Going to the movies just isn't the same

[Zander]

I remember the good old days when you bought your ticket, got some popcorn, found a good seat and watched a few cool trailers before the film you paid for came on. Now, you go into the theater and sit through so many commercials that you think you stumbled into someone's tv room. I go to the theater to watch a great film, not get bombarded by a slew of high budget advertising.

Tonight when I saw Iron Man I think I counted around 10 commercials. Two were for Coke and there was another horrible presentation about the DLP technology they use to project the movie. I don't know if its the same video that is played coast to coast but the one we have is awful.

Enough advertising, America. Enough.

:-Cry(DBG):

[Kirk Gillock]

I hear ya! Basically, it all comes down to greed and accountability. Greed made the ads and no accountability will keep them there.

As you mentioned, just a few short years ago we could pay $5 to see a movie and that's exactly what we got. No more. No less. And definitely NO commercials. I mean, why would anyone in their right mind pay to see commercials? That's like paying to watch NBC or CBS. It's ridiculous. But we blinked and now it's happened. Movie theaters started playing one commercial and then two and then, as you counted, about 10. Theater execs are laughing at us all the way to the bank. They pulled the perfect crime. Getting consumers to pay to watch ads.


If I'm not mistaken the commercials are sold by the theater chains and have nothing to do with the films distributor. Is that correct? If so it would be nice if the theaters, knowing that without us they couldn't sell ANY ads, might pass the savings onto their customers and maybe make popcorn a little less expensive.

Of course there's not much we can do. Audiences will still go to the movies (ads or not) and there's no way they're going to stop showing the ads. When was the last time a business stopped doing something that made them money? Voluntarily. I definitely miss the good ole days, when there were no theater chains and theaters respected their customers. Oh well.


Enough advertising, America. Enough.Couldn't agree more.

[n8ture]

We have a 2nd run theater here in town that always pushes two things. They have no commercials and they have real butter for their popcorn.

I typically wait until the flick hits that theater and go watch it.
It's amazing to go see a 7:15 show and actually see the show at 7:15. Plus, they only charge $4 for any show. And lastly, their screens are a lot bigger than most of the 1st run screens here in town.

[Barry_Green]

Okay, first of all, movies have always had commercials -- they're called "trailers." It's just that those were commercials we wanted to see, vs. the other kind.

Second, there was a lawsuit brought against theaters for airing commercials, and the settlement basically came down to that the theaters can show commercials (or whatever they want, actually) before the advertised start time of the film. But once that clock clicks over to when the film is supposed to be on, no commercials can be shown (except, of course, for the trailers).

[Zander]

I mean, why would anyone in their right mind pay to see commercials?
If the commercials inspired a price drop then at least there would be a logical argument for airing the commercials. Even so, I'd rather pay more for a ticket than waste 10 minutes of my life looking at products and services.


We have a 2nd run theater here in town that always pushes two things. They have no commercials and they have real butter for their popcorn.

I typically wait until the flick hits that theater and go watch it.
It's amazing to go see a 7:15 show and actually see the show at 7:15. Plus, they only charge $4 for any show. And lastly, their screens are a lot bigger than most of the 1st run screens here in town.

We have a theater like that too. Charges only $2.50 for movies and the food is reasonably priced. The trade off is a 6 week wait and sometimes the screen quality can be soft. I love going to that place but sometimes I have the "I gotta see it now!" motivation.




Second, there was a lawsuit brought against theaters for airing commercials, and the settlement basically came down to that the theaters can show commercials (or whatever they want, actually) before the advertised start time of the film. But once that clock clicks over to when the film is supposed to be on, no commercials can be shown (except, of course, for the trailers).
That was not my experience. The showing was 8pm and they played company commercials until at least 8:10pm.

[Sad Max]

I hear that some people have taken to walking in, picking their seats, taping up a sign saying "these seats are occupied; we're just outside dodging the %^#&^@%^! commercials" and coming back when they figure the ads are over.

More trouble than I'd want to go to at the theater, myself.

Caught them running an ad before a film at the ArcLight in Hollywood once, though (something they specifically advertise they do not do). Went to the manager afterwards and chewed on him until he refunded our ticket money.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

It's not just in the theater.

There are plenty of DVD's following suit. Luckily most of the ads can be skipped over.

[Barry_Green]

Went to the manager afterwards and chewed on him until he refunded our ticket money.
That's the way to make it stop. Just demand a refund. You didn't show up to pay for commercials.

http://www.failuremag.com/arch_arts_movie_lawsuit.html

[Luis Caffesse]

If the commercials inspired a price drop then at least there would be a logical argument for airing the commercials.

It's always possible that commercials averted another price hike.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

It's always possible that commercials averted another price hike.Haven't they already made price hikes since the introduction of commercials? They sure as hell have in my area. At least it feels that way. I would have to check to be 100%

[Luis Caffesse]

Haven't they already made price hikes since the introduction of commercials?

Absolutely they have.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending the addition of commercials here, I hate them as much (if not more) than the next person... but I think we'd be hard pressed to call theater chains 'greedy' considering that it seems difficult for most of them to even keep the doors open.

The addition of commercials may have been a way to keep those price hikes from getting out of control, which would have additionally lowered ticket sales.

[HorseFilms]

Commercials don't bother me anywhere near as much as the people around me do.

[ryan brown]

I stopped going to theater's all-together. I used to go every Sunday... and now I'd guess I go about once a year, or less.

Last one I saw was Pan's Labyrinth:shocked:

[Zander]

I stopped going to theater's all-together. I used to go every Sunday... and now I'd guess I go about once a year, or less.

