Shhhhhhhhhh! I am trying to watch the MOVIE!

[griffer]

Cut out of another thread...

I have been advocating for a 'film aficionado' club for a while.

There films I want to see in the multi-plex, but only with adults (read over 21).

I actually think theaters could make a premium club out of it.

I would actually pay for an annual pass plus the cost of the ticket, for first run shows in the evening with NO KIDS. Members only. Must be over 21. Maybe even an usher with Surefire LED to enforce a strict NO TALKING policy.

Market it as 'Senior Screeners' to discourage younger folks from wanting to join. I am only 32, but I would rather watch a movie with 'blue hairs'.

No teenagers making out. No screaming babies. I once called a girl on her cell, she answered in the theater. During the film. As soon as I figured out where she was, I hung up on her.

I can only appreciate films at art houses, I guess.

 

[Fletch]

Where's the closest art house to New Hope? Or do you have to simulate conditions by filling a hot room with smelly people in grimy Chuck Taylors and bed hair, then screening a contrasty nth generation print with the sound up way too loud?

Hey, at least they don't use cell phones.

 

[GOK]

We have a campus theatre here that does special over 50s screenings of GE movies! Bliss!

Whereas the local multiplex lets anyone in! Not so long ago there were a couple of girls calling each other on their phones across the auditorium. Thankfully their boyfriends took them out because they (the boys) didn't get the film (they said this in loud voices).

If we use the multiplex now, we go on a Tuesday or Wednesday because it seems than nobody else goes then. We generally have the auditorium to ourselves!

 

[griffer]

Where's the closest art house to New Hope? Or do you have to simulate conditions by filling a hot room with smelly people in grimy Chuck Taylors and bed hair, then screening a contrasty nth generation print with the sound up way too loud?

Hey, at least they don't use cell phones.

Emo kids!

County Theater in Doylestown is actually pretty nice, for an art house, but the screen and sound are not all that great.

I 'simulate' conditions in my wingback with my home theater sound, but it don't get me there.

BUT, what i was wondering is do you think there is a market for this? Would you pay up for a more traditional theater experience? I don't want to just bitch about 'those damn kids', i wanted to see if there was a market for this.

Any seats left 'empty'- the opportunity cost of turning away kids- would be covered by the annual subscriptions. I would see MORE movies if i had this option. I want to pitch it to someone...

 

[Matt Deckard]

It does create a bit of a class system and those who can pay get the better theater while those who cannot get the one that gets vaccumed once a week.

 

[griffer]

It does create a bit of a class system and those who can pay get the better theater while those who cannot get the one that gets vaccumed once a week.

Hunh? 'Devout Capitalist'...hmmm... those luxury cars create a class system as well.

No, it's market forces saying we are willing to pay for a specific experience, so we will.


I am not a fan of the hoi polloi.

 

[Fletch]

Here's an idea: serve alcohol. With attractive cocktail waitpersons. And what else do moppets abhor? Hmm, maybe piped-in jazz?

 

[griffer]

Here's an idea: serve alcohol. With attractive cocktail waitpersons. And what else do moppets abhor? Hmm, maybe piped-in jazz?

Yeah, the drinking theater- i.e. pub theaters and McMiniman's in Portland, OR were fun, but they were never first run or first rate theaters.

Mix alcohol and adults and you often get smelly, big children. Then we'd back to square one, only with more fisticuffs.

And this insight comes from a true tippler, no judgment.

 

[Feraud]

Instead of me having to pay a premium for what should be part and parcel of seeing a movie (a quiet, somewhat well behaved audience) how about if local venues enforce a basic standard of behavior?

 

[griffer]

Instead of me having to pay a premium for what should be part and parcel of seeing a movie (a quiet, somewhat well behaved audience) how about if local venues enforce a basic standard of behavior?

Money talks.

 

[Elaina]

So does getting up and demanding a refund due to the excessive behavior of other patrons.

I quit going to movies because I dislike anyone (generally) under the age of 25, but it doesn't account for the amount of 18-25 year olds that love me to death or the under 18s that don't believe me. Last time I went to a movie, some teenaged chit sitting next to me kept saying louder each time "Oh no he di-int! Guuuurl" for about half an hour until I reached over and snapped her mobile phone in half (I'm not allowed back to the theatre in Parks mall due to this.) If I have to go, I'll go during school, in the morning on a Wednesday. Or wait until I can watch it on my DVD player because I am not all that hip that I care what's new anymore.

I'd like a LIFE that required the majority of my participants to be over 21, truth be told. I keep my son on a tight leash, my scouts know that they have to behave and be little gentlemen, and any kid that is with me in school trips know they have to be polite. (Hence, we get along.)

 

[melankomas]

Instead of me having to pay a premium for what should be part and parcel of seeing a movie (a quiet, somewhat well behaved audience) how about if local venues enforce a basic standard of behavior?

good luck with that.

i've not been to a theatre in fourteen years. i always disliked the noise and distraction, and gave up the activity before i entered my teens. i would certainly pay for peace and quiet at a theatre. i suspect i'd not find films i'd like, particularly, but i'd be far more willing to try new films at a theatre in that environment.

 

[Feraud]

Money talks.

good luck with that.

I agree. I have to ask, what happens when we stop demanding common sense or avoid being part of a solution? Paying extra for a "members only" situation is fine but limited and dare I say selfish when discussing the overall problem and its solutions.
When we give theaters to screaming teenagers or subway cars to the graffiti artists we lose everything we come to the Fedora Lounge to try and recapture. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
Go out there and enjoy a movie. Demand your right to peace and quiet.

 

[Dinerman]

hmph. Quiet teens do exist in movie theaters.

 

[melankomas]

hmph. Quiet teens do exist in movie theaters.

i expect there are. the problem is, one can't hear them.

 

[Paisley]

I wouldn't pay extra to watch a movie in peace. It's already $9 at the theater.

The United Artists theater in downtown Denver is pretty good; I've been there several times and never was bothered.

I don't have any problem sharing the theater (or other outing) with kids around age 10 and up, as long as they don't make undue noise. They tend to have a better time than scowling old women who seem to think everyone should put themselves out to make them comfortable.

As for babies and little kids, of course I don't blame fault them for making a disturbance. Some adults don't seem to realize that not everyone finds a baby's wail music to the ears and toddlers' antics a delight. Especially at the symphony or a fine restaurant.

 

[griffer]

I agree. I have to ask, what happens when we stop demanding common sense or avoid being part of a solution? Paying extra for a "members only" situation is fine but limited and dare I say selfish when discussing the overall problem and its solutions.
When we give theaters to screaming teenagers or subway cars to the graffiti artists we lose everything we come to the Fedora Lounge to try and recapture. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
Go out there and enjoy a movie. Demand your right to peace and quiet.

Oh, I do demand my self anointed 'right' to peace and quiet. I will and have taken care of situations, but that's not really the point. I don't want to have to stare people down or resort to arguing with management who would much prefer if shoved off never to return so that three new puss-factories (patrons) could take my place, spending their minimum wages on popcorn and soda.

We live a negotiated society. I cannot DEMAND obedience to a standard of public behavior, especially not in someone else property (theater). Other than intimidation, I have no leverage.

I can withhold my patronage from the theater, but we are clearly outnumbered by younger puss factories with disposable income.

Theaters allow this behavior, so I was looking for a way to approach the theater, from their point of view, from a revenue point of view.

Yes, it is selfish. I don't want to save the world, teach it how to use a napkin, or halt the decline of western civilization. But, I am not part of the problem.

(Which, incidentally is a fallacy, look at the history of theater. The globe was a wild drunken mess of a place. People got into fights with each other, the actors and even the playwright. Those who had money sat above the fray.)

Imagine a world where more and more theaters are naturally segregated between adults and people who are at the theater for 'other reasons'. Once adults figure out they don't HAVE to watch a movie surrounded by EDITED FOR CONTENT, we may end up with a theaters marketing like Friendlies and Chuckee Cheese versus Morton's and Ruth's Chris.

