POTO Being Reissued in Movie Theatres:

Has anybody heard? Phantom is being reissued back into theatres I believe May 20th of this year by Fathom Events! The way that I heard about this is that I went to the movies with a friend this afternoon and saw the preview for the reissue! Who is going and has this topic already been posted? If so (or if not) is this topic even in the right place? You can find out more information by clicking here:

http://www.fathomevents.com/performingarts/event/phantom2012.aspx?d=5/21/2012

So my inquiry to you all is 2 part:

Who's going and who is going who hasn't seen it already?

As it says, it's playing in selected theatres, therefore, I am sure to go and see it as an early 30 birthday present from my parents! (Well, that is hopefully, in seeing as though money's extremely tight with absolutely everyone nowadays)! I obviously didn't get to see it when it was first released into theatres, therefore 2nd time's a charm! Therefore, I hopefully do so get to see it for an early 30th birthday present!

Just thought I'd keep you all posted for all who are interested!

That is all!

~ ChristineDaae1982

Why do I get the feeling they're doing this mostly so they can shill The Sequel Which Does Not Exist one last time?

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:Why do I get the feeling they're doing this mostly so they can shill The Sequel Which Does Not Exist one last time?

~LCD

Now, now, LCD. What have they ever done to make you feel so jaded? Lol.

Anyhow, I would only go see it again if it was cheaper - hey, $30 to see a movie is a lot of money! Also, I would like to see the original *truly* live theatrical broadcast cut again, aka, the one that hasn't been patched together from the three Anniversary performances.

Does anyone have box office figures from the original series of showings? It's just interesting to me that they'd consider showing it again - particularly since it's already been shown and the DVD/Bluray is already readily available. Both factors would presumably contribute to a smaller audience size.

~Madame~

Meh. I can watch it for free in my living room. Nice try though RUG!

I do wonder though if it'll be the original broadcast or the one that was edited for the bluray/dvd release? I suppose there is only one way to find out lol

Sorry to be a snark but I totally agree with LadyCDaae. It feels like the main purpose for this is to be able to screen "Love Never Dies" again, and to tie the original and the sequel closer together. Some places first screen the Royal Albert Hall concert (which has a Raoul and an ending adapted to LND), and then they screen LND. This "stand alone" musical just isn't able to stand alone.

The Cinemark in Las Vegas is one of the theatres offering such a "Phantom week".

OH MY GOD!! Please let it be near me! PLEASE! My toddler is OBSESSED with the 25th anniversary production! Just say the word "Masquerade" and she literally starts doing the dance.

And...YES! HELL YES!! I'm tempted to wake my husband up and tell him what we will be doing that evening with a 29-month-old in tow.

Aria Clements wrote:OH MY GOD!! Please let it be near me! PLEASE! My toddler is OBSESSED with the 25th anniversary production! Just say the word "Masquerade" and she literally starts doing the dance.

And...YES! HELL YES!! I'm tempted to wake my husband up and tell him what we will be doing that evening with a 29-month-old in tow.

I sense that we have another Phantom Phan in the making! Congratulations on your baby (well, not so much a baby any longer, but a toddler)! How old is he/she & does he/sh have a name? If you click on my link, you can type in your zip code and see what movie theares Phantom will be playing at, I firmly beieve!

Good Luck!

~ ChristineDaae1982

She said 29 months.

The second bit of excitement is that it IS near me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOyINjJ4SOE

See? That was over a month ago. She's seen it countless more times since then, and now, if you just say the name of the song, she starts the dance. If you have the DVD playing and stop it, she keeps going. I've never seen a child so obsessed.

That's adorable. I guess it's a good thing a new generation is getting introduced to the show, though a shame it's with this production rather than the true original.

SenorSwanky wrote: That's adorable. I guess it's a good thing a new generation is getting introduced to the show, though a shame it's with this production rather than the true original.

I agree, that is beyond adorable. And even if she isn't seeing the original, I'm glad she's learning her Phantom through the RAH rather than the 2004 film!

~Madame~

Madame Giry wrote:

SenorSwanky wrote: That's adorable. I guess it's a good thing a new generation is getting introduced to the show, though a shame it's with this production rather than the true original.

