my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Film Handlers' Forum   » Intermission in King Kong (Page 3)

This topic comprises 4 pages: 1  2  3  4

Author Topic: Intermission in King Kong Mark Hajducki Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 500 From: Edinburgh, UK Registered: May 2003 posted 12-15-2005 09:22 AM                     quote: David Kilderry I'm sure cinemas would not have given it up easily as the intervals made big $ in concessions. Most multiplexes (or split singles) are not designed for intermissions. Many of the concession stands are on the unchecked side of the ticket barrier, some distance from the screens, and there is not space in the corridors to run extra stands. Screenhopping/unticketed entry would be easy if another screen is entering at the same time as the intermission. Most modern cinemas are not equipped to run an intermission with proper showmanship and instead would go into a blank screen with badly aligned advert slides (or rolling stock adverts) appearing on the screen.  |  IP: Logged John Wilson Film God Posts: 5438 From: Sydney, Australia. Registered: Dec 1999 posted 12-15-2005 06:09 PM                     Dances With Wolves (3 hr version) had no intermission. The four hour version did however. If you've never seen the four hour version...take a look. It craps on the 3 hr and answers many questions left unanswered by the editing down to 3 hrs. Regarding 'why' they disappeared... I think it must be that they (the distributors) found they could fit in another session or two without the intermission in place.  |  IP: Logged Robert Harrison Expert Film Handler Posts: 239 From: Harwood Heights, Illinois, USA Registered: Jun 2005 posted 12-15-2005 06:19 PM                     Hey, fellas, maybe in Australia they had built-in intermissions on the films mentioned, but not in the U.S. At least not in the Chicago market. Back in those days, we were second-run. I saw "Gandhi" in 70mm at the Lincoln Village Theatre. I picked a good place for the intermission for when we would get it later. Interestingly, there was an intermission at that same spot on the DVD. But, that film, nor "Right Stuff" had an intermission around these parts, in 70 or 35. The spot I picked for "Right Stuff" was five minutes into a reel (I don't remember which one). It was the scene where the music swells and the astronauts are walking in slow motion in their space suits.  |  IP: Logged Ian Bailey Master Film Handler Posts: 317 From: Nambucca Heads, Australia Registered: Jun 2003 posted 12-15-2005 11:04 PM                     Well we have been running KK with the intermission at about half way through reel 6 and have received a lot of positive feedback from the customers who enjoy the break to have a wee/stretch the legs and grab something to eat from the candy bar.Isn't this what we are here for to put on a good show and make the customer happy(and hopefully make some money)?The people who are negative about intermissions (I feel) aren't considering their customers. And to the comments John Koutoumis made about intermissions and allowing people to bring in their own food-MATE YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!You obviously have never had the balls to put up your own money to buy yourself a Cinema and to make a living out of it.I suppose when you go to your local restraunt you bring your own dinner and ask them to warm it up for you!!  |  IP: Logged Stewart Anderson Expert Film Handler Posts: 105 From: Sandy, Utah /United States of America Registered: Aug 2003 posted 12-15-2005 11:24 PM                        quote: Ian Bailey The people who are negative about intermissions (I feel) aren't considering their customers This may be true but like other people in this thread have said, you have to make the film companies happy too. Out of curiosity, does anyone do intermissions with DLP?  |  IP: Logged Greg Anderson Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 766 From: Ogden Valley, Utah Registered: Nov 1999 posted 12-16-2005 12:13 AM                        Yes, I was a teenage projectionist when Gandhi was new in theatres. At the time, our manager insisted on an intermission because she didn't believe that the entire film would fit onto just one of our old, Christie platters. We had to add our own "Intermission" film tag which normally sat, unused, in a cabinet. We just put the break at the end of one of the reels in the middle. One day I wrapped the leader of "part two" around the "part one" on the platter and made it stick long enough to start the second half. I was mostly confident that I wasn't going to cause a disaster but I held my breath during that particular screening. I was relieved to find that, indeed, the whole thing fit onto one platter. But I could never convince the manager to eliminate the intermission and make our jobs a little easier (since we wouldn't be threading as often). As I recall, we never had a disaster where a careless staff member started the wrong half of the movie. But we did have an incident or two when nobody remembered to start the second half at all. (We had six screens to tend, after all, and nobody bothered to make a list of start times for "part two" of that particular feature so you just had to remember to pay attention.) After a long intermission some bewildered audience member came out, asking when the second half of the movie was going to start and/or trying to confirm exactly how long the intermission was supposed to last! (Not my fault, by the way. I was only a "helper" projectionist at the time, spending most of my time as an usher while assistant managers ran the booth... shortly following the falling out between our theatre chain and the union but... now I'm just a rambling, old man.)  |  IP: Logged John Koutsoumis Master Film Handler Posts: 261 From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Registered: Aug 2003 posted 12-16-2005 06:35 AM                     quote: I suppose when you go to your local restraunt you bring your own dinner and ask them to warm it up for you!! Err no you go to a Restraunt because of the specific food they have on the menu. I go to a Cinema to see a film not for it's Candy bar It's not that I don't have the balls but I don't have the money to open my own Cinema at this point... I'm currently involved with a Theatre that's non-commercial and are trying to build a more solid use of it, anyway I'm not gonna drag this on.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-16-2005 12:34 PM                        What the hell is a "restraunt," you non-spell-check-users?  |  IP: Logged David Buckley Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 525 From: Oxford, N. Canterbury, New Zealand Registered: Aug 2004 posted 12-16-2005 02:10 PM                        quote: Mike Blakesley What the hell is a "restraunt," you non-spell-check-users? Must be one of those places where they sell you crap high-priced food and then have the gall to make you sit in in rows in the dark with a flickering wall at one end of the room whilst you eat.  |  IP: Logged Per Hauberg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 883 From: Malling, Denmark Registered: Jul 2000 posted 12-16-2005 02:18 PM                        I belive, pro's and contra's stand in line, when You talk about intermission or not. The thought of making extra money during the pause is nice, but not my main consideration. Take a seat in Your auditorium now and then, when running those long features (the avarage film today is at least 20 min's longer than it was 30 years ago) and keep an eye on Your custumers: after 2 hours 10-15 mins, the begin to run - not to buy extra popcorn, but to take a leak. How many of the individual, more or less noisy runners do You find ok, before You'd consider the intermission instead ? All You guys, being as old as I am: think back - and I'm sure, You'll remember: Kellys Heroes, Dirty Dozen, Where Eagles Dare, The Great Race, Ice Station Zebra, Can-Can, Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines - All of them about 2½ hour total running time - All of them 70mm, WITH printed "Intermission" and entre'actre music - several of those even with overture, -playing with curtains and "gong-gong". That was the days, when cinema was a nite in town - not just walking through the mall, buying and leaving as quick as possible to make room for the next in line. It's called style, I believe. Only greedy distributors, running for five shows a day instead of four, would press for long films without intermission and thereby inviting to constant disturbance the last hour or so of each showing ! Rumours are, that someone spotted James Cameron walking around Copenhagen on the opening day of "Titanic" - and someone all of a sudden got very busy, cutting that homemade intermission out of the 70mm print, lying ready on the platter of the Imperial, because they knew, Mr Cameron did not want the intermission. I guess though, that The Imperial found the Intermission tag again, -just like everyone else did for that film. You can't tell people to sit still that long ! (and all those many weeks of sold-out houses sure did a good job at consessions, too) And now, please excuse me - I'm going to start second part of Harry Potter - the intermission has been 15 mins now - with "intermission" tag delivered by Warner Brothers !! -and after that, the King Kongers are out for a break  |  IP: Logged John Koutsoumis Master Film Handler Posts: 261 From: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Registered: Aug 2003 posted 12-16-2005 06:55 PM                     "Restraunt". Haha, yeah I spelt it as I would say it. Probably not saying it right either . Yes do I go to Restaurant occasionally. I saw Titanic twice, first time (35mm) without an intermission then the second time with an intermission (70mm). The intermission wasn't really necessary. I think it's personal thing whether someone can sit for that long. I have no problems. It depends too if the seats and temperature in the Theatre are comfortable. The Theatre where I saw Titanic still has the original 1930's seats so even after a 90 min film you need a serious back massage . But I survived. The worst I experienced was when an intermission was placed in during a screening of Spielberg's "A.I". The film is maybe 140-145 mins and gee was I pissed at that . To top it off they placed the intermission right in the middle of a scene. And no it was technical no stuff up it was a planned intermission as confirmed by the staff.  |  IP: Logged Mark J. Marshall Film God Posts: 3188 From: New Castle, DE, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 12-17-2005 12:39 AM                    Funny how Americans often get a bad rap for having short attention spans, yet it sounds like we're the only country in the world that can sit through a three and a half hour movie without an intermission.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 12-17-2005 02:33 AM                     Nah, it's got nothing to do with attention span. The Aussies chug down tons of beer and the Brits have all that tea.  |  IP: Logged Nick Scott Expert Film Handler Posts: 133 From: nsw austrailia Registered: Nov 2004 posted 12-17-2005 04:17 AM                        Ha Ha true brad but sometimes we need all the beer we can get just to sit through some of that hollywood crap we get. After 8-9 schooners of beer a 3-hour film is a treat.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 12-17-2005 04:40 AM                     Only 8-9? Are you getting the same Hollywood crap that we get?  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 4 pages: 1  2  3  4

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.