Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor
Made of L.A.
Donate
Stay Connected

LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit LAist.com/radio

Keep up with our local independent news

The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LA’s top 5 stories in just 3 minutes.
Donate

Share This

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Arts and Entertainment

Videos: 'Star Wars' Fans Freak Out When Projector Breaks At ArcLight Screening

By  Carman Tse
Published Dec 17, 2015 11:00 PM
Our June member drive is live: protect this resource!
Right now, we need your help during our short June member drive to keep the local news you read here every day going. This has been a challenging year, but with your help, we can get one step closer to closing our budget gap. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership.

Seems like the people at The Grove last night weren't the only ones who had a terrible experience on opening night of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In several videos posted on Friday, you can see a theater full of fans at the ArcLight losing their minds when the projector breaks mid-screening. "Projector at Star Wars midnight 3D show at the Arclight ruined, stopped, then started again towards the end of the movie," wrote Erik Melendez on Facebook. "The movie was spoiled and everyone in the theater went crazy."

Projector at Star Wars midnight 3D show at the Arclight ruined, stopped, then started again towards the end of the movie. The movie was spoiled and everyone in the theater went crazy. NBC LA ArcLight Cinemas ABC7 Disney J. J. Abrams Oscar Isaac Star Wars Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Posted by Erik Melendez on Friday, December 18, 2015
Support for LAist comes from
Become a sponsor

In the videos you can feel a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in despair as the movie they'd been waiting for was ruined. "Noooooo!", "This is sooooo f—ed up!" and "You're ruining my life!" can be heard among the voices in the crowd. In the video at top, you can see the projectionist scroll through the movie, hoping to find the right place to restart from.

"The theater went into mayhem, people ran out, yelling 'Stop the movie!,' closing their eyes—anything to not witness a spoiler," Melendez told LAist.

"In the end it made for a long night but a strangely fun experience," fan Marc Pattavina told GeekNation. "But there's people who were really hyped to see this and have been anticipating this for a very long time that had to be very let down."

The ArcLight, known for ensuring the best theater experience, tried to make things right with the naturally upset crowd. "They gave us a full refund and a voucher to come back so they took care of us," said Melendez.

Most Read
Best of LAist