This is topic Loews Cineplex Riot in forum Ground Level at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 01-08-2005, 11:34 AM:
 
Speaking of ground level operations, anybody heard this?

Teens mob Waterfront Loews; 8 charged
(External Link to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

The Loews Waterfront Theatre in West Homestead (Pittsburgh Area), PA

quote:

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Teens mob Waterfront Loews; 8 charged

More action in cineplex lobby Saturday than on its screens

Tuesday, December 28, 2004

By Ed Blazina, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It seems like an innocent holiday option: spending Christmas at the movie theater.

But if West Homestead police have their way, Loews Cineplex at The
Waterfront shopping complex will be closed for the Easter and Christmas holidays next year after the theater had a "full-blown melee" Saturday night.

A spokesman for Loews said the company probably would prefer to take additional steps to provide security on holidays rather than close the complex.

West Homestead Police Chief Dave Ausburn said hundreds of unruly teens overran the theater complex early Christmas evening, disrupting patrons trying to watch movies and wreaking havoc in the massive lobby.

Extra police officers on duty as a result of previous holiday problems arrested eight juveniles for disorderly conduct, and one had a charge of assault added for a fight with another patron inside a theater. No one else was injured.

Because of the problems, which began about 6:30 p.m., the theater quit selling tickets about 9:30 p.m. and canceled eight shows, Ausburn said.

Customers who were turned away -- many of them teenagers who had been dropped off by adults and had no immediate ways to get home -- then began causing problems outside until police officers could gain control of the situation, he said.

"We thought we had things under control [by assigning extra officers], but then the theater was overrun," Ausburn said. "The kids just totally overran that theater."

Historically, he said, Christmas has been the most difficult day at the theater, followed by Easter. On a regular weekend, he has one officer paid by Loews to work at the theater to handle problems.

Last year, that was boosted to three officers on Christmas Day, Ausburn said, but they couldn't handle the crowds.

After meeting with Loews' corporate officials early this month, Ausburn said, the company and police decided to have 12 officers on duty from 4 p.m. to midnight, including two with police dogs. West Homestead opened the detail to officers from neighboring Homestead and Munhall so there would be enough officers available.

Officers were stationed at strategic points throughout the 22-screen complex, which opened in May 2000.

It wasn't enough.

"Early in the evening, we thought it was overkill [to have that many officers]," said Ausburn, who was on duty himself to oversee officers.

"But then they started coming about 6 to 6:30. We were outnumbered about 60 to 1. Prior to closing the doors, they simply overran the front doors. It was just a total melee in front of that theater."

In addition to dealing with patrons who arrived as much as an hour before their movie was to start, police had to go into individual auditoriums to settle unruly customers, Ausburn said. As soon as they settled one auditorium, they would be called to another.

"We actually had people cheering when we would remove people from the theater," he said. "People pay good money to go to the movies and they shouldn't have to put up with that."

Eventually, police closed the theater and moved the crowd across the street, where many had to wait outside for rides. Ausburn estimated there were 900 people escorted out of the theater lobby.

Lynn Mason, of Highland Park, said she was upset with the way police handled the situation.

A family friend dropped off her daughters, Tahsha, 14, and India, 13, to see the suspense movie "Darkness" about 7:45 p.m. When the movie they planned to see was sold out, she said, they decided to wait for a later show, but they were ushered out of the complex when police closed it down.

"They thought they were going to a movie, so they weren't prepared to be out in the cold," she said.

Mason said her daughters didn't see any fights or other problems except for the large crowd. Their ride eventually took them home without incident, she said.

John McCauley, senior vice president of marketing for Loews, said the company had shown its concern for safety by increasing the number of officers after previous problems.

The problems Saturday, he said, were caused by "a few patrons who chose to misbehave."

"It was a very unusual circumstance," he said. "Across the [country], that's not a situation we see. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be a very good movie experience because the actions of a few ruined it for the rest."

Ausburn said police are scheduled to meet with corporate security personnel for Loews on Jan. 5 to discuss the incident. He said he will "strongly encourage" the theater to remain closed in the future on Easter and Christmas.

Loews will do all it can to keep the theater complex open and safe for patrons, McCauley said.

"Usually, those are pretty good movie days," he said. "We feel very strongly about people who want to see the movie being able to see it when they want to and in safe circumstances. We're hopeful this unusual situation doesn't occur again."

