58 thoughts on “It’s official: No IMAX for museum”

1. This reminds me of when I was a kid in the late 80s and HyperColor shirts were the must-have Middle School status symbol. HyperColor shirts were the t-shirts with some magic spell that made them change color when they were heated. In the 80s this was the epitome of high-tech apparel.

   I begged and begged my mom to buy me one, but she wouldn’t cave. Finally, after a good deal of whining, begging, and bargaining with the promise of good grades and a clean bedroom, she caved. But instead of the real HyperColor brand-name shirt, I instead got the K-Mart knock-off version of the shirt. After about 3 trips through the dryer my bright blue not-HyperColor shirt developed 3 bright pink splotches on the front of it. Totally unwearable for a 12 year old boy.

   I’m sure Global Immersion is a great company with a great product – they sure seem to have some reputable clients – but I can’t help but feel like I’m getting the K-Mart (also a great company with great products) version of my HyperColor shirt again. I guess when you know the IMAX name and the recognition it carries, it’s hard to have a taste for “the next best thing”.

2. IMAX has been around since what, the mid 70s? Yes IMAX developed a process and their theaters are great but technology has moved in leaps and bounds since. Anyone who has bought a computer knows that 15 minutes after un-packing the thing, it’s out dated. I think that maybe this Global company may be as good if not better than an IMAX. It’s like the iPhone. A neat product but not necessarily the best. My Android phone works as smooth as if not better than my son’s iPhone. He had to have an iPhone just because everyone else had one. The point is, that maybe this will work out better and we have to hope it will as we are stuck with the decisions the Board makes. So as my old math teacher used to say; “Settle down people.”

3. Even if you can stomache the lies told to get the referrendum past. and by lies I specifically refer to statements made by museum people and invested councilman quote “I have the IMAX contract on my desk waiting to be signed upon approval of the referrendum.”

   this is particularly disturbing
   from todays PJSTAR
   “‘We already know it will be giant-screen theater that rests on a digital infrastructure, but some of the technology that’s going to be incorporated into this system isn’t available today,” Schmidt said.”

   non existant technology then if it is developed, there can’t possibly be bugs in it.
   we learn nothing…(cough firefly..cough)..the marketing is pretty though and it’s done in an exciting tone, so the sheep will be all over it….

4. This sounds good to me. I want our leaders to evaluate the best, most cost-efficient technology investments. Sounds like they have done that.

5. Chris, The world is full of products that were once the “best thing” that aren’t anymore. Do you still buy beta-max tapes and 8 track music cartridges as well as IBM PC’s?

6. D150 Observer says, “Sounds like they have done that.” I’m just curious, is that just based on the press release? Also, it sounds like you’re saying IMAX is passe and outdated, like 8-track tapes and whatnot, but that Global Immersion is the next Microsoft or popular media format. On what is that belief based? Stock prices, sales figures, industry experts, clairvoyance?

   Also, what are your thoughts on how this decision will affect the PRM’s operational budget, based on their published pro forma?

7. “…how this decision will affect the PRM’s operational budget…”
   Exactly.
   It will be interesting to compare attendance/receipts between this knock-off and the real IMAX opening at the RAVE later this month.

8. CJ, I am just not automatically going to assume people are liars and cheats. What they are doing makes sense to me, and I don’t have time or interest to audit everything our public servants and volunteer boards do. I have kept an open mind on IMax and I trust these people to do their homework.

   If you have the time to do all that, have at it. Good for you.

9. I type in “Global Immersion theater reviews” on google and, unless I’m missing something, there are no independent reviews of the actual theater experience.

   Is that odd?

10. Sadly, I do not trust our wonderful government to do their homework. Perhaps I’m just a bit too cynical and wonder who has stock in Global Immersion. Yes, it is nice that were getting a giant 3-D theater but we WERE promised IMAX and I have to think that is why many people who supported the tax referendum voted for it. Once again, our leader pulled a bait and switch.

