This is topic "The Pianist" premiere blunder at Loews Century in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


To visit this topic, use this URL:
https://ft-forum.com/ft/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=004281

---

Posted by Mathew Molloy (Member # 666) on 12-06-2002, 04:32 PM:
 
From Today's L.A. Times (on page two of the calander section).

Click this incredibly long link!

Does anyone know what went horribly, horribly wrong?

FROM L.A. TIMES.COM 12/6/02...

Sound problems spoil 'Pianist' premiere screening

By Robert W. Welkos, Times Staff Writer

A glittering night for Hollywood and the elite of Los Angeles' Jewish cultural community came to an abrupt halt Wednesday evening when the North American premiere screening of Roman Polanski's Holocaust drama "The Pianist" had to be canceled because of technical problems with the theater sound system at Loews Cineplex Century City.

The cancellation proved an embarrassment for Focus Features, the tony new art house label of Universal Pictures, which had invited hundreds of guests to attend the screening as a benefit for the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

About 650 moviegoers who gathered in the main theater did not get to see the film, although another 150 guests seated in a nearby theater did watch the movie as the sound system in there worked perfectly.

Afterward, all the guests gathered at the Century Plaza Hotel across the street to hear a free performance by the symphony of a work called Piano Concertino by Wladyslaw Szpilman, who was the subject of the movie and who wrote the book on which Polanski adapted the film. "The Pianist" this year won the Palme d'Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Thursday, the studio and the charities scrambled to contact each guest who did not see the film and invite them to attend private screenings before the film's Dec. 27 U.S. release.

"We are grateful that Loews has proffered a substantive and genuine apology and is working closely with Focus Features to make sure that everyone who attended [Wednesday] night's event will be able to see the film in the best possible circumstances," David Linde, the co-president of Focus Features, said in a prepared statement. Loews officials were unavailable for comment.

The gala evening got off in typical Hollywood fashion as a gaggle of celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Fran Drescher, Martin Landau, and the movie's Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann turned out for the event. But inside the theater, things went haywire.

After it took nearly an hour for guests to take their seats, representatives of the studio, the symphony and the foundation walked to the microphone only to find that their speeches were garbled by a faulty sound system. One of those addressing the audience was Andre Szpilman, the son of Wladyslaw Szpilman.

By 8:15, a studio official announced that the film would not be shown that night but everyone was invited to the reception and concert.

Wayne Hinton, executive director of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, said this was his group's first film premiere and they wanted it to be a memorable event.

'"I really feel badly for Andre Szpilman," Hinton said. "I know how much he was looking forward to the premiere." Hinton said that anyone who left without seeing the movie will be offered complimentary tickets to the symphony's season opening concert Sunday at 7 p.m. at Valley Beth Shalom on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.
 

---

Posted by Daniel Boisson (Member # 1027) on 12-06-2002, 04:35 PM:
 
man, that's embarressing
 

---

Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 12-06-2002, 05:50 PM:
 
According to Variety, some in the audience thought the silence was part of the actual movie. That would have been similar in a way to Y Tu Mama Tambien.

The LA Times omitted the fact that Roman Polanski could not attend the premiere (for obvious reasons).
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-06-2002, 05:55 PM:
 
I don't know what happened, but when I was last in that booth.
They had two Century JJ's in each of the large houses and
Pro-35's in theatres 3&4. They had Full boat CP200's in theatres
1&2 and CP55's in 3&4. Theatre 1 was THXed & is SRD , DTS equipped
and theatre 2 was HPS4000 (which they no longer advertise or use). The Century Plaza (the old Plitt in Century City) is no longer on a limited service contract with local 150. The Century Plaza ran some top shows in it's day. This was one of the best equipped booths in Los Angeles, before Loew's/Cineplex theatres took projection in to the limited service format with local 150. The theatre is tobe torn down sometime this coming year. Loew's is giving a slow long
death to this once great showcase.
 

---

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 12-08-2002, 12:25 PM:
 
Sound systems have enough redundancy that you would think they could have gone to the analog track if it were a catastrophic failure of the digital. Thing is, for a gala like this, they may very well have made the decision to cancel the whole thing rather than try to present it using any backup or emergency aspect of the system. I mean, you really aren't going to run a thing like this in the By-Pass mode, eh?

It would be really interesting to find out the details of the problem -- I bet the booth guys were sweating that night.