At busy times such as holidays, McCauley encouraged patrons to buy tickets in advance by computer through the Fandango service, which would assure seats and show whether a time has been sold out without the customer going to the theater.

In other cities such as New York, he said, most tickets are sold online in advance, so customers know it would be difficult to buy them at the box office, which holds down the number of patrons waiting for the next show time.

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Basically, a riot occurred at the Pittsburgh area's largest theatre, a 22 screen Loews. Apparently the one cop on duty wasn't enough to control the scenario that took place at this huge theatre. Because I go to the University of Pittsburgh, I've frequented this theatre quite often. It's so big with almost all features on multiple screens, I've never encountered a sold out show. Obviously, this wasn't the case on Christmas day.

I almost posted this under the Christmas day business thread, but I think it's a bit off topic. Perhaps more discussion on how other large theatres control their patrons could be discussed in this thread.

P.S. If ever in da 'Burgh, don't bother with this theatre; it's too much quantity and no quality. Try one of the Destinta Cinemas (Chartiers 24 tour available at Film-Tech photos, however Pittsburgh is misspelled ) or the brand new SouthSide Works Cinema.

[ 01-08-2005, 04:17 PM: Message edited by: Brad Miller ]
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 01-08-2005, 12:29 PM:
 
They weren't the only ones with a riot on christmas day. My 'sister' theater GKC Landmark in Peoria Il had 4 fights, and one guy was tackled by the police and tazered and another was peppered sprayed. Fat Albert and Darkness sold out at the 7pm set and so a near riot broke out. They've never encountered anything like it in all the years they were open.

To make matters even better, the police advised them to close down since everything was getting out of hand. So the manager Bill calls the District Manager and tells him whats going on, his employees are being threatened and the police advise him to shut down. Well, as smart as out DM is, he said we could NOT shut down and just to stay open and make sure the police officers stayed in the theater.
 

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Posted by Brent Neal Jones (Member # 1048) on 01-08-2005, 01:12 PM:
 
How is a handful of officers going to control a theatre riot without doing something stupid or causing their department to look bad if such a riot took place? They should've went home.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-08-2005, 03:32 PM:
 
The easiest way to prevent riots like this is to prevent teen loitering.

If they are waiting for a ride, paint a box on the sidewalk and make them wait in there - any that refuse are ejected from the property without refunds. Set a time limit as well - if they don't have a ride in say 20 minutes, refer them to your officers for loitering citations and then eject them from your property.

For kids showing up early for a film, deny them access to the lobby until the auditorium is seating. Make a teenagers presance in any auditorium for which they do not have a ticket somtehing for which they are kicked out with no refund. Additionally, have a zero tolerance for any disruption. If a kid is being disruptive, kick out his entire group as well.

The goal in all of this is to make your complex an unpleasant "hang out" for anyone who is not there to see a movie and leave.

I spent three and a half years at a midwestern 20 plex that developed very serious crowd control issues with a rough inner city crowd that was flocking to our suburban theatre after having managed to close down every theatre in that part if the city. In that time, we had riots on our porch, and in auditoriums. Employing tactics such as the ones above took us from being the wildest, and, frankly, most dangerous theatre in the city to the calmist and safest. While the tactics may seem draconian, they do work. Additionally, as you run the teenagers out, the families and adults will return. After making a determined effort to get 50% of our customers to not come back, we boosted our attendance 11%

Even so, 12 officers should have been able to control this
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 01-08-2005, 04:32 PM:
 
Well, I'm not to familiar with the Loews Waterfront Theatre in Pittsburgh, but I do recommend Destinta and SouthSide Works. The principle partner in the company I work for was very instrumental in getting the latter operation up and going.

West Homestead isn't necessarily a part of the city I want to visit when I'm in town. The closest I get to that place is Carson Street, and even then, not too very far from Station Square. If I recall, there were a lot of drug related shootings down in that area just prior to Christmas, 2004, and buses had to be brought in to shuttle kids to and from school because it was too dangerous to walk the streets.

I heard of a theatre in Ohio that had, among other things, two night sticks for ushers to use if things got crazy among the patrons at the local university. I'm sure this is probably BS since that makes for a damn good lawsuit if some untrained kid starts beating the shit out of somebody just because he didn't like the look given or voice tone used. Speaking of Ohio, in Niles on Christmas night, cops had to be brought in to control a riot among those seeing Fat Albert . Apparently, there was an act of "police brutality" because a black woman was told by the officers called that she was drunk . . .