11. District 150. I don’t have to assume people are liars. I sat through 16 of the presentations from Lakeview and one city councilman. We were told that the contract for the IMAX was on Richardon’s desk, waiting to be signed. We were told that the referrendum had to pass to seal the deal with IMAX. This message was consistent. Ads were placed on television, radio, mailers and their own website promoting an IMAX theatre. Who did the marketing? HP, if so then there is a huge conflict of interest to have an employee getting tax resources for the project. Just before the city council meeting where our council gave away an asset that would have prevented the laying off of police officers, it was released that there was no IMAX deal and that they were forming a committee to look into possible options for the theater. Councilman Riggenbach who was on the county board at the time, reported that there had been no indication of an IMAX by the museum group. Either that was simply not true, demonstrated complete incompetence, or both, your choice. Councilman Spain and Ryan Beasley had a discussion about the IMAX as if they didn’t know one another, this went well until Beasley referred to the councilman in a familiar manner, a slip up in the script. pull up the video of the meeting and watch for yourself.

    The PJS article states the technology doesn’t exist yet. Why are we purchasing untested technology? Saving money on the gamble that it might work is dangerous, but hey, it’s only tax dollars right? Why should anyone ever be accoutable for them. LIke the hotel, like the warehouse district, like firefly, like global energy.

    Further District 150, the ostrich mentality is as bad as the sheep mentality, it hold elected officials unaccountable for the People’s business and the people’s money. You must have an unlimited amount in your checkbook to keep funding wastes of tax dollars and must live in a part of town without crime, with great curbs, streets, and sidewalks…so just accept propaganda from those who have previously been dishonest has no effect on you.

12. Well put, Paul.

    I often think as I read the propaganda printed by the Journal Star regarding the museum and the Gary Matthews Citizen of the Year article from last Sunday and on and on: Wouldn’t it be great to have a local paper that actually called out the city they cover on these types of deals?

    Don’t want to ruffle the wrong feathers.

13. Interesting. The buildtheblock.org site STILL touts an IMAX theater. Click on “see the block”, then click on the blue IMAX theater in the map. What lovely lies!

14. This was announced after the election of course. would have hurt at least one council seat

15. Well, having heard the fuss, I googled the Global Immersion website and read over their materials. If their equipment and software is what they claim, it ought to serve as a suitable substitute for the IMAX. Is there a Global Immersion site installed and operating close enough to view? Some of their equipment resembles things I have seen in planetariums, particularly in the planetarium in Balboa Park in San Diego, but they also have an IMAX in that location. And to be fair, I am speaking of 20 years ago. But that was an impressive theater, both the planetarium and the IMAX. Guess we will have to wait and see.
    As far as the decision being offered up after the elections…well…what did you expect?

16. At least we got to see former mayor Ransburg on television explaining to us how wonderful it is. What a salesman!

17. http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1076645335/Luciano-Leaders-sell-sizzle-deliver-no-steak
    No quote from a councilman touting the benefits of this? More duck and cover as done during the election when Turner took all the heat for the hotel project. Man up and take responsiblity your role and the company role in the perpretration of this fraud.

18. I was for the project because I wanted to see union construction jobs created and filled. I knew that one side of the project would benefit Caterpillar, but I was willing to overlook that due to the jobs being created for union workers. (Little did I realize then what I realize now, that the Company has sought to benefit from both sides of the project!)

    Unlike me, at the time, many people did not see union construction jobs as a sufficient reason to be in favor of this project.

    Obviously something else was needed to sell the project to voters without strong union sympathies.

    The museum’s proponents decided to sell these voters by touting a large-screen theater. But “IMAX” is the only name with immediate recognition. So they started using the IMAX name to tout their large-screen feature, when they actually had not made any kind of deal with IMAX or, for that matter, investigated any of the other possibilities besides IMAX. They used the term “IMAX” because the proponents of the museum wanted to use catchy, short phrases to sell the project — not lengthy, technical terms. So they settled on using the term “IMAX” because it was communicative, without seeing the use of the term as binding them to use IMAX as the brand later on.

    The opponents of the museum were quite resourceful. Somehow they determined that the museum proponents had not done their homework concerning the IMAX. So the opponents started asking the proponents questions designed to force the proponents to either admit they had not done their homework or else lie about it. The proponents decided to lie about it and claimed that the contracts were ready to sign, rather than admit to not doing their homework (which admission could have deep-sixed their agenda in the election). Thus, the proponents saw lies as means to an end. They felt the end justified the means.

