Michael Coate

I'm working on a "Brainstorm" retrospective article and am interested in correctly addressing the film's multi-format photography. While doing some research, I came across the Wikipedia page on the film, which includes the following passage: Now, that cannot be correct, can it? And since we're on the subject, anyone care to share any memories of working on or seeing "Brainstorm" during its (brief) theatrical release? Anyone see it in 70mm? Where? What did you think of the film?

From Fans of Showmanship

On the 15th, this article was posted on the Fans of Showmanship website. >>> So?what are your ?Die Hard? memories? What are your thoughts on Jan De Bont?s cinematography? <<<

It's not uncommon for directors to have fellow filmmakers appear in cameo and bit parts in their films. John Landis' and Joe Dante's movies, for instance, are fun to watch just for such appearances. This got me thinking: How often have cinematographers made a cameo appearance in a film they shot? Dean Cundey, ASC, for example, appeared (appropriately!) as the town square photographer in "Back To The Future Part III." And I recall Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC showing up in "Maverick." (Oh, and John Hora, ASC had a fairly big role in Dante's "Innerspace"...but he didn't shoot that one.) Any others???

"It all happens inside a computer." On July 9, 1982, twenty-five years ago today, Walt Disney's "Tron" was released on 1,091 theatre screens in the United States and Canada. The groundbreaking film, starring Jeff Bridges and directed by Steven Lisberger, cost nearly $20 million to produce (a huge sum in its day) and grossed, according to most accounts, a mere $30 million domestically. A visual and aural delight, "Tron" was nominated for two Academy Awards: Sound and Costume Design. But, more amazing than the film's amazing visual effects is trying to figure out why the film was not nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar! Of note to the film's history is that it was photographed in Super Panavision 70, reviving the process that had been popular with the 1960s roadshows but had been dormant for a decade. But despite the large-format origination, Disney struck only about 40 high-quality 70-millimeter prints for domestic distribution. A list of the venues in which the 70mm version was booked is provided below, and what some may find a surprise is the number of theatres in major markets denied an opportunity to showcase "Tron" in the best presentation manner available at the time. (Some theatres in cities absent from the list of initial 70mm bookings did, however, screen a 70mm print in the fall of '82 or spring of '83 when Disney re-issued the film with the hope it might find an audience during a less-crowded moviegoing season.) So...is "Tron" a good movie? After 25 years I still can't decide! But one thing is certain: the film was ahead of its time due to the innovative use of computer graphics, and its influence can be observed in countless movies, television programs and video games. I think anyone working in the film, computer and video-game industries owes a debt of gratitude to "Tron" and its talented production crew. Anyone have any "Tron" memories they care to share? Me? As a 13 year-old, I saw "Tron" in July or August of '82 at the Barstow Twin in Barstow, California. What I remember most was: (1) being confused by the character names and computer terminology, (2) thinking the movie was not as good as the video game, (3) seeing the trailer for the soon-to-open EPCOT Center and wondering why Florida instead of California would get such a thing, and (4) on the way out of the theatre, enthusiastically spotting the one-sheet for that summer's re-issue of "Star Wars" which included a banner in the corner of the poster promising the first glimpse of footage, in the form of a coming attractions trailer, for the next "Star Wars" movie due for release the following year. I would see "Star Wars" several (more) times during that re-issue, and "Tron" was quickly forgotten. Over the years, though, thanks to the fantastic Special Edition LaserDisc and subsequent DVD, and the 70mm print that surfaced in 1999 and made the rounds, I?ve come to appreciate "Tron" and think it deserves some recognition on this, the 25th anniversary of its release. _______________________________________________ A supplement to this reminiscence, for the film-history and technology enthusiasts: a list of the original, first-run 70mm Six-Track Dolby Stereo engagements of "Tron." Baltimore, MD: Westview Bloomingdale, IL: Stratford Square Calgary, AB: Chinook Cedar Grove, NJ: Cinema 23 Chicago, IL: McClurg Court Chicago Ridge, IL: Chicago Ridge Mall Edmonton, AB: Londonderry El Cajon, CA: Parkway Plaza Gretna, LA: Westside Grosse Pointe Woods, MI: Woods Hillside, IL: Hillside Square Honolulu, HI: Royal Las Vegas, NV: Cinedome Livonia, MI: Terrace Los Angeles, CA: Chinese Los Angeles, CA: Village (opened July 16) Milwaukee, WI: Spring Mall Triplex Montclair, CA: Montclair Montreal, QC: Claremont (July 23) New York, NY: State 2 Northbrook, IL: Edens Orange, CA: Cinedome Paramus, NJ: Route 4 Sevenplex Pittsburgh, PA: Warner Portland, OR: Bagdad Quebec City, QC: Canadien (July 22) Reno, NV: Century Sacramento, CA: Century San Antonio, TX: Northwest San Diego, CA: Glasshouse 6 San Diego, CA: La Jolla Village San Jose, CA: Century 24 Southfield, MI: Northland Springdale, OH: Tri-County Toronto, ON: Hollywood Tucson, AZ: El Con Vancouver, BC: Denman Place White Plains, NY: United Artists Winnipeg, MB: Metropolitan (July 30) Woodbury, NY: Cinema 150