Last one I saw was Pan's Labyrinth:shocked:

Is it just me or did they switch from film to video about 2/3s the way through the movie?

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Absolutely they have.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending the addition of commercials here, I hate them as much (if not more) than the next person... but I think we'd be hard pressed to call theater chains 'greedy' considering that it seems difficult for most of them to even keep the doors open.
Well, I guess I just find it hard to believe considering how much it costs my family to watch a 2 hour movie. Really, that's why people aren't going anymore. That and the fact that Home Theaters are so affordable these days. I've had one for years.

I mean... they expect you not to sneak in a drink and snack when their prices are simply outrageous! Who are they kidding?

Still, I shelled out to go see a matinée screening of Iron Man last week so they got me. :)

[Sad Max]

Complaining won't get us anywhere.

Boycotts and class-action lawsuits might do the trick.

[Jon Starr]

Boycotts and class-action lawsuits might do the trick.

True, but are you really going to do that? It's a minor inconvenience to sit through 10 minutes of advertisements.

Meh, maybe I'm wrong. I personally don't care all too much. Makes arriving late to the theater less of a worry also. :D

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Meh, this is the world we live in. Complaining won't get us anywhere. We can't fight it short of holding a gun to the owner's head and telling him to do something.Yes and no. I actually don't mind the ticket pricing. Yes, it's quite high but I'm willing to pay it for certain movies.

What kills me is the price of the food/snacks on top of the ticket prices. It's robbery, plain and simple. We all know how much popcorn and pop costs. W also know how much profit they make from it. It's ridiculous.

Jon, imagine that you have a family with a couple of children and calculate the cost of going to the movies for the weekend. I would much rather spend that money on a nice restaurant, it's actually cheaper.

And that's what we do more of lately. I look at how much it would cost for all of us to spend 2 hours of our time at the movies and then I see how that money could be spent elsewhere. There are many other things to do with the family and they are usually far more inexpensive.

I still like going to the movies but I'm pickier now. I'm sure most families are following suit.

Mike

[Jim Klatt]

The noise volume of the commercials is awful.

All those stupid commercials are ruining the romantic film experience of sitting with the curtains closed and the building anticipation until the lights go out.

Not to mention that the content is all stadium-sized junk food, military recruiting by making it look like war is a fun videogame, and d-level entertainment. Then after it is finally over, they recap for you so they can redrill their product into your brain with the deep-voiced asshole narrator.

Fun for the whole family!

[Mattykins]

You do realize that ever since the paramount decree theaters hardly make any money on their films. Thus the higher ticket prices. With hollywood trying to force a switch to digital cinema - saving them money in film prints - along with increasing rental fees for reels, theaters are struggling to stay open.

The money they make is in the products. You can complain about the theaters all you want. But the people you should be complaining too is hollywood itself and the studios that charge ridiculous amounts for rentals of films.

You would think product placement in films helps this. But studios pocket the money and still keep raising fees.

Blame the studios - not the exhibition systems.

[Sad Max]

they recap for you so they can redrill their product into your brain with the deep-voiced asshole narrator.

Don't take it out on Don LaFontaine.

It's not his fault.

[Luis Caffesse]

Don't take it out on Don LaFontaine.

It's not his fault.

Maybe if Don lowered his hourly rate we could lower ticket prices.
He probably voices enough trailers to have an impact

Hey, if you're not part of the solution.....
:)

[Sad Max]

Maybe if Don lowered his hourly rate we could lower ticket prices.
He probably voices enough trailers to have an impact

Hey, if you're not part of the solution.....
:)

Don's rates *are* flexible.

He's doing my answering machine message, next week.

[Luis Caffesse]

He's doing my answering machine message, next week.

Check out the clip at 2:40min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPMvj_xejg&e

If he has the time, he'll do it.
:)

[Deepfocus88]

I mean... they expect you not to sneak in a drink and snack when their prices are simply outrageous! Who are they kidding?



Oh yeah, you gotta sneak in a full meal from Wendy's or whatever....just out of spite. Those money-grubbin' *&$#@'s!

[Zander]

Check out the clip at 2:40min
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QPMvj_xejg&e

If he has the time, he'll do it.
:)

Reminded me of this: 5 Guys and a Limo (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQRtuxdfQHw)

[MattinSTL]

It's too bad you don't live in Saint Louis. I saw Iron Man on Saturday night at the Moolah Theater downtown.

Walked up to the bar and grabbed a draft coffee stout:

http://www.stlouiscinemas.com/moolah/Images/moolah_4.jpghttp://www.stlouiscinemas.com/moolah/Images/moolah_1.jpghttp://www.stlouiscinemas.com/moolah/Images/moolah_3.jpg

Then wandered into the theater to pick a leather sofa, set my beer down on my personal end-table, and enjoyed the show with enough leg-room to stretch out completely.

This is Saint Louis' best kept secret, but I have no freakin' idea WHY?

Oh yeah... I don't think there was more then one commercial... if that... I don't remember any... then again that might be the fault of the beer.

[Zander]

http://www.stlouiscinemas.com/moolah/Images/moolah_3.jpg
I've heard of that place. Looks amazing!

[spidey]

commercial dont bother me... american propaganda does. do you know how many times i saw the 3 Doors Down army reserve thing.... That shouldnt be allowed.

[Sad Max]

Recruiters are advertisers, like anyone else.

They should *all* be banned...

[spidey]

but some commericals are good love the sprite and coke ones good directors start out there. but the 3 doors down thing is so bad horrible video and lol the model shots in it make me giggle like a girl.

[JConnors]

Then wandered into the theater to pick a leather sofa, set my beer down on my personal end-table, and enjoyed the show with enough leg-room to stretch out completely.

