Waiting on 'Terminator'
Movie fans started their vigil almost five hours before special early screenings
For some "Terminator" fans, it was too much to ask to wait until daylight to see "Terminator Salvation," the fourth in the iconic film series.
Hundreds of die-hard fans showed up Wednesday night to be among the first on the West Coast to see the film, which was directed by Orange County dude McG.
Even among these singularly-minded movie fans, there was a split in approach. Some wanted to be first, and they bought tickets to the 12:01 a.m. showing. Others didn't care about being absolutely first, and they settled for tickets to the 12:03 a.m. showing. And then there were the big-big-screen fans.
They arrived earlier than all the others, and formed a line for the 12:30 a.m. screening, the first on the Irvine Spectrum's six-stories-high IMAX screen . No matter that the film wasn't shot in IMAX, and was merely blown up to fit the screen.
"This movie has to be seen on a bigger screen," explained Clint Stringfellow of La Habra. "And, besides, the IMAX theater has a much more powerful sound system, and sound is important in this type of movie."
Stringfellow is a veteran of these movie line-ups, and he said this one didn't compare with "The Dark Knight," which eventually became one of the biggest movies in history.
"There must have been 10 different lines for that one, but I'm more excited about this one. Although the third "Terminator" movie was horrible, I have high hopes for this one."
A woman who didn't believe that size mattered, clutched her 12:01 a.m. ticket and said: "How often do you own a movie ticket that says 12:01 a.m. on it? I'm going to frame this when I get home."
