Can I steal this from you and post it in my journal?
Pretty Please, if I link it to you, and give you credit, can I post that picture in my entry for tommorrow where I rant about driveby adware downloads?
I used to work at a movie theatre in Seattle, several years ago, and before the commercials-before-the-trailers trend really took hold. I remember many irked people coming out to the concession counter or box office (which were right next to each other, God bless the small theatres!) to complain about how much advertising they were inundated with in their moviegoing experience. Unfortunately, as a box office goon, or concession slug, we couldn't do much more than call a manager, and the manager could really only sit and explain that it was all of the advertising that was keeping the theatre open, since the cost of showing the movies, and the corporate cut of the pie, were just going up.
Now, whenever I head to a movie, usually at one of the mall multiplex monstrosities that populate my current home town, I can only squirm in my seat as I sit and watch Coke and Fandango hawk their wares and services. That, along with smaller screens, shorter theatre runs, simultaneous DVD releases (what's up with THX 1138?) and the corporate feeding frenzy on small theatres, just leaves me plain depressed about the theatre experience. It's a sad state cinemaphiles find themselves in.
agreed. allow me to theorize about thx 1138's re-release and speedy debut to dvd shortly there-after. with all the newer up-and-coming series movies and all the hub-bub that the matrix movies caused in theatres, lucas is trying quite hard to re-establish his grasp on the cinema audiences. though the exact release date of "episode three" eludes me, i'm sure these events, as well as the star wars dvd release and "battlegrounds" ads, are all closely related to taking back interest in the star wars thing.
This always used to bug me, but I could get over. But then I started going to the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. They actually show relevent, funny clips before the movie. For the Lord of the Rings, for instance, they'd show the previous less than spectacular versions of it, that Leornard Nemoy "Bilbo Baggins" video, and even had Lord of the Rings Trivia. They'll eventually show movie trailers, but it's ofter for movies from decades long past that are now hilarious in retrospect. And there's never been a Coke or Pepsi commercial.
So now when I go elsewhere, it's just maddening. I feel like I'm being insulted, because I know they can do much, much better, and still be successful.
The Drafthouse has a great business model, thats why they are already planning more than 150 of them to open in the next two years. No-Ad's and they can make a quality theater again, and really, I don't like going to any of the large chains anymore now that I have the drafthouse, though recently I have had to go to some of those chains and its horrible sitting through all the ad's and the only place i get exposure to whats on TV these days really as well (The20spot is a horrible pre-movie segment).
At my local theatre, it seems people have gotten wise to the advertising bit. They just show up for the movie about 10 minutes after the posted screen-time.
...Then again, I usually only go to movies after they've been up for a few weeks already, so it could be general slothfulness that makes them arrive post-ads, and not some stragegic plan to avoid being lambasted.
When I saw AvP a little while ago, I thought my friends and I had lucked out with no ads. Lights went down and the theater went straight into previews. Then they showed the ads. Then a few more previews, then ads, previews, film. They've figured us out. It's an issue of profit and profit only. They don't need the ads to keep their heads above water, they want to make more money. And they don't care what you think. When I lived in Iowa they would run a digital slideshow of ads before the movie started-one of the ads advertising using the movie theater for advertising. One selling point-captive audience. We're sitting right there! They're that brazen because they're so confident we'll put up with it
When i went to see Spider-Man 2 on opening night, my girlfriend and i sat next to this nerdy guy who kept scratching his crotch and generally made watching the flick an awful experience.
He pointed something out during the commercial onslaught, however, that i never noticed before- many of the ads theaters show in front of their movies aren't even framed right for big screens! It's bad enough having to watch a commercial you've paid for, but when they're just showing an ad made-for-TV, it isn't the right size and it has to be blown up so much that it just looks a mess.
Said movie-watching nerd was also very upset about the trailer for Will Smith's "I Robot". Said Asimov would be "spinning around and around in his grave" if he knew about the movie.
More praise from the converted! I've felt the same way, and on top of it I have felt my intellegence has been insulted by the previews sometimes. Hence, I do not go to the movie theaters any more. Too expensive and not entertaining enough to warrent the activity worthwhile.
I have ADD pretty bad, so it's very difficult to sit in a theater while those godforsaken videos are showing, and try to hold a conversation with my girlfriend or any friends who may be along... I mean, it's the brightest thing in the room, and it's moving.
And it's not like we're constantly barraged by advertising everywhere we turn anyhow... oh wait, yes it is.
Ya know...it's not even the initial advertising that pisses me off. It's the attempt at discreet (but blatantly obvious) advertising that is in the actual movies themselves. Perfect example, in the movie Suspect 0, they had zoomed in a bottle of sparking blue Aquafina water sitting on his desk for like 5 minutes while he shuffled through papers. I'm thinking to myself, "WHAT THE FUCK?!?!"
i have no clue what the people above said but if the theatres did not rent out the ad space ticket prices would tripple. yes it is all about making money though.
How come there were no advertisements back in say, 1998? What has changed in the past 5 years that has caused ticket prices to double and the need to put advertisements on the screen, other than greed, and the fact that Regal Cinemas spent so much money they went bankrupt?
I've done that. It's usually followed by a light sock in the arm from my husband and an embarrassed look or a lot of shushing.... to which I merely pick my nose and pretend to flick the boogars on the shushers. Bastards. Who says we all have to shut up and take the advertisement abuse?
on the first movie where I was exposed to advertisements before the endless previews (the first Spider man in this case), I, with my impressionable little brother in tow led the crowd in a series of BOOS towards the screen until the ads were over.
