During the first few minutes of the movie, I noticed that there were many groups of teenagers, with 5 or 6 in each group, that would all get up and move around, and walk in and out fairly often. The auditorium was originally a standard seating type that was converted to stadium seating by building a walkway behind and on the sides of the stadium section. The rear auditorium seats not at the rear auditorium wall, but are 5 or 6 feet away, with a ledge behind the seats. If you look over the ledge, you can look down into the walkway. Teenagers have found that, as they walk in, if they bang on the walls of the structure that holds the stadium section, it makes a really loud noise, and several groups of teenagers did this as they went in and out.
Another thing I noticed was that an usher was in the auditorium the entire time watching the kids and making them behave and turn off cell phones, etc. This was the first time I'd ever seen an usher have to stay in the entire show. The ushers were doing a very good job at keeping things in order.
I was sitting in the center of the rear stadium row, mainly because nobody could kick the back of the seat and there is more legroom there between that row and the row in front of it. About 30 or 40 minutes into the show, a bunch of liquid came from above and behind me, hitting me and 7 or 8 more people near me. Someone had thrown a Coke from the walkway over the rear wall of the stadium section. Several others and I went out there to try to figure out who had done it, but whoever did it went out the door and were not seen by the staff outside. The person who threw the drink could have been someone that was in the theatre and did it as they went out, or it could have been someone who came in the auditorium door, threw it, and ran back out.
I went back in and sat in a different place and a few minutes later, the manager was standing behind me, so I went back and told her all about what had happened and what all the groups of teenagers had been doing. We went outside the auditorium and talked for a while about that and a lot of different things (projection equipment, movies, history of theatres in the area). I enjoyed my talk with her more than I did the movie. She got me a pass. Anyway, it turns out that there were two ushers in there plus one security person "babysitting" them. She said they had a lot of problems like this on Friday nights.
This was my 362nd visit to the theatres in my area and I'd never seen an audience like this one. These groups of teenagers weren't just rowdy and having fun -- they were true troublemakers, getting their kicks out of annoying people. The one that threw that drink over the rear stadium seating wall is a really dangerous one that needs to be caught. If he'll do that, he would do other more dangerous things to see if he could get away with it. There was one teenager in the lobby that one staff member pointed out that had been in trouble for throwing Cokes in another auditorium a few months earlier, but they could not say that he threw this one in #10 because nobody saw him.
Do any of you have frequent problems of this degree in the theatres that you run? I'm not talking about groups that talk or wiggle about a lot (that's normal for many teenagers) -- I'm talking about ones with a mean streak that want to annoy everyone. How do you deal with them and prevent them from being a problem?
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
If I was the manager at that theatre, I would instruct my staff people to first warn them to behave. If that fails, those bastards should be kicked out of the theatre! If the staff suspect one or more of these trouble makers might become violent, the manager of the theatre should call the police first and let them handle the situation.
-Claude
This seemed to prove that they had no interest in the movie, it was just something to do, and they got their kicks out of either giving us, or our other patrons a hard time. We would normally get 50 to 150 teens every week for that show regardless of what we played. Once that group got up and left, we had no problems with the ones that remained. I think they were just as glad that the others had left as we were. Of course other people complained about them, and we did everything that we could to keep order, but it was impossible for several staff members to control fifty or more unruly teens. As a matter of fact, I would tell my patrons that there was only so much we could do, and that the best thing for them was to attend any other show during the week except the 7 PM Friday show. There was never a problem during any other show, except for maybe a Sat or Sun matinee, but those were little kids that didn't know any better.
