Samuel Jackson's Character Dies in 'Star Wars'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Samuel L. Jackson dies in his next huge film _ but he does it in a really cool way. <br/><br/>Director George Lucas assured the actor that his Jedi knight character would go out in

Monday, January 17th 2005, 10:21 am

By: News On 6

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Samuel L. Jackson dies in his next huge film _ but he does it in a really cool way.

Director George Lucas assured the actor that his Jedi knight character would go out in a blaze of glory in the forthcoming ``Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith,'' and the director apparently made good on his promise.

``It's rousing,'' Jackson told the San Francisco Chronicle in Sunday's editions. ``It's a great light-saber battle with 102 moves in three big rooms.''

For now, though, Jackson is enjoying the success of his ``Coach Carter,'' in which he stars as a real-life high-school basketball mentor who shuts down the program to focus on his players' lagging academic education.

The film debuted as the top weekend movie with $23.6 million, studio estimates released Sunday show. But don't expect Jackson, 56, to get anxious about his shot for an Academy Award.

``I have a place that's pretty much cemented in Hollywood in terms of liability, box-office viability and everything else. The only thing an Oscar would do is jack my check up maybe $1 million,'' he said.