    Now, looking at the present, my guess would be that the selected vendor, Global Immersion, provides “motion seating” solutions and that a certain company that is building a nearby visitors’ center has decided to use Global Immersion for a small theater inside the company’s visitors’ center which will involve seats moving on a large mining truck as films are shown. Is it coincidental that the same vendor is going to be used on the museum side? Does this same Company want to use the museum-side, with its much-larger screen, to show propaganda films about the Company’s products? Does anyone else smell a FOUL YELLOW ODOR in all of this?

19. “I am just not automatically going to assume people are liars and cheats. ”

    Especially if they are elected officials making officious… I mean official statements. Every new post, you demonstrate what an apologist you are for the status quo.

    We were promised a 5 course meal featuring prime rib and champagne… instead, here is your Big Mac and a Coke. ENJOY! (And by the way, it is still gonna cost you $49.95)

20. Reading between the lines…
    The museum can’t afford an IMAX and will be settling on a 3rd rate giant screen system that will likely have a very small selection of available titles, none of which will be entertaining studio films.

21. I am not upset about the choice of product. I am angry about the lies told, the manipultion, and games played by county board members, city council member, and museum officials. IMAX was chosen specifically because it was a name brand that was identifiable, same thought process used by consultants who said it needed to be an IMAX. County Board members are touting the savings of the lower construction bids and this system. The question immediately that comes to mind is who benefits from the savings. It is only a savings to the taxpayers IF AND ONLY IF the private sector has given 100% of the dollars needed (in the bank, not pledges), the endowment fund is fully funded and in the bank, and the operating expenses are covered. Otherwise the supposed savings will only roll tax dollars into covering the deficits in the non tax funding. Guess where I’ll be taking bets?????

    Firefly energy was rammed through with little time for even the council to review the information. Why you vote on something you don’t understand is beyond me, but that’s what happened. The hotel deal was also sold as something else, but is now a courtyard. deal done and voted upon quickly before the public gets too intersted in what really happened. Marriot has enough resources to build without public tax dollars. This project benefitted a select few. Banks wouldn’t even fund the project. Who is responsible.. ulimately we are. Get any mailers with candidates who look like they care talking about ingerity…etc. people fall for it and you have the same issues still coming down. One writer on here has been significantly burned by a district council person and still flip flops so much it makes my head spin. Elections are not holding people accountable because too many special interest groups back a candidate on their particular issue (one issue generally) and that’s all they care about. If you step back and look at the big picture, you vote entirely differently.

22. Same chorus …. process, process, process.

23. What’s a YouTube Festival? Where we all go down and watch videos like the ‘Mean Kitty Song’, Failblog, and the Shaytards, then get autographs and pawprints from the stars/creators of the videos?

24. I agree Paul… even if this other system is BETTER than IMAX, the point is that the museum was SOLD on the IMAX lie and AFTER they were caught they have scrambled to put something in its place.
    THEY know best, and as for the rest of us, well, “Eat our lies and stop complaining about being hungry.”

25. I’m not pleased with the election results, nor with some of the dialogue at various forums. While Turner got nailed for his position on Historic Preservation, he escaped the public with barely any questions on his support of the Marriott project, the Museum fiasco, or the Turner Natural Gas tax. Spain, who has only voted against developers one time, was also not well scrutinized. Both were re-elected. Yeesh! What do we do now? I’m going to be sure the council is well aware of my views on things. I’m going to encourage the community organizations of which I am a part to develop positions on issues and let the council know what they are. And I’m going to encourage everyone else to do the same. District council seats are up for election in 2013. As far as I am concerned those five office holders are on probation for the next two years- they can either step up now or get voted out. In the meantime, we should all keep them in the loop on what we would like them to do on our behalf. What good is that going to do, you may ask? I hope it will make a positive difference. I do know that doing nothing will surely accomplish nothing, so I think I will give that route a pass. I prefer to do what I can to continue to remind the City Council of a very vital fact- they work for the people of Peoria.

