Slashdot Mirror
TPM movie reel stolen
A whole slew of people pointed out the news that
an entire reel of The Phantom Menace was stolen off of the projector over the weekend. Hmm...I wonder how long before it shows up on eBay?
← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)
This is true. When I was working in the theater as an assistant manager, I was 19 and in total charge of the theater at least two nights a week. Everyone else there, except for the general manager, was closer to 16. Theft of all kinds, including the re-selling of tickets and the nefarious practice of "cupping" (if you don't know what that is, you don't want to), were almost impossible to eradicate. I knew of a couple of other theater managers in the city who not only tolerated but actually organized some of these things to their immense personal profit. So it hardly follows that individual theater managers are scrupulously honest.
Private, illegal showings of films were pretty common. Whenever we spliced a new film together, we were obligated to run it through the projector at least once to make sure it worked, i.e., no weak splices, all of the film oriented properly, and so on. It was customary for the theater employees to invite all of their friends to post-midnight previews of new films on these occasions. In an 8-plex with a fair number of employees, this sometimes ran to over a hundred people. No outsider ever offered me money for a private showing, but I don't necessarily know that I would have refused it. It would have been pointless to do so, though, as most theaters will gladly rent a private showing -- in such a case, the distributor does get royalties.
The original poster on this thread does have a good point, though. When we were shipping films out, we left the cans right by the door, or just inside the box office. Under those circumstances, they'd be quite easy to steal for someone who knew what they were after.
It never did occur to me to steal a film, though. I can't imagine what I'd have done with it.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
In 20 years, that reel will be worth less than a pile of dog poopoo.
Lucas has used special degrading film for his trailer, and has done it as well for those reels.
He plans on making some changes during the year to the movie, like correcting some shots (the sand shots where Jar Jar Binks doesn't leave any trace is lame). So using long-lived film doesn't make any sense at this point.
Besides, they have the entire movie digitized on disks, so why botter with the life span of film?
Because duplicating films is very expensive. At present once the film has started dying down in the U.S, the reels of film are cleaned up and then sent to other the other countries and so on.
I don't know exactly how expensive, but I'm guessing tens of thousands of dollars.
from my front stoop. Hey, with any luck, whoever
swiped the film will edit out the Jar Jar scenes
before he cuts it to VHS.
By the by, don't movies like this usually consist
of two or more reels? Meaning that this guy could
have only 1/2 or 1/3 of the movie...
----
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
Ppl have been commenting on the digital projection methodology and how it relates to piracy. I was wondering, would the digital copy be encrypted, signed and then broadcast. If the projectors were designed right, and contained a chip with the key to decrypt the copy on the fly, then the digital format would be more secure. Of course, I am stating that each projector had a unique key such that the "film" could only be shown on that projector. Any comments?
These people are quite familiar with the operation, splicing, and showing of the films, but are frequently more concerned with the profit margins of their snack bar. They are in the projection booths just long enough to start the movie and walk to the next booth to start the next movie. These people are not necessarily paid very well -- seniority counts, don'tcha know.
Several people have made some very good points before me, such as:
The difficulty of handling the film correctly
The weight of the film
Knowing where to de-splice the film (If this isn't done right, it destroys the value of the print!!)
Getting a very bulky and obvious package out of a movie theater -- past surveillance cameras, yet!
These Projectionist/Managers are expected to make a reasonably automated theater work through a lot of their own sweat. There aren't the infamous "no-alone-zones" of military circles here, so it's very probable that a manager could have walked into the booth after the last showing of the evening, boxed up the film, and walked out with it later (perhaps in a mis-labeled set of film canisters), knowing all the time that he (or she) would run a very low risk of being discovered in the act!
I'd also point out that these would be the same persons who would know exactly where the cameras do and don't cover! They could also easily explain their fingerprints being in the projection booth, and on the film canisters, should they be recovered.
A final thought -- (In line with the earlier thread) this isn't something that can be stored for 20 years and then sold. Remember what happened to the original prints of Star Wars? They were in awful condition just due to age! The effort required to restore them after just 20 years was phenomenal. I suspect that whoever swiped this print either has a "business plan" or a buyer lined up already. Just having a print won't even be good for bragging rights...
"Hey, I have a print of Episode One!"
"Really, That's cool!!" [How much can I get for turning this yutz in...?]