Frank
 

---

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-08-2002, 12:29 PM:
 
If the processor (CP-200?) completely fried, what would their options have been?
 

---

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 12-08-2002, 02:00 PM:
 
CP200 has backup capabilities
 

---

Posted by John Moriarty (Member # 1153) on 12-08-2002, 02:24 PM:
 

quote:

---

walked to the microphone only to find that their speeches were garbled by a faulty sound system

---

As it wasn't just the film soundtrack that suffered the problem, I guess it is likely that if anything, by-pass would be the only working option. Of course, this wouldn't work either if it was the output of the processor or some part of the amplification sytem at fault.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-08-2002, 03:14 PM:
 
With all premiere's that I did in Los Angeles, at different
theatres. We would have a full Tech call in the morning of
the show. We would have a Dolby Tech & a Studio projectionist,
to check the house's sound system out. And then do a full run
through of the film. That Dolby Tech would be there for the run through and the show at night. And nothing would play in that auditorium except the premiered feature. The above would go for
premieres, important press screenings and all double system
shows, no matter what studio. (It was the same on every show)
The only thing that would be powered down would be the lamphouses. The sound systems would stay on, all day. "The Pianist's"
print sound formats are SRD/DTS/SR. I have worked that theatre
before for special screenings and regular schedule shows.
Nothing ever happened bad in that booth. Fred who was the
regular projectionist at that theatre. He ran that booth so
well, that it was one of the best booths in local 150's area
to work.
 

---

Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-08-2002, 03:30 PM:
 
Hmmm...garbled sound...I wonder what equipment is in there now!

A CP-200 would not do that and in bypass it certainly would be providing some sort of sound since only the optical preamp and the Cat. 143 are in circuit. I'm presumming these were not the primary source of failure since they are not used for Digital presentations...however, the Cat. 143 does handle Bypass and microphone functions. Whereas there have been listed more than one theatre with this system in the complex...spare parts are nearby!

Now what if there is a DSP type crossover in there now? The possibilities of what caused the problem is limitless.

Steve
 

---

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 12-08-2002, 04:58 PM:
 
All the more reason to put as much of the same equipment across the board in each auditorium in a complex as possible. This way if you had to the smallest screen could be shut down and a piece of equipment pulled to get the larger one back on screen.
 

---

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-08-2002, 06:12 PM:
 
All the more reason to keep all that "digital crap out of the booth! They shoulda been running an analog mag backup at a major premiere like that.
Mark
 

---

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-08-2002, 08:04 PM:
 
Oh yeah, I really want a DSP crossover now...
 

---

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 12-08-2002, 08:09 PM:
 
I'm surprised no-one has suggested sabotage, which was my immediate
suspicion, given the nature of the event and its sponsors, and the
international situation as it hits home.
The quickest way to prevent free speech has been to cut the mic or speaker cable at events, ralleys or protests.
(Of course, I would not suggest sabotage in print without knowing the cause for fear of being thought paranoid....)

....................................................................

IATSE Local 306, Ret.
United Federation of Teachers, Ret.
 

---

Posted by Matt Close (Member # 996) on 12-08-2002, 08:43 PM:
 
The article says 'the speeches with garbled' ... that's live speeches with a microphone ....... anyone know what they mean by garbled?
 

---

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 12-08-2002, 09:22 PM:
 
Of course....Al Queda sabatoged it.......
 

---

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 12-09-2002, 03:55 AM:
 
From my last two viewing experiences at that house, the place has really gone to hell. Caught Eyes Wide Shut there on opening night only to watch the whole thing run out of frame (about a foot or so of hard matte showing at the top of the screen). About a year later caught the re-release of Apocalypse Now there, also out of frame and with the Cineplex snipe spliced in tail first. Nice work guys. Haven't been back since. As Bill mentioned that place was one of LA's best screening venues. What a shame.
 

---

Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 12-09-2002, 02:19 PM:
 
I know a guy who used to work there among other Loew's Theatres. When he visited it recently the downstairs staff was asking him how to change xenon lamps. Apparently they had cancelled some shows because of a dead lamp that no one in the theatre knew how to change. If Loew's now expects ushers to change lamps in an ex-flagship theatre, it really has gone downhill. Not to mention the liability issues written all over that one.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-09-2002, 05:18 PM:
 
I was just talking with a friend that works in the NY Publicity
office from Focus Films. She was talking with her boss in Los
Angeles and this is what happened. The main house at Century City
had a major breaker problem to the rack. They tried to get it
back up and running but it was a bigger problem than they though.
They had a blown High Frequency driver and no replacement.
The New York Premiere is Tuesday night at Loew's Lincoln Square.
The Los Angeles Premiere has been rescheduled.

