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Author
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Topic: Pain in the Ass Reel
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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler
Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 04-14-2000 10:33 PM
I guess it's been a while since I've broken down a New Line Cinema print. Because I had no idea that they developed a new reel. Yes, I got to fiddle with the MFG reel by Transfilm otherwise known as the New Line Reel, or as at least one other projectionist I work with refers to them as "Powers Reels". (After the Austin Powers sequel which apparently premiered the reel). I had six prints to tear down today, and the fifth one, Price of Glory, was the print whose cans harbored the MFG (New Line) reels of Sunvalley Cailfornia. And I'm sure I'm stating old news now when I say these New Line Reels suck! And I'm not just talking about suck as a Warner Brothers reel that's core has been misaligned sucks here. It's beyond that. This is a whole new level of suckage. This is sucks a big donkey (you get the idea) kind of suck. I'm talking sucks the sweat off a dead man's balls here. I took a good look at the reel, and figured in was the WB scenario where you hurt the hell out of your hands trying to pry the damn reel apart, realign the core with the holes, and smack it back together. As it turns out, the reel is rather easy to take apart. And we all know that's not a good thing. The surprise that was to await me was the problem in realignment. It's impossible! To align the holes of the core with the holes of the plastic reel flanges, your best bet is to get the largest of the core's holes through one of the fasteners when you CAN'T get the largest of the holes through either of the fasteners! You can't win! I guess the designers wanted the reel core to look solid. Solidity to indicate stability when in fact it's stupidity! Needless to say, I backed the print up on two 6,000s and broke the print down at the winding bench. I got the MFG bastards back in the can tail out and put the 6,000s back figuring the irritation was at an end. The sixth print can't be that bad. It was Final Destination. Five reels of sheer idiocy! The MFGs were back for more tormenting. I was just about to bust out the 6000s again when a fellow projectionist who'd dealt with these little f**kers before showed me a trick. There is a small hole on the reel that can be aligned with the holding pin (I'm sorry if I'm giving the wrong terminology here. Blame it on the clouded anger) but looks too small to fit the pin through. I had tried that before with Price of Glory and figured no way. You wedge the pin into the hole part way and then SLAM the reel with your palm to drive the pin through the hole... part way. But at least you don't need the securing clip to stabilize it as that reel is going NO WHERE. Of course, that means it's a bitch to get off when you're done unloading the reel. But maybe that's the designers intent. Bypass the extra step of putting the clip into the breakdown table shaft's hole. (Again I apologize. This time for my terminology sounding a bit too sexual) Slap and go if you will (I'm not doing this on purpose). Well what a bunch of bullshit. MFG must stand for Moron Factory Guild or something. Anyway, as I've said before, I'm sure you all have experienced the madness of this reel already. I had no idea people could design things like this. And I'm thoroughly pissed that they can. I don't know who these bastards at Sunvalley think they are, but they should just stick to tanning themselves. ------------------
The man with the magic hands.
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Michael Barry
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 584
From: Sydney, NSW, Australia
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 04-15-2000 11:31 AM
Actually, Joe - that may be closer to the truth than we think. New Line do make really, really great movies. Of course there's the potboilers, but we all need to pay the rent, so fair enough.Maybe it's just me, but 8 out of 10 American films that I enjoy are from New Line. I've thought about this before, but perhaps Michael DeLuca's idea of what to produce coincide very closely with what I love to see. It's just too much of a coicidence otherwise. I think it was Ben Younger, director of 'Boiler Room' who said that New Line were the 'filmmaker's studio', and it's about time someone recognised this. I was glad to read it (especially from a filmmaker). It could also be that they are one of the few studios that consistently budget films in the $10-$20M range, and this factor could be key: it's a large enough budget to get great production values, but small enough that quality scriptwriting, directing and acting must stand on their own. It's more of a hark back to the pre Star Wars days of American 1970's cinema than anything else, and this could be a large part of it's appeal for me. Of course, with a budget in this range, the need to 'appeal to everybody' is reduced, and you can start to make films that will only appeal to...people like me. I'm glad to see that that's a big enough market for them to keep going. Anyway, enough ranting. If I want to start the 'I love New Line Cinema' fan club, I should do it somewhere else...any takers?
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-16-2000 01:45 AM
I hear Jar Jar's been janging around the set.Be afraid... Actually, I think we'll be pretty safe with the "Lord Of The Rings" films. Peter Jackson is directing and, although some films he has made in his younger days were in bad taste (such as "Bad Taste"), they have always been good. Yes, even "The Frighteners". We'll see.
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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler
Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 04-17-2000 12:01 AM
Speaking of New Line's Lord of the Rings and New Line budgets, did anyone get a chance to view the production trailer for LOTR? Pretty cool. Check it out at:
www.theonering.com or at
www.lordoftherings.com You'll need to have Quick Time 4 to view it though. As for the budget, many of the LOTR fans are concerned about whether or not the $180 million allocated to the new Peter Jackson trilogy is going to be suitable enough to bring Tolkien's visions to their fullest potential. That $180 million is for ALL three films that are being shot back to back in an 18 month period. One of Jackson's reasons for shooting the trilogy in New Zealand is because the value of the U.S. dollar nearly triples, giving the production the equivalent of $350 million. As for any goof ass characters, Jackson and his team are going through pain staking efforts to keep the movies as close to the original as possible. And any characters that are not essential to the storyline will be cut out altogether rather than amalgamated into one or more characters. Gollum will be entirely CGI, and you can rest assured he will not be voiced by the Jar Jar guy. Although, we'll all probably get to build up all three films on the shit reels. ------------------
The man with the magic hands.
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