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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

PT The hype leading up to each episode

Discussion in 'Prequel Trilogy' started by Jedi Knight Fett, Apr 16, 2017.

  1. Lulu Mars

    Lulu Mars Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Mar 10, 2005
    Heck yeah!! I still have it lying around somewhere. I loved it! I remember poring over the Episode I teaser section and taking quizzes read by various well-known Star Wars characters. Hearing Emperor Palpatine ask questions about people like Exar Kun and Prince "Sheezor" in his deliciously, grandfatherly evil voice is a memory that I am particularly fond of :emperor:

    With the small exception of a somewhat distasteful (though well executed) fashion show where a 3D animated Leia did the runway walk in her gold bikini while Governor Tarkin drooled "Charming... to the last" somewhere in the background, Behind the Magic was really a monumental achievement that brought me hours of fun and valuable indepth knowledge about the GFFA.

    I love this bit. You just made we want to revisit BTM and reclaim whatever insight I have lost over the years!!
    I bet my computer is a tad too new to run it, though... :(
     
  2. Ord-Mantell70

    Ord-Mantell70 Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Mar 9, 2009
    I'm an old school French fan. Saw every OOT movies at the theater back in 1977-1983 (was almost 7 when ANH came out).

    Well, the lead up for TPM really began for me when the SE was released, late January 1997 over there. The Star Wars mania was definitely back, and more and more things were beginning to surface about the PT to come soon. God, I was so anxious to see the Backstory/PT from the moment I went out from the theater after I saw ROTJ with friends. Had been waiting for this since 1983...So you bet interest and anticipation was at its highest.

    Like others mentioned, the strongest memory of that 1997-1998 period leading to TPM is by no doubt trying to stream the first teaser trailer released in November 1998 with that bloody 56kbp dial-up modem. Man, I tried at least 20 times before finally losing my temper and giving up !!! [face_laugh] All I could see and hear each time was blurred images and some intriguing lines ("You refer to the prophecy of the Chosen One. You believe it's this...Boy ?", "Are you sure about this ? Trusting our fate on a boy we hardly know ?"). What I could barely visually make out was something like a race between strange vehicles in a desert, with lot of noise....I finally spent a week-end in London in July 1999, to see the movie 3 month before it would came out over here in France.

    Anticipations were high for AOTC and ROTS as well, especially for the last one, as most of what was hinted at in the OT was to happen and to fall into place storywise speaking : birth of the Empire, fall of the Old Republic, wiping out of the Jedi, Anakin Skywalker turning to the dark side becoming Darth Vader, exile of Mother Skywalker etc...Though not as high as for TPM, and maybe even as for ROTJ back in the Summer of 1983.

    Remember I seriously contemplated making a short trip to Los Angeles, where I used to go back then from time to time, for ROTS release in May 2005. To sort of celebrate the (then) last Star Wars movie, and see it over there at the Mann's Chinese theater, where all this crazyness began in the summer of 1977...But finally didn't.


    Really ? Where was it ?

    I've never heard of something like this, even for TPM !!!

    Probably too much yeah...Though it was less invading outside the US (except maybe for the UK...I don't know)

    But, sure, in the US it was a full-on mania never experienced before for any movie, and that has not been repeated since then. Showing the tremendous impact of Star Wars in America.

    What's that ??? Never heard about this before... [face_laugh][face_laugh][face_laugh]

    And I thought I was one of the oldest fan on these boards....
     
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  3. Aiwendil42

    Aiwendil42 Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    Jul 16, 2008
    Seeing TPM for the first time was (sad as it may sound) one of the most exciting moments in my life. Star Wars had been a huge part of my life for just about as long as I could remember. I was born in 1982, and I saw the OT early enough that I don't actually remember the first time I saw them; they were always just kind of there, like the sun or the moon. I grew up playing with the action figures. I had the Star Wars and Return of the Jedi storybooks and Empire Strikes Back bed sheets. I started reading the EU with the Thrawn Trilogy in the early '90s and a little later started playing the Star Wars RPG. So the thought that there would be new Star Wars movies was beyond thrilling. It was literally something I had wanted for as long as I could remember. I would actually see the fall of the Old Republic! I would actually see the mythic duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin (which I'd fantasized about and acted out myself more often than I'd care to admit)!