26. Only the first of many falsehoods told by the “Museum People”; get ready for the next-downsizing of the museum. What a white elephant we are facing with this great piece of realty; wait until the hotel deal falls apart, who are we to blame for that? Our kids and grandkids are going to be paying or these pipe-dreams for the rest of their lives, God help them. Where are our city leaders? Quit letting the rich lead the middle and lower income people into total disaster.

27. Stomper, Your opinion has hit the nail on the head. Unfornutely many union members voted for this based on self interest vs looking at the whole picture. Unions definetely allowed themselves to be used by the same people who want to destroy them.

28. I was told by a city official that this screen can and will be used to show first run movies. In other words, one may see a new release of a movie at the museum and spend time downtown instead of say, going to the Rave.

29. Emtronics — I was told by a city official that this was going to be an IMAX.

30. Isn’t the Rave is getting an IMAX? That’s what the people who work out there say.

31. I am skeptical and optimistic at the same time. Skeptical because they did, in plain English, tout an IMAX theater as a prominent feature of this project. Optimistic because I really do believe this will actually present more options in the long run. Will they come through and actually provide those options? We’ll see. But there is plenty of room for hope, here.

32. One: Amen. Wow, so sad that the unions were used too. Just wondering if all the promised jobs have played out as planned or some other scenario.

    In my opinion, politics and ‘private’ projects which cannot be built on their own merits and subsequently paid for with ‘public’ tax $$$ — make for strange bedfellows … depending upon the project(issue) … the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

    Em: Let’s see the listing of the movies in PRINT that Global Immersion has already shown on their theater screens. Your ‘friend’ Ryan Spain — if that might be your city offical referenced above — his word is not reliable in my opinion — please remember I was there when he promised the goods that he and others have now not delivered. And that list of goods is longer as time goes on ….

    Emerge: Yes, the Rave is going to have an IMAX not an IMAX ‘lite’. We made a written inquiry to IMAX many months ago and we found out that there was still no signed IMAX contract with the PRM. So, I went to a Peoria County Board meeting and shared that information, that any person or group or corporation who wanted to ‘ink’ a deal for an IMAX in this general area (Peoria, Dunlap, Chillicothe, Pekin, etc.) could do so, in front of the PRM. That is when County Board Member jaws dropped and sent the PRM scrambling to peddle their ‘research’ and ‘we must be true to our mission statement’ rather than keep our word to the taxpayer mantra. Then it was known that the RAVE had secured the IMAX contract.

    So very regrettably, say anything to get what they want … it seems ANY means justifies the end … to keep this project on track.

    Still looking forward to Mr. Beasley’s promise to me to provide a free family membership upon the grand opening of the PRM! 🙂

33. There will be an IMAX at the RAVE, the PRM will have the Global Immersion, so get over it. As far as those who feel they were lied to,that is bad, but move on. It won’t be the first time, it won’t be the last time ypu get lied to. Just vote against the liars when they are up for office again. It’s really your only recourse. With all that said, I know Ryan Beasley, and his intelligence and reasoning powers are pretty far above most people I know. And, even though Dave Ransberg had a poor public reputation (in the media especially), I know someone who competed agaisnt his private company and Mr. Ransberg was considered a smart cookie in the business world. So, I will trust those two with this PRM screen decision. For the constant complainers, if you don’t like it, MOVE, might I suggest Galesburg, where nothing progresses, just the way many of you would seem to like it.

34. CJ: I wasn’t stupid enough to believe him.

35. Was you?

36. There are different levels of IMAX. The IMAX at the RAVE will not compare to a true, full-size IMAX.

    Peoria officials may claim that first run movies will be shown at the museum but they are incorrect. It won’t happen.

    Some first run movies like The Dark Knight are filmed using special IMAX cameras. Films are then converted for regular 35mm projectors. The museum will obviously not be showing IMAX versions. If they do end up showing first run movies, it will be no different than any other theater in town.

    Peoria loves to jump head first into unproven technology. How did Globe Energy turn out? What about Firefly?

37. outsidethebox: How about you get over it and think outside the box? Trust whom you will and let us do the same. Difference of values, opinions, discussion, discourse is what makes a city healthy and vibrant … that is why Peoria lingers in the shadow of the valley of death instead of being brought to life because of the ‘lying process which is the status quo.

