California Article

Here's an article from TheForce.net, thanks to Calico...

By TYLER McLEOD -- Calgary Sun Like its ghostly name, a new trailer for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace may mysteriously materialize at theatres next week. Various sources are reporting the ad boasting hitherto unseen characters will accompany Wing Commander when it opens on Friday. Both films are from 20th Century Fox. Neither LucasFilm nor Fox in the U.S. and Canada would confirm the rumour. The pairing, however, does seem to make a lot of sense. Wing Commander is a flashy battle flick set in the 27th century and should attract an audience already geared towards Star Wars. Wing Commander is based on a video game of the same name and stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Matthew Lillard. The popular computer adventure even featured Luke Skywalker, Mark Hamill. "I think running the two together is a terrific idea," says Paul Dergarabedian, of the box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations, adding the word-of-mouth among Star Wars devotees is a great marketing tool for Commander. "Why would you want to spend $30 million to market a $30 million movie?"

When the first teaser for the Star Wars prequel was released last November, audience figures surged for accompanying films like Meet Joe Black, The Waterboy and The Siege. In fact, many theatres reported fans leaving immediately after the preview.