The Vibe in the Bay Area

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Posted by Derek at c56232-a.frmt1.sfba.home.com on November 15, 1999 at 11:09:20:

OK, I'd seen the movie previously at a press screening. My better half decided that after hearing my responses to the movie, she wanted to see it opening weekend. (Normally, she's a "wait til the rush is over" kinda person going on the 3rd weekend or so)

All evening showings at the AMC Mercado 20 in Santa Clara, CA were sold out. At 9:00 at night, they were selling tickets for the early afternoon shows the following day.

We headed back to our home town (Fremont, CA) to see it in a crappier theater. Now, generally, when we're there, there are maybe 10 other people in the theater at a time. (The Cinedome theatre there is "due for renovations" but hasn't gotten them yet, so most people go to the better theaters). The place was, while not sold out, respectably filled.

Now, there were problems with the print they have (color and sound both washed out at one point), and the projectionist screwed up (with the picture getting vertically out of sync during the Mooby Executives scene, so the top of Damon's head was on the bottom of the screen the whole time until someone finally bitch-slapped the projectionist).

Crowd reactions/vibe: Excellent. They laughed when they should, they shut the fuck up when they should, and everyone seemed to get out of it what you would think they should.

Long-time fans: Only about 5 people were sitting in the theater waiting for the "Jay and Silent Bob...." line, which would indicate to me that the majority of the people there were first-time viewers or casual viewers. So their reactions isn't just "a bunch of Kevin Smith cultists", but the average layperson's view.

As for my other half's reaction.... a devout Catholic herself, she gives Kev a big thumbs up. As far as she's concerned, you've done everything you always claimed you were trying to do. (And in fact, she got the feeling "[She] needs to go see it again a couple times, to get everything out of it that is there." If that's a common sentiment, you should see decent return-customer action as well.

That's the word on the street from Northern California. :) Cheers!

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: OK, I'd seen the movie previously at a press screening. My better half decided that after hearing my responses to the movie, she wanted to see it opening weekend. (Normally, she's a "wait til the rush is over" kinda person going on the 3rd weekend or so) : All evening showings at the AMC Mercado 20 in Santa Clara, CA were sold out. At 9:00 at night, they were selling tickets for the early afternoon shows the following day. : We headed back to our home town (Fremont, CA) to see it in a crappier theater. Now, generally, when we're there, there are maybe 10 other people in the theater at a time. (The Cinedome theatre there is "due for renovations" but hasn't gotten them yet, so most people go to the better theaters). The place was, while not sold out, respectably filled. : Now, there were problems with the print they have (color and sound both washed out at one point), and the projectionist screwed up (with the picture getting vertically out of sync during the Mooby Executives scene, so the top of Damon's head was on the bottom of the screen the whole time until someone finally bitch-slapped the projectionist). : Crowd reactions/vibe: Excellent. They laughed when they should, they shut the fuck up when they should, and everyone seemed to get out of it what you would think they should. : Long-time fans: Only about 5 people were sitting in the theater waiting for the "Jay and Silent Bob...." line, which would indicate to me that the majority of the people there were first-time viewers or casual viewers. So their reactions isn't just "a bunch of Kevin Smith cultists", but the average layperson's view. : As for my other half's reaction.... a devout Catholic herself, she gives Kev a big thumbs up. As far as she's concerned, you've done everything you always claimed you were trying to do. (And in fact, she got the feeling "[She] needs to go see it again a couple times, to get everything out of it that is there." If that's a common sentiment, you should see decent return-customer action as well. : That's the word on the street from Northern California. :) Cheers! : D

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