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Star Wars Prequels Media Movies

Star Wars Episode III Teaser Trailer Today 510

gotroot801 writes "TheForce.net reports that the Episode III teaser trailer will be available today for viewing on several TV shows in the US (MTV's TRL, Access Hollywood) and Australia (Today Show). In addition, starwars.com Hyperspace members and AOL customers will be able to download the trailer today."
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Star Wars Episode III Teaser Trailer Today

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  • by base_chakra ( 230686 ) * on Thursday November 04, 2004 @01:59PM (#10725873)
    "... Lucasfilm also indicated that the trailer will be available via Usenet and BitTorrent, and that the complete film was officially released last week on IRC."
  • Teaser? (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:00PM (#10725880)
    Telling me George Lucas isn't directing would be a real teaser.
  • lost it! (Score:5, Funny)

    by theMerovingian ( 722983 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:01PM (#10725905) Journal

    AOL customers will be able to download the trailer today

    Dang it, where's one of those CD's when you need it?

    • Re:lost it! (Score:3, Informative)

      by TheClassic ( 816274 )
      Have you ever tried to cancel your free trial? It is nearly impossible. They tell you all the things you'll miss out on, tell you to enjoy your experience more, tell you that you don't have to cancel yet because you still have 3 weeks left in your free trial, and thats it. No cancellation. I had to call back a second time and deal with the same thing. You have to get pretty mean for them to cancel it. They must get paid a commission for every person who want to cancel that they keep signed up.
      • by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:15PM (#10726113)
        Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • your mom is pregnant with an aol executives child.

          Well what do you expect when she runs all over the executive board's table? That was her in those commercials, right?
        • Re:lost it! (Score:4, Funny)

          by IronChef ( 164482 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @05:20PM (#10728323)
          but you're right, if you call to cancel you're screwed.. you'll end up thinking you cancelled but you'll find out later you were given 2 more months free and satan owns your soul and your mom is pregnant with an aol executives child.

          That happened in my family and let me tell you, the kid is a total dick.
        • Re:lost it! (Score:3, Informative)

          my parents had trouble kicking aol, until my dad told the credit card company to refuse all further charges from aol...
      • Re:lost it! (Score:5, Informative)

        by Lehk228 ( 705449 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:17PM (#10726143) Journal
        one line will do it "If you do not cancel my subscription i will issue a chargeback and report you as committing credit card fraud"
      • Re:lost it! (Score:4, Funny)

        by erasmus_ ( 119185 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:52PM (#10726622)
        I completely agree, it's ridiculous. I just went through the same experience that you describe a few weeks ago. When attempting to cancel a free trial that I didn't even use once (long boring story), I spent 10 minutes on the phone with the rep without getting anywhere. He would not let me cancel, telling me that the free time has already been allocated and that I could just call back again, which I kept refusing to do. At one point, I asked him if he's ever heard the phrase "the customer is always right" in his training, and he claimed that he'd never heard that phrase in his life, which actually does not surprise me.

        He also refused to put a manager on the line, because supposedly he was in a meeting. After we got disconnected, because I think I started shouting at him and he hung up, I called back and got a more reasonable person on the line, who kept me on the phone for only 5 minutes, after which he told me that there was nothing to do because the first guy already marked the account as cancelled. I hate AOL.
        • Re:lost it! (Score:5, Informative)

          by tntguy ( 516721 ) * on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:47PM (#10727187)
          (general tip here) Never ask to be transferred to a manager. End your conversation and call back. As soon as it's your turn to start talking, ask to speak with a supervisor. If you try to escalate the call with the person you're having a problem with, they will likely warn the supervisor why you want to escalate things -- and it'll only be their side of it -- if they bother to do it at all.

          This won't always work, but you'll increase your changes of actually getting to a real supervisor faster.

          • I Disagree (Score:3, Interesting)

            by Greyfox ( 87712 )
            I used to work in phone support and it's inevitable that the squeeky wheel will get the grease, no matter how much of a dick that wheel is. The first person you talk to is a phone monkey with no real power and a limited amount of time to talk to you. The attitude you should take with them is that you're looking for the slightest provocation to go ballistic and demand to talk to their supervisor. This includes even the slightest hint that they can't help you.