We no longer have this problem, or at least it is something that happens very very seldom, and we haven't had the problem for over five years now. How did we solve our problem? Two things happened. First we made it known that those teens were not welcome. That helped a slight bit, but was not the final solution. We also raised our prices. We had been a dollar house, and therefore the teens didn't feel that they lost anything of real value when they were thrown out or left on their own. The rise to $3.00 made it somewhat less attractive to lose the money. However, the real solution was done for us. It was done by Regal, Carmike, and Hoyts. All three of them built major multi and mega plexes in our area. Keep in mind that we are a moveover run single screen theatre. Why did the building of those plexes change things when we had numerous multis in the area before and it didn't seem to matter? The teens were drawn to the new plexes for several reasons. Was it the large selection of films? No, as they could have had a large selection before in the six to eight plexes that had been around for many years. Was it the even higher prices being charged at the new theatres? Of course not, that would make no sense at all. Was it the stadium seating and digital sound? Maybe for some, but that still isn't the real reason. So what was the reason? It is the design and layout and admission policies of the new megaplexes. What do I mean by that? First of all, remember that at a single screen theatre the only reason to go is to see the movie. Sure some might have some video games in the lobby, but I don't. You buy a ticket and have it collected before you enter the lobby in a single screen theatre. In mega plexes (at least in our area)you buy your ticket and enter the lobby but don't give it to a ticket taker until either you enter the hallway going to the auditoriums or at the entrance of the proper auditorium itself. The theatre lobby has become a public space. It has many video games, usually a video room attached, and a large refreshment center, sometimes with national fast food outlets, along with tables and chairs where you can sit down to eat. It has video screens showing trailers of upcoming films. It has in fact become a FREE gathering place for teens to socialize in. They need not buy a ticket to enter. They meet there in small and large groups, have something to eat or drink, play video games or just sit around and talk, and then decide what movie to see if any at all. If they decide not to see a film it hasn't cost them anything other then the games or refreshments if indeed they had that. The new megaplexes have become the social nucleus for teenagers. The plexes have what the teens want, and that is good. Good riddance.
Of course shortly after the new plexes were built we saw a sizeable drop in attendence. That was not good. BUT... our problems with unruly teens disappeared almost overnight because they were the patrons that disappeared. And guess what? It didn't take long for people to realize they were gone, and our adult patronage increased. Especially our senior citizen admissions, which now make up as much as 50% of our patronage. After losing the teens we changed our booking policy, and stopped playing films of interest to them (no Austin Powers here), and started bringing in more semi art product. We now do very well again without the teens, and our new audience love having a place free of them. And my hair isn't getting gray anymore.
Of course this doesn't address how to deal with those problems in a megaplex, but both myself and my patrons are glad that the problem has moved there. This is another good reason for keeping a few single screen houses around. Maybe the singles could cash in by putting in there ads "Teen Free Zone".
There were incidents such as kids trying to light things on fire, sticking gum on the port glass, messing with the work lights during the show, dumping popcorn off of the stadium seating onto entering patrons, throwing sodas, and worst of all: spraying the fire extinguisher into the audience!!
The officers would regularly walk the theaters, never in any set time pattern so as not to make people think, "He just left, so we have 10 minutes to goof off!" and this worked rather well to control most problems.
For a while, one of the officers would sometimes come up to the booth and look through the port glass so he could get a view of the entire audience without being seen himself. After he tripped over the film going to the platter and caused the shows to stop several times, the GM put a stop to it.
I personally try to avoid evening weekend shows of those movies to avoid rowdy crowds unless the experience would enhance the movie. (i.e. a really BAD movie that is itching to be heckled)
=TMP=
The Reading Cinemas in Manville NJ doesn't seem to have this problem since the theater draws mostly families and adults -- and the police station is only 1,000 feet away. OTOH if a movie has strong teen appeal (say, The Fast and the Furious) I don't go opening night.
At the AMC Hamilton and AMC (nee GCC) Clifton Commons, the ticket taker is at the entrance to the lobby. That means if you're not here to see a movie, you don't belong here. Police presence on Friday and Saturday nights helps as well.
I've seen a good number of instances of piggish behavior in movie theaters (seat upholstrey slashed and cigarette burned, armrests ripped off, candy and soda slung onto the screen). All of it needs to be severely punished.
When one considers video camera CCD technology has improved in the low light and infrared areas, I can see a day fast approaching where theaters aim such surveillance cameras at an audience. I'd love to see the look on some scumbag's face when the police and theater management show him on videotape heaving a coke into the audience.