Hello. I'm the one who interviewed Bill Bennett for this article. Thanks, David, for posting the link here and initiating the discussion. Just chiming in to mention that Mr. Bennett has informed me that the demo is scheduled to be screened on June 21 at UCLA (right before CineGear as he mentioned in the interview). It'll be at the James Bridges Theatre in Melnitz Hall.

Here are links to a list of places showing "Spider-Man 3" in IMAX and Digital Cinema for those who care to seek out (or to avoid) a particular venue or presentation. IMAX: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/spiderman_3_imax.htm DIGITAL CINEMA: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/spiderman_3_d_cinema.htm

Really? The visual effects Oscar for "2001: A Space Odyssey" was awarded solely to Kubrick despite others credited on the film as Visual Effects Supervisors. Passage from my article "1968: A Roadshow Odyssey" ( http://www.in70mm.com/news/2004/2001/release.htm ):

Here's a link to FromScriptToDVD.com's coverage of the '07 VES awards. It's a page of photos from the event as well as a list of the award winners. http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/ves_2007_awards.htm And the '06 VES Awards: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/ves_2006.htm And the '06 VES Festival: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/ves_2006_festival.htm

Clicky clicky and find out... http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/meet_the_ro...gement_list.htm

Why, of course "Let's Spend The Night Together" had a theatrical release. It has gone under at least three different titles: (1) "Time Is On Our Side" (2) "Rocks Off" (3) "Let's Spend The Night Together." Earliest release I'm aware of was in (West) Germany during 1982. The U.S. release was in February 1983. Embassy, its U.S. distributor, even struck 70mm six-track stereo blow-up prints for major markets. U.K. release in March '83.

"Reservoir Dogs" was shot in Super-35. Coincidentally, I had a conversation with Caleb Deschanel, ASC a couple of weeks ago about The Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend The Night Together." He was the film's DP, and his recollection is that it was shot in 35mm (with an insane number of cameras). The IMDb, amazingly, claims it was shot in 65mm!

A link to a list of theatres showing "300" in IMAX: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/300_imax_dmr.htm

The American Society of Cinematographers held their annual awards show last weekend and they selected "Children Of Men," shot by Emmanuel Lubeski, ASC, AMC, as the best-shot film of 2006. The other nominees in the feature category were "Apocalypto" (Dean Semler, ASC, ACS), "The Black Dahlia" (Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC), "The Good Shepherd" (Robert Richardson, ASC) and "The Illusionist" (Dick Pope, BSC). I attended the awards show as well as the ASC open house event. Here's a link to some photos: http://www.fromscripttodvd.com/asc_2007.htm

I experienced a glitch when attempting to edit my previous post. I meant to preface the link with the following: I attended last Saturday's ASC open house event as well as the awards show on Sunday. Here is a link to a page of photos taken by myself and my colleague, Bill Kallay. Enjoy!