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Dateline: Monday evening, 9-9-02, Edgewater, New Jersey line for the Test Screening of THE GANGS OF NEW YORK
TEST SCREENINGS... Total Bull Shit! Father Geek here with what I wish I could say was a shocking incident, an isolated local occurance, but I can't, what happened below is an all to common happening in the life of those who try to attend Test Screenings. Here it is in Voltron's own words...
Denied! Rejected!! Do not pass go!
I was not allowed in because I did not
fit the demographic they were targeting with the film. I'm a 23 year old
male... How could I not fit the demographic?!?!
Here's how it went down... I get there with my friends about ten minutes
before we were told to get there. They're a significant number of people
in line ahead of us, about 50. They take our green admitance passes from us and give us a
personal information card they want us to fill out and sign. The card
basically wants to know if I am affiliated with anyone in the movie biz, and
that I will not post a review of the movie on an Internet website. My
friends and I snicker as we read that one, imitating Comic Book Guy's "Worst
Movie Ever" line. Gender: Male, Age: 23, Nationality: Asian...
A Big 6' 3" 280lb white guy looks at our cards and tells us we can not see the
movie... We do not fit the demographic they are looking for. We are in shock
as he pulls us out of line. He then gives us a free pass to see any other currently running
movie they are playing in the theater and sends us on our way. We watch as
he lets scores of other people in who are about the same age as us. Except they are ALL
white. All east-asians and south-asians were being rejected. We think this
is total BS.
After another five minutes they say the theater is full and no one else can get in.
We then see a group of eight white 17-20 year olds walk up and they let them
in. Then a group of 3 women in their late 20's try to get in. They were
denied also.
As we are in line to see another movie, we hear a white couple behind us in
their late 30's to early 40's complaining that they weren't allowed in either. We asked
them why they weren't allowed in. The bouncer told them they are targeting
17-20 year olds for the film. Anyone who did not fit that demographic was
being turned away. Is this a teeney-bopper movie? I guess they are banking
on the fact that all the puberty stricken teenagers who fell in love with
Leo several years back will still watch his movies now that they are older.
I never thought I'd see the day where a 23 year old wasn't allowed to see a
Marty Scorsese film, and barely 17 year olds were openly ushered in. Extreme BUMMER of an evening!
Call me VOLTRON.
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+ Expand All
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Hey kid, grow some pubes then maybe you can see a rated R film.
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sorry to hear that voltron.. oh well..
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I can't believe AICN posted this racism-colored whining over which free ticket Voltron was offered at an age-focused test screening. And I read it. DOUBLE LAME-O!
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...because older adults won't get off their fat lazy asses anymore and go to the movies. Adults bitch about how there are so few good adult films nowadays, but the vast majority of the time, a good adult-skewing film comes out, struggles it's first week on no more than 500 screens, and then fizzles to 5-6 million dollar takes because most adults just decide to wait for it to come out on cable or video (or of course the ever-annoying FULL SCREEN DVD). It's the curse of home video and home theatres. Studios are going to market to those whose butts fill the seats--and the majority are 17-20 year olds. Really bummed you had a hard time Voltron.
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Just goes to show that even if Scorsese is involved, Hollywood Bullshit is alive and well and sucking balls.
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I can't believe this! Living in Switzerland we never get test screenings but i find this really SHOCKING!!! Gangs of New York??? Only for male 17 to 20 year olds???? What the f....???? Then what am I to do, being a half asian gal? Stik with romantic comedies? I can't believe this!!!
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It is normal to "single out" a certain demographic in test screenings. This probably only means that they have already shown GoNY to a variety of people; the older people liked it, but the 17-20 year olds had some problems. Logically the next sreening would be for this age group. (Although it does sound weird with the Only Whites thing).
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Sep 10, 2002 4:54:18 AM CDT
Right on Justmyluck!! Racism ended fifty years ago!!
by salvador_limones
How dare he complain about not being considered a legitimate 17-25 year old male! Obviously it is impossible that two people of different creeds could think the same way about the same movie, and besides, why the fuck would big important Hollywood types care what ASIANS think. Like they go see Scorsese movies! Jackie Chan's not in this movie, HELLO?!?!! Man, what is with these types anyway. Why can't they just ACCEPT that they are DIFFERENT and they will get treated differently because of it? It's not racism, it's REALITY!! Justmyluck, my brother, let us never stop whining about those damn minorities whining about reality!
