Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Indiana Jones prints are locked (here we go AGAIN)

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Posted by Ben Goodman (Member # 4770) on 05-13-2008, 02:17 PM:

quote:
Paramount Pictures “INDIANA JONES and THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL” will be delivered to your theatre by Wednesday May 21.

We are taking special security precautions to protect the film from any possible piracy issues. The Locked Can contains Reels 1, 5, 6, & 7, and the other Unlocked Can contains enclosure trailers, Reels 2, 3, & 4, projectionist letter, and this instruction letter.

The Combination Code will be available beginning Wednesday, May 21, 2008 at 12pm (EST)

Etc etc etc. This is even worse than Iron Man-- the movie comes out on Thursday, so if you want to screen all of your prints you have to cancel quite a few shows, probably during the prime hours, and you have to get all the prints slapped together pretty quickly. Ugh. I guess it's no surprise with Paramount...

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 05-13-2008, 02:42 PM:

So, which reel of Iron Man featured Pepper Potts entering the door combination that happened to be the film can combination? Was it one of the reels in the unlocked can? [Smile]

--jhawk

Posted by Jeremy Weigel (Member # 4208) on 05-13-2008, 04:40 PM:

No surprise. I kinda expected it being that its a Paramount release. I think we should expect it on all their big releases from here out.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-13-2008, 04:43 PM:

At least this time we're building up the same day for midnight shows rather than 8:00pm shows. But hopefully there won't be any issues with the film getting there on time.

Posted by Carey Barber (Member # 1586) on 05-13-2008, 06:23 PM:

quote: Justin Hamaker
At least this time we're building up the same day for midnight shows rather than 8:00pm shows. But hopefully there won't be any issues with the film getting there on time.

And hopefully they do not eventually add that 8pm show. We were originally only going to play a midnight of Iron Man, but eventually added the 8 o'clock later on.

And hopefully Ben didn't just type this up to screw with us. [Big Grin]

Posted by Mike Schindler (Member # 1309) on 05-13-2008, 09:06 PM:

quote: Justin Hamaker
At least this time we're building up the same day for midnight shows rather than 8:00pm shows.

Except that now the cans will be locked until 12pm, making it virtually impossible for us to screen it, since we'll already be open for business.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-13-2008, 09:36 PM:

quote: Carey Barber
And hopefully Ben didn't just type this up to screw with us.

Nope, it is real...and NATO won't do a godamn thing about it except stand by and watch as everyone takes it in the ass like the good bitches we all are.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-13-2008, 11:30 PM:

The higher-up NATO people may not even know about it. And they damn sure don't read Film-Tech. How many of you guys have written to NATO about it?

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-13-2008, 11:37 PM:

Mike, my boss is on the NATO of California/Nevada board. So I know the know. And he knows John Fithian well, so I'm sure he's talked to John about the issue if he's had the opportunity.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-13-2008, 11:55 PM:

But does he have anything to do with film? A good friend of mine (Ayron Pickerill) is on the NATO board. She and her husband own 22 screens in Montana and Idaho, but she probably hasn't touched movie film her whole career. I'd wager she doesn't even know about the locks on the cans because she has nothing to do with the booth.

If EVERYONE on this board who is mad about the locks would write a letter to NATO, I'll bet it would get some attention. Go ahead, prove me wrong.

Posted by Ben Goodman (Member # 4770) on 05-14-2008, 01:27 AM:

quote: "Corey Barber"
And hopefully they do not eventually add that 8pm show. We were originally only going to play a midnight of Iron Man, but eventually added the 8 o'clock later on.

And hopefully Ben didn't just type this up to screw with us. [Big Grin]

I'm not that cruel. Most of the time, at least...

My GM told me that there would definitely not be 8 pm shows, so at least we don't have to rush to slap together all the prints in time... I'll definitely say that if I had a choice of what to cancel to screen it, I would cancel some Iron Man shows. Paramount can deal with the lost revenue.