This is Saint Louis' best kept secret, but I have no freakin' idea WHY?

Oh yeah... I don't think there was more then one commercial... if that... I don't remember any... then again that might be the fault of the beer.


See thats a fantastic idea for a theater. Being able to have a drink and catch a movie, wicked. How busy does that place get?

[Sad Max]

See thats a fantastic idea for a theater. Being able to have a drink and catch a movie, wicked.

The ArcLight theaters in LA are like that, too.

Depending upon the director, sometimes a couple shots of liquid courage before the screening, are just what I need...

[ryan brown]

The "Magnolia" here in Dallas often runs a special: a free bottle of wine with the purchase of two adult tickets... and you just take it into the theatre.

[Luis Caffesse]

That's been the key to the Alamo Drafthouse theaters making money hand over fist here in Austin.
Actually, it's not just the alcohol and the food, it's the whole package - they've really made it an experience to go to the theater again.

[alveraz]

Commercials are played during the time you would normally sit there and stare at a red curtain. I don't know what the big deal is here, unless you feel your ability to fight back the urge to consume is so overwhelming it's affecting your health.

Whatever.

[jeremytuttle]

I don't pesonally mind the commercials so much as long as the stop when the movie is scheduled to begin. Sometimes this is not that case and it does frustrate me because it gives me another reason to just stay home and watch a movie in peace without a buzzy speaker, crying babies, immature preteens that for some reason go to what ever movie happens to be out and either complain about the movie the whole time to there friends, talk about everything but the movie, or point an f-ing laser at the screen like it's the funniest thing in the world and no one has thought about it before. That is what makes me rather stay home and watch a TV that I know won't be "a little" too dark, listen to a sound system that doesn't have a buzzing speaker, and not get that back of my chair kicked by some ten year old that is, for some reason, at an R Rated movie [/Rant]

[David Jimerson]

That's why I rarely go, and when I do, it's usually the first matinee on a Wednesday.

[Billy Pilgrim]

commercial dont bother me... american propaganda does. do you know how many times i saw the 3 Doors Down army reserve thing.... That shouldnt be allowed.

Yes! I HATE that ad. It combines everything I hate in one package: commercials, recruitment ads, and 3 Doors Down. They're just so...bland. I HATE that song they play in the ad.

[adkimery]

Yes and no. I actually don't mind the ticket pricing. Yes, it's quite high but I'm willing to pay it for certain movies.

What kills me is the price of the food/snacks on top of the ticket prices. It's robbery, plain and simple. We all know how much popcorn and pop costs. W also know how much profit they make from it. It's ridiculous.

Theaters have to do something to generate a profit (and selling tickets isn't it). If you don't like the prices don't buy it (not like there's a two tub of cola minimum or anything) and if you can't go 2hrs w/o it make sure your wife has a big purse. :)


-A

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Theaters have to do something to generate a profit (and selling tickets isn't it). If you don't like the prices don't buy it (not like there's a two tub of cola minimum or anything) and if you can't go 2hrs w/o it make sure your wife has a big purse. :)


-AThat's exactly what we do on occasion. It's sad that it has come to that though. If they kept the prices reasonable I bet theater attendance wouldn't be where it's at today.

BTW, when you take your kids to a matinée it is usually around lunch time so that leaves you with little choice.

[spidey]

Yes! I HATE that ad. It combines everything I hate in one package: commercials, recruitment ads, and 3 Doors Down. They're just so...bland. I HATE that song they play in the ad.

LOL im right there with you LOL.

[spidey]

btw this is what im speaking of... the bicycle wheel moving is a nice touch lol
http://youtube.com/watch?v=LGvTYyNymXM

[JasonFox]

I can understand hating it when the ads encroach on a movie's listed start time. But beyond that, what's the big deal? You pay for cable or satellite TV and still have to watch commercials. Or skip them on your DVR. Or leave the room. The last of which you could do at the theater.

The commercials at movie theaters are just like ads anywhere else -- most of them are awful. And seeing an awful spot projected that huge is just that much more irritating. Although still better than the slides for real estate agents I used to have to watch.

Besides, some ads are great and I love watching them on the big screen. Here's my all-time favorite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-WtWH6_0kQ

What I hate more than the ads (which I've admitted to sometimes liking) is the "behind the scenes" stuff they run before. I can endure a 30- or 60-second ad I hate. If I have to sit through five minutes of BTS footage from "Sisterhood of the Skanky Pants II - The Deflowering," well, that's another story. Especially when it's the third time I've sat through it. Wait, what did I say earlier about leaving the theater? Man, I'm lazy.

[ecking]

It's always possible that commercials averted another price hike.

Averted? Here in canada I paid like 13.50 to watch ironman, sit through 5 mins of local crappy commercials, 10 mins of regular high budget ads, and at least 2 adversting the theatre I was already in before the real trailers began.

Theatres are selling ad space and raising prices if anything.

[Ming]

Large TV, Netflix, Ben and Jerry's maybe a couple Beers.... who needs theaters anymore? I take my kids to see the really big ones, but it's not even the same as when I was a kid. (70's) Back then the theater was something special, like the holodeck you were taken to another world. Now ... well call me cynical but now I just see a big screen in a room full of brainwashed hogs stuffing their slavering mouths with crap. Yeah I know, more of a personal problem but there is a certain psycho-sociological element to seeing a movie with strangers... a bonding. Commercials erode way at that element, reminding us we're all just end users being conditioned by the corporate machine.

[JasonFox]

This is considered quaint today. But was it considered annoying when it ran in 1949?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddCo5Y8jLOc&feature=related

[Sad Max]

This is considered quaint today. But was it considered annoying when it ran in 1949?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddCo5Y8jLOc&feature=related

According to my mom and my aunt...yes.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Interesting article here...
Ever Wonder Why Popcorn At The Movies Is So Expensive? (http://theboxofficejunkie.com/2008/01/ever-wonder-why-popcorn-at-movies-is-so.html)


Mike

[Luis Caffesse]

Theatres are selling ad space and raising prices if anything.

Right.
My point was perhaps if they weren't selling ad space then prices would have gone up even more.

It may be annoying - but honeslty I don't think theater chains are just 'greedy.'
I mean, they might be - but it's moot because they're at a point where most are just trying to keep their business going.

Do you think most people would rather pay the price of admission and watch some ads, or have no ads and double the price of admission?
Yes, I know - most people would want prices to stay where they are AND have no ads.

I also wouldn't mind a Mercedes for the price of my used Civic.
:)

[spidey]

I wouldnt mind if this played before each movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy3fXI_tsG0&feature=related

[Luis Caffesse]

Here's one of the many promos the Alamo Drafthouse runs before it's movies

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUqLWTQCeHM

That one features former governor Ann Richards - but they all have the same general theme.
One of the many reasons I like that theater - they don't mince words.
:)

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

I also wouldn't mind a Mercedes for the price of my used Civic.
:)Yes, but popcorn is still popcorn and pop is still pop. I can get it much cheaper at the corner store and the product is actually better to boot. At the theater it's like paying for the Mercedes and getting the Civic.

I do get what you mean though and I now understand why concession prices are so high. It's still keeping me away from the theater though.

Money is money. It's far too expensive for the average family to go to the movies these days.

Mike

[Luis Caffesse]

Yes, but popcorn is still popcorn and pop is still pop. I can get it much cheaper at the corner store and the product is actually better to boot. At the theater it's like paying for the Mercedes and getting the Civic.

I guess so - if you were to go into the theater just to buy your popcorn.
Then again, I wouldn't pay $10 to go to the corner store and watch a movie on their TV mounted up in the corner either.
:)

It's all an issue of perception I guess - in the end it's the same as charging 3 times as much for the tickets and 'normal' prices for the food and drinks. But seeing as all the profit the theater makes off food and drinks stays with them (unlike money made from ticket sales of which a large percentage goes back to the studio) it actually makes more sense for them financially to increase food and drink prices.

Of course there is only so far you can raise those... and I think we can all agree they're pushing their luck as it is right now.
So they need to find new ways to bring in revenue.... hence the commercials.


It's still keeping me away from the theater though.

You, me and a whole lot of other people....
Which in turn just makes their situation worse, and makes the need for additional revenue even more important....which will drive even more people away from the theater...etc etc etc

Which is one of the major reasons why theaters are going the way of the dinosaur in my opinion.
Unless they can reinvent the experience like some local chains have it seems like their days are numbered.


Money is money. It's far too expensive for the average family to go to the movies these days.

Definitely no argument there.
I think that's something we can all agree on.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

I guess so - if you were to go into the theater just to buy your popcorn. Part and parcel as far as I'm concerned. I'm not looking for dinner, just a snack and a tasty beverage while enjoying the view.

:)

It looks like we both agree on things for the most part. I see it declining more and more every day. I also see the addition of Home Theater as a huge blow to the industry. The ads for "Go Big" mean very little to me when I can go in my basement and watch movies in HD on a 120" screen.

When you are sitting 12 to 15 feet back it's still BIG.

Most movies these days are worth waiting for home release.

[ecking]

Right.
My point was perhaps if they weren't selling ad space then prices would have gone up even more.

It may be annoying - but honeslty I don't think theater chains are just 'greedy.'
I mean, they might be - but it's moot because they're at a point where most are just trying to keep their business going.

Do you think most people would rather pay the price of admission and watch some ads, or have no ads and double the price of admission?
Yes, I know - most people would want prices to stay where they are AND have no ads.

I also wouldn't mind a Mercedes for the price of my used Civic.
:)

Fair enough, but the whole experience has definetly cheapened the "spectacle".

[Erik Olson]

I don't mind the slides prior to the show, but once the lights dim... that's another story.

Three trailers - maybe five and then the movie. Unless the policy trailer was shot by Brian DePalma or John Carpenter, I don't want to see some schlocky 1993 computer animation about the snack bar or using too much toilet paper and washing my hands afterward.

The exhibitors really only make money from concessions and that's fine. I can work around that if I'm feeling stodgy. The commercials make me want to run a big-ass swashbuckler's knife through their screen like Errol Flynn. I'll cut your screen!!!

Commercials are straight-up bullshit.

e

[Luis Caffesse]

Commercials are straight-up bullshi*.

Totally agree.
But it seems to be a necessary evil.
I can't help but think we'd all be saying the same thing about ticket prices if it cost us $25 to go see a movie and popcorn was a dollar.

[Erik Olson]

Totally agree.
But it seems to be a necessary evil.
I can't help but think we'd all be saying the same thing about ticket prices if it cost us $25 to go see a movie and popcorn was a dollar.

But it does cost $25 to go see a movie. At least when I go anywhere but the Gem Theater with my kids. I used to enjoy going to Westwood for movies, back when Avco and the National and those others were some of the only ones with THX and 70mm projection.

That was for event pictures. The event picture is dead. Mostly.

e

[Jeff Anderson]

I gotta say I havent been in a theater in about 2.5 years. Saw Wedding Crashers with some friends and my wife. No one has said hey lets go see a movie and there hasnt been much I've been motivated enough to go see before it was out on DVD. Anymore its "hey that looks good, add it to Netflix!" Doesnt hurt that I have a 120" projection screen... Plenty big enough to make a few people sick during a recent Bourne Fest. You really shouldnt eat greasy hamburgers then watch all three of those...

