I want to do throw a screening party? (but I need help on details)

LeeH · 06-27-2003, 09:14 PM

Well first of all I want to explain why. There is a local man in town that puts up huge concerts and events in our tiny little town (tonight it was Kenny Rogers in the stadium of my school). He charges canned food for a ticket and over 9,000 people "bought" tickets. Well I thought this was a good idea, why don't I help out by throwing a screening party (I think that's what you call it) and charge cans of food as admission.

I have a couple of questions to go along with this, however. 1) If I show a movie where people have to bring canned food to get in, would this be against any copyright laws? 2)I don't have a projector, is there anywhere I can rent one or a company that will donate one for a couple of nights? 3)What would I do for a screen? 4)Who do i give the cans to to donate them? 5)Where would I do this at (I'm thinking I can do it at my school stadium, but I'm not sure)?

Anyways, hopefully I can do this. I think that showing a movie like Monsters Inc. would be cool for the kids and adults. What do you guys think of this idea? Any help/criticism would be appreciated.

Glenn Overholt · 06-27-2003, 09:41 PM

1. Yes. The other questions don't matter.

Glenn

Mark Philp · 06-27-2003, 11:46 PM

Well, let see about this. I've been involved with a film society for many years, and have done hundreds of "non-theatrical" shows, so maybe I can shed a little light on your idea.
While your motives are good, there a a lot of things to work on. As to being legal, it depends on where you got the film. If you rented it from a distributor and they agreed to donated food as admission then it would be legal. If you got it from some other source such as somebody with a bootleg print then it wouldn't be legal and you could open yourself up to real trouble. Next, who is going to pay the rental fee? We could be talking several hundred dollars.
Now as to projectors. If you're a student then chances are your school has one or more 16mm projectors. Those would work in a medium size auditorium, like in a school, but if you're really talking a stadium, like a football stadium, then 16mm would not work as it can't be projected on a screen large enough and bright enough for everyone to see. For that your talking 35mm and while there are companies who rent projectors and screens it could set you back a couple of thousand what with equipment rental, setting up the screen and the crew to do it. If you have that kind of money, it would be better to just donate it your local food bank instead.
Now that I told you all this, if you still want to do it, contact a company in St. Louis called Swank Films, I'm sure you can find them on the web. They are the 16mm "non-theatrical" distributor for many of the major companies and they can give you details and prices. I would also talk to the manager at your local cinema and see if he might be able arrange some kind of special screening there. You just might be surprised. Good luck.

Jeff Kleist · 06-28-2003, 12:47 AM

Quote:

while there are companies who rent projectors and screens it could set you back a couple of thousand what with equipment rental, setting up the screen and the crew to do it.

.

Try about $10,000. I did a lot of research renting 35mm for a weekend of showings last year, and it runs us close to 20K for the weekend including setup/takedown and crew.

Glenn Overholt · 06-28-2003, 02:55 AM

You did not specify, but it seemed obvious to me that you intend on playing a dvd. Not all, but most of them have a note on the beginning of them that reads something like this...

This DVD is for private home viewing only. It is not licensed for any other use. Any public performance, copying or other use is strictly prohibited.

I'm not even going to get into how illegal this is, and I am not the only reader here that knows better. My apologies if you had intended on showing your vacation films.

Glenn

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LeeH · 06-28-2003, 10:35 AM

OK, thanks for all your posts.

I was thinking more of a smaller screen than that. I was thinking more to wards DVD because that would be the cheapest route to go. If I didn't charge the can to get in would it be legal? It seems that it would then just be a get together, like if you were going to have a bunch of friends over for a movie. If I didn't make people bring canned food to get in the maybe I could just set a table out where people could just donate out of the kindness of their heart. As for the screen I was thinking more to wards 20 feet diag?

Thanks,
Lee

Glenn Overholt · 06-28-2003, 11:47 AM

No sir. It goes under public performance. I could show up, and that makes it public. Was a nice gesture, though.

You could contact the studio and ask them, but you'd have to have the movie picked out, or the studio anyway.

Glenn

LeeH · 06-29-2003, 01:40 PM

So it's technically illegal to watch a movie with a friend?

Jack Briggs · 06-29-2003, 02:07 PM

No, not in your home theater. That falls under "fair use" (unless you charge your friend admission).