Well, it's been premiered - by "it" of course, I speak of Travolta's magnum opus "Battlefield Earth"... the umpteen billion dollar disaster-waiting-to-happen film.

And the reviews are rolling in, with barely any of them favorable. The best rating it seems to get is as an almost-camp send-up of the type of story it believes itself to be. The very worst reviews seem to imply lead-lined clothing and protective eyewear should be distributed to people within a five hundred foot radius of any theater showing it.

But after the creidts have rolled (including shouts out to Travolta's army of paid lackeys and sicophants) after the final note of the music has died away, leaving the same sort of queasy, uncomfortable gassy feeling you get after eating bad seafood, after all is finally and completely concluded - what next?

It's obvious this disaster is going to annoy Warner Brothers, who've had to deal with having their name on the film. Asok Amnitraj, and Eli Samha, the two who had dreams of using this film to launch their own big-time studio will probably see that dream crushed by being responsible for their part in this project. John Travolta is likely to have this film used against him, next time he attempts to negotiate his overly-tall salary (to pay for those lackeys and sicophants mentioned earlie. Poor Roger Christian will probably find similar problems - this project seemed to be too much, too soon for the fledgeling director. And as a final note, it seems unlikely that any studio anywhere will ever consider the remotest possibility of optioning another Hubbard-written work for adaptation.

All in all, a tidy bundle of trouble for everyone involved...

So why is this not the final word on the subject?

Because the deal for the sequel was already made, that's why.

So after Battlefield has tanked at the box office, after Hubbard's name has been poked at and laughed over, after every scientology connection has been examined and pondered by an ever more interested public.. what are they going to do when they find they have to do it all over again?

Were Warners able to work in a legal loophole that would allow them to decline distribution for the next film? Will the folks who funded the first one even be able to collect together enough to make the sequel feasable?

Perhaps it'll be released quietly and on the cheap, as a direct-to-video production... but will Travolta dare to allow his name to be used with it? He's already damaged his acreer with this project - becoming a direct-to-video star could likely finish off whatever respect he had out in tinseltown, that allowed him to command such high prices for his appearances.

No, this ride's only starting. Get ready for audience reaction to this stinker tomorrow (friday), when audiences across the nation finally witness it first-hand. And remember, with every unkind review, and with every complaint about the film - that this is only part one.

And Battlefield Earth hasn't even begun to inflict it's damage..