Star Wars, Episode One

Seventh Archive

Scoops During October 25, 1998 - November 19, 1998

October 25, 1998... At last it seems that finally, after more than a year of speculation, the time for the Star Wars, Episode One trailer is about to arrive. Garth Franklin's Dark Horizons movie site has claimed the distinction of being the first to break a detailed description of what you will see in the trailer for Episode One. If Garth's scoop proves to be legitimate it is undoubtably the Internet scoop of the year.

A scooper named 'Non-Disclosure' contacted Dark Horizons claiming to have a breakdown of the trailer. Franklin asked for proof: if the scooper was indeed telling the truth, they would send one screen shot of a specific scene of Franklin's choosing from the trailer. Franklin chose a scene that had two of the leads and extensive effects. 'Non-Disclosure' sent the scene in and Franklin has gone on record to say that he's seen it with his own eyes.

Dark Horizons broke the news early Sunday morning, and it's already begun shaking the Internet gossip network. Harry Knowles' Ain't It Cool News site has also followed up on Franklin's lead and we here at CA have also received a breakdown of the Episode One trailer as it appears on Dark Horizons.

What appears below is the complete description of the Episode One trailer as written by 'Non-Disclosure'. It's extremely detailed in its reporting of what scenes and characters are in the trailer, as well as describing a new Star Wars font seen at the conclusion of the trailer. The most startling claim is the one of 'Non-Disclosure' saying that the sub-title of the film (previously announced on the Web as The Phantom Menace) isn't the title that appears on the trailer. 'Non-Disclosure' chose to keep the sub-title a mystery for now.

Since we here at CA have not seen the footage that Garth Franklin has, we cannot vouch for the authenticity of 'Non-Disclosure' and their claims. However, Dark Horizons has been very accurate in the past with breaking exclusive insider info about other proejcts, such as the storyline for Halloween: H20 and the recent script review of Bryan Singer's forthcoming X-Men film. As well, we've spoken to Garth and we don't have any reason to not believe that he's seen that footage. This means that, according to our high set of standards, the chances are pretty good (but not 100%) that this really is the Episode One trailer.

Our comments and theories on the enigmatic claim made by 'Non-Disclosure' and our guesses as to who they might be follow the trailer breakdown.

"Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Trailer Description:

SHOT 1: Swamp. Somebody slowly emerges from the mist. It's not clear who it is, but it's not a humanoid. Maybe someone riding on something.

SHOT 2: Title card: EVERY GENERATION HAS A LEGEND...

SHOT 3: Slowly panning across the desert to a small parked spaceship.

SHOT 4: Title card: EVERY JOURNEY HAS A FIRST STEP...

SHOT 5: Majestic shot of a city (of Mos Eisley variety) with what appears to be a large palace in the background (the palace itself isn't there, just some unfinished CGI and a large gate with two statues). Surprisingly, this is accompanied by typical "swamp" sound effects, so there's also a possibility the gate leads to a swamp, which will be added digitally.

SHOT 6: Interior of the palace. Large window, large columns. There is a shadow of someone (queen Padme?) visible on the wall.

SHOT 7: Title card: EVERY SAGA HAS A BEGINNING...

(All the previous shots are really slow, with fade-ins, accompanied by "The Force" music. Now the trailer really kicks in with several fast shots and Star Wars main theme.)

SHOT 8: POV shot of some vehicle flying very fast above the desert, through some rock arches. Two front parts (guns?) of the vehicle are visible, miniature bolts of lightning are flowing between them.

SHOT 9: Side shot of someone quite small with a helmet (Anakin?) pushing the lever inside the vehicle, making it go faster.

SHOT 10: Wider side shot of the vehicle overtaking another vehicle of the same type (seems like race?).

SHOT 11: Close-up of Queen Padme (not quite sure but who else?) looking very royal in REALLY WEIRD makeup and dress - something between Japanese geisha and the Diva from The Fifth Element - sitting in front of a large window.

SHOT 12: Front shot - Jar Jar (CGI, mouth like a horse, eyes like a frog) and Obi-Wan sitting side-by-side inside some sort of vehicle, Qui-Gon Jinn is sitting behind and slightly above them. This shot is very reminiscent of the shots of the Millenium Falcon crew in Star Wars 4-6.

SHOT 13: Underwater shot (probably) of a sub turning away from a big monster, looking like a cross between old-fashioned fairytale dragon and that nasty thing from Deep Rising.

SHOT 14: Close-up of Obi-Wan swinging his lightsaber.

SHOT 15: Small fast spaceship is leaving an enormous space stations orbiting close to a large planet. The space station is "C"-shaped with a large sphere in the center, connected to the "C" shape. Thus, it can be said it looks somehow like the Rebel insignia, but you have to think creatively to see it...

SHOT 16: Several people shooting at each other between the columns inside a royal palace (which really looks like plain old Earth palace), no effects anywhere excepts the laser beams.

SHOT 17: Watto turning towards the camera and making "Hmmmm" sound. He's CGI, with insect-like wings, large snout (hanging down over his boar-like mouth) and human eyes.

SHOT 18: Many four-legged creatures are running towards the camera (it's not clear if they have riders on them), dragons (or whatever) are flying overhead and some very strange and very large mechanical thing is either chasing them or supporting them from behind. This shot is not quite comprehensible but will probably look cool as hell when it's finished.