"...America's great minds of today, teaching America's great minds of tomorrow. Poor bastards." -- A Beautiful Min
I've been twice, the first at 4:25 on Wednesday, and both times the theater wasn't full. The only one's that sold out were the 12:00 AM ones, and the 7:30 show. And we only have 5 screens showing it, so it's been REALLY easy to get a ticket. And then when I went again on Friday night, the theater was only about 3/4 full. I just figure with the biggest theater's showing it in their biggest rooms, and with their 5 screens, the demand just isn't reaching the supply.
there are *seven* reels for the phantom menace, in two cans. just a little film terminology education.
If the movie is to be changed, then the original version would be that much more of a collector's item, wouldn't it? Sure, they have digital copies, but nobody else does, until whoever did this digitizes it. Even if the film degrades (which I heard from you first), if these guys are smart they will have a pretty high-quality digital copy of the movie in its original form. Later, when the movie starts playing on TV and/or becomes available on DVD or whatever, people will go nuts over being able to play them side by side and spot the discrepancies. Even if Lucas also releases the original in a "Collector's Edition", the bootlegged version will have a certain "vintage" appeal to it, I suspect.
Also, you said:
So using long-lived film doesn't make any sense at this point.
This seems to imply that the degrading film is simply more practical, like if it were cheaper, but how much difference could there be? Besides, you called it "special" degrading film, which sounds more expensive. I would have assumed that it was specifically intended to make the original version harder to obtain. You probably meant this, but it was not explicitly clear. Is that right?
By the way, someone else has discussed the legalities of possession of stolen property, statutes of limitations, etc. What about possession of digital copies of stolen property after the statute of limitations for the original theft has run out, and the original stolen property has been destroyed? Might they be able to squeeze through a loop-hole here?
David Gould
David Gould
main(i){putchar(340056100>>(i-1)*5&31|!!(i<6)<< 6)&&main(++i);}
Can anyone give any good reason, why for example in the UK, films show up 2 months later????
There is no technical reason for that, I see no marketing reasons as well (only that people get extra anxious and book trans-atlantic tour -- airlines conspiracy?).
Granted lack of the film, people will be more tempted to use MPGs floating all over the net. Effectively, they are pushed to pirate.
AtW,
http://www.investigatio.com
alexc
Join Majestic-12 Distributed Search Engine
at least in out local (twin cities) paper, that is. then again, so is some wrestler dying in some pay-per-view wrestling stunt, so take it for what you will. anyway, the article in our local paper is a lot longer than the abc one. here's the url it basically confirms what everyone else says: that 40 lbs. isn't even close to the actual weight (more like 60 lbs.), plus it was spliced together on a 3 ft. reel at the time. it also suggests an interesting use of the film: selling frames at $20 a pop (x 190,000 frames)
If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to steal the Phantom Menace, he and all his family will eat finest fish at every meal all their life long.
I used to be a projectionist during my college days, and this story doesn't make much sense to me.
Movie theatre projectors are not like the little 16mm projectors they use in schools. They are man-sized machines that hold the film on a set of three platters that are about four feet in diameter. The film arrives in hexagonal metal cans, each containing three or four reels. The film is removed from the reels and wound onto the platters, pausing to splice each reel to the next. The film is actually shown from the platters; the reels are just used for transport.
The process is fairly time-consuming, and removing the film from the platter to put it back on the reels is no less prolonged. Unless the thief grabbed the reels while they were still in the cans, he would have had to gain access to the building after hours and be familiar with the equipment. If this isn't a publicity stunt, and the reels were really stolen, it would almost have to be an inside job.
And my memory may be failing me, but a seven-reel film loaded into cans weighs closer to sixty or seventy pounds. I remember having to lug those damn things up and down the stairs...
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
We had equipment like this at my high school. Of course, it wasn't ultra-high quality or anything, but the video was very watchable. Equipment consisted of a film projector, a Digital Video Camera [*drool* I wants one (-;] and the "mounting bracket". The mounting bracket was quite simple. You had the projector at 90 degrees to the Camera, and there was a mirror that reflected the output into the input. I can't remember if there was a scrim to diffuse the light before it went into the camera or not, bit I do rember that it worked. Like I said, not ultra-high quality, but very watchable.
Remember that /. story on the piracy of movies?
I was just thinking about it as I read this... George Lucas was so worried about people digitizing and pirating this movie over the Internet... He was even enlisting the FBI to help him bust the pirates.
Why bother with 1-gig downloads and possibly poor quality pirate copies? Why not just steal a copy of the film from a theatre?
Man, I'm not surprised. Not surprised at all!
In 20 years, that reel will be worth less than a pile of dog poopoo.
Lucas has used special degrading film for his trailer, and has done it as well for those reels.