[Luis Caffesse]

But it does cost $25 to go see a movie. At least when I go anywhere but the Gem Theater with my kids.

Exactly.
That was my point - and if the price of the concessions were brought down and commercials were taken away then the price of tickets would have to go up in order to compensate for it (probably much higher than $25). And at that point we'd all be saying ticket prices are too high....
Either way we're paying for it somehow... at least we don't have to buy the overpriced food and drinks to see the movie.

Reminds me of when my wife and I were first dating.
I'm always much more critical of movies than she is - she'll have a good time watching just about anything.
Finally one day walking out of the theater, after I was done saying the movie was just 'okay' she asked me
"how come you never seem to like anything as much as I do?"

I told her, "probably because it cost me $20 everytime we see something and you're seeing it for free."
Luckily she laughed.
:)


I used to enjoy going to Westwood for movies, back when Avco and the National and those others were some of the only ones with THX and 70mm projection.

That was for event pictures. The event picture is dead. Mostly.

I completely agree - which is why if the 'event' picture doesn't come back in some way then the only hope the theaters have is to somehow reinvent the experience of being at the theater. Right now they seem to be doing everything to give people multiple reasons to stay at home. It's a shame - but I don't see the trend changing much.

[JasonFox]

I think it's kinda funny that folks are complaining about commercials on a board where quite a few folks make their living writing/producing/directing commercials. :beer:

[Mattykins]

My thoughts exactly. But again - it isn't the exhibition hall that is at fault for prices going up and the advent of commercials in cinema.

It has to do with the studios who distribute the films, as well as the Paramount Decree that kinda caused all the theaters to fall to the wayside in profit.

Which is why we will never see the full transition to digital cinema projection - at least no time soon.

[Erik Olson]

My commercials would be okay, but everyone else's must go.

e

[mjjason]

Last movie I saw in theaters was Revenge of the Sith. Stopped going after that as I just grew sick and tired of the movie crowd, especially teenagers who have no respect for others watching. It annoyed the hell out of me that day so I haven't been back since. Sure I don't get to see movies until several months after but home theater has gotten to the point where I enjoy it much more than a theater so I don't feel like I am missing out.

[Sad Max]

Yeah, Revenge of the Sith just about permanently put me off movies, too.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Yeah, Revenge of the Sith just about permanently put me off movies, too.:grin:

[MattinSTL]

When you see a commercial ahead of the show for AT&T Uverse... that's ours.

:-)

It's a guy who plays almost all the characters in the commercial. A repairman like Schnieder (from 1 day at a time)... and a bunch of other characters like two neighbors talking over a fence, locked down tripod shot, same guy on both sides.

Anyway... enjoy that one... or that half-dozen.

Since the thread is moving so fast I couldn't respond to questions 2 pages back, but the Moolah is RARELY that busy! That's why I said it seems to be Saint Louis' best kept secret! It's CRAZY that it's not busier! We saw IM on Saturday night and still got a sofa.

I like seeing these theaters that are getting back to a full night out experience. I think that's the answer... well, I hope it is anyway... but yeah, I'm sure many theaters are hurting for $.

[Luis Caffesse]

When you see a commercial ahead of the show for AT&T Uverse... that's ours.

Wow, At&t Uverse gets around.
I've been doing promos and spots for them the last few months.

Mine don't play in theaters though.
You realize you're part of the Dark Side now, right Matt?

[JConnors]

Since the thread is moving so fast I couldn't respond to questions 2 pages back, but the Moolah is RARELY that busy! That's why I said it seems to be Saint Louis' best kept secret! It's CRAZY that it's not busier! We saw IM on Saturday night and still got a sofa.


I wish Vancouver had something like that, that would be really cool. Are ticket prices higher?

[filmguy123]

I don't think the start time before a movie has increased, ie, about the same length of commercials/trailers from the listed start time to the actual start of the movie. As for commercials before the start time, that is just replacing the old slides that used to be shown before.

[Daryl Auguste]

My commercials would be okay, but everyone else's must go.

e
Well said.

[spidey]

i dunno i got every week to the theater so it doesnt bother me. just the army and national guard stuff its so cheap and so blah....

[J.R. Hudson]

I feel that commericals cheapen the experience; takes away from the magic of the cinema.

[Postmaster]

Lucky Bastards!

Over here in ole Europe (at least in Germany) the show starts a 8:00.

They let you in at about 7:45

You sit and wait 15 minutes till every Joe Shmock and his kid brother finaly found a seat.

Curtain opens and -ta daaaa- enjoy about 20 minute of comercials.

.... then

the lights go on again and 2 guys crawling between the raws and selling icecream to 300 poeple (takes a while)

If you lucky the film begins at 20:30

Prices are around $15 you spend an other $15-$20 on Parking, Soda & Popcorn.
And NO, there is not only no real butter on the Popcorn - there is no Butter at all - they don´t do that over here.

Frank

[MattinSTL]

I wish Vancouver had something like that, that would be really cool. Are ticket prices higher?

Same price! If I'm really looking forward to a movie... i.e. Iron Man, Indiana Jones, etc. then I plan for the Moolah. :cheesy: And for a date? Are you kidding me? Leather sofas? :shocked:


Luis... Uverse for you too 'aye? Well we made ours LAST spring... the damn thing should be on the screens any day now. AT&T is waiting for a broadside attack I guess.

JH... you hit the nail on the head man. It's like going to the symphony and having to sit through a couple garage bands first.