SHOT 19: Jar Jar getting up from the crouching position, getting zapped by the mini-lightning (it looks like he was repairing the parked vehicle described in SHOT 8) and making silly sound. Very funny.

SHOT 20: Small sleek spaceship flying above what appears to be a planet-wide city (Coruscant?).

SHOT 21: Jar Jar, Obi-Wan and a queen Padme (dressed as a commoner and without a make-up) on a street of the city, reminiscent of Mos Eisley. CGI Dewbak behind them looking much better than in SW:SE.

(Now the trailer slows down again)

SHOT 22: Anakin with a backpack over one shoulder, turning towards the camera.

SHOT 23: Mace Windu (sitting): "You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?"

SHOT 24: Anakin sitting at the table.

SHOT 25: Qui-Gon (voiceover): "He can see things before they happen." This is accompanied with the shot of Obi-Wan, wearing a black cape, turning towards the Anakin with amazement.

SHOT 26: Shmi Skywalker: "He can help you." R2-D2 (or his close kin) partly visible behind her.

SHOT 27: Shmi stroking Anakin's cheek.

SHOT 28: Qui-Gon: "The Force is unusually strong with him."

SHOT 29: Shmi: "He was meant to help you."

(Now the trailer speeds up again)

SHOT 30: Quin-Gon shouting: "Anakin!" (He pronounces it "Anaekin!")

SHOT 31: Very fast shot of someone all in black swinging his lighsaber.

SHOT 32: Qui-Gon dueling with the aforementioned individual.

SHOT 33: Qui-Gon (still dueling) shouting "Tell them to take off!" Actually, in the dialogue list, this is written as a single sentence ("Anakin, tell them to take off!"), but it sounds like another sentence, not necessarily addressed to Anakin.

SHOT 34: Anakin (almost crying) to Shmi: "Will I ever see you again?"

SHOT 35: Shmi: "What does your heart tell you?"

SHOT 36: Queen Padme as a commoner on the street, Jar Jar visible behind her (seems to follow SHOT 21). She says: "Are you sure about this?"

SHOT 37: Qui-Gon reacting.

SHOT 38: Padme (continuation of SHOT 36): "Trusting our fate to a boy we hardly know?"

SHOT 39: Anakin standing beside a vehicle, waving to enormous unfinished CG texture. :) Cheering of thousands of people can be heard. Probably after winning the race.

SHOT 40: Qui-Gon introducing Anakin to Obi-Wan: "Anakin Skywalker, meet Obi-Wan Kenobi." There's a nice touch: This pivotal point in the Star Wars saga is presented in a very civil, matter-of-fact way. R2-D2 standing in the background.

SHOT 41: Obi-Wan reacts. R2-D2 beeps.

SHOT 42: Space battle involving many ships and the space station from SHOT 15.

SHOT 43: Yoda (with abundant hair): "I sense much fear in you."

SHOT 44: Anakin standing in the center of circular room. A dozen or so different creatures are sitting around him. Probably galactic senate. The aliens are not clearly distinguishable, but one of them is very small (1 or 2 ft) and another one has almost 2 ft. long neck and a bald head (or enormous eyeball instead of head). Neverending city and flying vehicles are visible through wall-sized window. Accompanied by Obi-Wan's voice-over: "The boy is dangerous."

SHOT 45: Door opening, figure in black robe standing menacingly behind it.

SHOT 46: Obi-Wan walking alongside Qui-Gon: "They all sense it. Why can't you?"

SHOT 47: Qui-Gon standing with lit lightsaber, looking focused, preparing to duel.

SHOT 48: Yoda: "Fear is the path to the dark side."

SHOT 49: Obi-Wan striking a pose very similar to Qui-Gon in SHOT 47.

SHOT 50: Yoda: "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate."

SHOT 51: Side shot of Anakin looking not-so-sure. Someone in black robe gently putting his hands on Anakin's shoulders.

SHOT 52: Yoda: "Hate leads to suffering."

SHOT 53: A guy with bald head and what looks like small horns, holding a lit lightsaber. Suddenly, second laser blade emerges from the opposite end of his lightsaber!

(Now it really gets into overdrive. The following shots are each only a fraction of second long.)

SHOT 54: Another shot from the race (SHOTS 8-10), this time a vehicle flies towards the camera and above it. Awesome sense of speed.

SHOT 55: Sebulba (looking like a camel with old WW2 style pilot goggles) laughing. The vehicle from the races is visible behind him.

SHOT 56: Another shot of queen Padme in strange make-up, this time with even stranger headgear.

SHOT 57: Robot sentry raising his head (looking like a long conical cylinder, you know which one). Thousands of the same droids are visible behind him.

SHOT 58: Detailed shot of the guy from SHOT 53. He has contrasting light-dark makeup like someone from Japanese kabuki theatre and what appears to be THREE small horns (one at the top of his head). He's dueling with someone.

SHOT 59: Enormous space dogfight.

SHOT 60: Anakin sitting in a cockpit, being rocked around, looking very much like Luke in Death Star battle.

SHOT 61: POV shot from inside the cockpit. Dozens of ships that look vaguely like TIEs are intercepting.

