Die-hard "Star Wars" fans have long been accused of being out of touch with reality. Finally, there's proof.
On Saturday, the first fanatics began lining up outside Grauman's Chinese Theater (search) in Hollywood for "Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith," which opens May 19.
They may be waiting a long, long time.
All five previous "Star Wars" movies opened at the Chinese, but as Daily Variety reports, distributor 20th Century Fox has broken with precedent and booked "Revenge of the Sith" into the ArcLight Cinemas at the Cinerama Dome (search) a few blocks away.
Competing theaters so near each other almost never screen the same movies, yet none of this deters the would-be Jedi waiting in line at the Chinese.
"We've heard all this before," Sarah Sprague, a spokesperson for the fans, told Variety.
There were rumors that the last two "Star Wars" movies wouldn't show at the Chinese, either. Both did end up there.
"This is still the epicenter for 'Star Wars' fans," Sprague insisted. "For the big iconic pictures of the 1970s, people lining up were here. They weren't at the Cinerama Dome."
Some fans say lining up is more important than seeing the movie itself.
"If the film is not playing at the Chinese ... I have zero desire to see it at all," wrote "Obi Geewhyen" at the fan Web site Liningup.net. "I'm in it for the lineup only and don't give a darn about the conclusion of this lackluster, so-called 'Star Wars' series."
The Cinerama Dome may not be the fans' only hope. The Chinese Theater has booked another blockbuster, the remake of "The Longest Yard" starring Adam Sandler (search), for May 27 — but that leaves open eight days for "Sith."
It's not likely that either Fox or the Chinese's management would want to book "Sith" for such a short period — but maybe one or the other will feel the Force and change their minds.
20th Century Fox is owned by News Corporation, which is also the parent company of FOXNews.com.
Zoo Elephant to Be Put on Treadmill
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — It's not easy being a pudgy pachyderm.
Keepers at the Alaska Zoo (search) in Anchorage are preparing to install the world's first elephant exercise treadmill to keep Maggie the elephant's weight down.
"I figured that we put rocks on our conveyors that are as big as an elephant," said Sid Cannon, vice president of Boise, Idaho-based Conveyor Engineering (search), which designs heavy-duty conveyor systems used in mining. "A treadmill is basically a conveyor, so building one would be no big deal."
Nonetheless, animal-rights activists are up in arms.
"There's no comparison to a treadmill versus life in the wild or in a sanctuary," said Nicole Meyer, an elephant specialist with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (search).
Expected to be installed sometime this summer, the treadmill will be just over 20 feet long and 5 feet wide. Elephants walk by simultaneously moving two legs at a time along a path only about 18 inches wide, so the machine has to be able to withstand concentrated weight.
Training an elephant to walk on a treadmill is another matter. The zoo plans to install the machine in the pathway between Maggie's indoor barn and the rest of her outdoor habitat area. They will give her some time to get used to the presence of the machine before turning it on.
"We hope that within a half a years' time, Maggie will be up to where she's spending between two and three hours a day on the machine with a maximum one hour at a time," said elephant habitat director John Seawall.
— Thanks to Out There reader Shannon O.
One Man's Art Is Another Man's Ordinance Violation
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Art night at Erotic City apparently wasn't artistic enough.
Police raided the Boise bar Monday night for violating the city's nudity ordinance, which requires that dancers wear at least pasties and a thong unless they are engaging in a performance with "serious artistic merit."
The club had tried to beat the ordinance by distributing pencils and sketch pads to patrons during special twice-weekly "art nights," when the dancers performed nude.
"It's actually pretty clear in the city ordinance that there are exemptions for dance and theater and artistic merits, but the law also clearly states that the exemption does not apply to adult businesses," said police spokeswoman Lynn Hightower. "If it were an art studio and models were actually posing, that would be one thing. But these women weren't posing, they were dancing."
Three dancers were given misdemeanor citations Monday but were not arrested.
— Thanks to Out There reader Tony L.
Traffic Offenders Jailed for Following Bad Directions
SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — A judge in Florida has charges of his own to worry about after he allegedly ordered the arrest of 11 traffic defendants who were mistakenly sent to the wrong courtroom.
The state Judicial Qualifications Commission on Tuesday accused Seminole County Judge John Sloop of being unfit to serve. Possible punishment ranges from a fine to removal from the bench.
The defendants were directed by summons and the court staff to a courtroom next door to Sloop's. When people realized they were in the wrong room, Sloop refused to listen to them or withdraw arrest warrants issued in their absence.
The defendants were handcuffed, taken to jail and held for about eight hours.
"Not to be mean, but he deserves it," said Irving Merced, 20, one of the defendants jailed in the Dec. 3 mix-up. "A judge like that shouldn't be allowed in the courtroom."
Another judge ordered their release and the chief circuit judge forced Sloop to give up all of his criminal cases. The arrests were expunged from the defendants' records.
"I made a mistake," Sloop said afterward.
Teacher Disciplined for Fighting In School
DALLAS (AP) — A high school teacher faces an assault charge after police say she walked into a middle-school classroom, grabbed another teacher's hair, yanked her out of her chair and dragged her across the room while punching her in the face and kicking her.
According to the police report, Paulette Baines grabbed Mary Oliver in front of the class full of gifted students Friday.
Baines was angry because Oliver told her daughter to quit loitering by lockers and go to class, Dallas school district spokesman Donald Claxton said.
Oliver said Baines was yelling at her as she entered the classroom.
"I want you to know I didn't raise a finger. I didn't raise my voice. I didn't do anything to aggravate the situation," Oliver said. "I did everything possible to defuse the situation."
Baines was charged with assault with bodily injury, according to Dallas County Jail records. Baines, 45, was released early Saturday after posting $2,500 bail, a jail official said. The school placed her on administrative leave.
Oliver, who teaches seventh-grade science at a Dallas school for gifted students, said she had bruises on her face, a concussion and two broken ribs.
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A woman who said she was being chased by someone and needed to get into the Snohomish County Jail (search) got her wish after ramming a pair of doors at the lockup with her sport utility vehicle.
Police say the woman was treated by Fire Department medics for minor injuries after she drove her 1995 Nissan Pathfinder repeatedly into the drive-in entry early Sunday.
Lynn Frances Johnson, 56, of Edmonds, was jailed on charges of investigation of malicious mischief with bail set at $10,000, according to the jail's Web site.
The doors were worth about $50,000 each, and damage was estimated at $100,000, Sgt. Boyd Bryant said.
Compiled by FOX News' Paul Wagenseil.
Got a good "Out There" story in your hometown? We'd like to know about it. Send an e-mail, with a Web link (we need to authenticate these things), to outthere@foxnews.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox