It’s tough when real life overshadows what was supposed to be a momentous occasion in film history. Now it’s history for a whole other (terrible) reason.

Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences packed the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills on Saturday night to the point of overflowing for a screening of The Dark Knight Rises, with Academy president Tom Sherak acknowledging the shooting in a rare pre-screening speech.

Sherak said he took the unusual step of addressing the audience before a screening “because the Academy needed to say something about what happened. … Movies are meant to entertain us. We should be able to take our family to a movie and be safe. What happened in Aurora, Colo., was just a horrible, horrible thing. I know it was very unusual to say something, but sometimes you feel it would be more unusual if you did not say something.”

But whether it was the somber nature surrounding the evening because of the shooting or — as multiple Academy members who attended the screening were heard to say- a lack of enthusiasm for the film, the standing-room-only audience stayed for the closing credits and then departed without much discussion.

Another longtime Academy member, who regularly attends the Saturday night screenings, said there was only sporadic applause, that Academy members are very vocal when they like a movie and that they tend to give pictures that are going to get a lot of Oscar love a big ovation.

The undisclosed source said what he heard in the halls and elevator was that “people were kind of disappointed. It wasn’t because of (Colorado). I just don’t think that this picture will get any nominations (beyond technical nods).”

“There was nothing remarkable about the acting,” said a female Academy member who regularly attends the Academy screenings. “I don’t think it can be nominated as best picture.” And yet the film grossed over $160M in it’s opening weekend. Go figure?

One high-profile Academy member who went on record via Twitter was Bret Easton Ellis, who wrote: “Not that it really matters, but there was zero love for ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ at the packed Academy screening in Los Angeles tonight.” In later tweets, he said he was “with” the film and admired Christian Bale’s performance in particular. Huummmm? Did thou tweet prematurely? You know you can’t take that stuff back!

Of course, the voting is still a long way off, and there are critics that have praised the film and thousands of other Academy members who have yet to see the movie. So who knows?

This business is crazy enough without adding crazy to it. Can you imagine being “attached” to the movie and knowing that people who went to enjoy your art were gunned down? This is beyond comprehension…and something to think about.

The troubled individual who took so much from so many this past weekend was influenced by the very genre we as actors hold so dear. What happened to the mind of a young boy who probably used to love the movies too? The doctors will be studying him for years to figure that one out. But know this: Movies ARE influential, whether they win Oscars or not.

I love this business and the people in it…but life is uncertain, just like an acting career. Gotta love EVERY minute and appreciate it even more day by day!