Sorry, this is not autograph related, but I wanted to do a memory recall of The Phantom Menace Trailer launch.
“Every Saga has a beginning” and back in ’98 we got our first glimpse of a trailer of a new film that, in time, will divide fans for the next twenty years. But forget that for the minute. Put your love of Jar Jar away…
We need to go back…
To a more civilised age, so put your smart phone down, grab your free AOL CD, put your Spicegirls CD on, stop tweeting about TLJ and connect your slow modem connection to your Windows 98 machine and grab a cup of tea.
In today’s world seeing the trailer would be simple. In 1998, there is no Youtube and the time to download 2 minutes and 12 seconds would be days and fail multiple times. To see the trailer you needed to know what film it was attached to; in the US it was Meet Joe Black and for the life of me in the UK I don’t recall. But there was a buzz in the air and Star Wars was back, George was behind the camera and the untold story of Anakin Skywalker was coming to the big screen.
Star Wars is BACK!
It’s not often a trailer invokes memories; I’ve seen hundreds and don’t recall many. I have not watched the trailer for a number of years, but its 2 minutes and 12 seconds of “New Hope” and “Boyhood Dreams” turning a 23- year-old kid in to an 8-year-old boy
You must “unlearn what you have learned” and watch without knowing what you know as a 42-year-old man! So please have a go and let that little 8-year-old boy be released for two minutes.
Here is my internal monologue…
1 second – I am going to burst!!
9 seconds – Oh the Lucasfilm logo, this is going to be good.
15 seconds – Is that Dagobah?
25 seconds – That ship is slick and silver!
’37 second – Who is that?
42 seconds – Love that theme! Oh it’s so Star Wars
49 seconds – Obi Wan! Ewan nailed it! Looks nothing like Renton from Trainspotting
55 seconds – Who is that? He looks a great character.
1:04 seconds – Samuel L Jackson! And he is talking about Anakin! We know he become Darth Vader!
1:14 seconds – Who or what was that!?!
1:16 seconds – Lightsabers!!
1:26 seconds – Anakin meets Obi Wan! Oh My goodness. I love that! Nice touch George. This is going to be epic!!
1:30 seconds – Young Yoda. Love Yoda! He looks epic! Will he have a lightsaber?
1:32 seconds – Obi wan knows!!!. So why does he train him! Oh my goodness I need to see this film now!
1:43 seconds – What does Yoda mean? That’s so deep! This feels right!
1:45 seconds – Was that a double lightsaber? Oh my goodness did you see his face?
1:49 seconds – What are those!?!
1:54 seconds – R2 and C3-P0! What is up with 3-P0?
2.11 seconds – Spring 1999!! How long is that?
Can you please re-run the trailer? Please!!
The film is released on the 16th of July 1999 and goes on break box office records. The rest in history. But this was a simpler time and even Ricky Martin is yet to release “Livin’ La Vida Loca”!
We have a summer of drinking Pepsi, eating KFC’s, going to Taco Bell, chasing Walker Crisps for small cards. Anything that can have a Star Wars Logo is going to have it added! Times will be changing!
Sometimes it’s great to just look back on our Star Wars History! May the Force be with you!
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