Posted on: Tuesday, May 14, 2002

Sellers expect rush on 'Clones' items

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure.

Kaleo Lindsey didn't know who exactly Jango Fett was, but he knew why he had to have his action figure.

"It's 'Star Wars,' " he said.

In a triumph of nagging and dragging, Kaleo, 8, had managed to coax his mother, Tania Rodrigues, into the corner of KB Toys devoted to the latest wave of "Star Wars" merchandise.

" 'Star Wars,' " he repeated, emphatically.

Lindsey eventually got his action figure. And just in time: By all indications, once "Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones" hits theaters Thursday, toy store action figures, light sabers inside cereal boxes and other licensed merchandise associated with the movie will be in demand.

Jennifer Chuck, a KB Toys assistant manager, said toys haven't been flying off the shelves in the weeks before the movie's opening. "But that's just because the movie isn't out yet," she said. "Once they know who all the characters are, they're going to start selling."

In an effort to prevent the embarrassing glut of unwanted merchandise that accompanied the previous "Star Wars" film, "The Phantom Menace," Lucasfilm Ltd. Is limiting the number of "Clones"-related merchandise to about 50 items (down from 85), including a full line of action figures that will be released in waves between now and Christmas.

The first set of toys hit stores late last month. As expected, the items were grabbed up quickly by hardcore fans and collectors.

"Jango Fett, Anakin — they're totally gone," said Joe Liu-Kwan, an assistant manager at Gecko Books and Comics in Kaimuki.

Liu-Kwan said it looked early on as though the negative aura surrounding "The Phantom Menace" was lingering and people were being cautious about getting too excited about the new release.

"But once Harry Knowles started raving about it, the hype just took off," he said. "It got the buzz going."

Knowles, the strangely influential nerd-lord of Aint-It-cool-News.com, was the beneficiary of a clandestine screening of "Clones" at the South by Southwest music and media confab in March. His gushing review (" ... a film that is so relentlessly entertaining and thrilling that there will be no movie this summer that can stand against it") ignited what had been a dry lead-up to the movie's premiere.

The gist of Knowles' rambling essay is that "Clones" eliminates much of what was so irksome about "Phantom" — Jar Jar Binks is relegated to a 15-second cameo — while reconnecting with the strengths of the original story line: moral struggle, loss and redemption, and a ton o' action.

Of course, even Lucasfilm's scaled-back merchandising effort is more than sufficient to take advantage of the growing optimism about the film. In addition to the line of toys (see box), dozens of books and other publications are also hitting the stores.

Locally, the Cheapo chain and other bookstores have been gathering what it can, from "Star Wars" novels to "Star Wars" art books. The soundtrack CD is on high rotation at Cheapo's McCully store. And if the crowds aren't beating down the doors yet, they very well could be in the coming weeks.

After all, Lindsey said, "It's 'Star Wars.' "