Unless freezing causes the film structure to crack or crystalize in an undesired way, chemical reactions can be negligible for decades. Nothing quite like a fresh film out of a hibernation time capsule. Figure your costs of freezing, about an average of 60 watts to keep the freezer going, 8 cents per kilowatt hour, per month, per 20 years. That would be about $829.44. Would it be worth it?
(considering if you not defrost it as to let water condense all over it!)
Hey man, i don't think that sneaking into movies is such a great thing to do. Look at all the time and effort that went into the creation of this movie. Given, it's already made a crapload of money... but that doesn't mean it's not deserved. Mr. Anonymous Coward, it's time for you to face up to responsibilities.
-----
"Be kind to your local milkman... you have his eyes." -Mother
Yeah, it does make you wonder just how bad someone had to have their Jar-Jar fix. From the story it looks like it was an inside job, and I imagine the perpetrators will likely be caught, especially if they try to sell it.
Personally, if I were the one who stole it, I'd just set it up in my living room (not that I have THX sound or anything) and just run it continuously. ;-) (I saw the film for the third time last night in case you can't tell. And it was better the third time than the second time.)
Boba Fett is in Episode I
So are E.T. and even better, Wookies!
An entire first-run reel of the Phantom Menace? If those thieves have an ounce of brains, they'll store the film in a very safe place and take good care of it. It'll be worth a fortune someday, I'll bet.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
According to this St Paul paper article, the did get the whole film, and are now feeling guilty. They contacted investigators via an attorney to return it for misdemeanor charges.
I see copies of the Matrix floating around on the net already. It won't be long until TPM is also available for download. I'm surprised that Lucas wants to make digital films in the future. Wouldn't that make it easier to bootleg the movies?
If Lucas was smart he would station a guard at each movie theater to watch over the film. When I saw the TPM press junket in NYC two weeks before it was released he had guards watching over the film 24/7. His list of stipulations for movie theaters showing the film it surprises me that he never added "armed guard" to the list.
Finally, a brief comment about the film:
If you are going to build a star destroyer, why put the main reactor in the space port? I mean, some kind of malfunctioning robot or messiah force utilizing kid could blow it up.
The films come in these big metal cases. Each case holds 4 reels of film.. Average reel length=20 minutes. Average movie length=120 minutes. These 6 reels are "Built up" on a platter (great big flat sruface that spins the movie out and in). So when a movie is in the theater and may be shown anytime in the near future, it is on this platter, all six reels in one really long piece. To take this movie out of the theater you must 1) know how to break down the movie and put it back on reels 2) Get out the door with two big heavy film cans that are probably painted neon pink 3) be able to do this in the 30 minutes between the showings. Impossible. Inside job, it HAD to be a projectionist, or someone who knows a projection booth who has the trust of theater management and janitorial staff to be allowed inside after hours.
if you're even more adventurous, you don't even need to clamp down the film. Just unscrew the platter, and carry that.
(the reason one would need to move a full platter's worth of film is to move it from one projector to another in a multiplex... On Thursday nights it is quite common to have to move an older film out of the largest theater to a smaller one, to allow a new blockbuster to get the larger theater. Also, one might show a movie in different theaters during a single showing day. (Kids' movie in large theater for the afternoon while R film in smaller theater, evening have kids' movie n small theater with R (adult) film in large theater.)
Another need to move films whole is to send it from your major first-run theater to the second-run across town...
Not necessarily a one person job, but it is a heck of a lot easier to do. If you're a weakling like me, then you'd need at least one or two people to also hold on (make sure the film doesn't fall out of the middle somewhere). Doorways just require the film to be held horizontal (doesn't fall out as easy as diagonal). *Stairs* are the worst. (as the stolen print was in a first floor booth, this wouldn't have been a problem.)
another BTW: here are pictures of a platter system and shipping reel cans (with two sets of DTS disks in their shipping cases)
-mrv
I'd make it more like a 1E6:1. My interpretation of "10:1 Lucas is annoyed" is "I'll bet my $10 against your $1 that Lucas is annoyed - winner gets $11". You only make bets like that when you're certain you're right (or at least, wrong less than one time in eleven). My bet would be my $1E6 against your $1. You'd stand to win a lot if you won, but you wouldn't win.
http://pioneerplanet.com/docs/home1.htm answers it. The media cost is about $3k, and $60k is basically a lie. (It's worth that much because it's rare. Rare? But isn't there one for each screen it's being shown on?)
