Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menaceis a film that has gone through a unique journey in pop culture history. First, it was a highly anticipated event that marked the return of Star Wars to the big screen. Then, poor reception turned it and its follow-ups,Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the ClonesandStar Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith, into the butt of many a joke. But with time — and a stellar animated companion inStar Wars: The Clone Wars—The Phantom Menaceis remembered much more fondly. But what many Star Wars fans don’t know is thatThe Phantom Menaceinspired a spoof titledFanboys. They might also be shocked to learn that creatorGeorge Lucasis a large part of the reason the film got made,as he helped supply sound and visual effects for the final cut.Fanboys' road to the silver screen was fraught with roadblocks that would test a Jedi Knight’s resolve, to the point where it’s a miracle that it even got made.
Star Wars fanatics take a cross-country trip to George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch so their dying friend can see a screening of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999) before its release.
‘Fanboys’ Is Actually Based On Its Screenwriter’s Real Life Experiences
The seeds forFanboyswere planted when screenwriterErnest Cline, who later went on to penReady Player One, was struggling to deal with his mother passing away from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the late ’90s. When he first heard aboutThe Phantom Menace, Cline was struck with an idea. “What if I was in my mom’s position and I knew I was dying and wasn’t going to live to see this movie?” From there, he wrote theFanboysscreenplay, which focused on childhood friends Eric (Sam Huntington), Linus (Chris Marquette), Windows (Jay Baruchel) and Hutch (Dan Fogler).
When Eric learns that Linus has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, he gathers his friends together anddecidesto raid Skywalker Ranch so that they can watch the rough cut ofThe Phantom Menace. Soon, the four friends — who are later joined by their friend and co-worker Zoe (Kristen Bell) — enter into all manner of escapades,including a fight withStar Trekfans. Clineoriginally intended to filmFanboyshimself, but eventually wound up sending the screenplay toHarry Knowles, former head of Ain’t It Cool News. Knowles posted a glowing review of the script, which ledKyle Newman, himself a longtimeStar Warsfan, to eventually boardFanboysas a director.
‘Fanboys’ Underwent Multiple Behind-the-Scenes Problems
The cast and crew ofFanboysreunited for anoral history of the film in 2018, where they recounted the issues they ran into while filming. Most of the issues came from clashes between Newman andHarvey Weinstein,who produced the film; despiteFanboysreceiving a glowing reception after screening at Star Wars Celebration and San Diego Comic-Con, Weinstein was determined to rework the film to be more in line with raunchy comedies includingThe 40-Year-Old VirginandZack and Miri Make a Porno. The final straw came whenWeinstein wanted to remove the subplot about Linus' cancer, despite it being the emotional lynchpin of the film. He even hired Steven Brill (Mr. Deeds, Little Nicky) to helm reshoots while Newman was on his honeymoon, though this backfired whenBrill started fighting with fans online. “The ultimate F-you. Celebrating your new marriage and losing your film in the same week is a tremendous emotional roller coaster,” Newman said during the oral history.
The tide turneddue to an online movement, wherefans threatened to boycott Weinstein-produced moviesif the original cut ofFanboyswasn’t restored. Though social media had yet to take off, the power of the internet was still palpable enough for Weinstein to give in. But even then, there were caveats.Newman only had 48 hours to re-cut the final version of the film, which meant that elements from the Weinstein/Brill reshoots are still present in the final product. To make matters worse, the behind-the-scenes drama meant thatFanboysmissed its intended release date, which would have landed on the 30th anniversary ofStar Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. It would eventually debut in 2009, a full decade afterThe Phantom Menacelanded in theaters.
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George Lucas Enjoyed ‘Fanboys’ and Helped Supply It With Sound & Visual Effects
Despite all the behind-the-scenes turmoil,Fanboys' cast and crew were vindicatedwhen Lucas gave his seal of approval to the project. He also opened the vast library of officialStar Warssounds and visual effects to the filmmakers, who sprinkled them liberally throughoutFanboys' runtime. The standard opening crawl appears not once, but twice. During a chase scene, Hutch hits the gasand the famous hyperspeed lines appear! “It’s like everybody that’s seen it that’s sort of loved it has attached themselves in a way to make the movie better,“Marquette told SciFi Wirewhen the news first broke.
15 years after its debut,Fanboysremains a mixed bag. Some of the humor hasn’t aged well, not to mention the fact thatWeinstein,Knowles, and producerKevin Spaceyhave been exposed for participating in horrific cycles of abuse. The passion of the cast and crew still shines through, especially in the emotional ending where they finally get to Skywalker Ranch.Fanboyseven scored some A-list cameos, includingWilliam Shatnerand the lateCarrie Fisher. In a 2021 reunion, Marquette, Baruchel, Fogler, Huntington, Newman andAdam F. Goldberg(who polished Cline’s original script) expressed theirdesire to make a potentialFanboyssequel. Thanks to Lucas' help, they have a solid foundation upon which to build that sequel if the opportunity arises.
Fanboysis available to stream on Tubi in the U.S.
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