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HOT PROPERTY Chewbacca has left the building -- as have Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, and just about every other denizen of the Star Wars galaxy. It seems that the cardboard Wars figures adorning movie theater lobbies have become the trendiest collectible among fans, so much so that moviegoers are walking out with them after shows. ''People are taking the posters, too,'' says Fox Domestic Film Group chairman Tom Sherak. ''It's been happening all over the country.'' According to experts, the current Wars poster, which retails for about $50, should be a hot investment (the 1977 posters sell for $125 to $250 today). As for the even-harder-to-come-by cardboard figures, they fetch as much as the seller wants to charge (the '77 editions go for $500 or more). With such a bull market, exhibitors are becoming more cautious about protecting their valuables. Some of the theaters that lost a few characters after opening weekend found a way to outsmart fervid fans: Hang the figures from the ceiling. -- Tricia Laine
BY A HAIR Digitally enhanced or not, Princess Leia's breakfast-Danish hairdo is still the single most identifiable fashion statement from the galaxy far, far away. Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing. ''It's not offensive, but it doesn't do anything for me at all,'' says L.A. stylist to the stars Jose Eber about Carrie Fisher's spacey earmuff 'do. ''Does it enhance her beauty? Not really.'' That may explain why the current set of Wars ads, painted posters that faithfully reproduce Mark Hamill's and Harrison Ford's shaggy '70s stylings, show Fisher bunless. ''It wasn't a conscious decision,'' says Fox's Tom Sherak. ''It was an artist's rendering, and nobody told the artist what to do.'' Ironically, despite the revisionist coif, the Leia 'do has been getting its due. At Wars screenings, devoted fans have come tressed up as the princess with everything from headphones to bagels (see inset) on their heads. To which we can only say, Help them, Obi-Wan Kenobi. -- Chris Nashawaty and Gregg Kilday
BUY GEORGE It's a hidden surprise worthy of a Cracker Jack box. In certain packages of Galoob Toys' new TIE Interceptor vehicle, the helmet of the Imperial Pilot can be removed to reveal -- tah-dah! -- the head of the Jedi master himself, George Lucas. ''Nobody ever thinks to pull the helmet off,'' says Galoob senior designer Jim Fong, who's partly responsible for the secret plastic noggin. But don't make like a Wookiee and rip the heads off your Imperial Pilots: Although the goody was supposed to come with every TIE Interceptor, a mistake in packing means your box could have pilots with nonremovable helmets. Another caveat: Though it bears as much resemblance to Lucas as a 1/4-inch figure can, according to Fong, ''depending on the batch you get, sometimes the figure looks like Sylvester Stallone in Cobra.'' -- Christopher Borrelli
PARODY OF THE WEEK
What's that sci-fi tune with the salsa beat on the radio these days? It's ''The Star Wars Cantina,'' a spoof written by writer/producer/singer and self-proclaimed Star Wars geek Mark Davis. Herewith, an excerpt (sung to the tune of Barry Manilow's ''Copacabana'').