SHOT 62: R2-D2 turns his "head" and looks towards a humanoid droid standing beside him.

SHOT 63: Close-up of this droid. It's skinless C-3PO! The eyes and mouth are unmistakable, the rest of his body looks like the Terminator.

SHOT 64: Dozens of droids from SHOT 57 turning right. Very synchronized, looks like military parade.

SHOT 65: Looking just plain weird, like something from Dune, probably unfinished. Some organic-looking "altars" standing in the desert (they are all looking exactly the same) and many nomadic humanoids in light robes (their faces hidden) are squatting/kneeling in foreground, each of them holding a spear.

SHOT 66: Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan with lit lightsabers preparing to jump.

SHOT 67: Wide shot of the same scene. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan are jumping (sommersaulting!) from one platform to another, where a dark figure is standing. It all takes place inside some huge vertical shaft full of neon lights and machinery (like when Luke's hand was cut off in ESB).

SHOT 68: Droid from SHOT 57 flying on a pogo-stick type vehicle through the forest, firing its twin lasers.

SHOT 69: Something crashing/blasting into a huge space structure, resulting in enormous explosion.

SHOT 70: Main title: STAR WARS. The lettering has completely different design than in the original SW. At first I thought it was simply some standard font used for preliminary title, but it looks to be designed by hand, the letters are connected to each other in a very specific way. It looks - how to put it - "deliberately primitive", like some drawing from the stone age. I don't like the look of it and I hope it indeed is a preliminary version. And - get this - the subtitle is not, repeat, NOT "The Phantom Menace"! No, I will not tell what the subtitle is, but I was surprised. Still, it could all be changed, as the final title card (following the movie title) is obviously preliminary, taken from original SW - unless Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher really star in this movie.

And now to clarify some things about this trailer: It runs for 2 minutes and 5 seconds, is preceded with Fox and Lucasfilm logos and is "SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES". As far as I noticed, it doesn't contain any original music. The official spelling of the characters' names is "Qui-Gon Jinn", "Mace Windu", "Jar Jar Binks", "Shmi Skywalker" and "Padme Naberrie", which has an acute accent above the "é" in "Padmé"! (Just like the "é" in "Les Misérables"). I could probably safely put some more character names in the the shot descriptions, but I tried to just describe them in a factual way and list only the names of the characters that have speaking parts (which I saw in printed form). You can make your own conclusions.

Finally: I'm not making any claims that this is what you'll see in theatres. The trailer is obviously not finished and may change quite a bit. I will not digitize the trailer, the stills from it or its sound and send it to anyone, under any circumstances, so don't ask. I will not tell you what was the subtitle of the movie, so don't ask either. I will not tell you where and how I got the trailer, but Lucasfilm should sleep well. This was an one-time opportunity and their security procedures remain intact. Don't try to find out who I am, I will not tell you anything more and I want to remain anonymous. I just wanted to tell you about this trailer because I know how much I would like someone to tell me about it if I didn't see it. I hope you all enjoyed it. Bye."

[As reported by 'Non-Disclosure'; originally appeared on Dark Horizons; with a round of applause to 'Trask' for the assist.]

As our friend who first told us about this scoop on Dark Horizons said to us in their email, "This is obviously very real or a really big, well thought-out hoax." Our thoughts on the trailer steer more towards it being legitimate. Besides the reason we gave above for accepting the scoop at face value, two other factors come into play:

The timing: Even if you don't believe reports that the trailer will run in front of The Siege on November 6th, Episode One opens next May 21. Clearly time is running out for Lucasfilm and Fox to start the hype campaign and bring awareness of the picture to the general populace. And with Hasbro releasing prequel figures before Christmas it's looking more likely that a trailer would appear before December 25th as well.

The attention to detail by the scooper: If it's a forgery, 'Non-Disclosure' spent a lot of time researching what characters and scenes should be appearing in the film. Yes, you could point to the fanfic script of 'Indiana Jones and the Sons of Darkness' as example that hoaxers have a lot of time on their hands, but there's one item that makes us trust this scoop as being a step above that: Garth Franklin's vouched for it. He's seen an image from the trailer and has deleted it off of his computer. Based on the types of scoops we've seen here at CA, between the ones sent in by trusted moles we know to be reporting the truth and those scoops that seem to have an air of suspicsion to them, we're placing out bets on this scoop being accurate.

Concerning the mysterious sub-title the scooper said exists but is not revealed, could this be 'Balance of the Force'? Possibly. Ever since Lucasfilm announced The Phantom Menace as the sub-title last month, it's not been widely reported elsewhere except on the 'net. True, there were mentions of the announcement in the usual trades and on television movie news shows but the official site has yet to change over and use the sub-title anywhere else on their site. This, when placed alongside what Mace Windu is reported to say in shot 23 of 'Non-Disclosure's breakdown ("You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force. You believe it's this boy?"), may incidate that Lucasfilm may switch sub-titles. These guys have proven to be both playful and sneaky in the past: we point to the infamous 'Plot Does Matter' poster from earlier this year as well as to the phantom title 'Blue Harvest' that Lucas used for shooting purposes on Return of the Jedi. Could The Phantom Menace be a red herring, or perhaps it's to the Internet what 'Blue Harvest' was to curious spectators coming to see what film was shooting in their backyards back in '83? With seven months to go until the film opens, the controversy has only begun to build.

