LETTERS: DON'T MESS WITH `STAR WARS'.

Just a couple of comments on Betty Kwong's article on ``Star Wars'' Fan Day (June 13, L.A. Life). First, I have no intention of participating in Fan Day (I've seen ``Phantom Menace'' four times already; that's plenty). I personally found the movie entertaining and really enjoyed many scenes but also hated some parts of it.

But the issue here isn't the quality of the movie but the box-office success. Kwong said the movie ``only'' became the 11th highest-grossing movie of all time in 23 days. Think about that. Hype or no hype, the fact remains that the movie cleared $300 million in less than a month, a feat achieved by no other film (``Titanic'' did it in 44 days apparently). It was the fastest movie to clear $100 million, $200 million and $250 million. So, since it has set new standards for so many things, how could its success appear disappointing?

And an ``attendance dud''? ``The Mummy'' made $136 million in six weeks (by that time, ``Phantom Menace'' will have made $320 million to $340 million). ``The Matrix'' made $161.4 million in 11 weeks, ``Entrapment'' $79.4 million in seven weeks, ``Never Been Kissed'' $51.9 million in 10 weeks. And I hear no one calling these movies anything but box-office successes. Granted, none of these movies had the same expectations, but still, look at the big picture.

- Lincoln Trudeau

Toronto

The new ``Star Wars'' is definitely not a disappointment at the box office. It is breaking records every week. It will go into the top five of all time, for sure. That's the kind of disappointment a lot of studios would like to have.

- Simon Tardif

Quebec City, Quebec

There's more to successof Larry Elder than his race

Fred Shuster's radio column seemed like a good idea at the time. But his chop job on Larry Elder (June 17, L.A. Life) exposes his biases.

First he (implies) that only Larry's color makes him outstanding. Then, we find such put-downs as ``well-worn conservative party line,'' ``comforting to ... white guys on cell phones,'' ``too wrapped up in surveys,'' ``blatant and disturbing.'' Then there is Shuster's gratuitous opinion that ``(conservative) views are usually trumpeted by old white guys.''

Do young black guys have to blow a different horn? And how come Shuster is so hung up on color? This is radio.

- Gary Brandner

Northridge

Flight attendant provided airplane-earache remedy

Re: ``Drugs don't seem to help kids with airplane earache'' (June 14, L.A. Life).

When my young son complained of an earache while we were traveling on a jet, the attendant took two hot towels from first class and put them in two plastic cups.

She then instructed me to hold the cups against his ears for about five minutes. This relieved his problem considerably.

- Liz Cotten

Palmdale