Edward Norton Says Spielberg Is Wrong: Netflix Isn’t Destroying Movies, Theaters Are

[Phillip c. Niethe]

Originally Posted by Arawn

My local theater intentionally lowers the sound. They admitted this to me around three years ago. I'm not sure what is behind this but I have my suspicions.

I actually tried to get them to preemptively raise it before my movie even started but they were like "if there's a problem (when the movie's playing) let us know". Uh, yeah, I'm here trying to nip the problem in the bud right now. I'd rather not get up in the middle of the premiere of a movie and miss what could be a crucial scene.

The theater chain that I frequent has excellent luminosity but I always take ear plugs as every theater I've ever went to gives me a head ache from the volume.

[scarletlion]

When I saw Blade Runner 2049 in the theatre, the audio booms in the Las Vegas segment (and other segments) made the screen shake noticeably.

I agree with Norton, especially with what he says about 'Roma'.

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

Complained to a Cinemark manager a few months ago that the picture was out of focus. He rolled his eyes at me, went into the theater to “verify”, and then at least had the decency to admit I was right. Luckily they fixed the issue or I would’ve been asking for a refund.

That being said I don’t think this is solely the fault of the theaters. It’s most certainly a multi-faceted problem that won’t be solved by addressing one sole aspect.

damn
its differant in the UK - you complain and they are all apologetic and run around fixing any issues

at least in the array of locals I've been too (granted none are over about a decade old aside from the one)

[yeslek]

Originally Posted by Arawn

I have mixed feelings about reserved seating. One thing I love about it is that it's eliminated the whole thing where people would come in and pressure you to move over to some other seat. Now you can say, "Sorry, can't do that, that's someone else's seat."

i LOVE reserved seating
no reason to no book online a few hours ahead and pick the seat you want instead of queueing early in hopes of getting a good seat

Originally Posted by Dubstar

you mean before the posted start time, that I don't care, when you have twenty minutes of trailers AND ads before a movie, you're gonna make me mad. ... and don't get me started on the volume setting for the trailers some theaters amp them up so loud, it's not a pleasant experience or compels me to watch them, I'll just look at my phone and delete my emails instead.

I've learnt to arrive around 20mins after listed start time as 10mins are usually ad's, then 10-15mins trailers (I dont mind trailers)

reserved seating helps this massively

[EvaDK]

Utterly stupid debate.

Norton's critique doesn't counter Spielberg's critique; they are both unhappy about two different and unrelated aspects of film making, distribution and exhibition.

[Damon1281]

Theaters are struggling to make money for sure. One of the last movies I went to had nobody manning the box office or verifying tickets. Just a roped line funneling everyone to the concession counter. Nobody checks the screens, 3D movies start in 2d as often as not as well as numerous focus problems. Theater hoppers populate the first two rows that nobody reserves and use their phones throughout the movie with no consequence. I have been called more disruptive by complaining about that last one. Right, I'm the @sshole. With the low quality of recent films, A-list is almost not a bargain anymore. So is it just dim bulbs?

[s2mikey]

I think the fact that you can get an incredibly good presentation at home also damages the theater part of it. I just dont have the desire to screw around going to the theater much anymore. There are too many potential issues to deal with that arent worth it. Yeah, screen is bigger but the PQ is lower quality. The sound can be good but also hit and miss. Watching with others & *experiencing* it with them is somewhat oversold IMO. Thats not a big positive for me.

Times change. I like being in my living room doing flicks. Its just better. Now, if they had local theaters that catered to movie enthusiasts then Id be more inclined to go more often. Like - no kids, limited food/munching, top-tier PQ and AQ, Limited trailers/ads, etc, etc. Id pay MORE for that but nothing like thst exists around me.

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by yeslek

i LOVE reserved seating
no reason to no book online a few hours ahead and pick the seat you want instead of queueing early in hopes of getting a good seat

I do like that you can show up fashionably on time instead of having to be early.

[MifuneFan]

AMC seem to care mostly about their premium theaters, and are continually adding more of those, while their standard theaters that make up the majority of screens are in all sorts of disrepair.

At the Times Square theater for instance there are 25 screens, and 3 of those are for laser IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and AMC Prime, but the other 22 are not very good at all. They have broken down seating, bad sound in some, etc..Same situation with most other theaters here too

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

Saw Abominable a few weeks back, whole damn thing was out of focus. They can rip up the seats to include cushy recliners in each theater, but can't keep the damn picture in focus?!

Covenant was somewhat out of focus. The thing is, closeup shots that were centered on a specific character seemed to look OK, so I wasn't sure.