    The excitement for Episode I - at least among people of my acquaintance - was unlike anything I've seen for any other movie, book, album, or anything. I remember one kid in high school, months before it came out, assuring me that he would see the movie once a week for as long as it was playing at the local theater. What seems strange now is that I can recall almost no skepticism or doubt that Episode I would be amazing. I remember seeing Darth Maul merchandise everywhere. I listened to the soundtrack as soon as it came out, though I avoided looking at the track list (wisely, as it turned out). I tried to avoid spoilers, and managed to go in knowing very little about the movie. I knew what the characters looked like, as avoiding posters, shirts, mugs, mousepads, etc. was impossible. I knew that Darth Maul was a new villain, that Padme was Luke and Leia's mother, that there was a character some critics described as annoying called Jar-Jar, and that Yoda would be in the movie. I remember hearing Yoda's "Fear is the path to the Dark Side . . ." quote. But I knew nothing about the plot. I bought tickets as soon as they went on sale, opting for an evening showing on opening day when a bunch of friends were also seeing it. I recall that there were several people in costume and kids having lightsaber duels before it started. There was scattered applause when Lucasfilm logo came up, a thunderous outburst when the main title started, scattered clapping throughout, and sustained applause at the end credits. I'd never heard applause in a movie theater before. I loved the movie, and still do. Pretty much everyone I saw it with came away saying they loved it too, though within a few years many of them had changed their minds. The summer of 1999 was dominated by TPM for me - I saw it a total of six times.

    I was excited for AotC and RotS as well - very excited. Particularly for RotS, which would feature that lightsaber duel I'd been dreaming about for years and happened to be coming out on the day I graduated from college. But nothing can compare with the excitement in the air in early 1999.
     
  4. ewoksimon

    ewoksimon Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Oct 26, 2009
    I have never been and will never be more amped for any film in the same way I was in the lead up to ROTS. Thirty years of myth building to one momentous experience.
     
  5. Darth__Lobot

    Darth__Lobot Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 29, 2015

    Ever heard of a BBS? That's what we had before the internet :cool:
     
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  6. ShaneP

    ShaneP Ex-Mod Officio star 7 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Mar 26, 2001
    Nothing matched Episode One's hype but Episode Two was up there. More subdued for Three.
     
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  7. themoth

    themoth Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Dec 5, 2015
    My hype for Episode III was biblical. I was super excited. I mean, the prospect of seeing the birth of Darth Vader on screen and the extinction of the Jedi? Wow.
     
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  8. Darth Mikey

    Darth Mikey Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2015
    I remember in ...early 1998, I think (?) , there was an article in a magazine titled "The New Face of Star Wars" or something like that. I remember it had a shot of Liam Neeson wrapped in a shall ( ironically, looking back, it resembled his poncho a lot ), with his arms crossed underneath it. He still had short hair, and was clean shaven. Only thing it really talked about was he was playing a Jedi Master, Ewan was Obi-Wan, Natalie was a "Young Queen", Jake was Anakin, and Ahmed was playing an alien. It had pictures, but they were from other films ( Portman- Mars attacks, Lloyd - Jingle All the Way, etc. ). That was really my first exposure to the prequels.

    For those not there, the hype for TPM was BEYOND incredible. It was everywhere, from toys to books, to computer software, to posters, to toilet paper, to soda, to fast food promotions. You literally couldn't go to ANY store, anywhere in America, and not see something related to it. It also had the First Midnight Madness event (now Force Friday). The idea of standing in line for a midnight launch of toys was foreign to me, but I did it anyway. and, of course, I've done it for every movie ever since. It was funny seeing and hearing about loose Darth Maul figures going for near $500 on ebay 2 months before they were officially released.
     
  9. Jabba the Hud

    Jabba the Hud Jedi Padawan

    Registered:
    Feb 10, 2017
    The Pizza Hut promos are my favourite memories too! Glad someone else mentioned these, good work brother!
     
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  10. JoJoPenelli

    JoJoPenelli Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 14, 2000
    Was there any huge fandom obsession/split between 1 and 2 or 2 and 3, as there is with the 7/8 "Rey's parentage" drama?
     
