A few months after its global debut, the speculative sci-fi noir film Megalopolis is still reigning supreme as a cult and conversation catalyst sensation, and its writer/director Francis Ford Coppola has many reasons to return to the stomping grounds where he completed this landmark production. While filming at Georgia’s Trilith Studios, the famed filmmaker simultaneously created a living and post-production space called the All-Movie Hotel located in the hamlet of Peachtree City where worldwide visitors can now stay in purpose-built suites for filmmaking and post-production. The curated curiosities at the hospitality complex include props and promotions related to projects such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, but for those dreaming of the Roman Empire on screen in his utopian fantasy, there’s quite a bacchanal. “There’s one serious critic in this world, and that’s the test of time,” the filmmaker told an audience for a screening of the film at Atlanta’s Tara theatre. “I’ve seen [the movie] more times than you, I suspect, and I’m very satisfied with it.” Coppola continues to cheerfully engage viewers about what societies they’d envision for the future if they weren’t living in the here and now. And if you have the opportunity to stay at his heralded hotel, be sure to look for these ten treasures from Megalopolis.

Attracting moviegoers to the in-theatre experience is re-invigorating techniques which would make classic movie impresario William Castle proud!

A24, in partnership with Joya Studio, has announced multi-sensory experience screenings of Heretic, exclusively at Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide for one-night-only October 30, 2024. This unique experience will fully immerse audiences in the cinematic journey by activating their sense of smell. A highlight of the film features the delightful aroma of blueberry pie, inviting viewers to savor the scent wafting through the theater during this moment in the film. Fans can also look out for exclusive treats and scratch-and-sniff cards at all other advanced screenings of Heretic nationwide on October 30, allowing them to actively participate in the experience and enjoy the aroma during this pivotal scene.

The film Heretic follows two young missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East who are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed, played against type by Hugh Grant, becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse. Heretic hits theaters nationwide November 8.

Joya Studio, known for innovative candles and fragrances, has long been a collaborator with A24. Joya produced an innovative line of genre-themed candles as well as products inspired by the Best Picture-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once. Joya’s atomization technology is a refined scent experience suiting any space or mood, employing cold-air diffusion to disperse scented molecules as fine, dry air — without the use of heat, water, alcohol or petrochemical-based solvents — creating a safe, eco-friendly and consistent experience. This is the purest possible expression, preserving not only the scent’s aesthetic integrity but also its therapeutic properties. 

According to Heretic co-directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, “The blueberry pie is activated by Hugh Grant’s Mr. Reed as a metaphor for blind faith and a disturbing reminder to question everything. When we first heard A24’s bold idea to resurrect the multi-sensory experience to underline this crucial sequence, it made us howl with laughter. We’re so excited that audiences have this unique opportunity to be immersed in the world of the film.”

Frederick Bouchardy, founder of Joya Studio, adds he was “fully fired up” the moment he heard about this initiative. “We have enjoyed the collaboration with A24 for years, challenged our own vision with respect to scent design and R&D — always kept this element of humor involved, which I think is really missing from the fragrance world by and large. Every creation at Joya Studio reflects my personal belief in activating the senses, our aliveness. I happen to know that ‘blueberry pie’ translates beautifully in scent, believing we could and would create something at once sophisticated, mouth-watering, uncanny and funny.”

This new movie tie-in stands on the giants of many legendary uses of olfactory gimmicks offered in movie theatres dating back to the late ’50s when exhibitors were looking for a way to lure those smitten with new television contraptions to return to the glory of communal moviegoing.

Leveraging the sense of smell in cinema began with Smell-O-Vision, a system that released odor during the projection of a film via vials connected via tubes to theatre seats so viewers could physically smell what was happening in the movie. Created by Mike Todd Jr. and Hans Laube, the technique triggered by a film soundtrack and previewed at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, made its only theatrical appearance in the 1960 film Scent of Mystery with a notorious tobacco scent at a critical moment.  

An alternate process, AromaRama, invented by Charles Weiss, emitted scents through the air-conditioning system of a theater for the film Behind the Great Wall, which opened a mere month before Scent in December 1959. More than 70 different aromas ranging from fireworks to restaurants to horses to spices were injected into the theater during the film. Competition between these two scent-laden films was dubbed by Variety Magazine as “the battle of the smellies.”

In homage to these classic techniques, John Waters released an enhanced “Odorama” version of his 1981 film Polyester including scratch and sniff cards with ten numbered spots audiences could follow along with while watching the movie, with corresponding numbers flashing on the bottom of the screen to prompt a next waft.

The 2003 animated film Rugrats Go Wild, the 2010 Norwegian film Kurt Josef Wagle and The Legend of the Fjord Witch and 2011’s family comedy Spy Kids: All the Time in the World also included scent cards distributed to moviegoers accompanying numbers on screen to unlock sequential scents. The latter was advertised as “4D Aroma-Scope.”

Disney has used technologies evocative of classic inventions in U.S. theme park attractions including It’s Tough to Be a Bug!, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Horizons and Monsters, Inc.: Mike & Sully to the Rescue.

The Soarin’ Over California and Soarin’ Around the World films at Disneyland and Walt Disney World respectively inject fragrances into their vast auditoriums including orange and cherry blossoms, pine forests, grass and sea air as motion simulated scenery flies on a big screen below the passengers riding on faux hang gliders.

In 2006, Japanese telecom company NTT Communications developed a scent technique for Terrence Malick’s The New World. During seven key moments in the film, scents were emitted by an internet server linked to the film reel, downloading fragrances including floral scents for romantic sequences; peppermint and rosemary smells for tear-jerking moments; orange and grapefruit effects for scenes of joy; and the essence of eucalyptus, tea tree and herbs for sequences featuring angry characters and actions.

Regal Cinemas’ 18 theatres with “4DX” technology installed incorporate strong smells into the movie experience along with motion enabled chairs, fog and water and air to simulate wind and rain for movies such as Twisters. Scents are also included along with haptic sensations in Darren Aronofsky’s 2023 4D nature film Postcard from Earth, playing exclusively at The Sphere in Las Vegas. This year a company Olorama has also introduced a scent device for the home to accompany films.

A24’s Heretic arrives in immersive form exclusively at Alamo Drafthouse theaters nationwide for one-night-only October 30, 2024. The film opens wide throughout the U.S. November 8.