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Patient they are, yesss Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Lori Gustafson, 22, Ashland, far left, and about 40 other hard-core "Star Wars" fans wait in line at Tinseltown Wednesday to be the first in the Rogue Valley to see "Attack of the Clones," which opened at midnight to sold-out crowds. Yoda the Jedi master would like that about these 'Star Wars' fans camped out at Tinseltown for today's show By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune Julie Chambers scheduled work around "Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones" so she could be first in line at Tinseltown. By 1 Tuesday afternoon, she is. By midday Wednesday, the line for the picture, which opens just after midnight today, is a long one complete with sleeping bags, folding chairs, even babies. "Don't tell my boss I'm here," camper Dave Verstegen says. Unless you've been in a galaxy far, far away, you know that "Attack of the Clones" opens today and is the most important event in the universe. Will director George Lucas capture the magic of the original "Star Wars"? Will "Attack of the Clones" be better than "Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace"? Will it beat "Spider-Man" at the box office? Is it really a love story? What's up with Anakin Skywalker? Yoda? Jar Jar Binks? To Force freaks like Chambers, 35, of Medford, these things matter. Verstegen, 35, is just kidding about not telling his boss, who is Chambers. Both work at a Sizzler. "It's good to be the boss," Chambers says. It's no secret that "The Phantom Menace" created a disturbance in the Force by disappointing many fans. "It ('Clones') better be better than 'The Phantom Menace,' " says Roger Moreno, 51. Daniel Sweet, 25, argues you shouldn't compare "The Phantom Menace" with its predecessors. "You have to make it stand alone," he says. The stakes are high. "Spider-Man" smashed box office records with an opening weekend gross of $114 million. "Clones" shouldn't beat that (fewer screens); its real target is the $431 million grossed by "The Phantom Menace." But to hard-core fans, what matters is not the movie's gross but its gumption. "I'm not optimistic," says Peter Quince of Ashland. A filmmaker ("Love's Biggest Idiot") and a huge fan of the first three films in the "Star Wars" saga, Quince took in a midnight opening of "Phantom" three years ago and was swept up in the frenzy. "It was such a wonderful event, it took a few days to realize it wasn't a very good movie," he says. A bootleg copy of "Attack of the Clones" (which was shot digitally) has been making the rounds on the Internet (downloading requires a fast machine, software and some knowledge). Reaction has been mixed. JoBlo's Movie Emporium (www.joblo.com), a Web site that runs reviews of sneak previews, rated it more positive than "Phantom Menace." Aficionados haunt such sites, as well as StarWars.com, HoloNetNews.com and others, hoping for any scrap of lore. Breaking from "Star Wars" films before now, "Clones" is a love story. It focuses on the romance of Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) and Padm� Amidala (Natalie Portman), the union that will lead to the birth of Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia Organa, whose fight with the evil galactic empire gave the world droids, Wookies, light sabers, The Force and the Dark Side. "Clones" also stars the returning Samuel L. Jackson as the Jedi master Mace Windu. "I hope his role is bigger this time," Moreno says. He says the stories are at their best when they focus on the struggle of good versus evil. "Are they going to show Anakin Skywalker turn into Darth Vader?" he asks. Jennifer Anding, 22, of Medford estimates she's seen each "Star Wars" episode 30 or 40 times. Her boyfriend just returned from a "Star Wars" convention in Indianapolis. "It's the whole story," she says. In "The Phantom Menace," Anakin, the future Darth Vader, was a just boy. "It had limited characters and clumsy dialog," Quince says. "It's just so stupid, I can't watch it now. I can watch the first 'Star Wars' forever." Many opined that villain Darth Maul, while scary enough, was no Darth Vader. Worse, the picture had the jarring Jar Jar Binks, who turned off fans in droves. The creature was accused of everything from Disney-esque cutesiness to closet racism. Not everybody agreed. "He's cool," says North Medford High School student Collin Parmele. "He's funny. He runs around like an idiot." Parmele's pal Chris Emerson takes time out from a game of Star Wars Epic Duels to disagree, incredulous that his friend would want to be quoted as liking Binks. "Phantom Menace" was also notable for the absence of Chewbacca, the furry, 7-foot Wookie, jack-of-all-trades and Guy Friday to Han Solo. This time, Anakin begins to discover his powers and drift toward the Dark Side of the Force. Count on lots of action, with battling Jedi including the redoubtable Yoda, computer-generated for the first time, taking up a light saber. There are more Jawas, more speeders, more bar fights with Obi-Wan, less Jar Jar Binks (who reportedly is in just three scenes). Lucas wrote the story and shares the screenplay credit with Jonathan Hales. He has said he has a story to tell and will make the movies he wants to make. "He's very belligerent," Quince says. "He says the characters are there to serve the plot. If that's the case, they become cardboard." Will The Force be with the Clones? Verstegen says Anakin must be better developed. Chambers says there must be more memorable lines. "I only remember three things from 'Episode I,' " Chambers says. "I remember all of 'Star Wars.' " Quince says Lucas tried to explain too much in the last film. "A myth is better left with blanks to fill in," he says. "He lost what made the originals work, the spark." Still, he'll be in the audience when the latest incarnation of the Force is unleashed. "It would be nice," he says, "if it were something we could cherish." Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.