NEW ZEALAND CINEMA INDUSTRY HEATS UP WITH PREMIERE OF STAR WARS EPISODE 3: Revenge of the Sith

From this Thursday (7 April) at all Village SKYCITY Cinemas, advance ticket sales will be offered to the public for the most anticipated movie of the year - STAR WARS EPISODE 3: Revenge of the Sith. The movie will screen from May 19th.

Advance public ticket sales are available at any Village SKYCITY cinema, by phone (09 302 0002) or online at www.villageskycity.co.nz .

Unique to Village SKYCITY Cinemas is an online booking service whereby customers can purchase their seats in advance and collect them at the cinema using the exclusive Seat Smart pick up counter. Available on the Village SKYCITY Cinemas website www.villageskycity.co.nz , this service is free to customers.

At St Lukes and Queen St Village SKYCITY locations customers can not only secure their seat in advance but also choose their own seat from a special seating map.

To celebrate the launch of the movie, Village SKYCITY Cinemas will feature first public screenings from 12:01am on Thursday 19th May (one minute after midnight) to run throughout the morning and into the next day/night.

Those wanting to secure a place at the very first public screening can also purchase tickets from next week to a special charity premiere for Variety The Children's Charity at Village SKYCITY Cinemas, Broadway, Newmarket. Tickets to the charity premiere cost $49 each and will offer the privilege of being among the first in New Zealand to see the movie, pre-movie hors d'oeuvres and drinks and themed entertainment.

The third and final instalment in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, sees Anakin Skywalker's turn to the Dark Side of the Force, the continuing Clone Wars and the final fate of the Old Republic should be revealed.

According to Village SKYCITY Cinemas Chief Executive, Joe Moodabe, the final instalment in the epic series is tipped to be even more popular than its predecessors.

"Star Wars Episode 3 is the final chapter. This is what the fans have been waiting for - it promises to answer a lot of questions," says Mr Moodabe.

Also expected to be "big" over the next two months, Mr Moodabe tips Gladiator Director Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (opening 5 May 2005), Mr & Mrs Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (opening 9 June 2005), Batman Begins starring Christain Bale (opening 16 June 2005), the highly anticipated animation Madagascar (opening 16 June 2005) and Steven Spielberg's Tom Cruise starer War of the Worlds (opening 29 June 2005).

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