Love Letterboxd. It's really helping me focus my movie consumption and fill in so many blind spots.
The one thing that could convince me to go back to theaters (in the After Times) is if there was some way for theaters to facilitate movie fans to interact before or after the movie and discuss it. Maybe have a "party" room set up with a bunch of standing tables so people can congregate. If you make this a regular feature, then a classic movie screening isn't just about the movie, but getting together with other movie aficionados and geeking out.
Since reserved seating, I just go to theater as close to the start of the film itself (skipping the 15 or 20 minutes of trailers) and then leave right after. The only remaining lure of a theater is that the screen is big. So that really just makes it to where only the BIG movies feel worth making the effort. If I'm just going to see a non-tentpole movie, seeing it in the comfort of home is overwhelmingly attractive. So give me some social reason to make the effort to go to a theater. Make it special.
I hope Letterboxd works for you! I have found it incredibly helpful as a writing diary (I have been on again/off again writing since I got a "real" job) and I make it a rule that any movie I watch I have to at least say something, even on rewatch. It also, somehow, helps me decide what to watch, where as previously I would get so bogged down in an endless cycle of trying to decide. I use the watchlist, but I also just sometimes go on tangents based on what other people are logging or reviewing. I am a data nerd, so I get too caught up with the stats features, but everybody has their thing! Between Letterboxd, Blank Check, and the Criterion Channel, my love of movies has returned full force and I am so grateful, especially in this year.
So I get theaters needing to change their business model and become more of an "experience" based model. You mentioned Drafthouse being the gold standard here. But then bemoaned the price. I'm wondering how these things will go hand in hand. If theaters become more of "that special place to have a fun movie experience", I can see prices going up. Movie theaters will be like a Broadway, or theme parks. You may go only once or twice a year.
Also, if the crowd is going to be the special thing about theaters, they will need to do something about the bad apples that ruin the experience (talkers, cell phone users, that guy vaping, etc). Or find a way to filter the crowd so that everyone in the auditorium is INTO IT, so its in everyone's best interest for everyone to have fun.
Yes, there is a limit to how much art you can contain. I lament how many times I retain virtually nothing from things I see or read other than the fact that I consumed it. As time goes on, it is absolutely true that there is an inverse relationship to how many things manage to make a dent.
I've got a big shelf full of films that I bought over a decade ago that i've still not gotten around to watching yet. Sometimes i'll watch a film forgetting I already saw it years ago, that usually happens with the more obscure films. I don't really rewatch films as much as I did when I was a kid, nowadays i only do it if I haven't seen the film since I was a kid or if i'm watching a different version of the movie(I.E. directors cut/unrated) then the one I saw in theaters.
Drew! You need to head up to the Berkshires and let Doug Trumbull show you his 120fps 3D MAGI process, in his studio theater. It is the best theatrical format I have ever experienced (and I remember Cinerama!) IMAX now feels lacking, to me, in comparison.
If, and when, you feel safe, travelling, I promise you’ll end up writing another story about MAGI being exactly the kind of thing exhibitors need to create “event” shows that will lure audience back to the magic of the huge dark theater...
Yesterday, I went to a Fathom showing of Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute that played The Met in 2006. The show itself was great, and HD livestreams of these shows and concerts would be the thing that gets me to come back to theaters in the future. Because TBH, I didn’t feel any rush of happiness or nostalgia being back in the theater; to be honest I thought I’d rather have caught the show at home. So if they want to survive, they need to evolve and offer something I can’t get at home.
No sympathy whatsoever for the AMC'S -- THE REGALS -- CINEMARKS -- they had it coming, just a bunch of Dinosaurs surprised the big bang came earlier than expected. Hopefully now they'll get the message, or maybe it's too late? Who knows at this point. I know now that people are sending me texts that they're dropping one or more of their services in favor for HBO Max.
Love Letterboxd. It's really helping me focus my movie consumption and fill in so many blind spots.
