Mary Pickford to premiere first feature film in its new 3-screen, panoramic movie format

Xochitl Pena, The Desert Sun

Sometimes one screen just isn’t enough, especially if it’s to showcase Josh Hartnett in his comeback movie.

“6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain,” directed by Scott Waugh and starring Hartnett, is the first feature film to be shot from start to finish in the Barco Escape ultra-wide, three-screen format which creates a panoramic and immersive experience. 

Waugh and others are hopeful this new format at Mary Pickford/D’Place in Cathedral City – only one of a handful of theaters across the country with the system – will make the movie-going experience more exciting and help curb declining interest in theaters.

“We need to adapt somehow to keep theater alive because it's dying really fast at a rapid rate right now in America. The youth is not going anymore,” he said. “Their phones are more important than theater and I was hoping that technology like this will bring people back because you can't see this on your phone, you can’t see this at your house. The only way it exists in Escape is here." 
The movie, released Friday, also stars Mira Sorvino, and will screen at Mary Pickford until at least Oct. 26.

"We had the highest gross in the country with the film so we will be holding the film for another week through (Oct. 26) for sure and possibly another week after that," said Damon Rubio, president of D’Place Entertainment which operates Mary Pickford/D’Place.

The new format premiered in the desert about a year ago, but prior to "6 Below," other movies like “Star Trek: Beyond,” “Maze Runner” and “The Recall” only had 20 to 30 minutes of footage that was in Escape, not an entire movie.

“So this was a big step forward,” said Rubio of the new movie. "Our company philosophy is to provide our guests a selection of movie-going experiences that they can choose from and enjoy.  We believe the Barco Escape format is one of those unique and quality experience that guests should have the ability to experience."

Waugh attended a screening of his movie on Saturday in Cathedral City alongside film editor Vashi Nedomansky.  Both participated in a Q & A afterwards and shared their unique filmmaking experience with the audience.

Waugh, who was honored by Variety as one of “10 Directors to Watch” during the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2012, had already started work on “6 Below” when a friend introduced him to the Barco Escape format and quickly realized he wanted in.

“I always love seeing new technology and when I saw what they were going to be doing, I was like I need to shoot this feature in this format. It was a great fit because I wanted to figure out how to put the audience on the mountain,” he said.

The movie is based on the 2004 real life survival story of former professional hockey player Eric LeMarque, who battled drug addiction and who, coincidentally, Waugh and Nedomansky, both knew on a personal basis.

Waugh played hockey with LeMarque as kids from age 6 to 12 and knew at that age, he would go pro.  Nedomansky used to play professional hockey for 10 years with the Los Angeles Kings and New York Islanders before becoming a film editor, and would train with LeMarque.
LeMarque wound up quitting the Boston Bruins and then became a meth addict. The movie centers around LeMarque's journey after he gets lost in the High Sierras while snowboarding. He was stranded in the frigid wilderness for eight days with no food, a dead cell phone and a bag of meth. 

Hartnett, who had left Hollywood to live in Minnesota and mostly dropped out of the spotlight after such blockbusters as “Black Hawk Down” and “Pearl Harbor,” did an exceptional job of portraying a harrowing LeMarque, who despite an encounter with wolves, a fall into an icy river, and the realization that his limbs would be lost, was bent on survival.
“This is his comeback movie” said Waugh, who enjoyed working with him. LeMarque lost 40 pounds during his eight days in the wilderness. Even though Hartnett is wearing bulky ski-gear throughout the movie, he lost 25 pounds pounds over the three weeks of filming to get into the same head space as LeMarque, said Waugh.

"I'm just so proud of him. I think it's his best work. I just think he's such a talent," he said.

A movie like “6 Below,” with it’s majestic mountainous landscape, lends itself naturally to the Barco Escape format. And Waugh’s intention in utilizing the technology was putting the audience on the mountain with LeMarque.

“I really wanted to put the audience authentically in the environment that he went through so we felt what he went through. This guy sat up there by himself for eight days. He didn't have no one to talk to. I want us to experience that loneliness and to feel that environment and the wind,” said Waugh.

To make a movie that would be shown on three screens, using three cinema projectors, Waugh initially though he would need three cameras, but it turned out he was able to use just one.

With today's technology, cameras are usually ahead of projection. So I was able to shoot this on one, with a high-resolution camera,” he said.

The challenge for Nedomansky was a bit different.

“I had to put the images on all three screens and manipulate it so it will read and play and allow the audience to understand everything and not get lost. If something was happening on one screen that was so significant, you know that could be a problem so I had to balance that. We tried to make it so you can always be in on the story and always know what's going on,” he said.

Nedomansky is already editing another film that’s coming out in Barco Escape. Waugh said he is definitely on board for another film in this format, if a good story comes his way, especially with his first one under his belt.

"I learned a lot this first round. Like there's definitely a lot of stuff that I would do different now having done it once. I have great ideas on how to do the next one," he said.

As far as the new format's longevity, Waugh thinks it definitely has the potential to stick around.

“I think like any new technology we're going to keep making it better and better and it definitely has the potential to revolutionize the cinematic experience,” he said.

Nedomansky agrees: “It’s nice to be on the cutting-edge. It’s nice to have the first film that’s done completely in the Barco (Escape) format. It always takes a lot to get you out of the house. I don’t see that many movies and I’m a filmmaker. It really has to be something different or something really immersive and Barco fits the bill for me.  As a filmmaker and a film-goer I really enjoyed it.”

Waugh feels like somewhat of a trailblazer, akin to Alan Crosland the director of  “The Jazz Singer” in 1927, which became the first "talkie" or feature film to be released with sound thanks to the Vitaphone.

“How often in life do you get to be the first to do something,” said Waugh. “Like imagine if you were the first director to ever do a movie with sound. There’s only one first time,” said Waugh.

Scott Waugh, director of "6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain" (in center) and editor Vashi Nedomansky (on far right) talk about the movie during a Q & A at Mary Pickford/D'Place in Cathedral City on Oct. 14, 2017. (Photo: Xochitl Pena/The Desert Sun)

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