[Monterey Jack]

Originally Posted by yeslek

i LOVE reserved seating
no reason to no book online a few hours ahead and pick the seat you want instead of queueing early in hopes of getting a good seat

This is one reason I love attending the earliest matinee possible...there's virtually zero chance of a sell-out crowd, so you'll always get a good seat.

[R3P0]

My local theater Emagine is spectacular

http://www.emagine-entertainment.com/

Think they are local to the Midwest only but they beat out AMC and MJR, always well stocked bit overpriced on concessions but what theater isnt. Staff is always courteous and willing to help.

[Ulisez]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

AMC seem to care mostly about their premium theaters, and are continually adding more of those, while their standard theaters that make up the majority of screens are in all sorts of disrepair.

At the Times Square theater for instance there are 25 screens, and 3 of those are for laser IMAX, Dolby Cinema, and AMC Prime, but the other 22 are not very good at all. They have broken down seating, bad sound in some, etc..Same situation with most other theaters here too

I'd add their dine in theaters with their plushy seats. they always check up on those while the others auditoriums you're right. Yikes...crappy chairs, dirty screens etc.

[wallendo]

I think much of this is a problem with Hollywood's current business model. The studio gets most of the box office. As a result, the theater's emphasis is on selling concessions, beer, wine, and food - not presenting a movie. For example, if someone buys a ticket, buys popcorn and a drink, and then leaves and requests a refund, the theater still makes a profit off the concessions.

I suspect that Ed Norton's real complaint is that the theater's acceptance of mediocrity prevents the theatrical experience from being superior to that of the home experience. The theatrical experience for movies should be better than that of all but the most expensive home theaters. Unfortunately, what many of us get at the theater is of lower quality than even a modest home experience from Netflix.

When movie fans feel like their experience will be just as good at home, they are more likely to just wait for films to come out on digital or disc.

[Geoff D]

Hmmm. Savaging the theatre chains - though poor presentations aren't a new phenom, Mr Norton - and championing Netflix as the true heroes behind the theatrical experience seems like he's conflating several issues here. He's bigging up what they did for Roma as if it was some sort of hugely magnanimous gesture on their behalf when they just wanted to put it in theatres for a couple of weeks as a token gesture! Alfonso Cuaron had to push them hard to give it as wide a release as it got, if they had their way then theatres wouldn't need to exist AT ALL so this really is baffling. Same with Scorsese ripping on Marvel movies in the wake of The Irishman, I mean how very dare they bring people back to the cinemas in droves DESPITE how poor the presentations can be, when the studio who he's just made this for would like nothing better than to shutter all cinemas for good.

Not saying that things can't be done to improve the theatrical experience as many chains don't remove the 3D filters from their projektors which is why they're not at the proper 14 foot lamberts for 2D, as well as dirty screens, the management dimming the brightness in general to extend lamp life etc. So by all means have a go at the megaplex age, particularly when it comes to how your own work is represented, but referencing Netflix is just bizarre for if the ultimate aim is to not put things in cinemas at all then what difference does it make? And if you wanna see how badly mangled your film can get then cinemas don't have anything on the average joe/jane's TV that is set to Vivid Mode with all the motion interpolation and sharpening gadgets turned on

[Talal86]

At the end of the day, nobody cares, if the movies are good, people will show up, and let's be real, the standouts are getting fewer and fewer

movies themselves are the problem

[Josh5890]

In the past two months I have been to films with subtitles at Marcus Theaters and AMC. Both theaters have had aspect ratios messed up to where the subtitles on the bottom were cut off by 50%. I've also noticed it at other theaters where the opening and closing credits are cut off at the top or bottom because the picture is zoomed in.

There is definitely truth to what he is saying.

[notops]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

Isn't it annoying how they never seem to include either single people or polyamorous people? What is this obsession with couples?

Encouraging couples to attend makes financial sense. Two tickets instead of one and as someone who worked concessions at a theater in his youth, I can assure you a couple is far more likely to spend money on food than someone attending alone.

Although imagine how much more they could make encouraging polyamorous people. If you like the movie, you can take each lover to see it over and over again

[PS-RagE]

We went years and years without going to the theater. You could hear the movie playing next door, the screens had visible tears and the speakers were clearly blown. Only recently have we started going again since two of the six have been repaired and upgraded with premium, reserved seats and soundproofing.

[Josh5890]

Originally Posted by notops

Encouraging couples to attend makes financial sense. Two tickets instead of one and as someone who worked concessions at a theater in his youth, I can assure you a couple is far more likely to spend money on food than someone attending alone.

Although imagine how much more they could make encouraging polyamorous people. If you like the movie, you can take each lover to see it over and over again

As someone who goes both alone and with others to the theater, you are absolutely correct.