Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

This First Episode follows the young years of Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader). The friendship of Obi-wan Kenobi, Yoda and Qui-Gon Jinn are also central aspects. And the beginning of the rise to power of Senator Palpatine to Emperor.

May 22nd 1999: Mr. Showbiz reports that according to figures released by Exhibitor Relations, 'The Phantom Menace' lost about half its audience between Wednesday and Thursday, with totals dipping from the record-smashing opening-day gross of $28.5 million to approximately $13.2 million. After two days, the film's total gross stands at $41.7 million.

May 20th 1999: Midnight showings of 20th Century Fox’s “Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace” skywalked their way to a stunning $7 million-$10 million at the boxoffice, various industry sources estimated Wednesday. That puts it on track to a $35 million or better single-day gross, eclipsing the record set by Universal’s “Lost World: Jurassic Park,” which took in $26.1 million on a Sunday during the four-day 1997 Memorial Day holiday weekend. “Phantom” made its debut at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

May 10th 1999: There's quite a few new reviews online today, this time by the critics rather than the fans. As expected they're mixed, but as Lucas himself put it: "lackluster reviews might cool off the over-expectations, and hopefully people can go see it with a more neutral mind." You can read some of the reviews below.

May 5th 1999: The first batch of advance reviews for 'Episode I' are popping up left and right today. Haven't read any of them myself, but I hear most of them are quite positive, the only complaint was that the movie didn't fully meet some people's gigantic expectations, and others are unsure about their feelings for this new Star Wars adventure. Anyway, click below to read the reviews, but remember that they represent other people's opinions, so don't take them too seriously.

April 29th 1999: The song "The Duel of the Fates," which was composed and conducted by John Williams is now available online. It is reported that it 'embodies the conflict between the light and the dark at the heart of the new Star Wars movie.' In related news, CHUD has gotten their hands on the Episode I comic, check out their site for pictures of that. And finally, THR reports that 20th Century Fox will unfurl "Star Wars: Episode I - TPM" for theater owners May 4-6 in 30 U.S. cities, but film buyers won't know where the screening is until the last minute for security reasons. Thanks to Movie Salvage and CHUD.

April 23rd 1999: 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. Full Story >>>

March 24th 1999 will premiere May 16th at benefit screenings held in a dozen U.S. cities. Each event will be a fund-raiser for a children's charity where all costs will be underwritten by corporate sponsors. The Los Angeles premiere will benefit the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The charity is hoping to raise more than $700,000 from the event. No theater has been chosen for the screening. Tickets for the L.A. screening and after-party start at $500 each, with packages priced at $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000, Variety reports. Also, click on the picture about for a whole bunch of new Episode I scans (some of which could be concidered spoiler pics) from the latest Star Wars Insider over at TheForce.net.

March 11th 1999 / The Phantom Menace [Full Trailer]
It's here at long last, courtesy of the Official Site. The trailer for Episode I runs for 2 minutes and 30 seconds. And whereas the teaser focused on the story of Anakin, the new trailer spans more of the full story arc, offering a glimpse at the scope of the whole movie. Some tools which might come in handy are Quicktime, GetRight and FileHound. Enjoy! Discuss the trailer? >>>

February 24th 1999: Click on the image above for a larger, spoiler-ish version of the picture. Also, Cinescape reports that according to the New York Daily News Rush & Molloy gossip column, Natalie Portman ("Léon") had to redub most of her performance for the new film. The reason? Her voice changed during production. The column also mentions that background noise is another reason for some of the dubs. Image is courtesy of QueenAmidala.com and Countdown, which also added a very nice shot of another duel today right here.

February 17th 1999: Above is an amazing shot of Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul in action. Also, Episode I Producer Rick McCallum confirmed that the upcoming trailer for Episode I has come in at a final running time of two and a half minutes. While the "full" trailer continues the same style seen in the teaser, the new one focuses much more on the larger plot of TPM rather than on the story of Anakin Skywalker. Packed with completely new footage, the trailer is currently being mixed and readied for release. Thanks to TheForce.net and www.StarWars.com.

February 8th 1999: Movie Salvage was told that the new "Star Wars: Episode I - TPM" trailer will play with the "Wing Commander" movie, which will be released March 12th in the US. Thanks to 'Brian' for the info!

