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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Carmike no longer THX, WTF?!
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Andrew D'Vrey
Film Handler
Posts: 92
From: St. Paul, MN USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 03-15-2000 10:58 PM
I'm sure they don't like the pricetag. Nobody I know "likes" the price tag. Personally, I'm not completely convinced THX is that important to the majority of customers these days.THX means the theater's equipment, auditorium, etc are peachy keen. It DOESN'T mean the monkey flipping the switch behind the port-hole window knows what he's doing. And it doesn't mean you will get the experience THX promotes. The only time I every hear people talking about THX anyway is when Star Wars movies come out. We're doing a World Premier this weekend and TAP is coming to check the screens we are running it on. I guess in this situation, their critical minds are a calming effect. Something going wrong or not being perfect during an event of that magnitude would be a catastrophy, IMHO. Maybe it could be reccomended to Carmike to spend the money on Kodak's Screen Check. A brilliant idea on their part. Not a clue on cost tho. ------------------ "And the monkey flips the switch." - Major Don West, "Lost In Space" Andrew D'Vrey IATSE Local 219
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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler
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Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 03-16-2000 07:51 AM
You can bash Lucasfilm all you want, but this is a disturbing development. A few years ago here in Utah, Cinemark was the only chain around which had anything to do with THX. Their theatres were among the rare with good presentations and seemed to be the ONLY theatres which maintained their equipment.Then, about 5 years ago, Cinemark dropped THX and within seconds their theatres turned to crap. A few months later, Carmike came to Utah and eventually they built some THX houses. If they drop it here, then we'll run low on quality again. At least with THX, there's SOME kind of notion that the equipment will be maintained. One of the greatest theatres in Salt Lake City (the big house at Trolley Corners) was great in the 1980s but, after a half-dozen bad shows there in the early 90s, I haven't been back since THE FUGITIVE. They never had THX. (I remember asking a Cinemark manager why they dropped THX 5 years ago and he said something like "Now we have DTS and that's better." I guess managers thought DTS was a cure-all back then. Thing is, they'd already had DTS for 18 months while they still had THX... and THOSE were good presentations. I can't wait to hear some other bone-head explanation from someone who will instantly reveal he doesn't know what he's talking about. Of course, another manager at a different theatre once admitted that the DTS player was at the shop but said "We just turn it up louder and people think it's digital." Unfortunately, he was right, since the average customer's mind has been numbed by too much VHS.) [This message has been edited by Greg Anderson (edited 03-16-2000).]
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John Walsh
Film God
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Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999
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posted 03-16-2000 11:47 AM
I agree that having THX certification is better than nothing, but I don't think it is a guarantee of anything. Basically, nothing beats a person who cares about presentation.I think Gordon is right; theaters are loosing money, and this is a cost they can "save" on right away. I never heard of a requirement to lock the THX cabinets, either. Ours do lock, but the keys are just stuck in the lock itself. Knowing us, we would loose them if they were anywhere else... About 5 years ago, it was $10,000 for the first year of THX; $1,000 per year after. Those amounts could change, depending on how many screens you were doing a one time. We also went for over two years (twice) without any one from THX comming by to re-certify. When they did, it had to be at their convenince. Our tech guy had one day notice to meet THX and spent all day (from 6:00am to 6:00pm; break for dinner while shows were running; then from 11:30pm to 3:00 next morning.)
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