda scene.

Geofferson

Oh man..that bit was hilarious. Pretty sure he'll make another appearance.

Shannon Nutt

Paramount partially owns the Manns theater and will be opening "The Longest Yard" there a week after ROTS opens. Since Fox didn't want to book ROTS at the Manns for only one week, they opted to open it at the Arclight.