This is topic Anyone Ever Run A Hollywood Premiere? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 04-02-2007, 09:31 PM:
 
I was just wondering if anyone here has ever been projectionist for a Hollywood film premiere. Giovanni Ribisi and Halle Berry were here in Cleveland last week for a premiere of their new film, Perfect Stranger. The theater that it premiered at is just 10 minutes from my house.

There is the Macedonia Cinemark just 2 minutes from my house that I used to work at (pictures are in the picture warehouse) and the Cinemark Valley View where the premiere was held. Sometimes we go to Macedonia and sometimes we go to Valley View. The manager I worked for at the Macedonia theater is now the manager at the Valley View theater. She had asked me to come work for her as an assistant manager when she went to Valley View but I was getting out of the theater business and turned it down. Wishing I didn't now.

I have always wanted to run a premiere for a film but have never had the chance. I was wondering who has had the priviledge of doing this.
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-02-2007, 09:39 PM:
 
I think a lot of them probably bring their own projectionists. I bet the unions go apeshit.
 
Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-02-2007, 09:49 PM:
 
I've been in close proximity to a few premieres, oddly enough with a couple pre-release events having been held here in Lawton, OK of all places. Never wanted to be the projectionist for one. If something goes wrong, they blame you.

FYI, the world premiere of Geronimo: An American Legend was held in Lawton in the fall of 1993 (at the crappy and now closed Cache 8 theater, operated through much of its life by United Artists). Pretty lame that hardly any of the main actors attended the event, particularly with Geronimo having spent his last days in Lawton-Fort Sill and his grave being aboard Fort Sill. I guess the stars preferred attending a premiere on one of the coasts (and watching it on a 70mm blow-up print).

Mel Gibson visited Lawton last fall, holding a private screening of Apocalypto for Kiowa, Apache and Comanche tribe leaders at the Cameron University screening room. Gibson arrived at the event in disguise, but waved to a small crowd outside the theater once the screening was finished. He showed the film to tribal groups in Austin the next day. The videographed movie opened about a month later.

Pauly Shore made a throw-away Army comedy called In The Army Now, which would probably be inappropriate to show today in light of current events. Some of the film was shot aboard Fort Sill. A fellow I know named Allen Stokes played an Army Drill Sergeant in the movie, which was no big stretch since the tall, scary looking dude was already an Army D.I. in his day job.

People in this city are going to have another "premiere" of sorts for another retired Army Drill Instructor -a watch party for an airing of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The crew from the TV series came to Lawton and helped a lot of local builders and volunteers make a brand new home for an Army family badly in need of one. Don't know for sure if the episode is airing April 15 or April 22. Anyone who likes watching that TV series should definitely check out this one. A real military tank was used to demolish the old house!
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 04-03-2007, 12:18 AM:
 
Several. Most were during my long association as chief of the Kentucky Theatre booth, in Lexington. Two I can recall off the top of my head:

"Steel" (Lee Majors actioner), late 70s or early 80s. Most of the leads, the director, et.al., were in the audience.
"Superman 2", some special benefit arrangement. Ran concurrently with the L.A. and NYC premieres. Some production people were in attendance. No stars, though, I don't think.

I also remember a B-picture I ran the premiere of, because the director was from Lexington. It was called "The Evil Blade" or "Satan's Blade"... something like that. Strictly drive-in fare.

As with all my shows there, everything ran without a hitch. [Wink] [Razz]

Oh, yes! I was also the LucasFilm TAP rep for some special showing of "Space Camp" in 1986, down in New Orleans. I don't remember if it was THE world premiere, but the director and cast were in attendance. I was called in for that primarily because it was being run fullcoat mag-interlock. I think they were still open to changing the cut depending on the audience reaction, since the Challenger disaster happened earlier that year.
 
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-03-2007, 01:27 AM:
 
I ran Pure Country in SRD in 1992 at the deceased Cinemark Vista Ridge 12. I remember it was a Warner release, flat and 6 reels. The DA10/cat699 were flown out and installed by some Dolby techs. The studio had their own projectionist sent out as well, but after spending a day watching movies at the multiplex while the Dolby guys set up, he asked me to handle and project the print. (Maybe he wasn't familiar with platters, but regardless the presentation we had was excellent so I took it as a compliment.)

