Getting People Into Movie Theatres

[Fading Fast]

Last time I went to the movies, they had ushers.
Yeah...it’s been that long.

They had flashlights to guide you to your seat in the dark.
Movie theaters were very dark back then.

But most important, they policed the theater for any behavior
from anyone that interrupted the enjoyment of the movie.

I remember the ushers well - you could go and get one if someone was talking and they'd address the issue so that you didn't have to confront the person yourself.

I wonder (Lizzie?) if that went away as a cost save or a liability issue for the movie theater? My guess, cost save.

 

[2jakes]

I wonder (Lizzie?) if that went away as a cost save or a liability issue for the movie theater? My guess, cost save.

They would require only one for the entire theater today.
Provided the usher had the “moxie of a LizzieMaine”.

 

[FATS88]

Last time I went to the movies, they had ushers.
Yeah...it’s been that long.

They had flashlights to guide you to your seat in the dark.
Movie theaters were very dark back then.

But most important, they policed the theater for any behavior
from anyone that interrupted the enjoyment of the movie.

The last time I went to a cinema on Market street (Al Pacino's "Cruising" 1980) the "ushers" were dressed in special ops fatigues and combat boots.
No...they weren't auditioning for a Village People's talent search. They searched and patted down EVERYBODY...Note; after they had already paid.
I saw these sturmtruppen force an older Woman to throw away her uneaten burrito, that they found when they went through her purse.
I never went back to any of the theatres on Market after that night.

I will smuggle...I will.
For example; Our Kabuki multi, has turned into some hoity-toity Sundance venue, with some really terrible tasting things to be gouged for,
and no artery cloggin', heart stoppin' alternatives.
That's one example.
The second example/reason is; that going to the movies as boy, always meant certain snacking, things you ONLY ate at the movies.
Like Good n' Plenty, Mike n' Ike etc. things you only found in a theatre's concessions.
For me, that would be toffee peanuts (P-Nuttles), I can tell you that, for me, some films...most good films, cannot be enjoyed without them, like an English film, or a western.
And nowadays, when I've been talked into attending the odd film at a cinema, and have been able to find the peanuts somewhere...I will have them on me.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I remember the ushers well - you could go and get one if someone was talking and they'd address the issue so that you didn't have to confront the person yourself.

I wonder (Lizzie?) if that went away as a cost save or a liability issue for the movie theater? My guess, cost save.

Purely cost. Theatres today operate on an absolutely bare bones budget. For an ordinary movie show we have no more than four people working in the theatre -- the house manager, the box office person, the concession person, and the projectionist. The projectionist doubles as a ticket taker, and sometimes the house manager doubles as either the box office person or the projectionist, depending on the day of the week. We couldn't afford to have someone just stand there waiting in case they were needed -- in our place the house manager handles shooshing, confiscation of contraband, and ejections.

I don't have to eject people very often. When I do they're usually either drunk or on drugs of some kind. Either way I give them a very simple choice -- go under their own power or I'll get a cop to carry them out. They almost always choose the first option.

 

[ChiTownScion]

As I've said in other threads, the transition from film to digital had nothing to do with art and even less to do with consumer preference. It was motivated by two and only two factors: reduced shipping costs for the distributors and greater security against pirates. Every single word they've said about "a clearer, better more realistic image" is Boys From Marketing codswallop designed to conceal the real purpose behind the switch.

Ahh, the Boys....

 

[2jakes]

Found :
Our brave defender of injustice from the BFM
when she was a gorgeous lass and who is still
super gorgeous despite the fact that she’s
from Maine.

But...no one’s perfect!

 

[ChiTownScion]

Found :
Our brave defender of injustice from the BFM
when she was a gorgeous lass.

Whaddaya mean, "was??"

 

[LizzieMaine]

A gal after my own heart. They don't call her Little RED Riding Hood for nothin'.

 

[2jakes]

Whaddaya mean, "was??”

 

[ChiTownScion]

A gal after my own heart. They don't call her Little RED Riding Hood for nothin'.

Avery's Red had a lot going for her, too.

Since the subject is "Getting People Into Movie Theatres," has your theatre ever considered holding a Tex Avery Film Festival, Lizzie?

 

[LizzieMaine]

I've run bunches of random public-domain cartoons as special attractions during school vacation weeks to considerable success, and I've used this to try and convince the people upstairs to program some cartoons we'd actually have to pay for, but so far to no success. I've shown some of the public-domain Averys to good response but the ones that really get the kids going are the black-and-white Fleischer Popeyes.

 

[ChiTownScion]

I've run bunches of random public-domain cartoons as special attractions during school vacation weeks to considerable success, and I've used this to try and convince the people upstairs to program some cartoons we'd actually have to pay for, but so far to no success. I've shown some of the public-domain Averys to good response but the ones that really get the kids going are the black-and-white Fleischer Popeyes.

The early Fleischer works were awesome. I remember the Betty Boop feature where Popeye made his debut and, for a millisecond, you can see Betty dancing with her, uh, "features" open and in plain view. Coupled with Popeye's mumblings, they - and the war time Avery MGM features, were definitely for an adult audience.

I can remember thirty three years ago when the Chicago International Film Festival held a Jay Ward Festival. The night was blistery, Chicago cold, and rainy, and I was certain that I'd be the only fool who'd face that type of weather after a long L ride, just to see Rocky, Bullwinkle, and the folks who voiced them (Bill Scott and June Foray) on such an ungodly night. Imagine my shock when I arrived to see crowds lined up and down Michigan Avenue, with a large Bullwinkle costumed guy handing out programs. Packed house with overflow rooms- and the reception at the nearby Congress Hotel was even more packed! I had no chance of getting near Foray and proposing marriage.. but it proves that the appeal to adults is pretty solid.

 

[ChiTownScion]

When the weather's wet, cold, and miserable... I need my Lizzie fix.

When the stupidity of politicians or Facebook commentators gets me too depressed for words... I need my Lizzie fix.

When I want to learn about history that so few have taken the time to familiarize themselves with, but is both intellectually stimulating and psychologically rewarding.. I need my Lizzie fix.

And when I need to learn so much that is wonderful and amazing about that peculiar world called the Red Sox.. I need my Lizzie fix.

Don't want to embarrass her, or make her blush, but I cannot count the times that her reality checks laced with facts and humor, have, in no small part, made the FL my favorite website.

 

[2jakes]

When the weather's wet, cold, and miserable... I need my Lizzie fix.

Welcome to the club...

Mine is a higher dosage.
I wonder if Dr. Lizzie makes house calls?

 

[Trenchfriend]

I've confiscated entire sixers of beer from people who've snuck it in in backpacks or under coats and thought they could get away with it. As you say, it's not just a matter of being mean -- unauthorized liquor is a criminal matter, and under the laws here, not just the theatre, but me, personally, as the person in charge of enforcing the provisions of the license, could be prosecuted for allowing it in. I'm not going risk going to jail, paying a fine, and losing my job just so Joe and Jane Jackass can enjoy an illicit drink in the balcony.

Confiscate the muesli-bars under the flatcaps...

 

[ChiTownScion]

I knew this Red Riding Hood's real life doppelganger. The red hair, freckles.. even the grammatical butchery. She was someone I grew up with who became a registered nurse.

 

[MikeKardec]

I often go toe to toe with an acquaintance of mine over films as art vs entertainment. I don't see why films cannot be both, while he believes they they are exclusively meant to be entertainment. He thinks that the clearer the picture the better, that less cinematography makes for a better experience, and that one should experience a film as if they were there in the scene. I disagree. I believe that films nowadays use film stock that is far too clean (if they use film stock at all), leaving behind that nitty gritty that used to make films feel more charming and warmer. I once attended a speech by Chicago Tribune film critic Michael Phillips, and he and I have become friends over the years since. He and I tend to agree that shinier isn't always better and that typically audiences have a tendency to subconsciously enjoy films that have a little more grain in them, that digital is perceived as sharp and thus unfriendly by the human mind.

Well, entertainment or not all of that IS the art. For some subjects slick and sharp is good while for others grainy is perfect. It's the interpretation that is the art BUT a lack of interpretation IS interpretation! It's hard to make the presentation of something "not art" but it can certainly be bad art, it just depends on our point of view.

With the exception of the "moving grain" aspect I mentioned earlier there are few downsides to shooting on digital video. The equipment is delicate in some ways but it's improving all the time and the speed, not having to change magazines every 10 minutes of shooting time, and having a "print of every take" are both great qualities. In my film making days (most of them working with chemical film) I always hated the fact that you'd have to make a special request to print other takes which might contain an interesting moment (I've used LOTS of stuff that wasn't really intended to be used in the final cut). I also hated it that you usually started and stopped cameras to save film when sometimes additional material could be gathered while everyone was resetting the scene ... I remember trying to get a director to roll on some boats we were using while we all chugged back into position. The shot wasn't called for in the script but our time on the water was expensive and we could not return. My request was dismissed, probably because I was thought to be "just the writer" (writers are generally VERY unwelcome on film sets but I was a producer too so they couldn't get rid of me) and writers know nothing (unfortunately often true) ... but 5 months later, in the midst of finishing the cut, an extra angle would have been nice to lengthen the act before we went to commercial. Oh, well. The point being that there probably would have been grumbling but far fewer arguments if we'd been shooting on "free" digital media.

Doing audio dramas, I tend to record every minute we are in the studio, the entire working day, and often use things spoken by the actors in between takes as additional dialog or for background walla.

 

[52Styleline]

This is where I spent my movie money during the 50's through early 60's. The Roxy was closed for decades but was finally bought by a local group who gutted the place (see pix of the old projection booth before renovation) and turned it into a cultural arts joint. They now show first run films and have a season of live theater and other events to bring "outta" towners and locals in. The old cars were part of an event this summer. Notice all of the other storefronts are vacant. The old Masonic lodge is the building to the right of the Roxy. It is now used for overflow arts and culture type thingys.

 

[scotrace]

The proper use of shorts.

 

[LizzieMaine]

The "Information Please" shorts are fascinating -- four panelists sitting at a table competing to answer complicated questions put to them by an MC, just like the radio show. No cinematic value at all, but the popularity of the radio program was such that they're quite effective on the screen.