Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: UA/Regal?

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Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-15-2002, 07:12 AM:

Today I went to see SIGNS at what used to be the UA at Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn only to find that after the 4 commercials and 5 trailers, the feature had a Regal logo snipe. Did UA buy out Regal (the ad slides all had UA Theatres logos all over them).

Anyway what was interesting about this is that I first called the AMC Empire in Manhattan (had to go thru the entire MovieFone babble to get a manager's phone number) to find out if there were seats left for the 11:20p screening in the IMAX Theatre. "No, the next show was at 9:15p." "But it says in MovieFone that there is an 11:20p show." "No, we don;t subscribe (?) to MovieFone and all their listings are wrong." "Well, that's helpful. Anyway can I buy tickets for tomorrow." "Yes," she says, but now get this, she adds, "but you don't want to see it in the IMAX Theatre; the screen is smaller in there than in the regular theatre where we are running it." "Smaller how?", asks I. "Oh, it doesn't fill up the screen." "Well, I know, it isn't an IMAX film, but are you saying it is bigger in the other theatre?" She never answered that but said, "Well, we have been getting complaints about the IMAX theater." Since there were no shows left anyway, I just dropped it figuring she wasn't going to be able to give me any useful information; I decided to give the UA Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn one last change (my last outing there was terrible -- no air conditioning and out-of-frame for all the trailers and a door or something like it banging every minute or so during the entire film).

Yes, the UA was running SIGNS but there was the question of the sound. It wasn't in digital and the analog was so misaligned that we could hear no center channel at all -- we could barely understand the dialogue because what little of it was left in the left and right channels, was completely muddled with the left channel containing no top end at all -- I mean none -- it sounded like Gibson's voice was being reproduced by an old Altec with a blown horn voice-coil. But to make it worse, you would hear the high-end sibilence from the right channel. So you would hear the bass component of a word in the left channel while the high-end sound of say the "s" connsonet would sound like it zoomed over to come from the right channel. What an abortion. I will never EVER go back to that crap hole again.

Besides which, I though the film itself was a bomb. It contained every horror movie cliche in the book, some with a scene too reminiscent of the original WAR OF THE WORLDS -- and a character even MENTIONS that film.....all that boarding up of the house....did it remind anyone of the hero and heroine in WOTW boarding up the farmhouse attic against the Martians? Or how in the last reel of WOTW, "....it was the little things that God in his wisdom put on the earth...." that saved the world in the end. And now, in SIGNS, Faith saves the world? Spare us. OK, this post belongs in the other forum but the sound DID suck and I need someone to tell me WHO it is that I should write at UA or Regal or whoever it is that owns that whole so I can complain. $10 should get me digital sound, hopefully with the channels properly assigned to the correct speakers. Hell, I would even have been happy with decent analog SR if it were properly aligned. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to cup your ears for 2 hrs just so you can understand the dialogue (inane as it is) and try to eat stale popcorn at the same time?

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 08-15-2002, 07:48 AM:

I think Roger Frazee, VP of Technical Services for Regal, would want to hear about chronic problems like this. He had a few posts here on Film-Tech during the last year.

John Durliat, Director of Facilities Engineering, would be another contact at Regal.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 08-15-2002, 10:01 AM:

Frank Wrote:

Anyway what was interesting about this is that I first called the
AMC Empire in Manhattan.... to find out if there were seats left
for the 11:20 pm screening in the IMAX Theatre.

The AMC Empire 25 does not have a IMAX Theatre. Loew's Lincoln Square
does.

Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 08-15-2002, 10:54 AM:

quote:
Did UA buy out Regal

The other way around. United Artists, Edwards Theatres and Regal Cinemas are all brand names of Regal Entertainment Group now.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 08-15-2002, 11:08 AM:

Frank, go to Regal's web page and fill out a comment card. Those comments DO get sent to the regional manager and the theater manager. At least they do for the Regal-branded locations. I've found that even though their corporate response to my comments is usually a canned "We're sorry" thing, the theater really does receive the complaint and they try to act on it. Believe it or not, I've gotten them to fix a number of presentation problems here in Eugene, including some that had been around for years like daylight leaking in through the booth and washing out a portion of the screen, and shutter ghosting.

