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Dinosaurs Aren’t the Only Things Jumping at You in 3-D
It’s a surreal sensation when walking into a movie theater for an 8:00 p.m. on April 5, 2013 showing feels like 1993…June 11th to be exact. Opening the doors to theater 12 served as a time travel portal from precisely twenty years earlier (give or take two months). As an anxious seven-year old in suburban Columbus, Ohio, my adventurous family and I drove the three miles to the AMC Movie Theater at Mill Run for the first premiere of “Jurassic Park.” The previews indicated it was about dinosaurs living in the modern era, but revealed virtually nothing else. Our minds were filled with an excited curiosity at what famed director Steven Spielberg and his team had created. Familiar with his universal classics, “Jaws,” “ET the Extra Terrestrial” and the Indiana Jones adventures, expectations were as tall as a, well, Brachiosaurus.
Just as fossils have proven the existence of extraordinary species of dinosaurs, Steven Spielberg’s decision to adapt one of the best movies from his illustrious director’s log into 3-D has also proven to be extraordinary. The audience saw a new dimension of special effects visionary and Academy Award Winner (Best Visual Effects: “Jurassic Park”) Stan Winston. We the spectators were put in the same position as Ellie when the Velociraptor burst through the floor to ceiling pipes after restarting the park’s electrical grid and Tim and Lex in the compound’s kitchen while being hunted by two raptors. The girl next to me actually jumped out of her seat when Ellie was attacked by the once hidden raptor! There are breathtaking scenes throughout the two hour cinematic masterpiece.
“Jurassic Park” and 3-D are a match made in heaven. Absolutely stunning!
Going to the movie theater to see the magnificent “Jurassic Park” in IMAX 3-D did put into perspective a new reality we now find ourselves. With as much hype that surrounded this re-release, it was an unknown variable as to how the public would respond. The verdict? According to Moviefone: $18.2 million! A pretty tremendous success for the first weekend of an updated re-release competing against movies with brand new content. Arriving forty-five minutes early secured the second spot in line. This was important because the number of people who stood patiently grew exponentially every five minutes until the usher opened the doors.
It’s here we arrive at the center of what transpired last Friday evening in a cultural sense. This singular showing saw multiple generations dedicate their Friday night to waiting and then watching a movie they probably own and first enjoyed twenty years ago. To repeat, twenty years ago. In a scenario between remaining at home to watch cable or experiencing the thrills of seeing a film on the silver screen, crowds of people chose the latter. The atmosphere was terrific.
Did Spielberg provide us with more than one cultural flashback?
The box office numbers combined with the eye test proved there is still a desire to be around other people by vacating the “comforts” of our own private space. Last Friday night felt like I was back in the 1990s with the huge crowd of anxious people spending their evening at the movies for the big premiere. Yet, there is still a problem lurking around movie theaters across the country.
15.50
By its lonesome, it signifies nothing. However, with a $ before it, the solitary number becomes a value. It happened to be the price of the ticket of admission for the IMAX 3-D version of “Jurassic Park.” While standing in line, I wondered what the average ticket price of a movie was back in 1993. I researched it on my phone and the internet spit back ~$4. Okay, now how about 1973? ~$1.77. Groovy! Apparently, ticket prices are doubling every twenty years. The $15.50 was the cost of the most expensive ticket for this rare re-release, so don’t equate this number with the average price today. The average ticket price for a new major motion picture in 2013 is ~$8.
Paying up for a 3-D movie in IMAX is one thing, but the price for any new release is cause for reflection on the here and now compared to the not-so-distant past.
The instinct to physically venture off to a movie theater is still ingrained in the film loving mind of the American people. But at what cost? There will be a breaking point in how much a family or group of friends will spend on a night out at the movies. Anything more than $5/ticket to me is asking too much that does not involve 3-D or IMAX. We are currently at $8. The definitive red line for most families will almost certainly be $10/ticket: double digits.
Simply going to the theater on a whim one evening to see the new movie is no longer an affordable protocol due to the exorbitant prices, from teenagers to adults. Funds have to shifted around. By the way, the snacks have not even been purchased yet…anybody have a twenty?
