This isn't a post regarding something on a national level, but it's very important to me. I work at the local movie theater here in sunny Grand Forks, ND and had the privilege of piecing together the movie The Davinci Code. Just today I happen upon a Friday or Saturday edition of the city paper and find out that twenty lenses from the theater had been stolen on the morn of the movie's premiere and that the theater had to shut down as a result. Interestingly enough, this was found out at least thirty to forty minutes AFTER protesters of the movie showed up. Thus, it was fairly obvious they didn't have anything to do with it. Still, the coincidence can't be completely ignored.
But still...why steal lenses from a small theater like ours? Better yet, why protest a movie that's based off of a fictional book? Ugh...Sometimes people amaze and sicken me at the same time.
Info Dug at:
Grand Forks Herald - Davinci Code Mystery (Link will go to archives in a few days and thus will be unavailable for reading. I'll post the article in a comment or something.
In case the article is unavailable through the link or gets sent to the paid archives...
Da Vinci Code mystery
Theater closed on opening night of controversial movie after 20 projector lenses are stolen
By Lisa Davis
Herald Staff Writer
Moviegoers who came out Friday to see "The Da Vinci Code" and other movies playing at the Carmike 10 in Grand Forks were met instead by locked doors and a sign scrawled in red marker saying the theater was closed.
Twenty lenses from the projection cameras had been taken from the theater, according to a police report. The theft was reported at 4:04 p.m. The value of the lenses could be in the thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.
Police said there was no evidence of a forced entry, and were investigating the theft Friday night. Investigators made no connection in their only statement Friday of the fact that the lenses were stolen on the opening night of "The Da Vinci Code."
The highly-anticipated, yet controversial film, based on Dan Brown's novel of the same name, has drawn protest from Christian groups around the nation, who say the movie is blasphemous.
The film and book tell the story of a Harvard professor who is called to the Louvre Museum in the middle of the night, where a man has been murdered.
What he finds there leads him on a chase through the city and beyond. Through it, he learns startling facts about the Priory of Sion, Opus Dei and some long-held Christian beliefs.
Officials at the local theater would not comment on the theft, and the Herald was unable to reach anyone at Carmike's corporate headquarters Friday. There was no word on when the theater might reopen.
Show went on
Carmike Cinema remained closed but, by 6 p.m., signs had gone up on the theater doors saying that "The Da Vinci Code" would be shown four times throughout the evening at the Columbia 4, another Carmike-owned theater just down the street. There was no mention of the other nine movies scheduled to be shown at the theater.
Employees at the theater could be seen loading a 3-foot reel of film into the trunk of a vehicle and driving off.
On the Carmike 10 portion of the Carmike Cinema Web site Friday evening, it said under each film title that the theater was experiencing technical difficulties.
People attending a protest of the film near the movie theater, who hadn't heard of the theft until informed by the Herald, described the situation as awful.
"That doesn't accomplish anything," said Ruth Holweger. "It's not right to destroy property."
Participants in the protest said they began to show up around 4:30 p.m., nearly one-half hour after the theft was reported to the police. They said the theft was a coincidence that has nothing to do with their demonstration.
"We're not for vandalism. That's a crime, and we're not behind that," said Marsha Allmaras.
The protest was planned by members of a local branch of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property, a Catholic group, and its America Needs Fatima campaign. At least 1,000 similar protests were scheduled to take place at movie theaters around the country.
Carmike 10 manager Richard Melby said the protest was not likely to have influenced the lens thief.
"It's their right to do what they're doing, and I don't have a problem with it," he said.
Angry, bewildered
People outside the theater, moviegoers and protesters alike, mostly assumed that the theft was connected to the movie. People who had been waiting since the book first came out to see a movie made from it were upset, angry and bewildered as to why someone would break the law.
"I'm pissed," said Heidi Hogenson. "It's just a movie."
She and a friend planned to try and catch the film at the Columbia 4.
Others said they think the vandalism will just fuel people's curiosity about the film, perhaps having the opposite effect from what the thieves intended.
"In the long run, more people will go to see it," predicted Tom Winger, who hoped to attend opening night of the film to see how it compared to the book.
People who want to see it will, just at another time or at another place, he pointed out.
Protester Michael Allmaras agreed that the theft was counterproductive, saying that the problem would be fixed soon and would not discourage people from watching the film.
"It's sad," said Ruth Pederson, who said that the book, though containing historical figures and events, is a work of fiction.
She said that while some people see only the controversy, others are taking advantage of the publicity to spread knowledge.
For instance, her church had a book club that explored the novel.
The popularity of the story also has drawn many people to the Bible to explore their questions, said Beth Carlson.
Others half-jokingly quoted Scripture, saying, "Thou shall not steal."
Barbara Helt, who also attended the protest of the movie, said it was important that she reject the film because it distorts the truth.
"It's a poor form of entertainment when you tear something down," she said, holding a sign that read "I Love Our Lord Jesus Christ."
Some of the protesters said they had not read the book, deciding to read books that critiqued the novel's claims instead.
About a dozen held signs reading, "Boycott Hollywood" and "Pray for Dan Brown."
Holweger said she thought the film was blasphemous, and she came to protest because she wanted to stand up for her faith.
"We're just peaceful, praying," she said. "We do not agree with violence, we're just trying to stand up for God."
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http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/whitejabberwocky
Very interesting indeed. I wasn't completly surprised to hear this, but dumbfounded at the lengths that people will go to press on others their beliefs. I mean seriously, if you believe that this movie is wrong, don't go see it. When Freddy vs. Jason came out, many people thought that was wrong, and just chose not to see it. They didn't prohibit others from watching it too. And to some, it was a good movie. The same should be the case for this movie.
NOTE TO ALL: IT'S A PURELY FICTIONAL WORK OF ART!!!
~Erin
Yeah, totally crazy. I mean, I know that the protesters didn't steal the lenses...but still, the coincidence leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Just recently I had to fill out a police questionaire about what I was doing the night of the thefts. Crazy...
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http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/whitejabberwocky