Ztraveler's Log

Somethin’ to say?

That’s the real question here isn’t it? The need to say something, the drive to express, the impetuous to creativity of any form: it all derives from the burning desire to—bluh!—get it out there. And that’s what has kept me from finally risking that first step into this blog.

I’ve refrained from speaking for so long, breaking that habit has become the biggest challenge to any creative endeavor my thoughts wished to birth. Here’s a window into my upbringing: I grew up in east Tennessee, son to a pair of Air Force officers freshly returned from Alaska to settle and raise their brood. My folks did alright by me; hell, they’re still together after 32 years! I believe though that repeated comments like “if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all” (my pops) and “silence is golden” (my K-5 principal) enforced a self-censorship that has continued unabated since those early school days.

But here in lies the fallacy of those statements. Only saying nice things maintains the status quo. New ideas derive from those with the balls to speak, communicate, create. Sitting back and refraining—nay, restraining!—expression allows the occurrence of untold atrocities and the withholding of untold joys. Silence is a tarnished gold: it represses the refining fire that mortal endeavors require. These posts are the breaking of my silence.

Dear reader and commenter: my posts this year are the pains of creative impetuous with which I’ve labored to birth for so long. I pledge to post something once a week, or four times a moon cycle, for the rest of this year. I know I have something to say; please receive my gift.

Commenting on fake IMAX

Aziz, I’ve worked for Regal Cinemas—in city that holds their cooperate headquarters—and personally detest the tread toward surcharging for “experiences”. These giant cooperations of Regal and AMC are all about optimizing the processes surrounding watching a movie to squeeze every drop of profit they can from the huddled masses that thrill to cinematic tales. While there’s so many rants available here, I like that you have focused your discussion on one issue: the surcharges placed on fake experiences.

Our viewing of movies these days is already muddled with so many distractions by these corporate chains. I often ask myself “what movie did I pay to see?” by the time the last trailer unrolls. After enduring 20 minutes of “Preshow” extended ads, two minutes for National CineMedia’s trailers, 4-6 MPAA approved trailers, I’m often exhausted! It’s to the point that patrons can nearly count on being 5-10 minutes late, fumbling through the aisles, crashing down in a nosy heap and still not miss the roll of the credits. Now, after peddling the preshow time to any number of hungry media outlets desperate for audiences, Regal and AMC expect those of us who love movies to dump $5 extra bucks on top of the exorbitant ten dollars we normally dish to endure a fake-ass IMAX? We have every right to demand a higher standard.

I’m one of those people that adores going to the movies. I love the process of finding a time, organizing groups of friends, and arriving 2-3 hours early for midnight shows (which doesn’t mean as much in NYC as it did in Knoxville, TN). I still haven’t invested in home theater systems or Blu-Ray because I hold theatre going to be wholly different, something amazing, quasi-spiritual. And even after working behind the scenes, learning to thread the polyester strand through the intermittent sprocket, and seeing the cold-business behind distribution, I stand behind watching movies multiple times in the darken auditoriums for one reason: immersion. And once the first frame of Abrams’s Star Trek came on screen, you wanted nothing more than to be immersed, to be baptized in this new vision for the initial mission of the starship Enterprise. You wanted this bad enough to pay $5 extra. And what you got instead was disappointment.

IMAX format of years past has a great potential to immerse. That’s one reason why documentary filmmakers were one of the first adapters of this medium. The presentation used to be stunning! I recall the advertisements of screens 7 stories high, with 6 channels of discrete sound. Sadly, those innocent days are in danger with practices such as “The IMAX Experience.” I say the disappointment of a slightly larger yet not 7 story screen is enough to distract your full immersion.

I caught the midnight show of Watchmen on the smaller IMAX screen at the AMC Empire 25 off 42nd St/Times Square. I thought to myself where’s the subwoofer? Shouldn’t that boom be louder? And even if the screen is a bit larger, shouldn’t the rows be steeper? For the first time in these smaller IMAX screens, our $5 bought us distraction not immersion. It’s high time we call these dubious business practices out and expect what the adverts claim to provide: a true IMAX experience. And with the power of tribes like AICN and social networking outlets like Twitter and Facebook, we’ll find those who are outraged by these changes and hold AMC and Regal accountable. Best of luck in the word wars to come!