  11. Mostly Handless

    Mostly Handless Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2017
    I first saw Star Wars many years after ROTS had vacated the big screen, but I remember experiencing the hype for that movie from the school playground as an eight-year-old. Kids playing with toy Lightsabers, using rulers as Lightsabers in class, pretending to be Obi-wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker ect. I'm also pretty sure I remember part of the ROTS marketing campaign, form TV spots, or seeing posters outside of the local cinema/on buses. I know the 'Vader Cape' teaser poster gives me deja-vu. [​IMG]
     
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  12. Darth Dnej

    Darth Dnej Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2013
    I'm too young to have much hype for Episodes I and II. However, I remember being quite hyped for Episode III from Fall 2004 onward. I just had no idea how they were going to finally transform Anakin physically into Vader. It was just going to be crazy.
     
  13. Mostly Handless

    Mostly Handless Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Feb 11, 2017
    Lucas found a way though.:)
    [​IMG]:p
     
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  14. PymParticles

    PymParticles Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Oct 1, 2014
    I was way too young to remember most of the pre-TPM hype, but I do recall the tie-ins with Kentucky Fried Chicken, as my grandpa used to pick up lunch from there on the way home after picking me up from pre-school. I remember post-TPM I was smitten with the film, playing the hell out of the podracer game on N64 even though I was terrible at it, and I got Amidala's royal starship for Christmas that year, which joined the Millennium Falcon as the crown jewels of my toy box. I also remember my mom coming home from work one day with the deluxe VHS case, which came with a strip of film a booklet of artwork form the movie.

    Pre-AotC was probably the most excited I'd been. Early on, I remember seeing the teaser poster in a movie theater, with "A Jedi shall not know anger. Nor hatred. Nor love," and the whole thing struck me as exciting and ominous. I remember bonding with my still-best friend on the playground because some kid swore his uncle worked on the movie and let him see it early, and according to him Darth Maul was in the film with robot legs; we wasted no time telling him how that was the dumbest thing we ever heard. Funny how that worked out. Anyway, I remember picking up the Visual Dictionary from Costco one day and poring over the images and soaking up all the minute details, as well as my grandpa taking me to Toys-'r-Us after school on the day the toys came out. I picked up Anakin in his peasant disguise, which I was convinced would be his default outfit in the film. Also the GoGurt commercial; I remember that really clearly, for some reason.

    Post-RotS was a little more bittersweet, since Lucas was insistent that it would be his last. By this point, however, I had read his biography and written a paper on it for school, so I still held out hope for the Episodes VII-IX I know he used to talk about. I remember having conversations with my parents about what would happen in the movie (my mom was convinced Dooku would be revealed as Anakin's father), and one day my dad called me over to his computer to watch the final trailer for the film. I was in Canada for a wedding just as the marketing stared ramping up, and as cool as it was to see Chewbacca and Anakin and Obi-Wan and Darth Vader adorn magazine cover and packages of snack food, I was still aware enough to feel sad thinking I would never see that again. But there was still a lot of excitement leading up to the movie! I adored the Clone Wars micro-series, and Cartoon Network aired every episode of the show together (all in all it runs a little over two hours) a month or so prior to the release of the movie, which my family sat down and watched together over dinner. I also consumed the Jedi Quest and Boba Fett books during these years. The day the film came out, I remember being like something of an unofficial holiday. Kids were running around the playground with toy lightsabers, the news was filled with footage of huge lines of people waiting to see the movie, and I'm pretty sure most of my school was empty the next day since everyone had gone to see it the night before.
     
  15. Sith Lord 2015

    Sith Lord 2015 Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 30, 2015
    Maybe nothing to do with hype, but something I noticed during the promotion of ROTS is the sense of humor. I don't know who came up with that tagline but I found it kind of refreshing.:cool: Seems the promoters didn't take their product too seriously, or rather didn't do all the advertising too seriously. I liked that.
    [​IMG]
     
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  16. ObiWanKnowsMe

    ObiWanKnowsMe Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 7, 2015


    That video basically sums up the hype going into Episode 1.