Post a few very large uniformed guards in the theatre during the show to enforce the rules strictly. I bet they wouldn't cost you more than 5-10 admissions. After that either those kids won't bother to come anymore or they'll keep quiet.
Also, I'd think raising prices for that 7pm show is a good idea.
I don't know if it's still there, but there was a small multiplex in the Union Station terminal in Washington, DC. Their policy was that if you talk even once during the film, they would throw you out. I thought this was a bit of overkill, but it worked.
I'm also in favor of throwing out anyone who is rude enough or stupid enough to let their cell phones ring during a movie.
quote:
Evans: Have you brought up your problem with the Huntsville police? If they get a bunch of complaints like yours the police should assign uniformed cops with marked patrol cars for crowd control Friday and Saturday nights.
No, I think the theatre staff is putting an honest effort into trying to solve this problem. The manager knows that I run a WWW site that many people read, and that comments about that type of activity would reflect negatively on the theatre. I told her that since this was the first time anything like this had ever happened, and since I was offered a couple of passes (and took one since I'd already missed 10 minutes of the movie at that point), I would not write about getting splashed with Coke on the WWW site this time. This manager is very friendly and nice, and I saw plenty of evidence of ushers putting great effort into making people behave in there. I will attend this theatre again for some Friday night 7ish showings to see if these types of things happen again. If there are problems like this occurring frequently, I will write about them on my WWW site.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Anyone caught vandalizing theater property should be arrested, made to pay for the damages and never be allowed on the premises again (and emptying a fire extinguisher into the audience is vandalism).
I hate cellphones. It is bad enough that I can't seem to eat a meal in a restaurant without hearing phones beeping out their irritating fake tunes at high enough tones to make dogs in the next neighborhood howl. I have no tolerance for it in a movie theater. Unlike a crying baby, a cellphone is something the user can control. I believe people who allow their phones to ring in the theater should be kicked out of the show --especially if they take the damned call in the theater and start yakking away. For most people, they can leave their damned phones locked in their car. Most people have a cellphone for vanity/personal use anyway. If they have to have their phone with them all the time (particularly for business needs) then they can spend a little extra for that vibrating battery option. And when their phone buzzes --take the freaking call outside of the auditorium. Very simple.
Enforcement can be tricky in the early stages, especially if ushers are quite young and a bit intimidated at the prospect of having to deal with yobbos, but gritting your teeth and dealing with them before the problem gets serious will usually pay dividends later.
So much so that 'many' audience members had to tell them to be quite. This was at the Odeon, Leicester Square in London, so there were about 8-9 Ushers in the room that did little or nothing. I went to this theatre to escape noisy crowds - big, expensive mistake (tickets were £10).
I've yet to see a cinema kick unruly patrons out - It's never happened, if I was aware of a cinema that did that - I would without doubt be there number one customer.
I love film and the cinema experince as much as anybody, but this sort of thing is driving me to DVD.
FIRST OFFENCE got you thrown off the property, not just the theater, but the entire mall as well. And that was permanent, not to be revoked.
After six weeks of this, the theater that had been a haven for young teens and gang bangers, had been transformed into a nice quiet family theater.
There were of course many new offences down the road, but only about once a month after that. The worst one was when we had a rowdy bunch of teenagers just celebrating a mission calling (here in Utah, that makes sense, it is when we send away a rowdy teenager for two years to give their parents a break, and also to spread the word of god, or something like that).
So here were these 9 teenagers, all large and all much taller than I. They were the only ones in the theater for this movie (can't remember the title). They were yelling constantly to start the movie, started getting nasty about it, and when I started it (ON TIME BY THE WAY), they yelled up at me "bout fuckin time asshole".
These are all nice mormons by the way (I also am one, and yes I swear, most of us do, we just don't advertize it like that).
SO I turn off the show, turn up the lights, and go have a "talk" with them. At first I was not going to toss them, just ask them to have a little respect, considering that one of them was about to go work for this God fellow.
They got rather pissed at me, and started threatening me, and started kicking the seats, breaking two of them and ripping an entire row out of the concrete.
As I headed for the door, two of them ran after me. Remember that these are good boys just trying to have fun. I yelled out across the bathroom wall for help, and in came four armed police officers, all of the bearing. These guys froze in thier tracks.