There are in fact several theaters showing it. It had been talked about for the last year or so leading up to the release, and in my understanding (which is just from industry rags I've read), its only two or three theaters showing it, and its very limited showings (ie, not around the clock)
The resolution used isn't terribly high, less than HDTV resolution, but higher than DVD. (1280x768 sticks out in my head, but that might not be right..., but its not even 1080i HDTV resolution)
The explanation was that with the sharper focus, brighter image (no shutter used), and lack of garbage on the film, viewers wouldn't know the difference. I'm not sure they're projecting it onto a very big screen though -- that resolution seems low for 500 person megatheaters and the like.
LucasFilm's intent over the last half-dozen years since I first read about some of the talk about the prequels, was Episode I would be shot on film, with test digital distributions. I *think* I remember reading that those test distributions are on custom hardware, basically on a high-rate DVD -- twenty to thirty minutes worth, much like a film reel -- although that may have changed, because I've seen gossip about the satellite stuff. I've lost the list I had of the theaters that were showing the digital Episode I, unfortunately.
Episodes II and III are supposed to be shot digitally, without using film. Aparently Lucasfilm has been spending a lot of time developing digital film cameras that can push data off the camera and onto a high-speed storage system fast enough to do film quality recording without using film. 24fps is obviously the low end, I'm not sure how much bandwidth they ended up with for running at higher frame rates.
Some of the reasons I'd read for the move was a significant drop in cost over time (a lot of arthouse films are being shot on mini-DV and other digital formats like Digital BetaMax, because $30 for a tape sure beats $100 for three minutes of film...) The most interesting feature I read about was the ability to prerender the effects and do the compositing in realtime at the camera -- so the monitors show the finished shot, and alignment issues and problems with actors not fully interacting with effects can be taken care of immediately. Also read rumors of experiments to do real time digital character rendering, so an actor in a motion-recording outfit can be in front of the camera, and the camera would end up recording the CGI character in real time.
Anyway, I digress. Episodes II and III are supposed to go out for larger digital releases, with more of a push for them to be digital on III than II. That's why there's been talk about big theater chains arranging financing so they can do low-rate financing for their member theaters to be able to spend the hundreds of thousands of dollars it will take to put digital systems in megaplexes.
It'll be interesting to see if theaters end up using a direct broadcast method of displaying movies as they shift to digital, or if they go with a multi-disc optical solution like a high bitrate DVD-based format. Personally I'd think DVD would be the way to go. They're cheap to produce, even as one-offs. There's no reason you could build military-grade decryption hardware into the playback units and key the distribution discs to that particular unit and theater. Steal the discs, its not of any use if you don't steal the reader. If the reader has to verify keys against the distributors system, then even stealing the unit won't help.
Satellite seems unlikely because of all the differing times a show can play, and the expense of the satellite time.
It depends on what audio format is used. All reels have a 2-channel analog stereo track on them for backup purposes, but additional digital audio tracks are handled differently for each format:
DTS: A seperate CD is included with the reel that has the DTS 5.1 encoded audio on it
SDDS: 2 highly compressed digital tracks (identical, in case one breaks) are run along the rings of the reel, making this format highly susceptible to being damaged. Allows up to 8 channels (5 front, 2 surround, 1 LFE).
Dolby Digital: I think this uses a seperate reel in addition to the movie reel, but I could be mistaken. Allows 5.1 discrete channels, Dolby Digital EX uses the same 5.1 channels, but EX processors matrix decode (a la Dolby Pro Logic) a rear-center channel.
Having been a (and still am, though no longer practicing) state-licensed projectionist and worked in more than one theater within the last 5 years, I felt I had to comment... Sorry in advance for the long rant.
A standard 35mm print of a movie costs the studio about $3000. If you add in lab time, transportation, and lost revenue for a stolen print (usually the distributor takes 80% of the ticket sale price for the first 2 or more weeks, with reducing percentages as the run gets longer), then maybe a 35mm print would be worth $60k.
And a 70mm print these days no longer costs the $10k+, and isn't much more expensive than a 35mm film to print. The extra $6k was for the magnetic striping for the soundtrack. Most 70mm prints struck these days (minus 1996's Hamlet) are 70mm DTS prints, which has the same optical soundtrack sync to the DTS CD as a 35mm print.
As far as breaking into a projection booth, it's scarily usually quite easy. I've had to shoo away a number of kids who took a wrong turn going out the back-of-theater exit doors after a show, and ended out in the booth... (Usually we'd just forget to lock the door from the outside.) here in MA, it's actually illegal to have the door locked during showtimes (throwback to the days of nitrate (burns VERY easily) film).