Other than that one instance, I have ran several premieres at film festivals and plenty at the deceased GCC Northpark 1 & 2.
 
Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 04-03-2007, 07:53 AM:
 
I was visiting the Cinema World that I got my first projectionist job at several years after I had left. The film Edge of Seventeen was playing then. The director and a few of his friends came to see it. I remember some of the employees were talking about how they thought it sucked and they didn't realize the guy standing 15 feet away was the director. [uhoh]

So do the projectionists that work in Hollywood work for the studios? Do directors still run dailies? Do the projectionists travel with the film crew to the filming site to run the dailies? I wonder if there are any projectionists on Film-Tech that work in this area of the industry that can share. [Confused]
 
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-03-2007, 08:00 AM:
 
Only film-festival stuff that never went anywhere and mostly wasn't all that good to begin with.

Some titles that come to mind: Kiss the Bride (which I think went on to become a Lifetime movie), some crappy Showtime movie, Indian Cowboy, Keep your Distance (whose director was really friendly and good to deal with) and maybe a handful of others. Not very exciting.

While it's not an official premiere, I'll be running the opening engagement of "Brooklyn Rules," which opens on one screen in Rhode Island for its first week (May 11).
 
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-03-2007, 10:17 AM:
 
quote: Joe Redifer
I think a lot of them probably bring their own projectionists.
Yes, They sent most of the time two people, one is the head of the department and a studio projectionist. And then you get the Dolby Tech. too.

quote: Joe Redifer
I bet the unions go apeshit.
It all depends on the local which governs that location. In the past the regular operator would sit standby on the show and get a 8 hour studio call. (studio projectionist rate) Now I've been hearing that the theatre is now paying the operator at his regular job rate instead.

I've run many premieres and special cast and crew and special media screenings all over Hollywood and Westwood areas over the years for Disney, Columbia, Warner, Universal, Miramax, Paramount and 20th Century-Fox.

My favorite Premiere houses:
And the ABC Screening Room in Century City and the Broadway Screening Room in Times Square in NYC.
 
Posted by Brian D. Whitish (Member # 825) on 04-03-2007, 12:01 PM:
 
The closest I came to a worl premier was a screening for the national press for The Package with Gene Hackman. They did it here in Seattle because Mr. Hackman was shooting a film in Vancouver, Canada and there were more hotel rooms available here. Orion pictures sent a studio projectionist. We are Union here in Seattle so I built the print and ran the show. We did a tech screening and then later that night the real show. Siskel, Ebert, and a lot of national press were in attendance. It was fun. About a week after the show I got a thank you card and check for $200.00 from the studio projectionist.
We also do many premiers and director screenings during the Seattle Film Festival. I have also done unmarried test screeings at my theatre for Coppola, Bertolucchi, Richard Rush, and a few others. Coppolas were for Godfather 3, and Gradens of Stone. Bertolucchi was for Little Buddha. Richard Rushs was for Color of Night.
 
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-03-2007, 12:23 PM:
 
I guess I've been fortunate...I've done many premiers at all grades from World to area or benefit. This includes non-theatrical HBO type premiers too.

It is really nice to see EK prints...it is amazing how much better they are than relase prints...even "select" prints.

I've also done test screenings where each splice is numbered (picture and track...back when they used dubbers all of the time) and we ran the film for two shows and changes were made to the picture/sound between performances.

I would think the Hollywood and NY people would get the vast majority of World Premiers.

Cast and Crew showings (not really a premier) occur around here (mid Atlantic) due to the popularity of DC, Baltimore, Philly, with various movie stories. Also, M. Night tends to shoot in the Philly area for all of his films so it is pretty common to have a Cast and Crew in the King of Prussia area (just outside of Philly)...I did the Cast and Crew for Signs, The Village for instance. The Village was interesting in that due to the layout of the theatre complex, we had two theatres for the Cast and Crew...but they were at opposite ends of the complex. As much as you try, you can't over come some problems...the was a bad lightning storm that evening...it knocked out the power for about 20-minutes...shut both shows down.

