"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by merrick97

................
Perhaps Jeff or Penton can elaborate.

Oh………..I think I’ll let Jeff handle that one.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Happy New Year to one and all …………..and “AstroBlu” PM me your name and address so I know where to have the book sent.

P.S. -
Don’t expect my AA to send it out until sometime after CES so, please be patient.

“AstroBlu” – for the record, I received your shipping info today………
and b.t.w., when you eventually do receive the book, check out the title page - as it is signed by Joshua Logan.

Enjoy.

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Is it tornado proof? I just watched a marathon of Discovery's Destroyed In Seconds where several twisters touched down in the OK state.

It would depend on the tornado. A weak EF-1 or EF-2 would inflict some serious cosmetic damage to the building, but the theater would still be standing. Serious structural damage would occur with stronger tornadoes. Oklahoma does get more than its fair share of twisters. Thankfully the damage path with the vast majority of tornadoes is pretty narrow. So that makes chances of a direct hit on the theater statistically very slim.

The May 3, 1999 tornado was a monster that is off the charts in the current "Enhanced Fujita" scale -which basically allows weather people to label F5 status on tornadoes that used to be F4 on the old scale.

Few, if any, building structures would survive a direct hit from a true F5 tornado, especially when it had the 300+ mph winds of the May 3 tornado. A true F4 or F5 tornado may leave only the building foundation behind. It's almost 10 years later, but marks left by the May 3 tornado are still visible in areas like the part of I-44 it crossed south of Oklahoma City. The big outlet mall in Stroud, OK destroyed by the storm is still just a big empty site along the side of the turnpike.

[Jeff Kleist]

I have never heard of any piece that Lucas's ex may own coming into any conversation regarding the release of Star Wars

The movies belong to George Lucas, and he makes all the decisions. More than anything, I'd say it's a desire to have huge impact . Just like any other studio, Lucasfilm likes to have the whole "1 million copies sold first week" buzz. I'd say it'll be unlikely that the Blu-ray release will take as long as DVD however. Lucas really thought we'd have HD formats out by 2002-3 at the latest

[Anthony P]

The booth equipment has to be properly maintained. Many theaters do not do this. Blown speakers not replaced is one common problem. Auditoriums with EQ way out of adjustment is another. Many theaters have the volume way down too low to keep a few people happy who want the audio level on par with their tiny TV at home.

Theaters need to control audience behavior. This is probably the worst problem going on with movie theaters today. A few scumbags selfishly disrupt the show through various means we've seen so many times already. It makes a lot of people disgusted and those good customers just end up staying home.

Some very high quality theaters, such as Warren Theaters in Wichita, KS and Moore, OK have a zero tolerance policy with cellphone use -either calls or texting. Do any of that crap and you'll get tossed out with no refund. That is how it should be at ALL movie theaters. If I had my way every theater in the country would have a Faraday cage built into the walls so it would be impossible to get a cellphone signal.

Finally, theaters need to be properly staff. For one, the extra personnel could actually usher the shows and keep disruptive audience members under control (or just eject them). More personnel would also move customers through the ticket and refreshment counter lines much faster.

agree, it is aimed for teens that don't care and who now have other cheaper venues and the cinephile can't enjoy the film.

[Brain Sturgeon]

I vaguely remember something about that issue with Lucas, his ex-wife Marcia, and the Star Wars franchise.

A little googling turned up:

What on Earth does George's ex-wife, Marcia Lucas, have to do with any of this, you ask? Well, let's just say that their divorce way back when didn't just fade away amicably. Lucas was rich and the company was doing well. Lucas and his wife decided to part ways. However, there was that little issue of the money and how to split it up. I won't get into all the details on who got what and why, but suffice it to say that Marcia Lucas stands to get a nice paycheck whenever anything related to the ORIGINAL Star Wars films is released or aired. However, because the Special Editions are changed films and therefore NOT the originals, she doesn't get anything, (or perhaps very little - I'm not 100% sure).

and a email from a supposed "insider":

A 20th anniversary re-release was always in the plans, but Lucas did not want Marcia to benefit from this. California divorce laws give a lot of pull to the wife (even though she left him, he wasn't cheating on her). Her contribution as editor was rightly paid off, but with the special editions, her role was severely diminished and, in fact, more credit was given to George and Rick McCallum.