If the booth consists of a large multiplex (usually one projectionist/manager for a booth), one could enter the far end of the (noisy with projectors running) booth, and the projectionist on the other end wouldn't hear you. If the booth is for a small theater, chances are that it's a manager/projectionist, who only enters the booth if there is a reported problem, or to thread or start a film, which leaves the booth unattended for quite some time.
Let me point out here that film reels, trailers (previews), and frames (sometimes called cells on eBay) are all the property of the studio (per the legal stuff at the end of the credits), not the theater or any single person, and MANY people have been successfully sued by studios to reclaim ownership.
Oh, and as for the amount of film stolen... A "reel" could be any of a number of things. If it was a shipping reel, then it could either be a 2000 ft. reel (about 17-23 min. of film), or a ELR (Extended Length Reel), which is 6000 ft. of film (approx. 1/2 the movie).
If the theater is using a dual-projection setup (not likely at a commercial chain multiplex), then the reel could be any of a 2K, 4K, or 6K ft. reels.
Chances are that the theater had the film mounted up on a platter (plays sort of like an 8-track), in one BIG reel for the entire movie. (all of the shipping reels taped together) with clamps or some form of binding wire/rope/string, the whole movie can be easily transported by 2 people, 1 if strong enough (and slung over the shoulder like a tire).
of course, knowing how journalists tend to keep things minimalized so that they don't confuse the public, they just used "reel," which could mean a lot of things.
unfortunately, I do not remember just how much film weighs, only that it is heavy... (when in shipping canisters, even heavier...)
BTW: a good site for techincal information regarding film projection is the rec.arts.movies.tech FAQ.
-mrv
Because doing so will get you 19 years in a 19th century French prison.
(Am I get gonna get flamed for making a Broadway reference?)
Josh Forman
A "Reel" (one of maybe six making up the entire
:-)
film) is one thing.
The article says it weighs about 40 pounds.
The whole film weighs a hella lot more than
that... I remember lugging those things up the
stairs... But the $60K price tag sounds right...
for all those people wondering why they don't do
70MM -- it costs a LOT more than that for a 6 reel
70MM print!!
Anyway the article makes it sound like "they"
got the whole movie.
Makes me wonder if they got just a reel. Also
bewildering that there are apparently theatres
that still use the dual-projector open-reel system
(as opposed to a single-projector platter system,
which *everybody* has nowadays... Any theatre
that would be showing star wars... even in a smallish town.)
Is Menomonie smaller than "smallish" though
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
The article suggests that someone might create a bootleg video from the print. The equipment that would be necessary to create such a copy ( a QUALITY copy ) is very VERY specialized, very expensive, and difficult to use. However, I suspect we'll be able to purchase copies on 42nd street some time in the next week or two. Maybe now, someone will make a bootleg DVD. TO dream...
-- Minds are like parachutes... they work best when open.
As I recall, "The Empire Strikes Back" was stolen when it came out in Columbia, SC.
I have a sibling in the theater industry and I've heard the same thing about using direct satellite feeds in the future.
On a side note, I'm not sure if it made the list, but theaters usually get about 30% of ticket sales, with the rest of the revenue coming from the consession stand (which is why they charge $3.50 for a $.10 box of popcorn). Lucas is demanding 90% of ticket revenues, leaving theaters with only 10%.
My guess is this is one of the reasons why the 2-3 screen theaters are going out of business or doing second-run movies while everyone's building 15-20 screen monster buildings.
The final print of the movie was spit out of a computer. Not "several scenes" were rendered by a computer on film. Every frame of the movie was.
:)
That's not that unusual, by the way. Avid systems and the like have been used pleanty of times for all-digital film editing. Once the images are in the computer, the output quality doesn't depend on whether or not any actual effects were layed into the film -- there was probably a bit of color correction done, and stuff like that.
This is all the way movies are going to be made in the future. Its easier, and getting to be cheaper to do shooting, and editing in digital, and will soon be the preferred method of presentation too.
It'll be a godsend for future film students too -- when the camera prices drop enough that digital film cameras are the standard fare at school instead of 16mm Bolex or other type cameras, it'll sure save a lot of $$$.
I probably dropped $500 a semester or more on film when I was in school. And that doesn't by that much film.
Launching a satellite is pretty far fetched -- he'd need to buy a piece of the radio spectrum he could use, and it'd have to be a fairly high power transmission, all things that are very unlikely to be allowed. Low power (DSS-like) transmissions are too prone to signal fade during rain and things like that -- and no theater owner in their right mind would risk being unable to show a film during a rainy day (when it seems to me to be the best time to see them!)
