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Topic: Decoy Titles

John Hawkinson
Film God

Posts: 2273
From: Cambridge, MA, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-11-2002 08:43 PM

Gosh, Brad, now you've screwed it up for us. You could have sent mail to newline quietly and maybe it would have happened, but now it's revealed and they can't do it

--jhawk

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Aaron Sisemore
Flaming Ribs beat Reeses Peanut Butter Cups any day!

Posts: 3061
From: Rockwall TX USA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 11-11-2002 08:52 PM

>>TWO prints?! That's one heck of a birthday party if you need two prints to fit everybody into the theatre.<<

The second print was a backup in case the first one had any defects (and the first print did have a bad reel 1 SDDS track-the film played in SDDS) We (the employees of the theatre) got to watch the QC screening a couple hours before the kids arrived.

-Aaron

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Steve Kraus
Film God

Posts: 4094
From: Chicago, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 11-11-2002 10:45 PM

A few months ago I had a print with metal/plastic seals on the can. The studio guy told me another set would be inside and asked that I use them before sending the print back. I cut the seals and happened to notice another set of seals through the lock under the hasps. I thought that was kinda odd. Why would someone put seals underneath where they would serve no purpose? Then I started playing with them and realized the seals could be made to go right through the hasp. Obviously a prior user of those cases opened them without breaking the seals. Studio guy said had no idea that the seals offered no security although he did say he noticed the seals under the hasps when he shipped me the print and wondered about them. Naturally I used these same seals to pretend lock the cases when I sent them back.

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Chris Erwin
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 195
From: Olive Hill,KY
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 11-12-2002 06:58 AM

Are the shipping "boxes" part of the security for some of these films? Got the "fake" name right beside the real title. Cute. Seven reels of a certain film this summer in a fold,tuck,fold,tuck,fold box made of a plastic like material? Gimme the cans!!

Bet you can't guess this one! LOL!

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 11-12-2002 07:06 AM

I can't believe that the fake titles actually do any good, although I agree that we probably shouldn't post the actual titles here until the day of release. It should be sufficient to post something like "labelled with a fake title" or something.

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 11-12-2002 09:02 AM

One of the reasons also for the decoy titles is. Some of these prints
are finished months before release. I get major titles sometimes depending on release or post-production as far as a year to 6 months
before you guys in the theatres get them. Some of the film makers
feel safer when the early versions of the film have decoy titles.
The problem that happens here in New York is that people sneak
video cams into the theatres. About afew weeks ago, On a Saturday
Universal was holding a screening at the AMC Empire 25 of "Red Dragon"
. On the doors to the theatre near the line for that movie. There was
a paper sign that said "No Cameras were allowed in the Theatre".
Universal spend big bucks on that sign for that major release.

Yes, it was a plain white piece of paper made from the computer at the theatre.

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Manny Knowles
"What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???"

Posts: 4247
From: Bloomington, IN, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-12-2002 12:01 PM

I just hope that they are keeping track of all these decoy titles for future reference. I predict some titles will get "lost." (It would be interesting to know if anyone working for a school or repertory cinema ever has any problems--now or in the future--getting a movie that shipped under a different name.)

For this reason, I would urge that we keep a record of decoy titles. I agree that it would defeat security purposes if we published the decoy titles when the movies are still new, but perhaps we could agree on a "trigger" event? For instance, when we ship the prints back or when the movie goes into a sub-run status or when they are released on video?

BTW, my prints of SWEp2 had one decoy title on the box and a second decoy title on the leaders.

~Manny (aka "Roots: The Christmas Special")

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Dennis Benjamin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1445
From: Denton, MD
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 11-12-2002 12:42 PM

All this talk reminds me of when I did a 'super secret screening' of "Jurassic Park: The Lost World". An armed guard arrived with the print - and STAYED with the print throughout the screening. He had to stand there while I built it up, ran it, and then broke it down.

The only thing I could figure is that they knew it was a 'stinker' and they didn't want it to 'get out'. I believe I had to sign some kind of waiver with the film also.

Wierd.

------------------
"Running through life at 24 frames per second"

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Bill Gabel
Film God

Posts: 3873
From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 11-12-2002 12:55 PM

Dennis it is not that weird.

When you deal with film way before release days. The studios can
and do crazy things in the name of security. Fox does that sometimes
with the guard, Warner has a studio rep sitting near or in the booth. I had to sign a waiver for the "Lord of the Rings", because I had it 3 months before release. So a lot of this security stuff, I have to deal with it every week. Because as a Studio Projectionist, you have to work with many projects and film makers. Each one is crazier than the next.

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