The Phantom Menace in 3D midnight releases

This weekend was a busy one for The Rebel Legion with Star Wars: EPISODE I - The Phantom Menace in 3D opened in movie theaters worldwide.  Many theaters hosted special promotions, charity fundraisers and midnight release events.  Time for "All Wings Report In" to activate the J-type 327 Nubian hyperdrive for a tour around the galaxy.

photo courtesy Snips92

We'll start things off where it began (for me, at least) at Cinemark Valleyview.  Back in 1999, I took my sister to this recently opened movie theater to see The Phantom Menace for the first time. After 9.5 screenings of TPM, she was just as much a Star Wars fan of the prequels as I had been growing up on the original trilogy.  For us, this was a return to where it all began!

Fast forward to this past Thursday, where Great Lakes Base joined by Mando Mercs and Ohio Garrison for the midnight release event.  We've worked with this particular Cinemark going as far back as ROTS, so Missy and her guys always take GOOD care of us; and we do our best to return that kindness to their customers.  Cinemark Valleyview is equipped with one of the Extreme Digital Cinema (their version of an IMAX theater) and fans were treated with special "Anakin podracer" style 3D glasses.  You can see Phantom Menace 3D event pictures on the GLB Facebook page.

Another great thing Cinemark (and theaters around the country) did for TPM in 3D was partner with Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox to promote Variety - The Children's Charity "Gold Heart" campaign.  Fans could purchase a collectible C3P0/R2D2 gold heart pin, with proceeds going to support the work Variety does providing much needed assistance to children with mobility concerns.  To learn more go to: http://www.usvariety.org/goldhearts.html

We'll have more from Great Lakes Base in future blog posts, but now let's head up north to for another TPM 3D update from Cerfestas:

So it's once again back to the throws of reality after another great troop.  Short and small, but sweet.  We had five official participants from Outrider Base as well as a couple of "troopies" who brought along a wonderful collection of custom lightsabers constructed by Genesis Sabers.  We helped the Scotia Bank Theatre at West Edmonton Mall in Canada promote the 3D release of The Phantom Menace as well as raise money for the Starlight Foundation (Cineplex's equivalent to the Make a Wish foundation.)

I personally did not have the opportunity to see the Star Wars saga in theatre when they originally came out, so being able to not only see it for the first time on the big screen - but with the Rebel Legion as well felt like being a kid again.  I was amazed at the amount of kids who did not necessarily know who we were, but knew what we were about.  One of them even bragged about his own custom saber his parents got for him.  A potential future recruit... who knows?  Many smiles and cheers were had when the flick started, and myself and Ky-wan took the opportunity of a dark theatre to do a small sparring demonstration with our blades.  All in all, it was a great night, even if some of us were bogged down by the cold (both literally and health wise!) Thanks to everyone who came out to support the Rebel Legion as well as Cineplex for hosting us!  We look forward to working with them again for EPISODE II!

Photo courtesy of Obi Anne

Elsewhere, the TPM 3D-premiere in Stockholm was a great success. Here is a report from Obi Anne:

Nordic Base and Nordic Garrison arrived at Filmstaden Sergel, the main cinema in Stockholm, suited up and got ready to troop.  From 17.00 we mingled in the foyer, scaring and exciting the cinema goers.  The cinema was crowded, and even though Star Wars was shown on two smaller screens, our presence was appreciated by people coming to see other films.

At 17.30 the Swedish dubbed version was screened, and Darth Maul and Queen Amidala got the chance to present the film and get the audience reday for the show.  The English version was shown at 18.30, but that was presented by Darth Maul by himself, since Amidala had realised she wouldn't be able to fit into a seat and had to get changed before the film started.  People with costumes that took up less space chose to watch the film all suited up though.  It was quite sight to see R2 and R5 stand on guard under the screen while a whole row of royal guards, stormtroopers, tuskens and Darth Maul were sitting with their 3D-glasses on, getting ready for the film.  The troopers that had a possibility to stay also presented the 23.30 showing.  All in all it was a great fun evening and the audience loved meeting up with Star Wars characters and droids.

The Phantom Menace in 3D brought in $23 MILLION at the box office; not bad for a re-release many of us have on Blu Ray!  Check back to "All Wings Report In" for more reports from opening weekend.