And the Oscar Goes To...
While driving around town this week, I saw the banners hanging from the lamp posts had been changed (they were probably changed a while back, but when you're sick (*violin music playing*) and it's been rainy, you don't tend to spend a lot of time outside), and were now advertising the Oscars. Well, tomorrow's the big day.
Usually, since I'm deaf, I haven't watched any of the nominated movies, unless they came out much earlier in the year and are now on DVD. A couple years ago, a lot of the movies were either open-captioned or already out on video, so I'd seen something like three or four of the five best picture nominees. This year, I've only seen one: "Million Dollar Baby." I enjoyed the movie, but wouldn't go so far as to say it made my top-ten best all-time movie list either. Hillary Swank is an impressive actress. Kind of cool to think "Beverly Hills 90210" had at least one cast member with talent! If you'll notice, we've barely heard from most of the others on that show since...
We had kind of a struggle to see the movie, though. Even though it was open-captioned through DTS technology (far superior to Tripod/Insight Cinema IMHO-- the captions are crisp, clear, not as large, and are played using disc technology, which means we can see the movies within weeks of their opening, rather than waiting 3-4 months), and the theater chain (Mann) has been very supportive of DTS, by no means were all the kinks and bugs worked out. Mann shows DTS-captioned movies at seven locations in the L.A. area, and the closest one to us is the Bruin Theatre in Westwood. It's across from the Fox Theatre, where a lot of movie premieres are held, and is in itself a nice theater, so we've been looking forward to seeing a movie there. Not to mention it's approximately a mile from us! No need to drive 30-45 minutes just to see a movie.
Since we both had the afternoon free, we went to the Tuesday afternoon showing, so we could save money. After plopping down our cash and heading into the theater (which, by the way, is a single-screen theatre-- showing movies they way they were *meant* to be showed), we sat down and waited for the show to start. After sitting through internminable commercials (you ever notice how more and more commercials are being played these days?? It's becoming annoying. If I want commercials, I'll go watch TV, thank you) and several previews (including the preview for the new Star Wars flick coming out in May), the movie finally started. But no captions.
I ran to the back, and encountered the usher, who quickly said he'd go take care of it. I sat back down to watch the movie. Five minutes passed. I went back, this time heading out into the lobby, then upstairs where I knew the manager's office was. I quickly explained what was going on, and was told there was a technical problem and they'd get it going ASAP. I went back to the theatre. After another five minutes, we debated whether or not to leave, and finally decided it wasn't worth it to sit there. I preferred to get our money back. So we headed out and talked to the manager. To his credit, he was very helpful, VERY apologetic, and not only gave us our money back, but free passes.
I took the opportunity to e-mail the PR person for the DTS program. To HER credit, she was also very apologetic, maintained contact me with me on the matter through the next few hours, and finally explained the problem. It seems that since this is a major movie theatre (they show the latest and hottest releases, often starting from that movie's premiere there or at a nearby theater) that turns over their titles after about two or three weeks, that often they don't have a DTS-captioned title there. This was the first time in a while, and they hadn't realized that when the DTS disc player hasn't been used for a while, it needs time to warm up. I asked if the Thursday showing would have captions, since this was a movie we really wanted to see (by this time, it already had Oscar buzz). I was not only assured that they would have the captions ready, they put us on the guest pass list. So we headed back on Thursday evening for free, and we were able to see the movie.
It's really good to see that Mann is really trying to stay on top of things, and be proactive in making sure we deaf can see movies on an equal footing. I also found it interesting that on that Thursday night, in the heart of Westwood just blocks from UCLA, in a major movie theatre playing an Oscar-nominated movie, NOT one person seemed to have any problems with the captions. I didn't see anyone get up and leave the theatre; I didn't hear anything from the manager afterward (I stopped to thank him and let him know we'd be happy to patronize the theatre as long as they carried captioned films *hint hint*) about complaints from hearing patrons regarding the open captioning... so where's the outrage? I really suspect most people wouldn't be bothered about having captions on the screen. It'd just be a certain segment of the audience, and probably "purists" as well.
I've tried Rear-Window Captioning (RWC), and while it isn't as bad as I've heard, it is somewhat awkward to have to make sure the little screen stays in place, and to find the right seat in the middle of the theater for optimal viewing. Plus it takes a bit of getting used to, watching the movie and watching the captions at the same time. It isn't my ideal situation, but it's definitely better than no captions at all. While I hear rumblings that RWC technology is "obsolete" (and I agree- DTS has the capability of showing open subtitles in all kinds of languages, not just English, and I think is much more superior to RWC and to the old open-captioned method of burning the dialogue into the film print itself), I suspect that because it creates somewhat of a happy medium, it's going to be around for a while. It allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people access to the movies, often the same week the film is released, but it lifts the burden of having open-captions on the screen so that hearing people are inconvenienced. For that reason, I think it's going to be the PC-solution for providing equal access to movies. Eventually though, I'd like to see something closer to DTS. It still doesn't resolve the problem that currently exists of only offering captioned showings once or twice a week at selected theaters, but it's just much easier on the eyes. We'll see what happens...
As far as the Oscars go, we'll be watching tomorrow night. If I had the money, I'd be using it to hit some of the hottest restaurants tomorrow night, in hopes of seeing post-Oscar celebrities grab a bite to eat. The Oscars go on for hours, and you're just sitting there in the theater, looking smart and watching the presentations. But you have nothing to eat, nothing to do; you're just sitting there like everyone else. It's the post-Oscar bashes, parties, restaurant and bar gatherings, where you can really relax. I understand the industry prefers the Golden Globes because there's not only dinner, but more freedom to walk about, talk, and be yourself.
