King Island announces... well, you know

Jeff said:
I wasn't aware that they were doing that. Near me at least, the only IMAX installations I know of are those with Big Ass Screens(TM).

Is IMAX still IMAX if it's not on a giant-sized, skyscraper-like screen? Last fall, the company introduced its new digital projection system, "intended to be retrofitted into 35mm multiplex auditoriums," reported LF Examiner. The screens are "less than one-third the area of the average film-based IMAX screen."

From Cinematical

Note that "last fall" refers to fall 2008. It's pure conjecture that this move is going to dilute their brand, but I have a difficult time believing people are going to be pleased paying the premium price for what they think is a Big Ass Screen(TM) and getting a Regular Ass Screen(TM) instead.

When we saw Toy Story this summer it was IMAX on a Regular Ass Screen™.

No one seemed to care. The theatre was packed.

I think if you're heading out to the local multiplex, you know you're not getting the big screen with the IMAX showings.

This is most likely one of those things where "people who know" don't represent the larger population of "people who don't care" - it's says IMAX, it's better. :)

How do the RAS[tm]-priced tickets compare to the BAS[tm]-priced tickets?

Yeah, my gut says people won't care. 50% of people who own HDTV's think that everything is HD just because they watch it on their TV. I made the stat up, but it was measures somewhere, and it's really high.

That, and my mom still watches a CRT with the color way up and tint way red. :)

I should have been more specific when I said IMAX. What I meant was the amount of original IMAX films, specifically those of the 20 minute variety took a nosedive in the 90's. I think the same thing happened to motion theaters, just more slowly since they don't need to change content every year necessarily.

KI's timeline has been approximately:

• Days of Thunder '94 - '97
• James Bond '98 -'0X
• 7th Portal '0X-?
• Other iWerks films (Indiana Jones knockoff, Smash Factory) '0X-?
• SpongeBob '03 - Present

I believe they tried a comeback for Days of Thunder in the early 2000's, which failed miserably because no one wanted to see it. It seems to me that anything people would want to see would have licensing costs. I just don't see Cedar Fair caring enough to keep it going. Unless there are Peanuts motion films out there somewhere. :)

On second thought, maybe WindSeeker goes in the middle of the midway to block it off altogether. Why didn't KI just build a B&M in 1994? ;)

I was under the impression that "lesser" IMAX was at least a Medium Ass Screen™ with a different aspect ratio (slightly taller given the width).

Well, I saw Star Wars I on a big-ass IMAX screen (but not in IMAX) at a local multiplex. I saw one of the Harry Potter movies in IMAX with a single 3D scene at Citywalk at USH. So when I saw that Star Trek was going to be offered at a local multiplex in IMAX 3D, I paid the premium...and got to see it in "LieMAX" on a slightly bigger than normal screen in what wasn't even that particular multiplex's biggest theater.

Result? I won't pay the premium at that theater again, and next time I see that something is presented in IMAX I want to know how big the screen is. Even the one at USH was smaller than the 66'x88' monster that was the Cedar Point Cinema.

I wonder how many of the 'masses' have simply never seen a "classic" IMAX movie and therefore don't know what they are missing...but do know that what is marked IMAX is better than "normal".

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

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Which location was that, Dave? I had the impression that the Easton theater has a real IMAX, but the one in Worthington (or where ever that is that the BWW tragically closed last year) was fake.

Last month I saw "Hubble 3D" at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. It was amazing. It gave me butterflies in my stomach and moved me emotionally. The images were stunning. The film was both dramatic and educational. Even the jaded non tech/science geeks in my group were very impressed. (Seriously. No sarcasm.)

The only IMAX movies I've seen were at museums on the real IMAX screens. I haven't watched a regular movie on an IMAX or faux IMAX screen. I'm glad this thread came up because I didn't know there was a difference. My first experience was at the MoS in Boston at the Omni IMAX theater. The dome was really cool to watch a movie on.

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Actually, Jeff, the one in Worthington was a huge-ass screen, ridiculously steep-raked seating, and when it opened it was genuine 15/70 IMAX. And a nice big surface for showing a more conventional print like Star Wars. Marcus subsequently opted to allow the IMAX license to lapse and re-branded the theater "UltraScreen". THAT theater was built as an IMAX box.

The one at Easton is an AMC theater where they have the more conventional rake and they got a bigger surface for the mini-IMAX theater by extending the screen out to the side walls and curving it a bit. Easton has not been IMAX quite as long as Marcus Crosswoods has been UltraScreen; it started as a conventional multiplex theater. Also, it is a widescreen aspect ratio; not quite as wide as Cinemascope, but much closer to Panavision than conventional IMAX, and better suited to conventional films.

What I see I didn't make clear is that the USH CityWalk IMAX screen, while closer in size to the one in Worthington, is a "huge-ass screen" with the extreme rake characteristic of the traditional IMAX theaters and a 4:3 aspect ratio.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

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You are like a reincarnated Albert Einstein, Dave. Seriously. You usually talk WAY over my head, but what little bit I do understand from your awesome posts amaze me.

Yeah, my knowledge of the Columbus movie theater market is subpar at best. The thing is, bigger screens rarely blow me away, except for perhaps goofy tricks like Soarin'. For those applications, I think 24 fps is a terrible speed to shoot/project at.

You can count on one thing lol. Wherever they put it, a Cedar Fair park will cut down more trees than necessary to install it. I think the goal is to get most of the parks looking as asphalt-y as Cedar Point by the time its over.

FYI, King's Island has a whole lot more asphalt than CP.

More trees too!

Less beach, though.

Or Maverick.

And an Eiffel Tower... now that's charm!

Are we really still claiming CP has no trees? Really?

KI definitely has less Maverick than CP. I don't know about pancakes, though.