Not to snob out when I should be geeking out, but I was walking past the landmark New York theatre, the Ziegfeld, tonight and it dawned on me that there isn’t a single film that I would cue up for this Summer in the grand tradition of Summers past.
Ask any New Yorker about the Summer ritual of booking your tickets for the newest big Summer blockbuster for opening night at the Ziegfeld and you’ll be treated to memories of some of the greats (Star Wars, ID4, Indiana Jones, hell even the first X-Files movie).
The more patient (or is it impatient?) movie geeks wait in line hours (and, in the case of all-things-Lucas, days) for the prime time opening night premieres and anyone going to this theatre specifically can expect a great audience experience. This is big screen cinema at its best, without the need for IMAX or 3D.
So why is it that there’s not a single Summer movie this year I can get all that jiggy with?
Especially not excited enough to wanna wait in a line that wraps around the block for the Ziegfeld? Thor? Not really. Transformers 3, Pirates 4, Harry Potter 7.2, Cars 2? Nope. X-Men Babies, I mean, First Class, yeah, um, not so much.
MAYBE the Planet of the Apes prequel or the Fright Night revamp (pun intended). But then again, not after seeing their trailers.
Honestly, the last big film to open at the Ziegfeld with any level of literal block-busting buzz was Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and most of the audience walked out of that with the buzz killed.
Looks like the memories of cumulative crowd worship on opening night this Summer’s gonna have to be put on hold. Not that I’d cue up for it in 2011, but Summer 2012’s Avengers should ignite a convergence upon the Ziegfeld that speaks to the Blockbuster gods. It sure ain’t gonna be that Battleship movie.
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