Posted by Justin Hamaker (Member # 2165) on 05-14-2008, 01:31 AM:

Yes, Mike, he deals with film. He may not build up movies, but he threads at least a few times a week and does much o f the projector maintenance as well as most of the normal repairs. We have two locations: the one I manage and the one he manages. He may not deal with all the day to day operations, but he is on site on a daily basis. Plus, I have communicated my concerns over the locks. Trust me when I say he is not just a suit who doesn't know anything about what actually happens in the theatres.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-14-2008, 05:27 AM:

So, when was the last time that NATO actually did anything useful? From what I can tell, they don't seem to do much that actually helps exhibitors.

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 05-14-2008, 06:01 AM:

Psst. the code is: up,up,down,down,left,right,left,right,B,A,B,A, start. [thumbsup]

Just hope that one of the reuqired cans isn't delayed until after the 1st showtime. Had that happen with one of the football movies, I forget which. The can containing the 1st 3 reels arrived right at showtime, in the back of a beat up old pickup truck. Woohoo, thank you benton.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-14-2008, 11:14 AM:

Hey, that's the came combination for Contra! [Razz]

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 05-14-2008, 03:14 PM:

I think it's the combo for like 75% of the NES games that came out. Life force being another on my immediate memory.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-14-2008, 03:23 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
...everyone takes it in the ass like the good bitches we all are.

Holy Smokes Grand-Poopie-BAH, you're such a brute.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-14-2008, 05:01 PM:

I am becoming concerned. How does Brad know the Konami code (which does work on Contra and a few other games)? Next thing Phil will know, and the world will implode!

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 05-14-2008, 09:10 PM:

Brad should know. How can you be a techie without knowing the code?

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-14-2008, 09:29 PM:

I thought the code was XYZZY

(That's for all the old geeks out there!)

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 05-14-2008, 09:55 PM:

Plugh. Am I really going to have to go watch Iron Man again to find out what reel it was? ok, ok...

--jhawk

Posted by Charles Greenlee (Member # 3856) on 05-14-2008, 10:10 PM:

You must be talking about one of those new fangled controllers with more than 2 buttons?

Posted by Ben Goodman (Member # 4770) on 05-15-2008, 01:52 AM:

No way, an ADVENT reference? That's not for old geeks-- that game is timeless.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 05-15-2008, 12:08 PM:

At least this thread is going much more happily along than the Iron Man thread...

Posted by Robert LaValley (Member # 4319) on 05-15-2008, 06:59 PM:

Just curious what if you just cut the locks off? not saying I would do it but I just think of some of the people that are in booths that might not think before they act.

Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-16-2008, 02:59 AM:

The email from paramount explaining the procedure for retrieving codes contained a warning about hwo the locks were property of paramount and unreturned/tampered locks would result in such and such consequences.

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 05-16-2008, 09:20 AM:

4 8 15 16 23 42

Maybe what would get someone's attention is if every single theater cut the locks off and shipped them to NATO head quarters.

EDIT: Oh, I see they're the property of Paramount. Maybe you'd better not cut them off then. But once they're open, THEN ship them to NATO HQ. If Paramount wants them, they'll know where to go pick them up.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-16-2008, 12:44 PM:

This really sucks: Paramount isn't going to release the code for "I.J." for the one lock until Thurs morning a 9am - the opening day.

Thus, no prescreening to chek prints for picture and sound, AND for locations with multiple screenings, gonna have to be some massive assembly line type heavy duty film builds that'll have to be done.

..might as well add this note to the front page along with the BV note (now, I could be wrong on this Thurs release time, for I was told this by one of our managers on a fax that was submitted there from Paramount. Thus, if wrong, maybe someone can clear up the wind...)

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 05-16-2008, 12:49 PM:

You sure about that (what's your source?)? It's not what the note Ben posted said, and at least around here, theatres have midnight shows scheduled for 12:01am Thursday (Wednesday night).

