Sound problems spoil ‘Pianist’ premiere screening

A glittering night for Hollywood and the elite of Los Angeles’ Jewish cultural community came to an abrupt halt Wednesday evening when the North American premiere screening of Roman Polanski’s Holocaust drama “The Pianist” had to be canceled because of technical problems with the theater sound system at Loews Cineplex Century City.

The cancellation proved an embarrassment for Focus Features, the tony new art house label of Universal Pictures, which had invited hundreds of guests to attend the screening as a benefit for the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture.

About 650 moviegoers who gathered in the main theater did not get to see the film, although another 150 guests seated in a nearby theater did watch the movie as the sound system in there worked perfectly.

Afterward, all the guests gathered at the Century Plaza Hotel across the street to hear a free performance by the symphony of a work called Piano Concertino by Wladyslaw Szpilman, who was the subject of the movie and who wrote the book on which Polanski adapted the film. “The Pianist” this year won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Thursday, the studio and the charities scrambled to contact each guest who did not see the film and invite them to attend private screenings before the film’s Dec. 27 U.S. release.

“We are grateful that Loews has proffered a substantive and genuine apology and is working closely with Focus Features to make sure that everyone who attended [Wednesday] night’s event will be able to see the film in the best possible circumstances,” David Linde, the co-president of Focus Features, said in a prepared statement. Loews officials were unavailable for comment.

The gala evening got off in typical Hollywood fashion as a gaggle of celebrities such as Jack Nicholson, Lara Flynn Boyle, Fran Drescher, Martin Landau, and the movie’s Adrien Brody and Thomas Kretschmann turned out for the event. But inside the theater, things went haywire.

After it took nearly an hour for guests to take their seats, representatives of the studio, the symphony and the foundation walked to the microphone only to find that their speeches were garbled by a faulty sound system. One of those addressing the audience was Andre Szpilman, the son of Wladyslaw Szpilman.

By 8:15, a studio official announced that the film would not be shown that night but everyone was invited to the reception and concert.

Wayne Hinton, executive director of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, said this was his group’s first film premiere and they wanted it to be a memorable event.

‘“I really feel badly for Andre Szpilman,” Hinton said. “I know how much he was looking forward to the premiere.” Hinton said that anyone who left without seeing the movie will be offered complimentary tickets to the symphony’s season opening concert Sunday at 7 p.m. at Valley Beth Shalom on Ventura Boulevard in Encino.