Barry Willis

If you want to be the first on your block to see <A HREF="http://www.starwars.com/"><I>Star Wars: Episode I---The Phantom Menace</I></A>, you'd better get in line soon---if you can figure out which theater is going to show the film. Theater allocations for the long-awaited May 19 debut hadn't been decided as of last week, but exhibitors eagerly agreed to some strict requirements for running the film. One restriction---that no tickets be pre-sold---will thwart ticket scalpers and deprive ticket agencies of sizable fees.

Money changes everything. <A HREF="http://www.circuitcity.com/">Circuit City</A>, parent company of <A HREF="http://www.divx.com/">Divx</A>, has enjoyed a stock run-up recently due to rumors of a possible equity partnership deal with video-rental chain <A HREF="http://www.blockbuster.com/">Blockbuster</A>. In the deal, Viacom-owned Blockbuster would buy into Divx, considerably strengthening the pay-per-view startup's financial footing and giving it instant credibility in the video-rental market. Blockbuster has more than 600 stores nationwide.

S<I>tar Wars</I> is with us as much today as it was 22 years ago, when the first film of the series was released. In fact, it has been around so long that it seems an inherent part of popular culture, like <I>Huckleberry Finn</I>---in the public domain, free for anyone to use as they wish. George Lucas, creator of the blockbuster film and its two sequels, has long looked the other way regarding possible copyright infringements. Fanzines, fantasy periodicals, and filmed spoofs have elaborated on <I>Star Wars</I> characters and story lines for two decades without fear.

Stanley Kubrick's death on Sunday, March 7, stunned the film community and millions of the director's fans worldwide. He was in the process of completing the finishing technical touches on his last film, <I>Eyes Wide Shut</I>, and editing a trailer for it. His family reported that he died in his sleep, just five days after the film's first private screening for Warner Bros. executives.