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Topic: Brokeback Mountain Pulled From Local Theatre

Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 01-07-2006 01:27 AM

On our 11pm news... The film was pulled tonight. The theatre is in a community, just West of Seattle. According to the news report, there had been tickets presold, but the story did not say what they'd be doing about that. Calls to Regal's HQ "were not returned".

The film will be playing in one theatre in our county... in a largely "upscale" area where our only successful art theatre is located.

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Anslem Rayburn
Master Film Handler

Posts: 476
From: Yuma, AZ, USA
Registered: May 2002

posted 01-07-2006 05:48 AM

The only thing to do is go to watch it at the theater it's playing at, and take as many people as possible to watch it with you. Rent a bus, and split the cost. Make sure you call the local press to cover it. Show the local theaters that they lost money on this engagement. The only way to talk to them is to hit them in the wallet.

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Greg Anderson
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 766
From: Ogden Valley, Utah
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 01-07-2006 09:41 AM

Is the implication that the movie was pulled because of the homosexual content? I mean, I could draw conclusions but a little more information would be useful before jumping all over these folks for making a "wrong" decision.

It turns out that Larry Miller's much-talked-about-in-these-forums Megaplex theatre also cancelled their screenings of this show. There's an article about it here... Deseret Morning News Article.

quote:
A film about two gay cowboys was removed Friday from the schedule at the Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons, which is owned by Larry Miller.

quote:
Calls to Miller and a spokesperson were not returned Friday. Cal Gunderson, manager of the Jordan Commons Megaplex, was reached by phone but declined to comment. A check of the theater's online and telephone listings showed that "Brokeback Mountain" had indeed been removed from screening.

The article goes on with positive reaction from the leader of the local, right-wing "Eagle Forum" and several negative reactions from leaders of local homosexual advocacy groups. Again, the implication is that the theatre owner was uncomfortable with the homosexual content but, since nobody's officially saying anything, why do we jump to conclusions so easily? For all I know, the print never arrived. On the other hand, if the theatre owners figured that the movie would be more trouble for them than it was worth, then this is capitalism and the businessmen are free to do business as they please. God bless America. Nobody in Utah is being "denied" the chance to see this movie. It's playing quite well on the other side of the valley.

[ 01-07-2006, 12:08 PM: Message edited by: Greg Anderson ]

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 01-07-2006 10:03 AM

Greg, please see posted rule #4 and correct.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-07-2006 10:20 AM

That's fine by me!

The more movies that get pulled from the commercial theaters, the more people will want ME to play them in MY theater!

Personally, I don't care for the subject matter but that doesn't mean OTHERS won't want to watch it. (Okay, I don't know the whole story on the plot of this movie but I think I know enough to make up my mind. Others should investigate and make up their minds accordingly.)

As far as I am conerned, it's nothing more than a bunch of strips of transparent plastic! I treat each box full of transparent plastic the same as every other box full of transparent plastic that comes to my theater.

I don't care what goes onto the screen except that what DOES go onto the screen is a steady, clean and properly focused image. (Sound assumed.)

If the subject matter of the film in question isn't interesting to me, so what? It's not my job to review the movies. That's why we have Ebert and Siskel (Roper, et. al.) My job is to PLAY them. If I don't like the movie I don't have to watch it. I can just sit in the booth and monitor the machine(s). Every 10 minutes I can come to the port window and make sure the picture is OK. Or, in my case, I can make one of my Work Study students monitor the movie and go do something else. (Returning only occasionally to ensure that all is well then leaving again.)

When this kind of movie rolls around town, there will almost always be some kind of clamor. Some people will like the movie in question. Others will not. Opinions are like ass holes...Everybody's got one and they all stink!

Since we are the only non-commercial theater in town, this kind of publicity can only help us! If there is enough clamor to cause the commercial bookings to be affected there will eventually be a call for it to be played here. That's money in OUR pockets!

