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CANNES, France — Without Michael Moore (search) and "Fahrenheit 9/11" at the Cannes Film Festival (search) this time, it was left to George Lucas and "Star Wars" to pique European ire over the state of world relations and the United States' role in it. Lucas' themes of democracy on the skids and a ruler preaching war to preserve the peace predate "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith" by almost 30 years. Yet viewers Sunday — and Lucas himself — noted similarities between the final chapter of his sci-fi saga and our own troubled times.

Fandango, the nation's largest online and phone movie ticketing service, is already reporting that Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith is slated to be the top selling title in the company's five year history.The film is positioned to dethrone the former ticketed champ, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.SITH has seen a 75% week over week continious increase in ticket sales. An astounding 80% of US film fans responding to a Fandango poll said they planned to see SITH the opening weekend.SITH has accounted for 79% of Fandango's weekly ticket sails. Moviegoer anticiapation is so high that...

CANNES, France For some Europeans, George Lucas' latest "Star Wars" film is invoking comparisons to today's political climate. Audiences viewing "Episode Three -- Revenge of the Sith" at the Cannes Film Festival are comparing the story of Anakin Skywalker's fall to the dark side and the rise of an emperor through warmongering to President Bush's war on terrorism and the invasion of Iraq. Among the lines they cite is when Anakin tells former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy." After the Nine-Eleven attacks, Bush said, "Either you are with us, or you are with...

'Wars' Raises Questions on U.S. Policy Sunday May 15 12:37 PM ET Without Michael Moore and "Fahrenheit 9/11" at the Cannes Film Festival this time, it was left to George Lucas and "Star Wars" to pique European ire over the state of world relations and the United States' role in it. Lucas' themes of democracy on the skids and a ruler preaching war to preserve the peace predate "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith" by almost 30 years. Yet viewers Sunday and Lucas himself noted similarities between the final chapter of his sci-fi saga and our own troubled...

The May 19 opening of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith may cause headaches for employers, according to global outplacement firm Challenger & Grey Inc.The company today released a report saying that absenteeism could cost employers as much as $627 million over the first two days of the four day opening weekend, as workers take off to see the film.

One of the most powerful images from “Revenge of the Sith” is that of Anakin Skywalker, having turned to the Dark Side, leading a battalion of Clone Troopers to storm the Jedi temple. In several of the trailers, we see the Coruscant skyline, Anakin rising up the stairs in dark flowing robes, with the troopers holding their blasters at the ready. The coterie ascends, and then marches through the grand hall, the clatter of clone trooper boots contrasting with Anakin almost silently flowing across the floor like a wisp of dark cloud.We can safely assume from this scene that the...

Director STEVEN SPIELBERG wept at a premiere of pal GEORGE LUCAS' final STAR WARS movie EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH. JURASSIC PARK film-maker, Spielberg was so moved by the eagerly-awaited conclusion of the sci-fi saga, he burst into tears at its screening last week. But he's unashamed by his tears, insisting fans will also cry at the end of the film, because its moving conclusion marks the end of Lucas' epic story. Spielberg says, "I saw it about a week ago, and it's absolutely amazing. "It's the best of the last three episodes. It's the best way you could...

The Force returns with most of its original power regained in "Star Wars: Episode III -- Revenge of the Sith." Concluding entry in George Lucas' second three-pack of space epics teems with action, drama and spectacle, and even supplies the odd surge of emotion, as young Anakin Skywalker goes over to the Dark Side and the stage is set for the generation of stories launched by the original "Star Wars" 28 years ago. Whatever one thought of the previous two installments, this dynamic picture irons out most of the problems, and emerges as the best in the overall series since...

I imagine that Revenge of the Sith is very much the film Lucas's fans want to see, but are some of them ready for an anti-Bush diatribe? Though every Star Wars film until now has existed in an insular comic-book world, a lot has happened since 1999 and 2002 in the real world and Lucas dares, for the first time, to address how the hollow political conflict in his franchise correlates with the reality outside its panels. (It would have been stupid not to strike a parallel.) Revenge of the Sith's two greatest moments tap into the uncertainty of our...

Well, you can all relax. While ROTS isn't a masterpiece, it's pretty darn good. I managed to slip into a preview showing earlier today and had a thoroughly good time. Yes, it's pretty grim in places. Yet if anything, I'd say it wasn't grim enough. The opening battle will have your jaw hitting the floor. Wall-to-wall butt-kicking on a cosmic scale. And the betrayal of the Jedi...well, it really, really hurts. Even when you know it's coming, it hurts. Oh, yes. This one's a keeper.

Ask George Lucas about his hopes for the closing instalment of Star Wars, Revenge of the Sith, and he replies that he expects it to fail. In an interview with TIME magazine, Lucas says that like everyone who makes movies, he is "always convinced the next one will be a flop". "So right now I’m thinking it probably won’t make any money and will be considered a failure." But in spite of his fears, he concedes he is very satisfied with the final product. "I think it turned out as well as I could have hoped, and at the same...

Got the Boba Fett blues now that George Lucas has wrapped his final Star Wars movie installment? Fret not, Force faithful, there is a new hope. Jedi master George turned up over the weekend at Celebration III, a mega-gathering of 30,000 Star Wars geeks in Indianapolis, where he announced plans to move his space opera to the small screen. For his first appearance at a Star Wars convention in 17 years, Lucas made a big splash. During a Q&A session, he announced that he is going to produce a 3-D animated action series expanding on the Cartoon Network's Emmy-winning Clone...

This weekend George Lucas holds his annual digital summit at the Skywalker Ranch in California where he brings in the top filmmakers in the world and begins his update on digital filmmaking.Filmmakers like Steven Speilburg, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, Francis Ford Copolla, Frank Darabont, Robert Zemeckis and many more will be hitting the ranch. The highlight of the weekend will be George's exhibition of Revenge of the Sith. Even now in Australia, Bryan Singer is shooting 'Superman Returns' with George's new digital camera he has dubbed the 'Genesis Digital Cam.'So after this weekend we may hear more reviews from those...

Director George Lucas had a message for fans as he previewed a glimpse of the final tale in the billion-dollar "Star Wars" film franchise: leave the lightsabers at home, but don't forget the tissues. "It's not like the first one. It's more emotional," said the director of the upcoming space adventure "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," which arrives in theaters May 19. "I describe it as a 'Titanic' in space. It's a real tearjerker, and it will be received in a way that none of us can expect," he told theater owners at the ShoWest convention.

Special Announcement: Episode III Title July 24, 2004 Starwars.com is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the full title of the next Star Wars film, scheduled for release on May 19, 2005. The Sith are masters of the dark side of the Force and the sworn enemies of the Jedi. They were all but exterminated by the Jedi a thousand years ago, but the evil order continued in secrecy. They operated quietly, behind the scenes, acting in pairs - a Master and an Apprentice - patiently biding their time before they could take...

starwars.com is pleased to announce that Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is the full title of the next Star Wars film, scheduled for release on May 19, 2005. http://www.starwars.com/episode-iii/bts/production/news20040724.html