As for the long years leading up to the prequels, he told me about a statute of limitations of some sort and that after a certain time period, Marcia could no longer benefit from all things Star Wars. That statute ended in the early 1990's.

The release of the novel, "Heir to the Empire" was the beginning of the "new" Star Wars era, i.e., Lucas having total control. The books and games that came out proved that there was an interest in Star Wars and it helped to bankroll the film. According to [Name Withheld], Marcia did not benefit from this.

Make no mistake about it, Lucas directing all three prequels wasn't simply a matter of him "having the time." He wanted ABSOLUTE control, making sure all of the profits went to him, where he could reward those that have done right by him. I have seen him in many interviews and he still comes across as someone who is still bitter about the past. It seems like he lightened up, just a bit, for Episode III.

links:
http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/index...._articleid=760
http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/index...._articleid=458

Again, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true; but I've heard this in several different places now...

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

agree, it is aimed for teens that don't care and who now have other cheaper venues and the cinephile can't enjoy the film.

I don't think theater operators are deliberately marketing their theaters toward teens, although teens and people in their early 20s make up much of the customer base. Unfortunately, the unruly members of those age groups tend to "take over" a lot of theaters due to management not dealing with disruptive behavior. Countless numbers of people over the age of 30 just get disgusted by the situation and merely stay home.

I tend to watch movies at theaters during off-peak times, like at night during the week. That does a lot to cut down on the crowd problems. It's a little easier for me to do that since I don't have any kids. The situation is much more complicated for families. They're usually stuck watching movies on the weekends and being limited to more family friendly fare unless they can find a babysitter.

[FourToedStatue]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I have never heard of any piece that Lucas's ex may own coming into any conversation regarding the release of Star Wars

The movies belong to George Lucas, and he makes all the decisions. More than anything, I'd say it's a desire to have huge impact . Just like any other studio, Lucasfilm likes to have the whole "1 million copies sold first week" buzz. I'd say it'll be unlikely that the Blu-ray release will take as long as DVD however. Lucas really thought we'd have HD formats out by 2002-3 at the latest

Yeah but those films will hit HD eventually. The unaltered versions are not a guarantee.

[MerrickG]

Originally Posted by Brain Sturgeon

I vaguely remember something about that issue with Lucas, his ex-wife Marcia, and the Star Wars franchise.

A little googling turned up:



and a email from a supposed "insider":



links:
http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/index...._articleid=760
http://www.starwarz.com/tbone/index...._articleid=458

Again, just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it's true; but I've heard this in several different places now...

Yes, good ole Tbone.

[Brain Sturgeon]

Almost forgot the date...

Good times...

[Anthony P]

I don't think theater operators are deliberately marketing their theaters toward teens, although teens and people in their early 20s make up much of the customer base. Unfortunately, the unruly members of those age groups tend to "take over" a lot of theaters due to management not dealing with disruptive behavior. Countless numbers of people over the age of 30 just get disgusted by the situation and merely stay home.

I did not say it was deliberate or exclusionary. Like you pointed out traditionally teens are the theatre market. When I was a teen, there was nothing much to do at home (plus my mom was here) so going with friends (especially with girls where the film did not matter) was the place to go. The issue is that they are still in the teens mode but times have changed. It also does not help that people have less of a social conscious and respect of others. So even though they have always aimed at teens, it hurts more now because teens can be at home (more families with two working parents, movies at home, game consoles, having BF/GF at a young age more acceptable) or at other places that did not exist in the past (coffee shops, dark bowling alleys/ pool halls, kiddie clubs….)., The issue is that they are not doing what is needed to bring new people in.

[Jeff Kleist]

Yeah but those films will hit HD eventually. The unaltered versions are not a guarantee.

I would say it is highly, incredibly unlikely

The best we can hope for is probably getting him to put Han shooting first back the way it should be, since he's the only person on earth that that thought that was a good idea. There was the concession on the DVDs, the difference in their shots was reduced to 3 frames

[Penton-Man]

Max, in case you didn’t hear about it (via O2 Blueroom or whoever), when it was announced back in mid-Dec., maybe something nice for you and your girlfriend to attend…..or is it fiancé by now?

http://www.ticketswitch.com/tickets/...l-journey.html

I'm including the link for other forum members that live in the London area who may be interested in going to the show, as I imagine you should be able to get a couple of pretty decent comp tickets.

