and watch it on the big screen. As in, rent out space at a movie theater, and get a whole bunch of people together to watch Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Art or some such thing on the big screen. I mean, there’s got to be prints of these movies sitting around somewhere, and somebody has got to be willing to rent them out.
I’ve googled and the closest I’ve gotten are college libraries and independant films. Am I just terribly naive to think that renting an actual movie print would be possible? Any thoughts on how I can make such an event happen?
Don’t know about renting out movie theaters, but considering you’d need a (union) projectionist as well as the auditorium and print of the film, it could get a bit pricey.
On the other hand, I had a friend back in the late seventies who had his own 16mm projector, and a decent sized screen. He would order 16mm prints from the public library and show them in his basement.
Granted, he didn’t get the latest releases, and ususally had to wait a week or two, but it was a gas. If I recall, that was where I saw Citizen Kane for the first time.
Call your local theater and ask.
If you can find a theater to rent, ask them to rent your movie for you. If it’s something obscure, you may have to find it for them. By and large, they should have adequate contacts among film distributors to get what you need.
If you rent solo, you’re going to run into places that won’t send a 35mm or 70mm print to your home, or will insist on some huge deposit. I’m sure the theater will mark up their cost to you, but at least they shouldn’t require special insurance or a film rental deposit, because the print is never in your possession.
If you are in New York City, you can actually rent a videotape and show it on a (not that huge but still a) movie screen at a place called The Screening Room on Varick Street. They may be able to help you rent an actual film as well.
I know theaters usually are available for private screenings, but I assume that’s for current movies.
Does a local college have a campus cinema? Here we have a cinema club that shows second-run and classic movies for a couple of bucks on the weekend. Maybe they could hook you up with getting prints.
This is annoying. Apparently there’s some glitch in the new software that is eating some of my posts. I originally posted on this thread this morning but that post isn’t here. This is the second time I’ve seen this happen since the relaunch.
Anyway, to repeat my earlier post, you should go to the www.swank.com . This is the website for a national company that rents films for public showings. I believe they have a online FAQ.
Lurker, lurker, lurker… videotape is like masturbation. It’s enjoyable, it’s readily available, and it’s a lot better than nothing if the real thing isn’t around. But watching a videotape in no way compares to watching a film.
Try these guys :
Films Incorporated
5547 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Chicago, IL 60640
(800) 323-4222
They may be able to help you. Also, get on the web and contact the Non-Theatrical Screening Divisions of Paramount Pictures ( in the case of “Raiders”), and other studios.
This task is handled by either outside agencies on behalf of a studio, or by the studio itself using it’s internal people.
Prints can be gotten, you pay a rental fee and are allowed to screen it NOT for profit, for a set amount of time.
I did this a few years ago, started a program in my small town to show movies in the park in the summertime, using a high-intensity video projector. It’s easier than you would think to get copies from the studios of movies.
16mm prints might be harder to get for newer releases, due to the prevalence of good quality video projectors. If I were you, I’d either keep it totally private and find a space, a DVD and a video projector, or contact the studios as outlined above and get an official copy made for Non-Theatrical Screening.
Remember the FBI warning label at the head of videos. You can show it to a few friends or to a large group, you just cannot make a dime doing it. Private viewership is not limited to a few folks.
Cartooniverse
Not necessarily true. I work in a prison and we rent and show vidoes over our internal VCR system on weekends. Despite the fact that we are not charging for viewing or making a profit, we have to pay a special rental rate because of the number of viewers watching each movie. At some point (admittedly I don’t know the exact number) the film company will want to kick in a higher royalty rate regardless of whether or not you’re charging admission.