The “Star Wars” hype machine slammed into overdrive yesterday with the star-studded New York premiere of “Episode II – Attack of the Clones.”
A galaxy of stars and their children braved the rain in downtown Manhattan to catch the first screening of the summer’s most eagerly anticipated film, at a charity event crowning the Tribeca Film Festival’s successful five-day run.
Susan Sarandon, Michael J. Fox, Peter Gallagher, Gov. Pataki and the voice of Darth Vader, James Earl Jones, brought their excited offspring, joining Denis Leary, Macaulay Culkin, Miss Universe Denise Quinones and film-festival organizer Jane Rosenthal on the slightly soggy red carpet at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.
Natalie Portman, who plays Sen. Amidala in “Attack of the Clones,” flashed a New York-logo tattoo on her wrist as she arrived at the premiere, after signing autographs for young fans at a prescreening party at the Embassy Suites hotel.
“This is crazy, it’s wonderful, it’s frightening, it’s exciting,” she said.
Having the premiere here “is really the least we could do to show how much we care for New York and for the families affected by Sept. 11.”
Tickets to the premiere and pre-party sold for $500 to $1,000 a pop, with proceeds going to the Children’s Aid Society.
CAS head Philip Coltoff said the charity hoped to raise $500,000 from the event, as well as put smiles on the faces of the hundreds of children impacted by Sept. 11 who were given a sneak peek at two screenings earlier in the day.
“Those children came out not just smiling, but elated,” he said. “They’re really getting a jump on the rest of the world, so it’s a wonderful thing.”