IMAX says: Just respect my conglomerate

If you’ve been to the movies this year, perhaps you’ve checked a movie on an IMAX screen. You may have found it interesting that the same theater you went to last year had an IMAX scren in it this year…without any serious construction going on.

After people started paying 15 dollars for “Star Trek”, complaints started coming in from across the country.

And that was fine. But then, actor/comedian Aziz Ansari completely unloaded on his blog the other day, citing this article, and said:

At the AMC theatre this was my experience at guest services:

Aziz: Yes, I’d like my $5 back. I paid $5 extra for an IMAX screen and that’s not nearly as big as what I have known IMAX to be.
Guest Services: I can’t sir. Its IMAX quality picture and sound.
Aziz: But the screen isn’t big, that’s the whole reason I pay $5 more for IMAX.
Guest Services: Well sir, you watched the whole movie, you could have come out and we could have given you tickets to a different one.
Aziz: Why would I do that? I’d leave Star Trek, the movie I wanted to see and you’d give me a ticket for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past? Oh yeah that’s fair! No, you need to give me the $5 back, its the principle of it. Can I see a manager?

Manager: Sir, we can’t refund the money, you saw the whole film.
Aziz: I don’t want $15, I just want $5 cause AMC lied about IMAX.
Manager: Sir, I can give you popcorn and a drink.
Aziz: I don’t want to go home and drink a nasty soda and eat nasty ass popcorn. I want my $5 back. Its not about the money, its the principle of the matter, ITS NOT IMAX.
Manager: Sorry, I can’t do anything.
Aziz: You know what Twitter is? I have 25,000 followers, I’m tell 25,000 people you run fake IMAX’s and that they should boycott AMC.
Manager: I don’t really care sir.
Aziz: Yeah, I wouldn’t care either if I worked here, but you know you are in the wrong! You should give me $5!!
Manager: SIR, I CAN GIVE YOU POPCORN AND A SODA.
Aziz: I DON’T LIKE POPCORN AND I DON’T LIKE SODA, I WANT MY $5!!!
Manager: Ok here’s two free passes.

Hm. So the moral here is…you can get free passes at an AMC by flipping out in the lobby? Good to know.

Anyway, here is a size comparison he got from the article:

Yeah. See the small rectangle? That’s the new IMAX. There’s a big difference. Now normally, IMAX screens have stuff like “Earth” or “March of the Penguins” on it, and most IMAX screens are at the museum, so nobody really knew the difference. But now we do, and IMAX had some ‘splaining to do before Transformers hit IMAX screens. their Stock price dropped three cents.

So, Imax responded.

The CEO of IMAX, Richard Gelfond, defended the more modest IMAX screens, saying the extra price is worth it, even if the screen size isn’t much different than a traditional movie theater. Because, “using a process called Digital Remastering, the resolution is increased, the sound quality is enhanced, and several front rows are removed to improve the viewer’s experience”. That’s pretty gangsta. Less seats, better speakers, and for that…$5 extra? I guess so.

Also, there are costs involved. it costs approximately $5M to add the large IMAX screen to your local theater. the smaller screens cost about $1.5M.

And finally, 12% of Watchmen’s total take was IMAX, and 15% of Star Trek’s total was IMAX.

In short, they know it’s a smaller screen. But it’s still IMAX. There’s a sticker and everything. So run the $15 and silence your phone.

Aziz has invited the CEO of Imax to debate the issue on TV with him. That’s a discussion worth watching in HD.