Autumn Term 2019 Schedule 2.0

Films Film Suggestions
#1

Good day to you all.

I present to you the second iteration of the Autumn Term schedule. Due to ongoing difficulties with our projector, I have created 2 schedules. One assumes a working digital projector whilst the other case has an all 35mm schedule.

Working Projector Schedule - https://1drv.ms/x/s!AhlusaLY4HUFgb0fMLwmuLAoGHOPMA

35mm Schedule - https://1drv.ms/x/s!AhlusaLY4HUFgb0hhnxAafvcGn8vSA

When responding to the schedules, please do specify which schedule you are referring to. (Also, please leave suggestions for all-nighter films until the programming meeting).

I hope to see you all at the next programming meeting on Wednesday 19th June, 3-4PM in B2.01 (Science Concourse)

Your Friendly Neighbourhood Films Officer
-N

#2

Ooooh! <3

A few thoughts:

  • I love love love love LOVE the AllNighter idea, but please can it not be the day after 70mm Die Hard. I presume we’ll want some 35mm at it (AllNighters are usually a good place to do quite a bit of this, as all the 35mm people are here). Even if it’s all digital, there’ll be a fair few of us pulling some late nights converting/deconverting the projectors for 70mm and making up the film itself, so half the proj team will be dead on their feet before the evening even starts.
  • Speaking of which, we had quite a bit of resistance this year from both audiences and crew over AllNighters on Saturdays because it royally screws over your sleeping for the coming week if you actually want to stay awake for the whole thing. I get wanting to keep a Friday double slot instead of the Sunday single but we’ve generally found the trade-off isn’t worth it.
  • Please please please please (I will beg if necessary and there will be nothing dignified about it) can Once Upon a Time in Hollywood be as early as humanly possible? This would easily pack out L3 in 35mm if we show it when it’s still on in commercial cinemas and being advertised, which is a good thing regardless of whether we have a digital projector or not (money = good, and audiences enjoying themselves also = good – it’s a win-win). I see why you might want to leave Friday/Saturday Week 0 for Avengers Endgame if we can show that because it’ll be very old, but if we’re 35mm-only then OUaTiH/Pulp Fiction should definitely without a shadow of a doubt have this block imo. The whole “we show new films before they’re on DVD/Netflix” branding we try to keep is SO important to what we do, and the opportunity to keep that even if we’re 35mm only is a gift we shouldn’t turn down.
  • We paid quite a bit of money for the Toy Story 3 print with a view to breaking it out sometime near TS4, so it’d be very welcome to see that fitted in somewhere.

Have you dropped Park Circus (most of the stuff)/Universal (The Big Lebowski – notably even the PCC has stopped showing this in 35mm :fearful:)/whoever has the rights to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (maybe Blue Dolphin Films?) a line to check 35mm print availability, btw? Might be worth having a few spare titles on hand to drop in (one for discussion at the meeting?) if any aren’t available at all/when we want them. I worry It’s A Wonderful Life in particular might be engaged elsewhere in December.

#3

Oh, yeah, and as I think I briefly mentioned a while back, it’s VERY unlikely that we’ll have a zero-digital term 1. What is more likely is that the long lead time on the new projector means it gets installed a few weeks into term.

Probably worth thinking about which digital films from the first few weeks you’d maybe want to keep over some of the less-strong of the offerings in the second half. Also this is another reason that we really want an early 35mm OUaTiH as then there’s more space for digital stuff.

#4

Hey Naz,

These both look mighty good, and I think it’s a good mix of films and you’ve done a great job. I do want to offer some comments, however, about positions (primarily in relation to the digital schedule).

I don’t think you’d want a film on Thursday/Friday Week 10, because people just won’t be here for them - it’s a bit of a dead zone, and it’s a waste to put anything there.

From what I’ve heard, The Dead Don’t Die isn’t that brilliant, and it feels like a perfect slot to put a midnight screening of Annabelle - people won’t come to it on a Sunday, but we’ll get 200 easy on a Friday midnight - it’s exactly the type of film that does well there.

I’m somewhat unsure about The Matrix and Dr Strangelove as doubles - they’re both excellent films but, as classics, I’m not sure there’d be the enthusiasm for them that a newer film would generate. Some brilliant classics don’t do nearly as well as you’d expect, sadly.

Unrelated thought - if we don’t have a digital welcome week, could we possibly have a second pub quiz there too?

Don’t kill me here, and feel free to say no, but is there any chance of a third schedule, that just covers the latter half of term as digital, as that looks increasingly likely?

#5

Hi Naz,

I think the digital schedule looks like a great improvement, I just have a few things to add.

  • Replace Detective Pikachu and Shazam with just one film - I’d recommend SpiderVerse - as not everyone moves in on Saturday so it’s good to keep the same film. Also as much as I’d like to see both of those films, they feel like they’ve been and gone already and there probably won’t be much audience hype around these come late September.

  • On the topic of arrivals weekend - they should be free for everyone as this is the best way to build our audience for the week ahead.

  • I think Rambo Last Blood won’t have much of an audience, so this should be replaced. In terms of action films, I think Terminator Dark Fate will be better attended, but it could be an ideal slot for a more fun film instead.

  • I’d love to see Blinded By The Light included - it’d fit nicely in a single slot.

  • From what I’ve seen of Gemini Man, it doesn’t look very good at all and I’d consider dropping that and moving one of the Christmas films to that Sunday slot and leaving Thursday week 10 without a film.

  • Reece makes a great point regarding The Dead Don’t Die although you’ll have to rejig slightly to ensure It Chapter Two and Annabelle aren’t too close to each other.

  • Back to back documentary films in week 9 might not be the best idea, and while Free Solo is excellent, it is probably too old to get a sizeable audience.

