May The 19th Be With You

They weren't even sure that they were at the right theater, but one group of fans was already standing in line in mid-April for The Phantom Menace, the much-anticipated Star Wars prequel.

But it was all for a good cause, reports CBS This Morning Field Anchor Jose Diaz-Balart. Like participants in a walk-a-thon, these guys lined up sponsors, who have pledged money to the Starlight Foundation. The longer a fan stays in line, the more funds go to charity.

One of the official line locations is Mann's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Nobody knew if The Phantom Menace would play there on the opening weekend, but that theater is where the first Star Wars opened in 1977.

Some fans have been out there for 4 hours every day, and others, for as many as 12 hours a day. Some get in line and log hours from midnight to 8 a.m., then head off to their jobs for the day. For that reason, the "day" line is generally smaller than the "night" line. And there's a hotel across the street for those who just need a quick nap and a shower.

The project was the brainchild of Lincoln Gasking, who lives in Australia and runs a Web site called countingdown.com.

"This is the way that everyone on the Internet, on my Web site, could get together, do something for the good of the charity, while at the same time going to see the movie that we all love," says Gasking, who was born in 1977 (just like Star Wars).

His Web site is getting about 1.5 million hits a day, says Gasking, who adds, "It's insane."

AP
Stew Schecter and Jim Corbin

Another fan, Stew Schecter, says he has seen the Star Wars trilogy more than 200 times. Does he get bored with it?

"No," he replies. "It is impossible to get bored, because you can find new and different things all the time." His favorite thing about Star Wars: "The characters and the different worlds, the fantasy element of the films."