Lobsters!

I know this blog is supposed to be about movies, but yesterday I had an incredible day and I spent it away from the theatre. I actually haven't worked at the theatre since Thursday night. It's been a much needed break.

Anyway, the company I work for during the day gave a way a bunch of these incredible creatures you see on the left here. LOBSTERS!! The annual company picnic will be something I look foward too every single year now. I have never seen so much free food, drinks (all kinds) and games/rides before ever. It made for a great day.

Afterwards, went to a party that the group was having, and had a good time there too. Lots of stories told and drunken behavior from a lot of people (not me! I was driving!) Then it was off to meet the girl's friends at Boston Bowl. I bowled my best game ever! A 128! Haha, I know its not that great, but if you don't believe me I have proof right here:

There you go, proof! After that, it was off to dinner at the Olive Garden. Pretty decent food, but a long long wait. Overall, a very enjoyable day. It was nice to get away from theatres for a few days.

But of course, its back to work again tonight! Reading over several websites and other blogs, it seems like it wasn't that great a weekend for movies, gross wise. Stardust disappointed at the box office, looking to earn less than $10 million overall. Rush Hour 3 was the big hit of the weekend, as I had expected, but still looking at less than $30 million this weekend. Bourne is once again holding strong.

Mother Nature looks like she took her effect on the box office! It's amazing how much the weather affects how well movies perform. Today is looking like a nice day, so I'll expect a slow evening. Ohh, that's another tip. If you don't want to see a movie when its busy, pick a nice day! People don't tend to go to the movies as much when its nice out, so its much slower and tends to be very quiet.

Sorry about the lack of blogging this weekend. I'll try to ramp it up a bit, including answering this question: What is my favorite movie?

Well.. what are YOUR favorite movies? I don't think this is going to be a one movie thing for me, because there are so many to pick from! Off to get ready for work now though, I will provide a weekend update tomorrow!

Follow Up: Pirating.. How do You Feel About it?

I'm glad to read that many of you who read this blog agree with my stand that pirating movies is wrong. Trying to do some more research on this, I found this article on how the MPAA is ruining the movie experience. Long story short, the couple in the article felt they were subject to unfair treatment while attending the screening. (Cell phones being checked, guards maintaining surveillance throughout the movie) I've worked my fair share of screenings, and this is pretty standard procedure at all of them. It's reasonable for the production companies to try their best to protect their multi-million dollar investment! If you paid a few million dollars for something you were going to allow people to see for free, wouldn't you want there to be some security there so that no one could make a quick buck off of what you worked so hard/invested so much money in? I think most people would say yes to this. However, it also needs to be considered that this security issue would be no big deal if there weren't people out there who make a living by pirating movies. If there were no pirates, then security would not be as tight, and the experience more enjoyable.

To save yourself some trouble and enhance the experience of everyone in the theatre, just leave your phone in your car if you're going to a screening (or any movie in general). If you must bring it with you, expect it to be checked or not be allowed into the theatre. It's just people trying to protect their investment. What I'm basically saying is, I don't agree with the article I've linked above. There are always a few people out there who make it harder on everyone else. In this case, its the pirates. As for the experience itself, people need to realize that going out to a movie doesn't mean you can act like you do at home. Maybe its the fact that so many people are seeing movies at home where they can act however they want that brings about this attitude. Long-time moviegoers often know common courtesy when it comes to watching a movie in theatres!

This article provides a pretty good explanation on some of what I'm writing about here. I kinda like the idea of a plant in a theatre to make an impression on guests about not using their phones in theatres. It also provides a review of some of the larger chains (old, but still not bad). The gripes that some people have with pricing in theatres I can understand also. I know that its hard to believe, but the only reason why theatres can stay open is because of ads and high concessions prices. Ticket sales make up so little of a theatre's profit. Yes, prices are VERY high, and I'll admit that, and ads can be annoying, but they're necessary at this point. If these are that annoying to you, there quite a few ways on this blog that I've mentioned will save you money and time! A lot of people are relocating to their homes for movies, but think about it, if theatres didn't exist, the experience would be gone.

I guarantee that if theatres vanished, in 50 years, there would be people saying "I remember back in the day when I could pay $10 and watch a movie on huge screen with 500 other people" Do you want to be part of that generation? I don't. You can't tell me King Kong doesn't look good on a 60 foot screen!

Bootlegging.. What do you think about it?

Personally, I think it's wrong to even bring a camera into a movie theatre. As a manager, I've got to keep my eye out for people who bring cameras in because of all the features that they have nowadays. A typical digital camera can record long clips of video with pretty good audio, and before you know it, the clip ends up on Youtube, or some other site that offers free viewing of movies still in theatres. I found this article on the Consumerist, which tell about a girl who got caught recording part of the movie "Transformers" for her brother to watch at home. As a result of what the theatre did, there was this article, also on the Consumerist. I can understand that people think that pursing a case against this girl is rather harsh. However, I have also had to deal with a similar experience. I had a guest who was recording during Star Wars: Episode 3. A concerned guest who was also in the theatre came out and informed management. (Yes, he was snitching). When we approached the guest to talk to him about it, he ignored us, but stopped recording. We needed to see what he managed to record, though. As a result of his non-compliance, we ended up calling the cops. They came just as the movie was ending, and the guy ended up being arrested. What did he have to say for himself?

