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Author Topic: How To Sneak Into A Movie Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 01-13-2004 10:29 AM                        I always pay for movies I see and don't believe in sneaking into movies without paying, but since I review facilities on my WWW site, security is something I think about when examining a place. I've noticed that there were many times at some theatres it would have been easy to walk into an auditorium. A good "metric" is how often can you buy your ticket and get into the auditorium without having your ticket stub torn (since theoretically, if you can do that, you bypassed the checker). There is only one theatre in my area for which I don't have an untorn stub, and it's the Regal River Oaks Cinema 8 in Decatur. I'll bet it's very difficult for anyone to pull anything off there very often. On non-busy nights, most theatres have the person selling you the ticket at the box office to go ahead and tear the ticket. That way, they don't have to have another person to tear them at the hall entrance(s). Of course, that makes it easier for people to go to different movies than they paid for, or get in without paying if nobody is watching the hall entrances. Once in a hall, it's easy for people to go into any auditorium on that hall. On a non-busy night, if someone tries to see a movie that nobody else bought a ticket for, the projector may not be started because the computer says 0 tickets have been sold. On busy nights, the easiest way to have the ticket stub untorn is to go buy the ticket early, leave the theatre to go to the mall (if the theatre is next to a mall like 2 of ours are), then come back. Now you have the untorn ticket when you walk in the lobby, and all you have to do is avoid having the ticket torn on the way in, which can be easy or impossible depending on the theatre. This has been my "security check game" I've done for a long time. Another thing I'll do sometimes is if I'm seeing a movie for the second time, I'll show the stub from the previous showing (if it's the same style stub from the same theatre company), instead of the one I just bought, to see if the checker notices (and if so, show the correct one). I did this with Toy Story 2 and showed an older stub from Regal Rainbow Cinema 8 in Gadsden when I went into the hall at Regal River Oaks Cinema 8 in Decatur, although I had the correct one I'd just bought ready. The manager looked at at (quite closely actually) and didn't notice. I tend to keep a number of recent ticket stubs in my wallet because I'm lazy and don't clean it out often. I wonder if someone has tried a "pile of old stubs" routine. One a busy night, have 15 or 20 old stubs in the wallet, and when the usher asks for the stub, say "I put in here" and pull out the stack and go through them, looking for the stub. On a busy night, he/she might just say "Go on in." I would not do this -- I'm just thinking of ways that people could get in without paying. About that web site mentioned at the beginning of this thread -- it's been there a long time, since I remember reading it a long time ago. In fact, I think it was discussed here shortly after film-tech got started. I really don't like sites like that, that try to tell people how to do something wrong to try to get by with it. All it does is make some dummy get the idea that he can do it and get away with it. Many people will read the site, try it, and get caught. It just puts new bad ideas into people's heads.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-13-2004 10:34 AM                     Yep. I get this all the time. "Can I watch this movie until mine starts?" or "I'm waiting for so-and-so, can I go into the movie they're in?" And they get mad when you tell them no. And they get even more mad when you catch them and kick them out after they do it anyway. quote: Same reason they trash rest rooms, shoplift, etc. Very true. Whenever me or an employee are in the restroom doing a check, and there are people in there, they always flush, always throw the paper towel in the trash... but you leave for five minutes and come back, and the place is a disaster. That's why so much damage happens in auditoriums. People think there's no one watching them, so they can put their feet on chairs, spit sunflower seeds on the ground, and carve names into armrests. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-13-2004 12:20 PM                     Back when I worked for an AMC theatre, it seemed that somebody went and embossed their initials onto every single one of our armrests... ...Lucky for us, their initials were AMC... I thought that was just a fluke but then I noticed they had done it at some of our other locations, too. Near as I can tell, this was perpetrated by some kind of obsessed thrill-seeking wierdo...with a good working knowledge of plastic and embossing. Similar problem observed at the IMAX theatres. Some guy (or gal) with the initials I.M.A.X. went ahead and "marked" all of those armrests in a similar fashion. What makes people do this? Are they looking for attention? Or are they attempting to claim those armrests as their own property? Gang territorial markings?  |  IP: Logged Eric Hooper Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 532 From: Fort Worth, TX, USA Registered: May 2003 posted 01-13-2004 02:06 PM                     quote: What makes people do this? Are they looking for attention? I think with any entertainment venue, you're going to get this. Theme parks, movie theatres, dance clubs, concerts, etc. People are out having a good time, and sometimes that is associated with breaking a few rules. People are people. When you were young, didn't you write your name in a freshly paved sidewalk? (No Mystic River references please) There's always going to be someone f*cking things up at the theatre. Just gotta live with it I guess. What I meant by what I said earlier is that lately when I've gone to these new megaplexes, I'm treated with a bunch of kids (employees) giving me bad customer service. No showmanship. No standards. You tear my ticket at the box office, and I just walk in to the lobby, where I notice that I didn't even have to pay for a ticket to do that. That doesn't make me feel very good about spending my money. Then I go up to the third floor the auditorium is on, and the concession counter is closed with a sign telling me to buy concessions on the first floor. Ok, I do that and again feel raped by $5 popcorn and $5 sodas. And no one even says...."enjoy the show". Customers need to feel good about spending their money. It shows them that the theatre appreciates their business and patronage. Lately though, this is not the case, and that's what I meant by not having regard for customers these days... Theatres, in my opinion, are asking for it. (theft, people theatre hopping, etc.) If customers are treated better, maybe they'd have more respect for your venue.