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Trek Returns to IMAX, More Screen Size Debate
As summer comes to an end, one of the biggest releases of the movie season is going back to the largest screens in the business. Paramount Pictures is re-releasing Star Trek at 85 IMAX locations starting tomorrow (September 4).
Trek’s IMAX run in May was cut short after two weeks by Night at the Museum 2, so it’s getting another shot this month before Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs comes to town on September 18. For a list of Trek locations, skim through the list at TrekMovie.com.
However, fans may be hesitant to pick up IMAX tickets after the debate that raged around the time Trek was released. A rant by Aziz Ansari started a backlash against what is being called “Lie-Max” because of the size difference between the characteristic 72 ft. screens and the average-sized digital theaters also being branded as “the IMAX experience.”
Richard Gelfond, the CEO of IMAX, tried to respond but simply angered more consumers by quoting bogus stats and saying, “Look how great we’re doing” as the stock rose to the highest point since August 2000. Then Gelfond claimed only 2% of moviegoers could tell the difference between the two experiences. Ultimately, IMAX stated there were plans to do “something” about the complaints.
Fast forward a few months and nothing has been done to brand the digital theaters in an honest way. The company is basically ignoring “upset clients” and hoping they go away.
Gelfond is busy touching himself to the stock ticker so Brian Bonnick, IMAX’s senior executive vice president of technology, is fielding questions this month from Popular Mechanics.
Here’s what Bonnick said about the difference: “It turns out that in our large theaters, the field of view in the front row seat happens to be the same as in our [smaller] digital theaters, more or less.” He’s referring to the patent IMAX holds that allows them to remove the first four rows of seats and bring the screen closer to the audience, thus making the experience more immersive. Bonnick continues by providing numbers that admittedly are reassuring, but still don’t compare to the gigantic screens IMAX made a name with.
The seats in the Bob Bullock Museum here in Austin are already uncomfortably close to the 72 ft. screen. I can’t imagine how much closer they’re pushing the seats to make the experience comparable. No one wants to watch a movie with their knees touching the screen. Of course, that’s an exaggeration. Would it be better if I used “more or less” at the end of the sentence?
Again, it comes back to branding. IMAX is a savvy, successful company, that much is clear. However, it should distinguish the difference between massive screens and theaters that have been rearranged to charge a premium. Why not do right by the customers contributing to record-breaking returns?
by Jeff Leins
Source: http://www.newsinfilm.com/?p=23296