But of course, we have no money, no cachet, so we'll just satisfy ourself with the TV and some munchies, along with the rest of you. *grin*
Usually, since I'm deaf, I haven't watched any of the nominated movies, unless they came out much earlier in the year and are now on DVD. A couple years ago, a lot of the movies were either open-captioned or already out on video, so I'd seen something like three or four of the five best picture nominees. This year, I've only seen one: "Million Dollar Baby." I enjoyed the movie, but wouldn't go so far as to say it made my top-ten best all-time movie list either. Hillary Swank is an impressive actress. Kind of cool to think "Beverly Hills 90210" had at least one cast member with talent! If you'll notice, we've barely heard from most of the others on that show since...
We had kind of a struggle to see the movie, though. Even though it was open-captioned through DTS technology (far superior to Tripod/Insight Cinema IMHO-- the captions are crisp, clear, not as large, and are played using disc technology, which means we can see the movies within weeks of their opening, rather than waiting 3-4 months), and the theater chain (Mann) has been very supportive of DTS, by no means were all the kinks and bugs worked out. Mann shows DTS-captioned movies at seven locations in the L.A. area, and the closest one to us is the Bruin Theatre in Westwood. It's across from the Fox Theatre, where a lot of movie premieres are held, and is in itself a nice theater, so we've been looking forward to seeing a movie there. Not to mention it's approximately a mile from us! No need to drive 30-45 minutes just to see a movie.
Since we both had the afternoon free, we went to the Tuesday afternoon showing, so we could save money. After plopping down our cash and heading into the theater (which, by the way, is a single-screen theatre-- showing movies they way they were *meant* to be showed), we sat down and waited for the show to start. After sitting through internminable commercials (you ever notice how more and more commercials are being played these days?? It's becoming annoying. If I want commercials, I'll go watch TV, thank you) and several previews (including the preview for the new Star Wars flick coming out in May), the movie finally started. But no captions.
I ran to the back, and encountered the usher, who quickly said he'd go take care of it. I sat back down to watch the movie. Five minutes passed. I went back, this time heading out into the lobby, then upstairs where I knew the manager's office was. I quickly explained what was going on, and was told there was a technical problem and they'd get it going ASAP. I went back to the theatre. After another five minutes, we debated whether or not to leave, and finally decided it wasn't worth it to sit there. I preferred to get our money back. So we headed out and talked to the manager. To his credit, he was very helpful, VERY apologetic, and not only gave us our money back, but free passes.
I took the opportunity to e-mail the PR person for the DTS program. To HER credit, she was also very apologetic, maintained contact me with me on the matter through the next few hours, and finally explained the problem. It seems that since this is a major movie theatre (they show the latest and hottest releases, often starting from that movie's premiere there or at a nearby theater) that turns over their titles after about two or three weeks, that often they don't have a DTS-captioned title there. This was the first time in a while, and they hadn't realized that when the DTS disc player hasn't been used for a while, it needs time to warm up. I asked if the Thursday showing would have captions, since this was a movie we really wanted to see (by this time, it already had Oscar buzz). I was not only assured that they would have the captions ready, they put us on the guest pass list. So we headed back on Thursday evening for free, and we were able to see the movie.
It's really good to see that Mann is really trying to stay on top of things, and be proactive in making sure we deaf can see movies on an equal footing. I also found it interesting that on that Thursday night, in the heart of Westwood just blocks from UCLA, in a major movie theatre playing an Oscar-nominated movie, NOT one person seemed to have any problems with the captions. I didn't see anyone get up and leave the theatre; I didn't hear anything from the manager afterward (I stopped to thank him and let him know we'd be happy to patronize the theatre as long as they carried captioned films *hint hint*) about complaints from hearing patrons regarding the open captioning... so where's the outrage? I really suspect most people wouldn't be bothered about having captions on the screen. It'd just be a certain segment of the audience, and probably "purists" as well.
I've tried Rear-Window Captioning (RWC), and while it isn't as bad as I've heard, it is somewhat awkward to have to make sure the little screen stays in place, and to find the right seat in the middle of the theater for optimal viewing. Plus it takes a bit of getting used to, watching the movie and watching the captions at the same time. It isn't my ideal situation, but it's definitely better than no captions at all. While I hear rumblings that RWC technology is "obsolete" (and I agree- DTS has the capability of showing open subtitles in all kinds of languages, not just English, and I think is much more superior to RWC and to the old open-captioned method of burning the dialogue into the film print itself), I suspect that because it creates somewhat of a happy medium, it's going to be around for a while. It allows deaf and hard-of-hearing people access to the movies, often the same week the film is released, but it lifts the burden of having open-captions on the screen so that hearing people are inconvenienced. For that reason, I think it's going to be the PC-solution for providing equal access to movies. Eventually though, I'd like to see something closer to DTS. It still doesn't resolve the problem that currently exists of only offering captioned showings once or twice a week at selected theaters, but it's just much easier on the eyes. We'll see what happens...
As far as the Oscars go, we'll be watching tomorrow night. If I had the money, I'd be using it to hit some of the hottest restaurants tomorrow night, in hopes of seeing post-Oscar celebrities grab a bite to eat. The Oscars go on for hours, and you're just sitting there in the theater, looking smart and watching the presentations. But you have nothing to eat, nothing to do; you're just sitting there like everyone else. It's the post-Oscar bashes, parties, restaurant and bar gatherings, where you can really relax. I understand the industry prefers the Golden Globes because there's not only dinner, but more freedom to walk about, talk, and be yourself.
But of course, we have no money, no cachet, so we'll just satisfy ourself with the TV and some munchies, along with the rest of you. *grin*
posted by Mr. Sandman | 7:36 PM
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