    Ryan may have amazing intellectual capacity in your opinion, however, he is one person and his opinion is one opinion …. just like your opinion is one opinion, and mind and each taxpayer in Peoria.

    So, I am hoping that you are not saying that I was lied to by Ryan Beasley about my family membership to the PRM …. right?

38. Has anyone payed to join the pjstar.com yet? Looks like the comments on this page are growing every day. Even Stomper is here…Yikes.

39. Karrie: Sounds like your jonesing for a free membership for a project that you worked very HARD to ensure didn’t pass. Kind of interesting that you’d want a membership to something which you felt wasn’t worth public or private support and shouldn’t occur. Anyone else see the conflict (hypocrisy?) here?

    All stuck on IMAX: I agree with those that say you need to get over the name. Yes, IMAX is the major brand name and has recognition. However, just as with other “initial market developers” and first in the market brands, the offerings have expanded and many of the other products offerred by competitors are as good / better. When I make a shopping list for home / business it often includes items such as: Jello, Kleenex, aspirin, thermos, xerox, band-aid, walkman (well not often on my list these days – but you get the point), scotch tape…. They refer to a class of products not a specific item. While originally the group committed to a brand, they (a long time ago), publicly indicated they would look at all options within that “class of theatre experience” to find the best solution.

    Did you read the list of agencies / museums utilizing Global Immersion’s technology? Worth-renowed museums / planateriums, etc. Don’t tell me they settled for “inferior” products because IMAX wasn’t within reach. I’m wondering (and not rhetorically — i’d really like to hear your views) if all the detractors would be happier if they had signed a deal with IMAX – no matter the cost, operational impacts, limits to types of shows they can provide JUST to keep a commitment (poorly made in my opinion) so that they “kept” their promise even to the detriment of the overall project????? Would that have made you happy(ier)? (That last one is rhetorical — cause I know none of the detractors would have supported the project but for the IMAX issue…that’s just the latest rant you can get on).

    Time to move on guys…find a new windmill.

40. Peoria Proud.
    It is your philosophy that continues to allow the bad process in the area to continue. Apparantly you and others are quite content with the museum promising an IMAX, marketing and IMAX simply to get the people fooled into voting the tax into place. It apparantly is okay for the same city councilman to tout the need for a full service hotel, arrange for tax payer funding behind closed doors and get it rammed though and we are getting new carpet in the Pere and a Courtyard. It’s okay for the city to promise hundred of residents to make improvements in three areas only to abandon it for political revenge and your employers personal financial gain elsewhere. It’s wonderful that a drunken councilperson assaults a police officer and the tax payers pick up the legal fees.
    It’s not a different windmill, it’s the same issue, just a different face. People complain about Chicago politics no need to look northward for that. It is your philosophy that prevents positive change in Peoria. You’re missing the point entirely, It’s not about IMAX or no IMAX, it’s about leaders being fraudelant with the public and our tax dollars.
    An entirely different scenerio would have inked out had they not misrepresented the IMAX name. I am guessing the 400 extra people that voted for it, would not have and also the change in the planetarium. These items should have been resolved and told to the public before the referrendum. Deliberately people were mislead, because of a prevailing philosophy of the end justifying the means…as is in all these scenerios. Wait until the East Bluff TIF $ goes to make improvements to the OSF expansion of dorms vs the residents who will pay for it. There was no concrete plan only a listing of ideas and wants…non binding. You suggest that people simply move. I believe they have. Note the financial data from the census is still not published by the city. Wonder who replaced the 10,000 people who left. apparantly people should be good little sheep and continue to allow these types of decisions to made “on our behalf”. You get what you vote for. It will be the same in two years as well.

41. a free membership… “free”… ha.

    Who is paying for this project? Who is getting some benefit from this project?

    A cardboard river 100 yards from the REAL river??? Well, yes, but can’t get nachos and cheese, a pressed penny and a coca cola at the river…

42. Peo Proud…..keep your head in the sand. The next “big thing” will be the 1 that saves the city. Improve the frosting while the cake spoils. That’s the way this city works.

43. No need to pay the PJS site. Download CC Cleaner (for free) and run it clearing the DNS also and you can surf PJS all ya want.