Another tidbit that adds weight to the Dark Horizons scoop is this email that we received yesterday. While they're not as detailed as DH's reporter was, it is consistent with what 'Non-Disclosure' has to say...

"just another confirmation about the trailer appearing in front of The Siege. I have a friend who is working very closely with lucasfilm and The Phantom Menace promotion. he confirmed to me several weeks ago the trailer would appear in front of The Siege. he also stated that the trailer is not a short teaser but a full blown trailer. there are detailed scenes with ewan macgregor and jake lloyd, samuel jackson and yoda. he even described the trailer as somewhat dissappointing because it almost shows too much. Needless to say, he said it still is pretty fantastic. also expect a promotional campaign shortly afterwards that will make Godzilla's seem trite by comparison." [Anonymous.]

October 25, 1998... Straight from DeadPool's Column Without a Name some disturbing news from a good friend: "I was talking to a person that I know from another Theatre chain. He gave me some not so promising Star Wars news.This guy books films. He was speaking to someone at Fox that saw the rough cut of The Phantom Menace and the Fox rep says that this a toy show bigger than Return of the Jedi. He also said the footage was messed up. and Lucas wasn't happy. Explanation for the reshoots.

He also said that the release date is in question because Lucas is very far behind in post production because of the reshoots and may not make the May release date.That is also why we didn't see a trailer in the summer. If he can't reach the release date the industry will be in a major panic. People are starting to make out their release schedules for next year could leave a major hole. Everyone moved release schedules and production start time to stay away from it. If you read the description of the trailer on Dark Horizons effects were not finished. The tagline would be 'Coming To Your Galaxy Next Summer'. Lucas wants this to be great. Maybe it will be ready for the Fourth of July." [Scoop sent in by 'Movies'.]

October 27, 1998... Christmas comes a bit early for CA readers today. Take a look at the first Star Wars, Episode One action figure scheduled for release this Christmas -- the Trade Federation's Attack Droid. Thanks to a friend who happens to be in the right place, we received six exclusive pictures showing this brand-new prequel action figure from Kenner as well as the STAP platform the droid rides on. These photos are the first close-up, detailed images showing one of the forthcoming prequel action figures.

(Remember the scoops we received about 'Terminator-looking' battle robots invading the hanger bay that houses the yellow attack fighters? These appear to be the fellows that our scoopers were talking about. Kinda reminds us of a Terminator, 'cept with a flamingo's head on top...but don't take us wrong, we like it!)

Next up are three images showing us the droid and its platform together, on display in a scene meant to take place in the Naboo swamp and the STAP itself. Notice the clear base pedestal for the STAP in the second image -- the STAP is a flying platform. And yes, those missiles can be shot outwards! Very cool how the figure can be articulated so that it can stand upright (image #1) or in a stance (image #2).

Last but not least, the packaging and instructions that accompany the figure. You may recall that the rear packaging image has already shown up on a number of SW1 web sites, but we were able to obtain a clearer image of the artwork and accompaning text info. Who-hoo! The "vehicle can removed from stand and fired by pushing on foot platform"! Damn cool! (But remember kids -- hold as shown, got it?)

[Thanks to our anonymous source under deep cover within the Trade Federation.]

As well, Ain't It Cool News today published images of the Trade Federation Battle Cruiser and the characters of Jabba the Hutt, Sebulba and Watto. Over the course of last weekend the site also revealed a sketch of Jar Jar Binks...although the Gungan appeared sans clothing. [Broken by Ain't it Cool News.]

With all the hard SW1 news now spilling forth from the three main movie Web sites, we're hoping to start up a bet on which site will post the first image of the creation of C-3PO...

But this page just wouldn't be right if we didn't post some speculative stuff. Today we received a doozy...and best of all, it's supported by recently-revealed information from the official side of the fence...

"I noticed that the Mos Espa 'store' and information site on the official site has been opened. While that may be old news, I thought I'd point out that the site also includes the 'official' timeline, similar if not identical to the one on the Behind the Magic CDROM.

"Of VERY interesting note, and I'm not sure this has been pointed out before:

"On the 50-11 years Pre-ANH page (http://mosespa.starwars.com/timeline/50b.gsp/index.html), note the following:

"22-20 Years Pre-ANH:
"Summary: Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader.
"Star Wars: Episode II
"Star Wars: Episode III

"18 Years Pre-ANH: Luke Skywalker and his twin sister Leia are born.

"Now this is VERY interesting. I'd always assumed and heard that Anakin got the mother pregnant (unaware) with the twins and then was off adventuring and finally turned. However, you note that Anakin turns and becomes Vader a full two years BEFORE the twins are born. Unless the gestation period is different 'a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away', then that would mean one of two things.

"1. Darth Vader (the alter ego) -- and NOT Anakin Skywalker is the father of Luke and Leia, meaning someone had relations with this Dark Lord (and that he was interested is such activities). Could this mean that whoever their mother turns out to be followed Anakin loyally, even to the Dark Side? If so, then why leave when pregnant? Did Anakin hold some non-menacing, less evil role early in his 'Vader' career? Did this keep him 'appealing' or 'interested' in marital relations?

