film fans in the North-East are expected to be among the first in the world to see the new Star Wars film when it is released, next month.
Odeon, Britain's biggest cinema chain, has announced that selected cinemas, possibly including those in the region, will put on midnight showings of the movie when it opens, at 12.01am on May 16.
It will mean UK audiences will get to see Episode II: Attack of the Clones before fans in America, despite the US market taking the unprecedented step of moving a release date forward from a Friday to a Thursday.
The news comes as one of the film's stars, Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in Episode I and in the new production, admitted the faults of the last instalment.
He told filmfour.com: "I think one of the things about Episode l that I was slightly disappointed by was I thought it was very kind of flat.
"I think there's much more humour and there's much more colour in Episode II: Attack of the Clones.
"I think it's more reminiscent of the original three Star Wars films than Episode I was."
Odeon's 24-hour Filmline will be on 0870 5050007.
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