I was actually pretty hopeful before TPM (I refuse to call it Episode 1 -ANH is episode 1 as far as I'm concerned). Here was a Star Wars film with Liam Neeson in it (only three years earlier he'd done an incredible performance in Michael Collins) and it had Natalie Portman who was so good in Leon/The Professional. Things looked good. Except they didn't really -I should have paid attention to the screwed up Jabba and in the 97 SE and realized trouble was coming. I read a fair bit about TPM before I saw it and I still was optimistic. I was having a bad year and I really needed something good. I didn't hate the film when I saw it (I even liked it to an extent), but it was deflating. Still, my year did get better otherwise. And late the same year, Hollywood made up by putting out Fight Club.
2. What did you think of the trailers released in 1998/99?
I don't remember seeing any.
3. Did you read any SW Insiders magazines, spoilers on the internet? Anything from them that stuck out to you?
I read some magazine stuff. There'd been news about TPM leaking out in newspapers, magazines, etc, for years. As soon as I heard Liam Neeson signed up I knew he was going to die in it, because his characters regularly die or are martyred one way or another (his first role was Christ on the cross) and because his character wasn't around later.
4. What did you think of the hype in the Spring of '99, as it seemed like every entertainment show was talking about the first SW film in 16 years?
I didn't see any of those shows, but there was a festive Star Wars-is-coming spirit in the air, that reminded me a bit of the ROTJ hype in 1983. I liked it. It seemed hopeful and I was looking forward to the movie.
6. When did you finally see it, opening night? opening weekend? wait for the crowds to die down and saw it later in the summer?
I certainly wasn't one of the people who waited in line to see it. I saw it in a small place without crowds. I didn't see it til August. It didn't come out in my country until July.