            I don't care what company you're dealing with, t

      • Re:lost it! (Score:5, Interesting)

        by hikerhat ( 678157 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @06:56PM (#10729357)
        My credit card company (mbna) has a web site where they will generate a temporary credit card number for you. You pick the expiration date and max dollar amount that can be charged to that number. It is great for services that auto-pay themselves when your subscription runs out. I just generate a number with a limit of what one subscription costs. Then they can't charge your card again unless you renew your subscription with a new card number. You have to explicitly renew. And if a database with your card number gets hacked that number is no good anyway. I assume all AOL wants from you to get a free trial is card number. So you could generate a number with a $1 limit that expires before the end of your free trial, and there is no way they can bill you.
  • by Dekks ( 808541 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:01PM (#10725908)
    I already read the plot leaks, about the lava surfing etc, I'll go see it anyway but I know the moment I see the trailer I'll probably be disappointed.
    • lava surfing? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by nurb432 ( 527695 )
      Dear god.. how far into the land of stupid can Lucas go?

      I couldnt even finish epII.. 1/2 way and i gave up and turned it off.
      • Yeah,wait'll you see Burts "Smokey and the Bandit 10: Deliverance" Lucas has actually agreed to direct and theres talk of Natalie Portman riding in the seat beside him.Watch Burt squeeeeeeal as Natalie impales him on her fiber optic sabre.Jerry Reed as his spiritual guide "Yodel". "Use the clutch not the force" With guest cameos from Corey Feldman and Don(Darth) Knotts.

    • So we get lava surfing in SW:E3 and stair surfing in LOTR:RoK, what can we expect next...? I think some of our favourite franchises are setting an annoying precedent.
      • You have to forgive Legolas. He's young (for an elf) and trying to find himself by emulating popular middle-aged X Game Hall of Famers.

        We've all had a "Tony Hawk Moment" from time to time. Cut the guy a break.

        And while I truly enjoyed the LOTR movies, that part had me yelling at the screen in the theater. I yelled again when Legolas had his "Luke Skywalker" moment in RotK. Damn Middle Earth Imperial Walkers!!!

  • by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:02PM (#10725928)
    I think the best part of the trailer is the Jar-Jar decapitation scene...oh wait, that was from a dream I had last night.

    Now where did I put that Princess Amadala blow-up doll...
  • by ValuJet ( 587148 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:03PM (#10725942)
    a lightsaber duel with hovering surfboards over lava... what genious will lucas think up next?

    /sarcasm

  • Hmm.. (Score:5, Funny)

    by MalaclypseTheYounger ( 726934 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:03PM (#10725944) Journal
    I can't imagine how badly Lucas is going to mess up how Anakin becomes Darth Vader.

    Maybe replace his light saber with a walkie talkie?
    • Re:Hmm.. (Score:3, Funny)

      by mcwop ( 31034 )
      How Anakin becomes Darth Vader: A mutation of the midi-chlorians caused by a STD picked up from Queen Padme.
      • by cmdrwhitewolf ( 580710 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:37PM (#10727080)
        After Queen Padme turns Anakin's ardent requests for sex down for the umpteenth time, he attempts to use 'the FORCE' and due to his raging male hormone levels, when she blasts him with a friggin laser - he spontaneously catchs fire and jumps into the Emporers daily meglomania booster cocktail that was sitting in the balcony below in order to put himself out, and thus earned himself a life sentence of working for the Emporer in order to just pay for the Emporers' ruined shirt...
    • Re:Hmm.. (Score:3, Interesting)

      What I'm dying to know is how Anakin's fall from grace caused him to dump the American accent and adopt the Imperial English accent.
  • by BortQ ( 468164 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:04PM (#10725949) Homepage Journal
    I call on all slashdotters to join me in a protest against the sucky star wars prequels. Now I know that an all-out boycott would never work with most of you guys (myself too). So this is what I propose:

    Wait a minimum of 1 week after the movie's release before seeing it. This act in itself would send a message that people were not happy with the prequels if lots of people did it.

    Some people will undoubtedly see it right away. If they say that the movie was actually good, then feel free to go and see it after your week of abstinence. If they say the movie was as shitty as the last 2 then wait 1 more week. Repeat as you see fit.

    • by jmays ( 450770 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:06PM (#10725983)
      Yes! Giving them the same amount of money a week later would REALLY prove a point. You stick it to those execs!
      • by gjh ( 231652 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:14PM (#10726110)
        Oddly enough, it really would stick it to those execs.

        I believe that the deal that movie theatres get goes something like this:

        The studio gets almost all the revenue for the first week of release. After that it tails off, and theatres start to get more of the revenue.

        So - support your local flea pit and watch movies late :-)
        • by Ryosen ( 234440 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @05:07PM (#10728116)
          Ordinarily this is correct. However, The previous two prequels had special deals whereby the studios retained a very high percentage for a longer period of time.