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-13-2004 03:28 PM                     Eric: I was kidding around with those examples. But the notion of why people "mark" property is valid nonetheless, as you've pointed out by responding ONLY to that question. While I was out running errands I remembered a documentary that was all about bathroom graffiti. There were so many interesting opinions as to why graffiti happens. People who admitted to writing on bathroom walls gave varying reasons, too.  |  IP: Logged Christian Appelt Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 505 From: Frankfurt, Germany Registered: Dec 2001 posted 01-13-2004 08:40 PM                     I wouldn't want to encourage anybody, but there are two more nice ways of sneaking into theatres: 1. Carry a film can, even better: a 3-reel-container, in some European countries black cardboard containers with transport stickers are fine. If you want to push the limit, carry a 2000ft. reel with some film on it and give the employees a friendly nod when you pass them. If you think that's too silly - I knew a guy who always got into closed before-release screenings held in a multiplex, nobody ever dared to ask him who he was. 2. Get a good Jack Valenti makeup, practise the malocchio before mirror at home, then enter the theatre of your choice carrying a visible video camera. (It has not been done before, but if someone tries, I'd like to know what happened.)  |  IP: Logged Phil Hill I love my cootie bug Posts: 7595 From: Hollywood, CA USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 01-13-2004 09:14 PM                  quote: Get a good Jack Valenti makeup, practise the malocchio before mirror at home, then enter... Christian, that's hilarious! LUV it! Walking around places like you own it will get you places you thought you'd never get into...(...including jail!) I like to walk around the studios, stages and back lots looking important and like I know what's going on and am supposed to be there. I've gotten away with this for years and have weaseled my way onto many pictures during filming. I was only caught once. While cheating at Universal Studios a couple of years ago, Mr. Terminator Cameron himself saw me and challenge me cuz I wasn't wearing a hardhat in a construction area. Security unceremoniously thru me out on my ass. But as I mentioned B4, it's the challenge and the "thrill" of getting away with it! >>> Phil  |  IP: Logged R. Andrew Diercks Expert Film Handler Posts: 232 From: Marion, Iowa (In the middle of everywhere) Registered: May 2003 posted 01-15-2004 03:51 PM                     My favorite movie hopping story... A couple went to We Were Soldiers and walked out over 1.5 hours into the film, they proceeded to walk toward a neighboring auditorium so I asked if I could help them. They said they were going to attend this film instead. I politely explained that they are welcome to view the next showing if they purchased a ticket. The woman refused, and said We Were Soldiers was making her physically ill and she was a member of the church. (Never said which church) She then said I should have told them of the violence before they bought tickets so I showed her the one sheet with the R rating. Under which stated "For sustained scenes of graphic war violence and language" I also explained that we pay for these movies based on the attendance and we cannot allow guests to travel between movies. Her husband then stated that the studios would never know they hopped unless I told them, so whats the big deal. I responded by saying "Perhaps, but as members of the church, you would certainly not want me to lie to them." By far my greatest argument. [ 01-16-2004, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: R. Andrew Diercks ]  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 01-16-2004 09:42 AM                       quote: For the last 14 years I have kicked thousands of people out of theatres I have worked at for "theft of services". Just call the cops and file charges, that'll put a stop to it in no time. Let customers see the cops hauling them off. When word gets around that you mean business, that crap will stop. quote: Security unceremoniously thru me out on my ass. Phil, that's because you forgot to carry a clipboard!  |  IP: Logged Gracia L. Babbidge Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 709 From: Bowdoin, Maine Registered: Aug 2000 posted 01-16-2004 09:51 AM                        I once was told a tale by a woman that formerly worked at the Hoyts up in Bangor, Maine. Apparently one day, the manager caught some teens / young adults that snuck in, escorted them to the lobby, had them take a seat on a bench, then instructed a matronly employee to "watch them, don't let them go anywhere". The employee happily complied, but maintained a grim expression while watching the sneaks like a hawk. The manager proceeded to call the police, who promptly showed up, then carted the miscreants off for 'theft of services'. I'm not sure to what legal end the manager in question pursued the matter, but apparently it was an exceptionally long time before anyone else tried sneaking into that cinema!  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 01-16-2004 10:27 AM                       Word gets around. In the one and only time I will ever be a theatre manager, I was assigned a drive-in that had been run by a slew of different managers. They had let the place go lax to such a degree that, for years, more people were sneaking in than paying at the boxoffice. I immediately started calling the cops on slip-ins and stowaways for theft by deception (that charge is easier to prove, since whether theatres actually perform a service could be open to interpretation). In a drive-in, people can't help seeing the police cruiser pull up and work the situation. Well, within 4 or 5 weeks, word had gotten around that we were serious and the problem stopped. Only had an isolated thief here or there from out of town the rest of the season. It works.  |  IP: Logged Paul Trimboli Master Film Handler Posts: 274 From: Perth Western Australia Registered: Dec 2002 posted 01-17-2004 12:17 AM                     Well at one cinema I work in sneek in are very common, nothing like the feeling of kicking people out! When I worked at IMAX we had a good one with 2 guys sneeking into a 3D movie after using the toilets. Saw them walking in on the security camera and went in and it was very easy to spot the idiots, they had no 3D glasses.We asked them for their tickets they said they lost them, but they did buy them, so we asked them where there 3D glasses where, they left and did not say anymore!  |  IP: Logged Chris Byrne Expert Film Handler Posts: 102 From: Kirwan, Australia Registered: Jan 2003 posted 01-17-2004 08:27 PM                     I don't know about sneaking into a movie ... A manager was telling me the other day how easy it would be to walk off with the day's takings As fate would have it he was demoted a couple of day's later for attitude related problems.  |  IP: Logged

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