VARIOUS MOMENTS

KEVIN FEIGE on TOO MANY FILMS TO NAME

I remember them all. To name but a few…

When Belloq opened the ark in Raiders, the collective gasp of the audience was so strong that I immediately covered my seven-year-old eyes from whatever horrors could cause such a response. I saw Raiders many times in the summer of ’81, looking away when Indy tells Marion to do the same. It wasn’t until I noticed two kids even younger than me bravely watching the scene that I gained the courage to finally witness the demise of Belloq, Dietrich and Toht.

When Doc sits up at the end of Back To The Future, revealing that he did in fact read the letter and put on a bullet-proof vest, the audience at the Loews Harmon Cove in Secaucus, New Jersey, erupted in applause before Marty even noticed.

When Ripley appeared in the Power Loader to save Newt — “Get away from her you B*#@!” — in Aliens, the crowd cheered so loud at the Blue Star Cinema in Watchung, New Jersey, that I felt bad for the people watching Heartburn in the theatre next door.

When I saw the THX logo play for the first time in front of The Abyss at the General Cinema in Bridgewater, New Jersey, I yelled out in glee

— and was the only one. It made me happy when it soon became a tradition for everyone to cheer at the sound of those perfectly balanced decibels promising hours of magic to come.

When Yoda pulled out his lightsaber for the first time in Episode II, the masses at the Village Theater in Westwood, CA, screamed out in joy, united in the moment they saw a lifetime of dreaming brought to the screen.

Being in a packed movie theatre on a Friday night with hundreds of strangers, all ready to share an experience, were the most formative moments of my childhood and remain the driving force in my career.