Hollister
– Apparently the Force is also strong in Hollister.
At least for the people who lined up at Hollister’s Premiere
Cinemas, which, like many theaters across the county, hosted a
midnight showing yesterday of
”
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
”
– the much-anticipated finale of the popular series that defined
filmmaker George Lucas’ career and spawned generations of wannabe
Jedi’s.
Hollister – Apparently the Force is also strong in Hollister.
At least for the people who lined up at Hollister’s Premiere Cinemas, which, like many theaters across the county, hosted a midnight showing yesterday of “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith” – the much-anticipated finale of the popular series that defined filmmaker George Lucas’ career and spawned generations of wannabe Jedi’s.
Local “Star Wars” lovers began waiting in line at 8am Wednesday to join thousands of others across the country in viewing the movie’s premier. Lines continued Thursday afternoon for a seat in theater which is showing the film on its two biggest screens.
Theater manager Craig Tankessley said about 400 tickets had already been sold by Thursday afternoon and he doesn’t expect excitement to subside anytime soon.
“It will bring everything together,” he said of the final of six “Star Wars” films. “A lot of things will come full circle since it (the series) started in ’76.”
Tankessley said the theater hasn’t had any problems so far and that everyone was enjoying themselves, even while waiting in line. “They were all dressed up, having fun with it. There was no rowdiness.”
Zach Freitas, a student at Rancho San Justo School, lined up to see the show with his mom, brandishing his red light saber.
“We came right out after he got out of school at 2:30,” his mother Susan said.
She was thrilled to take her son to the film series she remembered first seeing in her youth.
“I remember when it first came out when I was little, we had to go to San Jose to see it because all the bigger shows were out there,” she said. “Times have changed and I’m glad to be able to see it out here.”
Two friends, Ava Sanchez and Ross Nagareda, both students at San Benito High School, were also at the front of the line waiting to witness a piece of Hollywood history.
“I haven’t been able to come and see any of the Star Wars in the theater when they first opened and this is my last chance,” said Nagereda. “It’s just one of those things in life that you just have to do.”
Mark Moulton, a Hollister resident who had been in line for two hours Thursday was excited to see the final Star Wars with his kids and his friend, but said he would not be a repeat movie-goer. Though he said he had waited 28 years to see the end of the story, he added that he would wait a little longer to see it again.
“I’ll get the DVD – a box set or something,” he said.
The line to get into the 6:15pm showing on Thursday sprawled across the front of the theater and trailed off around the corner.
Similar scenes played out around the country ahead of the opening of the sixth and final episode of the seminal science fiction series created by Lucas. The film finally details how a young Anakin Skywalker falls prey to the Darkside of the Force and his son and daughter, the protagonists of the series’ final three movies produced in the late 70s and 80s, are conceived.
“This is a big event for all of us,” said Russ Rolle as he waited outside Edwards Big Newport, one of the largest theaters in Southern California. The 23-year-old student has been taking turns with friends since May 8 saving a spot in line to make sure they catch the first showing. His wristband identified him as No. 7 in line for one of the 1,200 seats to the sold-out 12:01 showing.
Tickets for the movie went on sale last month at many of the state’s larger theaters, and many fans who couldn’t bear the thought of a bad seat began camping out well in advance. At the Newport Beach theater, a second line formed Tuesday for the slightly less-obsessed.
“You want to prove that you’re a serious fan by being the first to watch it,” said Luis Linares, 34, a government worker who planned to leave later and come back in a limousine in a costume that he declined to disclose in advance.
Jerry Anderson of Los Angeles was so serious about being first to see the film that he saved his money for a year in order to quit his job as a video store clerk and begin waiting in line on April 2. On Wednesday night he was the first person in line outside the Vista Theater on Sunset Boulevard.
“I love ‘Star Wars.’ It’s the mythology. It’s where you can only be a kid and still be cool doing it,” said Anderson, 27.
Don Trim, 53, an accountant from Anaheim, got into the spirit of the event by dressing in the khaki-colored tunic, leather boots and belt of a Jedi master.
“I’m not as excited as a little kid but I’m still pretty excited,” said Trim, who recalled waiting in line for the first “Star Wars” film back in 1977. “It’s a way of staying young, having fun.”