Fortunately, where I work, we haven't had altercations like this. We have two security guards that mostly alternate between Friday and Saturday night shifts. One is good, competant, and knows what he is doing. The other . . . well, he is the other.
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 01-08-2005, 05:00 PM:
 
The Loews Theatre is in a huge retail center know as the Waterfront. This retail space sits exactly where the old steel mills once were. In fact, the smoke stacks still remain standing for some type of aesthetic purpose I suppose. Most of the people that frequent the Waterfront aren't those from the Homestead area. The Waterfront has an open mall with some very high-end shops. From what I've heard, it wasn't Homestead locals so much as kids from the suburbs that caused all the trouble.
 

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Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 01-08-2005, 07:58 PM:
 
I wonder if it had anything to do with the product on the screen? Perhaps Loews (or any other circuit) should pay closer attention to booking films that do not draw the kind of crowds that are inclined to cause trouble, especially at peek business periods. This "Let's book whatever is making the most money regardless of the type of message it sends or the type of crowd it draws" philosphy apparently employed by most chains has bothered me about our industry today.

Bob
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 01-08-2005, 08:56 PM:
 
Not a bad idea ... Bob ... but when filling 22 screens ... you pretty much have to play whatever is available ...
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-08-2005, 09:11 PM:
 
Mike, WTF is "Bob"?

If you're referring to Robert's above post, I could not agree less! That is just plain stupit!

It's NOT about what is playing, it's about controlling the low-life POS people that deserve the kicking out, clubbing, and yes, even the "Taser" treatment.

Many others here have documented what measures they have implemented to clean-up their theatres AND their methods have worked.

Stop blaming the industry for the problems due to the assholes that ruin it for all.... JFC Already!

End of story!
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 01-08-2005, 11:25 PM:
 
[WARNING: STUPID COMMENT FOLLOWS]

Maybe it's the crowding. I remember going Saturday nights to a rundown theater in an utterly deserted section of DC (last mainstream show: KRAKATOA EAST OF JAVA, which probably explains its commercial failure) - only nighttime entrance through an empty underground garage - I'm not kidding! - to see kung fu movies (in Chinese, of course, subtitled in semi-English and two other dialects of Chinese, not a lot of room left for picture) - the occasional fight was part of the entertainment - apparently a "safe watering hole" for the Asian gangs, but the ghetto crowd had their arguments and the Asians had the usual "you looking at my girlfriend" altercation - almost kept me from figuring out whether I wanted the moon cakes or the squid jerky at the refreshment stand.

I'm really not making this up! But ... what WAS I thinking?
 

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Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 01-09-2005, 01:07 AM:
 
Also on Christmas Eve...

A 15-year-old has been apprehended and charged with murder in the Christmas Eve stabbing death of a 20-year-old man in front of the Midway Theatre (a 9-plex) in Forest Hills, New York.

Three others were also arrested and charged with gang assault. All were held without bail in Kew Gardens Criminal Court. According to the criminal complaint, the four attacked the victims, both 20. The murdered man was stabbed repeatedly in the abdomen by the 15-year-old, and the other in the back, seriously wounding him. The other three defendants, ages 16, 17 and 19 allegedly punched and kicked the victims repeatedly.

Charges include gang assault, hindering prosecution, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence.
 

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Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 01-09-2005, 06:25 AM:
 
We have created a pretty good balance where teens are concerned. Strict no-skating/rollerblading/skateboarding rules are enforced on all the property, they aren't allowed to loiter in the lobby or courtyard, and they are forced to leave if they are disrupting other patrons. We still do have problems occasionaly, but not too many if the employees downstairs are doing their jobs and staying on top of things. I had a couple kids so irritated about being kicked out for talking that one decided to start yelling at me and he was gone about 10 seconds later. Other than that I've never had to tell them more than once to shut up or get out.

My favorite is the crowd applause that usually accompanies the kicking out of teenagers.
 

