Star Wars 1: The Phantom Menace Countdown to the Release!

By now, you may have seen the trailer, but now we have to wait until May 19th, 1999 (U.S. and Canada) for the movie to be released!

Countdown Timer

As soon as the information is released by theaters, we will have a list of theaters that will be showing Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, as well as advance ticket information, and theater details, like digital sound, stadium seating, and THX certification. Stay tuned...we'll give you the information as soon as we have it!

Theaters are reporting in...

Fans wait eagerly for their tickets on May 12th. Click Here for Photos!

To satisfy your needs while you wait, here are some Star Wars related materials that may help. (And to those of you cynics out there, yes, the Amazon.com links are there to encourage you to spend your money and help to support BigScreen!)

Last Updated: May 12th, 1999

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Interesting Tidbits

[May 5, 1999] -- Internet community site Talk City today announced that it has been chosen as the official online chat provider for Lucasfilm Ltd.'s upcoming movie release, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Over the next few months, Talk City will host 12 moderated online chats with the stars and key contributors of the much-anticipated, new installment to the classic Star Wars series. The chat series will begin this Thursday, May 6, at 6 p.m. PST, with an online chat with world-famous composer John Williams, who composed the music for Episode I and the original Star Wars films, including the famous Star Wars theme.

[May 4, 1999] -- Lucasfilm's President Gordon Radley announced Saturday that Episode I will have a PG rating when released in theaters, making the film accessible to most audiences, including children. It was also announced at the celebration that the film is now officially complete! Producer Rick McCallum explained that George Lucas signed off a final copy of the film late last week. The final touches have come to a close as we get closer to the film's release on May 19th.

[April 23, 1999] -- Episode I Ticket Update - Over the last several weeks, Twentieth Century Fox, Lucasfilm, and The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) have consulted in order to determine an advance ticket sale practice for Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace that will provide the least inconvenience for families, fans and general movie goers and hopefully avoid a potential ticket scalping problem. Fox and Lucasfilm announced today the following practice to be followed on Star Wars: Episode I advance ticket sales.

Tickets will be made available for advance sales on Wednesday, May 12th at 3:00pm eastern daylight time at those theatres and ticket outlets in the United States and Canada that offer advance ticketing. Theatre owners have agreed to make every reasonable effort to first accommodate those fans already standing in line. In a continuing effort to discourage scalping a maximum of 12 tickets may be purchased per customer.

[March 11, 1999] -- George Lucas has announced that the date of release has been pushed up to May 19th, 1999. Two less days to wait...

[January 6, 1999] -- Harry Knowles, publisher of the web site "Ain't It Cool News," has announced that the following text will be the scrolling prologue to Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace:

"Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to and from the small planet of Naboo. While the Congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace, to settle the conflict. ..."

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