Monday, June 27, 2005

No paranoia here


Note attached to War of the Worlds screening pass

(Click photo for a magnified view.)

Nevermind that pens and pencils constitute recording devices.

At least clothes are permissible.

2 comments:

  1. Anonymous11:26 AM

    Dude,

    Hope it was the best movie ever!! Looks like it was a matter of National Security!!

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  2. I realize that these studios are freaked out by the prospect of their films getting uploaded to the web and bootlegged. Still, if their hysteria and the security measures at these early screenings isn't oppressive, it's getting there. Prior to this, the weirdest I encountered was the need to present a photo ID at a promo screening--in other words, not exclusively for the press--for The Village. The thing was, you didn't have to RSVP, so it wasn't like they knew who was coming. Maybe it was some conceit intended to get people in the mood for the film, but whatever the case, it didn't sit too well with me.

    Hopefully Paramount's overreaction in handling War of the Worlds doesn't become the norm. (They've certainly received their share of bad national press for it.) To the credit of the local Allied reps at the screening, they ran things smoothly, which was not the case at the NY and LA screenings, from what I've heard.

    Of course, I go back to the point that they can guard these screenings like Fort Knox, but it doesn't mean much when the same measures aren't taken for sneak previews or regular screenings. For instance, I saw Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! at a sneak preview a couple weeks before the promo screening and the film's opening. Anyone who ponied up for the ticket price could see it. There was no one monitoring the screening--neither the guards with night vision goggles nor those wielding wands outside the auditorium--so if the point of security is to keep these films from getting on the net before the release date, they negate those promo screening measures in situations like this.

    Oh yeah, War of the Worlds is pretty stunning stuff. Not deep in any way, but that's irrelevant.

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