I will say, I've always enjoyed doing Disney and HBO special screenings....the people that I've had to work with have always been absolutely top notch.

Steve
 
Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-03-2007, 12:32 PM:
 
quote: Scott Norwood
While it's not an official premiere, I'll be running the opening engagement of "Brooklyn Rules," which opens on one screen in Rhode Island for its first week (May 11).
Is that the Lindsey Lohan film with Jane Fonda. If so it is called Georgia Rules. [Smile]
 
Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-03-2007, 12:45 PM:
 
I've been the "studio guy" for premieres back in the 80's including The Firm in Memphis Tn. My policy is too do "what is normal" unless that is bad. This means that the normal operator gets the job unless he convinces me he cannot handle it. If there is a Union situation, usually that guarantees quality projection; if not, we pay him anyway and use our guy. Louis
 
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-03-2007, 01:27 PM:
 
quote: Darryl Spicer
Is that the Lindsey Lohan film
quote: Scott Norwood
"Brooklyn Rules"
Is the Alec Baldwin, Freddie Prinze Jr. movie. Formerly known as "Nailed Right In".

imdB
 
Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 04-03-2007, 01:45 PM:
 
quote: Steve Guttag
The Village was interesting in that due to the layout of the theatre complex, we had two theatres for the Cast and Crew...but they were at opposite ends of the complex.
I used to live in Philly. Just wondering if that was the UA King of Prussia (the one with the IMAX)?
 
Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 04-03-2007, 01:45 PM:
 
Projectionists in L.A. come in four groups. First there are the non-union ones, who work the vast majority of day-to-day multiplex jobs like everywhere else. The union projectionists/technicians belong to one of three locals, depending on whether they work in theatres, labs, or studios.

In L.A., I've worked overflow houses on premieres a few times, but never the main house. I'm part of the theatre projectionists' local. As Bill mentioned, there are also studio and Dolby technicians on hand. There is always a run-through prior to the actual show to make sure everything is fine.

I did run dailies once, back when I was living in Hawaii, for the filming of "Pearl Harbor". I was the guy from the Hawaii local, and a Disney studio projectionist also flew in for this (yes, two people at the same time to run dailies!).
 
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-03-2007, 01:50 PM:
 
It's the one that Bill mentioned. I did a sepmag preview screening of this about two years ago (in the same venue), with a complete rented sound system, dubber, etc. It is finally getting released now. The director is from Rhode Island and expects it to do good business.
 
Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 04-03-2007, 02:00 PM:
 
quote:
It's the one that Bill mentioned. ["Brooklyn Rules"]
This was shot (a couple of years ago) by former American Society of Cinematographers president Richard Crudo. It's about time this thing is getting released!

And it was shot anamorphic (a rarity these days).
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 04-03-2007, 05:27 PM:
 