[micks_address]

I recently picked up the special editions again of 4-6 as my older copies had been damaged.. these new discs include the original theatrical releaes with dolby digital 2.0 and aspect ratio of 2:35:1 but they arent enhanced for widescreen tvs like the special editions.. to be honest i've never watched them so i dont know what the quality is like.. might give them a spin at some stage to see what the differences are again..

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

I would say it is highly, incredibly unlikely

The best we can hope for is probably getting him to put Han shooting first back the way it should be, since he's the only person on earth that that thought that was a good idea. There was the concession on the DVDs, the difference in their shots was reduced to 3 frames

[4K2K]

Originally Posted by Jeff Kleist

The movies belong to George Lucas, and he makes all the decisions.

How did Lucas get to own all the films? He wasn't the producer of the original SW film - he was the director and executive producer. He didn't direct Episodes 5 & 6 but was the executive producer, and he was the director and excutive producer - not the producer of the prequel trilogy. He didn't finance all of them so how did he get to own them all?

Is it the producer who owns the films, the executive producer or the director, all 3, the studio or something else?. Are the studios giving GL the decisions on things like if and when to release because he directed most, but not all of them or does he really own everything?

[AstroBlu]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

“AstroBlu” – for the record, I received your shipping info today………
and b.t.w., when you eventually do receive the book, check out the title page - as it is signed by Joshua Logan.

Enjoy.

Thank you, Penton. I'm sure it'll make a fine read.

[Jeff Kleist]

Lucas personally financed everything but the first one. In fact Empire took everything he got from the first one (plus a little extra)

Fox gave him the copyright over the first movie in exchange for the prequel trilogy distribution rights. Lucas already owned all the merchandising rights from it. Apparently he was seriously considering going through Dreamworks at the time because he's tight with Spielberg

He owns Star Wars lock stock and barrel. Producers don't own the films they produce, whoever put up the money does (production company, studio whatever). The Producer is the head manager (watches the money and approves decisions based on the money on a film while, the director is more of a creative director. Only when the twain meet do you get a good result.

Originally Posted by 4K2K

How did Lucas get to own all the films? He wasn't the producer of the original SW film - he was the director and executive producer. He didn't direct Episodes 5 & 6 but was the executive producer, and he was the director and excutive producer - not the producer of the prequel trilogy. He didn't finance all of them so how did he get to own them all?

Is it the producer who owns the films, the executive producer or the director, all 3, the studio or something else?. Are the studios giving GL the decisions on things like if and when to release because he directed most, but not all of them or does he really own everything?

[HeavyHitter]

I always find it curious when I hear Star Wars fans claim they own the rights to the originals. I see this on other forums quite often. I mean are they really serious? Consumers don't own the films. As a consumer, if I buy Star Wars movie tickets, that's an agreement I make with the theater; by purchasing a ticket I'm entitled to the viewing - nothing more, nothing less! Just as if I purchase the home video version - an agreement I'm accepting to make with the retailer and I have certain rights pertaining to that disc, of course. I can watch it as many times as I like, back it up, use it as a coaster, or burn it. However, none of this, as a consumer, ives me any right to his intellectual work or my demands as to what he has to release. One can say Lucas should release the originals out of the goodness of his heart for the fans. But, to demand you as a consumer have a right to control Lucas' work to force him to release the originals which concept borders on totalitarianism. The implications of consumers having the right to force artists to release things they as consumers want is quite scary and beyond extreme. On a similar note, on another forum, it was mentioned that the goverment should have some role in forcing such as issues...using Dark Knight on BD as an example as some were complaining they had the right to the constant 35MM aspect ratio on BD as the DVD does.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by AstroBlu

Thank you, Penton. I'm sure it'll make a fine read.

My AA says that she will try to get it out to you before I leave for CES.

[Penton-Man]

Attention RAH……………
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...a-blu-ray.html
Torsten Kaiser,
Stacey Spears,
and other Blu-ray.com membership……..

I was PM’ed this link for your reading pleasure……………
http://www.studiodaily.com/main/topstory/10332.html

And RAH, next time you speak with Gordon Willis, please mention to him that he is Wally Pfister’s (The Dark Knight) hero.