Now Indie film making isn’t exactly all that interesting to most people, that is, not until the next Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes out and blows people away. Most people are content to simply ignore Indie films until the bandwagon no longer allows them to. Suffering a similar, if even more ignominious fate is Indie publishing, specifically comic book publishing. The mainstream couldn’t care less what the virginal, pimple-faced nerds are reading. So it comes as little of a surprise that barely anyone is covering the announcement that Top Shelf Productions, arguably the best Indie comic publisher currently in operation, has made a deal with the Indie film company Likely Story for partial interest in Top Shelf Productions. The reason for this? To start putting Top Shelf comics into film production.
Top Shelf co-founders Chris Staros and Brett Warnock still have controlling interest in the company, but now entrepreneur John S. Johnson and independent film producer Anthony Bregman (owners of Likely Story) now have the option to hand select which Top Shelf products they’d like to produce for film or television, essentially granting them exclusive rights to hand select from the Top Shelf catalog, whereas before Top Shelf simply allowed Hollywood to come to them for adaptations like Surrogates.
And word has it that the first project has already been selected, a film adaptation of Alex Robinson’sToo Cool To Be Forgotten (recently named one of Amazon.com’s Top Ten Graphic Novels of the Year), a story of a man who tries to battle his cigarette addiction by traveling back in time to the first time he ever smoked, High School. Its a great comic and one that should translate rather easily to the silver screen which only excites me at the possibilities of Top Shelf finally getting the mainstream recognition and acclaim that it so richly deserves.
For those of you wondering what I’ve been up to these past few weeks while the site has run silent, I’ve been working like crazy out at the new Kerasotes Theatre in St Louis Park that is scheduled to open this Friday, November 20th. The Showplace Icon Theatre will be a bit different from your standard movie theatre experience, which is why I am so excited to tell you about it.
So just what is so special?
Bathroom attendents
Yup. Each of our bathrooms will have an attendant to make sure everything is clean and fully stocked throughout our operating day.
Reserved seating in every auditorium
That’s right. Every seat in every auditorium is reserved. Which means you will get to pick and choose where you sit in any theatre. Like sitting up in the corners? No problem. Have an entire party and want to be sure you get seats together? Done. And just in case you are worried about finding your seat, we will have ushers in every theatre to assist you.
After 7pm every one 16 and under must be accompanied by their parent our guardian
We want to be a theatre that caters to both adults and to families that are seeing a film together. While we enjoying having kids and teenagers alike, what we don’t want to be is a theatre where kids can simply be dropped off and allowed to run around all day. We want people to come to our theatre to watch movies.
No admission to a movie after the first 5 minutes
One of the primary goals for the Showplace ICON is to remove as many distractions as possible from the theatre going experience. A common issue is people trying to avoid watching the ads before the films, so they come late to purchase tickets and then wander in during the film and try to find seats, disrupting the film for every one else. With our reserved seating groups will no longer have to worry about finding the seats they want, and everyone will know where they will be sitting o that eliminates any potential seating issues. Thus the only reason to now show up late would be to try and miss the ads. Which brings me to my next point.
No ads
And by no ads I mean no digitally projected Coke sponsored “special presentation” during admission and no ads before the trailers. All you will have is a blank screen until we roll trailers and start the film. Once you enter the theatre we want you to enjoy the movie you paid to see and not being forced to watch ads. And since the feature will start 5 minutes after we start we won’t let people into the film once it starts so you can enjoy what you paid to see, the movie.
All digital presentation
Both sound and projection are 100% digital and you are about to experience film like you never have before. No more having to worry about films being out of focus or brain wraps causing the prints to melt. And in the case of emergency, we can actually pause the film and rewind if need be.
All 3D theatres have silver screens
One of the biggest complaints about 3D films is that the image can be dark and muddled, our 3D screens are specially made with a silver additive that allows them to reflect images much better, allowing the light to be reflected back at the audience, which makes the images appear bright and colourful and which in turn helps eliminate eye strain and the headaches they can cause.
Digital sound in every theatre
While previously mentioned, we are the first theatre in Minneapolis that uses 100% digital sound, and oh the noise, noise noise it is capable of. Multiple channels in each theatre and the crisp, clear sound makes for a listening experience just as impressive as the viewing experience.
Bar and lounge area upstairs for those 21+
If you are 21 and over you can enjoy a drink or some food at our upstairs bar and lounge. Nuff said.
VIP section available for auditoriums 1 & 2
This is possibly our coolest feature in the entire theatre. Both theatres 1 & 2 offer VIP seating for an additional $5 charge for people 21+. What this is is balcony seating for both of those theatres which have leather love seats and tables so that people can bring their drinks and food in from the bar and lounge to enjoy while they watch their movies. Its an incredibly comfortable, fun, relaxing and cool environment to watch the biggest movies out today.
Those are just some of the many features you’ll find at our theatre, along with other ammenities like real butter for your popcorn, pizzas at the concession stand and an easy to find floor staff and management team willing to help fill your every need. But the best reason to come to the Showplace ICON is our main house, which is Theatre #1.
Now I’ve been to almost every theatre in the Twin Cities. I love The Uptown, The Heights, The Riverview, and The Parkway just to name a few. And I’ve seen some impressive theatres that offer great picture and sound at them and other theatres around town, but I’ll put up our main house against any of them and not think twice about it. The seating is around 450, which is big but not huge, but the size of the auditorium is massive, possibly even bigger then The Uptown. The screen is just as huge, topping out at 70ft, making it large enough to be a mini IMAX screen. And if that isn’t impressive enough, the sound system in that house has 3x the power of the Metrodome. Then add in the VIP seating the lounge and all of our other amenities an you have a viewing experience that simply can’t be matched in the Twin Cities, and possibly anywhere else in the country. Starting this Friday, its a great time to be a film fan in Minneapolis.
I’m not a huge fan of 3D. I’ve seen it used effectively on occasion, Coraline is one recent example that quickly comes to mind, but when it comes to modern films I am not in any rush to see the 3D version over the standard version, and I don’t think I’m alone in that feeling, no matter how many directors claim they will only film in 3D from now on. It seems more and more likely that the hopes of the medium ride on Avatar, though with two major theatre chains converting entirely to digital by 2012, it may mean a long slow death for 3D, as studios desperately attempt to jam the format down audience’s collective throats.
But while I’m not going to cheer for modern 3D, and don’t even get me started on those red and blue anaglyph abominations of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, I am a huge fan of the original style of presenting 3D. That being two prints being projected simultaneously on an aluminized screen (Quick note: originally they were projected on a silver screen, hence the term silver screen) with the audience wearing polarized glasses.
Now modern theatres setup for 3D boast of having “aluminized” screens, but let me assure you they are nothing like they used to be. The old school screens looked like giant sheets of polished silver (while modern screens look like polished aluminum) and you will find nothing like that in today’s multiplexes. You might be wondering just why that matters. Well, let me tell you.
Now Indie film making isn’t exactly all that interesting to most people, that is, not until the next Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind comes out and blows people away. Most people are content to simply ignore Indie films until the bandwagon no longer allows them to. Suffering a similar, if even more ignominious fate is Indie publishing, specifically comic book publishing. The mainstream couldn’t care less what the virginal, pimple-faced nerds are reading. So it comes as little of a surprise that barely anyone is covering the announcement that Top Shelf Productions, arguably the best Indie comic publisher currently in operation, has made a deal with the Indie film company Likely Story for partial interest in Top Shelf Productions. The reason for this? To start putting Top Shelf comics into film production. 
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