The Houston Chronicle ran the following AP article which talked about the hype for Episode II:

"Sure, the last movie was not what people hoped it would be," said Barrie Osborne, a producer on The Lord of the Rings franchise and executive producer on The Matrix, which beat Phantom Menace on visual effects and two other categories at the Oscars for 1999.

"But I think everyone will want to see the new Star Wars. It's something we all grew up with, and the whole body of work is more powerful than any one of the films. This powerful, mythic story George originated way back still captures the imagination, and people want to see what happens next."

"I really love it. I personally like this film a lot better," said Natalie Portman, who returns as Padme Amidala, reunited with her Jedi pals Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and the now grown Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen).

"I get really bored in action movies, but I was at the edge of my seat with my mouth open," said Portman, who saw the finished film last weekend. "It's so gorgeous. It's got a great story, a real arc. You really care about the characters."

In the past, Star Wars sequels or prequels clearly were the film events of the year. Given the record opening of Spider-Man and anticipation for this fall's Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings sequels, Star Wars now has heavy competition for the title of most hotly awaited movie.

Unlike the 3,000-theater-plus launches of today's Hollywood, with its fixation on huge opening weekends, the original Star Wars premiered on just 32 screens on Wednesday, May 25, 1977. The procedure then often was to start slowly, letting positive buzz on a film spread as the release widened to more theaters.

It worked perfectly on Star Wars, which distributor 20th Century Fox expanded to 43 screens by that Friday, with the film grossing $1.55 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

As it expanded, its total take during that initial run hit $221.3 million, the equivalent of about $560 million when the 1977 average ticket price of $2.23 is adjusted for inflation. Star Wars was such a phenomenon that it took in $101 million more in four reissues within just five years after its debut.

"That was the first movie I ever saw," said Ben Affleck, whose new film, The Sum of All Fears, opens two weeks after Attack of the Clones. Affleck, who turned 5 the summer Star Wars opened, said he cajoled his way into seeing it 17 times.

"I just kept going, just kept asking to see it again and again. It revolutionized movies. It blew my mind," Affleck said. "I'll be right up there in the front of the line for the new one. The only thing now hopefully is I'll be able to scam some tickets and not have to camp out."

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