I just saw Dogma in Philadelphia tonight. 2 hours and 16 minutes or so. It was very good. and I saw myself in the movie! : ) love being extras. the theather was packed not one seat left, and a good audience approval again it seemed.

Kevin also stopped by the board to give his opinions on the screening, as well as today’s Oscar nominations:

Test screening went well. The scores went up (though I’m not sure it was worth it to lose fifteen minutes; while I miss nothing that we cut, the principle bothers me a bit), and the feedback revealed what I’ve slowly figured out over the last five years of doing this professionally.

Ready for the staggering revelation?

Some people like the flicks, some people don’t.

It’s pretty simple. Thankfully, in the case of this flick, more people than not like the flick (our ‘Poor’ score remained the same – 4%) – the ‘Definite Recommends’ were high enough for me. It’s still far more fulfilling to listen to the audience react to the film as it’s screening, that it is to listen to the focus group (which – while well-conducted – are still rather leading, in my opinion). If we cut anything more, it’d amount to about two or three minutes. This is pretty much the flick (minus the final music and effects), and Scott and I are happy with it (as was the majority of the audience, give or take some slow points). Beyond that, there’s not much more to tell.

As for the Oscar nods – there were only a few surprises, both pleasant (Ed Norton for ‘American History X’ was out of the blue and well-deserved), and not so pleasant (the screenwriting nod for ‘Saving Private Ryan’ was a shocker; I thought the script to ‘Titanic’ was better than the director-driven ‘Ryan’, but hey – what do I know about writing anyway?). Nice to see ‘Shakespeare’ get a load of nods (Affleck sure can pick ’em’; let’s hope his good juju rubs off on us for next year, and that his third time is the charm, as far as acting nods go). I still haven’t seen ‘Life Is Beautiful’, but I guess I will now. I found it odd that the Time-heralded ‘Movie of the Decade’ (if it wasn’t Time, I apologize) got the shaft, yet the helmer of said pic was embraced (‘Truman’ and Weir), but it happens all the time (‘The Sweet Hereafter’ anyone?). And apparently, Carey’s going to have to wait for his Oscar nod, and be happy with his Golden Globe (shades of Madonna and ‘Evita’ there). I still can’t get all the hub-bub about the sterile and antiseptic ‘Elizabeth’, and I haven’t watched Malick’s flick to know what to think (though I’m sure it’s pretty as hell).

All in all, nothing shocking. And with the ‘Ryan’ win all but guaranteed at this point, watching the Oscars in April seems like nothing more than a chance to watch Affleck on t.v. again (a pastime I never grow weary of).

It certainly is a shame that stuff had to be cut, though the 3 hours of film that we saw DID run a bit long for mass consumption (though we certainly enjoyed every second of it)…Kevin and Scott definitely have a tighter film on their hands now that can pack an extra show in every night when the sucker finally opens. Plus, it just gives us more to look forward to when that Special Edition DVD/Laser hits shelves down the line. As for the Oscars, no big surprises, except of course the stuff Kev pointed out: the Truman snub and SPR’s SCREENPLAY nomination. Ay yaah.