"I was just testing out the new camera I got."

Unfortunately, it is a felony to do this, as it is mentioned in the article. I don't know if the company pressed charges against him, but it is serious. Cameras are getting smaller and smaller and people are finding ways to bring them in. Please just leave them at home. They cause a disturbance to other people in there. I hate it when teen-age and college kids think its cool to take a picture while they're sitting in their seats. The lighting in a theatre is terrible, wouldn't you rather take one outside?

Anyway, there are some things which may be mistaken for a camera, so please bear with the staff if they come in to check things out. Bluetooth headsets, for example, can flash and can be seen from upstairs, so often a projectionist will call to have us check out something like that. We're just trying to do our job, and its already hard enough to get people into theatres without bootlegging movie sites.

For those of you concerned about the price of movies these days, I found this.

A quick round-up on that. If you're going to AMC there are several bulk ticket buying packages, which may be offered through your corporate office. The types of tickets and coupons available are:

$7.50 Gold Passes - Good for any movie, decent savings (usually about $1 each, can be up to $2.50 savings)
$6.00 Silver Passes - Good once a movie is no longer special engagement (after first 2 weekends generally)
$2.25 Popcorns and Drinks - I would actually suggest these and joining the frequent movie goer program, Moviewatcher. That way you'll get some free popcorn, drinks, and tickets in addition to these savings.

Other companies also offer discount tickets and rewards programs. If you want, leave me a comment and I'll let you know about those also (Gotta support my company first, right?)!

So put some money back into your pockets and go to the movies!

How Much is Your Blog Worth?

My blog is worth $5,080.86.
How much is your blog worth?

Where do I cash in? lol jk. Try it out and let me know how much your blogs are worth! For now I'll just cash the meager check that the movie theatre provides me. Speaking of which, I wish I could get commission at the theatre. I think it might actually get us to try harder to make people happy and coming back. Probably not the best idea I've ever had, but it provides more incentive than the regular wages perhaps.

This blog has actually performed better than I thought it would. A lot of times you don't think anyone will read your stuff. When I check my counters I am pleasantly surprised and I'd like to thank everyone who reads this for that. If it wasn't for your reading and commenting, I probably would have given up. It's nice to know that people out there might actually look forward to reading what I have to say! (Yeah right). It's hard to keep up with commenting on all the blogs that I read, but I try my best!

Almost time to go home from work! I'm ready for a nap.

Making the Movie Experience Better!

There are several ways to go about this.. one I don't recommend is one my sister found here. Basically he is writing about how to scam a movie theatre. I'll admit that those tricks work sometimes, but you're bound to get caught sometime and have theatres looking out for you. Still, feel free to give one of them a try if you're out for a thrill.

Reading around, I found several other ones that could help in a much more legal way... lol.

• Never Experience a Bad Movie Ever Again! - Just kidding. However, read reviews before you go to the movies. Where can you find them? Right here, of course! Well, I suppose if you want some more well known sites (for now, anyway) you can try out IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes. Yahoo! can also be a good source for this.

• Watch Movie Trailers - Hey, at least this way you can see the most exciting part of the movie before you go! It'll get you excited about the movie and then you can be let down by the real thing right? Seriously though, watching trailers does build interest for movies, and you can watch all of these from the comfort of your home, this way you don't even have to rush to the movies to see them! Try Apple's website for the best quality in trailers.

• Buy Your Tickets in Advance - Easy to do, for a small fee. It'll save you the trouble of having to wait in really long lines to buy tickets. Even better, you don't have to rush to the theatre (though i still suggest arriving early to get prime seating. Movietickets.com is a good place to get tickets!

There are more of these suggestions at Lifehacker. I've got some of my own suggestions to help you make your movie experience better.

• Use the bathroom before your movie starts. You won't regret it.
• If you really want to, bring your own food. Most of the time the theatre will not say anything. Even though I don't really encourage this since theatre profit is made at the stand, you can do it. It brings people to the theatre, which we always like. (We also hope that you don't bring enough and buy some of ours!)
• For a quieter experience, go during the matinee, or at a late show (after 10 pm). These shows are typically less busy, with mellower crowds, so you can enjoy yourself more.
• Going during the week and sign up for a rewards card. Theatres tend to give free popcorn one day during the week. You can make that your movie day!
• Premium Cinema. It costs extra, but the experience is typically much better, with real food and alcohol. Those crowds don't seem so bad anymore, huh?
• If the theatre doesn't notice something let them know. Most likely it will be fixed immediately.
• Build your own theatre... its possible.
• If you don't want to watch ads, either show up right at the scheduled start time (when trailers begin) or come early to get a seat, then go to the lobby for a snack or video game before the trailers! (Or visit the bathroom)
• Come to my movie theatre. I'll take care of you, if you mention this blog!
  

Kung Fu Monkey has a suggestion for theatre owners out there, you can find that here.

I agree with many of the comments and what he has written here for the most part. It's hard to get those ushers when we have to keep cutting payroll and doing more with less. The more people that go, the more staff there will be, and the more likely your experience will be good. Hope I've helped with these suggestions! Let me know if you think of anything!