Yes, its true. I was able to go to the premier of Spider Man 3. It made news being the first major Hollywood Premier party outside of the US. The stars were all there, and Tobey Maguire was even kind enough to pose with me in this photograph:

Ok, ok, so maybe this wasn't THE premier. But I still insisted on going to see the film on a Friday night. I've worked for many years as a projectionist, and I can testify to the power of the audience. Example. I'd watch the noon showing of Austin Powers. Five people in the audience. Even during the funniest scenes, nobody was laughing. Contrast that with the 10 'o clock showing, only five empty seats in the audience. There was no choice, if you were in that audience you were laughing.

It's for that reason I insist on seeing good films with a good audience. Japan, however, failed to provide one. What I didn't take into account, was the language factor. From reading the subtitles, the Japanese theater-goers could hardly understand the humor of a French maitre'd mispronouncing "Parker" as "Pecker." Nor did anyone seem to recognize Bruce Campbell as a recurring character actor in the Spider Man Trilogy. Nobody seemed to recognize Stan Lee's cameo, for that matter.

One of the last times I went to see a movie back in the States, I was subjected to the usual barrage of commercials. It's deplorable, but we're used to it. Only on that occasion I remember being treated to a propaganda piece as well. Some absurdest, anti-marijuana nonsense about how pot smokers would run over infants, or similar bullshit. I remember thinking "I'm paying for this brainwashing crap?" Well Hollywood hasn't stopped. The current propaganda piece involves--you guessed it--piracy. With ghostly illustrated cartoon drawings, they urge us to report anyone filming or downloading such material. The image that stayed with me was that of one woman crying in horror as the man next to her operated his hand held camera.

Give me a fucking break! We all know that the majority of Internet traded pirated films come from DVD screeners given out by Hollywood its self. Sure, a few hand cam versions wind up on the net, but it's the DVD copies that take the lions share of the bootleg market. Hollywood's propaganda machine seems to have forgotten that detail. Just thought I'd remind you.