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Several die-hard fans couldn't wait any longer to buy tickets for the May 19 release of "Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
They began waiting in line at North Pointe Cinema at dawn Wednesday for tickets.
"We've been checking since midnight to see if anyone was out here," said Matt Gilbert, 21.
"We're the faithful! We're the first ones here!" said Matthew Merquez, 25.
Gilbert and Merquez were joined by Brian Marshall, 29; Brent White, 24; Franklin Choate, 19; Tim Keyes, 19; and John North, 24. They didn't know each other until they began their wait together.
"It's been 16 years of waiting. It's just a big thing to see the first episode the first time," said White. "They said they didn't want people spending the night, so we got here at the break of dawn."
Merquez said ever since he saw the first preview, time stopped for him.
He said, "I was 8 years old again. I felt like a kid again. I felt like Peter Pan." He also said he planned to dress up like a character for the first show, but wouldn't say which just yet.
Some critics in national publications have given "The Phantom Menace" poor reviews. But the reviews don't matter to the faithful, Gilbert said.
"The trailer alone blew out anything I've ever seen," Merquez said. "Special effect movies come and go, but "Star Wars" is the ultimate."
Choate said, "I'm not going to base what movie I see on what someone else said."
The group waiting compared director George Lucas to Greek philosopher and writer Homer.
"The way the old writers used to write, they'd start in the middle of the story and go back," said Choate. "That's the way Lucas is with 'Star Wars.'"
Merquez said, "The thing about Lucas is that he got a lot of this from different places and myths."
Keyes had to leave for work at 2 p.m., but he had a back-up plan to get his tickets. His mother, Caren Keyes, took his place in line.
"I'm waiting (in line) for my two kids - my son and my daughter - and their friends," Caren said. "My kid was a baby when the last ('Star Wars' movie) came out."
As the Keyes family plans to see the movie, families across the world may want to see the movie together, Merquez said.
"(Lucas) has finally come out with a movie that doesn't have nudity or swearing," he said.
As the sky looked like it might begin raining Wednesday, White said, "If it starts pouring, you're going to see us right here."
How many times do they plan to see the movie?
"A minimum of six times," said Choate.
"Anyone who thinks of releasing anything during this time is stupid," said Merquez.
While waiting to buy tickets, a local businessman approached the group to find out about ticket sales. He offered to pay $10 per ticket if one of them would buy some for him. He wanted four tickets. North Pointe Cinema charges $7 per ticket for an adult.
"The people who really want to see it will get their tickets today," said White.
"There's the 40-year-olds who went to see the first ones with their kids. There's the 20-year-olds who saw them as a child. And now you have the kids who are seeing them for the first time. I don't know if there's any movie that's ever spanned the generations like that," said North. "If you want to see it the first week it comes out, you're going to have to wait for awhile."
Liz McMillan, general manager for North Pointe Cinema, started selling tickets for "The Phantom Menace" at 3 p.m. Wednesday. There is a limit of 12 tickets per customer per visit.
North Pointe Cinema has added times, such as 12:01 a.m. May 19 for the first showing and 10:15 p.m. on weekends, to show the movie.
McMillan said they will have "The Phantom Menace" for at least eight weeks.
"This is the first time we've seen (people wait so early for tickets). I've been doing it for 20 years," she said. "Lucas has done a great job with the whole ticket thing."
McMillan said she was really hyped after viewing a special screening of the movie in Indianapolis for theater owners. She said the movie was worth the wait.
May the force be with all those who will be waiting in long lines to see "The Phantom Menace."
