Other articles by Phil Villarreal:

Confusion ruins this spy thriller Things looking up for Foothills grad Amazing sights, sounds 'Duchess' recalls a fine Merchant Ivory film Phil's picks Ask Phil Tale of 1st black Heisman winner fails to tackle inner workings Quaid plays it seriousTucson Film and Music festival celebrates 4th year 'Transformers' sequel starts filming here

Health Care
Neurological Associates of Tucson
Operations Manager Trades/Construction
Sundt Construction
Small Business Owners Legal
Munger Chadwick P.L.C
Associat For Commercial & Corporate Transactions & litigation Trades/Construction
.
Welders, Fabricators for structural steel General
TECHNICIANS Office and Clerical
Dr. Wayne Goodner, DDS
Front Office PT Office and Clerical
Manheims Tucson Auto Auction
Vehicle Title Clerk

It could have been an event that helped to reassert Tucson's spot on the movie map.

But poor attendance limited the potential impact of the 3-D "Hondo" screening at the Fox Tucson Theatre Saturday night, complete with Hollywood heavy hitters as special guests.

In a theater that seats 1,100 people, only 151 tickets were sold. Organizers gave away another 100-plus tickets, boosting the total attendance to 271.

Producer Mark Sennet, CEO of Old Tucson Productions, wrangled directors John Landis and Ron Shelton to town for a round-table discussion prior to the screening of the John Wayne classic.

The poor turnout was surely linked to the $55 ticket prices, which were set by Sennet and the Fox. The cost of admission was high, Sennet said, because a special projector had to be brought in for the screening, along with Dolby equipment and technicians. For Sunday's $20 encore screening, without the round table, 229 tickets were sold and total attendance was 321.

"Our future John Wayne film screenings will be at regular prices ($8/$6)," Fox Tucson Theatre executive director Herb Stratford said in an e-mail. "We might offer pre-screening receptions if Mark can bring in special VIPs with a higher price for the hosted meet-and-greet."

Sennet said Tuesday he wasn't daunted by the weekend turnout.

The round table did more to justify the price tag than the film did. Landis, who directed "Animal House" and "The Blues Brothers," is known for being candid and outspoken. He shot "Three Amigos" here in the mid-1980s. Shelton ("Bull Durham") is a wise, well-spoken film aficionado with connections to Tucson dating to the early 1970s, when he attended the University of Arizona. He shot "Tin Cup" in the Tucson area.

Before the event, the immaculately restored Fox lobby was packed and abuzz with chattering Western lovers. The mood was upbeat as the crowd sampled quesadillas and potato skins served by wait-staff outfitted in Old West garb.

Once the crowd filed into the cavernous auditorium, snagging high-tech 3-D glasses on the way, the mood became muted. The wide swaths of empty seats were glaring. Where was everybody?

Stratford took the stage in a cowboy hat and announced that the Fox would host a slate of 20 John Wayne movies. The announcement drew rousing applause.

In an awkward moment, he implored the crowd to drop off the 3-D glasses on the way out. The Fox had rented them for the event.

Landis, Shelton, Sennet, "Desperation" producer Mick Garris and Gretchen Wayne, John's daughter-in-law, took the stage shortly after 7:30 for a 15-minute discussion.

The round table was entertaining but far too short. Adding to the deflated feeling was the absence of Walter Hill, who backed out because of health concerns. Hill, who directed such films as "The Warriors" and "48 Hrs.," also was a producer of the "Alien" films. He shot part of his 1993 film, "Geronimo: An American Legend," at Old Tucson.

Onstage, Landis seemed offended at the turnout, just as he was shocked the day before when he was told about the ticket prices. He implored moviegoers sitting in the balcony to come to the lower level seats, then started off a story about John Ford's homophobia by saying he shouldn't tell this story, "but since there's no one here. . . ."

Gretchen Wayne checked in with another tale of Ford's coldness toward her family, and the group extolled the virtues of Wayne's performance in the film. Unfortunately, the directors never spoke about reigniting Tucson's movie scene.

Sennet said earlier in the week that he brought the directors to town, in part, to build bridges between Hollywood and the Old Pueblo, and plans to bring other big Hollywood names to future screenings in the Wayne series.

He hopes to get "Clandestine," the prequel to "L.A. Confidential," with Richard Gere possibly starring, shot in Tucson this year. Sennet also is spearheading plans to get investors to build two or three soundstages, which will add necessary infrastructure to return Tucson to its glory days as a filming location.

While Shelton was in town, he scouted locations for a project he may direct. Both he and Landis said Arizona's tax breaks need to come in line with those of New Mexico in order to make headway.

"Hondo" looked beautiful and the 3-D was brilliant for a 1953 film, although far short of the recent benchmark set by "Beowulf." Because the old-school theater lacks stadium seating, heads in front of you got in the way, but the problem was easily avoidable since there were so few people around.

The ensuing Wayne screenings will not require 3-D equipment, so ticket prices will be lower. That's a good thing, because the Fox needs to draw crowds large enough to not embarrass its special guests.

The Duke, after all, can't rescue Tucson's movie biz all by himself.