          Since the success/popularity of a movie is measured by its opening weekend, waiting a week would, in fact, have a negative effect on the studio's perception of the film's performance. Yes, in the end, it's all about the final gross receipts, but the opening weekend carries an inordinate amount of weight.

          Also, with respect to the crappy deals that the movie theaters have to accept in order to show the film (like they have another choice?), if you want to support your local cinema, spend some cash at the concession stand. That's where they make the bulk of their actual revenue. Although, and this was true for the prequels, the movie studio takes a percentage of the snack bar, too.

          Still, support your local cinema - buy that large tub of popcorn. Colon be damned.
      • Lucas has plenty of money, I think his ego would be hit harder than his pocket if Star Wars didn't do well the first week.
      • by Coryoth ( 254751 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:20PM (#10726190) Homepage Journal
        Yes! Giving them the same amount of money a week later would REALLY prove a point. You stick it to those execs!

        Surprisingly enough it probably would have at least some effect. Tese days the Hollywood blockbuster films rely on huge opening weekends and huge first weeks to create buzz, attention and momentum for a film. Just consider how much time the media spends discussing which film opened bigger this weekend. If such a boycott actually took place on a large scale it could conceivably suck a lot of the thunder out of Episode 3s opening week and probably create significant negative buzz about the film "not living up to hype" with regard to its failure to open as big as expected. Sure the geeks will go later, but the people that don't care as much will come away with a negative view of the film.

        Of course all of this presupposes that the proposed boycott actualy occurs on a mass scale. Which it simply won't. This guy and his friends giving Lucasa the money a week late is, as you say, going to make no difference at all.

        I, myself, am simply planning on not seeing the film at all. Perhaps if it's on TV, or a second hand DVD selling for $1 I'll consider it. It doesn't take a huge act of will power - the first two sucked. Badly. Why on earth would I care about this one, which sounds like it has the potential to be even worse?

        Jedidiah.
      • by MagikSlinger ( 259969 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:24PM (#10726245) Homepage Journal
        It's not the same amount of money. In the 1st week of business, 80%-100% of your ticket price goes to LucasFilm and Fox. The next week, it drops to 50%-80%, and then a sliding scale after that. In fact, that 1st week is so important that many studios judge the movie's success ONLY by the 1st week (because DVD & rental income is 1-2 years away thanks to Lucas and the "debt" is accumulating interest). So if the majority of fans stay away the 1st week would:

        a) Deprive George & Fox of box-office money
        b) Send shock waves through the industry
        c) Put pressure on George to change the way he makes the films in the future (you heard the rumors of the final triolgy)

        I'd say stay away for 2 weeks.
        • d) It would give 99 percent of the people wanting to see the movie a better shot at the best seats for the first week.

          Really, do you think that George Lucas is concerned about the $50 million you might cost him in your scenario? According to Forbes, the guy is worth $3 billion, and that estimation was calculated before the original trilogy was released on DVD. Even if Episode III was panned by the critics and early audiences he'd still make his money and then some from the deal he has in place with 20th Ce
    • by Donoho ( 788900 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:13PM (#10726093) Homepage
      "This act in itself would send a message that people were not happy with the prequels if lots of people did it."

      To what end? I suggest you go see the movie as soon as possible and do what movie makers are justifyable terrified of... Tell everyone exactly what you think of it (without spoilers of course) as soon as you exit the theatre. /., IM, SMS, blog, you name it.

      It's to late to protest the movies have already been made. The best things to do is tell the truth. If the movie sucks, don't delay the profit, cut it off.
      • . If the movie sucks, don't delay the profit, cut it off.

        You will cut it off more if you don't go and see it right away. Let other people tell YOU that it sucked. Then you won't be contributing any $$$ to the bullshit.

    • Lucas knows his recent films have been panned by the people who loved the original Star Wars trilogy. But he doesn't care if the Slashdot crowd waits a week or two weeks or a year to see his films. He maintains creative control, he makes buttloads of money, and he sees the Star Wars universe as his creation, to do with as he will.

    • Wait a minimum of 1 week after the movie's release before seeing it. This act in itself would send a message that people were not happy with the prequels if lots of people did it.

      I'll see your week and raise you "don't see it at all."

      I'm never spending another nickel on anything Star Wars-related. I spent most of my youth buying Lucas's stuff, and he gave me a giant middle finger in return.

