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Author Topic: Lost that moviegoing mojo Ron Curran Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 504 From: Springwood NSW Australia Registered: Feb 2006 posted 01-10-2009 06:43 PM                        “Your attitude is extremely rude an I have never been so insulted” is a typical response from those we tell to stop talking. We know they are talking because we can hear them from the other side of the theatre. They usually add “I am never coming here again!” to which I respond “Please keep your promise.” Now that is rude and insulting and if they want to further chastise me I let them know company policy is to maintain civilised behaviour. Sometimes the incident is followed by a letter that describes their actions as a brief whisper to their companion and unworthy of the rude and bullying behaviour of the staff member in question, who should be flogged. Of course, all of their friends will be told. The culprits are unaware of how selfish their behaviour is. They need to speak. They need to use their phone. They need to relax while their children run riot. One thing I can’t understand is the U.S. practice of selling hot greasy foods. The only hot stuff we sell is popcorn. We don’t allow hot meals into the theatre. Sitting next to someone eating a hamburger or hot chips (fries) in a theatre is no fun. Naturally, when we ask patrons to finish their meal outside, we are abused for spoiling their lunch/dinner/breakfast. I can see why some theatres are reluctant to deal with inconsiderate actions. You are attacked and it is unpleasant. However, our little cinema, despite its shortcomings, punches above its weight at the box office, particularly with the over 30s.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-10-2009 11:26 PM                     quote: Tony Bandiera Jr enjoy a clean presentation on my HD TV and Blu-Ray. ..what I tell booth clowns about their presentations: "When you watch a movie on your HD TV units, you expect an excellent presentation ... why can't you do it here when you work?" Like - "What's the difference?" -Monte  |  IP: Logged Justin Hamaker Film God Posts: 2253 From: Lakeport, CA USA Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-11-2009 12:32 AM                        I was as a 5 screen art house about 2 weeks ago and found that even their audience isn't immune for discourteous behavior. While it's nowhere near as bad as you get in a typical multiplex, there were still people who talk during the movie. On the whole, this was a more mature and relatively educated crowd - at 35 I was probably in the bottom 20% of patrons. One thing this theatre did which I really liked was place announcements within their intermission music. While their messages were mainly to direct people to the emergency exits, I thought this would be a fantastic way to insert announcements like "For everyone's enjoyment, we ask you to turn off your cell phones and refrain from talking during the feature".  |  IP: Logged Mark Lensenmayer Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1605 From: Upper Arlington, OH Registered: Sep 1999 posted 01-11-2009 09:03 AM                     I'm 57 and I'm seeing about 1-2 movies per week, especially this time of year when there are some of the more interesting films on the screens. In fact, I'm not sure I'll even get to see all of the films I want to see in the next 3 weeks. Our secret to movie-going is the Weekend Early Shows at AMC. On Friday, Saturday & Sunday, AMC opens almost all of their films with a $5 admission. Not only is this the cheapest time of the week, those who like to talk loudly through films are usually not up that early! We also like it as we can see a film and then still have a full day to get errands and house jobs done. It is also nice that we are fortunate enough to have an AMC 24-plex about 3 miles from us! And a 30-plex across town in an area with some EXCELLENT restaurants!!  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 01-11-2009 06:14 PM                     quote: Justin Hamaker I was as a 5 screen art house about 2 weeks ago and found that even their audience isn't immune for discourteous behavior. I went to see REVOLUTIONARY ROAD at an art house last week, and it was one of the worst audiences I've seen a movie with in a long time. In addition to all of the usual people talking, you've got all of the hoity-toity people shushing the talkers. They're just as annoying as the talkers, and usually louder. So then you've got all these other people who start laughing, because the whole thing is ridiculous, and then the shushers shush them, and it's just a whole vicious cycle. In addition to all of this going on at the start of the show, we also had a guy snoring in the back (which is understandable, given the movie). I've found that seeing art house films in a mainstream theater is a preferable experience, because the audience is usually well behaved, and you don't get that icky pretentious feeling all over.  |  IP: Logged Robert E. Allen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1078 From: Checotah, Oklahoma Registered: Jul 2002 posted 01-11-2009 11:21 PM                     I have been to a theatre once in the last 18 months. Not so much because of noisy audiences, excessively loud sound and poor screen performances (although that seems to be the norm in most multiplexes I've attended) but because the industry is turning out very little I find appealing. The garbage that hits the screen these days almost makes me ashamed to be a part of the exhibition field.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-12-2009 02:04 AM                     ..like "Disaster Movie" and this coming up "Dance Movie" ... yeech!  |  IP: Logged Mike Schindler Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1039 From: Oak Park, IL, USA Registered: Jun 2002 posted 01-12-2009 02:18 AM                     Robert, if you want to restore your faith in movies, check out THE DARK KNIGHT when it's re-released in a couple of weeks. It's extraordinarily close to perfection. Personally, I think movies are better now than they have ever been, and will continue to get better as time goes on. I think that people tend to think that older movies are better because they generally remember the good ones, and it takes time to recognize classics as such. Whatever the case may be, there's plenty of quality options available. Sure, there's a lot of garbage out there. There always is. But then when I see something like THE DARK KNIGHT, how could I possibly complain?  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 01-12-2009 09:58 AM                        quote: Mike Schindler Sure, there's a lot of garbage out there. There always is. That's for sure....anytime somebody says today's movies are all garbage, I tell them to go look at our website and find the old movie calendars, and be amazed at how much crap there was in just about any month of any year.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 01-12-2009 11:11 AM                        I read these posts in this thread and I wish I could open my own theatre. Like many things in our modern society, the 'magic' is gone. I don't want to sound like an old man, but things don't get done like they used to. I always dream about the day that I can open my own theatre and show the world the way it supposed to be done (ushers in suits, waterfall curtains, clean presentation). My hope is that people (young and old) will walk out of there and feel the way I did when I was a kid. 100% professional from the front sidewalk to the back exit. I haven't seen a theatre in years that puts the 'show' in show business anymore. That's the reason I chose this profession, the reason I wanted to be in it. This July it will be 20 years for me. I sometimes feel I wasted my time getting involved in a business that seems to care less about the customers that walk through the door (in general). I long for the day I can be proud of what I do again.........  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 01-12-2009 12:59 PM                     Check out this opening webpage. The owner is planning to do such .. to bring back "The Magic of the Cinema", and the lost art of "Showmanship". -Monte  |  IP: Logged Tony Bandiera Jr Film God Posts: 3067 From: Moreland Idaho Registered: Apr 2004 posted 01-12-2009 01:41 PM                     quote: Dennis Benjamin <snip> ....show the world the way it supposed to be done (ushers in suits, waterfall curtains, clean presentation). Dennis, check out my post on page 2 about how SRO Theatres used to run the La Mirada Gateway 5. Exactly what you seek to do, and it was a huge success. That theatre was ALWAYS packed, even on weekday matinees. I think the reason SRO went under was it expanded too rapidly for their own good...  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 01-12-2009 01:46 PM                        I'm just catching up on this thread, and I whole-heartedly agree with Pravin's position. I don't know if it's an age thing, because even though I am now 40, I've felt very disenchanted with going out to the movies for quite some time. I am a huge movie fan. There are very few things I would rather do with my free time than watch a movie. I like classic movies as well as contemporary movies, romances as much as action flicks, and there is very little I will refuse to watch if given the opportunity. In 2008, I probably watched four dozen movies, if not more. However, I saw probably four or five of them in a movie theater. Some of that has to do with the fact that one of my jobs is to review DVDs and Blu-ray releases, but I would watch movies no matter what. What's at issue is where I choose to watch them, and it correlates to the point of not going to the movie theater as much as we used to. It probably corresponds to getting hooked on home theater, and that goes back to 1993. As my equipment improved, the theatrical experience has gradually diminished as the best way to experience a movie. This is probably furthered by a deterioration of the theatrical experience as much as it has by the improvements I've made in my home situation. As it stands right now, the single element that continues to draw me to a theater to watch a movie is the exclusivity of product. The bottom line is that most theaters do not deserve the business. That's evidenced by the comments here as well as the feedback I get from our readers on The BigScreen Cinema Guide. I just received a message from someone complaining about broken seats and dirty bathrooms at a local theater. How apt is that person to return to that theater the next time they want to watch a movie? Not likely. And when theaters are spread out (the next closest one was 10-15 miles away), staying home and watching something is much easier and more enjoyable. A lot of people that I talk to that are out of the pre-25 demographic rarely watch movies in theaters any more. Once you have kids, spare time tends to go out the window, and going to a movie theater takes a lot of time out of your schedule (and costs money). Going to a movie theater is not an event. The comparison to McDonalds isn't even appropriate because McDonalds is all about atmosphere and the experience. It's certainly not because of the food! Going to McDonalds is fun for kids and it's something they look forward to. No one I know looks forward to going to a movie theater because the experience is going to be enjoyable, no matter if