And in today’s world, one of the most horrific questions has to be pondered by thousands while standing in the “twilight zone” of the lobby of any theater around the country. This is the area between the concession stand and the hallways for the individual theaters. Anything can happen here, for better or worse. For those precious few seconds, we all have been forced to ask: “Do we really need popcorn?” This proposition is enough to send me into shock, no joke. We all know prices are too high when this question is asked. No popcorn at the movies!?
“Houston (& everywhere else), we have a problem!”
My Mom and I used to have our own “movie marathons” to see new movies for a week or so during the summer when I was a kid. Movies, popcorn and a soda. This scenario, sadly, is virtually impossible today. The movie theater is supposed to be for everybody in the community on any give day and time to escape for a couple hours. Like those $4 tickets, spur of the moment “movie marathons” appear to be another relic of yesteryear.
“Back when I was your age, going to the movies cost ~$10 and included a popcorn, small drink and change for the arcade.”
If ticket prices for movies become too high, then fewer people will go to movie theaters and enjoy the atmosphere filled with wonderment whilst in the company of fellow movie lovers. A negative connotation will emerge for movies in general. The problem the major studios face is, ironic to the politically vocal celebrities in Hollywood, exactly what is occurring on Wall Street. The profits for the big studios and its beneficiaries are astronomical, at least in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet, the public continues to pay more than they ever have for reasons unknown. Yes, it costs more to film in 3-D and/or IMAX, but somewhere in this monetary cycle the revenue is being directed where it shouldn’t and we’re all paying for it.
People want to be gregarious. Thankfully, the magic of going to the movies on a Friday night is still there. However, movie studios and the deal makers involved better not take the public’s long history of excitement and commitment of paying to see newly released major motion pictures for granted. People and memories are not numbers on a spreadsheet. If the current inflationary trend is not reversed, then movie theaters could become extinct.
Hopefully in 2033, a coming attraction won’t be titled, “Jurassic Theater.”
Good luck with that.
Bottom of the Tenth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
One of the best scenes in “Angels in the Outfield” is when foster caretaker Maggie Nelson stands up at a press conference regarding George Knox and his statements about his team being assisted by angels during their unthinkable winning streak en route to a potential pennant. Hank Murphy, the baseball club’s owner, had called the event so Knox would publicly deny any such spiritual guidance his players may have been receiving from above.
Maggie said it best.
Maggie Nelson: My name is Maggie Nelson. I take care of foster kids. One of these boys is the child who can see angels. He could stand up right now and tell you what’s going on and I’d know you’d just laugh at him. But, when a professional football player drops to one knee to thank God for making a touchdown, nobody laughs at that. Or when a pitcher crosses himself before going to the mound, no one laughs at that either. It’s like your saying it’s okay to believe in God, but it’s not okay to believe in angels. Now, I thought that they were on the same team.
Hank Murphy: Is it your belief, ma’am, that angels play baseball?
Maggie Nelson: Since the all-star break, yes. We all need someone to believe in. Every child I have ever looked after has someone: an angel. You’ve got to have faith. You’ve got to believe. You have to look inside yourself. The footprints of an angel are love, and where there is love, miraculous things can happen. I’ve seen it.
(sits)
Mel Clark: [stands] I’d also like to say something. I don’t know if there are any angels here other than the twenty-five of us in uniform. But I know there is one thing I won’t do: I won’t play for anyone but George Knox. I believe in him.
Every athlete has experienced a moment during competition when your energy levels are depleted and exhaustion has spread from your head to your toes. In this case, Gatorade will not do the trick. This situation calls for more than an energy drink.
With a full-count, this next pitch by the Angels’ Mel Clark is for the American League Pennant…
The ending/above two clips of “Angels in the Outfield” is the perfect ending to my favorite movie made about baseball of all-time! It’s fun, has heart and lots of laughs for people of all ages. This Disney masterpiece is a timeless classic that reminds us all about the magic of sports and the inspiring nature of the human spirit.
This concludes the inning-by-inning celebration of the best scenes from the best movies involving baseball.
Can miracles from the heavens transpire in sports and life in general? To quote the young, but very wise JP, “It could happen!”
