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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Projectionist Blamed For Cutting Sex Scene At Sundance (Page 1)

 
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Author Topic: Projectionist Blamed For Cutting Sex Scene At Sundance
Mitchell Dvoskin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1869
From: West Milford, NJ, USA
Registered: Jan 2001

- posted 03-01-2006 11:52 AM      Profile for Mitchell Dvoskin   Email Mitchell Dvoskin   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Fox News

WASHINGTON — Jason Reitman says a projection error — not Tom Cruise — was responsible when a Katie Holmes' sex scene was missing during a screening of her upcoming movie, "Thank You for Smoking," at the Sundance Film Festival.

"I was sitting there in the theater, the scene was missing, and my immediate thought was, 'Oh my God, FOX cut the scene out of my movie,"' Reitman told AP Radio in an interview. "And then I realized, 'No, if it's at the end of the reel, the projector probably just accidentally cut it out."'

Some blamed Cruise, Holmes' fiance, speculating that he had pressured Reitman, son of "Ghost Busters" director Ivan Reitman, to remove the scene.

"That's a fun story. I'd read that story. The problem is that it's not true," Reitman said. "The problem with 'projection error' is that it's the truth but it sounds like a lie. It sounds an awful lot like 'wardrobe malfunction."'

Holmes, 27, and Cruise, 43, have been engaged since June. They announced her pregnancy in October.

Aaron Eckhart stars with Holmes, Maria Bello, William H. Macy and Sam Elliott in "Thank You for Smoking," adapted from Christopher Buckley's satiric novel about a tobacco-industry spin doctor.

Reitman said more people probably know about his movie because the scene went missing. "The most likely reason that they would have heard of it is because of the sex scene," he said.

The filmmaker also said Holmes' sex scene is as tame as anything you'd see on the Disney Channel.

"Thank You for Smoking" — with the sex scene — is slated for limited release March 17.

*****************************************************************

I think, while not impossible, but highly unlikely that the projectionist chopped off a complete sex scene at the end of a reel.

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Steve Scott
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1300
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Sep 2000

- posted 03-01-2006 12:30 PM      Profile for Steve Scott   Email Steve Scott   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If he/she knew of the scene in question & had enough of a bizzare attraction to Holmes, I'd believe it. Or, perhaps the scene opened to black?

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John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000

- posted 03-01-2006 03:21 PM      Profile for John Eickhof   Author's Homepage   Email John Eickhof   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
considering the locale and previous accounts of 'film editing' by theatres and projectionists in Utah, I would tend to believe it indeed could have been 'edited' by the operator if he felt religious or other motivations to do so. It certainly would not be the first time!! The most well known issue simular to this was a few years ago when prints of Titanic were 'edited' by certain theatre personnel in Utah. Go figure! I think the producer and director should find out and proscute the person(s) responsible! As far as I know they usually run 12-14 K reels on transports, so the chance of cutting a changeover short are pretty slim! just my $.02 worth...

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Leo Enticknap
Film God

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From: Loma Linda, CA
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- posted 03-01-2006 03:56 PM      Profile for Leo Enticknap   Author's Homepage   Email Leo Enticknap   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Fox News, quoted by Mitchell Dvoskin
The filmmaker also said Holmes' sex scene is as tame as anything you'd see on the Disney Channel.
What... does she shag Mickey Mouse? That should have the 'moral majority' up in arms; not to mention the animal rights lobby!

If the scene was accidentally cut by an early changeover, she can't have been shagging anything for very long.

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Steve Scott
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1300
From: Minneapolis, MN
Registered: Sep 2000

- posted 03-01-2006 04:43 PM      Profile for Steve Scott   Email Steve Scott   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
And who'd have guessed that "Holmes' sex scene" would refer to someone other than John Holmes? [Razz]

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Mike Heenan
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1896
From: Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

- posted 03-01-2006 05:50 PM      Profile for Mike Heenan   Email Mike Heenan   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Haven't we had stories in threads recently here of a projectionist mishaps? I seem to recall something similar how a scene was cut out of Brokeback Mountain. Seems entirely possible. Or, it could simply be the director trumping up business for his film, in that he cut it out before handing the print over or something like that.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 03-01-2006 06:41 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: John Eickhof
The most well known issue simular to this was a few years ago when prints of Titanic were 'edited' by certain theatre personnel in Utah. Go figure! I think the producer and director should find out and proscute the person(s) responsible! As far as I know they usually run 12-14 K reels on transports, so the chance of cutting a changeover short are pretty slim! just my $.02 worth...
The worst for that sort of thing was the Varsity Theatre at BYU in Provo. I serviced that theatre a few times over the years... its gone now. They were cut off by all the majors for cutting the films up. All they could book in the end was Disney so thats all they ran.

