‘Star Wars’ Web Site Hit Hard

Sun., March 28, 1999

The Hollywood Reporter

The new trailer for “Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” the prequel to George Lucas’ “Star Wars” saga, set an Internet record with more than 3.5 million downloads in the first five days on the “Star Wars” Web site.

The trailer became available March 11 on the joint LucasFilm/ Apple Web site (www.starwars.com or www.apple.com). It appeared in theaters the following day.

“Over 3.5 million downloads in five days makes this the biggest Internet download event in history,” Apple’s interim CEO Steve Jobs said. “Apple is proud to have participated in this online experience of the new `Star Wars’ movie.”

The success of the first “Menace” trailer, which hit cinema screens in November, sparked Lucas to joke that instead of releasing the film as a feature, he and 20th Century Fox had decided to “break the film up in two-minute segments and sell them individually.”

Fox will release “Menace” on about 2,500 screens May 19.

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