Star Wars Episode III Teaser Trailer Today

gotroot801 writes "TheForce.net reports that the Episode III teaser trailer will be available today for viewing on several TV shows in the US (MTV's TRL, Access Hollywood) and Australia (Today Show). In addition, starwars.com Hyperspace members and AOL customers will be able to download the trailer today."

In other news

"... Lucasfilm also indicated that the trailer will be available via Usenet and BitTorrent, and that the complete film was officially released last week on IRC."

Re:In other news

Proving that, even on Slashdot, Rodney Dangerfield would get no respect.

Teaser?

Telling me George Lucas isn't directing would be a real teaser.

lost it!

AOL customers will be able to download the trailer today

Dang it, where's one of those CD's when you need it?

Re:lost it!

Actually it's quite easy if you dont actually talk to anyone.

I had to sign up for aol a couple months ago (to get my free ipod, which i got on sept 22 yay me).. about a week before the 30 day trial ended, i faxed my cancellation request.. it was cancelled no questions asked.

but you're right, if you call to cancel you're screwed.. you'll end up thinking you cancelled but you'll find out later you were given 2 more months free and satan owns your soul and your mom is pregnant with an aol executives child.

Just fax them, it's easier

Re:lost it!

but you're right, if you call to cancel you're screwed.. you'll end up thinking you cancelled but you'll find out later you were given 2 more months free and satan owns your soul and your mom is pregnant with an aol executives child.

That happened in my family and let me tell you, the kid is a total dick.

Re:lost it!

one line will do it "If you do not cancel my subscription i will issue a chargeback and report you as committing credit card fraud"

Re:lost it!

I completely agree, it's ridiculous. I just went through the same experience that you describe a few weeks ago. When attempting to cancel a free trial that I didn't even use once (long boring story), I spent 10 minutes on the phone with the rep without getting anywhere. He would not let me cancel, telling me that the free time has already been allocated and that I could just call back again, which I kept refusing to do. At one point, I asked him if he's ever heard the phrase "the customer is always right" in his training, and he claimed that he'd never heard that phrase in his life, which actually does not surprise me.

He also refused to put a manager on the line, because supposedly he was in a meeting. After we got disconnected, because I think I started shouting at him and he hung up, I called back and got a more reasonable person on the line, who kept me on the phone for only 5 minutes, after which he told me that there was nothing to do because the first guy already marked the account as cancelled. I hate AOL.

Re:lost it!

(general tip here) Never ask to be transferred to a manager. End your conversation and call back. As soon as it's your turn to start talking, ask to speak with a supervisor. If you try to escalate the call with the person you're having a problem with, they will likely warn the supervisor why you want to escalate things -- and it'll only be their side of it -- if they bother to do it at all.

This won't always work, but you'll increase your changes of actually getting to a real supervisor faster.

Re:lost it!

My credit card company (mbna) has a web site where they will generate a temporary credit card number for you. You pick the expiration date and max dollar amount that can be charged to that number. It is great for services that auto-pay themselves when your subscription runs out. I just generate a number with a limit of what one subscription costs. Then they can't charge your card again unless you renew your subscription with a new card number. You have to explicitly renew. And if a database with your card number gets hacked that number is no good anyway. I assume all AOL wants from you to get a free trial is card number. So you could generate a number with a $1 limit that expires before the end of your free trial, and there is no way they can bill you.

Too nervous to watch it

I already read the plot leaks, about the lava surfing etc, I'll go see it anyway but I know the moment I see the trailer I'll probably be disappointed.

Re:Too nervous to watch it

A better question is "why do you keep bitching about it"? If you don't like the prequels, don't fricking watch them.

The best part...

I think the best part of the trailer is the Jar-Jar decapitation scene...oh wait, that was from a dream I had last night.

Now where did I put that Princess Amadala blow-up doll...

Re:The best part...

ObSimpsons

Comic Book Guy: Oh, Jar-Jar. Everyone hates you but me. *Kiss*

this movie will be awesome!

a lightsaber duel with hovering surfboards over lava... what genious will lucas think up next?

/sarcasm

Re:this movie will be awesome!

Will these surfboards be jumping lava sharks by any chance?