The theatre was built in the early 70's. and is scheduled tobe
torn down around the middle of 2003. Loew's is letting it
die a slow death. Loew's no longer has a service contract with
Local 150 at this location.
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-09-2002, 05:59 PM:
 
Some of my experiences here:

While it was STILL the Plitt Century Plaza:

1980: Divine Madness - film ended - curtains stayed open and lights stayed off for about a minute.

1983: A STAR IS BORN - two reels were out of order. It took about five minutes to rectify. The second reel hit the screen with a FLAT lens used. The intermision was botched, leaving the lights off for a while and curtains opened. The flat previews preceeding the film were shown with screen masks open to SCOPE.

1984: A PASSAGE TO INDIA - One projector was well focused, the other one was BADLY focused. it was never fixed.

1984: PROTOCOL - see above.

Cineplex Odeon (after the remodel)

LOA (1989 reissue) Curtains opened BEFORE the overture started (on BOTH parts 1 AND 2). The two projectors were BADLY unbalanced. One was very bright, the other much dimmer (A repeat visit did have both projectors equally bright and curtains staying closed during the music).

1990 SOUND OF MUSIC - Again, the picture brightness AND color temp were off on the changeover system.

THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT PART THREE (small theatre) - Curtains opened at beginning of overture, closed half a minute later and re-opened as they should for the begining of the picture. However, halfway through the DTS presentation, the sound reverted to analog.

ARIA (small theatre) - The Dolby Stereo film played back in MONO.

MY FAIR LADY (#2) - TOTALLY botched show. 15 minutes late starting. When it did, things were OK until intermission. After part one was over, the theatre remained in darkness for 10 minutes. Finally they got the lights on and curtains closed, only to start part two with the lights still on. The framing was way off (halfway in the image), and INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT FRAING, I guess they were trying to get the lights turned off instead and this took SEVERAL minutes. Only AFTER the lights got down did they re-frame the image. And then...during the last 15 minutes of the film, the center channel went bad, creating barely any sound at all (thankfully, this was a directional dialog mix, so we could get some SOUND. The result was not unlike the scene in SINGIN IN THE RAIN when a mike was placed inside a potted plant and the actress kept turning her head away from it during a scene).
I complained to the doorman, who told me that the sound problem was due to the fact that it was no longer playing in that THX sound that the other auditorium has, so I decided wth that ignorance to just drop it.

SHORT CUTS (theatre 1) Everthing was fine, until there was a changeover (most of the 70mm film was on a platter, the last two reels mounted on a large reel. The film was reversed, so the mag tracks played back BADLY muffled. Well, after a minute, they turned off the projector and tried to fix the SOUND system (which wasn't broken). Many know-it-alls in the audience were trying to convince the theatre that the DTS track (which this was not) was broken. Because they heard that reel change sound that many theatres that played mag tracks always had (that low momentary hum). Well, after 15 minutes, the reel projector was started up again and of course the sound was STILL garbled. Foertunately, the next scene was in a bar and a sign on the wall was reversed, so this was the clue the projectionist needed to put the film on the reel correctly (YET another LENGTHY WAIT.

APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX (#1) - the last straw for me. those beautiful seats replaced with cheap plastic ones. Movietunes and no curtains. CLAROX hair commercials. AND the film was running through the projector with NO intermittent working (everything was just a blur 9or maybe the gate wasn't properly closed). Anyway they had to stop to fix THIS problem (15 minutes). Also, the famous framing problem with the print and all those white flashes. I DO have to add that this was the first of the revivede TECHNICOLOR prints that truly dazzled me, and that in MOST instances I could have been conned into believing I was watching a 70mm blow-up print. The projection was exceptionally bright, and the sound was superb.
 

---

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 12-09-2002, 06:10 PM:
 
Hmm...why would a breaker problem result in garbled sound? Something with the crossover, maybe?
 

---

Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 12-09-2002, 11:42 PM:
 
Garbled sound could result from a blown output transistor in one of the amplifiers.
 

---

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 12-09-2002, 11:50 PM:
 
Nothing clearly indicates that garbled sound was the problem with the film sound, only the PA/speech sound. I suppose you can choose Occam's Razor though...

