Fantastic time at the "Raiders" screening!

Last night's 30th Anniversary Academy screening of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was wonderful! They showed an amazing brand new digital print of the movie with remastered sound. It totally felt like we were watching the movie for the very first time!

The Q&A with Frank Marshall, Ben Burtt and others who worked on the technical side of the movie was actually very enlightening and informative. A realization of what those guys had to work with back in the day as opposed to how picture and sound are compiled and blended together today using automation. Now that I'm an editor I appreciate much more what a Herculan task that must have been!

The crowd was amazingly appreciative as well, applauding and laughing at all the right moments. Even acknowledging minor details that only true fans would. Examples: as a German soldier falls off the truck during the desert chase, the Wilhelm scream is heard for the first time in the film. Also, as Belloq speaks to a bazooka-aiming Indiana Jones about the ark being history itself, it appears as though a fly actually crawls / flies into his mouth. Both of these moments drew cheers of recognition from the crowd. I was loving ever second of it!

We were also in the company of our friends Chili and Paul, plus a couple of new people we started talking with and ended up friending on Facebook. One in particular is even going to Comic-Con and actually staying at our hotel in San Diego. Just a really satisfying and nostalgic evening!