      To quote The Who, I won't be fooled again.
  • by DLWormwood ( 154934 ) <wormwood@meCOMMA.com minus punct> on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:08PM (#10726010) Homepage
    from the post-links-if-they-show-up dept.

    Admit it, you created /. just to wage guerrilla warfare on the Internet, didn't you? Comments like that are just a form of boasting; you've created Frankenstein's monster and set it loose.

    Frankendot smash server, arrrgggh!

  • Episode I was bad, just barely watchable. Episode II was so terrible that I sat through it once. My girlfriend bought the DVD as soon as it came out and it has *NEVER* been in the DVD player.

    I can only imagine how incredibly bad Episode III will be.

    --Ender
  • It's up! (Score:5, Informative)

    by xTK-421x ( 531992 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:11PM (#10726062) Homepage
  • Hey, it's up! (Score:5, Informative)

    by sg3000 ( 87992 ) * <<sg_public> <at> <mac.com>> on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:14PM (#10726097)
    The first 45 seconds are from the previous movies (Episode 1, 2, and 4), but the rest looks really cool. Looks like Yoda gets to fight some more, and apparently Darth Sideous has a lightsaber, too. Obi Wan looks like he gets his ass handed to him by Anakin.

    I hope the entire movie won't have that yellow "H" in the bottom right hand corner, though. Kinda distracting.
  • by CodeWanker ( 534624 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:21PM (#10726201) Journal
    Just saw it. Anakin gets red-rimmed yellow contacts to show he's evil. The wookies are taking over where the ewoks left off. Alec Guinness does the narration/explanation for most of the trailer... Thank goodness there was some decent monologues in Star Wars.

    Of course, AOL folks get the "The making of" mini documentaries, where we all get to rage at the loving detail of George Lucas retrofitting explanations to his choices. It's fun! Could almost make a drinking game out of them.
  • The Incredibles? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ebooher ( 187230 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:29PM (#10726308) Homepage Journal

    I heard somewhere [Local Radio Station Perhaps?] that the new trailer is supposed to be played at the beginning of The Incredibles movie. Anyone know if there is truth associated to this?

  • Usenet (Score:3, Informative)

    by Lord Bear ( 452056 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:30PM (#10726313)
    Its out on usenet.

    alt.binaries.starwars

    getting it now... May the force be with you.

  • by Jooly Rodney ( 100912 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:34PM (#10726386)
    It's nice that you have to be a member of some shitty online Star Wars site (or one of its affiliates) to watch an advertisement for the new Star Wars movie. It's like paying to beta test a new version of Daikatana.
  • by Jakhel ( 808204 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:37PM (#10726418)
    You know it's funny, all of these "hardcore" star wars geeks complain about the changes and ideas that Lucas comes up with, bash the prequels, etc.; and yet, they will be the ones camping outside of the local Megamovieplex with their Jar Jar sleeping bags dressed in full Jedi costume with toy lightsabers just to see the first showing of the movie. THEN they will go out and buy 10 different versions of that SAME 4-6 movies just to complain about them all over again.

    If you think/know it's going to suck so bad, why even go see it? Would you go see Gigli 2 or Bride of Chucky, then buy the DVD and collectors edition DVD just to complain about them as well?

    My point is that no one is forcing you to watch the movies. If you don't like them or the direction they're heading in, then don't support them. Unfortunately, this is the only way Lucas will get the message because he has already publicly stated that he doesn't give a fuck about the fans' opinions [yahoo.com]; and why should he since he is practically the RJ Rynolds of the Sci Fi world with millions (if not billions) of addicts feening for just a taste.

  • by theshowmecanuck ( 703852 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @02:37PM (#10726429) Journal
    I hope it doesn't suck as bad as Episodes 1 and 2.

    Don't get me wrong. I like the (original) Star Wars. I think the Episode 4 was/is a great movie and I can't count how many times I have seen it. Episode V was very good as well. But I think maybe it is because there was less money involved back then (either for special effects or with merchandising). They had to work on the characters and acting more because they didn't have such a huge budget for special effects (i.e. they didn't rely on special effects as much to 'make' the story).

    I think the more they rely on 'green screens' and CGI, the poorer the quality of the movie, specifically the story. And I think when Lucas relies increasingly on the movie to be a big commercial for his merchandising efforts (e.g. Jar Jar Binks) it ruins the movie.

    I don't plan on seeing this in the theatre. I plan on renting it. I am gun shy after the last two releases. I don't believe they were worth the exorbintant cost of today's movie tickets (never mind the hassle of going through the morgage application to pay for my popcorn and drink).