I agree, that is beyond adorable. And even if she isn't seeing the original, I'm glad she's learning her Phantom through the RAH rather than the 2004 film!

~Madame~

At least there's that.

LadyCDaae wrote:Why do I get the feeling they're doing this mostly so they can shill The Sequel Which Does Not Exist one last time?

~LCD

Further emphasized by Andrew Lloyd Webber's official Facebook page updating with:

Both The Phantom of the Opera at The Royal Albert Hall and Love Never Dies return to American cinema screens later this month for a final encore! In this clip, Andrew Lloyd Webber discusses how Love Never Dies Australia came to be filmed: http://goo.gl/tDslx

It's still really odd to hear some lyrics that are different than the original, but I don't know where to find a DVD or anything of the original version. If anyone knows, please share!

A change I did like, and I know this is sacrilege, is those arm puffy things on the Star Princess dress. Those were always distracting. I was very happy they were left off. I've seen some small puffs that were okay, but those ginormous ones? Ew, no.

There is no video recording of the original production beyond some clips for news purposes. They do record it from time to time, but they're not publicly released.

operafantomet wrote:Sorry to be a snark but I totally agree with LadyCDaae. It feels like the main purpose for this is to be able to screen "Love Never Dies" again, and to tie the original and the sequel closer together. Some places first screen the Royal Albert Hall concert (which has a Raoul and an ending adapted to LND), and then they screen LND. This "stand alone" musical just isn't able to stand alone.

The Cinemark in Las Vegas is one of the theatres offering such a "Phantom week".

Just saw the ad for the double-feature at my local Cinemark theater. As I recall it was being touted as "your chance to see the epic story from beginning to end." So yeah, so much for that plan for it to be a standalone musical.

R.

Raphael wrote:
Just saw the ad for the double-feature at my local Cinemark theater. As I recall it was being touted as "your chance to see the epic story from beginning to end." So yeah, so much for that plan for it to be a standalone musical.

R.

*twitches*

I hope at least there's some sort of discount if you see both. I can't imagine forking out $60 to see something at the movie theatre.... even if it does last like 4 or 5 hours.

I wonder if they're showing the post-show stuff for the RAH? I mean, besides the extra time it would take, wouldn't that kinda disrupt the *really struggles here*... "continuity" ... between the two features?

~Madame~

Yeah I saw the same ad, it says "For the first time witness the complete story the way it was meant to be seen, from beginning to end, in an epic two night event"
I know some people are going to flip at that tagline, but alas it's sign sealed and delivered; however the prices are nowhere near as high as they were for the original broadcasts; they only run $12 or $13 each, so you could see both for under $30 easily.

That's infuriating. The way it was meant to be seen my ass.

Like I said, Im sure some phans will flip at it, but they're trying to promote it as a two night event, so people buy tickets to both which means more $...it is a business afterall...regardless how the phans feel.

Raphael wrote:As I recall it was being touted as "your chance to see the epic story from beginning to end."

Big deal, I do that every time I see PotO live.

~LCD

LadyCDaae wrote:

Raphael wrote:As I recall it was being touted as "your chance to see the epic story from beginning to end."

Big deal, I do that every time I see PotO live.

~LCD

And that's a *WIN* for LadyCDaae.

~Madame~

Madame Giry wrote:

LadyCDaae wrote:

Raphael wrote:As I recall it was being touted as "your chance to see the epic story from beginning to end."

Big deal, I do that every time I see PotO live.

~LCD

And that's a *WIN* for LadyCDaae.

~Madame~

HA! So true.

Seriously, this LND thing really does live up to its title. It's like an accursed parasitic zombie that just keeps coming back from the dead.

