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

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

That's why I tend to see movies in theaters during off-peak times -such as a weeknight. Crowds are usually smaller and significantly more mature. I also tend to avoid movie theaters built inside shopping malls. That cuts down the obnoxious teen crowd factor quite a lot. A growing number of malls are adopting evening curfews for anyone under 18 not with a parent or not working at a job there.

I have kids, so weeknight movies aren't in the cards with homework and sports. I really miss watching comedies in the theater because laughter is contagious, but even that's lost its luster do to poor social behaviors.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Any Speed Racer fans out there?..........as it’s streeting on Sept. 16……….. right after your wallets have recovered from purchasing Kill Bill Vol.1, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Fall (a likely candidate for an Academy Award nomination in the category for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY).

Anyone out there interested about Speed Racer ?
If so, it will offer me an opportunity to give the requisite Sony plug and a couple tidbits about the making of this feature film…………..which should translate into a spectacularly vivid looking piece of Blu-ray eye candy, if indeed WB home media has done it justice.

Well, since it should be at least good for a rental, you’re goin hear more about it from me anyway because……………….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KecAZoW0Uc

P.S.
Plus, it should give me an opportunity to at least indirectly plug Elisha Cuthbert……. I mean, I may be married but, I’m certainly not dead.

[DenonCI]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

P.S.
Plus, it should give me an opportunity to at least indirectly plug Elisha Cuthbert……. I mean, I may be married but, I’m certainly not dead.

You may be if you make her your desktop wallpaper! Wowza!

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

The theatre can be showing a badly burned/scratched print, the projector might not be at its best, the audio could be badly set up. And that is limiting to the A/V presentations, once you add the rest there are many reasons why someone could prefer a home viewing in a nicely setup HT to the real thing.

Like I previously said, more movie-goers should take their business to better quality theaters instead of doing the common thing: driving to the multiplex nearest their home. If they keep voting for crap with their dollars they're just going to get more crap. That's an act of futility.

When people go out to eat at a decent restaurant they pick one based on the kind of food they want and the perceived quality. Driving distance isn't much of a factor in that decision. Most people think all movie theaters are pretty much the same including certain self-proclaimed "film fans" who choose to watch movies only within the confines of their homes.

Originally Posted by Anthony P

Your comments are just as bad and exaggerated as the ones you criticize.

Specifics please.

Originally Posted by Anthony P

(texting won't decline in popularity), tech moves forward not backwards, the issue is that "community" is no longer defined by what is directly in front of you, so forums, IM, texting have become our communities.

People still have to interact with each other in person. Technology certainly is improving. However, the basic manners and social skills of many are regressing backwards. That should be embarrassing.

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Plus, it should give me an opportunity to at least indirectly plug Elisha Cuthbert……. I mean, I may be married but, I’m certainly not dead.

Depends on what kind of "plugging" you have in mind...

(Yeah, I went there)

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

Depends on what kind of "plugging" you have in mind...

(Yeah, I went there)

Lol , I can just foresee my thread now for a page or so, turning into that notorious.....“How do you mount your PS3” thread we had here a while back.

Anyway pardner, I believe you’re referring to a “poke” and “Lor-ee Darlin” .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYzZP...eature=related

I *think* I was being consciously professional with the word “plug” and Elisha…………unless it was some sort of Freudian slip.

[jdc115]

Originally Posted by Bobby Henderson

One attitude I find ironic from certain Blu-ray.com forum members is they'll describe themselves as serious film fans yet also boast about not watching movies in commercial movie theaters at all.

I thought the same at times, but usually when somebody states that they refuse to watch DVDs anymore and only watch BD. I love BD's but still find and discover more movies that I want to watch on DVD then BD so I still watch most in that format. And I am always searching for new things to watch that seldom are recent releases and I have no idea when they may get released on BD.

What I changed was that I no longer re-watch the movies I really enjoy until they come out on BD but I can't give up DVD's just cause there are still so many movies to discover that may take years to make it to BD.