"2. Luke and Leia are the product of some genetic tampering -- from either a clone of Anakin, or some other form of trickery. One assumes the biological reproductive processes work somewhat the same as they do now. Did Anakin and his wife have trouble conceiving and store up supplies for in-vitro?"

Or, the question begs to be asked...was Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader their true father?

[You may begin discussion on the material 'HawkeyeLonewolf' has presented.]

And another scooper asks us to disregard the second scoop we posted on October 25th about footage that was "messed up". The rumors of unusable footage first began months ago when a report on Ain't it Cool alleged that 40% of the prequel's footage could be "fuzzy". Eventually Lucasfilm denied the rumor and there's been no subsequent reports that have suggested that any footage was shot incorrectly on location. But our scoop on the 25th just said that the footage was "bad" and left it at that. We had originally read it to mean possibly that the footage itself wasn't up to what Lucas wanted, but we didn't intend to start another wave of 'fuzzy footage' controversy...

"Step right up, folks, and see the seventh wonder of the cinema news world! It won't die! Guaranteed regeneration after two months, or your money back! It's the amazing 'Star Wars 1 Fuzzy Footage Rumor!' (oohs and aahs from the crowd.)

"Forgive my sarcasm, but how recently have we heard about new pickup shots? Two months ago or so? Which, according to the official site, and a WIRED Lucas interview from a year and a half ago, have been on the schedule from day one. I don't buy it. Quite honestly, I think there is a lot of rumor-mongering going on from people who are just trying to punish Lucas for waiting so long to make this movie. The same people who are freaking out because the effects aren't done are the same people who initially didn't understand why, if principal photography was taking place in 1997, the movie wasn't going to be released until 1999. Calm down, guys, and use your head. A release date wasn't even officially announced until a few months ago, well into these supposed 're-shoots.' Chill." [Or else 'rosencrantz' would like to have a few words with you...]

Again, all the stuff we're heard indicates that if there's any deadline looming, it's to get all the special effects finished. Since this will will have over two thousand effects (and we've heard that the next picture may even top that record!), it is a formidable task that ILM is tackling.

And finally, we'd be lax if we didn't give you a heads up for the new photos just posted on the movie's official web site. The new images show you what the palace guards of Theed (The Queen's city on Naboo) dress in, as well as a couple of new images from the street scenes in Mos Espa. [Thanks to James DeGriz and anonymous for the message.]

October 29, 1998... A number of Internet sites are following up on ABC News' report that the SW1 trailer will not play in front of The Siege now. Word is the trailer was planned to debut with that picture but Lucas wanted to make additional changes to the trailer.

Also, another interesting tidbit we we told today from a solid, trusted source that works within the jorunalism field. When they contacted Lucasfilm to check facts on an article scheduled to run in one of their publications, LFL asked that they do not use the Phantom Menace subtitle in their piece. Just what does this mean, besides giving weight to rumors that TPM is a ruse? We'll be contacting Lucasfilm ourselves to see if they can indeed end this rumor once and for all. Stay tuned. [Thanks to our anonymous source.]

November 1, 1998... A reader following up on the recent Lucas down under thread on the Star Wars 2 page had this very interesting and cryptic piece of gossip to say: "I found out on Friday that George Lucas has booked a THX enhanced theatre while he is out here. That news came from someone who is involved with the SPA Conference Lucas will be attending. Now there's only one THX theatre in Sydney ... Village Cinema One. No-one knows what he wants it for ... but we're all intrigued." Maybe it's nothing...or maybe it's the unveiling of a certain trailer...? [Subspace transmission from 'adandnat'.]

November 5, 1998... A scooper writes in with this loaded question: "...if the title is so set in stone as it appears to be, why doesn't the movie's own home page refer to episode I as 'Phantom Menace,' as it refers to episodes IV-VI by their subtitles?" Hmmm. A possible conspiracy? Or just that they don't have a nifty logo decided on yet? You be the judge. [Thanks to 'icy_manipulator' for his eagle eye]

Also, an anonymous scooper informs us that Davis' character is indeed named "Wald," but will not be a Rodian due to his short size. [Thanks to our anonymous Rodian Physiologist.]

And with The Siege looming on the horizon, are we sure there's no trailer? Hmmm? Hmmmmmm? "I was at work today and a customer came in and we were talking and they mentioned that they could get me free movie passes and when i asked how they mentioned that they worked for National Cinema Corporation (I think thats what it was), so I said 'screw the passes, if you can tell me when they're going to air the SW1 trailer i'd love you forever.' So this person got on the phone with their associate in another state and another big city and confirmed that the SW1 trailer will be appearing in front of Fox Films. It will definitely be in front of 'The Siege' and quite possibly in front of 'A Thin Red Line'." [An anonymous scooper stirs the cauldron]

November 8, 1998... On Friday, November 6th the SW1 Official Web Site finally put an end to the trailer rumors by announcing it will be released to the public on the 20th of this month. The trailer will not be attached to any one specific film; instead 20,000 copies of the trailer will be distributed to theaters and it'll be up to the descretion of the managers which films run the SW1 trailer. Paramount's Rugrats opens on that particular Friday but no major Fox film is set to be unveiled until the release of The Thin Red Line on December 25th. Disney's A Bug's Life opens on November 20th at the El Capitan theater in L.A., then nationwide 5 days afterward on the 25th. That being the case, it's impossible to say if you'll see the SW1 trailer in front of the movie you'll be watching on the 20th...although we're guessing certain films will stand a better chance of playing the trailer than others.