The one thing that could convince me to go back to theaters (in the After Times) is if there was some way for theaters to facilitate movie fans to interact before or after the movie and discuss it. Maybe have a "party" room set up with a bunch of standing tables so people can congregate. If you make this a regular feature, then a classic movie screening isn't just about the movie, but getting together with other movie aficionados and geeking out.
Since reserved seating, I just go to theater as close to the start of the film itself (skipping the 15 or 20 minutes of trailers) and then leave right after. The only remaining lure of a theater is that the screen is big. So that really just makes it to where only the BIG movies feel worth making the effort. If I'm just going to see a non-tentpole movie, seeing it in the comfort of home is overwhelmingly attractive. So give me some social reason to make the effort to go to a theater. Make it special.
I hope Letterboxd works for you! I have found it incredibly helpful as a writing diary (I have been on again/off again writing since I got a "real" job) and I make it a rule that any movie I watch I have to at least say something, even on rewatch. It also, somehow, helps me decide what to watch, where as previously I would get so bogged down in an endless cycle of trying to decide. I use the watchlist, but I also just sometimes go on tangents based on what other people are logging or reviewing. I am a data nerd, so I get too caught up with the stats features, but everybody has their thing! Between Letterboxd, Blank Check, and the Criterion Channel, my love of movies has returned full force and I am so grateful, especially in this year.
So I get theaters needing to change their business model and become more of an "experience" based model. You mentioned Drafthouse being the gold standard here. But then bemoaned the price. I'm wondering how these things will go hand in hand. If theaters become more of "that special place to have a fun movie experience", I can see prices going up. Movie theaters will be like a Broadway, or theme parks. You may go only once or twice a year.
Also, if the crowd is going to be the special thing about theaters, they will need to do something about the bad apples that ruin the experience (talkers, cell phone users, that guy vaping, etc). Or find a way to filter the crowd so that everyone in the auditorium is INTO IT, so its in everyone's best interest for everyone to have fun.
Yes, there is a limit to how much art you can contain. I lament how many times I retain virtually nothing from things I see or read other than the fact that I consumed it. As time goes on, it is absolutely true that there is an inverse relationship to how many things manage to make a dent.
I've got a big shelf full of films that I bought over a decade ago that i've still not gotten around to watching yet. Sometimes i'll watch a film forgetting I already saw it years ago, that usually happens with the more obscure films. I don't really rewatch films as much as I did when I was a kid, nowadays i only do it if I haven't seen the film since I was a kid or if i'm watching a different version of the movie(I.E. directors cut/unrated) then the one I saw in theaters.
Five Easy Pieces at 14 or 15 years old? That's actually pretty impressive! I didn't see that movie, which I love, until I was 28.
I noticed you read Ready Player Two. What did you think?
Drew! You need to head up to the Berkshires and let Doug Trumbull show you his 120fps 3D MAGI process, in his studio theater. It is the best theatrical format I have ever experienced (and I remember Cinerama!) IMAX now feels lacking, to me, in comparison.
If, and when, you feel safe, travelling, I promise you’ll end up writing another story about MAGI being exactly the kind of thing exhibitors need to create “event” shows that will lure audience back to the magic of the huge dark theater...
Yesterday, I went to a Fathom showing of Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute that played The Met in 2006. The show itself was great, and HD livestreams of these shows and concerts would be the thing that gets me to come back to theaters in the future. Because TBH, I didn’t feel any rush of happiness or nostalgia being back in the theater; to be honest I thought I’d rather have caught the show at home. So if they want to survive, they need to evolve and offer something I can’t get at home.
No sympathy whatsoever for the AMC'S -- THE REGALS -- CINEMARKS -- they had it coming, just a bunch of Dinosaurs surprised the big bang came earlier than expected. Hopefully now they'll get the message, or maybe it's too late? Who knows at this point. I know now that people are sending me texts that they're dropping one or more of their services in favor for HBO Max.