"Star Wars" fans have been known to sneak onto sets and question innocent service workers just to find out what's to come in the series' new films.
It's like the Apple Computer of the movie industry -- dozens of rumor websites are constantly seeking to stir up dirt and one-up each other with any and all things "Star Wars."
"Star Wars" fans can thank George Lucas for his company's latest move. On-set snooping and rumor sites might not be necessary when "Star Wars Episode III" begins filming in Australia this month, because
Lucasfilm is launching a new, tell-all website and Web service, Hyperspace, available at
StarWars.com.
Tonight on "Tech Live," take a tour of the new site, set to launch June 10. As you'll see in tonight's show, one of the site's best features (for fans willing to pay a subscription) is a live, 24/7 look at the "Episode III" set via netcam.
Free sneak peek
Hyperspace will also contain an array of personalized email domains, including darthvader.net, and it promises first word on the final installment of the saga. Fans can check out Hyperspace for free from June 5 through June 9. Starting June 10, the service requires a yearly $19.95 subscription fee.
Are Lucas employees jazzed about the announcement? Definitely.
"Five years ago we were the first entertainment site to premiere a trailer on the Web, which set a new standard for the industry and was the biggest downloading event in history," says Jim Ward, the head of Lucas Online. "We're using technology and innovation to bring fans closer to the 'Star Wars' universe and, more importantly, to expand the definition of Internet entertainment."
Still, visitors to StarWars.com who don't subscribe to Hyperspace can check out other enhanced goodies, including message boards, "Star Wars" products, and a kids' corner.
Keeping with Lucas tradition, the site even has a trailer for its Hyperspace launch. It includes a quick look at the now-famous deleted scene from "Attack of the Clones" in which a host of Jedi knights do battle with the clones. Further information about "Episode III" will eventually be listed here -- free of charge -- as well.
Millions check in each month
"This is the content our biggest fans have been asking us for, and now we're able to provide it to them while maintaining an overall site that's accessible to all levels of 'Star Wars' fans," Ward says. "No movie-themed entertainment site has ever offered anything like this, but no film series has maintained such a strong fan base for a quarter of a century the way that 'Star Wars' has."
The new site is another step in StarWars.com's ongoing effort to remain ahead of the rest of the film industry when it comes to using the Net. The site currently nabs a whopping 4 million viewers per month. The site contains 7,000 different pages and is linked to by 11,257 outside sites -- including TechTV.com.