But it appears that some people can't wait that long. Friday was also the day there was a stunning release of a image from the prequel's trailer made avaliable upon the Internet. The web site America's Queen, a digital shrine devoted to covering Natalie Portman's career, broadcast a picture showing Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn and the digitally created image of Jar Jar Binks sitting at the controls of some sort of craft. However, within two days the image was removed by the site's owner due to a number of emails requesting said image be immediately removed. As an example of what sort of requests these were, the site owner posted this one as an example:

The image of the trio appears grainy and holds a timecode at the top of the picture, indicating it came from the editing room. As well, the words "Property of copyright Lucasfilm Ltd and trademarked. All rights reserved." It's highly doubtful the image is a forgery; both Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson are plainly recognizable, and the amount of effort needed to make something like this usually eliminates all but the most perseverent hoaxers. Nevertheless, the results of stopping the leak has apparently been too late; the prequel image is already circulating the Internet on various SW sites, such as Trysop's Cantina.

In other news, the latest Star Wars Insider contains some great images of the Theed Palace guards and an interview with Hugh Quarshie (who plays Captain Panaka in the film.) One of our readers gave the magazine some glowing compliments for its i-view.

"First of all, he's the Captain of the Theed Guard, the guard's at the Queen's palace and also, the Queen's personal protector. It mentions a scene where Captain Panaka presents a 'fiesty droid' to the young Queen.

"The uniform he wears is really cool, by the way, and seems to suggest a position of authority when compared to the other Theed Guard uniforms." [Scooped by none other than 'Buttock Man', perhaps the rarest Kenner SW action figure of them all.]

November 9, 1998... We contacted Marc Hedlund at Lucasfilm and asked him if there were any truth to the rumors that The Phantom Menace was about to have a forthcoming title change. Hedlund said the title will continue to be Star Wars: Episode One - The Phantom Menace. Any rumors suggesting that TPM will be ditched for another title are incorrect. "We would not have put it on our site if it were not the true title," Hedlund replied.

While we had the opportunity we also asked him if there were any plans for the Official Site to host the trailer for downloading purposes in the near future. While Hedlund couldn't say for certain if the trailer would be avaliable on the site, "I am making every effort to make sure the trailer information people want is available on our site." When we asked if an official logo for The Phantom Menace would be placed on the site soon we received the answer everyone was hoping for: "Yup." So be certain to keep checking in on www.starwars.com! [Our thanks to Marc Hedlund for dropping on by in his Star Destroyer. Cool flame decals on the side, dude!]

Hopefully this won't upset Marc's employers too much but we've learned through another friend about the early rough cut of SW1 (assembled using about 75% of the footage that was first shot minus reshoots and some special effects) and we're here to spill the beans. What surprised our scooper was that in the earlier rough cut it was edited using only hard cuts and fades. Since the time of that cut Lucas has inserted fancy wipes, dissolves and transitions between the scenes, much like the transitions between scenes in the first trilogy. Still, it surprised our scooper to learn such an early cut was assembled in such a way. It's nothing to worry about folks, but it makes for interesting talk among filmmakers. [Our thanks to 'Wong Fei Hung' for the good deal on used vaporators.]

Also announced today were the precautions Lucasfilm undertook in printing the one-sheet teaser posters for The Phantom Menace. On the 20th you'll be able to see the one-sheet showing a young Anakin Skywalker is walking through a desert, casting a shadow that appears in the form of Darth Vader. (OK, we're gonna be geeks here for a moment: wouldn't Anakin have two shadows since Tatooine has two suns? Yeah, we know, it doesn't matter in the long run, but we couldn't resist the call of the dark side.)

Variety's sources said there was "an unusually large" print run of the teaser posters at Kater Litho last week, a Los Angeles printing press. At all times a Lucasfilm or Twentieth Century Fox representative was on hand to inspect the print quality of the posters and to provide security so that no posters were stolen. A special process used to prevent against forgery was incorporated into the poster: when illuminated by a black light, only a legitimate poster will show the Fox logo to change color. [Reported by Derek; with some info originally appearing in Daily Variety; and a tip of the hat to 'Vertigo'.]

November 10, 1998... If you owned a television set you were probably watching Entertainment Tonight today. ET broadcast a segment about the unveiling of the Star Wars One banner poster on display at Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles. Celebrities were asked to comment about the poster and made their observations about the new Star Wars.

But the really cool news story of the day has to be the Official Site unveiling not just the image of the SW1 banner seen on ET but the previously unseen one-sheet poster as well! The Official Site also promises to have the posters on sale soon in their online Mos Espa Marketplace. Thanks to the SW1 site everyone on the 'net now has the opportunity to see the poster images up close and personal - a very cool thing indeed for any Internet Official film site.

Of course we swiped the two images from the Official Site -- they're the SW1 teaser posters, for Gonk's sake! But as the Official Site indicates, we too should also give credit to Ellen Lee of Lucasfilm's Star Wars Art Department for having designed the teaser posters, under the direction of Jim Ward, Director of Marketing for Lucasfilm. As Ward was quoted as saying on the Official Site about the choice for the image, "We want people to understand that this is not just one film, but the beginning of an epic saga."