Let me flip it around, what if theaters started offering a family/teens/young adult specific shows AT A DISCOUNT. Must be UNDER 21 unless accompanied by a drooling idiot.

To save some money, they might actually CHOOSE to be cordoned off in their own little frenzy room.

I am trying to be a builder-upper, not a tearer-downer.

 

[melankomas]

I agree. I have to ask, what happens when we stop demanding common sense or avoid being part of a solution? Paying extra for a "members only" situation is fine but limited and dare I say selfish when discussing the overall problem and its solutions.
When we give theaters to screaming teenagers or subway cars to the graffiti artists we lose everything we come to the Fedora Lounge to try and recapture. If you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem.
Go out there and enjoy a movie. Demand your right to peace and quiet.

i see your point, and it's a sound argument. i may be persuaded to agree at some point, but at present i categorically refuse to do a parent's duty by teaching a child of any age how to behave in public. i would teach my own, had i any. i was perfectly willing to teach my troops how to conduct themselves, but that was a responsibility i accepted with my rank, and did not include instruction in common courtesies; rather, i taught them the customs and courtesies foreign to them as they began their service.

 

[griffer]

I don't have any problem sharing the theater (or other outing) with kids around age 10 and up, as long as they don't make undue noise.

You clearly have the patience I lack. I demand NO NOISE, and NO CHILDREN.

Any noise other than the occasional cough or breathing is undue. Children cannot be expected to be held to those standards.

Especially at the symphony or a fine restaurant.

And here exactly is my point. Nobody would dream of wasting a $60 and up symphony ticket or a $200 dinner on a child.

No thanks, I left the children's table a long time ago, and I don't choose to go back.

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Here! Here!!

Griff I think that is a splendid idea.
Now don't get me wrong, I have no problem with kids. I like it when families all go out together. I think it's incredibly important for families to do things as a family. IMO, I think that family night, whether it be in or out on the town, is a great thing for kids. But, if you can't control your kids, don't take them out, or take them to Chuck E Cheeses.
There are plenty of "kiddy" places out there that don't let people in who are over a certain age, unless you are a guardian. So, I don't see what the harm would be in having a 21plus movie. Even if a theater designated a night that was 21 and over for certain shows, it'd be a step in the right direction.
I rarely go to the movies. I never go to the movies on a weekend. If their is a film I absolutely want to see (which is rare given the selection of movies nowadays) I will go on a weekday, the earliest show possible. Not only do I have the entire theater to myself, but the popcorn is fresh popped !
Or if I can actually convince Hemingway Jones to go to a movie, which is really rare, we'll go on a weeknight.

It would be so wonderful if their were 21+ theaters. It'd also be great if the theaters would designate one night a week to do a double feature of a vintage film. We have a couple of independent theaters that every once in a blue moon will play something from the golden era. In the summer the city of Boston does movies on the common where they play the popular classics like "Roman Holiday" and "Funny Face" and a bunch of others. They play them outside on a giant screen, it's fun to bring a picnic and watch the movie.

Also incredibly frustrating at the movies are all the commercials they play before the previews. Commercials for everything from cough syrup to the new tv show that's on the WB. They are horrible, loud, and if I wanted to see commercials, I would have saved myself the twenty dollars I spent to see a movie and have some stale snacks, and watched bad tv at home! When I went to see "Casino Royale" a few weeks ago the theater played a commercial geared towards businesses. Now you can have your next business meeting at the theater. Now I want to work for a company who does that. Nothing beats having a business meeting on the wide screen with a never ending tub of popcorn. You'd think that if they have the space to rent out theaters for that kind of use, they have enough to put aside one theater every so often for an adults only viewing of a film. I actually think that there are a lot of people out their who would take advantage of seeing a film without the annoying kids yapping, babies screaming, and teens who think they are all grown up because they can go to the movies without a chaperone smooching in the center row.