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Author Topic: Pre-movie ads rip off theatregoers. Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 02-19-2003 07:19 PM                    Hopefully a judge with any sense will toss this. Cinema commericals are nothing new, just more prevalent now. If theatres must disclose the precise start time of the feature what happens when the show starts late for whatever reason...technical, just ordinary casual timekeeping, or holding the show for a large number still entering...and the commercials are still there is that risking a contempt charge? If a theatre must disclose the presence of ads shouldn't broadcasters promoting an upcoming show have to declare that 30% of the time slot will be commercials and other non-program material?  |  IP: Logged Aaron Haney Master Film Handler Posts: 265 From: Cupertino, CA, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 02-19-2003 07:28 PM                     In my area, I choose to go to Century pretty much exclusively for a variety of reasons, one of which happens to be that they show no advertising other than trailers before the movie. And they leave the green bands on. Or at least, this used to be true. A while ago, they started playing Fandango commercials before every show. I had hoped they were just temporary, but so far they have not stopped. I hope that isn't a prelude to showing more commercials!  |  IP: Logged Adam Martin I'm not even gonna point out the irony. Posts: 3686 From: Dallas, TX Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-19-2003 07:33 PM                     Century has a stake in Fandango and uses the service for their online ticketing. You will not see the Fandango promos disappear from Century screens.  |  IP: Logged Aldo Baez Master Film Handler Posts: 266 From: USA Registered: Mar 2001 posted 02-20-2003 02:08 AM                    Scott if I can recall correctly Laemmles doesnt show any commercials except the LA Times one which almost every company here in the L.A. area shows. At my place its L.A. times, 4 trailers MAX, then policy. On average its between 8-11 minutes of pre-movie stuff. [ 02-20-2003, 08:42 PM: Message edited by: Aldo Baez ]  |  IP: Logged Charles Everett Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: New Jersey Registered: May 2001 posted 02-20-2003 06:57 AM                     Variety picked up this story today. Reading Cinemas in Manville NJ currently runs only a MovieFone advert before the trailers.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 02-20-2003 11:31 AM                        For many years Edwards Theatres ran LA Times ads but nothing else, including no slides. The Times ads were generally very low-key and usually featured some interesting piece of trivia related to Southern California history. Edwards was undoubtedly getting some kind of a break on their advertising rates for running the Times ads.  |  IP: Logged Claude S. Ayakawa Film God Posts: 2738 From: Waipahu, Hawaii, USA Registered: Aug 2002 posted 02-20-2003 11:58 AM                        As I had mentioned earlier in my other post, if the commercials are shown before the actual show time and the trailers go on precisely on schedule at the advertised starting time, I see no problem. I feel it is very unreasonable for some to prefer theatres not to show commercials at all even if they are shown before the actual show time like Hawaii's Consolidated Theatres is doing now. Please keep in mind that motion picture exhibition is a busiess and if commercials can bring in more revenue, that is great as long as they are not shown during the actual show time. If they are shown during the actual time period of the show, like all of you, I have a problem with that! -Claude  |  IP: Logged Paul G. Thompson The Weenie Man Posts: 4718 From: Mount Vernon WA USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 02-20-2003 12:00 PM                     Although I am against pre-show ads, I realize that the revenue from the ads help the theatre. There is not much money to be made selling tickets with some of today's movies. However, I certainly do not agree with any of that crap that is mixed in with the trailers. I'll go along with previews at the beginning of the movie, as long as they don't drag on for 10 minutes or more. Even as far back as 1967, I ran a bunch of previews at the beginning of the movie at the station theatre at NAS Whidbey. Several times, I ran more than 4 of them in one shot. I caught hell about that, and was told not to do that anymore by Special Services. There was simply too many complaints by the officers and enlisted personnel as well as their dependents.  |  IP: Logged Michael Hunt Film Handler Posts: 63 From: Gloucester, Gloucestershire, UK Registered: Feb 2001 posted 02-20-2003 02:00 PM                        my little Art-house cinema over here in the UK includes the following note in its Programme 'Most cinema screenings start at the advertised time with a short programme of advertisements and trailers which may last up to fifteen minutes.' For shows when no adverts are going to be shown, the tiocket office lets people know this when they buy their tickets for the film. I never programme more than fifteen minutes of pre-feature material, and when there's less than that I let the ticket office and the ushers know the duration of the adverts.  |  IP: Logged John Lasher Master Film Handler Posts: 493 From: Newark, DE Registered: Aug 2001 posted 02-20-2003 02:02 PM                        I would bet just about anything that the next step in the plan is to insert the ads in between the reels of the movie. (slaps self) Don't give them any ideas!  |  IP: Logged Don E. Nelson Expert Film Handler Posts: 138 From: Brentwood, CA, USA Registered: Nov 2001 posted 02-20-2003 02:20 PM                     I personally don't mind the adverts and lots of trailers. It allows me to get my large buttered popcorn and a super large coke without having a coronary in the concession line wondering if I am going to miss the opening of the movie. The opening few moments of a film sets the tone for the entire movie for me. I went to a film seminar years ago and one of the speakers was one of the top movie opener credit designer guys. I had always assumed the filmmaker/director did their own intro's. Its quite an art to take a finished movie and then design the opening credits.  |  IP: Logged Matt Hale Expert Film Handler Posts: 123 From: Vancouver, Canada Registered: Dec 2002 posted 02-20-2003 04:21 PM                        Although I abhor commercial advertising before the feature and will usually heckle loudly if there is more than 1 ad (I know nobody is listening, its the principle of the thing) I recently discovered an actual use for ads... When I went to see "The Guru" it took the entire 20-minute length of the ads for the "projectionist" to get the thing threaded up properly and in-frame, stopping and starting the projector each time they tried a new film path. They finally got it right (sound and all!) just as the feature hit the screen. Were it not for the excessive advertising, the whole first reel of the movie would probably have been ruined, and as it was the ads were so horribly disfigured that I never did manage to figure out what they were trying to sell me. I did not demand a refund.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 02-20-2003 07:14 PM                        I hope it's not the same lawyer (or jury) from the lawsuit against McDonald's for having their coffee too hot.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 02-20-2003 07:39 PM                       Scott, thanks for the clarification.  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 02-20-2003 07:45 PM                     AMEN Brad! That's why I will not run ads (film or slide) before any feature at any of my projects. I actually plan on using cartoons and shorts (gulp) plus trailers on my screens and will list the feature time. However, running ads in the lobby is a different matter.  |  IP: Logged

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