SYDNEY, Australia - Hoping for a glimpse of Ewan McGregor or Natalie Portman filming the new Star Wars movie? Fat chance.

Apart from the sound stages, Fox’s "Backlot" attraction offers the paying public a glimpse of how films are made, plus a theme park ride based on the blockbuster film Titanic. Sadly, the sinking luxury liner has become a bit of a metaphor for the Backlot, suffering desultory visitor traffic and complaining merchants. One of the few thrills of the Backlot is that it abuts the professional studios.

In one section of the Backlot, large windows look down upon two of the professional sound stages. Earlier this year, visitors could see carpenters building a brothel set with a Parisian city backdrop for Baz Luhrman’s production of Moulin Rouge, starring Nicole Kidman and Phantom Menace veteran Ewan McGregor.

But with Episode Two now in full swing, black blinds are drawn across the windows overlooking both stages, making the gallery a lonely walk through darkness for visitors struggling to feel the Force. It also makes a US $25 entry fee to the Backlot a wasted expense for Star Wars fans.

There’s one consolation, however. A second-story walkway connecting two buildings in the Backlot offers a view of a car park outside one of the studios. Backlot attendants say actors in costume sometime slip outside to bask in the rich Sydney sunshine. To thwart shutterbugs, however, a green gauze screen has been placed across the walkway to block any unobstructed view.

It’s all just as well. At this point, Sydney just isn’t focussing on Jar Jar Binks or C-3PO. Instead, the city is preparing for another alien invasion – the arrival of up to 100,000 athletes and spectators for the Sep 15-Oct 1 Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. So completely are nerve-wracking preparations, political intrigues and petty foibles surrounding the Games captivating the local populace that Episode Two is largely flying in under the city’s cultural radar.

What’s more, the production is set to conclude in Sydney at the end of August, two weeks before the Olympics begins. As a result, production crew and actors will miss the terrestrial mayhem of traffic jams and endless crowds the Olympics will foist upon Sydney.

will be returning to film outdoor scenes in Tunisia and Italy to provide visual continuity with previous episodes.

At present, filming in Sydney is keeping to a 5-day a week shooting schedule, allowing two days a week to rest and catch up, production executives said. Episode Two is set to finish filming altogether in mid-to-late September.