« Sundance 2011 (pt. 2) | Main | Sundance Schedule »

December 7, 2010

Projectionist Addendum

This Slate story on the decline of the projectionist was a bittersweet one for me, given my own history in that field, and the opening paragraphs reminded me of a similar anecdote of my own. It just so happened that, in February of 1998, on the east wing of the theater, in auditorium seventeen, the usher staff noticed a young man slumbering in his seat after the credits ended. We could see him from the booth, one slack head left in the empty auditorium. I don't remember how they figured out that he was dead, and I don't remember if they canceled the next show or not, but by the end of the night the theater was back up and running with an 'Out Of Order' cover placed over the seat the deceased had occupied. The film he'd shaken off during? Spice World. Which, if my memory serves correct, wasn't as bad a way to go as one might think.

Posted by David Lowery at December 7, 2010 9:27 AM