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Topic: Ron Howard at my theatre tonight...

Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 03-15-2004 02:47 AM

Aaron,

Are you very sure the Royal was 35mm only? I definitely remember seeing John Carpenter's "THE THING" in 70mm and I am positive it was at the Royal on Polk Street. The film was advertised in both the San Francisco Chronicle and the Examiner as being in 70mm. I know I saw the scope picture in that large format because the change over cue marks were round instead of a horizontal oval. The picture clarity and sound also had every indication of being in 70mm. I went out of my way to see the film at the Royal when I was traveling because "THE THING" played only in 35mm in Honolulu at Pacific's Kapiolani Theatre which by the way was a 70mm house.

-Claude

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Bryan J Arseneau
Film Handler

Posts: 10
From: Toronto, ONTARIO, CANADA
Registered: Aug 2003

posted 03-15-2004 02:50 AM

Did a screening here in Toronto, back in late January with Ron Howard of The Missing. It was a fund rairer and he was in Toronto scouting locations for his next feature, spent all of the feature in the booth with me amd called out the cue marks.
We had to take him out of the the building as he would not leave until all the patrons had a chance to talk to him and sigh posters, now this is a star.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 03-15-2004 09:56 AM

Paul Mayer wrote:

quote:
We'd been at it since 10pm the previous evening setting everything up for that lunchtime screening--2 interlocked JJ's with duplicate prints plus a 6-track dubber for additional sound backup, along with a massive screen and sound system, all supplied for that room by BL&S. The 20-minute show went off without a hitch, and we had it all struck and out of there by 7pm that night. Nice work when you can get it.

I still remember that screening (Kodak was a co-sponsor of the luncheon). Very impressive. Kudos to BL&S and their crew. [thumbsup]

Some may criticize "Far and Away" as not having used 65mm to best advantage, but IMHO, some segments (the land rush) rival the best ever shot in that format.

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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 03-15-2004 12:31 PM

Unless the Royal had 70mm in the past and changed it to 35-only later on, I personally removed a Century SAW and SH1000 soundhead from the booth there in 1999. No evidence in the booth that I could see of 70mm ever being there (trailers, empty 70mm reels, 70mm film scraps, 35/70 machine parts, etc), even the rewind benches (Neumade) were 35mm-only and non-convertible. The only thing that would have even possibly pointed to the Royal's ever having 70mm was the large sound rack with a CP100, but there was no MPU and from what I can remember no evidence that there was one that had been removed. I also believe that they had SRD in the final years there as well (last movie to play there was 'Boogie Nights').

Maybe one of the old ex-Blumenfeld projectionists or techs might have a more definitive answer for us.

-Aaron

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-15-2004 12:58 PM

quote:
Some may criticize "Far and Away" as not having used 65mm to best advantage, but IMHO, some segments (the land rush) rival the best ever shot in that format.

John - that's got nothing to do with the format, it is great because of the awesome Montana location! (It was shot 65 miles west of here) [Wink]

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Joshua Lott
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 246
From: Fairbanks, AK, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-15-2004 01:11 PM

Mike,

I'm celebrating 25 years on this planet. Born March 12th, 1979.

[Big Grin]

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 03-15-2004 01:24 PM

Hey Josh... what does that have to do with... well... anything? [Smile]

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 03-15-2004 01:50 PM

quote:
The Royal was 35mm only

quote:
I definitely remember seeing John Carpenter's "THE THING" in 70mm and I am positive it was at the Royal on Polk Street.

quote:
Unless the Royal had 70mm in the past and it changed to 35-only later on...

Claude is correct, the Royal was indeed a 70mm-equipped house at one time. According to the manager of the Castro Theatre, the Royal's 70mm projectors were transferred to the Castro in the mid-1990s.

From the following document on San Francisco Bay Area 70mm theatres and presentations:
http://www.in70mm.com/lists/various/70mm_cinemas_sf.htm

San Francisco theatres equipped with 70mm projection at one time or another between 1956 and the present:
Alexandria
Alhambra
Castro
Cinema 21
Coronet
Empire
Fox Parkside / Parkside
Galaxy
Golden Gate Cinerama / Golden Gate 1
Golden Gate Penthouse / Golden Gate 2
Kabuki 8
Metro
UA Movies
Northpoint
Orpheum Cinerama / Orpheum
Presidio
Regency I
Regency II
Regency III
Royal
St. Francis
United Artists
Warfield

Some of the 70mm presentations at the Royal included:
The Wind And The Lion (1975)
Superman (1979; moveover)
The Thing (1982)
The Road Warrior (1982)
Let's Spend The Night Together (1983)
E.T. (1985 re-issue)

EDIT: edited to correct a misspelling

[ 03-15-2004, 06:33 PM: Message edited by: Michael Coate ]

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Joshua Lott
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 246
From: Fairbanks, AK, USA
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 03-15-2004 02:03 PM

Hey Joe

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Claude S. Ayakawa
Film God

Posts: 2738
From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA
Registered: Aug 2002

posted 03-15-2004 02:11 PM

Aaron,

Yes, it is very puzzling about the Royal' 70mm film presentations. After I had written that last post, I also recall seeing a special double feature consisting of " MAN OF LA MANCHA and "THE WIND & THE LION" in 70mm at the Royal. John Carpenter's "THE THING" was released in 1983 and that was when I saw it in 70mm there. "MAN OF LA MANCHA" came out in 1972 and "THE WIND AND THE LION was released in 1975 so I must have seen the double feature at the Royal about 1976 or '77. Because 70mm presentations were very important to me, I have gone out of my way to see them and I have a very good memory of what I saw and where I have seen them. Do you suppose the Royal had a pair of 35/70 projectors using a change over system and replaced them with a single 35mm machine when they started to use a platter system?

