A film like Oppenheimer, shown on film, seems to be the equivalent of a concert.

The thing that a want to say to people who seem to not understand why a film like Oppenheimer is getting this special attention in regard to the presentation format. To the people who don't understand why IMAX is paying people like me to stop their normal lives and work on this fucking thing. To the people who don't get why what I'm showing you is fundamentally different from a standard digital theater, is this.

I have a certain reverence for most of your mediums. Maybe, just maybe, people have a certain reverence for mine.

Saying to me that you think that seeing Oppenheimer in a standard digital format is the exact same thing as seeing it on film is equivalent to me saying that I don't see any reason to go to a concert because I can listen to the same songs digitally for a fraction of the price.

The thing is, I would never say that about concerts.

I'm not a regular concert goer. But, I spent a chunk of change to go to the Muse concert a few months ago. I had already heard every Muse song over a dozen times via CD or other digital mediums. I could have saved a ton of money by just staying home and devoting a day off to listening to two hours of my favorite Muse songs. Still, nobody seems to think that I'm nuts for spending the time, money, and energy to go to that concert.

I'm a visual person.

A persistent joke at my normal AV job is that I'll say that I'm just like my ex-girlfriend, "I'm all V and no A."

Still, I understand why musicians value the analog sounds over the digital. I don't hear it as well as they probably do. It's not something that consumes my life regularly; but, when I hear people talking about the minor, subtle differences in sound that they get by and from changing one minor step in the process, I view that as something to respect and revere even if I don't know what the hell they're talking about.

A film like Oppenheimer, shown on film, seems to be the equivalent of a concert.

Yeah, you will eventually get to stream the film on your phone. Yes, you'll see the same, overall content as somebody who got into his or her car, and drove across state lines, and spent money on coffees and Red Bulls and gas on top of his or her ticket to see the movie in this particular way.

That person is seeing Muse live while you listen to a CD. That person is seeing the Rolling Stones in concert while you listen to iTunes.

There ya go.

The medium is at least, in part, the message.

Cinema isn't an art form that should be relegated to the fringes. It's not something to be taken lightly because, just like music and painting, it's fucking hard. It's harder than anybody who hasn't done it can really understand.

If you're a person who seeks out the Ultra-70 Roadshow of The Hateful Eight, or the 35mm Screenings of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, or goes to the New Beverly, or drives a few extra miles to see a movie on 35mm, or 70mm, or IMAX film rather than just hopping into the most convenient theater or waiting for the film to start streaming, you're the same kind of person who would say that listening to a CD isn't good enough -- you want to spend the time, money, and effort to be there for real.