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Wow. I can't believe I just read this!!!! And you say this is not RACISM??? Of course asians are different. Like french are different from Germans and americans and italians. I mean different culture... hello!!! But why would an asian not be able to apreciate a Scorcese movie??? This is crazy! Do you need to be irish or italian american to go and see Gangs of New York? That would mean you have to be japenese to like Miyazaki and Gungan to be a Star Wars fan!!!
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Voltron may be a legitimate 17-25 year old male, but they wanted legitimate 17-20 year olds and...yeppers....Voltron is 23. Yes, by Voltron's accounts, even the whites past their 20s, 30s and 40s were turned away. You really do have to explain everything around here, don't ya ;-)
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These studios are gathering information. They have targeted who they want this information from. If it ain't you, cry all you want but, that's life.
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I hope whoever made this retarted decision is pissing themeselves seeing it up on AICN. Frankly I thought this movie looked like shit before I read it, and it looks even more like shit now.
-Dan -
Sep 10, 2002 11:43:29 AM CDT
<---- Just Make Robin Williams Stop Staring at me from the left
by bash_branigan
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You mispelled Jersey.
I'm shocked! Especially since Edgewater and the surrounding area has such a large asian community. If they wanted white bread responses, why not show it in white dominated areas? -
At least, I seriously seriously hope so. It was too extreme on the boards of AICN to be serious.
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Hell I wonder what they would of done if I attempeted to get. My father was 100% Irish, mother 100% Thai. I have a full on Irish name: Patrick Coffey but I look full on Asian. Being partially in the demographic maybe they would of either let me watch the flick through one eye or just half of the movie and then escort me out. The day Master Martin makes a movie that is aimed strictly at 17-20 year olds I will ask to have my eyes gouged out!
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VOLTRON HERE... get a clue you freaks. Did I not say that white people were being denied access also? I was born and raised in America. Just because my roots are Asian, doesn't mean that I am not an American. I probably have more pride in America than you do. Thanks for the people that actually read my post and understand what I was saying. I didn't spell Jersey wrong. AICN typo, not mine :)
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If you don't like people whining, then don't whine about it. Especially when their reasons are more legitmate than yours. It's a pretty good rule that you can apply to many of life's challenges! Voltron, if you weren't talking about race, why were you complaining about how everyone let in was white? Surely you could have left out that little detail, no? Then we'd be having none of this discussion and we could all pretend we were holding hands in a lily field. Don't back out on your statements now. Whether or not it happened in this specific instance, it wouldn't suprise me at all if you weren't allowed in because of your race. Hollywood's among the most overtly racist institutions still around in America. Oh shit, did I just let slip my intentions with my original post? Buggers.
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From what I read, you were saying this big bouncer was profiling 17-20 year-olds as potential audience members. But when you didn't see any Asians get in, you assumed their race was the real reason why they were rejected, not their age. Your post was mainly about age demographics but it was also clearly about the racial demographics that you had suspicions of yet had no legitimate proof. Your post has already been recounted on various other boards with headlines like "GONY screening only admitting 17-20 year-old Caucasians!" Does that accurately reflect what happened to you last night?
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The articles on this site have gotten surreal in their irrelevancy.
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You were prob turned away because they had filled their quota of your demographic. Sometimes they have fixed head counts of each demographic they are going to admit and once they reach that number they dont let in any more members of that group. Remember the purpose of these screenings is to get an understanding of the movies potential to several different demographics
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Voltron's reasons were as legitimate as getting back at the age-focused screening that turned him away, me thinks. Poor Voltron was given a free ticket to see any other movie in the theatre...oh, the inhumaity! Thanks for your whining and whining on about those whining about whining, Salvadore.. (cute!)....I do believe we've all seen the light! Buh-Bye!
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The reason I mentioned race, is because they were only testing the white 17-20 year old demographic. I did not cry discrimination. Is that how I felt originally? Sure. Did I break out my blazing sword? no. I asked the white couple why they got rejected and they said 17-20 year olds only. Since I got rejected for being Asian and they got rejected for being too old... Do the math. If I was born in America, does that not make me an American? Why did I check Asian? Because of my heritage. If you want to complain about what box I checked, go yell at Hollywood for not being PC enough to make an ASIAN-AMERICAN category.