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Posted by Dean Kollet (Member # 1789) on 01-09-2005, 10:48 AM:
 
I'm from Pittsburgh orginally (actually Bethel Park...in the south hills of the burgh if anyone here knows) and the last time I went up there, I was shocked. The Waterfront is beautiful and a nice idea to turn Pittsburgh around, and they are doing so many things to make return it to the glory days (without the smoke and steel of course). One thing I've noticed is that there are a lot of asshole kids up thre now, it pisses me off. Not to mention the drug problem that has taken over the city...anyone seen Goodfellas
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-09-2005, 11:07 AM:
 
Could these "riots" at sold-out shows be attributed to the growing "on-demand" cultrure in our country? People are so used to getting what they want when they want, with TiVos, the Internet, Cellphones, and big overstocked warehouse supercenters that they simply don't understand the concept of, "Sorry. All of the OTHER PEOPLE got to the goods first."

It's more prevelant in suburban culture. Everyone is isolated in their cars for 75% of the time that they're simply unaware that there are other people living among them.

It sounds like a strange theory, but if anyone here has worked a box office station during a busy time when stuff sells out, you'd be surprised. "I'm sorry, that show is sold out." -- "What do you MEAN it's sold out?!? We got here 10 minutes early!!" OR, "So are you telling me there are NO seats left?" OR, "What am I supposed to do now? YOU RUINED my EVENING!"

Add a dash of holiday "cheer" and you've got yourself a riot.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 01-09-2005, 11:31 AM:
 
I think you're right on that "on demand" feeling out there. I worked a bit at home over the holiday. When our shows sold out, a few people got extremely upset. As I mentioned before, it's so rare for a sellout at this Loews Theatre (For instance, they had three or four screens of Fat Albert), that people must not have expected it. That's why parent just dropped their kids off and ran. What they failed to realize was the fact the Christmas can be extremely busy. At least at our theatre, parents usually come inside and check up on what's going on as far as seats available and when the movie's over. I think the article also mentions trouble that stemmed from the eight shows that were cancelled as a result of the first problem. These patrons were probably even more pissed because they had already paid for the show. People need to realize that things don't always go as planned. Shows do sell out and problems arise where refund vouchers must be handed out instead of cash.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-09-2005, 11:44 AM:
 
I concur with the "on demand" theory. Instant gratification, no waiting, you're not the boss of me. Anyone who has to regularly work with the public has my condolences.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-10-2005, 03:42 AM:
 
Things expected "on demand" wouldn't extend past specific examples into generality.

What you're looking for is "Narcissistic Bahavior". A descripition of its extension into a personality disorder is at
http://www.behavenet.com/capsules/disorders/narcissisticpd.htm

It's a little whirring mechanism developed from the same parts in different ways, but they're indicated just in the description. There's typically a very strong, protected "personal fable" which diverges wildly from the actual description of the person, what he's done, who he is. The demand for approval is the tip-off of a fear of seeming vulnerable, & a screaming fear of being "unmasked". Many get to a behavior of unmotivated hostility by using it as a mask, then finding, they *like* being jerks because narcissism is finding a reward just from self-interest.

Because it's social, it requires utilizing prevalent social tastes. The behavior could be ended by embarassing the person, but social prevalence now for an "outlaw" image & adoption as a personal fable makes display of discipline pretty much just a reinforcement. Negative reinforcement has become really awkward to devise. If the behavior is not rewarded - people ignore it, undermining the grandiosity, it folds up, but like a lot of things when they crash, they can make a mess. If there's a crash of the divergence of an unsupported self-image & reactions of others to the person seeking approval or other indication of personal social significance, they can get violent. Turning your back might communicate an honest disinterest, but it can be dangerous. Beware the disarm.

Jim Zeigler's story shows how social situations can be built around giving approval for narcisstic behavior. It's success is probably not likely negative reinforcement (punishment) in the form of arrests, chucking outs, etc. (which were probably grandstanded with an air of triumph), but removing the reward by removing the audience from the folks who needed to have a grandiose self-image reinforced by social response. At home, nobody can see your act.

(That's the reason I think the capital punishment is pretty much a non-deterrent, & the sentence can actually be attractive to these folks. Death Row has been increasingly romanticized from the time of the Warner Brothers gangster movies; somebody on death row is somebody famous. Add to that a persistient detached idea of self from mortality typical to personal fables, & it becomes less of a deterrent. However, if the consequences are anonymous residence for life in a cell, it becomes *very* unattractive. Nothing to do but work unsuccessfully on appeals. Imagine spending the rest of your life doing homework by yourself.)

