multiplex Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Inconvenient Measures to Combat 'Indiana Jones' Pirates
Filed under: Action », New Releases », Paramount », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Fandom », Distribution », Exhibition », George Lucas », Steven Spielberg », Trailers and Clips »
The nomadic DVD peddlers in Chinatown and other urban areas seem virtually unstoppable, but that hasn't kept Hollywood studios from launching various attempts to prevent movie piracy. Boing Boing reports on the rumor that at least one theater has been silencing the soundtrack in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull throughout the film in order to mess with potential bootleggers trying to record the thing. If true, it's got to be one of the most brain dead attempts at security since the rise of quart-sized bags. When you really get down to it, most two-bit criminals with camcorders in their laps don''t really care if the quality of the movie they're recording suffers, since the resulting product will already feature lo-fi video, the overlapping sounds of laughter and other audience reactions, and silhouetted cameos from patrons venturing to the concession stands or taking bathroom breaks. With all that, the intermittent exclusion of music doesn't sound like a major concern for the bad guys.
Studio anti-piracy measures are notoriously ill-conceived. Premieres and all-media screenings often force critics and even the filmmakers themselves to undergo intense evaluations before they're allowed to enter the theaters, while films open to the public, where pirates are more likely to show up, don't take any precautions. Granted, multiplexes wouldn't help their business if attending them felt like entering an airport terminal, but that doesn't mean there isn't a better way to prevent the crimes from taking place. Anyone care to offer some ideas?
[Via Movie City News]
Was Jerry Seinfeld Right -- Should We Drop Trash On Theater Floors?
Filed under: Tech Stuff », Exhibition »
One part of the Oscar telecast that made me angry was Jerry Seinfeld's routine about the deal between the moviegoer and the movie theater. He claimed that people have the right to drop their trash on the floor after being ripped off at the concession stand. A lot of other people thought the bit was funny, enough to hope the comedian would one day host the awards, but to people like me, whose career is or was in the theater industry, pushing the idea that cinemas are completely to blame for their own attendance problems just makes matters worse.Of course, the theater industry is at fault a good percentage of the time, at least as far as recognizing their place and duty in the distribution/exhibition process, and according to Techdirt, the industry may finally be waking up to the issues of demand and of the importance of the moviegoing experience. The blog features a great quote for theater owners to remember, originally stated by Marcus Loew: "We sell tickets to theaters, not movies." Some chains and indies have been conscious of the experience issue for awhile now, particularly fun theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse and theaters with special deals like AMC, but the issue of enhancing the movie-going experience has been difficult to address on a wide scale. There is some progress, though -- with the planned broadband and/or satellite distribution of digital movies to theaters, the ability to run more showings of a popular title will be easier and quicker. Theaters will just cancel a less popular movie and run the higher-demand title on its screen instead.
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