Management noticed, and I have the feeling that if more people had given voice in the same way at the time, we wouldn't be stuck with having them in ubiquity now.
I heard Portland audiences take their movies very seriously. One chain had this long, painfully boring "don't smoke, talk, and turn off your damn cell phones and buy pepsi while you're at it" PSA before the movie. It involved some little girl dressed up like a cowboy. It was semi cute the first time but if you see a movie a week, it was horrid torture. While Seattle people just sat through it suffering in silence, Portland audiences took to throwing their beverages at the screen. The company had to quickly remove the PSA and run something quicker and to the point.
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September 20 2004, 02:17:59 UTC 7 years ago
Can I steal this from you and post it in my journal?
Pretty Please, if I link it to you, and give you credit, can I post that picture in my entry for tommorrow where I rant about driveby adware downloads?you are seriously one of my heros!
September 20 2004, 02:28:09 UTC 7 years ago
Re: Can I steal this from you and post it in my journal?
of course.September 20 2004, 02:21:27 UTC 7 years ago
i knew thier was someone else who thought that!
September 20 2004, 02:30:39 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 02:51:31 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 02:55:37 UTC 7 years ago
7 years ago
September 20 2004, 03:02:01 UTC 7 years ago
Now, whenever I head to a movie, usually at one of the mall multiplex monstrosities that populate my current home town, I can only squirm in my seat as I sit and watch Coke and Fandango hawk their wares and services. That, along with smaller screens, shorter theatre runs, simultaneous DVD releases (what's up with THX 1138?) and the corporate feeding frenzy on small theatres, just leaves me plain depressed about the theatre experience. It's a sad state cinemaphiles find themselves in.
September 20 2004, 17:40:57 UTC 7 years ago
allow me to theorize about thx 1138's re-release and speedy debut to dvd shortly there-after.
with all the newer up-and-coming series movies and all the hub-bub that the matrix movies caused in theatres, lucas is trying quite hard to re-establish his grasp on the cinema audiences. though the exact release date of "episode three" eludes me, i'm sure these events, as well as the star wars dvd release and "battlegrounds" ads, are all closely related to taking back interest in the star wars thing.
September 20 2004, 03:42:43 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 05:26:07 UTC 7 years ago
So now when I go elsewhere, it's just maddening. I feel like I'm being insulted, because I know they can do much, much better, and still be successful.
September 20 2004, 06:46:16 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 06:39:33 UTC 7 years ago
...Then again, I usually only go to movies after they've been up for a few weeks already, so it could be general slothfulness that makes them arrive post-ads, and not some stragegic plan to avoid being lambasted.
September 20 2004, 09:49:14 UTC 7 years ago
Then they showed the ads. Then a few more previews, then ads, previews, film. They've figured us out.
It's an issue of profit and profit only. They don't need the ads to keep their heads above water, they want to make more money. And they don't care what you think. When I lived in Iowa they would run a digital slideshow of ads before the movie started-one of the ads advertising using the movie theater for advertising. One selling point-captive audience. We're sitting right there! They're that brazen because they're so confident we'll put up with it
7 years ago
7 years ago
September 20 2004, 06:51:55 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 07:00:29 UTC 7 years ago
He pointed something out during the commercial onslaught, however, that i never noticed before- many of the ads theaters show in front of their movies aren't even framed right for big screens! It's bad enough having to watch a commercial you've paid for, but when they're just showing an ad made-for-TV, it isn't the right size and it has to be blown up so much that it just looks a mess.
Said movie-watching nerd was also very upset about the trailer for Will Smith's "I Robot". Said Asimov would be "spinning around and around in his grave" if he knew about the movie.
September 20 2004, 07:08:45 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 07:54:36 UTC 7 years ago
My sediments exactly.
September 20 2004, 08:21:03 UTC 7 years ago
Fucking.
On.
I have ADD pretty bad, so it's very difficult to sit in a theater while
those godforsaken videos are showing, and try to hold a conversation
with my girlfriend or any friends who may be along... I mean, it's the
brightest thing in the room, and it's moving.
And it's not like we're constantly barraged by advertising everywhere
we turn anyhow... oh wait, yes it is.
September 20 2004, 08:42:30 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 09:19:45 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 09:23:29 UTC 7 years ago
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September 20 2004, 12:09:21 UTC 7 years ago
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September 20 2004, 09:53:50 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 10:00:43 UTC 7 years ago
I am very proud that...
on the first movie where I was exposed to advertisements before the endless previews (the first Spider man in this case), I, with my impressionable little brother in tow led the crowd in a series of BOOS towards the screen until the ads were over.Management noticed, and I have the feeling that if more people had given voice in the same way at the time, we wouldn't be stuck with having them in ubiquity now.
Shameless!
-C.
September 20 2004, 10:30:27 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 10:54:55 UTC 7 years ago
the movie commercial madness!
I don't go to theaters a lot these days,but when I do, I like to go quite early,
and watch the people, and mostly ignore
the commercials.
the funny part is I used to bitch about the TRAILERS,
back when that's all there was before the movie.
September 20 2004, 11:30:47 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 12:13:59 UTC 7 years ago
September 20 2004, 12:48:48 UTC 7 years ago
My question is, if I'm watching commercials, why is my ticket STILL $8?
September 20 2004, 18:01:22 UTC 7 years ago
God bless Portland.
7 years ago
September 20 2004, 12:54:16 UTC 7 years ago
Hazzzah!
Hazzzzah!Thank you!
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