SUPERMAN San Antonio Re-Release Call To Arms!

Greetings, citizens of Metropolis! ROBOGEEK here with a mission for you. No, not just a mission - a veritable crusade of cultural patriotism. A unique chance for a film geek to make a difference that could be felt by moviegoers everywhere.

If you care about national treasures such as SUPERMAN (not just the film, but the mythology and ideal that have been part of the very fabric of American identity for generations), and are tired of seeing them abused and neglected by corporate incompetence and ignorance... then this is your chance to be heard.

SUPERMAN needs our help. Now. And I implore you to take heed - and action.

At 6 PM next Thursday (3/15) at the Regal Alamo Quarry 14 in San Antonio, Warner Bros. is holding an exclusive free sneak preview of the newly restored Director's Cut of SUPERMAN - which I hear will be the only advance screening until its "limited theatrical re-release" commences the following Friday (3/23)... in seven San Antonio area theaters (listed at bottom).

This sneak is sponsored by the San Antonio Express-News and KTFM Radio, each of which will be offering a limited number of passes. (Don't bug us for tickets - harass them; let them know how badly we want to see this film.) There won't even be a separate press screening, and at this writing I don't know if the sneak will be held on more than one screen.

On the plus side, this may prove to be the hottest movie ticket of the year - and will take place at what I hear is one of San Antonio's finest theaters. But to me, it sounds like Warners marketing is once again dropping the ball - almost as if under orders to fail (shades of IRON GIANT?).

To wit, it doesn't take a former marketing professional to observe that Warners should, at the very least...

a.) schedule the sneak at a more decent/appropriate time so people who work can actually attend (i.e. 7:30 PM);

b.) offer the sneak on multiple screens (or even venues/dates) to accommodate demand;

c.) hold actual press screenings, inviting local, regional and national critics;

d.) set up a paid sneak preview in multiple San Antonio venues that Saturday, March 17 (and, of course, support this with a beefy marketing campaign in local print, radio, and TV).

...and on top of everything, they should be donating a portion of every ticket sold to the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation - which in a rational universe would simply go without saying. (Warners, SHAME ON YOU for having to be told to do this! If you're so soulless you can't understand why, then at least consider the PR boost - not to mention tax write-off.)

Depending on the results of this "limited theatrical re-release" (basically a test marketing experiment to explore potential viability of a national re-release like last year's lucrative EXORCIST re-issue), Warners will either bring SUPERMAN to a theater near you... or they won't. It's that simple. (Think of it as a primary election - only one you can actually vote in.)

However, given that Warners has already scheduled the DVD release date for May 1, it's pretty clear which direction they're (strongly) leaning towards. But the die has yet to be cast; DVD release dates can be (and all to often are) pushed back - and then we could have our cake and eat it too.

Come to think of it, isn't that what AOL Time/Warner shareholders would want, too? And should be asking for? (If they only knew...)

SUPERMAN deserves a chance in theaters nationwide and beyond not just because it'd make at least as much as the $40 million THE EXORCIST did last year, but because... it's SUPERMAN. This is a film that audiences deserve to rediscover together, on the silver screen. It's a film that parents should be able to take their kids to, and relive their own childhood through. It's a vision of a heroic ideal that should be celebrated, not hidden. It's a part of who we are that speaks to the best of us, and shouldn't be forgotten.

And unlike countless other recent and forthcoming film adaptations of comic or cartoon properties I could name (many with the Warners shield attached), this one is actually worthy of the audience and source material (despite the annoying presence of Otis) - not to mention the Warners shield, which used to mean really something.

Anyway, I implore all of you to make plans now to head to San Antonio the weekend of the 23rd - the only weekend that'll matter - and see SUPERMAN at one (or more) of the following theaters. Bring your family and friends. See it more than once. Start calling the theaters now to find out when you can buy tickets, and then camp out. We don't yet know how many screens per theater SUPERMAN will be on, but you might be able to influence that by taking action now (and overwhelming next Thursday's sneak). Just remember - these theaters are our friends; thank them for screening SUPERMAN, and give them your support.

SUPERMAN 3/23 RE-RELEASE - SAN ANTONIO AREA THEATERS:

Regal Alamo Quarry 14 (210-333-3456)
Regal Cielo Vista 18 (210-680-7469)
Regal Live Oak 18 (210-657-4480)
Regal Northwoods 14 (210-333-3456)
AMC Huebner Oaks 24 (210-558-9988)
AMC RiverCenter 9 (210-558-9988)
Cinemark New Braunfels Walnut 6 (830-629-6400)

Tell 'em Ain't It Cool sent ya,

- Robogeek

P.S.: If you haven't already, you can pre-order the DVD (for 30% off, to boot) at DVD Planet by clicking here (then just search for SUPERMAN).