I think that the interesting thing about narcissistic behavior, & personal fables is that personal fables are now more often persisting into adulthood. You can separate them easily from aspirations, which is what you typically read reports of from folks in the centuries preceding the 20th. Back then, those folks considered delusional cases of personal ideas of identity which were romanticized & unsupported. They're more typical now, & it's likely because of the availability of useful "stock" for folks who need it to choose from presented by a deeper store of widely available romanticized images in music, movies & TV. Have you noticed that country music & contemporary urban black music formats have become pretty much the same thing: de-individualized, claimed-successful social types, romanticized & unrealistic, but with which people who are completely different believe themselves to be like exactly? Metal music in the 70s was the same way: you'd see pretty much socially irrelevant guys with booming speakers (6x9's, man!) in old Camaros blasting Led Zeppelin, nodding their heads, & believing they really were just like the boasting, incredibly socially & sexually successful subject of the song.

Pretty much what gives it away is that it's externally applied for protection & concealment of what's underneath; it's like formica, & it's just as obvious in its fakery. Narcissistic types (boasting, physically & socially hostile, etc.) are the ones you always hope to get in a poker game. They only have one "act" which is too big, & it's spotted fast. They give it all away.
 

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Posted by Chase Hanson (Member # 2779) on 01-16-2005, 02:02 AM:
 
^^

I hate you for ever reminding me about that in Abnormal Psych/Soc


 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 01-16-2005, 11:21 AM:
 
We had a riot/shooting at the Century Stadium 16 Rancho Santa Fe here Friday night. The riot occurred in one of the theaters showing Coach Carter and the shooting occurred in the parking lot. The cops had to come in and clear out the theaters. A rash of suspected gang shootings continued all through the weekend in the NW part of town. The cops are now expecting a major gang war to break out here this spring. Just another fun weekend in Sin City.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-16-2005, 05:51 PM:
 
William,

I think that our success was less because we were denying trouble makers their audience (most of them were just teens looking for a hangout and doing those annoying teenage things like making noise and fighting), but more because we made it an unplesant and expensive place to hang out. Teens were not allowed to be anywhere but a box office line if they didn't have a ticket. Once they got a ticket, they weren't allowed to hang out, but were rather ushered into their auditorium. If they became disruptive, they were kicked out without a refund. If they were uncooperative, they were kicked out without a refund. If they left their theatre an excessive number of times, they were kicked out without a refund. A few of these kids did make a scene when being kicked out, and were then delt wiht by off-duty PD, but most of them just whined about it on their way out the door.

These kids finally moved on because their were places they could hang out cheaper and without having to deal with constant harrassment of security staff.. Most of these kids ended up at completing theatres or hanging out at other places.

The big benefit to us is that after we ran out all of these teens (which was about 50% of our crowd on a saturday night), our attendance increased by 11% as the families and surburban crowds came back- which took the theatre from being unprofitable to profitable.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 01-16-2005, 10:43 PM:
 
I probably don't see too many movies that teens would like (especially those that might cause trouble), but the only problems I've seen in NYC theaters come from adults. It's usually some jerk with a cellphone they didn't shut off or someone who takes great offense when they're told to stop their damned kid from crying during an R-rated movie.

Crime is supposed to be way down in this country - why are movie theaters getting targeted by teens? And...are they really teens? Or are they 20-somethings?
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-17-2005, 11:04 AM:
 
Good point about the baby thing, Martin. You should know by now that other people's kids CAN DO NOTHING WRONG and HOW DARE anyone suggest that their angel is disrupting other people!!

A fight broke out at our sub-run theater about a year ago when we got complaints of a crying baby in some R-rated movie. The female manager went in there to speak with the mother who INSISTED it was not her kid. This was while the kid was swinging on the railing, kicking the manager!! So she simply asked the family to step into the lobby. BIG MISTAKE!!

The family (mother, father, and 3 other kids) started SUCH a commotion that THEY ARE NOT THE ONES making the noise, that the show had to be stopped until we got them out of the theater, which led to the manager being swung at, having baby formula squirted at her, and a call to the cops. People get SO DEFENSIVE when they're wrong.

That's why I applaud theaters with a "No children under 6 after 9 - no exceptions!" policy.

