Rock Hall to show U2 3-D in newly renovated Foster Theater

Yesterday, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum held a media preview of its newly renovated fourth floor theater, now dubbed the Foster Theater after a grant from Gregg and Madelyn Foster enabled the Rock Hall to install a digital 3-D screen and 7.1 surround sound system. The place, which still smells of new carpet, has also been equipped with new seats as well. The Rock Hall will start showing U2 3-D tomorrow.

After a brief introduction by Rock Hall CEO Terry Stewart, U2 3-D producer Jon Shapiro talked about his film, which will show from October 27 through January 2. “We wanted to film one of the biggest bands of all time playing one of its biggest concerts of all time in a foreign country in front of 100,000 fans,” he said of the film, which was primarily shot in Buenos Aires. “We thought U2 could be that band and if a band was open to innovation, it would be them.” Shot in 2006, the movie used eight 3-D camera systems that generated 100 hours of footage that the filmmakers cut down to a 90-minute running time. “If you’ve seen U2 before, we hope this is a different way of seeing the band,” Shapiro said before stepping aside so that the movie could be shown.

The 3-D graphics really do pop off the screen. During “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” it appeared as if Bono really stepped off the screen to “wipe your tears away” as he extended his hand toward the camera. And during the opening track “Vertigo,” spray from water bottles tossed in the air appeared to splash right in front of your eyes. The surround sound is so loud that you practically need earplugs. After the screening, Shapiro took questions from the audience and even he couldn’t get over how great the film looked in the newly renovated theater. “This is an amazing theater,” he said. “I’ve probably seen the movie 1,000 times and this is the best I’ve seen it.”

The film screens daily at 2:30 and 4 p.m. with additional screenings on Wednesday nights at 5:30 and 7. It shows on Saturday and Sunday at 11:30 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Admission is free with admission to the museum. Go to rockhall.com for more information.

This article appears in Oct 21-27, 2009.