I also try to send them the occasional atta-boy comments too, which also get to the theater manager.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 08-15-2002, 11:19 AM:

Frank: The UA Sheepshead Bay has replaced its UA snipes with "Regal 2002". See "Regal 2002" in Film-Yak.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 08-15-2002, 12:02 PM:

Frank: Here's the link if you want to send comments to Regal Cinemas on-line:
http://www.regalcinemas.com/comments/index.html

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 08-15-2002, 01:06 PM:

When I was working at UA in Denver, Sheepshead Bay was held up as being the best UA theatre because it had the highest percap in all of United Artists. They usualy ran $2.25 back when the theatre I worked at was running $1.80.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 08-15-2002, 02:26 PM:

That's probably why they're expanding the Sheepshead Bay from 9 to about 15 screens. They built a multi-level garage there a few years ago because parking was difficult. One other interesting tidbid about this theatre is that it doesn't have any marquee. When you drive by on the Belt Parkway, you can see the theatre, but can't see what's playing.

Now I haven't been in the projection booth, but I'm sure that every screen is equipped for digital, at least DTS. And you know they're getting digital prints on all major films. So there's absolutely no excuse for a film not to be playing in digital; it's just sloppiness.

They also don't have much in the way of competition. There's a Loews Cineplex 6-screen (originally a twin built around 1970, split into six) in the Kings Plaza Shopping Center a few miles away, but that's about it. The closest new multiplex is the Regal-UA Court Street 12, but it's way on the other side of Brooklyn.

Brooklyn has a total of 81 screens at 14 locations. Brooklyn, Bronx and SI combined have an average of only 3.2 screens per 100,000 people, which makes those areas underscreened, but with all the financial problems of the theatre chains, no new screens are planned with the possible exception of one new 16 screen Regal in Staten Island. Citywide average is 6.3 screens per 100,000 people.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-15-2002, 03:01 PM:

Thanks for all the info and links guys. I definately will follow up on this. We are so hurting in Brooklyn and the other outer boroughs for decent presentation. The theatre has potential and it would be great if they cleaned up their act. Perhaps writing to them may light a fire under a butt or two. The problem always is that when they are one of the few games in town, that lack of competition can encourage laziness. Why worry about the details when you are raking in the bucks. I am sure that the "under construction" condition will be an easy excuse, but I will write anyway.

And yes, I misspoke -- I did mean the Sony/Loews at Lincoln. Square.

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 08-15-2002, 03:20 PM:

Martin: That "one new 16 screen Regal in Staten Island" is a UA -- it opened for Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone.

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 08-15-2002, 07:20 PM:

Charles: I don't mean the Hylan Plaza 5 or the 14 screener Stadium in Travis or the Atrium Cinemas. I was referring to a new theatre in Forest-South. Is that now open? It's not listed in Time Out if it is.
------------
Also, today I saw Bloodwork at my local UA Midway Stadium 9. Maybe it's a coincidence, but I think it's a better theatre since the Regal takeover. During the ads, an assistant manager type walked through and checked every single row from both sides of the theatre (I assume for trash.) I've never seen that happen there before.

Instead of the old slide projector, the ads seemed to be coming from a video projector, since they were animated, but it didn't seem to be a DLP that could be used for "movies", because the animated portion only took up a very small portion of the screen.

Screen brightness could have been a little higher, but at least it was very even and there was no falloff in the corners. Picture was rock steady even during the credits..shutter was synched. And for the first time in that theatre, I could actually hear the surrounds.

It's the first time I was in screen #3 in a long time, but this was better presentation than I've seen in this theatre since it was renovated some years back. If Regal did make changes, they've done a good job. Hopefully, it wasn't just a coincidence.

Posted by Josh Kirkhart (Member # 1046) on 08-16-2002, 07:41 AM:

Find a Manager, let him know what the problems are and it doesn't hurt to ask for the projectionist to properly explain the things wrong or to pat him on the back.
I know under no circumstance anyone on this forum would have a thing wrong with thier presentation, but if someone had a observation(opinion) I would want to hear it, wouldn't you?
If you think your points were not taken, then of'course send a comment card, whether through snail mail, internet, phone, bullhorn, whatever.
If a kid shoves a emerg. ticket in your pocket and tries to push you off, report that too.
We all say we are professionals we should be a professional patron also.

-nothing in this post is intended towards one person or idea, just my thoughts-

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 08-16-2002, 01:31 PM:

Martin: The UA Staten Island 14 is off the West Shore Expressway (Route 440) and is not stadium. The UA All-Staten Island 16 is off the Staten Island Expressway (I-278) near the Goethals Bridge and is stadium.