Episode II News

AOTC teaser debuts... Lucasfilm once again showed that they are the undisputed masters at marketing a "Star Wars" movie. Last weekend marked the debut of the 60-second teaser trailer for "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones". The teaser, dubbed the "Breathing" preview, was attached to most prints of the Disney/Pixar animated comedy "Monsters Inc." The teaser was made exclusive to "Monsters Inc." and the move proved to be a shrewd one as the film opened to the tune of $62.5 million. The marks the best opening ever for an animated film, as well as the best debut ever for the month of November (at least until the opening of 'Harry Potter' later in the month). With the massive opening, AOTC was all over the headlines as Lucasfilm got the sort of marketing boost most film executives would kill for. The teaser was the talk of the media as the hype machine for the latest "Star Wars" adventure officially got underway. I took my kids to see "Monsters Inc." (a really good movie by the way), and the teaser was greeted to a very enthusiastic response. What did I think? I loved it. Not only was the teaser a lot more artistic than I bargained for (Vader's ominous breathing, and the slow drumbeat used for Darth Maul in TPM, were the only sources of sound in the teaser), the images were breathtaking and the shot of the now all CG Yoda was amazing. Only 6 months to go. More trailers on the way... The Official Site confirmed that there will be two more AOTC trailers this month. The next one will debut on November 9th on the exclusive DVD-Rom weblink only accessible through the TPM DVD. Then the full trailer (Trailer A) will launch exclusively with WB's highly anticipated film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on November 16th. This marks yet another shrewd move by the marketing staff at Lucasfilm, because 'Potter' is easily one of the most anticipated films of the holiday season. With these trailers, "Star Wars" creator George Lucas is trying to hammer home that AOTC is a love story, as well as a much darker toned film than TPM. Personally, I think AOTC is the movie that most fanboys thought TPM would be. We'll see if I'm right next May. Release date information... While there still has yet to be an official announcement regarding the release date of AOTC, rumors are running wild that Friday, May 17th will be the day the movie hits theaters. It begins it's international launch shortly after, although it has been indicated that Lucasfilm and Fox will attempt to launch the movie around the globe at around the same time. An official statement from Lucasfilm regarding the release is expected soon, so be sure to keep checking back with the Official Site. England pick-up shooting... Last weekend the crew of AOTC gathered in London to finish the final round of shooting for the upcoming movie. According to published reports, filming went very smoothly and the production is right on schedule. Lucas and producer Rick McCallum will soon return stateside to oversee editing and the completion of the FX. New Jango pic... The Official Site and the Apple.com site both ran the new teaser trailer that features a killer shot of Jango Fett flying through Kamino with his jetpack. Check it out.