HE'S FIRST IN LINE; TARZANA TEEN SET UP CAMP TO BUY `EPISODE 1' TICKETS.Byline: Glenn Whipp Daily News Staff Writer Tarzana teen-ager Daniel Alter knew the line to see ``Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace'' was supposed to begin forming outside the Village Theatre in Westwood on April 19. He also knew what ``Star Wars'' crazies are like and that some demented fan would want to get in line early. So he decided to be that fan - first in line for the ultimate movie craze. ``Basically, I've taken the past year off in anticipation of this,'' said the hulking hulk·ing also hulk·y adj. Unwieldy or bulky; massive. hulking Adjective big and ungainly Adj. 1. 17-year-old high school graduate, who ignored a fever and common sense to stake his claim at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the head of the queue for the movie that will open May 19. Cell phone in hand, Alter was making arrangements Thursday with a group of at least 100 people who will take turns holding down the top spot. Alter's decision has sent reverberations throughout the ``Star Wars'' universe of dedicated fans who don't want to miss the first screening and now other ``Star Wars'' faithful soon have taken up positions at both the Village and the Chinese Theatre Chinese theatre has a long and complex history. Today it is often called Chinese opera although this normally refers specifically to the popular form known as Beijing Opera; there have been many other forms of theatre in China. in Hollywood - where a Web cam See Webcam. has been set up to continuously broadcast images of the growing line at countingdown.com. ``We were kind of hoping we wouldn't have to get in line this soon,'' said Omar Rashad, a University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , student affiliated with the Web site organizing ``Star Wars'' lines across the country. ``But when we saw this guy, we had to move fast to guarantee second place in line. Fortunately, the drugstore down the street is open 24 hours, so we were able to buy some beach chairs and stock up on supplies to get us through the night,'' he said. The Web-site squatters were so surprised by Alter's pre-emptive strike Noun 1. pre-emptive strike - a surprise attack that is launched in order to prevent the enemy from doing it to you coup de main, surprise attack - an attack without warning that they were scrambling to come up with people to take shifts in line. While these ``Star Wars'' fans are self-described ``crazies,'' they're not insane enough to pull round-the-clock duty outside a movie theater for the next six weeks. Some of them have jobs, classes and families. 168 hours required Alter said new volunteers are calling all the time but there are rules: each recruit must put in 168 hours - a full week - to join the group. ``The only exception is the woman who gave birth to me,'' Alter said. ``My mother can show up the day of the movie.'' The countingdown.com people in Westwood will cap their group at 250, with most pulling four-hour shifts, said 20-year-old organizer Ilya Haykinson. Over at the Chinese, leader Lincoln Gaskins gas·kin n. 1. The part of the hind leg of a horse or related animal between the stifle and the hock. 2. gaskins Obsolete Galligaskins. [Probably short for galligaskins.] said those in line will earn points based on the number of hours they log. Final positions will be doled out Adj. 1. doled out - given out in portions apportioned, dealt out, meted out, parceled out distributed - spread out or scattered about or divided up the day the movie opens. ``It's cool now,'' Gaskins said. ``But the day before it opens - bedlam. We're expecting it to go crazy in the last couple of days before the premiere. We're just trying to have some organized chaos and, hopefully, have some fun with it.'' Theater managers aren't commenting on the early birds. Neither are police, aside from the teasing barbs barbs the primary, delicate filaments that are given off the shaft of a bird's contour feather. They project from the rachis and bear the barbules. bicycle cops hurled toward those shivering in line at the Village. (``I heard this theater isn't even showing the movie,'' one officer joked.) Sandy Baker, vice president of marketing for Encino-based Mann, said the theater chain hasn't even had time to formulate its policies on how many tickets an individual can buy. ``The picture has not been booked, so we can't guarantee anything,'' Baker said. ``We really have nothing to say until that happens.'' At the Chinese, Gaskins was armed with a Web cam in his top-story rented room at the Roosevelt Hotel
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden and other cities. Charitable angle The Web site encourages those in line to sign up people to sponsor them by the hour. Proceeds will go to the Starlight Children's Foundation. ``I think it helps our credibility,'' Rashad said. ``It doesn't make us look so silly.'' Alter isn't as self-conscious. ``We don't have a Web site or a publicity person or a charity,'' he said, reclining in his chair outside the Village Theatre. ``We just have one simple objective - to be the first people in that theater and get the best seats.'' His pick: Row P, Seat 107. ``In a way, I wanted to make this just a classic, old-fashioned line like you might have seen back with the original movie,'' Alter said. ``Of course, back then, you didn't have cell phones, laptop computers or Web cams. In that way, things have changed.'' Rashad and Haykinson have been powering their laptops through extensions plugged into their cars' cigarette lighters. ``We've got to be able to check our e-mail,'' Haykinson said. Others, like Steve Cotie of North Hills, put the emphasis on creature comforts. Cotie brought a tent, sleeping bag and cooking stove to the Chinese Theatre. The free-lance camera assistant said he will stay in line as long as he doesn't get called out on a job. ``This ought to be interesting,'' he said, looking around the sidewalk that he hopes to call home for the next six weeks. Linda Bromley, manager of BJ's Chicago Pizza, next door to the Village Theatre, has a different take. ``This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen,'' she said. Daily News Staff Writers Phil Davis
CAPTION(S): 2 Photos PHOTO (1 -- color) Daniel Alter holds the premiere spot at a Westwood theater. John Lazar/Daily News (2) With tent, folding chair and Darth Vader Darth Vader fallen Jedi Knight has turned to evil. [Am. Cinema: Star Wars] See : Evil cutout cut·out n. 1. Something cut out or intended to be cut out from something else. 2. Electricity A device that interrupts, bypasses, or disconnects a circuit or circuit element. 3. , Steve Cote prepares for 40 days outside the Chinese. David Sprague/Daily News |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion