It was also a dream come true [playing The Phantom Menace wrap party]. Ewan inviting us to perform and then playing on the set of the new Star Wars movie was something I could not comprehend. They built us a stage in the Theed Hangar and we got to play in front of all the cast and crew. When we played "Cantina Band" we got a massive cheer from everyone including George Lucas, Peter Mayhew and Liam Neeson.
Adam Savage -- MythBusters: I arrived at ILM during the final push to finish Episode I, and it was like going to heaven -- a shop full of some of the best people I've ever had the honor to work with.
Simon Pegg -- Spaced, Star Trek: The second season of the show [Spaced] came out just after The Phantom Menace, a film which, I'm sorry to say, I found immensely disappointing. Needless to say, [my character] Tim felt the same way and in the opening episode "Time" burns his Star Wars stuff on a funeral pyre. The scene recreates exactly the moment when Luke burns the body of his father at the end of Return of the Jedi. I think it reflected the feelings of many fans. For the first time ever, there was a division in a group of people that had always felt very united. Fortunately, I had an outlet for my displeasure. In one scene Tim screams at a little boy for wanting to buy a Jar Jar Binks doll. It summed up the frustration of the older fans whose expectations were so high and the innocence of the small children for whom it was a colorful and exciting film.
Brian Harnois -- Ghost Hunters International: I remember it being 7 o'clock in the morning about a month before the movie was going to be released. It was advanced ticket sale day. I went up by myself to my favorite movie theater figuring I would be the only one in line that early. Well, I was so wrong. As I pulled up there were already about 15 people in line and we still had about 8 hours until 3:30 pm when tickets would go on sale. The funny thing was that one of my best friends while I was in high school, Eric Cadorette, was standing right in front of me in line. The day was amazing. Doing Star Wars trivia, listening to the soundtrack, conversing about the soon to be released trilogy, and just having some great fun with some great people. I finally got my ticket that afternoon, and still have the stub to this day. And to boot, they took a picture of us for the local paper. So all in all it was a great day.
Hal Sparks -- actor/comedian: I remember sitting through The Phantom Menace secretly hoping the whole time that someone would kill Anakin, just to circumvent the inevitable. Sell the kid to someone else! Anakin is a bad kid because you already know what he's going to become.
Sam Endicott -- The Bravery: I'm a big fan of that theme they play whenever people fight with lightsabers that first appeared during the Darth Maul/Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan fight in Episode I ["Duel of the Fates"]. I think it's among Williams' best work.
Chris Jericho -- WWE Wrestler: In Episode I, Darth Maul is so unbelievably cool looking and a really great character. But I think having him die in the first prequel film was such a mistake. He would have been perfect as the Count Dooku role throughout the whole trilogy. He was so much more interesting and cool with the double lightsaber. Also when he said something half-way through the movie -- it would have been cooler if he didn't talk at all.
Milo Ventimiglia -- Heroes actor: I never got into the mint-condition action figures collecting side of things. I will admit though that when The Phantom Menace came out, I bought a Darth Maul figure because I just thought he was the coolest. It reminded me of the first time I opened up the package of my Darth Vader figure.
Christopher Guanlao -- Silversun Pickups: When The Phantom Menace came out, my band-mate Brian threw a Star Wars party. Not a "let's watch all the movies back to back" pizza party, but a real hardcore Star Wars costume party. I went as Lando Calrissian. I had this big afro wig and I wore a blue cape and glued on a mustache. I know the afro wasn't very PC, but it was all fun and games. There were some really detailed costumes that you wouldn't really think of. Like who wants to dress up as an Imperial commander?
Be sure to also check out our past coverage of celebrities in attendance at the MTV screening of The Phantom Menace at Skywalker Ranch. Read what Ozzy Osbourne, Seth Green, Ryan Reynolds, Barry Pepper, Shannen Doherty and other celebrities had to say about The Phantom Menace in 1999 here.