All of them were cited for inciting to riot, and riot and civil commotion, as well as property damage, assault, attempted bodily harm (just the two that ran after me), and disordly conduct.
All of them pled either no contest or guilty, and as I learned, the young man who had his mission call was "delayed" while he played out his probation of three years.
All this just because they felt they owned the theater.
Not all theaters are lucky enough to have a mall paying for your cops, but it helped to have them there.
I was even NICE to them, I just didn't want thier night to escalate to property damage, just for fun. But they did anyway and I escaped (just barely) without a scratch.
These teenagers today, no matter how much they claim they are just skateboarding, hanging out, or no matter how much thier parents claim that little johhny is innocent, they are all becoming more and more violent. They blame the media, and refuse to take responsibility anyomore. The media they blame lets them off the hook, so do their parents.
What would I do to prevent this type of problem? Prevent anyone under whatever age from attending a theater without thier parent or guardian. It is drastic, but would solve half the problem right there, and either increase ticket sales, or keep hollywood from pumping out total crap every single week.
Just think about it, if thier target audience would not be allowed to see it without thier parents, and thier parents dont want to see it, then DAMN. No more tom green movies, YEAY!!!
Dave
quote:
(and emptying a fire extinguisher into the audience is vandalism).
Not only is it vandalism, but that yellow powder stuff in them is dangerous. Spraying it caused a HUGE cloud of dust and set off the fire alarms. This stuff started billowing into the hallway, so the ushers freaked thinking it was smoke and grabbed the fire extinguisher. So the police couldn't do anything since the offender AND the ushers' prints were on the extinguisher. Some of the audience left, and the ones that remained couldn't confirm it was the person that did it. What a mess!
I have a question... how do you exactly throw someone out of a theater without touching them? ("NEVER touch a customer!") Some of the managers in our theater were only a few years older than the teenagers causing the trouble, so asking or telling them to leave would yield more yelling, swearing, and trouble. If they had an idea the cops were coming, they would leave only to come back next week. Not to mention the commotion it would cause in the auditorium for those trying to watch the movie.
What is the most irritating is that about 75% of those causing trouble, when asked for it, have conveniently "lost" their ticket stub.
quote:
These teenagers today, no matter how much they claim they are just skateboarding, hanging out, or no matter how much thier parents claim that little johhny is innocent, they are all becoming more and more violent.
While this may be true, not all teens are bad. I had a hard time growing up being labled as a "troublemaker" just because I was between 13 and 19. Some of the looks I got from cashiers or police officers as if they were just waiting for me to sneeze so they can cite me for spitting were disappointing. These jerks give us good kids a bad name.
Someone told me that it's because these are the kids of the snobby, stuck up, 80's "materialistic" Gen-X generation, and the attitude gets worse with every passing. Maybe my generation, raised mostly by peace-loving hippies will have better behaved kids. We can only hope.
=TMP=
When I and the two other managers took over operations of the rink, Friday and Saturday nights were just a big hang-out-and-cause-trouble-and-go-smoke-pot-in-the-john kind of time.
These "angels" were dropped off by their parents (most were under 16), who never stayed with them.
We were determined to clean it up. So we hired the local police to be security. We started a zero tolerance policy. All three of us managers and the cops kicked kids out just for looking at us funny.
Then about an 30 minutes into the skate session, we would go through the whole facility and kick out anyone who didn't have a pair of skates on. We told them "you bought a ticket to skate, now go skate or leave". Most left.
After about 4-5 weeks of this, the kids got tired of being harrassed and stopped coming around.
The result - record attendance for rest of the season on Fri and Sat.
We became known as the family place to go.
In my theatre now, I have zero tolerance. I have an usher that has worked here for 38 years. A big guy. He is known for kicking kids out for the slightest whisper. Never had to call the cops once in 6 years.
The result - we are know as the family place to go. Business is growing all the time.
As for not all the kids are bad, that is true. But the real problem is that a greater percentage of them are apt to become bad, more now than they used to be. At least 65 percent of teens now admit to doing just about anthing criminal, just to get into popular crowds.