The theft only makes the Lucas idea of distributing the Episode 2 and 3 films via direct satellite broadcast to theaters, and not on film, more likely. No risk of loss and total control. I heard seven theaters are showing Episode 1 via this method.
I could seriously sympathise with Lucas if he gets pissed about this, much more so than his concern over someone smuggling a movie camera into the film.
If you start with a low quality recording, the best you're going to end up with is a low quality recording. It might be better than nothing, but probably nothing worth spending the time downloading for a few days.
However, with this reel, the theif (or whoever it is sold to) could make any quality recording they wanted, as it won't get much better.
The article is fairly vague tho, which means the reporter obviously doesn't have a great deal of information regarding the theft. Although supplement articles are likely to appear about this issue, considering it was an inside job (more than likely), the chances of catching the theif are pretty good. I DOUBT it will show up on Ebay. That's just too risky for them.
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
The first showing (in New York, IIRC) was indeed a digital "film" shown with a digital projector. Most cinemas will get regular celluloid copies though. It was made digitally and then transferred onto celluloid, just like digital audio recordings can be transferred onto an analogue medium (cassette tape, vinyl etc).
Let's be serious. Security in most movie theaters is a joke. What there is of it is mostly concerned with keeping people from getting into the -seating area- without paying. Projection booths are left unlocked, even with the doors open, all the time. Nobody cares. Nobody's going to steal a theater film, because the equipment is ridiculously bulky... people don't use -those- projectors for home theater. (Well, obviously, someone stole -this- film, but, in general it's a pretty useless thing to steal films).
/will/ recognize you). 'course walking into another theater's projection booth and taking the film requires a lot chutzpah, but I think they had that anyway.
Widen your list of suspects to anyone who's ever been a projectionist... which includes many, many people who worked movie theaters as their summer/after school job through college. If it were me with this scheme, I certainly wouldn't steal it from the same theater I worked at - it's -easier- to get caught that way (because any witnesses
--Parity
--Parity
'Card carrying' member of the EFF.
Posted by kewlmann:
The State theater in Menomonie is such a hole.
There are four screens, two upstairs I think.
The upstairs screen has one speaker (or so it seems) that rattles, yes it rattles. And the projection is never very good.
The security is terrible and the management just stinks. I think there are emergency exits pretty much next to the projection room. Its been a while since I have been there, so I can't be certain.
On my way to class, I watch them deliver the film cans. Sometimes they are just inside the theatre. I read them through the glass to see what movies will be playing. Sometimes, beleive it or not, they are just sitting on the sidewalk!
Menomonie is home to University of Wisconsin - Stout (where I go). I would bet that they have the equipment on campus to make the copy. The FBI would surely be watching it though.
My 2 cents worth....
[My main point is that this isn't necessarily an inside job; I'm not trying to teach people how to steal.]
Most movie theaters figure that the average movie-goer is (1) honest, and (2) clueless about the projection of film. The Average Joe wouldn't steal film, and possibly wouldn't even recognize film or know how much of it to steal.
In every small theater I've visited more than three times, I've seen an employee carrying canisters of film from the booths to a spot near the door for pick-up. Once left by the door (or under the stairs, or whatever), the canisters are totally abandoned and ignored.
In every large theater I've visitied, there seem to be only two or three projectionists on hand in case something goes wrong on one of the dozen screens. Booths are usually abandoned between shows.
And, hey, what can you do with film and not get caught?
In general, for most movies, the stakes are too high for someone in the movie business to try to swipe a copy. A distributor wouldn't want to lose a contract with a production company, so they wouldn't start renting out an illegal copy; nor would they tolerate an illegal exhibition. A theater owner wouldn't want to lose business with a distributor, so he wouldn't run a secret after-hours show; nor would he tolerate a rogue projectionist. And so on.
If you're outside the movie business and you've stolen some film, you won't be able to get any insiders to help you project it. If you have some 35mm projectors in your basement, then you probably have some arrangement with a distributor that you'd rather not sour, and you're probably too rich to bother stealing prints.
Security is generally lax because there aren't people who'd steal film solely to keep as a trophy. When a movie like this comes along, one that makes theater managers quiver in fear, there are too many other details to worry about. A manager won't stop to think: "This is one of the few movies that someone could steal and sell frame-by-frame for cash." Security will stay low, and thefts like these could be pretty easy, either by an employee or by a savvy customer.