Digital Sound and Advance Ticket Sales

Many fans have been asking questions about the release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, on May 19th 1999. Twentieth Century Fox, responsible for the distribution of the film, is currently hard at work to ensure that moviegoers everywhere will be able to see Episode I in the best possible conditions. Tom Sherak, Chairman of Twentieth Century Fox Domestic Film Group, wanted to address two of the fans' most pressing concerns: digital sound and advance ticket sales.

Digital Sound
"Fox will be looking to play the film in digital sound in every market that digital is available," says Tom Sherak. "The film will play all digital formats, Dolby Digital, DTS and SDDS. If a theatre is in a market that has digital theatres but does not have digital sound, it will not play in that theatre. In the markets where theatres compete with each other the selection process is being decided now. Fox will, of course, look for the best presentation and sound available. In markets that do not have digital sound, although we believe digital sound is important, it is more important for our fans to be able to see the movie. Therefore, Fox will choose the best possible theatre to play the movie and it will play non-digital. The film will play wide and it will be available in markets with enough seats to reasonably accommodate audiences during the early weeks of its run."

Advance Ticket Sales
"Although this issue is still being discussed, we believe the best way to make tickets available, to be fair to all of you, is on a same day - first come, first serve basis for the first two weeks. Our biggest fear is that if we sell tickets in advance, scalping will take place and you and your families would either not be able to get tickets or would have to pay above face value. We feel this is totally out of line with our concept of the Star Wars experience. Tickets would go on sale each morning for that day's performance. After the first two weeks we would allow advance sales. We understand and regret that waiting in line may cause some inconvenience, but we feel scalping or auctioning off of tickets would create a greater disservice to families and fans. Please stay tuned to the Web site for further updates," Sherak says.

Please note that internationally, advance movie ticket sales are sometimes customary. In those cases, the moviegoers' habits will not be disrupted, and thus advance ticket sales will not be prevented. But in North American theaters, May 19th, 1999, is the first day theaters will sell Episode I tickets.