Music Box Scores Special Surprise Screening of The Master in 70mm

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 16, 2012 3:20PM

How is it that Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master can hold its own in a contest of “most aticipated films of 2012” with The Dark Knight and The Hobbit, two films whose marketing budgets will dwarf its entire production cost? Simple, really. Wait five years to follow up the critically adored There Will Be Blood, make the film (perhaps) a thinly-disguised and unflattering portrait of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and score some controversial press, shoot the film expressly for the film geeks’ dream format of 70mm, and eke out cryptic posters and trailers over the course of the summer. It doesn't hurt to feature Phillip Seymour "Guaranteed Oscar Nomination" Hoffman, post-Andy Kaufmann impersonation Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams, either.

Time Out Chicago’s Ben Kenigsberg recounted a couple of weeks ago that the distributors of The Master had made no plans to put the film in the only theater in town capable of showing it in its intended 70mm exhibition format, the Music Box, confirming as much with director of programming Brian Andreotti. Kenisgberg ended his piece with a plea to get the film shown as it was intended, any way possible.

Last night, he was able to report success: The Music Box sent out an email announcing a “special surprise screening” of the The Master in 70mm tonight. For the price of a $10 donation to the Film Foundation, the lucky ducks who scored tickets before they sold out will get to catch what may be the only showing of the much-buzzed-about film as it was intended, weeks before it premieres at the Venice Film Festival and a month before it is released in theaters.