Re:this movie will be awesome!

With friggin laser beams maybe?

Re:this movie will be awesome!

Didn't I see that in Highlander 3?

Re:this movie will be awesome!

Hovering surfboards?! The next thing you know they'll be converting a Delorean into a Star Cruiser.

Hmm..

I can't imagine how badly Lucas is going to mess up how Anakin becomes Darth Vader.

Maybe replace his light saber with a walkie talkie?

No, this is how Anakin really becomes Darth Vader

After Queen Padme turns Anakin's ardent requests for sex down for the umpteenth time, he attempts to use 'the FORCE' and due to his raging male hormone levels, when she blasts him with a friggin laser - he spontaneously catchs fire and jumps into the Emporers daily meglomania booster cocktail that was sitting in the balcony below in order to put himself out, and thus earned himself a life sentence of working for the Emporer in order to just pay for the Emporers' ruined shirt...

Re:Hmm..

He didn't change accents... that was the fine British engineered voice box he used as part of the Vader helmet.

Re:Hmm..

He didn't change accents... that was the fine British engineered voice box he used as part of the Vader helmet.

Actually, since it's British engineering, the voice box was the entire helmet.

I'll tell you why.

Ewen McGreggor is an actor.

Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

I call on all slashdotters to join me in a protest against the sucky star wars prequels. Now I know that an all-out boycott would never work with most of you guys (myself too). So this is what I propose:

Wait a minimum of 1 week after the movie's release before seeing it. This act in itself would send a message that people were not happy with the prequels if lots of people did it.

Some people will undoubtedly see it right away. If they say that the movie was actually good, then feel free to go and see it after your week of abstinence. If they say the movie was as shitty as the last 2 then wait 1 more week. Repeat as you see fit.

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

Yes! Giving them the same amount of money a week later would REALLY prove a point. You stick it to those execs!

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

Oddly enough, it really would stick it to those execs.

I believe that the deal that movie theatres get goes something like this:

The studio gets almost all the revenue for the first week of release. After that it tails off, and theatres start to get more of the revenue.

So - support your local flea pit and watch movies late :-)

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

Ordinarily this is correct. However, The previous two prequels had special deals whereby the studios retained a very high percentage for a longer period of time.

Since the success/popularity of a movie is measured by its opening weekend, waiting a week would, in fact, have a negative effect on the studio's perception of the film's performance. Yes, in the end, it's all about the final gross receipts, but the opening weekend carries an inordinate amount of weight.

Also, with respect to the crappy deals that the movie theaters have to accept in order to show the film (like they have another choice?), if you want to support your local cinema, spend some cash at the concession stand. That's where they make the bulk of their actual revenue. Although, and this was true for the prequels, the movie studio takes a percentage of the snack bar, too.

Still, support your local cinema - buy that large tub of popcorn. Colon be damned.

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

Yes! Giving them the same amount of money a week later would REALLY prove a point. You stick it to those execs!

Surprisingly enough it probably would have at least some effect. Tese days the Hollywood blockbuster films rely on huge opening weekends and huge first weeks to create buzz, attention and momentum for a film. Just consider how much time the media spends discussing which film opened bigger this weekend. If such a boycott actually took place on a large scale it could conceivably suck a lot of the thunder out of Episode 3s opening week and probably create significant negative buzz about the film "not living up to hype" with regard to its failure to open as big as expected. Sure the geeks will go later, but the people that don't care as much will come away with a negative view of the film.

Of course all of this presupposes that the proposed boycott actualy occurs on a mass scale. Which it simply won't. This guy and his friends giving Lucasa the money a week late is, as you say, going to make no difference at all.

I, myself, am simply planning on not seeing the film at all. Perhaps if it's on TV, or a second hand DVD selling for $1 I'll consider it. It doesn't take a huge act of will power - the first two sucked. Badly. Why on earth would I care about this one, which sounds like it has the potential to be even worse?

Jedidiah.