I ran a lot of premieres, world premieres as well as European and German premieres when I worked in Berlin.
Some during the International Berlin Film Festival, some were world premieres of German movies, some were European premieres, especially of Columbia TriStar productions as that company is owned by Sony, and I worked for the company which operates the cinema in the Sony Center right in the historical center of Berlin which is also the European headquarters of Sony.
So, they wanted their local German and European premieres to run there, and we did a lot of the stuff they cranked out during those years, like "The Patriot", "Spiderman 1/2", "Charlie's Angels", titles like that, plus we also got some of the premieres of other major distributors, Fox, Paramount, since the events we did for Sony all went very well.
Plus, the Sony Center is an ideal location for premiere parties. It has a large, long foyer and an inner courtyard which is open air but has a roof, and there is a very long and wide tunnel which goes from a nearby freeway under the Sony Center (so they can truck in stuff for the offices, shops, and restaurants in the Center). So we had premiere parties there of biblical proportions, and all the stars usually came and partied there. But I am not really interested in stars, so that wasn't so "exciting" for me.
Me and my colleagues did get to go to the premiere parties, but apart from being able to swallow large amounts of hideously expensive food, standing around and seeing some stars walk by, it's not really that much of an event, especially since by the time the premiere is over, you are nearly *dead*.
Preparing for these events is a ton of stress. Even though our stuff was always well maintained, we checked through everything over and over in the nights before the premiere, watched the showprints - I had to watch "The Patriot" 8 times in a row -, ran test screenings several times over, and when the time of the premiere comes, there is a lot of tension and anticipation and a lot of last minute triplechecking going on.
Then when the premiere runs, you just sit there and wait for stuff to happen. But we never had any major problems. Actually, not even minor ones.
One time, we discovered during a last check 15 minutes before showtime that a DA20 had somehow given up, so we had less than 15 minutes to tear this and one from the only other auditorium that wasn't used for the premiere out of the racks and install that one. I was still fumbling around with that when Mel Gibson entered the auditorium and greeted his fans and the show started literally within seconds of me finishing it up.
That's a lot of stress, and after that, you just sit back, patrol the booth, and wait for it to be over so you can go hit the party, grab some shrimp cocktails, then finally go home and catch up on sleep.

The International Berlin Film Festival which is, I think, the 3rd biggest film festival in the world (and of which the Sony Center is one of the main locations) always was a lot of fun, but also a megaton of stress.
During 2 weeks or so, we ran many *hundreds* of screenings, usually 5 a day in each auditorium, each screening a unique event with typically staff from the production (director, producer, actors etc) in all the screenings, a lot of press, film buyers etc.
Some of the screenings were "just" for the buyers' market, closed screenings in which everything was actually run from platters (we had people building and breaking all day long), but the screenings in series like "International Forum of Young Directors" were all very "film festival", so we ran everything changeover in those auditoriums which had been specifically equipped for those events.
In those auditoriums, we basically had everything you need for any kind of picture and sound format.
I usually ran changeover shows in an auditorium that was equipped with a pair of Kinoton FP-38E (and we did actually still run some 16mm, although that has became more and more rare). We also had one with a pair of FP-75E.
The festival is a major logistic operation since it happens in several locations, and most of the films get screened on 3 or 4 different occasions in different locations. So we had a host of couriers who were hauling the prints all over the place, sometimes the prints came in only minutes before the screening, and you just had enough time to put reel 1 on while you put the rest on reels. They always came tails out so you had to rewind them, giving you an opportunity to quickly check the reels, and when done, they went directly into the box the way they were, often with the courier standing by to take off with the print the moment the screening was over.
One year, we ran a retrospective of Vietnamese films which were all in 1:1.75 (and they also had French leaders, reflecting the fact that Vietnam had once been a French colony, the printing equipment they have probably goes back to that time). They all came on tiny 8-minute or so reels and the prints were very brittle old acetate which sometimes just crumbled when you threaded them even very carefully.
During those festivals and premieres, you get to see and do a lot of interesting things, but believe me, as satisfying as it is from a professional point of view to handle all that, at the end, you are just happy to go home and go to sleep...
 
Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 04-03-2007, 06:05 PM:
 
In '91 I worked a private showing of "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" a fews days before it opened. It was in Matt Williams home city of Evansville, IN., and he was having a show for family and friends, and I'm sure a few others. In the booth, I threaded the machine and then did crowd control and talked to Mr. Williams about when to start the show. Then I started it, made sure it was running right and went back downstairs (I was managing the theatre) I scheduled my best operator to stay with the machine the whole time. After the other films all started I noticed Mr. Williams walking around the lobby with his kid. I asked him why he wasn't watching. He laughed and said "Rick, I know how it ends" Really a nice guy.

I worked at the premier of "Pulse:A STOMP Oddysey" at the World premier at the Museum of Natural History in New York. It's an IMAX booth and we had installed part of their sound system.

I've also done a few showings of custom prints for special venue.