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You didn't get let in because you weren't 17-20... do you need a calculator? You are freaking 23 - that is not withing the 17-20 range by my calculations. You and the old folks got stopped for the same reason. Note to self: Next time I go to a screening I am going to put age 17-20 and tell them I have a rare aging disorder.
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Asians need not apply. The sign was hanging right behind the bouncer.
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Test screenings don't owe you ANYTHING, kid -- they're free for a reason. This site could definitely use some more Moriarty to enforce a little quality-control over the selection of these "cool" articles.
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Seriously. There are some things you just don't joke about. Sarcasm... no problem with it. But not that way. Oh and btw what shoks me the most is not the asian discrimination but the female one!!!!! :oP
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Sep 11, 2002 4:43:49 AM CDT
Aranel, where in Voltron's original post can you find ANY re
by arnzilla
I challenge you to find just ONE sentence that points to this and post it on Talk Back. Where exactly does Voltron imply that the screening was for males only?
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That's not what I meant.... there is no such reference in Voltron's post. I just meant that what bugs me the most in general isn't to be discriminated against as an asian but as a woman... which sadly is more frequent... sorry dodn't express myself too well.. bit tired! ;oP
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First: that this utter stupidness was visited upon the advent of a long-awaited film by one of America's great masters of the art form; and secondly, that no-one, or hardly anyone, in this talkback has bothered to get their collective fingers out of their behinds (and ears)and actually THINK about what Voltron is saying. I can't believe anyone is actually SUPPORTING this nonsense!!
The sick thing about all this is, even if it is true that the test-screenings for GONY are targeted for the "Leo demographic" (Voltron, how many teenage girls were let in? How many even came? It would be interesting to know.), like most films are these days, future decisions about editing, "correcting" the film's "flaws", etc, will be made based upon the narrow projections and limited filmgoing experience of this crowd. I forget the term, you know what I'm talking about. When those kids fill out the forms saying what they liked and didn't like, etc, and the studio frigs around with the film as a result. How many great or potentially great films have been watered down and destroyed b/c of this?? How much control does Marty have over final cut?
It is highly ironic that the very people who are being rejected at the test screening door are the very ones who will be counted upon to give GONY a high opening week, and a $200-250 mil (ideal projections) total. Females over the age of 20 (such as Yours Truly), Gen X'ers (couples, so much the better), yes, (gasp!) even non-whites. And maybe these dickheads haven't bohtered to remember that maybe Baby Boomers who grew up with Marty may still want to pay a babysitter to watch the kids so they can see what he has this time. Or maybe (gasp again!) they may even bring their own teenage kids. Since the studios aim for the biggest audience possible, only a cross-section of America can give it that extra push. And yet, decisions over finla cut are being decided, in effect, by the youngest and most inexperienced filmgoing group. Dear God!!
I am not ignorant of this sort of thing, but it still is an insult. No wonder the film biz is past its glory days. How was "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" test-marketed I wonder?
Can you imagine if Mirimax had approved a 3-film scenario and had been LOTR's studio? For starters, Micheal Eisner dislikes excessive violence...my God, the stars, the Good Lord, the celestial wind god spirts surely smiled upon Peter Jackson. One only needs to look at LOTR in contrast to most other film out there today to see the effects of test marketing. (there was none for FOTR.) Entertainment Weekly wrote of FOTR: "This is what magic the movies can make, when there is a spirited fellowship in charge, and unlimited amounts of gold." I may add "and no studio interference."
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Whoops, sorry for the double post, anyway, yet again, Fellowship of the Ring shows it's oh so magnificent self, in a non-LOTR based topic. ;) I love it.
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But, according to Voltron's account, there's not even any reference to a 17-20 year-old Asian getting rejected.
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Except possibly for some more work on the soundtrack, Scorsese has basically completed the film. Did it ever occur to you that the purpose of this screening was to determine the proper advertising campaign for this particular demographic? Screenings aren't only about content (what to keep in/what to remove/what to trim). They're also about how to sell what you've got. Selling an R-rated film to this age group is obviously tricky business. Scorsese isn't gonna screw around with his film based on what a bunch of teenagers say, so relax and stop jumping to conclusions based on a jumbled e-mail sent to AICN.
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