Don't forget the high quality of the actors, like Sean Penn of FAG (the Film Actors Guild).
Posted on 12/24/2005 9:57:16 AM PST by abb
With attendance down and movies popping up faster on DVD, theater chains are scrambling to pry you off the couch -- trying everything from discount tickets to curbs on rude patrons. Their fight to stay relevant in the flat-TV era
On a recent Friday night, some patrons of Pacific Theatres' The Grove Stadium 14 in Los Angeles were in for a rude awakening: Their 7:20 p.m. screening of "The Family Stone" in theater six was being invaded by the 7 p.m. show of "King Kong" in theater seven.
During a teary life-and-death passage of "The Family Stone," a loud, earth-rattling rumble emanated from the "Kong" screening next door. As Diane Keaton broke the news of a life-threatening illness in one theater, the mood was broken by the sound of the mighty ape stomping through the jungle in the other. A few minutes later, another emotional scene was pierced when a customer's mobile phone cut in with a thumping hip-hop beat. The interruptions capped a night of moviegoing already marred by out-of-order ticketing kiosks and a parade of preshow ads so long that, upon seeing the Coca-Cola polar bears on screen, one customer grumbled: "This is obscene."
For moviegoers, it's become an all-too-familiar scene, and some are opting to forget the theater altogether. This year, domestic movie attendance is down 7%, and industry officials blame competition from home entertainment -- everything from DVDs and pay-per-view to videogames that appeal to the young men who have been a core audience for action blockbusters. With millions of new flat-screen TVs hitting living rooms this year -- and an ever-shorter window between a film's theatrical release and when it appears on DVD -- the temptation to stay at home is getting even more widespread.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
I can't complain about the price of tickets - $5.00 isn't too bad. The price of popcorn and drinks is ridiculous.
It would be nice to have decent movies to see. I looked for something for this afternoon, and there was nothing that I would pay $5 to see.
yes. self-important jackasses on cell phones don't help either.
The last film I saw in a theater was in 1998. 'Enemy of the State', sorta my farwell show.
Nam Vet
What?
During the previews the kids with the family behind us got antcy and started talking and kicking our chairs. We got them to stop. There parents had done nothing.
After the movie started, they were onviously bored and started taking turns leaving and coming back. We moved from our great seats to some not so bad ones up near the front. All this for $7. We can stay home and talk to the TV for free.
When was this? I don't remember ever being able to smoke at movies, and I'm middle aged.
There are a lot of folks out there making movies I refuse to give a dime to : Susan Sarandan, Tim Robbins, Sean Penn,
etc.and I don't give a damn what the movie is or says.
And I don't give a damn how groundbreaking the content is, I'm not going to pay to see a fag movie.
Don't knock the comic book derived trash. It's the only way to get me into the theater. Everything else I wait for the DVD.
I've seen the original, and the effects weren't very special, and the acting wasn't much better. Both remakes of Kong supercede the original in every way.
I'm old...
What do you mean? What else could you want? This year at the multiplex you've got:
(1) A "Western" featuring fudge-packing sheep-herders
(2) Portayal of the Munich '72 murderers as freedom-fighting family men, and Israelis as bloodthirsty criminals
(3) A "tearjerker" featuring a pre-op male-to-female transsexual
(4) Evil drug companies comitting genocide in Africa for profit
(5) Tales of a bi-sexual hitman
And thse are just the Oscar front-runners! What else could you ask for???
Don't forget the high quality of the actors, like Sean Penn of FAG (the Film Actors Guild).
Cringely on rumored Apple 'video locker' content distribution system
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/7849/
You already effectively have it with on-demand cable.
You also already have it (BitTorrent) with pirated movie files
Yes. Gems like "I Spit on Your Grave". Then again, those movies were mostly shown in the cheap movie houses. I forget the prices, but they were not out of range of a kid's allowance, and if you didn't like the movie you could walk out and not feel like you've been burned for a lot of $$$
Damn, no car chase?
Is it the theater owners, or the studios? The ticket prices seem the same, chain to chain. The studios get a percentage of the ticket gross, so they want the ticket prices high. It may be that the studios, in collusion, have demanded that the theaters have high ticket prices in order to get the films at all
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