the movie is any good. No one brags about great experiences at a theater, because there aren't great experiences to be had. If the picture and sound aren't screwed up and the popcorn isn't stale and the bathrooms are decently clean, then it's not a negative experience. That's the best that most theaters are capable of: "not a negative experience" If the exclusivity of movie availability were removed, people would cease to attend theaters. The industry knows it, and yet it is unwilling to do compete with it; choosing instead to block the repeated attempts of studios to head in that direction. It will happen, and it's just a matter of time. I have to say that Steve's treatise is spot-on! Studios need to find and promote original and fresh stories. As much as I will look forward to the next Batman sequel, I want to see something new and unexpected as well. There are probably such movies out there in the mix, but it is often difficult to find those in wide release if you know about them at all. But the point has been made by previous comments; even if the movie isn't very good, it's the theater's responsibility to provide an excellent experience. Give customers an excellent presentation combined with professionalism in exhibition. Whether that involves bringing curtains back, adding ushers to silence disruptions, and/or hiring/training employees on customer service, do it! Show the paying customers that they matter and they will return. Dismiss them as stupid and a bother, and they'll be very happy to sign up for Netflix so that you aren't bothered any more. I would disagree on the 200-seat comment. I think that theaters should become smaller, not larger. After all, would you rather have auditoriums that were full or empty if you were a theater owner? I'd think that you'd want them full, because you can always run a movie in multiple screens if you need to, and when you have low attendance, it's not so painfully obvious to the five people that show up. Most home theaters are decorated 10x better than most theater auditoriums. Take a look at any of the designs by Theo Kalimirakis, and you'll see what can be done to create unique experiences! Instead of eight 300-seat auditoriums, why not mix it up and have 2-3 large screens if you need to, and then add more 100-seaters, with a total of 12-15 screens in the same square footage? Give customers a great experience and they'll be happy even if the movie sucked. That's the best outcome a theater can hope for, and the responsibility is squarely on the theater's shoulders. No whining about bad product spoiling business and blaming others for their troubles. Theaters need to take responsibility for their own futures and compete for their customers' attention and money. Boy, every once in a while, I get started, and I just can't stop! I had to delete several paragraphs of ranting and examples just to end up with a way-too-long commentary anyway!  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 01-12-2009 02:12 PM                        Regarding size, big theatres are important to me as a moviegoer. Most people have a seating preference. Some like the back; the front, the middle, etc. If there are only 100 seats in the whole auditorium, then there are a lot fewer seats in each "zone" to pick from, and you are more likely to be stuck somewhere you don't want to be. And screen size is a huge deal. That dinosaur screaming at me should be life-size. The starship flying overhead should blow me away. At home, I sit 12' away from a 9' wide screen. If I'm paying $10 and hiring a sitter, you'd better do significantly better than that.  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 01-12-2009 03:03 PM                        I'm 40 years old and my visits to movie theatres started dwindling back around 2004-2005. I went to see a movie myself recently (Four Christmases) for the first time in 2 and a half years. The main reasons I rarely go the movies anymore are: 1. Drastically increased advertisements in the pre-show material starting a few years ago. I was always OK with 4 movie previews and then the feature, rather than a bunch of advertisements, then the previews, then the movie. I've literally felt tired at times in a theatre before the movie even started. Previews let me know what I want to come back to see. Advertisements make me want to leave and not come back. 2. The replacement of slides with an obnoxious "entertainment and advertising" show that makes it difficult to chat with friends before the movie. It makes going to a theatre even less of a social experience than it already wasn't, plus, it greatly increases the perceived "wait time" before getting to watch the actual movie. 3. The continual general decline of film presentation and audio quality. It doesn't matter if a theatre has a digital sound system in every auditorium and advertises it. What is the probability that it will actually be operational and the movie not playing in analog with a neglected, uncalibrated optical reader? 4. The ability to watch practically any movie I want on my widescreen HDTV with DVD and have a good image and better sound than many theatres have. I can calibrate and control the image, sound, and environment way I want. If I need to use the bathroom, I can pause the movie and not worry about missing anything. 5. The increased number of distractions from other moviegoers, most of whom now have a cell phone screen that is really bright in the dark auditorium, and the cell phones are open a lot, not so much from talking, but from texting during the show. Seat kickers and crying babies will always be a problem. 6. The decline in quality of the movies themselves over time.  |  IP: Logged

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