ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300007
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DEREK JONES DOESN'T REALLY watch TV, and he doesn't go to the movies much, either. But he does watch ``Star Wars'' - a lot.
Jones, 22, a manager at Lube & Oil Express in Salem, figures he's seen each of the three ``Star Wars'' movies - "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" - more than 1,000 times each. "I probably watch them twice a week," he said matter-of-factly.
```Star Wars' is my life. I breathe, eat, sleep `Star Wars.' When I'm not working or at school, I'm fiddling with my `Star Wars' toys. `Star Wars' is more than a movie to me. It's like a lifestyle."
It could safely be said that Jones has a jones for ``Star Wars'' memorabilia. Many of his hundreds of ``Star Wars'' toys, including action figures, spaceships and playsets, are on display in his room at his grandmother's house. He can tick off the value of each with the assurance of a commodities broker. And he's been known to pay hundreds of dollars for a collector's item - such as the $900 he shelled out for one of his most prized possessions, a small vinyl star given as a token of appreciation to each cast and crew member of "Star Wars" by filmmaker George Lucas.
Though it's hard to imagine another fan as dedicated as Jones, he is but one of several Roanokers, young and old, who are eagerly awaiting Friday's debut of the ``Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition'' at Valley View 6 and Salem Valley 8.
Twenty years after the original ``Star Wars'' movie arrived in Roanoke with block-long lines at the Towers theaters in summer 1977, it's back on the big screen. Over the next month and a half, Lucasfilm will re-release each of the three groundbreaking ``Star Wars'' films with brand-new scenes and effects and some never-before-seen footage cut in the films' first release. The restored "Empire " will come out on Feb. 21, and "Jedi" follows on March 7.
Lucas has said of the project that he finally has the resources to make ``Star Wars'' look the way he intended it. Twentieth Century Fox has spent more than the total budget of the original "Star Wars" (about $10 million) on the special edition. In addition to new effects, the films' soundtracks have been digitally enhanced and the surprisingly faded master prints of the films have been restored to their former glory by technicians who spent three years hand-cleaning each frame of the negatives with a sponge.
For fans, it's a blast from the past. For a few, the movies changed their lives. And for the 18-and-under crowd, it's the first time they'll get to see the films in a theater instead of on television or videotape.
The original ``Star Wars'' trilogy, which made more than $1.3 billion at the box office and more than $3 billion in merchandise worldwide, changed Hollywood into an industry of big-budget, big-effects, licensing-driven blockbusters like last year's "Independence Day." It gave former President Ronald Reagan names for his proposed national missile defense system (Star Wars) and the Soviet Union (Evil Empire). And it introduced "droids" and "May the Force Be With You" into the national vernacular.
Lucas is hoping the force will be with his ``Trilogy Special Edition,'' and that it will start a wave of hype intended to last until 1999, when the first of his next three ``Star Wars'' films will appear. (For those who don't know, the 1977 ``Star Wars" is the fourth movie in a planned nine-movie series. The much anticipated new film, the first to be directed by Lucas since ``Star Wars," will tell the story of the downfall of Luke Skywalker's father, who later became Darth Vader.)
Starting in November, the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., will mount a yearlong ``Star Wars'' exhibit with artifacts from the films. But a casual look around will tell you the hype's already begun. Did you catch the commercial during the Super Bowl in which Darth Vader crushes a noisy theatergoer's Pepsi cup? It was the start of Pepsi's $2 billion deal to promote the ``Star Wars'' trilogy and the first of Lucas' new ``Star Wars'' films.
A trip to the toy aisles of area department stores will tell you how hot ``Star Wars'' is now. ``Star Wars'' action figures were the top-selling toy for boys last year, and were second only to Barbie in overall toy sales. In fact, Kenner's new line of ``Star Wars'' figures is so sought after that black markets are rumored to exist in the back rooms of many department stores across the nation. High school kids stocking shelves can make as much as $50 apiece selling scarce Princess Leia or Obi-Wan Kenobi figures to collectors. Many like Derek Jones buy two of each figure, so they can keep one unopened.
The first line of figures, which sold for between $2 and $3 in 1978, can fetch anywhere from $30 to $300 now, depending on their condition and whether or not they're still in their original packaging. (Hint to folks who are thinking of attic-rummaging: Look for a vinyl-caped Jawa figure. They didn't make many of these, and if you have it, it's worth about $1,400.)
``Star Wars'' books are a hot seller, too, consistently making the best-seller lists, and ``Star Wars'' comic books and video games are hard to keep on the shelves. And it doesn't have to be old to be worth money to collectors; a single card for the 1996 ``Star Wars'' card game can sell for as much as $15 to $50, depending on its scarcity and collectibility. Locally, Roanokers who play the game will gather Sunday for the area's first ``Star Wars'' tournament at Star City Comics on Williamson Road.
Other sought-after items right now among fans are the large R2-D2 Pepsi drink coolers in convenience stores and the stand-up movie displays for the ``Trilogy Special Edition.'' Jones has already bought one local theater's display.
Even though Jones buys, sells and trades ``Star Wars'' merchandise, he says the films are about more than material things to him. "When I look at this stuff, when I touch it, it reminds me of when I was a kid, when I didn't have any cares," he said.
"I learned so many things in the `Star Wars' movies that have helped me throughout life. Like, don't give up before you even attempt to do something. It's just like Yoda said, 'Do. Or do not. There is no try.'''
LENGTH: Long : 110 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY STAFF. 1. Kenner's new line of ``Star Wars''by CNBaction figures have '90s-style pumped-up lines. Compare the original
Luke Skywalker figure (right) from Derek Jones' collection, with the
new, muscle-bound Luke. 2. Derek Jones shows off just a portion of
his memorabilia. 3. In the aftermath of their duel, Darth Vader
beckons Luke Skywalker in a scene from ``The Empire Strikes Back
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