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Author Topic: Down with Kodak, up with Dolby (Theatre)?! Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-17-2014 08:22 PM                        Did it bother anyone or is it just me, that yes, Kodak is no longer what it was and financially it probably was a wise economic thing for them to give up the Kodak Theatre, but it just seemed to me very disrespectful of Dolby, the body wasn't even dead yet and there they are, ripping down the Kodak sign to plastered their Dolby name across the fascade. Nearly every motion picture that had passed through a projector and almost all of the human beings who have seen any or all of the greatest films of the last century have seen it with light passing through strips of film manufactured by Kodak. Give this company a little respect why don't we. Seems like Dolby couldn't wait for the body to get cold. And for a company that is part of the industry and KNOWS what Kodak meant to motion pictures, to not honor Kodak which had such an ignominious end as it did....it's shameful. Dolby should be ashamed. My feeling is, everyone in the industry would totally have respected Dolby if they let the name remain and then everywhere else in their branding they could add underneath, Dolby Laboratories, LTD -- understated and with grace and dignity. Everyone in the industry would respect them for doing the right thing. To me, it was like kicking a fallen hero when he's down and helpless. Go back to England where you came from, you disrespectful whores, and take your ATMOS with you...may you never make a shilling off it.  |  IP: Logged Paul Mayer Oh get out of it Melvin, before it pulls you under! Posts: 3836 From: Albuquerque, NM Registered: Feb 2000 posted 04-17-2014 08:39 PM                        Are you finding out about the name change at Hollywood & Highland just now? The theatre name change was announced about a year ago... Or is there something new about the way the change has been implemented that you're so upset about?  |  IP: Logged Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 04-17-2014 08:53 PM                        No, I was mildly concerned about it when I heard about it, but kept it to myself mostly; then I actually SAW a picture of it and the more I thought about it, the more it pissed me off. Where better to find kindred spirits than here. I just wanted to see if I was the only who felt...I don't know, maybe a sense of loss and a bit sad. Made me wonder what our John Pytlak would think.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-17-2014 10:35 PM                     It reminds me of the naming rights of sports stadiums. It doesn't mean a damned thing. But if Kodak couldn't keep paying whatever fee the landlord wanted for naming rights there's not too many other companies besides Dolby that would be a fitting replacement. Who else besides Dolby could name that theater? Panavision? Arri? quote: Frank Angel Did it bother anyone or is it just me, that yes, Kodak is no longer what it was and financially it probably was a wise economic thing for them to give up the Kodak Theatre, but it just seemed to me very disrespectful of Dolby, the body wasn't even dead yet and there they are, ripping down the Kodak sign to plastered their Dolby name across the fascade. Dolby didn't stop with the facade. They painted the "Dolby Theatre" name on the roof too. Check it out in Google Maps or Google Earth. I don't know if they're going to repaint it using that new font they're using that looks way too much like Verdana.  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-17-2014 10:45 PM                        quote: Frank Angel Go back to England where you came from, you disrespectful whores, and take your ATMOS with you...may you never make a shilling off it. Forgive me if this sounds too much like nit-picking, but Dolby was an American, educated at Stanford and trained in commercial engineering and inventing at Ampex! As for the renaming of the theater, I'd say it encapsulated, shall we say, the ruthless ideal of American capitalism that has made it so successful in some ways, but that's because it tends not to do sentimentality. Dolby saw the sea changes in the market he served coming, starting with digital audio in the music industry in the late '70s and early '80s, and changed with the times. Kodak, on the other hand, invented the digital camera and then immediately fired the guy who did it (if anyone ever writes one of those "100 best" or "100 worst" books you see in Barnes and Noble on the bargain shelf for $6.99 on worst business decisions, this surely has to be worth a chapter!). The plain fact of the matter is that Kodak were paying $75m a year for the naming rights to the Oscars venue (accordng to Wikipedia), and when they could no longer afford that, those rights were up for grabs. I'd guess that there were high profile bits of public infrastructure named after the Edison Company, RCA, Westinghouse, Douglas Aircraft Company, Standard Oil, Pan Am and many other iconic businesses that were either renamed or ceased to exist when those corporations ceased to exist. That doesn't lessen the achivements of these organizations when they were at their peak. As a sidebar, I remember reading in the LA Times around the time of the name change that several hundred road signs in Hollywood and the surrounding highways had to be replaced. I wonder if Dolby picked up the tab for that, or if CalTrans and the cities and counties affected had to?  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 04-17-2014 10:55 PM                     Traffic sign name replacement probably fell on CalTrans. State DOTs install name signs as they see fit, not as businesses pay them to do so. I'm not too big a fan out of how CalTrans designs their highway signs. Bunch of ugly fucking shit, IMHO. Not that Oklahoma is a whole lot better (I could point out certain road sign horrors right here in my town).  |  IP: Logged Victor Liorentas Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 800 From: london ontario canada Registered: May 2009 posted 04-17-2014 11:09 PM                     I preferred it being called the Kodak but I would be horrified if was called Texas Instruments or DLP Theater! I feel horrified when I'm the only one in the room sentimental about film being phased out like the last 5 years. In many circles phased out with extreme prejudice!  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 04-18-2014 01:24 AM                        Look on the bright side - at least it didn't end up being called the YouTube Theater! As for CalTrans signage, a caller on a talk radio show the other day suggested that "we seriously need a big ass earthquake", so that CalTrans would then have no excuse not to fix the potholes. Call me a wimp if you like, but if the potholes, and the decaying and illegible signage, could be seen to without the need for any Sensurround action first, that would be my preferred option!  |  IP: Logged

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