Article in the LA times about movie theaters

Originally posted by: JediSage
Looks good. They need to get a handle on the noise and such as well, though. I refuse to go to the theater at the mall near me because the locals bring their babies in, talk on cell phones, and are generally rude. If they did that I'd feel good about going again.

Originally posted by: Arnie.d

Babies in the theatre? Talking on cell phones? WTF!?! If someone is talking on a cell phone in theatre and he's within range I would punch him.

Originally posted by: Arnie.d

Babies in the theatre? Talking on cell phones? WTF!?! If someone is talking on a cell phone in theatre and he's within range I would punch him.

Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
I dunno, maybe it's jsut where I live, but people talking through the film and talking cell phones aren't really a problem around here.

The worst we get at a typical movie is a bunch of girls gasping and giggling when Johnny Depp comes on screen topless.

Originally posted by: Stinky-Dinkins


Do you not live in the US?

Honestly, every time I go to the theater some people have ringing cellphones, another group of jackasses keeps talking throughout the movie, etc. Fucking obnoxious. I only go to the theater these days when it's a movie I really "need" to see on the big screen, otherwise I wait for the DVD and enjoy it in my home theater.

Lots of the time shutting them up really isn't an option. I'd like to see you shush, let alone punch in the face, a 6'4" 250 pound black dude sitting with about 10 of his buddies. Good luck with that.

The seating isn't the problem, the people are.

Honestly, every time I go to the theater some people have ringing cellphones, another group of jackasses keeps talking throughout the movie, etc. Fucking obnoxious. I only go to the theater these days when it's a movie I really "need" to see on the big screen, otherwise I wait for the DVD and enjoy it in my home theater.

Originally posted by: lordjedi
If more theaters were like the ArcLight (in Hollywood), I'd go more often. No cell phones allowed (not sure how they enforce it, but I've heard they don't allow them in, period), no children allowed, doors close at showtime and you're not allowed in after that, assigned seating, and you can order food right from your seat (good food like lasagna or spaghetti and beer or wine). It costs a bit more ($15/ticket I think), but it'd totally be worth it. It's to far to drive for me, but if there was a theater in the area that was like that, I'd go there all the time.

Originally posted by: MeBeJedi


I'm with Dinkins (Stinky?). The only movies I've seen in the theater since TPM were ROTS, Finding Nemo, Charlette's Web and Night in the Museum - all of which were mainly to take my children. I always, always, ALWAYS get the dude talking or the kid kicking my seat right behind me (this even at a recent baseball game. They were also blowing whistles for every fucking play.). One time I had kids throwing skittles from the back of the crowded theater.

It's just not fucking worth it. All that money and time wasted on gas, tickets and food? Not for me. Netflix has made my life so much easier.

Originally posted by: MeBeJedi


I'm with Dinkins (Stinky?). The only movies I've seen in the theater since TPM were ROTS, Finding Nemo, Charlette's Web and Night in the Museum - all of which were mainly to take my children. I always, always, ALWAYS get the dude talking or the kid kicking my seat right behind me (this even at a recent baseball game. They were also blowing whistles for every fucking play.). One time I had kids throwing skittles from the back of the crowded theater.

It's just not fucking worth it. All that money and time wasted on gas, tickets and food? Not for me. Netflix has made my life so much easier.

Originally posted by: ADigitalMan
Somebody sat a two-year-old next to me to see fucking JACKIE BROWN!!! I had half a mind to call social services on their ass right then and there. If you can't get a sitter, DON'T GO TO THE DAMN THEATRE! I used to see 1-2 movies a week at the theatre before kids. Now I'm lucky to see four a year, but that's life as a parent.

Somebody brought a child of the same age to The Da Vinci Code last year. Kid freaked the fuck out when Silas started whipping himself. I talked to the manager and asked him why the hell they didn't have a rule prohibiting kids under a certain age from seeing PG-13 and R movies. His answer: The theater chain got sued (by some fucktard in California of course) when they did just that. So every decent moviegoer now gets screwed because some dipshit wanted to take his underaged kid to see some R-rated gore-or-curse-or-fuckfest and sued for the "right."

What's the fucking point of MPAA ratings if the theatres cannot enforce them? Moreover, what are we coming to when a business cannot reserve the right to refuse service to people who will disrupt the business?

Think this sucks? Write the MPAA and NATO, plus your representatives in your state legislature. It wouldn't hurt to write the theatre chain as well, just so they know where you stand.

Originally posted by: zombie84
The rudeness of theater patrons really depends on where you live, what specific theater you go to, what movie you see and also what time. If you live in the suburbs and hit the multiplex at 9 PM to see the latest summer blockbuster of course it will be overrun with rude, blabbering, cell-phone using, obnoxious teens. More mainstream films in more mainstream theater locations during peak hours (ie 7-10 PM on weekends) produce the biggest percentage of obnoxious patrons because during this time a lot of people there aren't there just to see the movie but to be part of a social engagement, so you often have larger groups of people that are at the theater after dinner but before they hit the club or whatever so their attention is more on the social aspect of being there rather than actually enjoying the film, hence you get stuff like cellphone ringing, saying stuff at the screen, and group chatter when more than four minutes goes by without an explosion or car chase.

I personally don't see a lot of the blockbuster type films anymore so I don't really have to deal with this stuff. I've found that most audiences even in such a hugely populated area such as downtown Toronto are pretty decent even at the city's biggest theaters; its more about the type of film itself--I'm sure the experience of watching Fast and Furious 3 in a theater would be more painful than the actual film because it attracts a lot of people more prone to be jackasses. There's also the fact that rudeness varies on a regional basis--usually in areas less metropolitan in my experience, but again, my theory is that its entirely dependent on the type of film myself; if you were to see a foreign film in a Florida suburb (just hypothetically) chances are that the one or two people in the theater would be there to enjoy the film and would be respectful of the enjoyment of anyone else in the theater, whereas if you were to see Spiderman 3 in the same theater chances are it would be packed with a lot of people that would make for an irritating viewing experience.
I'm not sure why, but just based on reports and observation, this whole thing as a significant problem seems to be more prevalent around the southern US states; movies have always had annoying patrons, and certainly it seems to have sharply increased since the late 90's, but I always hear of the worst problems from the south US for some reason; maybe films just aren't treated as seriously there? I've noticed that rude patronage sometimes corresponds to a lack of respect for whats onscreen.