    • by zerocool^ ( 112121 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @04:42PM (#10727796) Homepage Journal
      I think the more they rely on 'green screens' and CGI, the poorer the quality of the movie, specifically the story. And I think when Lucas relies increasingly on the movie to be a big commercial for his merchandising efforts (e.g. Jar Jar Binks) it ruins the movie.

      You, my friend, are a person of wisdom. This is the number one problem with star wars: To borrow a phrase from Jurassic Park, they were so concerned with whether they *could*, they didn't stop to think if they *should*.

      All of this CGI and whatnot has killed the sci-fi industry. Everyone gets a look at these movies, and goes "woah" as they see the special effects, but no one actually thinks about the quality of the movie its self. So, what we have is a situation in which every single solitary moment of a star wars film is visually beautiful, and utterly devoid of life.

      You have cardboard cutouts for your human actors, and CGI characters everywhere. Every background is a living microcosm, but after a while, it just looks cluttered, it looks like people wander into the background just to make more motion. You end up with people talking "in the vague direction" of the CGI character, and other missed visual cues. It's horrible. It doesn't make a movie better.

      You end out with the Jedi Master of the known universe flipping his shit and flying around a room in a show of physical prowess and cgi flash, but in Empire, yoda denies the need for raw, brutish strength, in favor of mind-over-matter. Yoda, in my mind, should be a character who is powerful by virtue of his presence, not his actions. But, no. CGI could bring him to life. Whether it should have or not, no one stopped to consider.

      Add to the top of that the utter marketability of the movies, and it becomes sickening. The pod race scene in TPM? Exists in order to make video games. Jar Jar? Exists because the other actors have no hope of accomplishing situation comedy, as well as to put on lunch boxes.

      Star wars has been killed, and Lucas pulled the trigger.

      If you want an example of Sci-Fi done right, look at farscape. Brilliant actors. Excellent script writing. Voice-acted puppets where they are needed. Given a bigger budget, rigel and pilot could have been CGI, but why? They are more convincing as puppets. CGI is used for Moya and other space effects, where it's most effective.

      (marked you as "friend")

      ~Will
  • Spoiler (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:08PM (#10726779)
    Episode III begins with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far way...
  • by Spencerian ( 465343 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:08PM (#10726787) Homepage Journal
    The first person who says that George Lucas stole their childhood will have the spleen stolen, forcibly.

    For more clarification on how you should feel about this issue, please note this commentary by this popular game developer. [pvponline.com]
  • by nakedbonzai ( 618338 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:23PM (#10726930)
    Mirror here [comcast.net]

    ...at 500kb/sec. Well, not for long I'd imagine!

  • Too Late (Score:3, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:26PM (#10726968)
    I have a friend who has a sister who works with somebody who knows a registered member of StarWars.com and they heardd that Lucas felt the trailer did not convey his artistic vision correctly and had it edited digitally. So any trailer you see now is not the original.
  • by coaxial00 ( 826979 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:38PM (#10727093)
    In case another mirror is needed, http://neverhost.net/public/full.mov [neverhost.net] Should be very fast :) Directory listing allowed for this folder.
  • by dowobeha ( 581813 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @03:47PM (#10727186)
    OK, I would be really grateful if anyone could tell me how to play this in Linux.

    I know that one option is to use the crossover plugin to play quicktime files in Linux. Does anyone know of another option to successfully play this quicktime trailer in Linux?

    I've tried totem, xine, and mplayer on Mandrake 10.0. I haven't tried compiling my own copy of mplayer, but I have the codecs [mplayerhq.hu], and the output from mplayer makes me think that mplayer is using the quicktime codec. But I still just get a blue screen and no sound when I try to play it.

    Thanks...

  • by Cro Magnon ( 467622 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @05:25PM (#10728410) Homepage Journal
    does it say "Yousa gotten mail"?
  • by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Thursday November 04, 2004 @09:00PM (#10730445) Homepage
    Ok, I understand the purpose of sending the takedown notices. They have special deals with those affiliates whereby they pay for exclusive distribution of the trailer.

    But Lucas, don't be dicks about sending takedown notices. Your trailer WILL get distributed via other methods, and you should be FUCKING GRATEFUL FOR IT. We're using our own bandwidth (or our schools hehehehe ssshhh) and saving you precious PR dollars with a word of mouth campaign you could never match in a million years with all your greedily earned millions.

    I say its about time Lucas shows some fucking appreciation for their fans.

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