Yesterday afternoon a reportedly dark and murky-looking presentation of David Fincher‘s The Social Network was shown to Boston-area critics at the AMC Boston Commons plex. The reason for the far-from-optimum screening, to go by information provided by two top-level projection consultants, is that the film, beautifully shot by Jeff Cronenweth, was (a) diminished by being projected through a Sony SRX-R220 or SRX-R320 4K digital projector, and (b) more specifically by a decision by AMC execs not to swap out 3D lenses when showing 2D movies, which produces a much darker image.

Sony’s SRX-R220 (or SRX-R320) 4K digital projector

The bottom line is that a major award-quality film that’s been beautifully lighted and captured with a digital RED camera by a world-class cinematographer (I’ve seen The Social Network projected correctly at Sony’s Manhattan screening room) was presented as a dark and diminished thing — nothing close to what is makers would prefer — because of decisions by AMC executives to (a) use Sony’s digital 3D projectors, which are not favored by high-end projection consultants, and (b) save money by not paying for a special field technician to switch out their 3D lenses for 2D ones.

2:55 pm update: A Sony rep is saying that “it was a projectionist error and we are setting a new screening as soon as possible for those who attended.”

This episode fortifies AMC’s reputation as an exhibitor chain renowned for substandard projection, a company “that has been dumbing down their projection booths since the word ‘go'” (as one consultant puts it). It also explains why one consultant refers to the AMC acronym as standing for “Amateur Movie Company” or — this is my favorite — “All Movies Compromised.”

What should distributors do to bypass the problem? A Boston-area professional I spoke to a little while ago says one solution is to insist that all critics screenings show 35mm prints instead of digital. That way (a) the whole 3D lens switchout problem wouldn’t be a factor. and (b) you wouldn’t be showing 35mm prints on 3D-friendly silver screens, which diminish light levels by their own design when 2D films are shown.

Two projection consultants asked to be anonymous. A third, Chapin Cutler of Boston Light and Sound, concurred with the views of the first two and provided a brief on-the-record quote. Here’s how they all explained it:

Projection Consultant #1: “What we’re dealing with is a very tragic consequence that stems from the use of Sony SRX-R220 or SRX-R320 4K projectors. Showing 2D films through a 3D lens results in a projected image that I would have to call wretched…very poor resolution and contrast. The reason the lenses haven’t been swapped out is that you have to hire a field technician to come in and swap them out. It’s a highly involved process that takes about an hour, and it’s not cheap.

“The culprit is the Sony 4K projector, which in my opinion shows 4K in name only. It’s my understanding that producers were very upset to learn that both AMC and Regal have signed on with Sony’s projection system, which uses what is known as a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) imaging process. The problem is that it doesn’t produce sufficient color uniformity, limited screen illumination and poor contrast.”

Projection Consultant #2: “You never want to project a film on a silver screen unless you have to [i.e., for 3D purposes]. I’m sure that AMC executives made the decision not to swap out the 3D lens because it’s big and heavy and expensive to switch. Our clients are told to go with Barco, Christie DLP or NEC digital 3D projection systems, which don’t require swap-outs at all. Sony’s LCoS — liquid crystal on silicon — is an alternate system to DLP digital projection. I hope things get better, but with AMC involved I’m not holding my breath.”

Chapin Cutler, Boston Light and Sound: “It’s not unusual for theatre owners not to change out the lenses for special screenings of non-3D films for a single press screening….the way this is handled is that distributors will usually cover the cost of paying for the [lens] switch-out…it’s a little little unusual than Sony didn’t do this.” Cutler agrees that showing films to critics in 35mm would of course bypass the issues described in this article, but he added two points: (a) “35mm projection has been getting pretty grim [in commercial theatres] lately because they’re saying, well, why invest and keep them up if we’re going to dump film in two or three years?” and (b) “Sometmes distributors won’t go to the expense of making a 35mm print if they think the film is not complete, so if Mr. Fincher was still tweeking [The Social Network] they would have waited on that.”

Popeater‘s Rob Shuter has filed some unsettling but probably accurate comments about the situation behind Michael Douglas‘s non-verbal appearance at last night’s Wall Street 2 premiere. Thinking about Douglas’s situation makes me shudder and tremble. I’d rather focus on a thought that came to mind last night as I re-considered his Gordon Gekko performance, which is that in one particular scene Douglas does deliver in an award-quality way.

