Please start tweeting. It would gain more worldwide attention than the petition. Thanks !

Signed. G'luck.

deception wrote:Please start tweeting. It would gain more worldwide attention than the petition. Thanks !

That is true. However, I am mainly focusing on the petition since it seems a more immediate and easier channel through which folks can show their support.

Still, I will include the contact info of Warner Bros Middle East and Shooting Stars LLC(Managers of Warner Bros ME) here in case people may want to go that extra step and communicate our frustration directly to the distributors:

Warner Bros Middle East/Lebanon:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WarnerBrosLebanon1
Twitter: @wbpicturesme
Email: [email protected]

Shooting Stars LLC
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShootingStarsLLC
Twitter: @ShootingStarsae
Email: [email protected]

(I would have liked to add this to the OP but can't seem to edit it now.)

herviross_2 wrote:I created an account here just to make this one post.

I too, live in the Middle East, and am absolutely gutted by the fact that THE DARK KNIGHT RISES is releasing a month later here. The reasons that Sahil mentioned in his post are accurate. However, the film distributors in the Middle East have already made a press release and have fixed the release date to August 16th. Follow the below link for more details.
“THE DARK KNIGHT RISES” SET FOR THEATRES ON AUGUST 16.

Even if we do get, say, 2000 signatures, it won't make a difference. I think we're too late. All we can do now is wait patiently for another month till the movie releases.

A certain user on Facebook suggested releasing the movie for a day or two, before Ramadan starts, and then pull it out of cinemas and have it released 'officially' on August 16th. Think of it as an early screening. I think this seems fair. Ramadan will start on the 21st, so the movie can have a limited release from the 19th - 21st, and then taken down until it's official release in August. This seems like a more feasible plan, and something that could actually work out. At this point, I'm just praying that we get a chance to see the movie on the big screen before Ramadan starts.

Also, thank you all for signing the petition. I signed it when the total number of signatures was around 850. It's now close to 1,200! On behalf of all the Batman/Nolan fans in the Middle East, thank you all for your support!

Thanks for your post.

I guess you are right to a certain extent about it being too late. To be honest, I would be extremely surprised if our requests were heard. That's just the way things are in the Gulf; you can complain all you want, whether through petitions or even directly, the people in power won't give a shit. But that's besides the point.

What the petition does is help create a central forum for anyone, wherever there may be, to voice their support for our plea. You never know, with a huge bump in signatures in the next few day we might get more coverage in the media and that might at least make these greedy bastards consider a few special screenings in July. Indeed, despite my previous criticism of them, I know the newspaper Gulf News are preparing an article on the petition to be posted soon (hopefully it'll be something big and not just a tiny article).

All we can do now is keep spreading the world so that everyone becomes aware that most people in the Middle East won't be able to get involved in one of the biggest releases in recent history.

To reiterate herviross's gratitude, a big thank you to everyone who's signed so far

Just posted this on the local distributor's Facebook Page (Link: http://www.facebook.com/ShootingStarsLLC ):

I am appealing to you directly to please consider moving the release date of The Dark Knight Rises in the Middle East to July 20/27 or at least provide a few special screenings this month.

You may have read this in our petition, but I will reiterate our point here again: We want to be a part of The Dark Knight Rises in real time. We want to be able to talk about it with our friends from all over the world. We want to join the conversation and the celebration. This is the end of an era, and we want to celebrate it with the rest of the world.

I advise you to read the comments written by the signataries of the petition. This is one of the biggest releases in recent history and to delay it for the thousands of passionate fans in the region would be no more than a selfish decision on your part as distributors. If making that extra buck during Eid is so important to you that you would deny fans for more than three weeks, then so be it. Just know that you will have lost the faith of this potential customer, and many others.

Sahil wrote:Just posted this on the local distributor's Facebook Page (Link: http://www.facebook.com/ShootingStarsLLC ):

I am appealing to you directly to please consider moving the release date of The Dark Knight Rises in the Middle East to July 20/27 or at least provide a few special screenings this month.

You may have read this in our petition, but I will reiterate our point here again: We want to be a part of The Dark Knight Rises in real time. We want to be able to talk about it with our friends from all over the world. We want to join the conversation and the celebration. This is the end of an era, and we want to celebrate it with the rest of the world.

I advise you to read the comments written by the signataries of the petition. This is one of the biggest releases in recent history and to delay it for the thousands of passionate fans in the region would be no more than a selfish decision on your part as distributors. If making that extra buck during Eid is so important to you that you would deny fans for more than three weeks, then so be it. Just know that you will have lost the faith of this potential customer, and many others.

I can't seem to find your post. Don't tell me Shooting Stars had the nerve to delete it!

Seems like it. I'll repost it to see if they delete it again.

Guys, thank you very much for supporting this. I feel much better now that the issue is being supported by this community. Though I only officially created an account tonight, I've been a lurker of these forums since I first discovered the Nolan Fans years ago, and very much appreciate your support.

Warner Bros. Lebanon have posted on their Facebook page that their statistics show a 50% decrease in ticket sales during the month of Ramadan (forgetting the fact that literally no major blockbusters are released in Ramadan out of this fear, creating an infinite cause-and-effect loop). Following outrage by other fans, they have deleted their comment.
What irks me as a Lebanese fan is that unlike several Arab countries, Lebanon is not predominantly Muslim; therefore, where in other Arab countries cinemas will close for a certain period of time during the day, here in Lebanon they remain open, but with the absence of any blockbusters, have no choice but to play movies like "Tinkerbell" and foreign animated features, some of which don't even have IMDb pages. Unfortunately, Lebanon gets lumped in as an Arab country, despite Ramadan having no effect on filmgoers. Of course, I don't mean to be selfish, as fans in all Arab countries deserve a chance to see the ending to Nolan's perfect trilogy. Blockbusters usually play for several months, meaning that the few viewers that abstained from watching it will have plenty of time to rectify that.
I've posted several lengthy comments on the Warner Bros. Lebanon Facebook page explaining why their statistics mean very little, and others have done the same. I've also contacted them on Twitter. Nowhere have they replied, and I'm beginning to lose hope. I've been a fan of Nolan for ages, and have been waiting for TDKR since before it was even announced; to have to wait an extra month, especially for such a ridiculous reason, will be agony.

Anyway, thanks again, guys.

Signed! Good luck!

alahmo21 wrote: a month later? :batface: and in Latin America we are complaining because it will premiere a week later...

And I was complaining because it will premiere 1:15 pm, not midnight...

Signed!