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

It's not the same amount of money. In the 1st week of business, 80%-100% of your ticket price goes to LucasFilm and Fox. The next week, it drops to 50%-80%, and then a sliding scale after that. In fact, that 1st week is so important that many studios judge the movie's success ONLY by the 1st week (because DVD & rental income is 1-2 years away thanks to Lucas and the "debt" is accumulating interest). So if the majority of fans stay away the 1st week would:

a) Deprive George & Fox of box-office money
b) Send shock waves through the industry
c) Put pressure on George to change the way he makes the films in the future (you heard the rumors of the final triolgy)

I'd say stay away for 2 weeks.

Re:Hit Lucas Where It Hurts

"This act in itself would send a message that people were not happy with the prequels if lots of people did it."

To what end? I suggest you go see the movie as soon as possible and do what movie makers are justifyable terrified of... Tell everyone exactly what you think of it (without spoilers of course) as soon as you exit the theatre. /., IM, SMS, blog, you name it.

It's to late to protest the movies have already been made. The best things to do is tell the truth. If the movie sucks, don't delay the profit, cut it off.

CmdrTaco's Personal Vendetta?

from the post-links-if-they-show-up dept.

Admit it, you created /. just to wage guerrilla warfare on the Internet, didn't you? Comments like that are just a form of boasting; you've created Frankenstein's monster and set it loose.

Frankendot smash server, arrrgggh!

It's up!

Go go go!

http://www.starwars.com/hyperspace/member/episode- iii/release/trailer/teaser.html [starwars.com]

(Hyperspace Required)

Re:It's up!

This is almost as lame as exclusive game demos on FilePlanet... why the hell are they asking for money to see a teaser? that will get the word out for sure..

Hey, it's up!

The first 45 seconds are from the previous movies (Episode 1, 2, and 4), but the rest looks really cool. Looks like Yoda gets to fight some more, and apparently Darth Sideous has a lightsaber, too. Obi Wan looks like he gets his ass handed to him by Anakin.

I hope the entire movie won't have that yellow "H" in the bottom right hand corner, though. Kinda distracting.

And you laughed at my AOL address...

Just saw it. Anakin gets red-rimmed yellow contacts to show he's evil. The wookies are taking over where the ewoks left off. Alec Guinness does the narration/explanation for most of the trailer... Thank goodness there was some decent monologues in Star Wars.

Of course, AOL folks get the "The making of" mini documentaries, where we all get to rage at the loving detail of George Lucas retrofitting explanations to his choices. It's fun! Could almost make a drinking game out of them.

The Incredibles?

I heard somewhere [Local Radio Station Perhaps?] that the new trailer is supposed to be played at the beginning of The Incredibles movie. Anyone know if there is truth associated to this?

Re:The Incredibles?

It is true, the theatrical trailer airs during The Incredibles.

Usenet

Its out on usenet.

alt.binaries.starwars

getting it now... May the force be with you.

Re:Mirror right here!

We're have 3 people trying to maintain a live link on this site: http://www.dtheatre.com/read.php?sid=2782 [dtheatre.com]

It can be seen there now.

Pay for the honor of watching an advertisement

It's nice that you have to be a member of some shitty online Star Wars site (or one of its affiliates) to watch an advertisement for the new Star Wars movie. It's like paying to beta test a new version of Daikatana.

Star Wars Fans = masochist

You know it's funny, all of these "hardcore" star wars geeks complain about the changes and ideas that Lucas comes up with, bash the prequels, etc.; and yet, they will be the ones camping outside of the local Megamovieplex with their Jar Jar sleeping bags dressed in full Jedi costume with toy lightsabers just to see the first showing of the movie. THEN they will go out and buy 10 different versions of that SAME 4-6 movies just to complain about them all over again.

If you think/know it's going to suck so bad, why even go see it? Would you go see Gigli 2 or Bride of Chucky, then buy the DVD and collectors edition DVD just to complain about them as well?

My point is that no one is forcing you to watch the movies. If you don't like them or the direction they're heading in, then don't support them. Unfortunately, this is the only way Lucas will get the message because he has already publicly stated that he doesn't give a fuck about the fans' opinions [yahoo.com]; and why should he since he is practically the RJ Rynolds of the Sci Fi world with millions (if not billions) of addicts feening for just a taste.

I hope for more story and less special effects

I hope it doesn't suck as bad as Episodes 1 and 2.

