THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 10, 1997 TAG: 9701090039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Grace Hsiu
LENGTH: 53 lines
I HAVE a confession.
The only ``Star Wars'' trivia that I've accumulated in the 16 years of my otherwise mundane existence is what happens in the trilogy.
Pathetic, isn't it? Especially when the Sci-Fi channel airs ``Behind the Scenes of `Star Wars' with author Kevin J. Anderson'' every two hours.
And so, recognizing this deficiency, as well as anticipating the forthcoming re-release of the ``Star Wars'' trilogy coming to theaters near you Jan. 31, Feb. 21 and March 7, I turned to various Star Wars experts to enrich my somewhat lacking mind.
The biggest news, perhaps, is the prequel, a three-part film to hopefully clear up any questions and/or doubts about Luke's lineage (i.e., who was his mother?). It is scheduled to be released the summer of 1999 and is predicted to beat out past summer blockbusters at the box office. And that's certainly not to say that the re-release of the original trilogy isn't going to be the coup de grace of all marketing ploys. Why, there's an entire revivalist movement going on.
``I think it's awesome that they've decided to show the trilogy back on the big screen,'' said Star Wars savant Steve Bull, 18, of Virginia Beach. ``I mean, a whole new generation will be exposed to it. And that's not to say that they'll make a killing of money off of it.''
Yes, indeed. ``They'' are actually ``he'' - director George Lucas, who has already experienced red-carpet treatment from the big film industry giants, Disney in particular, with hopes of funding his $70 million prequel. After all, the video box set of the trilogy sold 22 million copies in six months. With this kind of success in videos, the success of the prequel and the doctored trilogy will be massive.
However, there are mixed reactions among the potential viewers of the so-called ``original'' trilogy.
Lucas has added new scenes, such as a confrontation between Han Solo and Jabba the Hutt, that originally landed on the director's chopping block in 1977. The scenes add about 15 minutes to each film.
``I think they should've kept the original the way it was - not added all these scenes,'' Bull said.
Margaret Smallwood, 13, of Norfolk disagrees, saying: ``Personally, I'm excited about these new scenes. We'll be seeing much more `Star Wars' footage than those people who saw it when it first came out.''
Well, this world is certainly full of the dark side - and THX digitally remastered sound as well. MEMO: Grace Hsiu is a junior at Cox High School. Her column appears
bimonthly. If you'd like to comment on her column, call INFOLINE at
640-5555 and enter category 6778 or write to her at 4565 Virginia Beach
Blvd., Virginia Beach, Va. 23462.