[micks_address]

well it looks like there was some movement on it...

"After much speculation about a fourth film in the 'Spider-Man' series, it is reported that star Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi have signed up for the blockbuster.

Deadline Hollywood Daily reports that Sony Pictures wants the film in cinemas for May 2011.

It adds that there is no deal at present for Kirsten Dunst to return as Mary Jane Watson, but that her character will be featured in the film and the studio would not recast.

AdvertisementAccording to Deadline Hollywood Daily: "The studio is trying to figure out if it can feasibly shoot 'Spider-Man 4' and '...5' at the same time because doing that is so cost effective and 'it wasn't so easy to get everybody back together'."

Principal photography is not scheduled to start until the autumn of 2009.

"

Originally Posted by micks_address

indeed..... Penton - any news on Spiderman 4? Whats the general consensus from Sony on Spiderman 3? I know it was financially a success but the film was a mess.. what are the plans for a next installment? i'm assuming there will be one due to the success of the franchise and its revenue stream for Sony

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Any Speed Racer fans out there?..........as it’s streeting on Sept. 16……….. right after your wallets have recovered from purchasing Kill Bill Vol.1, Kill Bill Vol. 2 and The Fall (a likely candidate for an Academy Award nomination in the category for BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY).

Anyone out there interested about Speed Racer ?
If so, it will offer me an opportunity to give the requisite Sony plug and a couple tidbits about the making of this feature film…………..which should translate into a spectacularly vivid looking piece of Blu-ray eye candy, if indeed WB home media has done it justice.

To filmmaking freaks, begin reading here at the very top……..for those solely interested in a Blu-ray wish list title that should be considered true eye candy (and audio nirvana for that matter - given such great songs as “This Years Love” , “Lucky Man” , etc.) just scroll down to the P.S.

In terms of the post production of motion pictures…..those that don’t go through a traditional photochemical process but venture into the digital realm, the clients get one (and only one) digital intermediate which is color graded, etc. to give you the final theatrical product as well as the HD master(s) from which your Blu-rays are produced.

Well, every once in a blue moon, there is an exception to the above rule and a feature film actually gets two D.I.’s
Speed Racer is that exception.

So, you say……”Why two D.I.’s? Seems like a stupid waste of money to me, its not like digital files are going to decompose over time like with film.”
Well, in Speed Racer’s unique case, the Directors desired one D.I. to be used for film out for theatrical venues with film projectors and another D.I. to be mastered to digital cinema color standards.
Regardless of the D.I. produced, the ultimate goal, in each case, was to achieve a super- saturated look with the colors while at the same time not blowing out the actors’ skin tones.

In the end, it turned out that the colors of the digital cinema release were very close in appearance to the film version, which is a feather in the cap to all those involved in the project.

This is a good clip about VFX aspects of Speed Racer (which doesn’t delve into the digital intermediate stuff I described above)…….
http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/05/05/...-is-popti.html

Then, a little background on the photo-anime aspect of the feature film…
http://tv.boingboing.net/2008/05/09/...s-photoan.html

In regards to the requisite Sony plug, all motion stuff was shot with six Sony F23 cameras……with the exception of a minimal amount of footage obtained by a couple other companies’ high-speed cams used to capture some over-cranked footage at 1000 fps. These were some of the very first F23’s off the production line and the camera model itself had never been utilized on any film, commercials, TV, etc. project whatsoever.

It was the first deployment out of the gate for the F23 (RedOne [perpetually Beta] fans listening?).

For the photogs out there, the digital panoramic still pics were captured primarily with the Canon 5D and its L lenses, and primes.

P.S.
And speaking of the leading actor, Emile Hirsch and previous movies he’s starred in, I suspect that many folks might enjoy seeing this movie in a Blu-ray edition sometime in the future…..given the attributes of his co-star.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7wZS9MOHKw
^
Catch it while you can as YouTube is undergoing some scheduled maintenance in about 20 min.

