Many years ago, around that crazy time of The Phantom Menace, a guy named Ernie Cline got in touch with me and shared a script he had written about four guys who break into Skywalker Ranch to give their friend, dying of Cancer, a chance to see Episode I before he kicks the bucket. He sent the script over and I actually liked it a lot. It was a good, funny, buddy flick with lots of charm. I still have it somewhere, probably dated 199x.Ernie was serious about it but after a few years went by I figured we had seen the end of it until a few years ago when he announced it would actually be made - and by the Weinstein company! This was BIG time and I was really excited and happy for him. One of us little guys made it and who knew what that could lead to. I expressed my congrats and willingness to help promote, etc.

Since then, the film apparently has gone on some kind of roller coaster ride that I have to admit I have not been following until today when I saw an article in the news. I knew there was trouble and there were push backs on the release but, man, I didn’t know the extent of it all. What a mess!

Here are a few excerpts from Reuters titled “Star Wars” Fans Wield Force Against Weinstein By Gregg Goldstein and Borys Kit:

Faced with a grassroots boycott of its films, bicoastal protests at screenings of its Friday opener “Superhero Movie” and a campaign calling its co-chairman “Darth Weinstein,” indie studio Weinstein Co. said Monday that it now plans to release two versions of its “Star Wars”-inspired comedy “Fanboys.”Weinstein said it will release the two versions on DVD, and a studio source later said that is exploring two theatrical versions.

“Fanboys,” about four diehard “Star Wars” fans who break into George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch in order to see “The Phantom Menace” on the eve of its release, wrapped production two years ago and has been stuck in limbo as a tug-of-war between Harvey Weinstein and the filmmakers waged over competing versions of the movie.

The Weinstein Co. picked up the project in late 2005, and following production slated “Fanboys” for release August 17, 2007. That got pushed back to a January 18 release. Then it went off the grid altogether.

Insiders said the root of the problem was Weinstein’s issue with the underlying story in “Fanboys.” The cross-country adventure is put in motion because one of the characters is facing cancer. Late last year, the company decided it would do reshoots, hiring Judd Apatow’s producing partner Shauna Robertson to oversee a $2 million reshoot of four scenes done by director Steve Brill (”Drillbit Taylor”). That, combined with re-editing, created a version that excised the cancer subplot.

The Weinstein Co. this year began testing both versions. Unprompted by the filmmakers, “Star Wars” fans began uniting to oppose the noncancer version, led by the 501st, a “Star Wars” fan group named after a fictional battalion. The group created the Web site http://committed.to/stopdarthweinstein that provided updates on developments while also lampooning Harvey Weinstein by Photoshopping him in Darth Vader drag.

The new announcement still leaves the movie up in the air. It still has no release date, only a promise that both versions will be available on DVD. Late Monday, a Weinstein source said, “We’re making a very strong attempt to make both films available theatrically as well.”

The 501st was unimpressed with the Weinstein Co.’s move.

“This is clearly a vain attempt by the Weinstein Co. to avert ‘Star Wars’ fans’ impending boycott of all of their films,” the group said. “It’s not going to work, Darth Weinstein. There was never any doubt that you would release both versions of the movie on DVD, probably months apart, so as to leech as much money from ‘Star Wars’ fans as possible. Our boycott will continue until the Weinstein Co. announces that they are returning control of ‘Fanboys’ to the ‘Star Wars’ fans who made it, releasing the original version in theaters and doing away with their anti-fan version of the film altogether.”

“While the later version tested very well with audiences, the grassroots support we have received for the first version simply cannot be ignored,” a Weinstein spokesman said.

Harvey Weinstein has a history of tangling with filmmakers over their films’ edits, earning him the moniker “Harvey Scissorhands” in some circles, but he seems to have met his match with a legion of “Star Wars” fans.

I’m still happy that the film has gotten to where it is but I have to admit that I feel a little sorry for Ernie and the crew to have to deal with studio interference, and then of course the legions of real fanboys out there who, as we all know too well, are a temperamental and diverse bunch; hard to please, eager to criticize.

I will always come down on the side of the filmmakers. They have the vision. They created the story and the characters. It’s their baby. Studios need to learn how to trust filmmakers and leave the creative end of things to them. If the studios can’t figure out a way to market the thing, that should not be the opportunity to take a few million and reshoot the whole film… just to be able to market it. Film is a creative medium so let’s let it be creative. I have a sinking feeling George Lucas would agree.

So to keep this short, I’m just going to wish Ernie and his crew the best of luck no matter how this all turns out. At the end of the day, your dream was realized and that’s a great achievement. It’s probably worth every speck of trouble and will hopefully pay off in the long run. It’s a fun film with a good cast that I’m sure has gone through many changes since I read that initial draft in the late 1990’s, but I’m sure it’ll do well in the end. Star Wars fans will see to that.