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Author Topic: Dragon not playing in Fargo Steven J Hart Master Film Handler Posts: 282 From: WALES, ND, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 04-05-2010 09:06 PM                        This article is from the 4/2/2010 Fargo Forum. How to Train Your Dragon is not playing in North Dakota's largest city because of lack of 3D screens... If you’re one of the irate parents wondering why the latest 3-D animated film “How to Train Your Dragon” isn’t anywhere to be seen in the Fargo movie theaters, chill out a bit. There’s a good reason why this movie, released last Friday, about Vikings and dragons isn’t playing in a metro area full of people who are descendants of Vikings and alumni of a college with a dragon mascot. “Dragon” isn’t screening here because the film’s studio is playing hardball with movie theaters. The studio, Paramount Pictures, has told theaters that if they don’t plan on playing the “Dragon” in 3-D, they won’t be receiving any 2-D prints of the kid-friendly flick. It’s an unprecedented move, and one that underscores the changing landscape of movie theaters trying to keep up with the changing technology of film. Currently, only 3,500, or less than 10 percent, of the movie screens in the United States and Canada are set up for 3-D. Since it costs more for the studios to make 3-D films, they’re fighting with each other to land their movies on 3-D screens that can charge an extra $2 or $3 for tickets that help recoup production expenses. And with three high-profile 3-D films released at the same time, studios are getting aggressive in the approaches to secure screens. Because Century 10 has been playing “Alice in Wonderland” on the 3-D screen through last night and starts “Clash of the Titans” in 3-D today, Paramount’s hardliner stance has left us without a copy of “Dragon.” The situation hurts exhibitors around the nation. Because of the popularity of the medium, theaters are scrambling to get more 3-D technology fit into their auditoriums. But the demand has outpaced production of everything from 3-D-ready screens to 3-D glasses, leaving many multiplexes with only one screen set up for 3-D movies, as it is in Fargo. Solarski says that it takes 12 weeks to get a 3-D screen once you’ve placed the order. Then there’s the cost, about $100,000 for a screen, which means he probably isn’t ordering four of five of them any time soon. But West Acres 14, which is managed by the same company as Century 10, does have a 3-D screen on the way. Solarski says it should be ready by next Friday. And when that happens, Solarski says “How to Train Your Dragon” will play in Fargo. Even if that sates the ire of all those parents with young “Dragon” fans, country music fans could be the next group to be upset. The late arrival of “Dragon” will likely mean the concert film “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3-D” won’t be in Fargo when it’s released on April 21. Of course, this means movie fans need to pray the second 3-D screen comes to town before the summer blockbuster season. Because if Paramount pulls this ploy with the new “Shrek” film, families are going to be really torqued off. Fargo Forum article  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-05-2010 10:54 PM                        This writer should have talked to a real theatre manager before submitting this article. If that new 3-D theatre plays Dragon for 2 weeks, then brings in Kenny Chesney, there's no way "Shrek" will have trouble getting 3-D screens; the Kenny Chesney concert film will be well out of the way by the time it comes out. Jeez I hate newspaper writers who push the "send" button before a story is properly finished.  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 04-08-2010 03:34 PM                     True Mike, but the bigger issue is that the studios are now trying to FORCE theatres to install, ON THE THEATRE'S DIME, some very expensive equipment to play their shit products. How would you feel if a studio pulled that stunt on you? I would be screaming violation of anti-trust laws and perhaps obstruction of fair trade as well. Or maybe I wouldn't waste time and energy in court and just tell Paramount to stuff their films where the sun don't shine.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2010 05:32 PM                        I don't see it as any different from what the studios have been doing for years: They have a movie that's worth one or two weeks, but require you to play it for three or four weeks or more. We've been dealing with that crap for years...we've had to skip a lot of great movies because they wouldn't let us have a show for ONE week when we needed it. They'd rather let film sit in the warehouses, I guess.  |  IP: Logged Steven J Hart Master Film Handler Posts: 282 From: WALES, ND, USA Registered: Mar 2004 posted 04-08-2010 06:19 PM                        quote: Mike Blakesley We've been dealing with that crap for years...we've had to skip a lot of great movies because they wouldn't let us have a show for ONE week when we needed it. They'd rather let film sit in the warehouses, I guess. AMEN!  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 04-08-2010 09:12 PM                        Can I rant about how the 3D marketing is hurting theatres that don't have 3D? At my theatre it's not as big of a deal because we are rather isolated and about 90 minutes from the nearest 3D install. However, our other theatre is within 30 minutes of two 3D theatres and is doing about 1/3 less business on films that are playing in 3D. I don't know enough about the financing size of the equation, so I'll refrain from comment. But I am irritated that the studios are not producing materials for theatres that can't run 3D. It's basically forcing us to advertise something we don't have and confusing the customers.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 04-08-2010 10:44 PM                        You can get pretty creative with the advertising materials if necessary. We alter the advertising to remove the 3D references. On "How to Train Your Dragon," I put a large sticker over the big "3-D" in the middle, with our play dates printed on it. I used black electrical tape to cover the 3-D info near the bottom (the poster being dark colored helped this to look OK). On trailers, if there is a "3-D" graphic, I'll just splice that out. It's usually necessary to cut a couple of feet of film ahead of the graphic too, because the narrator usually says "in 3-D!" along with the graphic. If all this necessitates cutting out the movie's title, then the trailer probably won't get played.  |  IP: Logged

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