IMovie Menu Theme Problem...

Question

I have made many DVDs happily with iMovie.
When I started a new project today, however, all the menu themes had dissapeared.
Only the "Travel" option is now available.
I've tried looking through the preferences etc. and cannot find any way of opening them again. The help option makes no mention of the problem, either.
I am running iLife '06 on Panther...

Answer 1

So, you are writing only about the G5 computer; there is no second unit involved?
Since you stated "I am running iLife '06 on Panther..." and posted a question in
a Discussions forum area for the iMac G4 LCD computer with pivoting display,
the natural assumption based on two provided factoids would point to a second
computer outside of the one indicated on your signature-line of your posts.
If that is in error, perhaps the iMovie (iLife) section of the Discussions should be
visited and the topic addressed in that venue? My post's avatar is an iMac G4.
{Of course, iMovie would be similar no matter the hardware it is installed into,
so long as the operating system is the same and the version of iMovie is, too.}
Was a previous version of iMovie in the computer at an earlier time? Perhaps
there is a plist or other settings file from a different version; or some other item
affecting how iMovie works in the computer. Why it would change - is curious.
Did you boot the computer from the OS X Installer, and run 'repair disk' then also
run 'repair disk permissions' from the installer's Disk Utility? After quitting the utility,
and restarting from the computer's hard disk drive, you could re-boot the computer
and see if SafeBoot mode on startup, plus run the local Disk Utility's 'repair disk
permissions' then restart normally (SafeBoot= shift key on boot, until login box;
login and continue to desktop) since you have to exit SafeBoot by restarting.
In order to re-install iMovie, you would probably have to remove old pkg files for it
from the receipts folder and plist files from preferences; there are other ways, to
get just iMovie to reinstall. One is to get and use (in demo) the Pacifist utility; it
can extract and install just a portion of a software set from the disc.
I'm not sure why the functions in your iMovie app have changed in such a way.
There may be some other similar topics in the same section where iLife apps
are discussed. And some other kinds of maintenance may be required to help
Leopard function as good as it could be. I'd get and run OnyX from Titanium
Software, a free download utility tool; the item has a good Automation section
and that can do a lot of good (and if misused, a little harm) to the OS X system.
Good luck & happy computing!