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CNN Live At Daybreak

Box Office Battle About to Go Intergalactic

Aired May 07, 2002 - 06:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: "Spiderman" jumped into box office history this weekend, but the box office battle is about to go intergalactic. "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" hits screens nationwide on May 16th.

In our countdown to the clones, we have a preview from CNN's Bruce Burkhardt.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRUCE BURKHARDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "Star Wars." Don't dare call it science fiction. Fans exalt the series as timeless mythology. One long story with no precise beginning or end.

GEORGE LUCAS, "STAR WARS" CREATOR: Well myth is really a way for society to pass on the values and the mores and the thinking, really, of one generation to the next generation.

BURKHARDT: So the saga continues again, longer than a long, long time ago. "Star Wars Episode II" takes place a whole generation before hero Luke Skywalker is born.

LUCAS: The whole thing is the journey of the hero. I mean the whole piece -- you were just seeing a small part of it. This is a larger journey of the hero's father, so to speak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I do the "Starsky and Hutch" thing in a bonnet (ph)? (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the bonnet (ph)?

BURKHARDT: In more earthly terms, though, the journey actually starts here, at creator George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch, nestled in the redwoods of northern California. The ranch is home to Lucas Film Productions, Skywalker Sound and the industrial light magic visual effects house. All in all, Skywalker Ranch has spawned five of the top 20 box office hits of all time and garnered 17 Academy Awards, mostly in the craft categories.

Whether "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones" lives up to the hype is still an open question. But early reviews indicate the special effects are superb. The entire film was shot digitally in Lucas' tweaked characters, such as Yoda and Jar Jar Binks, to make their movements more believable this time. LUCAS: Because if you see it digitally, you're seeing it really the way it was meant to be seen. And it really is great. I mean it's so much better than seeing it on film.

BURKHARDT: Chances are you will not see it digitally, because only a handful of theaters have that capability. But digital or not, it's time to send in the clones.

Bruce Burkhardt, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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