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-17-2005, 03:31 PM:
 
Martin,

In the theatres I have been in, the disruption problems are generally 13-15 year olds. Additionally, females start just as many fights as males, but the females are much harder to seperate.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 01-17-2005, 09:25 PM:
 
A followup on the riot-shooting here. The cops were on TV today plainly angry with Century's theater management. The cops claim they warned the theater that there would be trouble with the Coach Carter screenings that night, and that the theater should have extra security on duty. According to the cops, the theater manager refused to do so, citing overtime pay issues. So the cops ended up having to send in 34 units to clean out the place when the trouble started and they're pissed about that. A question I have for the cops is if they had intelligence indicating a probable incident for that night, why didn't they have a couple of units already stationed there to "show the colors" that night?

Channel 8 TV says Century is refusing to return reporter's phone calls regarding the incident.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 01-17-2005, 11:44 PM:
 
I would be less critical of the PD than of Century. To station officers at the theatre would mean pulling them off of other parts of the city. Since the theatre is profiting from the crowds, the theatre must bear responsibiliy for securing its facilities. With as much as Century spends on their facilities (they build some of the nicest theatres I have seen), security seems a weird thing to get cheap on...
 

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Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 01-17-2005, 11:58 PM:
 
Having worked for Century, I find it odd they did not have extra security. Whenever we had "controversial" films that may have brought problem patrons to the theatres, we were always given extra payroll to cover security, if it didnt come from the home office, the gm would petition for it and usually got it. It sounds like the GM dropped the ball and wanted to save a few bucks.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 01-18-2005, 12:06 AM:
 
Just where the hell are the cops with the Tazers and .357's when ya need them, huh?
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-18-2005, 01:41 AM:
 

quote: Martin Brooks

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Crime is supposed to be way down in this country - why are movie theaters getting targeted by teens? And...are they really teens? Or are they 20-somethings?

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I'll bet it's under-21's. When the legal drinking age was raised to 21, this left all the people 18 & over (out of high school) & under 21 (too young to go to the bars) with no place left to socialize. A movie theatre isn't a place constructed for socializing: go in, sit down, leave; social interaction is undesirable & (attemptedly) prohibited. But those folks no longer have any other place to go to see new people (except the mall), no place constructed *specifically* for socializing - like bars, clubs, etc. - where they basically learn how to act.

That other bad part of it is that those folks aren't being effectively socialized now, either: in the bars, they'd learn what behavior makes them doesn't work for them socially, makes them unattractive, etc., but at a theatre, the social feedback isn't expected to cover those issues. It sort of reinforces narcissistic behavior by not having any social rewards (like at a club) for appropriate social behavior. You just get bounced at a theatre (hopefully, but not by weenies that are worried that they won't bring their $10 bucks next week). All the "bad" behavior you see is just the expected first try in a limited repertoire of methods of personal display. You pick up new ones watching others, seeing what works, getting feedback, experimenting, etc.

"We could drink when we were your age, but you aren't allowed to because you're not grown up & socially & sexually irrelevant like us socially failed old folks!"
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-18-2005, 10:39 AM:
 
Take this any way you want it, but an old manager of mine once said that "The amount of extra security needed is directly proportional to the percap of the Nachos."

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 01-18-2005, 10:08 PM:
 
Or of the Fruit Punch.
 

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Posted by Cory Isemann (Member # 2517) on 01-27-2005, 08:36 AM:
 
Or of the hotdogs.

We occasionally have groups of rowdy kids, sometimes when I'm threading our biggest house, they bang on the glass since the top stadium row is so close to the port window.

It kind of makes me feel like a zoo animal. "Don't look directly at the projectionist, you might scare him away!!"

Not that any of that has to do with a riot!!
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-28-2005, 11:33 AM:
 
When people knocked/pounded/TOUCHED the port glass while I was threading, I would walk away, grab the windex and paper towel, open the port window and say, "Now clean that. Unless you want your movie to be blurry."

=TMP=
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 01-31-2005, 08:05 PM:
 
Just hope nobody leaves any liquor bottles next to the port window.
 

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Posted by Cory Isemann (Member # 2517) on 01-31-2005, 09:54 PM:
 
Well, Brandon, go ahead and share the story!
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 02-02-2005, 11:47 AM:
 
This lady stopped me in the lobby and said someone threw an empty liquor bottle at her. It came from above, and then she saw Cory's head poke out of the port window. Turns out one of those hoodlums in the previous show had left the bottle next to the window.

[ 02-02-2005, 01:31 PM: Message edited by: Brandon Willis ]
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 02-02-2005, 04:30 PM:
 
Hahahahahaha! Brandon, that's hilarious!
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-15-2005, 07:18 PM:
 

quote: Thomas Procyk

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That's why I applaud theaters with a "No children under 6 after 9 - no exceptions!" policy.