Back in my day, in the 80's, it was about 40 percent. This gets worse as time goes on, and parents become lazy.
How about reserved seating. You have to sign up on the internet first, then show your id at the door to get your ticket. Then we know where you live, and with our new infrared cameras, we can prosecute your ass to the end of time. SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND (detention)!!!
Dave
quote:
Have you ever tried stopping the movie when people start acting up? Shut it off, turn on the cleaning lights, and refuse to start it again until you know who was doing what, and they leave. People will be more than happy to rat out a group of kids that are bothering them anyway. Then proceed with your polaroids, police, etc.
I'd think that stopping a movie shouldn't be done unless absolutely necesary, since it is a disturbance for those who are behaving. Also, in some theatres, stopping and starting a movie may cause other problems with the presentation. There is one theatre I hear about in the Shoals where if a show is stopped, it is a few minutes before the lamp can be relit. It would be a bad idea in such a theatre to stop the movie. I have the philosophy of not punishing a group for what a few people do, so I think dealing with the troublesome teenagers should be accomplished in a manner that minimizes the disturbance or inconvenience to others.
Once teens start throwing drinks and stuff, it's time to take action. I think the cell phone battle has already been lost. But if a teen will throw a Coke where people are known to be sitting, then they'll throw it at a theatre's screen or other fixtures, possibly causing throusands of dollars in damage.
quote:
I've got it! The perfect solution. Shoot the little buggers. Some staff training might be needed, to ensure that your ushers don't miss and start killing trouble-free adult customers by mistake. Another possibility would be to install an electric chair at the front of each auditorium next to the screen... whenever some teenagers start getting rowdy, they would provide ideal fodder for some free 'entertainment' before the start of the next show. But if you're going to stick to the shooting option, it might be worth installing red carpets throughout the theatre to cut down on those cleaning bills.
That's funny. Somehow, I think of the architect sketch from Monty Python. "Just direct the teenagers throught there past the rotating knives." My my, were you thinking of slaughtering my customers? "I thought you wanted an abattoir".
"When you're in drag, the whole world's Southern Baptist"
quote:
I've got it! The perfect solution. Shoot the little buggers.
I've always wanted to hang out the port window and shoot people that had their feet on the seats with a paint ball gun.
It was always fun shooting popcorn seeds through a milkshake straw at the bosses daughter while she was on a date. I'm sure you could easily find volunteers for the paint ball gun method.
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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
A theater in upstate New York tried that on xXx and got caught. See the thread in Ground Level titled "Stronger than PG-13 but not quite an R?"
I have been known to boot out many unruly patrons. Moreso with theaters I worked at previously - as I was a shift supervisor then, (and am currently my theater's head projectionist). Didn't phase me one bit if they were bigger and/or taller than myself - and I'm only 5'5"! (1.651m for you folks that are more familiar with the SI.)
The key is in being authoritative and calm. Of course, having a well practised evil glare can help in some cases.
NEVER use vulgar language when dealing with some fiesty freak of a problem. If they direct any nasty words at you - you can nail them with assault.
Monitoring dark auditoriums can certainly be a pain, but it can be done. Sometimes something as simple as bringing the lights up just a wee bit (don't click up to the between shows brightness, just a slight turn of the dimmer), is enough light to find your annoyances without being too bright & washing out the on-screen image. Been there, done that.
********************************************************
One of my favorite incidences of me booting people out:
~film - American Pie.
a 7PMish show on a MONDAY.
Number of tickets sold: 33
One employee & his guest also in the auditorium.
I had an usher walk into the auditorium with me, and had asked him to do a head count. I started counting also.
After getting to 60, I gave up, and didn't check my count against the usher's count.
Mind you, the trailers were running, not the feature itself.
I walked towards the front of the auditorium and made an announcement that was something like this:
"I apologize for disturbing everyone here that has a ticket for this movie, however, we will now begin checking tickets, as there nearly twice as many people in here as there were tickets sold for this show, so please, get your tickets ready."
