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Author Topic: Indiana Jones prints are locked (here we go AGAIN) Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 05-21-2008 11:22 PM                        I don't care what any critic thinks as long as I like the film! It is a nice bonus if the customers do as well!  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 05-22-2008 03:44 AM                     Well, my day sucked, on alotta levels! And one of the things that added to my already fustrating adgenda was that no matter what I did, I could not open the lock on one of my Indiana Jones prints. I called Deluxe and they gave me several alternate codes to try, but none of them worked. They finally told me to just cut the damn lock off, which I was about ready to do anyway. Fortunately, the lock on my Indiana Jones print seemed to be a pretty cheap-o TSA type luggage lock, so cutting it off was not a big problem. It was nothing like the lock I got on my IRON MAN print, which was a real heavy-duty type lock and would have required bolt cutters or somtething bigger than I had available in the booth today. Having to trash the lock was sort of carthartic though. It helped releive some of other fustratiions I seemed to be having an overabundance of today. It must be the phase of the moon or something....  |  IP: Logged Michael Moore Expert Film Handler Posts: 188 From: Dover, DE / USA Registered: Jun 2006 posted 05-22-2008 08:57 AM                        movie sucked for me... It is not on the same caliber as the other proceeding three. However, some of it was entertaining...most of it was not, again this is just for me. Most of the audience laughed at the funny parts, however at the end I think most of them were a little disappointed.  |  IP: Logged Blaine Young Master Film Handler Posts: 477 From: Kirkland, WA, USA Registered: Sep 2006 posted 05-22-2008 09:29 AM                     We were totally shafted on this release. We had 4 prints on Tuesday to do a special Paramount screening - with the typical courier service and security agents hovering over us. We had to build 4 prints, show them and then break them down. Not unusual on it's face (except for the number of prints). The real insult was that all 4 prints were returned to us through the Depot on Wednesday. The same prints! They came without any locks whatsoever (a nice surprise), and all now had the combo trailer spliced onto R1 - and all 4 were cut out of frame. My beef here is that they simply could have sent us these prints on Tuesday and let us keep them, adding the trailers later on. We've had other prints sit around for weeks after advanced screenings waiting for the release, but Paramount decided that they needed to make us go through the motions of building 4 prints, breaking them and then rebuilding them - all within a 24 hour period. It's just dumb.  |  IP: Logged Louis Belloisy Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: morris, ct usa Registered: Jun 2006 posted 05-22-2008 09:49 AM                        We received two prints of Indy late on Wednesday and I assembled the prints this morning and was shocked to see both films had been previously screened and put back together in a most un-professional manner. I did not have time to preview them, will do so at noon. I informed the broker and he said that even if the print(s) were damaged, there are no spares films to be had. Louis  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 05-22-2008 10:04 AM                     quote: Louis Belloisy and was shocked to see both films had been previously screened and put back together in a most un-professional manner. I didn't mention it in my previous late nite rant a few posts above, but one of the prints I received (the one with the lock that wouldn't open) had also been previously screened, somewhere in St Louis, I think. So, that print arrived very late. There was none of the usual paperwork in the can about which trailers I should have received with the print and if there was supposed to be a trailer attached before the feature, it wasn't there on my print. There was a splice in the print after the countdown leader. Although I was not able to screen the print myself as planned last nite due to a major problem at another theater I had to deal with, it appeared the print I got had been run reel-to-reel and was in good shape. My only complaint is that they did a lousy job of taping down the leaders , so I had to do quite a bit of film untangling once I cut the bad lock off the can since almost all the heads had come loose. The plastic DTS disk case was also pretty badly smashed, but this seems to be the norm on most prints I get lately. You'd think Goldberg or someone would come up with a use for all those small old 400ft 8mm or super 8mm film metal film cans which I think would just about be the right size to hold a CD disk. (I haven't actually tried this yet- - but it seems a disk might fit in one of those old metal cans and get better protected)  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 05-22-2008 01:37 PM                     quote: Blaine Young The real insult was that all 4 prints were returned to us through the Depot on Wednesday. The same prints! They came without any locks whatsoever (a nice surprise), and all now had the combo trailer spliced onto R1 - and all 4 were cut out of frame. Actually I applaud Deluxe for actually and FINALLY doing this! (Not sure if that was intentional or simply a convenience for them though.) Fact of the matter is MOST people who have a one time screening rip through the buildup and breakdown because they know "I won't have to play this print". The way it needs to work is that either there are less than 10 screening prints that get re-circulated through ALL of the screenings around the country, then sent to drive-ins (face it guys, film damage shows up least on a drive-in screen)...OR...if they want to send out a brand new print to every different engagement, each engagement gets their OWN print RIGHT BACK! I have had it with these idiots who don't take care of their prints because it is just a one time nuisance to them to have to do a screening. I got shafted with 2 used prints out of 10 on Indy. One was so bad I had to call the depot up and warn them about 4:00 yesterday that all of the reels in the unlocked can were scratched to fuck and back and were completely unplayable. I had to race it back to the depot just before 5:00 where they issued me a brand new print (presumably their backup print). What bothers me is that the guy said he would just ship this print "right back out to another theater". The second used print wasn't great, but it wasn't quite bad enough to warrant replacing. Still, I'll bet if there was a way to compare everyone's prints at the end of opening day that 90% of them would be more worn than my "decent quality" used print. DFS needs to use a little intelligence when selecting where those used prints play. Send the screeners back to the originating theaters, or send them to theaters who just don't care. Apparently the DFS guys in LA who determine where the screening prints are shipped aren't smart enough to figure that out though.  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 05-22-2008 03:57 PM                        quote: Brad Miller The way it needs to work is that either there are less than 10 screening prints that get re-circulated through ALL of the screenings around the country, then sent to drive-ins (face it guys, film damage shows up least on a drive-in screen)... Reader translates that statement to say:: "just send it out to a drive-in because everybody knows they are the red-headed bastard step-child of the cinema industry, and their presentation sucks anyway!" I would respectfully disagree with you Brad. In my findings, previous film damage is MAGNIFIED on a drive-in screen. A thin pencil line scratch on the screen at the indoor theatres looks like a freaking telephone pole sized scratch on my drive-in screens. Damaged prints shouldn't be sent back out at all, much less sent to a drive-in. If they go anywhere, send them to the dollar houses. How much presentation quality can you expect for a dollar!  |  IP: Logged Louis Belloisy Expert Film Handler Posts: 120 From: morris, ct usa Registered: Jun 2006 posted 05-22-2008 04:02 PM                        Well I had a chance to view 2 out of our 5 prints of Indy. To refresh your memory, two out of five prints had been shown before. On both prints, the attached trailers were out of frame and on one print there was damage to about 5 feet of film. I had to cut this part out. the film delivery service was advised and they told me that there were no spare prints in the northeast. and insult to injury, I did not like the movie. too long and too boring. did stay till the end, which was partially interesting. louis  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 05-22-2008 06:34 PM                     Barry, I know you run a drive-in and while I have no idea what your presentation is like (although I would assume if you are here it's pretty damn good), but the fact of the matter is that the brighter the final image is, the more film damage will show. I know of no drive-in screen that truly has proper light levels, hence my comment. Screen size has nothing to do with it. It's all about the brightness. Case in point, I have a sound setup reel that I have ran hundreds of times when calibrating systems, most of them during construction time (complete with construction dirt). When I run it in my personal screening room, it looks like ass. When I run it in a typical run-of-the-mill theater with "close to 16fl" of light, it looks almost new. Sorry, but that is just the facts.  |  IP: Logged

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