CINEMACON 2021: SONY PICTURES WINS THE CONVENTION ON OPENING NIGHT BY DELIVERING

THE BEST SURPRISE OF THE WEEK!

Article by Adam Mast

CinemaCon, a yearly shindig held for those in the motion picture exhibition industry, made a much-anticipated return to Las Vegas after sitting 2020 out. As expected Cinemast was on hand and right from the outset, may I say what a thrill it is to experience studio presentations with this kind of showmanship? The sound, the visuals, the audience reaction…Nothing beats the movies and nothing celebrates the motion picture experience quite like CinemaCon.

The opening event at CinemaCon 2021 began with a hopeful and passionate speech by CinemaCon giant, Mitch Neuhauser. The guy has been bringing studios and theater exhibitors together for years and he’s a rockstar in every sense of the word. We love you, Mitch!

Following those stirring Neuhauser remarks, the president of distribution at Sony Pictures entered the stage and was quick to point out how it can be “devastating” to a film’s theatrical run to have it play both theatrical and at home simultaneously. Studio head Tom Rothman shared a similar message and said that Sony is committed to protecting the theatrical experience by releasing their product exclusively in theaters, first!.

Sony wasted no time dropping an outstanding sizzle reel that included the first-ever look at the currently-filming Brad Pitt-headlined, “Bullet Train” as well as an all too brief look at “Into the Spider-Verse 2.”  The reel also included some new footage from “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” and “Morbius.”

Sony then premiered the trailer for “Spider-Man: No Way Home” which would make its online debut shortly thereafter. It was supremely awesome getting to experience this trailer in these particular surroundings. The sound and visual setup were incredible and it certainly got the spidey senses tingling.

The highlight of the Sony presentation, however, would come in the form of the introduction of Ivan Reitman and his son Jason, both of whom actually showed up to the convention. Aside from “Wonder Woman” director Patty Jenkins, they were the only filmmaking talent to make the trip to Sin City. The Reitmans, of course, were on hand to talk about the history of a little film called “Ghostbusters” and to chat about all the anticipation surrounding the upcoming sequel, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which has been delayed a couple of times for obvious reasons.

Additionally, Ivan shared a heartfelt and personal story of immigrating to America as a young boy and falling in love with the movies after seeing Errol Flynn in “Robin Hood” in an old school movie palace back in the day. Out of 500 patrons at that screening, he was one of 5 lucky attendees to receive a commemorative silver dollar. That entire experience stuck with him and led to a healthy (and lengthy) career in the movie business. That love would certainly be passed down to his talented son, Jason.

Jason would follow his father’s heartfelt remarks by sharing the fact that he was the first legitimate “Ghostbusters” superfan as he practically grew up on the set of the original film in the early 80s. Of course, Jason Reitman would go on to have his own successful career in the business directing noteworthy titles like “Thank You For Smoking,” “Juno,” and “Up in the Air,” but through the years, he would often be asked if he’d ever considered making a “Ghostbusters” movie. After all this time, he finally took the plunge. Why now? Well, as he so eloquently put it, he really wanted to make a film for both his father and his young daughter.

Following Jason Reitman’s affectionate insight, the energy in the room instantly became electric as we were all well aware that we were about to see new footage from “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.” Only… That’s not what we got.

Instead, with a mischievous grin, Jason Reitman revealed to a more than enthusiastic crowd that we were all about to be treated to…

A screening of the entire film more than 3 months early! Talk about a monumentally awesome surprise!

Not surprisingly, we were sworn to secrecy in terms of plot points in an effort to preserve the experience for moviegoers when they go to see the film this November. Therefore, I will tread lightly here;

In short; It totally got me in the feels! The trailer is a near-perfect representation of the film and it truly captures its spirit. “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” isn’t only a joyful tribute to the universe Reitman and his team created nearly 40 years ago, but it’s also a lovely homage to legendary filmmakers like Steven Spielberg. “Afterlife” really does play like a fusion of “Ghostbusters” and those wonderful Amblin films of the 80s. In the end, I suspect fans are going to walk away from this film more than pleased, and quite frankly, I can’t wait to take my kids to see it on opening weekend.

Thank you to Sony Pictures for opening CinemaCon 2021 with quite a bang!