Rick
 
Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-03-2007, 08:20 PM:
 
Location dailies projectionist for Casino from 9/94 to 1/95 here in Sin City. Ran Casino dailies and rough cuts of The Quick and the Dead plus after hours screenings of several classic film noir titles for the production staff. I was the local union guy - no one came up from LA. Used a second operator for one TQATD screening since I didn't have changeovers installed on the machines (a pair of Judy Dolan's double-system XL's) in our little makeshift production screening room yet. Other than that it was my booth.

Dave Huskinson and I were the operators for the premiere of The Flintstones at the Las Vegas Hilton, working for Boston Light & Sound. My first experience with DTS. Another union job.

Done several screenings for Showest over the years. Worked with Disney for NATO promo reels of Tron at Caesars Palace and The Lion King at the Aladdin (Disney supplied the gear), with Fox for Anastasia at Ballys, and Universal for Far and Away also at Ballys. The last was the most fun as it involved running two 70mm prints interlocked on a pair of JJ's with an extra dubber for triple back-up of the mag sound. These were BL&S union jobs too. We had a blast.
 
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-03-2007, 10:15 PM:
 
Yes, The Villiage Cast and Crew show was at the UA/Regal King of Prussia as was Signs. Unbreakable was at the Ritz East (formerly an AMC theatre in Philly) and The Sixth Sense was at the Prince Music Theatre in downtown Philly...where both premier (I think might have been world) as well as Cast and Crew ran on consecutive days...We had FOUR (4) EK prints for that. Each show had a primary and backup print.

An EK print is not the key to perfect everything though. for New World (premiered at the Kimball Theatre in Williamsburg, VA) we got a bum EK print on reel 2. It set noise (like white noise) out of random channels on the Dolby Digital track...while tracking 2s or better the whole time. After verifying that the CP500 was not the problem, nor projector #2's reader (2-projector changeover, natch)...we tried the back up print which had run at the AMPAS' Goldwyn Theatre the previous evening without problems...what do you know...it ran fine here too! This is why ALL serious premiers will have a full and complete run-through and have enough time to do it again if need be with as many eyes and ears that can be trusted to look and listen to make it all perfect. Also one must have plan Bs or even Plan Cs. You don't get another chance.

That said...I remember Larry Shaw saying to me right after one of my early premiers (where I believe I was the projectionist) in that Larry Shaw dead-pan Boston voice..."so...has the 'glory' worn off yet?" Because it is JUST another show. If you think about it...EVERY show, premier or no, should be treated like it is a one-shot deal. If you treat them all like they were premiers, when you work one it wont be as stressful...afterall your resources increase many fold during those where people are willing to pay to get it as right as can be.
 
Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 04-03-2007, 10:43 PM:
 
I was doing work in Greece at a science center Here , and I had to do a demo for the Minister of Travel and other bigwigs. All the people standing around the booth were nervous as hell, saying how important it was. I just said "hey it worked all week, if it doesn't now, no biggie, I'll fix it." I quit getting stressed about shows because the stress isn't worth it.
quote: Steve Guttag
..."so...has the 'glory' worn off yet?" Because it is JUST another show.
Rick
 
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 04-03-2007, 10:55 PM:
 
I done me a bunch o' "unmarried" prints. Do that count?
 
Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 04-04-2007, 01:33 AM:
 
Dream Works gave a pre-release "public opinion" screening of "The Mexican" when it was still being edited and before the final name was chosen at the 20-Plex I worked.

I was responsible for making sure the projection system was in immaculate order for their arrival. They brought some of their own equipment as the print was "unmarried".

Thank you Dream Works for making a total pig-sty of our booth! I am the one who cleaned-up your freakin mess [fu] [thumbsdown] !

The mess included: realigning the projector and lamphouse for your screening and not replacing it, putting your own cardboard masking on our port-glass window with adhesive tape that left a sticky very-difficult-to-remove film residue and leaving your food buffett leftover trash scattered about the booth! And I forgot...that you used razor-blades to install your "special masking" and did a good job of scratching the port window right in the lense point-of-alignment!

To make matters worse, corporate executives and techs for the 20-plex were on hand and did not have the balls to set the Dream Works staff straight! As I said, yours truly cleand up the freakin mess, without any help from the company techs who were on-hand!