--jhawk
 

---

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-10-2002, 12:46 AM:
 
It would still be instructive to know what specifically failed, whether caused by a breaker, weird transients or whatever. And was it really necessary to cancel the show? Could a blown C channel have been rerouted to LE or RE (or both, for balance)?

Paul: That list of glitches is spread over 20 years. I don't know what inferrence can be drawn from that. Surely the best of operations can amass a few over 20 years time.
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-10-2002, 01:02 AM:
 
true. However, it does represent about HALF of my experiences at this particular theatre. I guess I just expected a level of perfection at a top L.A. showcase. Many of these problems were projectionist error.
 

---

Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 12-10-2002, 09:07 AM:
 
Why would Loews want to premiere a movie at a theatre that they are slowly letting die? That makes no sense. The theatre apparently has had some problems in the past. Why risk a cancelled show? It looks bad on the company.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-10-2002, 10:03 AM:
 
In Los Angeles the premiere houses that the studio's like to use are

• Chinese (Hollywood) Cinerama Dome (Hollywood) El Capitan
  (Hollywood) Century Plaza (Century City) Village (Westwood)
  National (Westwood) Bruin (Westwood)

If it's a Universal movie they will premiere at Universal City Walk
18 Theatre.
Century Plaza has a long list of premieres and good shows.
Century Plaza has a better set-up for limos than the rest.
It's easier to stage a premiere there. But the leases for
the theatres are up. ABC had a screening room next door. They
moved everyone over to Burbank. Like what they did here in
New York with a few of the theatres they were dropping.
They put no money or VERY little money for the upkeep of
the houses. Because next year the theatres will be torn down
to make space for a new office building. Two years ago Loew's
had limit service contract with Local 150. Today the theatre
is run by management. This theatre being only a 4 plex and a
AMC 14 plex is two blocks away. Back in the 80's when Cineplex
was buying theatres in LA. Garth spent alot of money getting
the Century Plaza, Odeon, Showcase, Fairfax, Marina Del Rey,
Broadway. The biggest money loser was the Odeon in Westwood.
It was a single screen that could NEVER make money, unless
you charged $100 a ticket. The lease was so high for that
theatre. (All the other chain got into a bidding world for the
house) But Century Plaza was the West Coast Flagship for Cineplex.
The theatre performed well over the years. OK it had a few poor
screenings, in all the Century Plaza was one of my favorite
houses to work.
 

---

Posted by Steve Kraus (Member # 476) on 12-10-2002, 10:26 AM:
 
William, it's the studio that asks to rent out a particular theatre.

I would presume (but do not know) that for a major premiere there would be someone on duty in the booth besides a manager / operator.

Wasn't this theatre chopped up some years back or am I thinking of some other venue? Where was the PCM digital Fantasia shown?

I think it's also unfair to suggest that the theatre's lame duck status would cause them to skimp on tech maintenance. Sure, they're not going to reseat, recarpet or make tech upgrades at this point. But much of the projection and sound gear (perhaps excepting 70mm related gear) will find its way into new builds or be retained as parts sources for existing theatres. There is nothing to be gained by letting it go to seed, especially at a high profile venue like that.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-10-2002, 10:53 AM:
 
Steve

Yes, the studio rents the theatre. The studios like the
Village, Century Plaza, Chinese, National. It all depends
on the size. In Westwood the Village is the one. On big
premieres they rent the Village and the Bruin (They are
across the street from each other). But what makes the
Century Plaza more special is you have two large houses
and two small houses in one building. So it easier to
stage a premiere. On the premieres that I have worked
we would have a tech run through in the morning. With
the regular operator and Dolby tech. For the show
we would have the same. For the Century Plaza on a big
show we would have all 4 screens running. So we would
have 2 studio projectionists and 4 regular projectionists
plus our Dolby Tech. Whats funny if it was a double system
show, we would have 3 projectionists and a studio projectionist
plus the Dolby Tech. That's only for one screen. The reason
for the three projectionists is (one for picture, one for the
dummy, one for the fader). The only person that really works
is the picture guy. The dummy & fader guys just sits there and
drinks coffee till they have to wrap everything up. All guys
would get a studio call. You are right about that PCM show
when it was known as the Plitt Century Plaza. That's where I
first saw "Star Wars" in 70MM (What a show !) The old number
2 house is the big house now (800 seats), they cut the old
#1 into three houses.

