Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: "The Spanish Prisoner" What are we supposed to do with this?

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Topic: "The Spanish Prisoner" What are we supposed to do with this?

Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-20-2000 02:31 PM

"The Spanish Prisoner," that small studio movie with Chevy Chase that played in late 97 or early 98 is still at our theatre. That's right, after its two week run the shipping company never recieved authorization to pick it up, so its still sitting in our booth. (Wound emulsion in now that I think of it, I'll have to fix that.)

So, what in the hell are we supposed to do with it? Does ownership defualt to us legally since it was abandoned here basicaly? How does this work?

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 04-20-2000 02:47 PM

The distributor still owns the print. Contact them. Full production credits for any movie are usually listed on the Internet Movie Database (http://www.imdb.com)

Even if you have a print from a distributor that has gone out of business, the copyright may have been taken over by someone else. The copyright owner would be entitled to payment for any public exhibition of the movie.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

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Tyler Skinner
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 115
From: Pa
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-21-2000 01:17 AM

Steve MArtin was in The Spanish PRisoner, not Chevey Chase, blasphemy!

Try calling technicolor inquiring about the print # to make sure you haven't been charged with it.
A coleague of mine once did this and they said it had been recycled so he just kept the print. Sometimes its good to have a crappy print lieing around for trainig buildups and breakdown.

I quite liked the Spanish Prisoner, wouldn't mind having a print of it... :-) I'm allways taking donations...

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-21-2000 06:41 PM

You sure its Technicolor? I thought it was ETS. If we'd been charged for it we would have heard about, boy would we. I order a few rolls of splicing tape without approval and I hear about it.

John, I really don't think the film companies care unless you are making a lot of money from there film. Other items laying around the booth:
Reel from "Devil In a Blue Dress" (I forget which)
Reel Two from "Lake Placid" (it came in place of reel 2 in one of our South Park prints
Reel One and Two of Rushmore (We got replacement reels and the old ones were never picked up.

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Dwayne Caldwell
Master Film Handler

Posts: 323
From: Rockwall, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 04-22-2000 12:58 AM

When I was working at AMC (Not to worry. I was trained at General Cinema) I had a hell of a time trying to get Technicolor to take back their prints. I'd keep calling them while titles like Godzilla, As Good As It Gets, Armageddon, Scream 2, and several other titles were sitting there in my booth. And they were actually still in really good condition. Keep in mind this was before Film Guard became available (I'm very proud of that. It's not easy keeping prints in good condition at an AMC damn it). I guess since we had converted to a dollar house when the AMC thirty plex opened two or three miles away (in order for the megaplex to get their choice of any movie title. It was top priority.) we no longer mattered in the scheme of things. Meanwhile these titles were collecting dust for several months. When I left the dollar house a little under a year later, some of them were STILL there. I heard from a fellow employee several months later (this would be about a year and a half after it should have been picked up by Technicolor) that when the dollar house closed, another AMC (probably the megaplex) was using the entire print of As Good As It Gets as test reels and practice exercises for the kid projectionists. It's pretty safe to say that movie is no longer in mint condition.

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The man with the magic hands.

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Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-22-2000 01:19 PM

If I were a studio/distributor, I think that I'd rather that my old "junk" prints get used for training exercises than my lastest and greatest blockbuster feature on its first weekend...

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Bryan Fournier
Film Handler

Posts: 61
From: Greensboro, NC
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 04-22-2000 08:09 PM

Dustin,

I had the same problem with "The Spanish Prisoner". Call Sony Pictures Classics at 212-833-8847, ask for Steven in Film Shipping. He'll be glad to arrange a pick up. And "yes" they do want their prints back. That's assuming you don't want to use it for training purposes! lol.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-22-2000 10:28 PM

I almost afraid to call them. What if they try to charge us for having the print so long. It would naturaly be my fault, seeing as how I tried to send it back. That's how my manager would see it.

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Robb Johnston
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 147
From: St. Louis Suburbs
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 04-23-2000 03:05 PM

IF I have a reel or a print that sits around for more than a couple of months, I have a never fail way to get it picked up within 2 business days. It is invariably a Technicolor print, so I call their 800 number and inform them that we are about to do some major cleaning, etc. and if it is not picked up that week I will be forced to throw it out. Every time, I get a call back within the hour confirming a pick up the next day.

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Tom Ferreira
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 203
From: Conway, NH, USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 04-23-2000 03:12 PM

But yet, if Airborne attempts to pick up a Technicolor print, and there's no one at the theatre, we still get billed $17.50 for an "attempted pickup". I have never held on to a Technicolor print for more than, say, a week and a half after it closes. Even with ETS, it seems as though our prints are tracked pretty closely. Gene Boyle, who does almost all of New England, does an excellent job.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 04-23-2000 04:36 PM

The problem I've got on those "attempted pickup" charges is if the Airborne guy comes at 11am to pick up prints and the window is between 1-3pm, we still get charged! Sure he'll pick up those prints early but he will never drop off a print early.

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Dustin Mitchell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1865
From: Mondovi, WI, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 04-23-2000 05:58 PM

Our Airborne goy is pretty good about picking up acutally. If we're not ready at the pickup time-usually about 12:45, he'll swing by a little later. They've come back as late as 4 without charging us for a second pickup. True, I think he has to come back our way about that time for other things anyways, but it's still pretty decent of him. The fact we usually give him free admittance doesn't hurt our business relationship either

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George Roher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 99

posted 04-23-2000 09:07 PM

I have a friend who bribes the Airborne Express guy with movie passes and gets his prints in early. He usually has them by 9:00am on Thursday. Apparently the Airborne guy has to come back at the usual drop off time (early evening) and do the paperwork.

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Bryan Fournier
Film Handler

Posts: 61
From: Greensboro, NC
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 04-24-2000 07:24 PM

Dustin,

If I remember correctly the pick up, at our theatre, for "Spanish Prisoner" was about 1 year after the theatrical engagement ended. The people at Sony Pictures Classics were just happy to have their print returned. There was no "late" charge or harsh feelings. Have your manager make the call.

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 04-24-2000 07:46 PM

The guys are right, you shouldn't be charged for it. If for some odd reason they actually are and try to invoice you for it, just make out a "print storage" invoice for them back. In reality, you've just saved them some bucks by storing it at your theater as opposed to the depot.

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