WARNING: AMC and Regal theaters are running FAKE IMAX’s and charging $5 extra for a slightly bigger screen.

This really is a creepy occurrence in the constant push of distribution channels to squeeze every drop of profit out of national past-times.

azizisbored:

I went with a friend of mine to see Star Trek: The IMAX Experience at the AMC Theatre in Burbank today. I drove out of my way to see the film on the large IMAX screen and paid an extra $5 for the ticket, which felt worth it at the time.

HOWEVER, we get in the theatre and its just a slightly bigger than normal screen and NOT the usual standard huge 72 ft IMAX screen. I was very upset and apparently this problem is happening all over at Regal and AMC theatres. Here’s a graphic representation of what’s happening at these “FAKE IMAX” screens:



If you don’t want the whole long story, I did some research online and found this article that explains it. Basically IMAX is whoring out their brand name and trying to trick people. These new “IMAX” theatres are really just nice digital screens with good sound, but they ARE NOT IMAX, in that they don’t have the huge 72 ft gigantic screen which people would expect. However, they still charge $5 more for tickets as they would for the regular IMAX.

REGAL, AMC, AND IMAX - YOU ARE LIARS!

Boycott them. Fuck them for taking advantage of people and charging them $5 extra. If you’re in LA, go to the Arclight from now on, and fuck the IMAX screens (fake and real).

Some people at Regal and AMC both wanted to call these screens IMAX Digital so as to differentiate it somehow from the giant IMAX screens people are used to associating with the name IMAX. Apparently IMAX doesn’t see anything wrong with duping customers like this and insisted on simply keeping it as IMAX. Well, I have a better term how about - “BULLSHIT IMAX.” Cause that’s what it is.

According to this piece, IMAX CEO, Richard Gelfond said the company only puts IMAX digital systems into multiplex auditoriums that meet certain criteria. He jokingly said, “It’s a very scientific test. It’s called the ‘wow’ factor. So if you don’t go in and go ‘wow,’ we won’t do it.” HAHAHA! REALLY FUNNY RICHARD!!!! What happens if I go in the theatre and go “This isn’t a fucking IMAX screen, I just got ripped off for $5!!” Do I get my money back?

At the AMC theatre this was my experience at guest services:

Aziz: Yes, I’d like my $5 back. I paid $5 extra for an IMAX screen and that’s not nearly as big as what I have known IMAX to be.
Guest Services: I can’t sir. Its IMAX quality picture and sound.
Aziz: But the screen isn’t big, that’s the whole reason I pay $5 more for IMAX.
Guest Services: Well sir, you watched the whole movie, you could have come out and we could have given you tickets to a different one.
Aziz: Why would I do that? I’d leave Star Trek, the movie I wanted to see and you’d give me a ticket for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past? Oh yeah that’s fair! No, you need to give me the $5 back, its the principle of it. Can I see a manager?

Manager: Sir, we can’t refund the money, you saw the whole film.
Aziz: I don’t want $15, I just want $5 cause AMC lied about IMAX.
Manager: Sir, I can give you popcorn and a drink.
Aziz: I don’t want to go home and drink a nasty soda and eat nasty ass popcorn. I want my $5 back. Its not about the money, its the principle of the matter, ITS NOT IMAX.
Manager: Sorry, I can’t do anything.
Aziz: Yeah, I wouldn’t care either if I worked here, but you know you are in the wrong! You should give me $5!!
Manager: SIR, I CAN GIVE YOU POPCORN AND A SODA.
Aziz: I DON’T LIKE POPCORN AND I DON’T LIKE SODA, I WANT MY $5!!!
Manager: Ok here’s two free passes.

Retweet from @devinlezama

“man: The quality of life hre is so bad…I mean, if U enjoy drinking all nite & having random sex, U’ll like living in NY. —5th Ave”

The sad conclusion I’ve come to as well Devin.