To make sure I am referring to the right theatre, the Royal was on the left hand side if I am driving up Polk from Gearry and the Alhambra was a little further up the street on the right. Is that correct?

NOTE: this post was written before I had an opportunity to read Mike's post confirming the Royal was indeed a 70mm house. Thank you, Michael.

-Claude

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Michael Coate
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1904
From: Los Angeles, California
Registered: Feb 2001

posted 03-15-2004 02:21 PM

EDIT; Post no longer necessary since Claude revised his previous posting.

[ 04-09-2004, 01:22 AM: Message edited by: Michael Coate ]

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 03-15-2004 04:04 PM

Although Ron Howard is well known as being "One of the Good Guys" in the movie business, I do wonder if many theaters have a V.I.P. Policy to avoid hassling stars when they appear in public.

A place I used to work at had a policy that said, "If you see a V.I.P. you are (A) NOT to approach him/her unless it's in the normal course of business that you'd do for any other customer and (B) You are supposed to call the manager on duty and tell them who is in the building. At that point, the manager will approach the V.I.P. and say something like, "Hello, Mr. Howard. My name is Randy Stankey. I am the theater manager. Is there anything we can do for you today?" Once the V.I.P. has been greeted and he/she is satisfied with the service they are receiving, the policy strictly states that all employees and managers should BACK OFF unless the V.I.P. asks for something.

If the situation warrants, the manager might assign a trusted employee to take a post in the general area where the V.I.P. is sitting to make sure he/she stays satisfied for their entire visit and to be on the lookout in case the V.I.P. starts getting mobbed. Asking for autographs is strictly off limits unless the person WANTS to give them. Even then, employees are not to ask for them directly. Let's say we're talking about a big movie star that a certain employee idolizes. The MANAGER should approach the star and ask if it's OK first. However, I would still be wary of letting an individual employee ask for a personal autograph. My belief is that you should ask for an autograph on a movie poster or something that would be put up in a place of honor so that ALL could see it.

I have met a few V.I.P.s who like to give autographs and receive attention. In fact, some even seem to "get off" on it. I met a few of the "Cheers" cast members who visited my store in Boston during their annual Season Opener episode. They seemed to genuinely enjoy "playing up" to the public. On the other hand, I have met a couple (John Larroquette & Roger Clemens) who just didn't seem to like to even be near us "Groundlings". The manager of my store would greet the V.I.P.s and find out if they were in a social mood or not. She'd casually walk by and give us a subtile "thumbs-up" signal if they were friendly and a "slash across the throat" signal if they weren't friendly. That way, we'd know if it was safe to approach or not.

Now, if a guy like Ron Howard came to my theater and wanted to come up to the booth and make changeovers I wouldn't even think twice about it! I'm pretty certain that he would respect the equipment and know how things run. Some guys like to be where the action is. That's cool! I might think about saying something to the effect that he doesn't have to "work" unless he really wants to, though.

Last year, Emanuel Ax played at my theater. After his performance I asked him to autograph our Steinway piano. He is probably the nicest guy you'll ever meet! He was happy to give the autograph. This year we are having Vladmir Feltzman. I'm considering whether to ask him to autograph the piano. I hear Feltzman can be a real pain, sometimes. If he isn't in a social mood I'll almost certainly back off. However, if I can somehow get him to "notice" Ax's autograph inside the piano I wonder if his ego will make him say something like, "What? You have HIS autograph on your piano and not MINE?! At that point, I'd tell one of our stagehands to run in my office to get a Sharpie and hand it to him, saying, "Sir, it would be an honor!" [Big Grin]

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Steve Kraus
Film God

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

posted 03-15-2004 08:09 PM

Then he grunts a "thanks" and uses the Sharpie to cross out Ax's autograph, slams the pen down, and walks away.

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Kenneth Wuepper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1026
From: Saginaw, MI, USA
Registered: Feb 2002

posted 03-15-2004 08:30 PM

When Mark Rususel, PBS Political satarist, appeared at the Temple Theatre here, we asked him to sign the dressing room wall. His response, "I don't deface other people's property!"

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Darryl Spicer
Film God

Posts: 3250
From: Lexington, KY, USA
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 03-15-2004 10:43 PM

quote:
John Carpenter's "THE THING" was released in 1983 and that was when I saw it in 70mm there.

Claude I was getting ready to praise your memory until you stated that The Thing was released in 1983. [Smile]

It was released in the summer of 1982.

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