It was suggested that I post this story as a blog entry, so here it is with some additional detail. (Stooge's choice of picture was perfect for this, so I'm sticking with the theme.)

Until 1989, my grandfather was co-owner of approximately 20+ movie theatres (Yes, that's correctly spelled. A theater has a full stage, whereas a theatre merely has a screen with no true stage area.) in Southern Illinois, most of which were sold to other companies. The family business just couldn't compete with the larger conglomerates that were making their way into the area.

I remember with great fondness that it was at one of these theatres that I saw the original Star Wars, before it was "A New Hope." My parents took me when I was just six years old - they even prepared me for the fact that there was a man dressed up in a black suit that was "really scary." Little did they know that not only would Darth Vader become my favorite character, but that Star Wars would become an integral part of my life from that point forward.

Still, after most of the theatres were sold off, my grandfather's company retained a drive-in movie theatre (I'm still the webmaster to this day) where I, myself, worked as an assistant manager for a while. Plus, I was still allowed free entrance at one of the theatres they sold off. It's a shame that this theatre isn't still open today. Not including IMAX, its main screen was larger than any of those in the St. Louis Metro area, including the Esquire Theater.

Jump to the Fall of 1998, when the desire for ANYTHING about the new Star Wars movie was at a fever pitch. I got a call from the manager one day in November...

"Hey, guess what arrived with the prints today?"

He didn't have to say another word. I told him to call me when the film was assembled and he said he would.

Something a lot of people don't know is that film is still delivered to movie theaters across the country on 20-minute reels. What most theatres use to display the movie is called the "platter" system, which is where the 20-minute reels are strung together into one long piece so that the film lays on its side and is then fed through the projector in such a way that eliminates the need to rewind the film after each showing (if you're interested, take a look at this link and go to the seventh picture in and continue.) I'm very familiar with this process, since I worked in the theatres myself.

One thing that's always been required after putting the film together is an initial, non-public viewing to make sure that there were no mistakes in assembling the film and there are no problems with the print itself. The case for this was no different, so when he was done assembling the film he gave me a call. I brought my best friend with me at the time, who was almost as into Star Wars as I am, and we sat there in that dark, empty theatre in absolute rapture.

The silence in the theater immediately afterward was so deafening that we were startled when the feature started to play. Having no interest in the film (that's why I don't remember to this day what the trailer was attached to), my friend and I left the theatre with very smug grins on our faces. No one else in the entire area would see that preview for another 48 hours, and "bragging rights" doesn't even come close.