--jhawk

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 05-16-2008, 12:59 PM:

quote: James Westbrook
At least this thread is going much more happily along than the Iron Man thread...

Becuase

quote: Brad Miller
everyone takes it in the ass like the good bitches we are

Posted by Ben Goodman (Member # 4770) on 05-16-2008, 09:34 PM:

Yeah, uh, the movie comes out on Thursday, so I'm hoping that we don't get the lock code on Thursday morning... that would make it pretty tough to even build the movie in time for the first show, let alone show midnights.

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 05-16-2008, 10:08 PM:

Yea, how I got this info is that our theatres are not doing the Wed night mids - thus I thinks Paramount made the change in the lock release schedule to Thurs morning for this very reason.

I'm sure that you theatres that are doing the mid showing will get your codes on Wednesday as normal.

Posted by Robert LaValley (Member # 4319) on 05-16-2008, 10:52 PM:

Who would you call EFS or paramount for verification for the lock information for the prints? We are booked for 5 prints and all scheduled for 12:01am shows thursday morning so I need to make sure when exactly I would get the codes to get into the prints. [Roll Eyes]

Posted by John Hawkinson (Member # 1135) on 05-16-2008, 11:31 PM:

DFS: 800-734-3969

--jhawk

Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 05-18-2008, 01:24 AM:

I discovered the combination code for IRON MAN imdb.com on the forum for IRON MAN. There is a forum setup right now for Indy. Hope this helps...

Posted by Frank Bruno (Member # 1871) on 05-18-2008, 03:15 AM:

Twice in a month?

We kid about it but I really think somebody ought to come up a collective way of showing our asses. Can they really try to fine a few hundred people for cut locks?

How about sending IronMan prints back locked with Indy locks & vice versa?

Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 05-18-2008, 01:06 PM:

They say they want the locks back intact, does the same apply to the boxes? (I am not familiar with the US shipping boxes so don't know if there is an easy way in.

If the locks can have their codes changed make sure you choose a secure (random) combination when sending them back.

Posted by Robert LaValley (Member # 4319) on 05-18-2008, 01:06 PM:

or just locking the locks in the cans with master locks. [thumbsup]

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-18-2008, 01:53 PM:

Or you could etch the combo on the original lock... [Wink]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-18-2008, 03:49 PM:

I've never paid enough attention to the locks themselves, but if they are the same locks used at common Home Depots and such, there isn't anything preventing you from purchasing a lock (to get the combination-setting key) then boltcut the lock off and once you get the code, use that code to change the combination to something different, then send the print back with a note "the code didn't work so we had to cut the locks off...here are the remains.) [evil]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-18-2008, 09:54 PM:

quote: Frank Bruno
Can they really try to fine a few hundred people for cut locks?

Why not? They make thousands of prints and managed to keep track of all of them --- it would be a simple matter to have some crew of flunkies send out a few hundred bills for locks.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-18-2008, 11:16 PM:

To expand upon what Brad was saying... if they are standard-issue Home Depot locks, just buy some and then cut the ones off the can. When the combination is later released, program that code into the new locks and then just put them back on the can. Nobody would ever know! Maybe change the combination on them so they have to cut them off at the depot.

Posted by Ben LaCrosse (Member # 4662) on 05-19-2008, 04:51 AM:

Anyone heard anything about delivery times? I mean if Paramount truly wants control, then wouldn't they be contradicting themselves if they didn't mandate a delivery time to the couriers to have all prints delivered before noon WED. What's the point of the locks if ETS delivers after noon?

That is what bugs me about all this. I can just see our guy showing up at 7 p.m. with the excuse of traffic and our order in line of stops. Historically speaking, what happens in situations such as this? Thurs release with a 12:01 am showing, Deluxe/ETS and anal Paramount execs. Hey, that rhymes.

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 05-19-2008, 05:31 AM:

It does?

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-19-2008, 10:34 AM:

He's referring to ETS and execs. Though that's a "slant rhyme" rather than a true rhyme.