K
 
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-04-2007, 03:06 AM:
 
quote:
I did run dailies once, back when I was living in Hawaii, for the filming of "Pearl Harbor". I was the guy from the Hawaii local, and a Disney studio projectionist also flew in for this (yes, two people at the same time to run dailies!).
Hey, I ran dailies for Pearl Harbor too! It was going to be at my screening room while they were shooting the music video here in Dallas, but my setup wasn't fully up and running yet so we did it in auditorium #4 at the Galaxy for Michael Bay and a couple of other guys whom I don't recall who they were. (Bay sat on the seat backs of the chairs...kinda weird.)
 
Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 04-04-2007, 03:24 AM:
 
quote: Tim Reed
"Superman 2", some special benefit arrangement. Ran concurrently with the L.A. and NYC premieres.
Tim...Was it a premiere, or a preview screening? I ask because Warner Bros. did a select-city preview of the movie one week before it opened (June 12, 1981) which would seem more likely for a city like Lexington. (There wasn't a Lexington connection to that production, was there?)

The only bona fide premieres I'm aware of for "Superman II" were the ones in Washington, DC (Uptown, May 31, 1981--Steve G, did you work that one?), New York City (National, June 1) and Los Angeles (Goldwyn, June 2).
 
Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 04-04-2007, 05:30 AM:
 
Negative on the Superman II premier. I was with K-B theatres in 1981 and the Uptown was a Circle Theatre. I ran Superman II a lot at the K-B Silver (now the AFI/Silver) as well as other K-B theatres around the area. Though I was the chief projectionist at the K-B MacArthur by 1982 and ran a pre-release benefit screening (I don't think it had any sort of "premier" status about it) of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (in 70mm) there, I missed out on the World Premier of Star Trek: The Motion Picture there a couple of years earlier.

My first contact with the Uptown (aside from seeing movies there since the early/mid 1970s) was in the fall of 1987 and was chief projectionist there starting in 1988 (The Last Emperor was playing in 70mm). However, as my college years progressed, my status as a full-time projectionist decreased.
 
Posted by Christos Mitsakis (Member # 143) on 04-04-2007, 06:31 AM:
 
quote:
Richard Hamilton:
I was doing work in Greece at a science center...
So it was you "the American" , as I was told, who did the job.
A lot of cash went there, originally anounced as two IMAX auditoriums.
A missed oportunity to meet fellow film-techer [Frown]
Christos.
 
Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 04-04-2007, 08:32 AM:
 
Christos, Did they say good or bad things about me???? I did the install and made another trip, but later a tech from Ballantyne made a trip there. His name is also Ric. If they said good, then it was me [Big Grin]

quote: Christos Mitsakis
A lot of cash went there
That is why the Demo was so important for them. They wanted it perfect because they needed more money. I guess the minister of Travel was the one they needed to impress to get the money. When I left, the entire project was still a few months from completion.

Rick
 
Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 04-04-2007, 08:45 AM:
 
Michael: I was the studio/Dolby guy for both Supermans at the Uptown. Louis
 
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 04-04-2007, 09:11 AM:
 
quote:
I was responsible for making sure the projection system was in inmaculate order for their arrival.
If your the operator on duty when a special screening like what you said happened. Then it was your job to make sure the booth was returned to the way it was before the studio made changes to your equipment. We never had a problem with an operator asking us to do that. Remember the studio is only renting the theatre for the day.
 
Posted by Christos Mitsakis (Member # 143) on 04-04-2007, 02:31 PM:
 
Ric, its more than a year when I asked the tech who services the Thessaloniki area about the installation at the science & technology center. He complained only about the projector "..of being old" [Confused] and mentioned "an American" installer, probably you.
Now I have enough curiosity to ask him for more info.
Having attended the original anouncement for the construction of the center, almost 10 years ago, I had the impression that it was going to be if not two (the original anouncement)at least one IMAX 70/15 screen, with imax projector instead of the 70/8 Megasystems current installation. Now you can shed some light about the quality of the projector. Since I haven't been there and not having seen the equipment I can't belive in rumors. The place is open now, and from what I hear people are impressed. You also installed the first dts XD-10 in Greece there.
Aside the work, I hope you had time to visit local taverns and restaurants, Thessaloniki is famous for its traditional delicatessen. Next time my treat [beer]
Christos.
 
Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 04-04-2007, 03:34 PM:
 
Hey Brad,

How did that dailies arrangement work? Was the projector set up for reel-to-reel? (Can't imagine trying to run off platters for that.) Did they bring in a dubber?
 
Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 04-05-2007, 09:52 AM:
 
Christos, the problem with the equipment "being old" was the lamphouse. On my second trip there, they showed me where all the paint was peeling off inside the lamphouse. It was actually a bad powdercoating from the factory (Strong). I think a replacement lamphouse was sent, and that was when the other rick went(I think I was in China at the time).

When I work in Thessaloniki, I stay in Perea, a great little town on the waterfront. Yes, I frequented many restaurants and taverns during my stays there. Great food and beautiful sights to see.

Hopefully I'll be back. I'm planning a trip to China and now I'm thinking service trips,..... Europe.....Egypt....China. It all makes sense in my mind. I'll take you up on that beer!!! [beer]

Rick
 
Posted by Christos Mitsakis (Member # 143) on 04-05-2007, 12:36 PM:
 
[thumbsup] [beer]
 
Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-05-2007, 02:44 PM:
 
Nope, I actually ran off of the platter! I wanted to just bring in some reel arms, but they insisted that it was no problem to wait between each reel. I just did the "thread behind the tailout" routine anyway and had the next reel up almost instantly. In every case I was ready before they were. [Cool]
 
Posted by Christopher Seo (Member # 7) on 04-05-2007, 04:47 PM:
 
Hmm, Brad, must've been a more relaxed atmosphere there. From what I've heard, "waiting" is not one of Michael Bay's stronger points. Luckily I never found out for myself. [Wink]
 
Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-12-2007, 07:59 AM:
 
In case anyone cares, we opened "Brooklyn Rules" last night to two almost-sold-out houses. Compared to some of the other screenings that have been discussed in this thread, this was a fairly low-budget affair (no Dolby techs, no backup print), but went well nonetheless. It was encouraging to see an audience full of people who dressed up for a show in a single-screen house. This gives me hope for the future of the exhibition business. Everyone involved with this film (from the director on down) has been truly great to work with.

The film is good, too, and I recommend checking it out; it opens in NY, LA, and Boston on 5/18 and may expand further after that.
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-12-2007, 09:31 AM:
 
Good job, Scott!
quote:
Tim...Was it a premiere, or a preview screening? I ask because Warner Bros. did a select-city preview of the movie one week before it opened (June 12, 1981)
Michael, sorry I just came back to this thread and noticed your question, so I did some checking. I'm sorry, it was Superman III (the one with Richard Pryor). It was billed as a world premiere, with NY and LA. Ran it on Thursday, and it opened the nationally the next day.
 
Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 05-12-2007, 11:29 PM:
 
Ah, thanks for the clarification.

And since you've brought it up...what was the significance of Lexington, KY to justify a premiere? Was part of "Superman III" filmed there? I don't remember as I've erased "Superman III" (and "IV") from my memory.
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 05-13-2007, 04:45 PM:
 
They heard I was the projectionist there. [Wink] [Razz]

Actually, it was some kind of benefit the film company got involved with. That's about all I remember. This was an 1,100-seat single-screen showplace that ran 14 different movies a week, and we were always having some kind of special show or event. By the time this picture came along I'd already run a couple of world premieres, so it was almost like another print to me. [Smile]
 
Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 05-13-2007, 06:57 PM:
 
Ran "Doug's First Movie" first public screening they said it was a premiere, screened "The New World" the night after Steve's screening at the Kimball in Wmsbg, attendance was by invite only they called it a "second premiere". On that one the studio person was fanatical on focus, finally each time he called for a tweak, I replied "how's that" and didn't touch the knob, after 3 or 4 he said it was perfect! Done 3 HBO specials, all went well.
 




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