Fans have praised cinemas for adding an intermission for Martin Scorsese’s latest film, Killers of the Flower Moon.
Some theatres have included a six to 15-minute break around the two-hour mark of the critically acclaimed flick, which has a run time of three hours and 26 minutes.
My god, that’s even longer than James Cameron’s Titanic.
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One staff member who works at a Colorado theater said movie-goers had praised the intermission.
“Everybody was really into it because it’s a longer movie, and they’re like, ‘I wish we would have had it for Oppenheimer,'” the staff member told The Hollywood Reporter.
“People could come out, order another drink, stretch their legs, go to the bathroom and not miss anything.”
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They added that audiences were ‘big fans’ of the cinema, hitting pause on the film.
However, representatives from the film’s distributors, Apple Original Films and Paramount Pictures, have now informed the theaters that the intermission violates their licensing agreement and have instructed establishments to show the film how it was intended.
Thelma Schoonmaker, the film's editor and longtime collaborator with Scorsese, told The Standard: “I understand that somebody’s running it with an intermission which is not right. That’s a violation so I have to find out about it.”
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While Scorsese didn’t directly address the violation, he defended the film’s running time to the Hindustan Times.
“People say it’s three hours, but come on, you can sit in front of the TV and watch something for five hours. Also, there are many people who watch theatre for three and a half hours. There are real actors on stage — you can’t get up and walk around. You give it that respect; give cinema some respect,” he told the outlet.
Variety reported that Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Boxoffice Pro, echoed Scorese’s stance.
“If Scorsese didn’t intend for there to be an intermission, I think that should be at least the primary way people can see it,” he said.
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“That being said, it was a long movie. And I think if there is enough demand out there, and especially if it means a difference in helping someone make the decision to go and buy a ticket, rather than not go see the movie, then maybe there’s an economical and practical argument for at least a limited option.”
Well, people, if you want to stretch your legs mid-way, perhaps stay home and watch it on Apple TV+.
Topics: Film and TV, News, Celebrity, Martin Scorsese