Aside from that, I think your idea for the Allnighter is fantastic. I’d suggest putting it out to the crew if you need more ideas.

#6

  • Agreed, I can probably switch the places of Yesterday and Die Hard

  • It’s definitely a point to be raised at the next PM

  • I’m inclined to replace Endgame (A good film, but too long to reasonably show and for people to enjoy). Probably will do so.

  • Spaces are tight in the schedule aroundabout when we would be showing TS4. I can’t see a good slot to stick it in. It’s not the most likely thing I would do.

  • The 35mm films are a bit of an amalgamation of what I’ve seen others do throughout the years. I want to get a good range of choices down and will then send the studios a line to check availability and existence.

  • Melding schedules does indeed look likely. I thought about whether to do a third schedule which would be a 50/50 split between the 2. But then I realised that we really wouldn’t know when we would be up and running with digital. I’ve therefore decided that the combined schedule will have to be made as soon as we know for sure when we’ll get our projector. Short notice for sure, but I believe i’ll be dedicated enough to get it done.

#7

  • It’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time. I will check the stats for any shows we’ve done at this time to find some proof. My belief is that at the end of term, people will finally have no more immediate coursework and lectures and can unwind until they have to leave uni (most likely at the weekend). (A quick topic to raise).

  • I really hoped that Jim Jarmusch would kill it with this one like he did with Paterson (His awesome friendship with Iggy Pop and Tom Waits helped). I pretty much agree with this 100%, the concept of 2 midnighters close together is tough to defend, but I agree with the fact that turn out will be great.

  • I believe in the Matrix working as it’s the 20th anniversary and a 4K restoration is out (+ we’re in peak Keanu Reeves Fever (forever)). I plan for Strangelove to be a collab between a buttload of societies (Phys, History, PAIS, Pugwash (The crossover appeal is ridiculous)), but I do agree that a double may not be right.

  • Agreed, another pub quiz would be a great place for getting more funds too.

  • (See my response to Kieran)

#8

  • Agree about Shazam, Det Pikachu shouldn’t be a double, I’m split between DP and SV. I’ll put it too a vote tomorrow. We’ll probably just stick to a single on Sunday

  • Sorry for not labelling it, but that was the intention.

  • I wanted Terminator over Rambo for sure, the problem was Terminator releasing a little too late and thus making it too big of a risk to work for our schedule. Any ideas better than Rambo are appreciated.

  • I don’t know why I replaced it with the Goldfinch! But I agree, it deserves a single at least. I can talk to the pakistani society who would probably love the story.

  • Gemini man is a risk for sure, it does have Ang Lee in the chair, Will Smith for the star power and promises some ‘innovative frame rates’. I think it deserves a single Sunday at the very least.

  • We may have quite a bit of horror for a couple of weeks, it can’t really be helped.

  • Sorry, I meant it that 1 of the 2 films would be shown, I want it to be Apollo 11, but it has a limited release which I want to try and negotiate us as a part of (Would be great for all of our STEM departments and societies). Free solo is indeed old, but it’s something that had quite a bit splash in the cultural zeitgeist, I would love to do it. (Climbing society would probably like it).

#9

Fair shout, but will you have enough time to get some sort of approval from the members/crew before we actually have to book? Also, publicity and marketing will need to know what titles they’re preparing, so I’d still strongly suggest working on the assumption that we’ll go digital in week 5 (which is what Alex, Callum and I have half an eye on time-wise).

I might not be reading this right, but we’d usually have the arrivals weekend film at least three times on the Sunday (3:30, 6:30 and 9:30) and they’re usually each well attended. Doing on the Saturday too is usually “a nice thing to do” (that shouldn’t cost extra) but we’d have to accept based on previous numbers that any film’s attendance on that Saturday will almost certainly be very low. Doing just the one show would seem an odd decision.

#10

Sorry I’m late to the party! I think the scheduling looks like it’s going well

For the Working Projector Schedule (and for if you merge them) I notice there are only four foreign language films. To be honest that’s probably fine but as always I think House of Flying Daggers [35mm?] would be absolutely fantastic as Warwick has a huge population of Chinese students as well as people who enjoy a classic, well told, beautifully shot martial arts drama.

Also it’ll be a bit late but Always Be My Maybe (which I don’t really care for too much) is a break-through film for asian representation so perhaps that could be a shout?

Lastly, I don’t know how Iain convinced you to show Koyaanisqatsi but whilst I respect the film I do not think it’s something that students will want to watch as it’s a bit TOOOO abstract even for indie tastes. It might be worth replacing it with another foreign language film or another film that needs a slot

I’m not going to comment on the 35mm schedule because I have faith we’re going to do amazingly with our fundraiser and get a new projector!!!

Overall, I’m super excited for the Autumn term!

#11

Oh also, Parasite looks really really good. It’s a Korean film by Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer, The Host)
It’s a black comedy (possibly my favourite genre) which won the Palme d’Or this year and I’m super excited to watch it!

#12

It’s got UK distribution from Artificial Eye which is always a good sign, but no release date yet afaik. Definitely one to keep an eye on!

#13

Oh also another indie asian thing:

The Farewell is supposed to be really good. Rotten Tomatoes score of 100%

This:

  • A24’s “The Farewell” beat “Avengers: Endgame” for the year’s best per-theatre average at the domestic box office over the weekend.
  • It earned over $US351,000 from just four theatres in the US, with a per-theatre average of $US87,833.
  • “Endgame” opened in April with $US357 million and $US76,601 per theatre.
#14

I mean, releasing in just four cinemas is definitely cheating on the “per-theatre average” front just a teeeeeny bit.

But also yes yes Yes YES YES YES YES we need this. As per Slack, it’s currently slated for release on the 11th October over here.