Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace Movie

How annoying is Jar Jar Binks? The comical, animated Gungan is so off-putting that even one of his creators says he found him hard to stomach at first. The floppy-eared, loose-jointed creature who made his debut in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" was an immediate hit with children, but many adults walked out of theaters loathing the character, who is on screen for 30 minutes.

This messy Burbank living room, with its cheap computer and jury-rigged video station, may be the most notorious rebel outpost in the "Star Wars" universe this side of the ice planet Hoth. It is the lair of the Phantom Editor, a struggling filmmaker who boldly remade a copy of the first "Star Wars" prequel into a movie that die-hard fans liked better than George Lucas' original--and became a cult hero in the process.

Even before the newest entry in the "Star Wars" saga opened last week, a comic-book store clerk in Seattle had organized a group called the International Society for the Extermination of Jar Jar Binks and set up a Web site with an address that sounds like a battle cry: http://www.jarjarmustdie.com. From all indications, the digital animated character who debuted in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" is irritating moviegoers across North America.

Last May, "The Tonight Show" tapped into the pre-release hype and hysteria surrounding "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" with a comic bit in which Jimmy Brogan, one of the show's writers, camped out in line. The joke was that he was not, like thousands across the country, waiting outside a movie theater to be among the first to see the film, but outside a video store to be the first to rent it. The wait is nearly over.

Last May, "The Tonight Show" tapped into the pre-release hype and hysteria surrounding "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" with a comic bit in which Jimmy Brogan, one of the show's writers, camped out in line. The joke was that he was not, like thousands across the country, waiting outside a movie theater to be among the first to see the film, but outside a video store to be the first to rent it. The wait is nearly over.

In "The Matrix," the new Keanu Reeves sci-fi flick that power-surged onto screens last week, the actor dangles from a helicopter, fights with shape-shifting androids and sports a cool pair of Ray-Bans--all while wired into a computer. In the movie's not exactly original but impressively rendered premise, virtual reality is not just a place where a man might meet his death--for the vast majority of the enslaved human race, it is the only reality they know.

"Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" opens just after midnight tonight on 64 screens at 25 theaters in Orange County and Long Beach. Many of those theaters will continue showing it throughout the early hours of Wednesday. Here are the theaters, alphabetically by city. All are Edwards Cinemas except as indicated otherwise: * Aliso Viejo 20: 12:01 a.m., 3 a.m. on five screens. * Cinemapolis, Anaheim Hills: 12:01 a.m. * Anaheim Hills Festival Center: 12:01 a.m., 3 a.m. on two screens.

The stunning visual effects in the latest "Star Wars" installment can't detract from one very important message. And that is this: No matter the planet, the time or the galaxy, good accessories can improve any outfit. The "Star Wars" prequel, "Episode I The Phantom Menace," is many things--a fantasy, an adventure, a morality tale, but according to its creator, George Lucas, and its costume designer, Trisha Biggar, it's also a costume drama.

Costumes in fantasy and sci-fi movies have become more sophisticated since the days of Buck Rogers' and Flash Gordon's shiny, awkward spacesuits, first introduced in the late 1930s. Hollywood gives fantasy fashion another wild spin in the "Star Wars" prequel. The costumes in "Episode I The Phantom Menace" can trace their lineage through decades of actual and cinematic fashion history.

The "Star Wars" saga is one of those rare pop phenomena that can accurately be described as both puerile and profound. It's silliness was always readily apparent (Wookies! Light sabers! Prissy talking robots! Please!). As for the profundities, they came to light after adults started searching for ways to rationalize how much fun they were having at the matinees with their kids.

How annoying is Jar Jar Binks? The comical, animated Gungan is so off-putting that even one of his creators says he found him hard to stomach at first. The floppy-eared, loose-jointed creature who made his debut in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" was an immediate hit with children, but many adults walked out of theaters loathing the character, who is on screen for 30 minutes.

Natalie Portman, who plays teenage Queen Amidala in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace," views the character as something of a role model. Portman, 17, whose feature film debut was in Luc Besson's 1994 "The Professional," is all for it. "The film ["Phantom Menace"] does a great job of creating a positive image for young women," she says. "It's good for young girls to see it because she's [Queen Amidala] very smart, she's very together, she's very compassionate and warm.

While a certain sci-fi film continued to rule the box-office galaxy over the lucrative Memorial Day weekend, a smaller film proved that there are other forms of life on planet Hollywood. "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" smashed another record over the four-day holiday, surpassing the $200-million level on Monday after only 13 days in release, a full eight days ahead of "Independence Day," which got there after 21 days.

Even before the newest entry in the "Star Wars" saga opened last week, a comic-book store clerk in Seattle had organized a group called the International Society for the Extermination of Jar Jar Binks and set up a Web site with an address that sounds like a battle cry: http://www.jarjarmustdie.com. From all indications, the digital animated character who debuted in "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" is irritating moviegoers across North America.

George Lucas' current box-office hit, "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" will appear on free television long before it ever airs on cable--a growing trend in which the rules governing what happens to a big Hollywood movie after it leaves the theaters are increasingly being bent. Under the deal that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. struck with Lucas last year, his 20th Century Fox movie studio released the sci-fi saga on the big screen last week, then will release it subsequently on home video.

"Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" opens just after midnight tonight on 64 screens at 25 theaters in Orange County and Long Beach. Many of those theaters will continue showing it throughout the early hours of Wednesday. Here are the theaters, alphabetically by city. All are Edwards Cinemas except as indicated otherwise: * Aliso Viejo 20: 12:01 a.m., 3 a.m. on five screens. * Cinemapolis, Anaheim Hills: 12:01 a.m. * Anaheim Hills Festival Center: 12:01 a.m., 3 a.m. on two screens.

How do you drum up interest in what is probably one of the most anticipated films ever released--"Star Wars: Episode I--The Phantom Menace"? That was the challenge that faced officials at 20th Century Fox Wednesday night as they went before the world's theater owners at the NATO/ShoWest convention here to whet their appetite for what is quickly becoming a movie so eagerly awaited that it's like being an engineer on a runaway train.

While a certain sci-fi film continued to rule the box-office galaxy over the lucrative Memorial Day weekend, a smaller film proved that there are other forms of life on planet Hollywood. "Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace" smashed another record over the four-day holiday, surpassing the $200-million level on Monday after only 13 days in release, a full eight days ahead of "Independence Day," which got there after 21 days.

Danny is on his cell phone, making plans to see a preview screening of "Instinct" as he waits for his father to deliver a La-Z-Boy recliner. Ken is stretched out on his couch, playing video games on his laptop. Shahin and Apollo are in beach chairs, watching TV on a set hooked up to a satellite dish.

The stunning visual effects in the latest "Star Wars" installment can't detract from one very important message. And that is this: No matter the planet, the time or the galaxy, good accessories can improve any outfit. The "Star Wars" prequel, "Episode I The Phantom Menace," is many things--a fantasy, an adventure, a morality tale, but according to its creator, George Lucas, and its costume designer, Trisha Biggar, it's also a costume drama.