Whats funny is I'm running "The Pianist" right now, while doing
this email
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-10-2002, 11:54 AM:
 
The ABC Century City theatre opened in 1972 with theatre 2 (1424 seats - 70mm 6-Track Stereo)showing Cabaret and Theatre 1 (800 seats) with Brian's Song. Plitt (who was head of ABC Theatres) bought out the chain sometiome later and the theatre became known as the plitt Century Plaza Theatres. Theatre 1 was upgraded for 70mm 6 Track Dolby in 1978 for an added engagement of Close Encounters of the Third Kind from Westwood. Theatre 2 had HPS 4000 installed in 1984 and was running it with the 70mm engagegement of he Razor's Edge. The large theatre #2 had a mezzanie level and this was split into the two small theatres, making over screen #2 into 2, 3, 4.

Cineplex Odeon did the splitting and entire make-over (THX was added to screen #1 then). The original look was gone. #1 had red side curtains and gold screen curtains. #2 had the reverse. #2 also had extremely comfortable rocking chairs on the main floor. #1 had the sam type of seats, but didn't rock. CO did a completely glitzed up remodel with accoustical paneling replacing the side drapes. Seats were recovered in a rich velor covering. the orignal curved screens replaced by flat ones.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-10-2002, 12:02 PM:
 
The extra high backed seats from the old #1 house, were used to
reseat the Odeon in Westwood. When Cineplex took over and redid
that house for their Westwood theatre.
 

---

Posted by Mathew Molloy (Member # 666) on 12-10-2002, 12:13 PM:
 
Hey Bill, I work in Westwood and new to the area. Where was the Odeon located?
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-10-2002, 12:23 PM:
 
It is now the Mann Festival. It started life as the UA Westwood in the latter 60's and was remodeled into the UA Egyptian Westwood in the 80's. CO was the only company willing to pay the HUGE increase in rent that the building owner was demanding when UA's lease expired($750,000 per year). Variety ran an article about how the theatre grossed no more than a million a year, including concessions, and mentioned that typically Westwood theatres payed 44 percent of the boxoffice in film rentals (Westwood being a "loss leader" for studios). CO was the only company willing to pay what was demanded. They knew it was a loss leader, but this helped break the clearance that Westwood theatres enjoyed over other theatres in a 10 mile area.

CO did an extensive remodel, but eventually gave up the lease and Mann took over.
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-10-2002, 12:38 PM:
 
Matthew,

You might also be interested to know the Regent started life as Westwood's first art house when Laemmle opened it in the mid sixties. The building originally was a small grocery store (the now defunct Mann 4-plex, originally a triplex, was also a Safeway grocery store, and the Festival was originally part of a Ralph's supermarket. Laemmle opened the Plaza in 1967 with Barefoot in the Park.

Woody Allen supposedly had in his contract that his films open at the Regent when possible (due to the huge business that Take the Money and run raked up, although SLEEPERS played the Bruin). It was not uncommon for this house to take in 60K a week (and when admission was much lower).

Mann went behind Laemmle's back at lease renewal time and snatched up new leases for both theatres. Laemmle was publicly upset at the time. All contacts to the owners of the properies went unanswered. They weren't even given the chance to re-sign.

Laemmle sort of got back at them, and did the same thing to grab he Fine Arts (Mann's only arthouse) away from them (at the time the Music Hall was a potential victim of a possible office complex). Of course, the Fine Arts got a new owner through Cecchi Gori, which hired AMC to operate it. Now Landmark runs it.
 

---

Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 12-10-2002, 12:49 PM:
 
Paul

Did you know that Pacific Theatres use to book the Regent & Plaza
for Laemmle. On the Fine Arts, Mann was not going to renew the
lease. They were dropping single screen houses when their leases
were up. At one point a new building was going to go up there.
The only theatre Mann owns in Westwood is the National. The Village
and Bruin are both leased.
 

---

Posted by Mathew Molloy (Member # 666) on 12-10-2002, 02:53 PM:
 
The "now defunct Mann 4-Plex" will once again know life as grocery store, this time Whole Foods. Just hope it's a long time before The Regent has a produce aisle again - especially as Broxton Avenue is looking more and more like a ghost town.
 

---

Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 12-10-2002, 03:15 PM:
 

quote:

---

Did you know that Pacific Theatres use to book the Regent & Plaza
for Laemmle.

---