• - May 5th - Release date shifts.

  Lucas announces the film will be released two days earlier than planned, on May 19th. He's that confident.

• - May 7th - Uh-oh: part 2.

  Liam Neeson launches a blistering broadside against Lucas without explicitly naming him. The actor announces he's quitting Hollywood because "Film is a director's medium, it has nothing to do with actors. We are basically puppets, walking around, hitting marks, saying lines. Producers earn all the money, and you get the sense that they hate actors. The crews are treated like slaves." He insists that from now on he will only do one stage play a year and will spend the rest of his time fly fishing or with his family. He never makes a film again...


Trailer for Taken (2008).

• - May 13th - Uh-oh: part 3.

  Ronal Epstein of renowned news outlet, um, Home Theatre Forum, stakes a claim in 'net history by posting the first review of Phantom Menace. And he doesn't like it very much. "It looks like Star Wars, it smells like Star Wars and it feels like Star Wars," he writes. "However, is it a Star Wars that we are going to walk away satisfied with? Well... perhaps, but not for everyone." An anonymous poster chimes in that "It was a dream come true at first, but quickly turned into a nightmare."

  Fox's publicity department take a leaf out of William Shatner's book, and tells fans to get a life. "Guys, it's a movie. It isn't the Bible!" says Tom Sherak at Fox. "It's fun, it's enjoyable, it's escapism. But it's a movie."

  Even worse, a group of mainstream publications see the reviews online and decide to break the embargo and publish their reviews ten days early, infuriating Fox. Variety say the film "is neither captivating nor transporting, for it lacks any emotional pull, as well as the sense of wonder and awe that marks the best works of sci-fi and fantasy."

  Tom Sherack scales new heights of PR genius by describing the whole situation as "unfair" and whining that people are not playing by the rules. Aw, bless.

• - May 14th - tickets go on sale.

  The BBC report that one fan, in Portland, Oregon, did not enjoy queuing for tickets. Gabe Elliot was surrounded by people who sang Star Wars music and recited Monty Python quotes. "I'm surrounded by psychos," he says.

• - May 16th - Charity premieres.

  Eleven special benefit premieres are staged across the US, with tickets going for $500 each.


Fans camp out for tickets.

• - May 19th - Film released in US.

  It is estimated that 2.2 million people pull sick days in order to go see the film. This apparently costs the US economy $293 million. Some savvy employers realise that so many of their staff would be bunking off, they declare it a holiday and shut down. History is made as some cinemas use digital projectors for the first time.

  The mood changes from euphoric to disappointed pretty fast. At 10am the BBC news website headline reads "Fans rave over Star Wars", but by 3:15pm it reads "Fans have 'mixed feelings' over Star Wars".

• - May 21st - Box office record.

  Phantom Menace makes $28.5m on its opening day, breaking the box office record of $26.1m set in 1997 by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. Tom Sherak gets terribly excited. "It's Christmas!" he babbles. "Star Wars is like a thoroughbred horse!"

• - May 24th - Another box office record.

  Phantom Menace becomes the first film to earn more than $100m in its first five days of release.

• - May 27th - Ahoy!

  Pirate video copies hit the streets in Asia. It comes from a camcorder recording of a showing in the US and prominently features the back of someone's head. A few online wags claim it's better than the official release, as viewers can see proportionally less of Jar Jar Binks. When the film eventually hits home video, a fan goes a step further to rid the film of the pesky Gungan, circulating a bootleg of his attempt to re-edit the film. Dubbed "The Phantom Edit," it tightens the film's lengthy runtime and ditches Jar Jar where possible.

The Phantom Menace out now on DVD.