[Grug]

Okay, first of all, movies have always had commercials -- they're called "trailers." It's just that those were commercials we wanted to see, vs. the other kind.

Second, there was a lawsuit brought against theaters for airing commercials, and the settlement basically came down to that the theaters can show commercials (or whatever they want, actually) before the advertised start time of the film. But once that clock clicks over to when the film is supposed to be on, no commercials can be shown (except, of course, for the trailers).

Wow, I wish they'd bring that law down under Barry - I went to an 8:40pm screening of Iron Man on the weekend, and it was 9:05 before we reached the opening credits :furious3:

[Zander]

I feel that commericals cheapen the experience; takes away from the magic of the cinema.
Exactly. The very idea makes me feel disgusting.

[Sad Max]

I don't think you're disgusting.

[Mattykins]

I never understood why the cinema was the opportune moment for a date. You can't converse at all...seems like a waste of a date I guess. Maybe it's just me.

[Postmaster]

I never understood why the cinema was the opportune moment for a date. You can't converse at all...seems like a waste of a date I guess. Maybe it's just me.

Because of the old popcorn bucket trick ;-)

Frank

P.S. I always need to buy the king-size buckets....

Err.. I´m just saying :beer:

[Sad Max]

I never understood why the cinema was the opportune moment for a date. You can't converse at all...seems like a waste of a date I guess. Maybe it's just me.

Take a squeamish girl to a real nasty horror movie.

She'll spend the whole time burying her face in your...well, some part of you that offers shelter from the awfulness on screen.

[J.R. Hudson]

I never understood why the cinema was the opportune moment for a date. You can't converse at all...seems like a waste of a date I guess. Maybe it's just me.

It's a passive way to get to know someone maybe ? If you're into each other, you can convene at the end of the show, if not, you can go home.

Barry

Trailers are not commercials despite the fact their marketing upcoming films :P

Trailers used to be my favorite part but these days, by the time they come on Im like GET ON WITH IT ALREADY !

[Ki-Ki]

Moral of the thread, make your own cinema.

Seriously p1sses me off though, going to the cinema to see lots of adverts, that often repeat.

On a side note..

Me & my girlfriend went to the cinema on first date. Don't do it. Bloody hell, don't do it. Was incredibly awkward and we saw Son of Rambow. It's impossible to interact. Especially with a packed cinema. Now, what I hate most of all. Is the teenagers or clans of guys or girls coming in laughing at the scary parts in horror films. I could go on for ages, but it worked out in the end, we're still together a month later. So don't go on a first date to a cinema =)

[Luis Caffesse]

....we're still together a month later. So don't go on a first date to a cinema =)

I couldn't help but find it funny that you put those two statements together.
:)

[Ki-Ki]

Haha, yeah, It's 1am. Thats my excuse. I hope she doesnt read that..

[Zander]

...laughing at the scary parts in horror films.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. There are horror movies that are more funny than they are scary. Grudge 2 comes to mind.

[Ki-Ki]

Thats true, indeed, fair point.

Some films are acceptable for it, but If your watching something like The Shinning, or as recently for me One Missed Call..

This is what happend for me. We were watching the film, group of 'chavs' sorry just, has to be said. Were half way down the cinema, really loud and talking. Then half the cinema jumps, and there's some 14 year old Gangster at the front laughing her ass off whilst texting her boyfriend on her mobile phone. Did I mention she was wearing a party hat?

So I look forward to seeing 18 films, since then I'm surrounded by more sensible considerate people.

Again, back on point, the adverts. They repeat them in the cinema, I actually turn my phone back on, and read old texts. If there going to have adverts, at least have new & interesting ones.

[J.R. Hudson]

The level of noise from kids these days is gnarly. Talking, cell phones, giggling ...

Blame the parents.

[JasonFox]

The level of noise from kids these days is gnarly. Talking, cell phones, giggling ...

Blame the parents.

I blame the parents because it's usually them. When did people lose a sense of respect for others? If you want to talk to each other or yell at the screen, watch something at home. And please don't sneak in an entire meal from KFC (true story). Yeesh.

[Luis Caffesse]

When did people lose a sense of respect for others? If you want to talk to each other or yell at the screen, watch something at home.

My wife and I had an experience that really drove that point home.
We're in the theater and the couple sitting right next to me is chatting it up during all the trailers. Okay, it bugged me, but it's the trailers...right?
Well, the movie starts and they just keep on chatting... and I don't mean whispering... I mean chatting the way you would if you were sitting at a restaurant.

So I finally turn to the woman and say, "Excuse me, but could you please keep it down?"
Trying to be as nice about it as I could seeing as I still had to sit next to her for the next 90 minutes.

You know what she said to me?

Completely sincerely and annoyed she said, "If you didn't want to be around people maybe you shouldn't have gone out tonight."



I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
:)

[Mark Harris]

My wife and I had an experience that really drove that point home.
We're in the theater and the couple sitting right next to me is chatting it up during all the trailers. Okay, it bugged me, but it's the trailers...right?
Well, the movie starts and they just keep on chatting... and I don't mean whispering... I mean chatting the way you would if you were sitting at a restaurant.

So I finally turn to the woman and say, "Excuse me, but could you please keep it down?"
Trying to be as nice about it as I could seeing as I still had to sit next to her for the next 90 minutes.

You know what she said to me?

Completely sincerely and annoyed she said, "If you didn't want to be around people maybe you shouldn't have gone out tonight."



I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone.
:)

You should go to the movies with me, Luis. I turn to them and say: "Shut your f*cking mouth." in no uncertain terms. I'm not worried about having to sit next to them for the next 90 minutes, because however big an asshole they can be, I can pretty much always be twice the asshole. One time I even got an applause from the rest of the crowd for telling one really loud dude to shut the f*ck up.