And, don't think that because we are located on the campus of a Catholic college that we WON'T play these kinds of movies! We have played movies that are FAR more controvercial than Brokeback Mountain! The only movies that we will "veto" are those with blatently blasphemous or gratuitously violent/sexual content.

We did play the movie Lolita (1997 w/ Jeremy Irons & Dominique Swain) and we hardly heard a peep from anybody about it. There was one movie that we did have to veto, recently, but it wasn't necessarily because of the subject matter but because of another issue that I am not at liberty to discuss in public.

So, like I said, go ahead and cancel the movie! It's only good news for me! [Wink]

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Brad Miller
Administrator

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

posted 01-07-2006 10:56 AM

Agreed with Randy, if we only ran movies we liked, we would only be playing a handful of movies each year! In my case, I could count the titles on one hand. [Wink]

Those theaters pulling the movie are only hurting themselves and helping to boost awareness of the film. End result, there will now be people who wouldn't have paid to go out and see the film that will to see what the controversy is. As such they will be showing the studios that such films are profitable and that they should (and will) make MORE of them. Also the theater dropping the movie will undoubtedly find that the target audience for this film will may very well be angry enough at them that they will never return for any other movie. Some people are just stupid.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 01-07-2006 11:18 AM

That story sounds very incomplete. I mean, were there angry protesters in front of the theater spooking the customers? Did someone phone in a bomb threat? There has to be more to the story than just "they pulled the movie". Especially with a large chain like Regal, where the decision or approval to pull the film would probably come from someone higher up the food chain.

Both Regal and Cinemark opened it here yesterday. Regal was advertising advanced ticket sales for the week prior to opening the film.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 01-07-2006 11:23 AM

As I've been trying to get the movie for my theatre I think there is a good possibility the film was pulled by the distributor. Focus has been doing a slow platform rollout and is planning to go wide at the end of the month to correspond with the expected Academy Award noms.

The theatre may have jumped the gun, or the Focus changed its mind (I've seen that happen many times by many distribs). It is my experience that big corporate chains don't really make decisions based on morality, content or politics. It's all about how much money they are going to make. To restate what Brad said, nothing sells tix like a controversy.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 01-07-2006 11:54 AM

quote: David Stambaugh
That story sounds very incomplete.

Yah, it does. But that's about all that any of the stations had on it... and they all had it.

The manager over here has been in our town for years. He's a good guy, but I'm pretty sure not able to say much.... if anything on camera.

No mention of angry mobs at the theatre. Is there any possibility this could have actually been pulled at the last minute for any non-controversial reason? If so, it would be a new one on me... and why wouldn't anyone be available to comment?

Looking at the online listings, I find only 4 theatres in the Seattle area that have it... I think they're all Landmark or other indie. That would make the release limited enough that putting two prints in our county would be a bit surprising.

(edit): Found this:

Movie Patrons Question Pulling Of Gay-Themed Film (KOMO TV)
January 6, 2006
By Mary Nam
Video : KOMO 4 NEWS

After days of advertising and ticket presales, Regal Cinema in Poulsbo suddenly yanked 'Brokeback Mountain' from its playlist.

POULSBO - The movie 'Brokeback Mountain' -- the story of two cowboys who fall in love -- is generating a lot of buzz. So when Regal Cinema in Poulsbo suddenly yanked the flick leaving only a note that they'd refund their customers, the surprise move made headlines in the Kitsap Sun.

Movie-goers waiting in line to catch a matinee say they weren't surprised.

Dorothy Guzzwell who wanted to see the movie is disappointed. "As difficult as it is to look at something you don't understand, it's so important to do it," says Guzzwell.

The theater manager refused to tell KOMO why the movie was suddenly pulled after days of advertising and ticket presales. Customers pointed out Poulsbo's conservative stance.

One person pointed to a sign in Regal's parking lot that revealed the theater rents out the building to a local church for Sunday service.

We wondered: does that have anything to do with why Brokeback isn't on the marque?