Don't get me wrong. I like the (original) Star Wars. I think the Episode 4 was/is a great movie and I can't count how many times I have seen it. Episode V was very good as well. But I think maybe it is because there was less money involved back then (either for special effects or with merchandising). They had to work on the characters and acting more because they didn't have such a huge budget for special effects (i.e. they didn't rely on special effects as much to 'make' the story).

I think the more they rely on 'green screens' and CGI, the poorer the quality of the movie, specifically the story. And I think when Lucas relies increasingly on the movie to be a big commercial for his merchandising efforts (e.g. Jar Jar Binks) it ruins the movie.

I don't plan on seeing this in the theatre. I plan on renting it. I am gun shy after the last two releases. I don't believe they were worth the exorbintant cost of today's movie tickets (never mind the hassle of going through the morgage application to pay for my popcorn and drink).

Re:I hope for more story and less special effects

I think the more they rely on 'green screens' and CGI, the poorer the quality of the movie, specifically the story. And I think when Lucas relies increasingly on the movie to be a big commercial for his merchandising efforts (e.g. Jar Jar Binks) it ruins the movie.

You, my friend, are a person of wisdom. This is the number one problem with star wars: To borrow a phrase from Jurassic Park, they were so concerned with whether they *could*, they didn't stop to think if they *should*.

All of this CGI and whatnot has killed the sci-fi industry. Everyone gets a look at these movies, and goes "woah" as they see the special effects, but no one actually thinks about the quality of the movie its self. So, what we have is a situation in which every single solitary moment of a star wars film is visually beautiful, and utterly devoid of life.

You have cardboard cutouts for your human actors, and CGI characters everywhere. Every background is a living microcosm, but after a while, it just looks cluttered, it looks like people wander into the background just to make more motion. You end up with people talking "in the vague direction" of the CGI character, and other missed visual cues. It's horrible. It doesn't make a movie better.

You end out with the Jedi Master of the known universe flipping his shit and flying around a room in a show of physical prowess and cgi flash, but in Empire, yoda denies the need for raw, brutish strength, in favor of mind-over-matter. Yoda, in my mind, should be a character who is powerful by virtue of his presence, not his actions. But, no. CGI could bring him to life. Whether it should have or not, no one stopped to consider.

Add to the top of that the utter marketability of the movies, and it becomes sickening. The pod race scene in TPM? Exists in order to make video games. Jar Jar? Exists because the other actors have no hope of accomplishing situation comedy, as well as to put on lunch boxes.

Star wars has been killed, and Lucas pulled the trigger.

If you want an example of Sci-Fi done right, look at farscape. Brilliant actors. Excellent script writing. Voice-acted puppets where they are needed. Given a bigger budget, rigel and pilot could have been CGI, but why? They are more convincing as puppets. CGI is used for Moya and other space effects, where it's most effective.

(marked you as "friend")

~Will

Re:It's for you!

Well, I just got a cease and desist for posting the video of supar sekrat Episode III:

> Dear Webmaster,
> It has come to our attention that your website,
> http://www.tomservo.net/etc/vid/starwars3teaser.mo v is posting
> unauthorized copies of content (Episode III Teaser Trailer) from the
> Official Star Wars website (www.starwars.com) and in particular,
> content from the subscriber-only area of the site - Hyperspace
> (www.starwars.com/hyperspace), as well as content from Star Wars
> Insider magazine, a Lucasfilm publication.
>
> We believe this content is protected by copyright and other laws and
> its use elsewhere on your website is a violation of the starwars.com
> Terms of Service..
>
> We trust this is an oversight or miscommunication and that any such
> content will be removed from your site immediately and no future
> re-posting will occur. This will allow us to avoid a more formal
> communication in the future.
>
> Thank you for your enthusiasm for Star Wars and thank you in advance
> for your cooperation on this matter.
>
> - Lucasfilm, Content Management
> http://www.starwars.com || http://www.indianajones.com

Re:It's for you!

A pirate you were meant to be? ... they even included the slashcode-fubared-rogue-spaces link. Obviously, they have minions reading geek forums... so they know people are disappointed in the quality of their stuff. And ignore all the comments. Yup. They're egotists for sure. Now, they did make the movies so they don't HAVE to listen to customers... but it's a good idea to -- and pays off later.

