This is topic What do you do in an empty auditorium? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.
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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 12-16-2001, 06:24 AM:
This question relates to if you find yourself watcking a movie any you are the only person there. I know this question is a bit surreal.Is there anything um strange you like to do. I usually do two things.
1. Laugh really loudly and hysterically at the adverts (here in the uk alot of the adverts are supposed to be funny and their are for maybee the first vieving, after about 30 times they get stale)
2. Change seats sevaral times during the show. I like to try the front and back rows and some inbetween. Also experimenting with wheather to sit in the middle or to the left or right.
(i have done this at an early show in the largest auditorium at a local multiplex before.)
Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 12-16-2001, 01:51 PM:
I would usually shout back at the screen if it was a dumb movie like "Pearl Harbore". One of the first movies I watched in an empty theater was "Man of the House" with Chevy Chase and Jonathan Taylor Thomas, and I was shouting out stuff like "Get the kid a shrink!"
Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-16-2001, 05:24 PM:
What do I do in an empty auditorium? Watching a movie alone in an empty auditorium can be a little weird and uneasy, particularly if the movie is depressing. I saw "Leaving Las Vegas" like this and feared the work crews finding me slumped in my seat with my wrists slit. Lucky for them I left my Leatherman tool in my car. Hehe.Really, if I am alone in the theater, I'll occasionally take quick wide-eyed looks back behind me. That's not just to make sure I'm alone. Maybe I want to startle someone who just sneaked into the feature. But really I want to make sure no one is sneaking up behind me to do something like hit me on the head with a mallet. Like I said, it is an uneasy experience.
Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-16-2001, 05:26 PM:
I had a very weird experience being the only one in the theatre. ANIMAL CRACKERS had been rereleased. This is a Marx Brothers film that had been tied up with some legal problems and had not been available for sometime. In that movie, there are a number of times that Groucho talks directly to the audience. It felt like he was talking just to me. It was very tempting to answer back! It was a very strange feeling.
Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 12-16-2001, 06:00 PM:
If I am in the auditorium, then it is not empty. If I stumble across an empty auditorium, I either do nothing or turn the lamp off and motor/speed wind it the rest of the way through if it is the last show of the day.
Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 12-16-2001, 09:04 PM:
Sometimes, I'll do a Dolby level loop test, or shut off the lamp and try to clean all the dust out of the lamphouse.Of course, sometimes I do nothing, grateful for less work!
Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 12-16-2001, 11:10 PM:
Generally speaking, I don't start a movie unless someone is in there to watch it. I'll hold the start for up to 10 minutes or when the first ticket is sold, whichever happens first unless it clashes with the next show in that particular house. For the last run, we'll hold until the doors close, and just cancel it.You would be surprised how gracious people are if you hold the show for them, especially if they are the only one in there watching it.
If a schedule clash could occur, I'll start it on time anyway with the idea that some doofus will probably buy a ticket. If no tickets are sold, I'll just shut it down and motor it out. It gives me time to sweep the glass out of the lamphouse from an exploding Q-Arc Xenon bulb. 
Posted by Joe Beres (Member # 678) on 12-17-2001, 09:19 AM:
I love those rare times when I am the only one watching a film. That is the greatest. The only "strange" thing I have ever done in that situation is make a phone call during a boring trailer. I know, pretty crazy. 
Posted by Brian Hogan (Member # 940) on 12-17-2001, 01:51 PM:
since my theatre has the tiny, old school seats and sloping floor i will sometimes stretch out in the middle isle and take a nice snoozy nap.
Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 12-17-2001, 04:23 PM:
I sometimes enjoy being the only person in an auditorium. Since I sometimes go to weeknight showings, it happens more frequently than I expect. The last time it happened was at "Monsters, Inc." at the Carmike 10. I had auditorium 6 (a 42 foot wide THX auditorium) all to myself. A Staff member came in and watched part of the movie for about 20 minutes, and the rest of the time, I had it to myself. The sound was great and since I was looking for details, since it was my second viewing of this movie, it was nice to have no audience distractions. The first Monsters, Inc. I attended had a bunch of children making constant noise and people standing up in front of me the entire show. I missed some parts of the dialogue and some scenes because of the noise and standing people. Typically, for a comedy, I like a large crowd. Hearing the crowd react adds fun to the movie. For a movie that requires paying attention, I prefer a small crowd or being alone.
When alone in an auditorium, I usually don't do anything strange, since I figure someone could be watching, especially since so many theatre staff members at the theatres know what I'm doing on my WWW site.
------------------
Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Posted by Neil Hunter (Member # 1005) on 12-17-2001, 08:21 PM:
The only time I am uneasy about being in an auditorium alone is when I am watching a scary movie. I'll turn around every few minutes, especially after the scary parts and make sure there isn't an axe-wielding maniac behind me. No matter how many times I check, I am still ansy.
Posted by Thomas Hauerslev (Member # 566) on 12-20-2001, 02:22 AM:
I ran "Baraka" in Todd-AO 70mm for my wife on a Sunday morning 8 AM at the 1102 seater Imperial here in Copenhagen. She enjoyed being totally alone with that film.------------------
Cheers, Thomas
..in70mm - The 70mm Newsletter
www.in70mm.com www.dp70.com www.70mm.dk www.hauerslev.com http://hjem.get2net.dk/in70mm
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 12-20-2001, 02:46 PM:
If I am at a staff screening or alone in the auditorium, I like to stand up for while during the film.
Posted by David Scholmz (Member # 1082) on 12-22-2001, 02:39 AM:
I find watching a movie alone in a big theatre being very erotic...unless its a disney flick.
Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 12-22-2001, 09:56 PM:
alone?
erotic?never mind...i posted this response with this being the first post of his i read....before reading his other posts and knowing hes full of it and hes been banned.