I totally understand "phans" frustration with LND as I have a few issues with it myself, but opinions aside, the fact cant be ignored that it is slowly gaining a revived popularity and is making $, with two new productions in the works ( one a UK tour) and Webber himself eyeing Broadway in the near future, I think its safe to say we havent seen the last of it; the point is...if you're totally against it I think it may be best to go ahead and brace yourselves because it isnt going to be vanishing anytime soon; we can throw out points around all day on why it does or doesnt work and what a travesty or masterpiece it is...but the fact remains if it's making $, and there is a demand/interest for it...it'll be around for a while

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I totally understand "phans" frustration with LND as I have a few issues with it myself, but opinions aside, the fact cant be ignored that it is slowly gaining a revived popularity and is making $, with two new productions in the works ( one a UK tour) and Webber himself eyeing Broadway in the near future, I think its safe to say we havent seen the last of it; the point is...if you're totally against it I think it may be best to go ahead and brace yourselves because it isnt going to be vanishing anytime soon; we can throw out points around all day on why it does or doesnt work and what a travesty or masterpiece it is...but the fact remains if it's making $, and there is a demand/interest for it...it'll be around for a while

Broadway just isn't going to happen in the "near future". It's been the "near future" for 2 years now and nothing has materialised.

Of course we haven't seen the last of it. We also haven't seen the last of many fans' legitimate expressions of personal dislike for the show.

Example: I think Love Never Dies is an exceptionally bad piece of musical theatre. Look, I just said it again. Someone please slap me on the wrists.

Honestly? Outside of PotO site, I've seen almost zero talk about LND's latest endeavors, and general online reaction has always been mixed at best. It may drag itself out for another three, five years maybe, might even get to Broadway (hey, in a world where Addams Family ran for over a year anything's possible)...but I don't think it's ever going to be the vindicated masterpiece ALW would like to believe it is.

~LCD

StrangerThanUDreamt wrote:I totally understand "phans" frustration with LND as I have a few issues with it myself, but opinions aside, the fact cant be ignored that it is slowly gaining a revived popularity and is making $, with two new productions in the works ( one a UK tour) and Webber himself eyeing Broadway in the near future, I think its safe to say we havent seen the last of it; the point is...if you're totally against it I think it may be best to go ahead and brace yourselves because it isnt going to be vanishing anytime soon; we can throw out points around all day on why it does or doesnt work and what a travesty or masterpiece it is...but the fact remains if it's making $, and there is a demand/interest for it...it'll be around for a while

It's not so much denying it'll be around for some years still. It's how they've created a total dependance on the original to sell the product. Not just establishing as a sequel, but also the all the more frequent claims of "completing the story", "need to see both" etc. The musical has proven to not survive on its own, but at TIMES it is still hailed as an independent masterpiece. They can't have it both ways.

I can only speak for myself, but this is part of what bugs me with the presence of LND. No matter how much I tried (and sometimes still tries) it's in my face as "Phantom 2", and linked to the original in every possible way. If I want to buy anything "Phantom", I get LND shoved into my face. And it's starting to get on my nerves.

I agree they cant have it both ways and should settle on "sequel" or "standalone" however I think the former is becoming what it will be known as, for the bluray and dvd cases now say "the sequel to POTO" so with that and the recent re-screening ads ( there was even a trailer for both in front of Avengers this past weekend!) I think its safe to say it is offically being booked as a sequel and will be from now on, I can see where for some time it may have been unclear, but the the POTO box set containg LND as "Phantom 2", and the taglines on all related media; whether you love it or hate it RUG has made it clear that it's def. suppose to be a sequel.

And in all fairness...the "creating dependence on another product" is the very basis of any sequel be it musical/movie/book, so while some phans find the very notion of a sequel frustrating, anything that has had a sequel or part II is always because of a strong beginning piece

And in all fairness...the "creating dependence on another product" is the very basis of any sequel be it musical/movie/book, so while some phans find the very notion of a sequel frustrating, anything that has had a sequel or part II is always because of a strong beginning piece

But the best sequels are ones that either a) were intended by the author from the start as part of a larger work (most fantasy series--Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Song of Ice and Fire--fall into this category) or b) are strong enough that they validate themselves beyond having "a strong beginning piece" (Cf. Toy Story 2, The Empire Strikes Back). The late Gene Siskel had a wonderful litmus test for sequels: "If this movie had been made first, would there be any demand for a second one?" If LND had come before PotO, would it have been able to justify its own existence? I honestly don't see any evidence that it could.

~LCD