The Ohio Sci-Fi and Horror Marathons

Any news?
Any idea as to when there might be some news?

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Thar’s only two possibilities: Thar is life out there in the universe which is smarter than we are, or we’re the most intelligent life in the universe. Either way, it’s a mighty sobering thought. - Walt Kelly

Now that the Oscars are over I hope we hear some Sci-Fi news in the very near future.

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Jaws3dfan®
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last year's sci-fi marathon date was announced around March 17 I think

I'm guessing April 20.

Any other guesses?

February 3.
You missed it.

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Thar’s only two possibilities: Thar is life out there in the universe which is smarter than we are, or we’re the most intelligent life in the universe. Either way, it’s a mighty sobering thought. - Walt Kelly

I would prefer a different weekend, just found out I have a commitment until 2pm on 4/20 with my god daughter that I can't skip out on. I wouldn't miss the marathon, but it would be the first SciFi (going back to SF1) I didn't make from start to finish.

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The wages of sin are royalties.

Lord knows the Boston Marathon has issues: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1485&start=25

But, THIS is no way to run an event! I know Bruce et al. have their hands tied, but, you gotta have a date this close to showtime! How can folks plan their schedules? How are you going to get new folks to show up? What about out-of-towners? Etc. Etc.

I have no idea why there isn't a set date every year. Pick a weekend, ANY weekend and stick to it.

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

There is this thing called Easter. Easter doesn't have a set date as well. They have to work around that as well. Now Ohioans also follow March Madness.

I know this doesnt apply to everyone but Easter and March Madness don't really effect me as far as the Marathon is concerned. I agree Pick a weekend, ANY weekend and stick to it.

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Jaws3dfan®
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I think Easter might be a deal-breaker for many - but other than that, I think anything else could be worked around - and a consistent date is better than a non-consistent one.

That said, I've no idea what that entails in terms of the cooperation of Jeff Frank, the Drexel board, and now CAPA. There are any number of contractual obligations that might affect the ability to pick a date and stick to it.

Which doesn't change the fact that having a set date would be ideal.

none of this would be an issue if the sci-fi switched to the Grandview like the Horror did. We would have a date and a line-up already.

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Jaws3dfan®
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There ARE Easter charts out there: http://www.wheniseastersunday.com/

So, it's not like you couldn't set up tentative Marathon dates 1, 2 or 10 YEARS in advance if you wished to!! It's not like the Pope just throws a dart at thecalendar in January and says, "That's the date for Easter this year!"

That seems more like an excuse than a real reason not to set a date. Remember the old "conflicts with the Academy Awards" excuse when the Oscars where in April?

If April is so Conflict-Heavy, just move it to the first weekend in May and be done with it. It just seems that its more a matter of dithering than any real issues with "conflicts".

And, honestly, for all its flaws (not to mention threats of transportation crippling blizzards), having a set date on President's Day weekend in Boston makes everyone's life easier in the long run.

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Long Live the Orson Welles Cinemas

Spring Break Weekend = conflict with Horror Hound
Good Friday Weekend = conflict with Easter
Memorial Weekend = conflict with Indianapolis 500

Maybe Flag Day Weekend June 14th??

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Jaws3dfan®
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Maybe. Do we know that Dave and Jen could effectively host both? I dunno. I haven't discussed it with them.

Part of the reason of the switch for the Horror was that Jeff Frank and the Drexel were never as enthusiastic about the Horror as they were for the Horror. Jeff was happy to let the Horror marathon go elsewhere. And there is something to be said about "Going home with the person who brought you to the dance."

Leaving the Drexel family of theatres when Jeff is willing to still hold it there could burn a lot of goodwill. Could the marathon keep it's name and numbering? Maybe, but again, I don't know.

Before anyone jumps down my throat, I would like to point out that:

1) I very badly want a set, reliable date for the event. Even if that date is something nebulous like "The 2nd weekend in April unless that conflicts with Easter, in which case it's the week before".
2) I hold no particular loyalty to any one venue, but I do hold a great deal of loyalty to the event.

But at the same time, I've never been involved in the back-end planning of the marathon. I have no idea just how much work goes in to planning it, booking films, getting prints delivered, arranging for employees to be at the theatre, negotiating contracts with distributors who may not want the theatre's biggest (or only) screen tied up for a movie marathon when they have a certain film set to be released, working with the owners and managers of the theatres, etc.

Without that knowledge, it feels an awful lot like Monday Morning Quaterbacking to say "The event should have a set date, regardless of conflicts" or "The event should move to a different venue."

I hope the lack of date isn't a bad sign. Every year at this time I wonder the same thing, but this year, with the Drexel going digital, seems like there really could be reason for concern.

I also wonder if the Grandview is doing well, every year I wonder if they will still be around for the horror marathon.