# When a famous actor dies - special movie screenings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 8, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990 "2018-09-08T02:59:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/1 "2018-09-08T02:59:22Z")
Years ago when actor Gene wilder died a local theater did a special screening of “Charlie and the chocolate Factory”. Are any theaters in your area doing something like this for Burt Reynolds and have they done similar for other actors who have died? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/2 "2018-09-08T13:00:52Z")
This reminded me to check the TCM schedule to see if they’re doing anything. Nothing listed yet. It seems to take a bit. They’re doing a 3-movie [tribute](http://www.tcm.com/this-month/movie-news.html?id=1431907&name=TCM-Remembers-Neil-Simon-1927-2018-) for Neil Simon on Sept. 14th and he passed away Aug. 26th. Some of the retro channels switched stuff around so that a Burt Reynolds episode/movie was aired. E.g., the one doing the old Carson shows swapped in a Reynolds one two nights ago. The problem is that it’s hard to know about such quick changes in advance and set up a recording. Esp. since the program guides aren’t updated that quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/3 "2018-09-08T17:34:54Z")
_Saturday Night Live_ ran a 2002 episode hosted by John McCain the night after his death. I’ve seen TVLand tributes 1-2 weeks after a celebrity’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/4 "2018-09-08T19:53:47Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Some of the retro channels switched stuff around so that a Burt Reynolds episode/movie was aired. E.g., the one doing the old Carson shows swapped in a Reynolds one two nights ago. Yeah, Antenna TV tends to run certain “Tonight Show” episodes after famous people die. Burt is on the schedule again tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/5 "2018-09-08T20:14:34Z")
Why would a theater show a Johnny Depp movie as a tribute to Gene Wilder? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/6 "2018-09-08T21:46:45Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Why would a theater show a Johnny Depp movie as a tribute to Gene Wilder? Oooh, I missed that. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/7 "2018-09-09T02:42:12Z")
AMC Theaters will be showing Smokey and the Bandit in 240 of its theaters starting this Wednesday- > **[‘Smokey and the Bandit’ Returning to AMC Theatres as Burt Reynolds Tribute](https://variety.com/2018/film/news/smokey-and-the-bandit-amc-theatres-burt-reynolds-tribute-1202932915/)** > > AMC Theatres is bringing back Burt Reynolds’ 1977 comedy “Smokey and the Bandit” for a nine-day run as a tribute to the late actor, who died on Thursday. The chain announced Frida… ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/8 "2018-09-09T17:54:08Z")
Discussion about movies and actors best suited for Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/9 "2018-09-09T18:04:20Z")
I remember when Elvis died, cinemas practically everywhere were doing all-nighters of his movies. Mind you, this was in 1977, long before cable TV was in every home. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/10 "2018-09-09T19:56:22Z")
My local car club changed our outdoor movie for last night, to Smokey and the Bandit. Even had someone show up in a properly painted Trans-Am. 60 people sitting in lawn chairs in a parking lot, watching a movie projected on the side of a bank. It was rather fun. ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/11 "2018-09-11T05:10:11Z")
[Captain EO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_EO), the Coppola-Lucas-Jackson sci-fi film attraction, re-opened at various Disney theme parks in 2010 following Michael Jackson’s death. This was years after the attraction had already been closed. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2018, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/12 "2018-09-11T14:51:13Z")
It certainly would be easier now where (assuming it exists) the theater can download the projection file rather than shipping a bunch of cans from a depository in who-knows-where. In a pinch you can even use a Blu-Ray disk (with permissions in place, of course). Fans of the movie _Serenity_ hit upon the idea of showing the [movie](http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/) as a charitable event every year in September, the movie’s release month and also when Joss Whedon was born. Universal said they would keep 30 copies in the vault but someone didn’t get the memo and we wound up with 10. It took some co-ordination between the shippers, the central organization, and the various venues to make sure the prints were available when they were needed, especially since weekends were preferred. Nowadays we just do Blu Ray. Most of the indie houses we use are 4K anyway, and we’ve all seen the film before. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/13 "2018-09-17T17:38:28Z")
My local Marcus Cinema movie theater had a couple showing of Smokey and the Bandit this past weekend. The tend to do some throwback movie series, so I didn’t really think anything of it… but it’s quite possible it was due to Burt Reynolds’ passing. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2018, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-a-famous-actor-dies-special-movie-screenings/820990/14 "2018-09-17T19:18:00Z")
On the day Burt died, CMT interrupted their regular schedule and showed their special about the making of _Smokey and the Bandit_