"I think it's ridiculous! For one thing, they have two big-named actors starring in it," says Movie-goer Dylan Haydu. "To say that people aren't going to come and see it is ridiculous!"

Regal's corporate office said pulling the movie wasn't their decision.

The distributor, Focus Films, decided last minute to limit the release. And while it's doing well, 'Brokeback Mountain' is only playing in 265 theaters nationwide -- many of them Regal theaters.

(edit: You may have called it, Martin. Northwest Cable News says that Focus confirmed the picture would not be playing at the Poulsbo 10. However, according to the story, Focus says that Regal scheduled the picture at the theatre without confirmation of the booking, and had been pre-selling tickets on the assumption the film would be placed by Friday. (/edit)

The answer didn't surprise John Guzzwell: "It all comes down to the bottom line; how much money is it gonna make, I'm afraid."

Regal Cinema says it will refund any customer who purchased advanced tickets.

In the meantime, a corporate spokesperson says Regal will most likely show Brokeback as it gets closer to Oscar time.

But some fans won't wait until then. "I'm taking my business to Bainbridge Island where they are playing it," says Anthony Marcacci, "if they're playing it there, they should play it here!"

[ 01-07-2006, 01:00 PM: Message edited by: Jack Ondracek ]

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 01-07-2006 12:36 PM

"Brokeback Mountain" has not showed up at any theater in my city...at least not yet. Given this is a Focus Features release and not something from a major (although isn't Focus a subsidiary of Universal?) I'm not too surprised it hasn't been booked in this area. The metro population is around 100,000. After the BRAC changes over the next couple years it will be around 125,000. But still not big enough to get a lot of indie releases quickly.

Lots of people here are asking about it. A close female friend of mine is pissed that it isn't playing here. I told her she could always hold out hope for a lot of Oscar nominations. Then it might show up at a theater here.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 01-07-2006 12:45 PM

Pulling the film from a handful of theaters could just be a scheme cooked up by Focus Films to get more press. Seems kind of strange though.

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Brad Allen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 688
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: May 2000

posted 01-07-2006 01:26 PM

I use to have this happen to me all the time, prints pulled by the distrib at the last minute after it was confirmed. And too late to get the ads changed. This was with the major studios. It's been quit a while now since the last instance.

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David Stambaugh
Film God

Posts: 4021
From: Eugene, Oregon
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 01-07-2006 01:38 PM

I just saw a news report on Northwest Cable News. They got an official Regal corporate response along the lines of "The withdrawal has nothing to do with the film's content. The distributor simply did not deliver the movie to this theater as we had expected."

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Peter Kerchinsky
Master Film Handler

Posts: 326
From: Seattle, WA, USA
Registered: Jan 2002

posted 01-07-2006 01:46 PM

This morning a local news channel in Seattle basically reported what Jack said earlier. Regal thought Focus was going to give them a print but did not for some reason. Regal advertised the film to open Friday, but with deadlines and all they could not pull the info. I really don't see what the big deal is. Eventually the suits at Focus will drop hundreds of prints to fatten their wallets. Besides some of the Academy Award possibilities are usually put on hold aren't they.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 01-07-2006 02:19 PM

quote: Peter Kerchinsky
Regal thought Focus was going to give them a print but did not for some reason. Regal advertised the film to open Friday, but with deadlines and all they could not pull the info. I really don't see what the big deal is.

All speculation about the film aside, it seems very strange to me, Peter. In almost 40 years I've never experienced a situation where a film was pulled that close to opening, seemingly leaving a theatre with a dark screen. Further, I've never experienced not having confirmation of a booking locked in any later than Wednesday AM. While they don't like it, our local paper is able to react to copy changes that close to Friday, and I don't doubt the theatre could have pulled it's advertising and stopped ticket sales before the first scheduled show.

Is it common for the chains to go out on a limb like this? Seems risky to me... especially to go so far as to pre-sell tickets without the film being locked in.

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