I tell you when the apocalypse comes and law and order break down and it's just me with a leather jacket, a motorcycle, a mohawk and a shotgun, just wait to see what I do to people who talk in the movies...

[Ki-Ki]

One time I even got an applause from the rest of the crowd for telling one really loud dude to shut the f*ck up.

(you really humiliated that guy then)

One main difference between America & the UK, American's clap / cheer in the cinema sometimes. British dont, not sure why, and not insulting either side. I think the only time there was an applause in a British Film i've seen was Pirates of the Caribbean 2. So I've got to go to the US one day just to experiance that. =)

[JasonFox]

(you really humiliated that guy then)

One main difference between America & the UK, American's clap / cheer in the cinema sometimes. British dont, not sure why, and not insulting either side. I think the only time there was an applause in a British Film i've seen was Pirates of the Caribbean 2. So I've got to go to the US one day just to experiance that. =)

If you only come for a day, barbecue is a much better experience.

[Barry_Green]

Wait -- they clapped in Pirates TWO??!?! Man, talk about your cultural differences!

[Zander]

One main difference between America & the UK, American's clap / cheer in the cinema sometimes.
I've never clapped nor have I have been around people who have clapped at the end of a film except for when it was a screening and the creators, cast, and/or crew was there.

[JConnors]

One main difference between America & the UK, American's clap / cheer in the cinema sometimes. British dont, not sure why, and not insulting either side. I think the only time there was an applause in a British Film i've seen was Pirates of the Caribbean 2. So I've got to go to the US one day just to experiance that. =)


One of my friends was in South Carolina years ago and watched Independance Day on July 4th the day it came out, he said there was cheering going on at the end of the movie and even a U-S-A chant. That's hillarious cos it's such a bad movie. "Now that's what I call a close encounter".

I've been to movies were people have clapped at the end.

[Luis Caffesse]

You should go to the movies with me, Luis. I turn to them and say: "Shut your f*cking mouth." in no uncertain terms. I'm not worried about having to sit next to them for the next 90 minutes, because however big an asshole they can be, I can pretty much always be twice the asshole.

Yeah - that's easy to do when you're this guy:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/1912/markgangstaya2.jpg

Somehow I don't think I'd get the same response as you.
:)

[Batutta]

Best Guy Talking in A Movie Theater story ever, from Harlan Ellison--

New York. Early Seventies, maybe '73 or '74. I was in the city on business. Business taken care of, I got together with a friend, a writer from Texas who loves movies as much and as indiscriminately as I do. The ritual: the movie crawl. Load up on junk food, start at the first movie theater on the downtown side of 42nd Street, and just work our way from Times Square to 8th Avenue, cross the street, and work our way back to Times Square. Days. Endless days. Twenty-four, thirty-six, forty-eight hours straight time in the dark. We eat in there, sleep in there, piss and daydream in there. Hot dogs, popcorn, slabs of cheese, munchies, French bread, anydamnthing. And we see them all: the good flicks, the bad flicks, the kung-fu operas, the porn jobs, the superfly stomp the paddy flicks . . . all of them. One after another, till our eyes turn to poached eggs, staggering from theater to theater like refugees from a Macao opium den.

I don't remember the name of the particular theater, but it was on the uptown side of 42nd Street, close to Broadway. It was something like four in the morning. My buddy and I were almost totally cacked-out. I remember the double-bill, however. The lower half, the B feature, was Fear is the Key, a really dreadful action-adventure turkey based on a crummy Alistair Maclean novel. The main feature was Save the Tiger, a contemporary drama starring Jack Lemmon. He won the Oscar for the role in that film.

And there we slumped, way the hell up in the balcony, our knees jammed under our chins, best seats in an almost empty house. Four ayem. Two rows below us -- and it was steep up there, what I'm talking here is damned near per-pen-dic-u-lar -- some black dude was juiced out asleep, lying across three or four seats, snoring.

My buddy the Texas writer is dead asleep, having polished off a recent meal of three boxes Good'n'Plenty and a frozen chocolate covered banana on a stick. And, blessedly, Fear is the Key ends, and Save the Tiger begins.

About ten minutes into this serious, sensitive study of a garment center guy who is killing himself with floating ethics, and from the very first row of the balcony, below and to the right of us, but still very high above the floor of the theater, I hear a shrieky black voice start mouthing off. Dialogue straight out of ONE HUNDRED DOLLAR MISUNDERSTANDING.

"Muh-fugguh! Gahdamn muh-fugn stupid piece'a shit. Dumb sunbish cah-suckin' piece'a shit garbage . . . Leroy! Hey, you sumbish niggah prick Leroy! Le's get th' fuggoutta here, Leeeeeroy!"

Clearly, the critic in the first row of the balcony found this deeply penetrating study of middle class morality as seen through the dissolution of Jack Lemmon's knock-off sweat shop less than relevant to his existence as a mid-Twentieth Century denizen of the shitty slum to whence he would wend his way once this stupid kike film about muh-fuggin' honk paddy bastids ended. Which wasn't soon enough for him. "Leeeee-ROY!"

I had the feeling that Leeee-ROY was the terminal case lying over the seats two rows below us. Out of it.

Well, I peer through the gloom and see the dude down there in the front row of the balcony, his feet up on the brass rail, his partner beside him, silently watching the film but not stopping the noise. And I watch the two of them for a little while, hoping the third member of the group, good ole Leeee-ROY, will bestir his ass and go rejoin them there sepia Athos and Porthos, and maybe just maybe vacate the site quietly so I can watch the goddam muhfuggin' movie.

