tiny screens

Aziz Ansari Uncovers Massive Imax Fraud

When you pay an extra $5 to see Star Trek: The IMAX Experience, you probably expect Captain Kirk’s head to be projected onto a screen the size of a zeppelin hangar, as any reasonable person would. But citizen-journalist (and Parks and Recreation star) Aziz Ansari has uncovered something startling — were you aware that the Imax Corporation is using its name on screens as tiny as 28’ x 58’, which are really no bigger than many regular screens?

It’s true! Apparently the company has made the inexplicable decision not to differentiate between its new digital-projection systems — which feature sophisticated sound systems and supposedly superior picture quality, but normal-size screens — and the enormous screens it’s been building since the seventies (“We don’t think of [Imax] as the giant screen — it is the best immersive experience on the planet,” Imax CEO Darth Vader told shareholders last September). So, when you buy a more expensive ticket to see a movie in Imax, you may not realize you’re paying an Imax-size premium for a regular-size screen until you walk into the theater, as a disappointed Ansari did yesterday in Burbank (he was given two free passes after complaining to a manager and explaining how many Twitter followers he has).

Ansari is calling for a boycott of Imax screens (both fake and real) and suggests an alternate name for the company’s digital-projection system (“BULLSHIT IMAX”). Even though we can’t afford Imax tickets anyway, we are glad he brought this to our attention.

REBLOG THE FUCK OUT OF THIS. WARNING: AMC theaters are running FAKE IMAX’s and charging $5 extra for a slightly bigger screen. Boycott IMAX, AMC, and Regal. Don’t let them fool you. [Aziz is Bored/Tumblr]

Aziz Ansari Uncovers Massive Imax Fraud