ADVANCE SALE PLANNED; `PHANTOM MENACE' TICKETS TO BE AVAILABLE WEEK BEFORE MAY 19 OPENING.Byline: Dave McNary McNary may refer to:
Cancel those plans to camp out in line, at least during the week before ``Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace'' opens on May 19. Tickets for ``Phantom Menace MENACE. A threat; a declaration of an intention to cause evil to happen to another. 2. When menaces to do an injury to another have been made, the party making them may, in general, be held to bail to keep the peace; and, when followed by any inconvenience or ,'' the most anticipated movie since ``Gone With the Wind,'' will go on sale a week before its May 19 opening. Tickets will be available through theater box offices and the MovieFone credit-card ticket service on May 12, beginning at noon local time. The agreement to sell advance tickets is a significant concession by ``Star Wars'' creator George Lucas Noun 1. George Lucas - United States screenwriter and filmmaker (born in 1944) Lucas and 20th Century Fox, who asked a month ago for a ban on pre-sales during for the first two weeks of showings in order to discourage scalping scalping, taking the scalp of an enemy. The custom, comparable to head-hunting, was formerly practiced in Europe and Asia (Herodotus describes its practice by the Scythians, for example), but it is generally associated with North American natives, although many such . ``From an exhibition point of view, one week for advance sales is a good compromise,'' said Richard Ri·chard , Joseph Henri Maurice Known as "Rocket." 1921-2000. Canadian hockey player. A right wing for the Montreal Canadiens (1942-1960), he led his team to eight Stanley Cup championships and was the first player to score 50 goals in a Fay, president of AMC (Advanced Mezzanine Card) See AdvancedTCA. Film Marketing. ``We're we're Contraction of we are. we're we are in the business of satisfying customers and this goes a long way toward that goal. It makes our job a lot easier.'' The news is also good for dozens of hard-core hard-core also hard·core adj. 1. Intensely loyal; die-hard: a hard-core secessionist; a hard-core golfer. 2. fans who set up camp in early April outside Mann's Chinese and Westwood Village theaters so they could be the first to buy tickets. ``Theater owners have agreed to make every reasonable effort to first accommodate those fans already standing in line,'' Fox said in a statement posted on the starwars.com site. MovieFone, which provides advance sales for more than 18,000 of the nation's 34,000 screens, said that to discourage scalping it would allow only two six-ticket transactions on a single credit card within a one-week period. Theaters will also be required to limit customers to 12 tickets per purchase, Fox said. In addition, Fox hopes theaters will not allow customers to make multiple purchases within a short period although Fox executive Tom Sherak acknowledged that enforcing that condition could be problematical. MovieFone spokeswoman Christine Facundiny said the percentages of tickets allocated for phone vs. box-office sales have not been decided since contracts to play ``Phantom Menace'' won't be signed until early May. Agreements over how many tickets MovieFone can sell vary from theater to theater, she added. Paul Dergarabedian, president of the Exhibitor Relations Co. tracking service, said theater chains will welcome the decision to allow advance sales. ``I'm sure they're happy because pre-sales will act as a pressure release valve,'' he said. Lucas has said he expects ``Phantom Menace,'' the first new ``Star Wars'' film in 16 years, to gross $400 million domestically but some trackers believe it will beat ``Titanic's'' $600 million record. Lucas and Fox have asked for unprecedented terms from theaters before allowing them to screen ``Phantom Menace.'' Theaters will have to guarantee that the film will play for at least eight weeks in the building's largest auditorium auditorium Portion of a theater or hall where an audience sits, as distinct from the stage. The auditorium originated in the theaters of ancient Greece, as a semicircular seating area cut into a hillside. , that trailers before the film will be limited to a total of eight minutes and that the theater will only get as little as 20 percent of the gross box office revenue in the first weeks. |
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