44. NO IMAX? Was there really any doubt? By the results of the election I know the answer to that.

45. Emtronics – I have semi-foiled PJStar: It will let you print the articles but you don’t get the comments. You CAN read the comments even with their little pop-up pay reminder, you just have to scroll down slowly and read each comment a line at a time. You can’t comment this way but at least you can still keep current with what’s going on.

46. Paul and others;

    Seriously, I never recommended people “move” from Peoria — just that they “move on” on certain aspects of this issue. I’m fine with you (and others) feeling process was flawed. OK – not much to do about that but change the future (as you suggested with a change in leaders — but note how that worked at election). What I find disingenuous from several posters (which is highly ironic giving their rant about politicians/administrators lack of forthrightness) is the implication that they are upset that an IMAX is not being installed when their real issue is whether there is a museum being built at all.

    My main point, and no one has yet addressed it; is would the detractors be happy if instead of Global Immersion and IMAX was being installed? If so, even if the cost is greater and the services lower than the global immersion option? NO — the detractors would still be complaining that it shouldn’t be built (or publicly financed) in the first place. So, YES, I find it funny that these individuals are harping on the “loss” of an IMAX when in reality they don’t want it built at all. Seems like it makes operational and financial sense to go with a better solution, then to blindly choose and implement an IMAX because (1) that’s what we promised, and (2) it has brand recognition without consideration of other factors.

    Let me be clear; I’m not supporting politicians lying to get what they want. They shouldn’t have publicly committed to IMAX when they really meant large screen immersion experience. Poor choice of semantics — but understand that most people understand IMAX than other brands with no real difference between them.

47. I would be happy to just have the Bellevue Drive-In back.

48. Peo Proud — I’m not sure what you mean by “their real issue is whether there is a museum being built at all.” If you mean the idea that no museum of any kind should be built — I know of no one, even critics here, who hold that view. We may disagree about the amount of public investment, the design and siting of the building, the type of bonds used to finance the project, etc., but the people I’ve talked to are in favor of a history museum downtown. I don’t know anyone who is fundamentally anti-museum.

    I think your question amounts to, “If everything the press release said was true, and this is the best decision that could possibly have been made for all involved, would you agree with it?” Well, of course I would. But isn’t that kind of a textbook begging of the question? The point critics are making is precisely that it doesn’t make operational and financial sense to go with Global Immersion — that it isn’t, in fact, a “better solution.” The pro forma was clear about how heavily it relied on the IMAX brand and first-run movies to maintain any semblance of profitability. It’s hard to get that information to square with what we’re being told now.

49. Prego man: I saw a lot of funky exploitation flicks at the Bellevue Drive-In.

50. Peo Proud — Just a suggestion ….. you may wish to have your your Amazing Karnak turbin checked for accuracy! 😉

    I am not jonesing for anything …. Ryan Beasley offered of his own volition, to give me a free family membership to the PRM to help persuade me to be a believer that the PRM would be a great experience and a financial success after his presentation at a Peoria County Board meeting. At this meeting, post referendum, he explained that a different solution than IMAX might best fit the museum’s mission statement. Believe it or not, I said that his presentation made sense yet that was not what was sold to the taxpayers.

    You may agree, or not, that sometimes the PRM supporters seem to experience different forms of amnesia, just reminding Ryan of his promise. I am hopeful that he will have the integrity to fulfill his promise.

    And it goes way beyond a poor choice of semantics … in my opinion, lying — as in not telling the truth or cheating — as in promising something that you will not deliver …. when you look at some of the early plans — GST = Giant Screen Theater, when questioned, it was then changed to an IMAX to get the vote and then after the vote the renderings showed GST again …. a deeper issue is at hand.

    CJ has it correct, we are not anti-museum — this plan and process does not seem to get any better and it frequently seems like the group is making it up as it goes. We all hope that that project will be successful — taxpayers do not need any more taxes of any kind. Nevertheless, the proof is in the pudding, not all the advertising for the pudding … time will tell. Until them we will have to agree to disagree.

    Get a solid project with the details and have the courage to let the taxpayers decide instead of bait and switch.

    By the way, do you have any financials for any/all of the venues which have global immersion systems for comparative purposes? Is there a separate ticket price for the GI experience? Thank you for your help.

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