Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: future of Warner 35mm

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 07-26-2014, 08:53 AM:

A theatre (performing-arts house, not a full-time film exhibitor) for which I have been booking films received a call from Warners last week about this. This is secondhand information, but they apparently stated that they plan to discontinue 35mm distribution within the next year or two and wanted to find out if the theatre had D-cinema equipment installed (it does not).

Did anyone else get a call like this recently. The venue in question has been booking repertory titles only, not recent material.

I am curious if anyone has further details.

Posted by Jack Theakston (Member # 4484) on 07-26-2014, 09:28 AM:

We booked GOONIES last week with no problem. They jacked up their rates a couple of years ago, and were pulling rep distribution from some houses, but we haven't had a problem as of late.

Posted by Kerry Fleming (Member # 1657) on 07-26-2014, 11:47 AM:

Last thing we heard from Warner was that they had no plans to discontinue 35mm prints. Running Jersey Boys. That is WB print.

Posted by Tony Ratcliff (Member # 1196) on 07-26-2014, 02:51 PM:

I am still 35mm. And I got the same phone call last week from WB.

Posted by Martin McCaffery (Member # 37) on 07-26-2014, 04:00 PM:

It has been very difficult the last few years getting 35mm rep from Warners. We have digital now, and they won't even consider a 35mm booking if DCP is available. I haven't begged or anything, but it is disappointing.

Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 08-02-2014, 09:16 PM:

Do Warner prints still have that several seconds of black in between the attached trailer and the feature? That's one thing I've missed [Smile]

Posted by Steve Matz (Member # 1890) on 08-17-2014, 10:57 PM:

Boy WB's has an impressive DVD SALES Library; close to 10,000 titles. I have probably bought about 50 Std DVD's in the last 3 weeks and all under 5 Bucks...($4.69)

http://www.wbshop.com/category/movies+&+tv/all+dvd.do?nType=1

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 08-17-2014, 11:31 PM:

quote: Martin McCaffery
It has been very difficult the last few years getting 35mm rep from Warners. We have digital now, and they won't even consider a 35mm booking if DCP is available.

I'm also told by co-workers here that Warners charge a lot more for rep and "classic" shows than Sony, Park Circus and Universal, hence the reason we play fewer of them. I don't know if this applies to 35mm and DCP. I certainly don't get a Warners 35mm print that often.

I'm guessing that they stand to get a windfall thanks to Lauren Bacall. A lot of rep houses are going to book The Big Sleep, To Have and Have Not, etc., regardless of the cost (hope they have decent prints and/or DCPs available), and consumer DVD/BD/download sales will probably spike, too.

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-24-2014, 01:28 PM:

quote: Steve Matz
Boy WB's has an impressive DVD SALES Library; close to 10,000 titles. I have probably bought about 50 Std DVD's in the last 3 weeks and all under 5 Bucks...($4.69)

Watch out with these -- most of them are BURNED discs, not pressed. Burners are notorious for deteriorating with age. If you get a burner from WB, be sure to make a COPY and keep it on a hard drive for safe keeping. When the burner stops playing, you can burn a replacement.

As for any announcement from WB about ending 35mm rentals...no, we didn't get this, but then again, I haven't been booking titles for quite awhile now. We may be off their grid.

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 09-04-2014, 06:18 PM:

They are homebrew discs, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the quality on the two that I've bought: Northwest Passage was double layer, and Confessions of a Nazi Spy was nice and clean. They look like one-light transfers from a projection print, and so some midtone detail isn't what you'd expect. But they are a lot better than bargain bucket, Elmo transfer from worn out 16mm jobs. But yes, keep ISOs to guard against disc degradation.