But no such luck. The critic only gets wonkyer, yelling at the top of his lungs. Leeee-ROY don't twitch a bun.

And just as the critic is reaching a pitch that will cause sonic tremors, squealing sunbish and muh-fugguh at the top of his lungs, from behind me I hear The Voice of Doom:

"Shut your face, nigger, before I come down there and kill you."

Pause with me for a nanoinstant. This was not one of those angrily shouted shutups one encounters all-too-frequently these days in pillbox-sized Cinema I/II/III/IV closets filled with slopebrowed, prognathous-jawed pimplebrains who jabber endlessly as though they were still in front of the tube in their living room. This was -- trust me -- the most blood-curdlingly threatening voice I have ever heard. It was the kind of voice one suspected would accompany the body attached to the moving finger writing mene mene tekel in letters of fire. This was an abominable snowman, a tyrannosaurus, a behemoth, a stone righteous muh-fuggin' killer. Deep, resonant, commanding, powerful . . . and very very black.

I don't want to belabor this but whoever or whatever was sitting back up there behind my Texas buddy and me, it was bad.

Beside me, I felt the hand of my Texican partner on my wrist. Softly, he asked, "What the fuck was that?"

"Voice of Doom," I said. "Pretend we're black. Better still: pretend we're at another theater."

All this happened in a second. And only an idiot would have talked back to the owner of that voice. Guess whose name was in the envelope in the category of Most Outstanding Performance by an Idiot? You got it: Leeee-ROY's buddy with the scoop shovel mouth.

Is violence important in this life?

The critic started shrieking, "Who said that? Who said that gahdamn shit t'me? You c'mawn down here, nigguh, I'm gonna cut'chu! I gonna cut on you, nigguh muh-fugguh!"

And he did go on. And on and on. "Oh shit," I murmured, slumping down even deeper in the seat, till my knees were up around my ears like a grasshopper. Beside me, my Texican buddy was praying in High Church Latin, Yiddish and Sufi, all at the same time.

I do believe that the joker down in the first row of that cockroach-ridden movie house was the single dumbest sonofabitch I have ever encountered; and what happened next was the swiftest, most deadly moment of violence I have ever seen.

Motormouth was still working over the conjugation of to cut when suddenly and without warning there was a rush of wind past me, down those steep steps, fast, fast, so damned fast I couldn't make out whether it was a human or a yeti or simply some terrifying force of nature, and all I saw was a dark blur as something BIG went smoothly down to the front row, something GIGANTIC moved into that row . . . and that stupid sonofabitch joker just stood up, still working his wet jaw . . . as if he could do something against that HUGE dude come to silence him . . . and that monstrous black fury just grabbed Motormouth by the shirt front and yanked . . . and pitched him headfirst over the rail.

I heard a terrified scream as the guy fell, and then a sickening crack! like the snapping of a T'ang dynasty chopstick, and then there was silence.

The only sounds were Jack Lemmon talking about what emotional violence he was suffering.

Shut up, Lemmon.

No one in the theater moved. There weren't that many people anyhow. Just my buddy and me and sleeping Leeee-ROY and the buddy of the guy who'd taken the dive . . . and that humungus shape. In the balcony. And if there was anyone down below, they weren't saying anything.

The diver's buddy didn't move or look around or say a word. He just sat there staring straight ahead, as if he could not possibly have found anything more interesting in the universe to think about than Jack Lemmon's problems. The dark shape moved back up the aisle . . . I didn't look left or right . . . I saw nothing, Jim, nothing . . .and it went up past me and was gone.

I watched that entire flick in silence. No one moved to see if the diver was still alive. After a moment's wait the diver's buddy slipped out of the balcony like oil washing down a gutter, and gone. From below . . . nothing.

And when the film was finished, and the lights came up, we rose, and turned slowly. The balcony was empty. Leeee-ROY was still tabula rasa. Just us, all alone. I looked at my buddy from Texas, and he looked at me, and without saying a word we walked down that precarious stairway and came to the railing and peered over.

The diver lay across the back of a shattered seat. He was bent double. Stomach up. His spine was broken. He didn't move. The theater was empty. We walked back up the aisle, through the upper vestibule, down the winding staircase, into the lobby, and out. We didn't look back. No one could help the diver. We wanted to get away.

We never spoke of it to each other.

It was sudden. Not a word. Not a second threat. No false heroics like two stumblebums in an alley outside a bar. No feinting, and no swinging. He just threw him; launched him out into eternity. And walked away from it. Because he was being disturbed in a movie.

Violence, real violence, not the Jack Armstrong nonsense we all play-act at . . . genuine, mindless violence is very important.

Because there is no knowing when it will strike.

And there is no escape from it.

I warn you, it's terrible.


http://harlanellison.com/iwrite/mostimp.htm

[egproductions]

Certain theaters are better than others. Don't go to one in a mall unless you want unsupervised kids ruining your experience. I like to go to the last showing after a workday and see a movie that has been out for over a week. The theater will be all yours.

Yes you can build a home theatre that is close to the experience of a real movie theater but going out is half the fun.

I don't know if it was mentioned yet but does anyone use the optimum rewards card to get free tuesday night or reduced price ticks? I hear its great but didn't get my card yet.

[KMR]

I've never clapped nor have I have been around people who have clapped at the end of a film except for when it was a screening and the creators, cast, and/or crew was there.

I've actually experienced that a few times (i.e., applause during a regular show time). It's always been at an exceptional movie. I think it may have also happened when I was at a sneak preview of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK in Tulsa (and I'm sure most of us agree that movie was exceptional).