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Driving around town today listening to a Pittsburgh radio station, it was reported that the Loews theatre responsible for this particular thread will not admit any child under the age of 17 without a PARENT after 5:00 PM Easter Sunday evening. Not necessarily what Thomas had in mind, but close enough.

Possibly a wise decision . . . Ring 2, Congeniality 2, and Guess Who will attract the undesirables for sure.
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 03-16-2005, 12:30 AM:
 
Ugg...I am NOT looking forward to showing "The Ring 2" at all. I'm expecting a riot like the one we had when we ran "The Ring."
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-16-2005, 10:07 AM:
 
Oh yeah ... lots of undesireables for Miss Congenility 2
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-19-2005, 06:16 PM:
 
Hey Mike:

After grandma goes home from the 5:00 show, the little bitches and bastards will be out for the 7:00, guaranteed.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-20-2005, 02:28 AM:
 
Hey Aaron:

right back
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 03-20-2005, 03:52 PM:
 
Aaron,

You must have a wierd crowd.. After all, most rowdy kids will flock to the horror flick...
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-21-2005, 01:37 PM:
 
Although most of the "problem" children will see The Ring , whats to stop them from coming back to see Congeniality II. I think the thing Mike is overlooking is the fact that we are a small market in which even sophisticated fares such as Phantom of the Opera , or even Million Dolar Baby COULD become the film of choice for these kids. In our town, movies are the only thing to do on a Friday or Saturday night. We don't have under 21 clubs, skating rinks, Chuckie Cheese, or anything like that.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 03-21-2005, 02:41 PM:
 
They COULD become a problem, but they are not LIKELY to become problems. Simple solution is to poke you head in and see. If yo have kids in there, keep an eye on it, if you have adults, then your normal presentation checks should be enough for that auditorium...

I will be very surprised if I have any issues in Miss C.
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 03-21-2005, 04:25 PM:
 
Well, the trouble did start in the auditoriums. On Christmas, the shows sold out and many of the kids had nowhere to go. That's when the troubles began. Forcing parents to come with their kids insures that the brats will have ride if their movies are sold out. I have a feeling they would be disruptive irregardless of what movie they were seeing. If you have over 100 kids that age and something starts, they're all likely to get in on it. I saw Phantom of the Opera with kids giggling and fucking off in the auditorium. Anytime you get people these age together, especially with nothing for them to do, there's a chance for trouble. As far as I've heard, Loews had no trouble last night. Probably some angry people in regards to the accompaniment requirement, but not a riot.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 03-21-2005, 04:29 PM:
 
Jarryd - Easter Sunday is NEXT weekend.
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 03-22-2005, 12:18 AM:
 
HAHA... I realized my stupid mistake about two hours after I posted that. Well, that explains why I didn't hear anything. Hopefully, nothing does happen.
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 03-22-2005, 07:41 PM:
 

quote: Jim Ziegler

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Simple solution is to poke you head in and see. If yo have kids in there, keep an eye on it, if you have adults, then your normal presentation checks should be enough for that auditorium...

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Thanks for clearing that up Jim. Man, I'd never have figured that out for myself.

quote: Jarryd Beard

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Anytime you get people these age together, especially with nothing for them to do, there's a chance for trouble.

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quote:

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Steelers evacuate in bomb threat

Brunell, Redskins agree to restructure


From Wire Reports

March 2, 2006

Members of the Pittsburgh Steelers were evacuated from a movie theater last night after a bomb threat interrupted a private screening of a new DVD of last month's Super Bowl victory, police in Homestead, Pa., said.

Authorities evacuated the Loews Cineplex at The Waterfront in Homestead after the threat was received from an anonymous caller to 911, Homestead police chief Chris Deasy said.

"It said there was a bomb that was going to go off at a Loews theater," Deasy said.

The caller had a male voice and made no reference to the Steelers, Deasy added.

Minutes after the call at 8:03 p.m, police escorted the players out of the theater and spent about an hour-and-a-half searching the premises using at least one bomb-sniffing dog. They found no evidence of a bomb.

An estimated 1,000 moviegoers were also told to leave the cineplex.

The players included Ben Roethlisberger, Antwaan Randle El, Jerome Bettis and Hines Ward. Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris also attended the event. Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said they all went home after the evacuation.

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