While there are many PROGRESSIVE Mormons I'd personally love to start a movement in Utah to get the Mormons to realize that its just a piece of plastic running through a projector... just a story. If its not for you in whole then don't try to make it so by altering it and insulting the folks that put it together.

Many mormons raise their kids in "vacuum bottles" continously shielding them from such (supposedly) evil things.... even the checkout stands at the supermarkets have covers over the gossip rags so the kids are guarded [Roll Eyes] . Sadly many of these kids then grow up not kowing what the real world is about or like and have a VERY difficult time fitting in with the rest of modern society whey they are finally exposed to it.

Mark

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Monte L Fullmer
Film God

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From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
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- posted 03-01-2006 07:22 PM      Profile for Monte L Fullmer   Email Monte L Fullmer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
..Just like when I ran "Titanic" in Boise: got blitzed out by my friends who saw it and I just told them bascically the same: "I'm just an operator who runs the movies. I can't edit the prints for individual taste. If you want to complain, complain to the movie makers, not to the theatre".

Then I tell them to go home and rent Disney movies.

And yet, there have been some more raunchier movies shown at Sundance with more themework than this one.

I can almost see this a bit since one time, when putting a movie together (used print) that the joined splice was far ahead of the end of where the cue marks and end leader are supposed to be. What happened was the obvious: a light scene changed to a massive dark scene and that operator took that light scene as the end of the reel and cut it there. There were a good three minutes left on the reel after that cut.

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Will Kutler
Phenomenal Film Handler

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From: Tucson, AZ, USA
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- posted 03-01-2006 09:21 PM      Profile for Will Kutler   Email Will Kutler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
A funny story that occured at the last theatre I worked.

A very talanted kid working concession was always in the booth wanting to be a projectionist. This kid was very smart and really cought on...not to mention ENTHUSIASTIC!

Unfortunately, the kid was Mormon, and had religious issues about being in a booth running "R" films. So, if religious issues were in question, what business did the kid have working in a theatre, then?

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Jeremy Jorgenson
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From: Chicago, IL, USA
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- posted 03-02-2006 01:44 AM      Profile for Jeremy Jorgenson   Author's Homepage   Email Jeremy Jorgenson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Mike Heenan
I seem to recall something similar
yeah, here

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Ron Keillor
Expert Film Handler

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From: Vancouver, B.C. Canada
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- posted 03-03-2006 03:33 PM      Profile for Ron Keillor   Email Ron Keillor   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I would have thought a festival projectionist would have too many films to build up and screen that there wouldn't be time to also preview and edit them.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

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From: Music City
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- posted 03-03-2006 07:07 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Ron Keillor

I would have thought a festival projectionist would have too many films to build up and screen that there wouldn't be time to also preview and edit them.
Actually at there are one or two people just in charge of all the print build up. These prints which are on 48" reels are then delivered to their perspective locations and that locations assigned projectionist then runs the print. I guess those in charge will have to do a more thorough screening of who is running what before projectionists are assigned locations.

Mark

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Bill Enos
Film God

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From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
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- posted 03-05-2006 08:16 AM      Profile for Bill Enos   Email Bill Enos   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If the culprit was identified would there be repercussion such as his not working the festival again, fired, or aT least an ass chewing?

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Jeffry L. Johnson
Jedi Master Film Handler

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From: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

- posted 03-05-2006 09:38 AM      Profile for Jeffry L. Johnson   Author's Homepage   Email Jeffry L. Johnson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
As mentioned in this topic and also in the Sundance topic in the Film Handler's Forum, all Sundance prints are inspected and mounted onto a single large reel at Print Revision. The projectionist at each venue runs a single reel of the completely built print.

I don't know what happened. I doubt this is the responsibility of one individual projectionist.

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Richard Fowler
Film God

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From: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
Registered: Jun 2001

- posted 03-05-2006 10:59 AM      Profile for Richard Fowler   Email Richard Fowler   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I am working for a client during the Miami International Film Festival now in progress. They are using Goldberg Show Shipper reels to distribute mounted prints...very hard for projectionists to tamper. Bill Hill, who works Sundance is supervising.

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