This is topic ND Carmike loses 20 lenses to theft in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-20-2006, 12:21 AM:
 
You know how expense camera lenses are...

Link to story

Theater theft delays Da Vinci showing
By Lisa Davis
Herald Staff Writer
The theft of 20 lenses from projection cameras at the Carmike Cinema in Grand Forks forced the theater to close today, just as customers were lined up to see the controversial new movie, "The Da Vinci Code."

Police were called about 4 p.m. to the movie theater. They found no evidence of forced entry and continue to investigate the theft.

Moviegoers were turned away at the ticket counter and a sign on the door announced that the theater was closed.

But the movie still is being shown, according to Carmike, at the nearby Columbia 4 Theater. One showing started at 7 p.m. and additional show times will be 8:45, 10 and 11:40 tonight.

Protestors with signs against the movie were gathered outside the Carmike Cinema as the scene unfolded. Catholic and other Christian groups say the movie is anti-Catholic and disrespectful to Christians.

Police are asking for tips regarding the theft. Call Grand Forks Police at (701) 787-8000 or Crimestoppers at (701) 746-1000.
 

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Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 05-20-2006, 12:38 AM:
 
Interesting that the exact single item that would kill a show, most easily removed from the projector was taken...

On the other hand... at the drive-in demo, we found out how much the lenses for the digital cinema projectors were going to cost. Hmmmmmmmm.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-20-2006, 06:08 AM:
 
I'm looking for a 45mm lens for 35mm film projection...

Please contact me via email if you have one for sale CHEAP!

All serial numbers held in strict confidence!
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 05-20-2006, 10:03 AM:
 
Phil:
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 05-20-2006, 11:39 AM:
 

quote: Tim Reed

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projection cameras

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Hmmmmm I have never seen one of these before. What do you do take the picture and project it with the same device.
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 05-20-2006, 03:52 PM:
 
Perhaps some of the protestors have an insider with access to the booth. Maybe they see this more as a prank and the lenses will be left on the sidewalk just before showtime in a few days.
 

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Posted by Steven J Hart (Member # 2340) on 05-21-2006, 09:55 PM:
 
This could be a great step forward for presentation at this theater. Maybe they will move up from the B&L's they were likely using to something cutting edge..... maybe Kolmorgen?

Carmike.... Its all about quality presentation (at least in ND)

Steve
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 05-23-2006, 05:24 PM:
 
Assuming it's the Carmike 10, that would most likely suggest Christie heads. Probably pretty valuable to someone with Christies but I can't imagine who else.
 

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Posted by James Westbrook (Member # 3690) on 05-24-2006, 10:47 PM:
 
This sounds like a disgruntled employee to me...
 

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Posted by Dustin Mitchell (Member # 372) on 05-25-2006, 01:30 AM:
 
The theatre was originally built by Midco, I'm not sure what projectors they have. Something makes me want to say Simplex but I don't know.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-25-2006, 09:50 PM:
 
I read somewhere that the show went on at the older Carmike 4-plex in town. I like to think that the manager of the old theatre went in and stole the lenses so his bonus would shoot through the roof.

If Carmike pays bonusses? *shrug*
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-26-2006, 08:36 AM:
 

quote: Darryl Spicer

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Hmmmmm I have never seen one of these before. What do you do take the picture and project it with the same device.

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I suppose so! This used to kill me, when I was a projectionist at drive-ins in the 70s... I'd be standing outside the booth and someone would walk by and, after a cursory glance in the door, say, "Do you run those cameras?"

And this, back when home movies (film) were still commonplace in suburbia and people should've known better!
 

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Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 05-28-2006, 09:33 PM:
 
When I read the report of the theft of 20 lenses, I remembered a prank played by the boys of the Audio-Visual Squad on the A-V Coordinator, an elderly physics teacher in a high school where I taught.
They removed the lenses from all the 16mm projectors and hid them in the pockets of his lab coats.

But perhaps the theatre theft wasn't a prank. I worked a 14-plex that lost 34 surround speakers during a weekend. Must've
required teamwork, a truck, and inside help--hardly a prank.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-29-2006, 03:40 PM:
 
Yeah - but speakers can be accessed easily in a theatre where the staff doesn't check the doors every night, or by hiding behind a screen. When I was 17 and first started in the business, I worked FOREVER to figure out why the surrounds weren't working, and finally went down to check the wiring and discovered somebody had stolen the speakers... god only knows how long before I started working there!!!

Lenses are usually behind a locked door in the booth, and I thought I read somewhere that there was no evidence of forced entry.
 

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Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 05-29-2006, 07:38 PM:
 
Surrounds are typically installed higher than a window or doorknob. I'd go for the subs first!!

quote: Scott D. Neff

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When I was 17 and first started in the business, I worked FOREVER to figure out why the surrounds weren't working, and finally went down to check the wiring and discovered somebody had stolen the speakers

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