With that, a small group made a quick exit. Then the usher and I started at the front of the auditorium and worked our way to the back, checking tickets, politely thanking people for their patience & apologizing again for the interruption if they did indeed have tickets, otherwise, they were directed to exit, pronto. Most were quite calm about it.
Then it got to the point that there were still six people too many. And one row of nine teens that had their tickets checked by the usher, other than one male on the end of the aisle I was in, who had given me quite an attitude, and insisted that he had lost his ticket. (Yeah, right. ) ...And I had noticed some shuffling near people's knees when they were showing tickets.
I stood next to the row and stated "If all nine of you are going to sit here and watch this movie, I need to see nine tickets, now."
Five people got up and left, three girls moved to the middle of the row, in consecutive seats, and each held up a ticket, and the one guy on the end reamained, still giving me grief.
I informed him that if he could not show a ticket, he would have to leave the auditorium. Then this charmer took it upon himself to call me a bitch. He was then informed that he would now have to leave the building, and if he did not cooperate, the local PD would be called, and they would be more than happy to remove him for theft of service, trespassing, and assault.
You'd have thought his feet had wings. 
quote:
I can't remember where I heard of this, but to discourage loitering teenagers, one shopping mall, replaced their Muzak with classical music. It worked! Might that be practical for some cinema lobbies..?
They also do that in the Metro (underground railway) in Newcastle Upon Tyne; and the city transport authorities claim that it has been very successful in reducing minor crime and public order problems.
However, I'd say that was easier to do in somewhere like a tube station than in a theatre, where you really need to play music that matches the ambience of the place. For example, the bar of my local arthouse/rep theatre (City Screen in York - the other one!) quite often plays jazz and classical: it fits the atmosphere of the venue and the kind of people who use it. But at the Warner multiplex, hearing Scarlatti as you queue up to see Schwarzenegger just seems wrong, somehow. It might deter the yobs, but I suspect that it would also deter a lot of law-abiding customers.
I once got confused between non-sync CDs and ended up making a pretty impressive mistake. There had been a press screening of Pulp Fiction in the morning, and the first public matinee was of Howards's End with reduced price tickets for senior citizens, who usually came in large numbers. I'd left the Pulp Fiction soundtrack CD in the player; and not only that, I'd also left the fader on feature volume. Returning from a hastily grabbed lunch, I realised that there was no non-sync playing and pushed 'play' on the machine. A split second later, the words 'FREEZE, YOU MOTHERF***ERS!' played in the theatre so loud you could hear it through the projection box wall, without any monitor on! There were about 100 elderly customers in the auditorium at the time, and it was a miracle that none of them had heart attacks!
You're right, there's a certain ambience one should expect from the modern multiplex, and for the most part, classical music just doesn't fit. Perhaps in the old opulent lobby/single screen venues, this might be viable. It wouldn't be too out of place to hear some Dvorak on your way to seeing Schwartzenegger...or better yet, WAGNER!
Auf Wiedersehen
But the problem there is that this was just done on one movie. I see no reason that it cannot be done theater, chain, or nation wide.
Here is my point, but spelled out a bit more clearer:
First, the MPAA rules are rules that if a theater is a member of them, they need to stick to those rules. However, if a theater chose to implement new rules, such as curfews, parental involvement, etc., the MPAA has no real power to inflict any kind of pain on them.
The only downfall would be that another chain or theater would get the business. Also, distributors could take action as well.
So really the only way to do something like this would be either a community rule or a national rule. The MPAA would still be providing thier advisory on movies, but that would be it. I have yet to see a "ruly" set of teenagers. Even the good ones start acting crazy when they get in groups larger than zero. But with thier parents around, damn, they just get all good, for the most part. That is unless they come from bad stock.
While that may not be possible for chains, independants who are not members of the MPAA and who state so in thier contracts for films can do so if they please, and if it truly calls for it.
I love the IR camera idea, with the video feed pumped to the lobby, so that the future perpetrators KNOW that they are bieng watched. Also, throw in reserved seating, with proper ID necessary to pick up and pay for your tickets, so we KNOW who is sitting where. Not just for prosecution purposes, but it has a different effect. On nights where you have theater jumpers overloading a sold out movie, the ones who all of a sudden cannot find thier stubs, which is half of the ones who are supposed to be in there, don't necessarily have to go. If they are not on the list, they are out.