[Kudos to the Official SW1 Site for the classy release of the images to the online fans.]

But in light of the release of the teaser posters, we were sent a thought from a reader that made us think back to one of Lucas' earlier comments when the prequel trilogy was still in the early stages of design. Although we can't locate down the exact press release or quote, we do recall that Lucas intention upon releasing the prequel films was that future audiences could sit down and enjoy each film without the fear of any secrets being spoiled. That may still hold true for the movie's storyline, but now that the teaser posters show a young Anakin casting the shadow of Darth Vader, isn't that running contrary to what was originally said?

"Listen guys, you all better think about this. The poster sounds great but if they make the link between Anakin and Vader (albeit indirectly through the shadow,) they might blow the earlier stated idea of keeping Anakin's transformation into Vader secret. This is what I thought they wanted to do, so people would find out the devastating truth in Empire. (Thats if they hopefully watch them all in order....)" Or that's at least the way CA reader 'iaulc' said in a note dropped our way.

We're only bringing up this topic since a number of readers did express the same thought; honest, we're usually not this anally-retentive. We like the choice of image Lucasfilm chose and can't think of a better one (well, maybe our April's Fool idea of a dozen or so Jedis raising their lightsabers into a starfield would be a close contender...), so why the change of heart by LFL? Perhaps it was decided that the approach to marketing the general public's first exposure to the new prequel film shouldn't take any chances and possibly confuse general audience-goers. Sure, we all know who that eight-year-old kid is supposed to be because we've been surfing the 'net for nearly four years gathering every SW-related piece of gossip the Internet could find. But ask ten people you know who aren't that heavily connected into the SW1 base (i.e. average citizens) and ask them if they know who that eight-year-old is without looking closely at his shadow. We're figuring people might read the words 'Star Wars: Episode One' and figure it's a young Luke. Same desert planet, same clothing style, same hair, right? And while you're at it, ask yourself why the poster reads Episode One rather than The Phantom Menace? Not because it won't be the film's final title, but that this is the general public's first re-introduction to Star Wars. We're hazarding a guess right now that when the trailer is unveiled November 20th, it'll read Star Wars: Episode One as well.

And look, just think about it -- this is the first poster for the new prequel trilogy. Is that cool or what?

Last but not least, we'd like to leave you with this to contemplate over until we meet back here again. Our final scooper makes an interesting observation about the young Queen's name, and where Lucas may have looked to conjure up the character's nome de plume. "...I noticed Natalie Portman's character in Phantom Menace was named Queen Padme. There is an important Tibetan Buddhist mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum, which means 'om the jewel in the lotus hum' (om and hum are mystical noises which don't mean anything). The jewel in the lotus is supposed to represent the compassion of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva thereof. Just thought you might be interested." For a bit more info on Avalokitesvara, he is the Buddhist deity that embodies compassion, and his name means "he who observes the sounds of the world." He has many forms and takes on whatever one will most expediently help someone in need. Perhaps there's something more to the name than we first thought. [Very cool observation from 'GraeS' with more Buddhist knowledge borrowed from The True Buddhist School website.]

November 15, 1998... Friday the 13th was a very lucky day for Star Wars fans: the Official Site released the locations where you could catch a special advance screening of the new SW1 trailer. The trailer will be shown only on Tuesday November 17th at selected theaters in North America (being Canada and the United States). If you attend one of these showings the trailer will run in front and after the feature presentation. To see the complete listing of selected theaters for this Tuesday, click here for the listing on the Official Star Wars site. Although some theaters might show the trailer later in the week, this is the only guaranteed way for the public to catch the trailer before its general release on the 20th. [Thanks to Marc Hedlund for the news tip!]

Our anonymous deep cover source within the Trade Federation smuggled us out some more snapshots of a forthcoming SW1 action figure. Housed within The Anonymous Spy's yellow R4 unit were up-close photos of the Mace Windu action figure currently being offered as a Kenner special offer. So, without further delay here's what Samuel L. Jackson will look in all his cool Jedi garb, up-close and personal for you:

[Thanks to The Anonymous Spy for the droid -- and for having the foresight to make sure to send a droid with a vacuum attachment.]

November 17, 1998... Today, in twenty-six selected cities across North America, the trailer for Star Wars, Episode One: The Phantom Menace aired to the general public. News media covered the event, and from the various accounts and scoop feedback we've been receiving today, it was the near-religious event fans hoped it would be. Dozens upon dozens of emails from audience members sprinkled across the continent have been rolling into our mailbox all day Tuesday -- with even the most critical reviews still bequeathing tremendous praise upon the images they witnessed...

Here's a small sample of some of them:

But within hours of the first afternoon showings of the trailer in North America, it was already digitized and avaliable for downloading on the Internet. By mid-Tuesday evening Web sites such as the one X-Files' fan Ryan Salmon owns, or the The Demension7 site had placed the 7 meg .mpg file on their servers, with additional sites popping up every hour. Other sites that are showing selected images from the trailer (The Force.net and JediNet being two) are almost impossible to access due to the heavy server loads placed on their servers. The bootleg trailer files also offer the viewer an unprecedented opportunity to actually listen and hear the audience reaction and comments during the trailer's presentation. We here at CA would like to see if it's possible to identify the origins of the bootleg copies. By determining which cities each recording was made at, you could actually listen to and gauge the reactions of various North American film audiences scattered around the continent as the trailer images were unveiled -- a tantalizing concept!