January 29th 1999: The Official Site reports that as George Lucas announced this week, the Star Wars: Episode I trailer will be released this March in theaters across the U.S. and Canada. At the same time, expect to see a new one-sheet poster featuring characters from the film.

November 20th 1998: Glenn sent along an interesting scoop. Apparently US movie theatres who have recieved the trailer have also been give this rather stern note from FOX executives:

We know how many copies of this trailer you have. On January 15th you will pull these trailers and ship all of them back to Fox. If we do not receive all of the trailers, you will not receive any future trailers and be in very good chance to not receive Star Wars: Episode 1 itself..

November 18th 1998: Okay, the teaser trailer is online, but due to extreme traffic, it's very hard to get. What I recommend to do, is to get either Get Right or Filehound, check out Countdown's mirror site list and just be patient, everyone should be able to get a copy eventually. Thanks to the Official Site and 'Sha Sha.'

November 17th 1998: Above is a single shot of the trailer that will air in various theaters today, for more screenshots, check out JediNet or dEmension7, though be aware, as some of them could be considered as spoilers for those who wishes to be surprised by the trailer.

November 12th 1998: Above is a great copy of the official one-sheet teaser poster and also a banner. I really like it, it's simple, yet effective, just like the advance posters for Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were when first released. The images are courtesy of the Official Site with thanks to Dave and 'Michael.'

November 10th 1998: The "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" one-sheet poster, whose image includes a young man standing in a desert, was done with a special five-color process as an anti-counterfeiting device - the Fox logo in the corner changes color beneath a blacklight. Sources said the sheet should be in theaters by Nov. 20, the same day the film's two-minute trailer begins screening. For a sneak peek at the poster, check out this site. The poster should be shown on tonight's edition of "Entertainment Tonight," and I wouldn't say no to a capture/scan of some sorts.

November 7th 1998: The Official Site reports that on Friday, November 20th, Star Wars fans can get a glimpse of the upcoming Star Wars movie, as theaters across the U.S. and Canada will be showing trailers for Episode I The Phantom Menace. The trailer will not be attached to any particular film, but will instead play on a variety of films opening that weekend. The trailer will include over two minutes of footage from the movie!

October 31st 1998: Mr. Showbiz reports that the long-awaited trailer for George Lucas' Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace has gotten delayed again. Word from 20th Century Fox is that vice-chairman Tom Sherak wanted the 'Phantom' trailer to make its debut as an attachment to The Siege. But Lucas ended up fiddling with the trailer footage and effects for so long that the Siege deadline came and went. A source said: "Lucas is his own bird. They can't push him too hard. He considers the trailer tantamount to a preview of the film, the first big peek at it. He can't leave it alone. He can't stop saying, 'What if we went back and added this? What if we do this?'" Sherak's comment was: "It's getting ready."

October 22nd 1998: Many sources claim the trailer will be seen in front of the 20th Century Fox release "The Siege" opening November 6th. Thanks to 'Michael' for the info.

September 25th 1998: The official site reports that George Lucas has decided to name the new movie "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace." Some sources say George Lucas is just testing the response, and will probably change it. Others say it's the real title. I will probably add more news about this over the weekend, for now you can vote for it in the poll.

August 10th 1998: The Official Site recently reported that the scheduled release date for Episode One is May 21st, 1999. Fox will not set the movie for widest possible release, but will bring the film to theaters with the emphasis on quality. George Lucas commented: "I'm not trying to break any records. I'm interested in quality presentation, and a positive group experience for everyone who comes to see this film. It's about sight and sound and the movie itself."

May 28th 1998: At the left is the infamous advert for the upcoming film "Star Wars: Episode One," courtesy of the Official Site.

January 5th 1998: One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the production of Episode I is that George is deliberately filming misleading scenes in order to keep spies from revealing the sensitive plot points of the movie. The story for Episode I has been bouncing around in George's head for the past 20 years... Full Story >>>

Talk about this movie at

Copyright © 1997/99 Bjørn Erik Hundland. Contact Movie-Page.com.
© ® All the info and images are copyrighted to their respective owners.
Original Design By Web Byrået Norge A/S. Movie Page Hosted by Digiweb.