Yes I know that is way too much work for this day and age of gigaplexes, but its a suggestion none the less.
Dave
I am pretty sure that the ACLU would find some way to sue for invasion of privacy not that I agree, but I can see it happening.
The show on the monitors in the lobby may be more interesting than the one on the theatre screen.
------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: +1 585 477 5325 Cell: +1 585 781 4036 Fax: +1 585 722 7243
e-mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com
Web site: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion
Bob
The Old Showman
Now if there was a movie palace or drive-in nearby...
=TMP=
Robert E, Thomas P: To keep this thread from drifting I've started a separate thread in Film-Yak titled "Wallowing in nostalgia".
The whole business of unruly patrons really goes to the question of how seriously management takes its responsibility to provide an atmosphere that encourages civil behavior. That means not seeing how few employees can be hired for the shift but how many it requires to actually create an authoritative "presence" that discourages this kind of behavior and more importantly, removes it when it occurs. If it takes hiring off-duty cops, then so be it. Problem is, theatre owners want to run huge multiplexes on the cheap, with everyone on the entire crew making minimum wage.
A theatre that has zero tolerance for hooliganism soon gets the reputation that: "you cause any problems whatsoever and PLAN on getting thrown out without a refund, meaning being a jerk will cost you probably between $15-17 dollars." Once that reputation becomes widespread, and it will -- nothing travels faster than the story of the school jerks who got thrown out of the theatre Friday night -- as stated in these posts, rowdy behavior can and will be turned around and a "family atmosphere" can become the norm IF management has the willingness to do it, in spite of the up-front cost.
I've never witnessed unruly teenagers in the nicer single-screen houses. Atmosphere is very important in dictating decorum.
It worked for Elmer Fudd...
Replace all those stupid driving simulator video games (IMHO they're all the same)in the lobby with "real" videogames like Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Defender, Asteroids, and Space Invaders. Change the lobby/intermission music to New Wave. Soon, today's teenagers will claim the theater "sucks" but not bad enough for them not to just come see a movie and leave. You don't necissarily stop them from coming, but you don't have them hanging around either. Heck, you might even boost your 21-35 audience!
=TMP=
Oh yeah, then there the silly Police Trainer thing, and a two-player style of Cruisin' USA. 
...I'll stick to Galaga & Theatre of Magic pinball thanks. 
quote:
Heh, one of the arcade games in our lobby is a 'Namco 20th Class Reunion' - it has both Ms Pac- Man and Galaga!
Yes! Both Carmike locations in my area have one of these. The Ms. Pac-Man is a slow version and not the fast one that is much more fun (and easier). The new combo style of game costs 50 cents to play at Decatur and $1 in Huntsville. One dollar to play a slow Ms. Pac Man? I don't think so. I'll pass.
That's a sure way to anger the 30-35 age group. More businesses, if they want adult business, need to try to cater to adults rather than trying to appeal to the very customers that cause them the most problems! All of the video games these days are driving or sports simulators that all look about the same, are run around shoot and kill people (which all look about the same), or are fighting games (which all look about the same). Teenagers seem to love them, but I have no desire to play any of them. Bring back classic arcade games for a quarter each!
Another thing -- the music that most theatres play before the movies consists of the latest crap that early teens and pre-teens listen to. Play some better music, like classic songs from the 50s through the 90s. New music went downhill seriously in the past couple of years.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Our intermission music is technically only supposed to be thing that fall within the public domain. So I've often brought in discs from my own collection of baroque, classical, and romantic eras of music, and played those discs. (And plenty of Christmas music in the month of December!) ...although, I occasionally sneak something else in for a bit... such things have included Enya, Dead Can Dance; soundtracks (scores only!) for 'The Gladiator', 'Shrek', 'Indiana Jones And the Last Crusade', 'The Phantom Menace', 'Fellowship of the Ring', 'Jurassic Park' ... all appropriate for the atmosphere at least.