The Force is still with us

by Ron D'Orazio sports editor

A long time ago in a generation far, far away, a Hollywood filmmaker named George Lucas made a low-budget science fiction film that turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters of all time. That movie is "Star Wars," a movie that started the qiost watched trilogy of all time.

Now, 22 years later, a new "Star Wars" film entitled "Episode I: The Phantom Menace" will be released on Wednesday, May 19. ''The Phantom Menace" will actually be considered the first installment in the Star Wars series. The events and storylines of the film will take place before the storyline of the original "Star Wars."

The story ''The Phantom Menace" centers around a young boy named Anakin Skywalk:er who has a special power called "The Force." He starts a life's journey towards becoming a Jedi Knight, a master of the Force. Skywalker is growing up during an interstellar war.

The hype and' media coverage for the film has made its release one of the most widely anticipated events in movie history.

On March 11 Lucasfilm, Lucas's movie company, released a two-and-a-half minute preview on national television, the Internet and in movie theatres around the country. Not only did millions of people see it on TV and at the movies, but an Internet record 3.5 million downloads were made off of web pages within five days, according to Starwars.com.

According to Starwars.com, on April 23 Lucasftlm, Twentieth Century Fox and the National Association Theatre Owners produced a directive for advance ticket sales for the movie. On Wednesday, May 12, the theatres that offer advance ticketing will start selling at 3 p.m. eastern time. Each customer may only purchase, at most, 12 tickets at once, in an attempt to cut down on ticket-scalping.

''The Phantom Menace" movie merchandise will go on sale on May 3. The movie has been featured in magazines such as Metropolis Magazine, Time and Premiere. The May edition of Premiere is focused entirely on "The Phantom Menace."

If the movie grosses anywhere near "Star Wars," it-will be a huge success. Like "Star Wars," ''The Phantom Menace" will be followed by two sequels, episodes two and three in the storyline.

"Star Wars," after making $320 million in its first release during 1977, was followed by two sequels, ''The Empire Strikes Back" and ''The Return of the Jedi." The sequels both made over $250 million, making the three movies the highest grossing trilogy of all time. After their 1997 re-releases, the three movies have made over $1 billion in box office gross.

At Cabrini, some people are looking forward to the release of ''The Phantom Men- lookout. ace". Sophomore John Dell'Osa said, "Upon seeing the changes Lucas made to the Special Editions (released in 1997), I was wary about what the future of Star Wars may bring, but after I saw the trailers for the movie all faith was restored."

As for box office numbers, Dell'Osa said, ''Titanic won't know what hit it."