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 05-19-2008, 12:18 PM:

Just spoke to DFS and films should be delivered on the 21st and the code will available on noon on the same day, Wednesday the 21st. (eastern time)

Now this is funny, when we received transformers in locked cans , one of my younger projectionist had the locks open in 15 minutes and he tells me that the code for transformers was the same as the code for Iron man. I don't remember if they were the same.

Louis

Posted by Christopher Duvall (Member # 284) on 05-19-2008, 06:16 PM:

the codes were not the same

Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 05-19-2008, 10:28 PM:

quote: Brad Miller
I've never paid enough attention to the locks themselves, but if they are the same locks used at common Home Depots and such, there isn't anything preventing you from purchasing a lock (to get the combination-setting key) then boltcut the lock off and once you get the code, use that code to change the combination to something different, then send the print back with a note "the code didn't work so we had to cut the locks off...here are the remains.)

Or even better, unlock the cans like normal when the code is released, and then re-key the lock with a new random combination and send it back locked with the new code. Bwahahaha! [evil]

Posted by Justin May (Member # 4755) on 05-19-2008, 10:37 PM:

It doesn't help that the german print isn't locked, which is an easy video source for any pirate.

Posted by Jean-Marc Toussaint (Member # 4784) on 05-20-2008, 03:19 AM:

The film opens tomorrow here and we're picking up the print at noon today. Since there's no show this afternoon (I'm helping out a friend - he's the legit manager/projectionist at a small local theatre which is short-staffed today), we have plenty of time to assemble it and check the film before the first public screening (2pm tomorrow).

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 05-20-2008, 04:39 AM:

quote: Justin May
It doesn't help that the german print isn't locked, which is an easy video source for any pirate.

Ich bin ein videopirat.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-20-2008, 08:46 PM:

Well surely some of you have gotten your cans open by now.

Posted by Justin May (Member # 4755) on 05-21-2008, 12:39 AM:

the code was online since last night, everyone has opened it, screened it, and hated it

and by last night i mean monday

Posted by Chris Slycord (Member # 4239) on 05-21-2008, 10:45 AM:

You're right. Everyone hated that movie so much that it's gotten 59 good reviews out of 75 on rottentomatoes for a 79% rating.

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-21-2008, 03:54 PM:

On a movie like this that's bound to make a big haul, I think some people are eager to post a bad review because they think they look cool. There's no way the movie will please everyone.

Let's see what Ebert has to say. He's one of the few critics I trust -- he will say if a movie is good, even if it's the type of film he doesn't like.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 05-21-2008, 04:29 PM:

Ebert gave it 3 1/2 stars. [thumbsup]

Posted by Michael Moore (Member # 3867) on 05-21-2008, 06:28 PM:

One can had a lock the other did not, the one with the lock was reels 7,6,5,1 and heads out, and the one without was reels 2 -4 tails out.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 05-21-2008, 09:20 PM:

quote: Scott Norwood
So, when was the last time that NATO actually did anything useful? From what I can tell, they don't seem to do much that actually helps exhibitors.

NATO proves everyday how worthless they really are and have been for years.

Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 05-21-2008, 09:37 PM:

I got all 3 of my prints built up today. The locks were an unnecessary bump in the road, in my personal opinion, but it didn't ruin my day. I got most of my trailers built-up last night (Minus the attached 2, which had sound on the green bands which were dutifully left on.)

Posted by John Wilson (Member # 269) on 05-21-2008, 11:00 PM:

Ebert ain't the critic he once was. I find him way too lenient on the big 'important' releases.

Posted by Ron Funderburg (Member # 4561) on 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!

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 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....

Posted by Michael Moore (Member # 3867) on 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.

Posted by Blaine Young (Member # 3992) on 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.

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 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

Posted by Jim Cassedy (Member # 4115) on 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)

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 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". [Roll Eyes]

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.

Posted by Barry Floyd (Member # 385) on 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!

Posted by Louis Belloisy (Member # 3836) on 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

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 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.