Everybody knows that Apple is firmly ensconced within the Star Wars: Episode I hype juggernaut, right? We've got all those great trailers and commercials and things "exclusively" in QuickTime format, and jointly served from the Star Wars site and the Apple site. But according to a tip from a mysterious viewer known only as Mr. Nobel, the connection goes even deeper than that. Few events in the history of geekdom have been so anxiously awaited as the Phantom Menace premiere on May 19th; software and hardware development will grind to a screeching halt as engineers all over the place ditch work and try to catch one of the first showings. But if Mr. Nobel isn't just yanking our collective chain, Mac geeks just might get a leg up on the rest of the salivating world.

See, Mr. Nobel points out that on WWDC's Tuesday schedule, at eight o'clock that night there's a "Film Festival" listing. If he's right, that "Film Festival" is in fact none other than a private WWDC-only screening of Episode I. So Mac developers attending the conference won't just have the benefit of basking in Steve Jobs' Reality Distortion Field and access to all the latest hardware and software info in the Mac development world, but they'll also get to see this long-awaited movie a full week before it hits the theaters-- and as part of an "audience of propellerheads," as Mr. Nobel so succinctly puts it. Now that would be a coup.

Is this early screening of Episode I just Apple's attempt to distract the attendees from what might turn out to be a less-than-compelling presentation of the Mac's OS roadmap, or a lack of hot new product announcements? Could be, but who's complaining? For those of you crazy enough to drop what you're doing, jet out to San Jose, and shell out $1295 for admission to WWDC all because of one little rumor that you might get to see Episode I a week or so early, congratulations-- you're a real fan. And probably certifiably wacky, to boot. Personally, we're more than a tad skeptical that Apple's really planning on doing this, but it's a great rumor and we feel duty-bound to report it; for one thing, if it turns out to be true, Apple may just have found a way to improve developer relations about a kajillion percent and completely compensate for all the sins of the past. On the other hand, the rumor might be completely false and Apple might be planning to show Tron instead. Feeling lucky, punk?