[SBrooks1]

I'll take Into The Wild Blu over any movie with Elisha Cuthbert

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by SBrooks1

I'll take Into The Wild Blu over any movie with Elisha Cuthbert

Keep in mind that The Girl Next Door soundtrack also contains the song “Lucky Man”, which apparently U2’s Bono recognized as one of six songs that he wished he had written from the last 20 years of music ! !

One of the things that makes a fine motion picture is the sound…..along with the visuals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neCxur27UCk

I would purchase this on Blu-ray just to hear songs like that ^ in HD audio.

[Anthony P]

Like I previously said, more movie-goers should take their business to better quality theaters instead of doing the common thing: driving to the multiplex nearest their home. If they keep voting for crap with their dollars they're just going to get more crap. That's an act of futility.

When people go out to eat at a decent restaurant they pick one based on the kind of food they want and the perceived quality. Driving distance isn't much of a factor in that decision. Most people think all movie theaters are pretty much the same including certain self-proclaimed "film fans" who choose to watch movies only within the confines of their homes.

this makes no sense what so ever. There are restaurants all over the place and personally (even though I think in this respect it is beyond the norm here) I can drive <20 minutes and get top food of almost any nation. If I drive 20 minutes I have the choice of several theatres but none of them would I consider premiere theatres (I have not tried the newest one that has just been built near my house, but then again it is a mutiplex in a shopping district). Can you tell me if there is a theatre that is properly set up only shows high quality prints, does not allow teens and no talking? And how far would I need to travel to get there?

I am guessing that you are lucky and have an excellent theatre near your place (either that or you own a theatre) but there are people (even in the US) where the nearest one might be over a ½ hour away and maybe even over an hour and who knows how far away a good one is actually situated.

Specifics please.

I thought I was specific enough but if you want it spelt out. Just because in theory film has higher resolution and can give a better image then BD does not mean that the person has access to a theatre that will actually have a better presentation then what he can get at home in properly set-up HT (which let’s face it becomes his responsibility to make sure his set-up is acceptable). For the vast majority of people a properly set up HT should give them a better viewing experience then what they have access to in any theatre that is reasonably close. Now I am not talking people watching 32” 720p sets from 15 feet away abut real HTs like 12’ screens 1080p projectors seated 10’ away.

People still have to interact with each other in person. Technology certainly is improving. However, the basic manners and social skills of many are regressing backwards. That should be embarrassing.

I full agree, I was not defending it, just pointing out that if you think it is temporary or a fad then you are deeply mistaken and it is an actual direction and you should get used and adapt to it.

[Uxi]

Premium theaters are much nicer, but it isn't as easy to find them. I know where a couple are, though, in the so cal area. You pick your seats, they have waitresses come to you for your orders, etc. All of the costs are much more expensive, but it's largely worth it. Figure about 20 each, the concessions even more overpriced, and tipping is expected...

Yeah, I'll wait a couple months and get the BD on everything but MUST SEE IMMEDIATELY type pics (Dark Knight has been the only one in about a year).

[Bobby Henderson]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

this makes no sense what so ever. There are restaurants all over the place and personally (even though I think in this respect it is beyond the norm here) I can drive <20 minutes and get top food of almost any nation.

That level of variety is different in cities not as huge and cosmopolitan as Montreal.

However, even with common chain restaurants like Red Lobster or The Olive Garden there is a great deal of emphasis put into the "dining experience." It's usually a bit expensive to eat out at a restaurant that doesn't serve fast food. Someone willing to put forth the effort could make just as good a meal at home. So the eating out experience (dining atmosphere, customer service, etc.) becomes a very important part of the product.

Many theater multiplex sites do not operate on that sort of philosophy. They'll put some money into the decor of the building, but most don't pay enough attention to presentation quality. And the customers seem to be herded in and out like cattle moving through a feed lot.

If a giant-sized city like Montreal doesn't have decent commercial movie theaters, then that sounds like a big opportunity for a competing movie theater company willing to do the job right.