Shia LeBeouf, Michael Douglas, Carey Mulligan at last night’s Wall Street 2 premiere at the Zeigfeld. (Photo by AP’s Evan Agostini.]

I recognize that I may be allowing sentiment to color my judgment to some extent, but I know for certain that Douglas’s moment with Carey Mulligan — a scene on the steps of Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum during a big party — is a bring-it-homer. It’s the best thing in the film, I feel, and an acting moment that’s coming from a deep-down place. Douglas is obviously using his personal history as a negligent dad (which he’s copped to regarding his son Cameron, who’s now incarcerated following a drug-dealing conviction), and it’s clearly a no-bullshit moment. Mea culpa, I screwed up, I need a break.

I wish Wall Street 2 had afforded Douglas more opportunities along these lines. He’s very comfortable strutting around in Gekko’s skin, and he has the ‘tude and the patter down cold. Plus there’s something about him that feels weary and slumped, a spiritual characteristic in his eyes and skin and graying hair. It’s hard to express but you feel for the guy. I did, at least. I guess I’m saying that I didn’t full appreciate how good Douglas is when I saw the film in Cannes, or that my critical pores are more open to him now with the bad news and all.

Shuter writes that Douglas “exuded a quiet but resolute presence Monday night as he walked the red carpet at the New York premiere of his new movie, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. [But] sources close to the legendary actor tell me he is riddled with fear and finding it difficult to talk.

“‘It’s cancer, of course he is frightened,’ a friend of Michael’s tells me. ‘He’s 65 years old and has everything to live for. His career couldn’t be better and his personal life with beautiful wife, Catherine [Zeta Jones] and kids Dylan and Cary, couldn’t be more perfect. Now this has come along and knocked the entire family off its feet.”

“Michael, who had a difficult time seeing his older son Cameron sentenced to five years in jail for dealing drugs earlier this summer, finally thought the worst was behind him, sources tell me. And then the cancer diagnosis happened.

“‘He’s had an intensive course of radiation and chemotherapy to treat a tumor in his throat,’ an insider tells me. ‘It’s left him feeling very tired and sometimes finding it very difficult to even speak. In a few weeks, we fear he won’t be able to eat or swallow.’

“At the premiere, Michael rushed past photographers, not stopping to pose for many pictures. He also rushed past the many TV crews and reporters without saying a word — making everyone wonder just how well the star was really doing.

“‘He is in a no-win situation,’ a studio source tells me. ‘If Michael didn’t show up, everyone would be talking about him. Yet at the same time if he did show up, the press would see for themselves that he isn’t doing so great.'”

Lindsay Lohan‘s probation has been revoked and a bench warrant issued for her arrest due to having failed two drug tests. She won’t be cuffed and sent back to the pokey until she appears in court this coming Friday morning. Hey, Lindsay — catch a screening of The Social Network on the Sony lot this week (they’re showing it a few times). You’re probably going to get a much longer sentence this time and you don’t want to miss out.

Social Network director David Fincher and star Jesse Eisenberg will take part in a public discussion of their film at Soho’s Apple Store on Thursday, 9.23 from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm. This was just pulsed a little while ago.

Quoting the gist of a Total Film article, The Playlist is reporting that Paul Thomas Anderson‘s 1950s-set Scientology drama, tentatively titled The Master, has been “postponed indefinitely at this point.”

“I was really bummed about that,” costar Jeremy Renner is quoted as saying. “It really kind of stalled because when we were rehearsing — Phillip Seymoour Hoffman, Paul and myself — we kept coming up against a wall that we couldn’t overcome. Or at least Paul couldn’t overcome.”

“Hoffman revealed in an interview with The Playlist during press rounds for Jack Goes Boating that ‘I don’t have any new information [on the project]. I really mean that, I’m not being obtuse. I don’t quite know what that is at the moment, but hopefully I will and hopefully I’ll be part of something soon. It would be great to work with him again.'”

Awards Daily‘s Sasha Stone and I agreed in principle today to launch a new weekly Oscar discussion podcast. The intention is to call it “Oscar Poker with Jeff & Sasha.” We’re figuring the term “Oscar poker” will make it turn up in search engines more readily. Record every Sunday, post every Monday.