But even though we're receiving numerous emails telling us where to get a bootleg copy of the trailer, not a single person mentioned what surprise awaited us tonight on the Official Site. Predicting the enivitable outcome of living in the video age, Lucasfilm posted sometime late this evening a new section on the Official Site allowing you to download your own crisp, clear copy of the trailer in a variety of formats. They recommend that you first check it out the way it was meant to be seen first for yourself -- in a theater. This unveiling of a trailer download section holds true to the promise site administrator Marc Hedlund made to Star Wars fans on this page last week. Although the Official Site is running a seperate server in order to try to accomodate the demand for the downloading (and thus not cause delays on their main site), a lag time is evident. We're told that the server will be beefed up to accomodate the heavy demand for the trailer on Wednesday.

In essence, today is the equalivent to Star Wars fans of what the first day of publishing The Starr Report upon the Internet was.

If you're one of the many outside of North America who knows people who (gasp!) don't have access to the 'net as of yet, you can still offer them a ray of hope. Today's edition of Access Hollywood announced that they've secured the rights to broadcast the Episode One trailer in full in their Friday edition -- not a shabby coup, either. [Thanks to the 'Pigman'.]

Details about the special requirements theater managers must concur with if they are to receive further Phantom Menace goodies are slowly arriving each day at CA...

"...I am an employee at a United Artists theatre and yesterday we got a memo full of interesting little facts:

"1. The Star Wars materials will be sent in two waves, the first on the week of 11/20 and the second will be on 12/7 for the Chirstmas movies.

"2. Looks like nifty Star Wars stuff is going to be in high demand because theatres are NOT allowed to order materials. They will get a banner and an undisclosed number of one-sheets and that's it. PERIOD. If anything gets stolen, too bad.

"3. The 2nd version of the trailer will be released in mid-January and the only way that theatres will be able to get the new trailers is to send the old ones back. (The other projectionists and I are annoyed by this since we like to collect trailers, especially Star Wars.)" [Thanks to Phil for the word from inside the projectionist room.]

And at the buzzer, this one came in: "Just wanted to give a heads up that Lucas will be releasing a CD rom for the holidays about the making of the movie. I work for a very large computer magazine which received an evaluation copy of it. Have not yet seen it myself, but it appears to be very techically oriented with very little story information available in it." Is this something new that we haven't heard of or is it the Behind the Magic CD already out in stores? [David Lightman has seen it.]

Finally, we'd like to point out a piece of trailer feedback that was expressed enough to warrant a mention. Although it was only from a handful of scoopers, some people felt that Yoda looked a little too "puppety" in appearance from the scenes they saw. Again, it should be noted that this was the only real complaint throughout the numerous pieces of feedback...which continue to pour in.

(And we've got to sneak this one in: kudos to Lucas for crafting a trailer that goes against the current grain of revealing the storyline of a film from start to end -- perhaps this will turn the tide on what we considered was a dying breed of trailer...)

November 19, 1998... If you were watching television Thursday night chances were good you caught the trailer. In addition to Entertainment Tonight running the trailer (complete with a post-trailer comment by Mart Hart (we swear she's CGI), we're getting reports that seem to indicate FOX-TV affiliates were also given a copy of the trailer to air on their newscasts today.

The Official Web Site has bolstered its servers to better accomodate the heavy demand for the trailer. This is still the premiere place to download the trailer, but we've also visited other sites that have mirrored the trailer, so the demand should start subsiding. We haven't been able to confirm where the bootleg trailer files that have surfaced on the net originated from, although Ain't It Cool published a email from an individual ('Scorpio') in San Francisco that claims to have been the one who filmed an dmade avaliable the first bootleg copy.

And we also heard from someone else today who's friend works at a movie theater which has the trailer and posters for TPM. They told us that the theater the scooper's friend works at has received instructions from Lucasfilm telling them to photograph the destruction of the one-sheet poster or else they may not receive a print of the film! This is the first we've heard of Lucasfilm requesting direct proof of the destruction of the first wave of promotional materials and needless to say we're keeping an open mind about it. Are there additional theater employees willing to step forward and confirm or deny this wild bit of hearsay? [Scooped by Dan Bennett.]

We're also told that if you dial 1-800-405-9800 you can aquire a free copy of the Episode One poster. When we called the number a recorded voice stated it was the 'LucasArts poster fulfillment center' and asks you for your mailing information. We don't know what's the image on the poster, and we admit that we're hesitant to take it on its face value (doesn't it seems to be true good to be believed?) but our scooper swears its legit. There is a limit of one poster per household and posters can be sent to mailing addresses in North America ONLY. [Our regards to 'MirclMax' for spreading the good news on.]

Finally, we leave you with this tempting and juicy rumor: could it be that the pod race sequence is an homage to the chariot race sequence in Ben Hur? One of our scoopers seems to hint that they've seen it and it's literally "shot-by-shot" the sequence from the classic Charlton Heston movie. [Anonymous.]



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