Customers also must be willing to complain when theaters aren't run correctly. People who run bad theaters do so under the belief that the customers don't care. In some respects they're right. Almost every time I've witnessed a serious problem like a frame line running through the middle of the picture or the audio badly glitching out I've had to be the one to leave my seat to alert management about it. Everyone else is determined to stay planted in their chairs.

I'm also not afraid to confront bad behavior in a theater auditorium either. Inconsiderate audience members act like turds because they think no one has the balls to call them on it.

Originally Posted by Anthony P

Just because in theory film has higher resolution and can give a better image then BD does not mean that the person has access to a theatre that will actually have a better presentation then what he can get at home in properly set-up HT (which let’s face it becomes his responsibility to make sure his set-up is acceptable).

You're talking about film done wrong versus Blu-ray shown on high end, properly adjusted home theater gear. That is not a fair or even realistic comparison. Few people have truly high end home theater systems. Fewer than that have ones that are properly "tuned." Most people don't even know how to run the pink noise generator on their surround receivers. A lot more work goes into setting up the EQ in a commercial movie theater. For those spare few with great home theaters, their Blu-ray setups will have trouble out-doing film done right.

Thousands of movie theaters are now being equipped for digital cinema. That is helping to clear up problems in a lot of theaters with marginal or even outright bad projection.

[Penton-Man]

Too funny,
Folks, this PM that I received containing a link to an outside forum is just too good not to share with everyone as this poster (ChuckZ) on the AVS forum single-handedly popped the balloon of all forensic screenshot scientists in regards to one of their basic screenshot observations and assumptions.

Essentially, he’s telling the *scientists” that some of dem speckles that they’re seeing and have been admiring as being grain and thusly “true to the Director’s intent” on their blown-up screenshots is nothing more than resolution-decreasing chroma noise (10-bit 4:2:2 > 8 bit 4:2:0 video), for example on the title A Passage to India.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showp...2&postcount=60

On a different note, wait till they also figure out that the algorithms are getting so good now that one can apply a little bit of artificial sharpening to enhance or amplify the grain without producing any identifiable halos to all but the most diligent of diligent forensic screenshot scientists.

I can hear it now.
“Oh noes , the studios’ have tricked us with those pre-processing digital tools! We all haven’t been seeing natural grain, we’ve been seeing digitally enhanced grain in some of our Blu-ray movies!”

[dialog_gvf]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

I can hear it now.
“Oh noes , the studios’ have tricked us with those pre-processing digital tools! We all haven’t been seeing natural grain, we’ve been seeing digitally enhanced grain in some of our Blu-ray movies!”

For every DNR action there is an equal an opposite DGE (digital grain enhancement) reaction?

[Grubert]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

So far, everything is on schedule for your being slimed on Oct. 21. All the important work has been done.

If anything unforeseen arises, then November would be the latest it should street.

HDD just posted this:

No 'Ghostbusters' on Blu in 2008

[ThatArtGuy]

Penton,

The Spider-Man Trilogy came in today, opened by customs of course. I knew it would come today since they ALWAYS deliver the first day after a weekend, with an added day for Labor Day last week. (I *reeeaaally* hate CanadaPost. I miss the USPS.)

One question though, why were they all in HD-DVD cases? :P

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by dialog_gvf

For every DNR action there is an equal an opposite DGE (digital grain enhancement) reaction?

I think you just found yourself a new acronym that no company has yet to trademark..... as DVO Re-grain and DVO Sharpen are all already taken.

Perhaps you should trademark that acronym now, and maybe sometime in the future you can sell it to some company that can’t think of a better way to describe the process that is sometimes used.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Grubert

HDD just posted this:

No 'Ghostbusters' on Blu in 2008

I know and I posted this earlier today, as soon as I got to my computer this a.m………
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...=1#post1137370

This is a perfect example of why paidgeek refused to answer or even wanted to listen to queries about release dates as all he could do was reassure everyone that the techie people hadn’t put a ‘stop-ship’ on this or that title…… and ultimately there are a myriad of reasons why movies can get delayed or pushed back.