Top of the Tenth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
After a summer of baseball and hijinks, the pinnacle moment had arrived. Stealing your stepfather’s baseball, autographed by Babe Ruth, and hitting your first ever home run with it over the fence into the lair of The Beast is enough to stress out the most powerful superhero. Multiple attempts to retrieve the priceless souvenir were concocted, but ultimately each of them failed. Yet, there they all stood, nervously waiting in anticipation as one of their own was taking his last few breaths of reflection before daring to do the craziest thing any of them had ever seen. The curtain for the final scene of “The Battle with The Beast” was set to rise at any minute. For Benny, his mind was either as clear as a Carolina blue sky or as clouded as a kid unprepared to take a pop quiz in Chinese algebra.
Most can probably quote verbatim the inspirational words Babe Ruth/The Babe/The Great Bambino/The Sultan of Swat/The Colossus of Clout said to Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez in his dream the night before he was destined to take on The Beast.
“Remember kid, there’s heroes and there’s legends. Heroes get remembered but legends never die, follow your heart kid, and you’ll never go wrong.”
And don’t forget to lace up those PF Flyers nice and tight.
It just goes to show you never do quite know who lives next door…
Yesterday’s passing of famed film critic Roger Ebert coinciding with the final scene of “The Sandlot” above reveals the power and cultural significance of the “thumbs up.” Like Smalls and Benny, did Mr. Ebert give it “two thumbs up”?
The Sandlot (3 stars) — “These days too many children’s movies are infected by the virus of Winning, as if kids are nothing more than underage pro athletes, and the values of Vince Lombardi prevail: It’s not how you play the game, but whether you win or lose. This is a movie that breaks with that tradition, that allows its kids to be kids, that shows them in the insular world of imagination and dreaming that children create entirely apart from adult domains and values.”
—Roger Ebert
Bottom of the Ninth
“As a celebration of the magic of movies involving baseball, at least one scene from a different film will be posted each day for the next nine days…”
—From “Top of the First” March 28th
2011 was the year that featured a movie that included two underdog story lines occurring simultaneously. The first was the major motion picture, “Moneyball,” which tells the true story of the Oakland Athletics in 2002, managed by Billy Beane, and how Beane dealt with the departure of his biggest stars: Johnny Damon, Jason Giambi and Jason Isringhausen. The second was the surprising chemistry between acclaimed leading man Brad Pitt and niche comedic actor Jonah Hill in this dramatic film about baseball…and so much more.
As described in “Top of the Second,” Brad Pitt portrays real life Oakland Athletics manger Billy Beane. He has to deal with the reality his clubhouse is, monetarily speaking, at the very bottom of the wealth ranks. “The problem we’re trying to solve is that there are rich teams and there are poor teams. Then, there’s fifty feet of crap and then there’s us. It’s an unfair game.” The fact is they cannot afford to pay any salary remotely comparable to that of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. This dilemma the As faced wasn’t even about tightening belts with regard to any kind of reckless spending. Rather, they actually had to throw the belts out into the trash. The status quo was not holding anymore.
It was a dire situation. Creativity on a shoe string budget was their only viable option. Numbers were the only asset they could afford. Luckily, Beane had the aptitude to grab the smartest guy for the job from his indistinctive cubicle in the bullpen in Cleveland.
Peter Brand: “Your goal shouldn’t be to buy players. Your goal should be to buy wins. In order buy wins, you need to buy runs.”
The clip below is the final scene of the movie.
This is a SPOILER ALERT warning. If you have not seen the last scene of the movie “Moneyball” and would like to see the film in its entirety first, then please do not click on the video.
Either way, the final two and a half minutes show the ending to the true story of Billy Beane and his attempts to score more runs and strikeout more batters in the micro while trying to change the way the game is played in the macro.
On screen, actors Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill pulled off the underdog upset with their natural fluidity with each other in their respective roles that brought credibility and realism to the characters and the movie as a whole. Was the real life ending for the people they portrayed on film as victorious?
Billy Beane: “We are card counters at the blackjack table. And we’re gonna turn the odds on the casino.”
Extra! Extra! Read All About It! As can happen in this sport, we have a tie score at the end of nine innings and will be preparing for the top of the 10th!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 