Spoiler

Episode III begins with "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far way...

OK, Now Shuddup in Advance

The first person who says that George Lucas stole their childhood will have the spleen stolen, forcibly.

For more clarification on how you should feel about this issue, please note this commentary by this popular game developer. [pvponline.com]

Re:OK, Now Shuddup in Advance

George Lucas stole my childhoo...Aaaaugh! My spleen!

Extremely fast mirror

Mirror here [comcast.net]

...at 500kb/sec. Well, not for long I'd imagine!

Too Late

I have a friend who has a sister who works with somebody who knows a registered member of StarWars.com and they heardd that Lucas felt the trailer did not convey his artistic vision correctly and had it edited digitally. So any trailer you see now is not the original.

fast link to full version

In case another mirror is needed, http://neverhost.net/public/full.mov [neverhost.net] Should be very fast :) Directory listing allowed for this folder.

How to play trailer in Linux

OK, I would be really grateful if anyone could tell me how to play this in Linux.

I know that one option is to use the crossover plugin to play quicktime files in Linux. Does anyone know of another option to successfully play this quicktime trailer in Linux?

I've tried totem, xine, and mplayer on Mandrake 10.0. I haven't tried compiling my own copy of mplayer, but I have the codecs [mplayerhq.hu], and the output from mplayer makes me think that mplayer is using the quicktime codec. But I still just get a blue screen and no sound when I try to play it.

Thanks...

Re:Real Torrent

You'll proabably get a webpage. Click the "torrent" "button" on the bottom left. link again [filerush.com]

So if you have AOL

does it say "Yousa gotten mail"?

Bad Lucas Marketing, BAD!

Ok, I understand the purpose of sending the takedown notices. They have special deals with those affiliates whereby they pay for exclusive distribution of the trailer.

But Lucas, don't be dicks about sending takedown notices. Your trailer WILL get distributed via other methods, and you should be FUCKING GRATEFUL FOR IT. We're using our own bandwidth (or our schools hehehehe ssshhh) and saving you precious PR dollars with a word of mouth campaign you could never match in a million years with all your greedily earned millions.

I say its about time Lucas shows some fucking appreciation for their fans.

Bitorrent located here...

...that's what I'd be saying if I knew where I bitorrent file was located, but I just had to take this opportunity to tell you about the wonderful world of Arghway products. From the Orange-marmalaid and tomato paste shoe brightening products, to thier soy toothpaste/hemmeroid cream (yes, now you can eliminate the worry of getting those to products confused early in the morning).

{at this point an angry mob begins to form around StressGuy}
.
. ....yea, I know, your pissed....but I just lost all my karma ;)

Re:See lucas ruin your childhood yet again

First, you dont have to go see it.

Second, if George Lucas fucking about with his own ideas and creations affects your childhood in some way then you are a truly sad individual.

Re:Direct Link to 4 mirrors

That's not the trailer. That's the 5-second preview of the trailer from Entertainment Tonight.

Got it!

Spread the seed my breathren!

Torrent! [numbski.net]

Re:Got it!

Sorry guys but I just got a takedown notice from Lucasfilm:


Dear Webmaster,
It has come to our attention that your website,
http://www.numbski.net/downloads/sw3trai ler.torren t is posting
unauthorized copies of content (Episode III Teaser Trailer) from the
Official Star Wars website (www.starwars.com
) and in particular, content from the
subscriber-only area of the site - Hyperspace
(www.starwars.com/hyperspace ),
as well as content from Star Wars Insider magazine, a Lucasfilm
publication.

We believe this content is protected by copyright and other laws and its
use elsewhere on your website is a violation of the starwars.com Terms
of Service..

We trust this is an oversight or miscommunication and that any such
content will be removed from your site immediately and no future
re-posting will occur. This will allow us to avoid a more formal
communication in the future.

Thank you for your enthusiasm for Star Wars and thank you in advance for
your cooperation on this matter.


I didn't get this from the 'subscriber only' area. I downloaded from the link in the article at the AOL website.

Weirdness. Sorry guys, I have to kill the torrent. :(

Re:here it is

Shucks. Follow the link in my profile for redemption.