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From: York@SCRC-STONY-BROOK.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Criticizing the critics
Message-ID: <2032@topaz.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 20-May-85 10:08:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: topaz.2032
Posted: Mon May 20 10:08:40 1985
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From: William M. York <York@SCRC-QUABBIN.ARPA>

    Date: 9 May 85 19:03:45 GMT
    From: ames!barry@topaz.arpa (Kenn Barry)

	    No, not really true. An example: STAR WARS was at first seen
    by Fox as middle-weight Summer fare which would at best turn a small
    profit. It originally had a small promotional budget, and opened at
    minor locations. It was only because Lucas had Charlie Lippincott
    running around to all the SF cons for a year before it opened that
    the movie took off as it did, in my opinion. SF fans were waiting
    for that film with their mouths watering because of the
    presentations at the cons, and this was why the lines ran around the
    block when the film quietly opened. It was only after the studios
    saw this initial enthusiastic reception that the film was given a
    big "premiere" at the Chinese, and a big promo budget.

You may consider this picking nits, but Star Wars didn't exactly open
"quietly".  If I remember correctly, the preceeding week's issue of Time
magazine featured an article about Star Wars as the cover story, and in
the article they claimed that Star Wars would be the best movie of the
year (a strong prediction for May).