[ Golden Gater Online - February 4, 1997 ]
Christopher Kennedy
Staff writer
Nearly 20 years after its initial release, "Star Wars" returned to blockbuster status this past weekend, taking in a stunning $36.2 million at the box office, to become the second-highest grossing film of all time with domestic sales now totaling $358.9 million, trailing only "E.T."
Not bad for a movie everyone has already seen.
Despite the film's Friday opening, the lines began forming Wednesday evening at San Francisco's Coronet Theater.
By Friday, an estimated 2,500 weary-eyed huddled masses of people waited in collective anticipation in two separate lines -- one, for the first showing at 10:15 a.m., that snaked through the Coronet's parking lot. The other line, for same-day advance ticket sales, wound east down Geary Boulevard, south on Stanyan Street, and all the way around to Anza Street.
Just as the sun was coming up on the eagerly awaited opening day, and the fog began to lift, a volunteer DJ, simply named "Matt," woke both the dormant masses and stirred the insomniacs by blaring John William's easily recognizable opening overture from "Star Wars."
The parking lot and outlying areas surrounding the theater almost immediately turned into a playground atmosphere, complete with Nerf footballs, yo-yo's, blaring music, and dancing.
Movie-goers came from all over the Bay Area, not just to see a movie, but to be part of an event.
It has been 20 years since the Coronet was one of only 25 screens in the country to premiere "Star Wars" on May 27,1977. At the time of its release, "Star Wars" was likened to what by today's standards would be considered a risky low-budget independent film.
Reportedly, writer and director George Lucas was all but sure that the film was headed for B-movie status, and would flop. In order to secure the budget from the gambling executives at 20th Century Fox, Lucas reluctantly agreed to give up his $500,000 directing fee to the studio in exchange for licensing, merchandising, and sequel rights. Neither the studio nor the director believed the film would break even, let alone spawn two sequels.
Lucas' "little film," shot on a $10 million shoestring budget, was the springboard for a $4 billion (yes, billion) industry, and for many, an icon of pop culture.
"It is just a part of life," SF State drama student Dale Tolosa said, who waited in line since 6:30 p.m., Thursday. "It has gone beyond changing the movies. It has literally changed people's lives. What you see here is a communal experience."
Tolosa and his friends consider themselves "Jedheads," akin to the members of the similarly devoted Deadhead culture.
"Muslims have Mecca, and Jedheds have the Coronet," Tolosa said, half-jokingly.
Through the course of the previous evening, Tolosa and his buddies were both relieved and elated to discover that they weren't an isolated group of overindulgent Star Wars geeks, but just a part of a permanent, self-contained culture that can be accessed in any variety of ways, ranging from games, novels, conventions, and more than 900 sites on the World Wide Web.
Along the sidewalks, littered with sleeping bags, half-full Seagram's bottles, newspapers, spent Styrofoam coffee cups (lots of cream and sugar for this crowd) and empty doughnut boxes, the thousands of "Jedheads," almost all of them male, passed the time and staved off boredom by dueling with plastic light sabers. Others played games like the new "Star Wars Monopoly," and the 1978 "Escape from the Death Star" board game (for ages 7 and up). The sounds of vintage, taped "Star Wars" radio dramas could be heard in the background.
"These are my people," Tolosa proudly said. "There are people who know more about Star Wars than me... that can actually interpret my own shorthand language."
Although he has seen the film at least 100 times, Tolosa was only three years old the first time around, and fell asleep in the back of his parent's car at the drive-in. This time, despite less than five minutes of sleep, he made sure he stayed awake all the way through.
The inside of the 1,200 seat Coronet, though not filled to capacity for the first show, had an electric atmosphere. The center aisle immediately filled with weary-eyed, but rabid fans rushing to find the optimum spot, not only for viewing, but also to absorb the newly remixed six-track SDDS digital sound system, complete with Lucas' THX sound-alignment system.
With each passing minute, fueled by popcorn, candy, and soda, the once-sleepy crowd became completely wound up, and more intoxicated with excitement. A young, shaggy-coiffed man dressed in brown with a homemade prototype of Chewbacca's utility belt ran laps around the center aisles, frantically pumping his fists in the air, and repeatedly shouting "STAR! WARS!," pumping up the already anxious mob, like some kind of absurdly fantastic sci-fi cheerleader. By the time the lights finally went down, the crowd reached the stage of near pandemonium, with an endorphin rush that carried on through the entire film.
The crowd cheered wildly at the introduction of their beloved characters, particularly Harrison Ford's Han Solo, and reveled in hissing at Darth Vader's appearance. They applauded in approval at the sight of the 4.5 minutes of new footage Lucas added, and in the end, they cheered the loudest when Lucas' own writing and directing credit appeared after the film's final scene.
Note: Star Wars fans should know that Fox TV (Channel 2) airs a special tonight (Tuesday) at 8 p.m. called "Star Wars: The Magic and the Mystery."
[ Golden Gater - February 4, 1997 ]