Strictly tentative art (whipped together within the last hour), but not bad.

The idea is that Kris Tapley and Anne Thompson’s weekly discussion is perhaps a little more mild-mannered than it needs to be (no offense, guys!), and that maybe we’d try and toss a few lettuce leaves around.

I was milling around the 1980 New York Film Festival as a would-be wannabe. (Pant, pant.) At a French Embassy party I struck up a conversation with Catherine Deneuve that lasted about eight or nine seconds — she sized me up and moved on. I was determined to speak with the legendary Francois Truffaut (whose Montmartre grave I’ve since visited) so when I saw him at Alice Tully Hall I asked if he knew where mutual friend Annette Insdorf was at the moment. “Hotel Empire!,” he said. “Empire!”

Sometime tomorrow night New York‘s “Vulture” column will be going indie, becoming a stand-alone site that will reportedly not use the words “New York magazine” but will maintain certain ties with New York in that and that way. “Vulture” editor Adam Moss will still run the show, of course.

“I’m one of your middle class Americans,” a questioner said to President Barack Obama during today’s CNBC Town Hall meeting. “And quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for.”

Obama’s response: “Times are tough for everybody right now, so I understand your frustration.”

My very first response to this trailer for Ron Howard‘s The Dilemma (Universal, 1.14.11), a dramedy about an infidelity situation, is that Vince Vaughan and Kevin James have become very amply proportioned. Their wives, however, are played by the slim and svelte Jennifer Connelly and Winona Ryder. And that’s not how it works in the real world.

Fat guys tend to marry women with weight issues and vice versa. A husband or wife will sometimes sympathetically gain weight as a way of showing allegiance. (Like when guys pack it on when their wives become pregnant.) But slim wives will generally not let their fat husbands off the hook — they’ll hammer and hammer them until they go to the club and drop some pounds. That or they’ll capitulate and gain weight so as to reduce their differences.

The Dilemma used to be known as Untitled Cheating Project (a.k.a. Your Cheating Heart). I reviewed Allen Loeb’s script seven months ago. Here’s part of what I said:

“Vaughn and James will play Chicago-based engine designers Ronnie Valentine and Isaac Backman, respectively, whose significant others are Beth (Connelly) and Geneva (Ryder). The central tension is about Ronnie accidentally discovering that Geneva is playing around on Isaac, and the anxieties and trepidations that stem from his not knowing what to do. Should he just blurt out the bad news to Isaac, his business partner and longtime best friend? And if he does, will Isaac somehow blame him for Geneva’s betrayal? (Guilt by association.) Should he mind his own business and stay out of the lives of others?

“I was immediately repelled by Ronnie’s response because — hello? — there’s only one thing to do. In such a situation his loyalty would be to his longtime friend, not the wife, and so one way or the other he’d have to share what he suspects. No guy would have to think about this. He’d start out by stressing to his pal that he doesn’t really ‘know’ anything but that he’s seen something disturbing and that maybe something’s up, etc. And then he’d suggest that the friend might want to hire a shamus to learn the facts or whatever. But come what may you must share what you’ve seen and/or suspect.

“The fact that jabbering Ronnie — a guy who’s in denial about almost everything, and who fibs all the time like Alibi Ike and has trust issues with everyone — hems and haws throughout the story is infuriating. By my sights the guy has no convictions or cojones, and who wants to spend 110 minutes with a 13 year-old who mostly goes ‘homina-homina-homina’ when faced with a serious issue?”

Right now several Bluray screeners are about to be sent to Hollywood Elsewhere central, and it feels like Christmas. The Criterion Blurays of Paths of Glory and The Thin Red Line are on the way. Ditto the Psycho Bluray from Universal Home Video, the Bridge on the River Kwai Bluray from Sony Home Video, the Apocalypse Now Bluray from Lionsgate, and five Warner Home Video Blurays — The Exorcist, the two Humphrey Bogart Blurays (Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The Maltese Falcon), Ocean’s 11 and King Kong.

Not to mention the 18-disc Fox Home Video box Elia Kazan box set that’s due on 11.9, which I’m currently asking for.