CLICK & DOUBLE CLICK: INTERNET PROVIDES INSIGHT, DISCUSSION INTO NEW STAR WARS MOVIE (COLUMN 138)

In case you haven't heard or live on a deserted island, the newest Star Wars movie opens May 19 at 12:01 a.m.

Honest. The countdown to the opening of the "Phantom Menace" has been on for months.

There are easily thousands of sites on the Internet not only to learn more about the film but to converse with other Star Wars fanatics.

This movie is set 30 years before the original Star Wars when Darth Vader is a 9-year-old boy named Anakin Skywalker.

Joni: The official site doesn't have a lot of details about the movie yet. It's trying to remain somewhat mysterious until the opening.

www.starwars.com

Peggy: The movie is called a Star Wars prequel. You can read recent news about the new movie, but there is lots of stuff if you want to brush up on the other three Star Wars movies.

On the site you can read about the cast, the crew and the characters . You can also take a look at the movie trailer. There's a lot of cool stuff on here. You can look inside Anakin's home or you can learn more about the three planets at the heart of the story -- Coruscant, Naboo and Tattoine.

Peggy: What do you think? Should you read all this information before you see the movie? Can we enjoy it without knowing all the details?

Joni: I don't think you would need to know all this, but if you are a devoted fan, I think you want or even need to know. I guess we're just hanger-on-ers.

Peggy: Let's take the tour of Anakin's home. You need a plug-in to view the turn-around images. They shot with special lenses so we could view the pictures on the Internet.

Joni: The Southeast Missourian offers a top-notch interactive guide to Star Wars at

starwars.semissourian.com

Peggy: You can find out about the merchandise frenzy and read news about the pre-release hype. You can also play a trivia game, a word search game or a coloring book for kids.

Joni: But we're going to play the Mix and Match game. You choose between heads, mouths, ears and eyes. Princess Leia's head. Darth Vader's mouth, a storm trooper's ears and Darth Maul's nose. Hmm.

Peggy: This is pretty fun. Nice look, Joni. They also have postcards you can send to your Star Wars friends. They have 15 postcards of old movie posters.

Joni: You can also view two trailers. Are you ready? Look, Peggy, it's big. The window to view the trailer is 6-by-2 1/2 inches. Wow. Be patient. It took forever to download.

Peggy: This is much better than the typical 2-by-2 screen we get to view videos. Very nice.

Joni: You can learn about the cast and characters from all the Star Wars movies. These are very short descriptions. Here's the new queen who will eventually wed Anakin and give birth to Luke and Leia.

Peggy: Here's Darth Maul, the new bad guy described as evil personified. He eventually brings young Anakin to the dark side.

Joni: One of the best sites on the Internet, done by fans, gives you a daily dose of Star Wars. Find it at

www.theforce.net

Joni: Today it's filled with information about the fan convention. If you camped out for 12:01 a.m. toys, they want your story.

Peggy: The demographics of toy seekers seem to be men in their 20s. The site has regular contributors, called the Jedi Council. They offer speculation on the movie and news about things revealed.

Joni: Or you can read the prequel news. You can join in discussion areas or read the Jedi Council reports. They also track television programs planned about the opening.

Peggy: They also follow rumors and report falsehoods about the prequel. They also have separated some information into Story Spoilers. You don't have to read everything before you see the movie.

Joni: They've gathered information through official and unofficial sites. All-in-all the information is spoiler free.

Peggy: You can also listen to the new critter, a Jar Jar Bink, or listen to Darth Maul speak.

Joni: This is interesting. If you don't want to wait for the trailer to load, you can look at a series of still shots that constitute a slide-show trailer.

Peggy: They have lots of multi-media stuff, including pictures, videos and sounds. For a chuckle, you can take a look at a variety of Star Wars cartoons that have been published.

Joni: Here's a list of addresses for cast and crew. You can write for autographs. They also link to lots of other fan sites.

starwars.countingdown.com

Peggy: If you need to know exactly how long it is before the movie starts, this is the place for you. You can also find out the latest news, post on their message boards or watch live Web cams of people waiting in line.

Joni: Lots of Web cams are being set up across the country, and the project raises money for charity. I guess these people don't have jobs.

Peggy: Look, a Web cam will be located at the Esquire Theater in St. Louis. Star Wars isn't all serious. There are lots of Star Wars-inspired humor sites including

www.jedinet.com/cinema

Joni: This site has some original animated short productions featuring action figures and finger puppets. Highlights include Godzilla Vs. Disco Lando and Kung Fu Kenobi's Big Adventure. It's a hoot.

Peggy: What's your favorite Star Wars site? E-mail us at click@semissourian.com

See you in Cyberspace. May the force be with you.

Joni Adams and Peggy Scott are members of the Southeast Missourian online staff.