‘Private Ryan’ Reels Are Reported MIA

In a delivery glitch that could hurt receipts for what is expected to be the highest-grossing film this weekend, prints of the Steven Spielberg film “Saving Private Ryan” didn’t make it to hundreds of theaters in time for the first showings on Friday.

The problem appeared to be most severe in California and Arizona. Many moviegoers in the Los Angeles area hoping to be among the first to see the highly anticipated DreamWorks film starring Tom Hanks were disappointed Friday afternoon.

DreamWorks officials said they didn’t know how many theaters were affected by the delivery delays, which the company blamed on Los Angeles-based Technicolor Film Services, the industry’s top-ranked film distributor.

A total of 3,600 prints were struck for the film, which is expected by film industry analysts to gross more than $25 million at the box office this weekend. It is competing against such holdovers as Sony’s “The Mask of Zorro” and Warner Bros.’ “Lethal Weapon 4.”

“We are disappointed in Technicolor Laboratories’ delivery system. Everything that can be done is being done to correct the situation,” read a statement from DreamWorks representative Vivian Mayer.

Such problems with film deliveries are rare, according to exhibitors and studio distribution executives.

Jim Edwards, head of Newport Beach-based Edwards Cinemas, said nearly all of the 100 prints of “Private Ryan” expected by his chain arrived too late for the first scheduled showing.

“We had people lined up at the theaters; we tried to appease them with refunds and passes, but it is still disappointing for people who have planned their day around the movie,” said Edwards, whose Los Angeles locations include theaters in West Covina and Alhambra. He said that similar situations have occurred “only a handful” of times in the last several years.

Through a representative, Technicolor President Ron Jarvis said Technicolor had been asked to refer all calls on the matter to DreamWorks. Technicolor, like its major competitor Deluxe, uses a computerized delivery system that distribution executives say is normally reliable, but which does not apparently guarantee that the film will arrive in the highest-grossing theaters in time.

According to an Associated Press report, an 11th-hour delivery of the film at the Beverly Center Cineplex Odeon may have been the cause of reels of the nearly three-hour film being shown in the wrong order at Friday’s noon showing.