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I thought we took care of that silly commercial problem
Posted: Nov 19, 2007 in Things to do, Movies, TV and Celebrities
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I thought there was a lawsuit that took care of that "commercials after showtime" in movie theaters thing.
Apparently the Kerasotes Showplace at Washington Square on the east side didn't get the message. We had to sit through 10 minutes of commercials after the announced showtime. I actually checked my watch to see how long it took. 10 minutes...BEFORE the silly little Kerasotes promo and the trailers!
And am I the only one (I know I'm not, because Hammerle has already mentioned it) sick of seeing that 3 Doors Down recruitment propaganda video for the National Guard? Do they HAVE to play the entire song in the theater?
It's not just the commercials that bother me; excessive trailers get tiresome as well. Don't get me wrong, I love to see previews of upcoming flicks, but three is about my limit. After that, your foot gets a-tapping. Plus, someone who goes to as many movies as I do has usually seen most of the trailers before. Seen the "Mr. Magorium" trailer probably a dozen times by now.
One benefit, though: If it's not a popular movie in danger of selling out, my girlfriend and I have discovered we can safely arrive 10 or even 15 minutes after showtime and not miss anything.
Hey, guys & gals! Ticket prices and snacks not priced high enough? Let's subject the crowds to commercials; referred to by the megaplex industry as REVENUE ENHANCEMENT! They're not going to go away. Just you wait until all the cracker-box cinemas (I try never to use the word theatre) have converted to digital projection--then you're gonna see more and more commercials, a complete pre-show seamlessly inserted, spot-by-spot, trailer-by-trailer onto a hard drive and "let 'er rip to the audience!" Regal owns their own production company specifically created for pre-show production. One of many. When Loews was owned by Sony the policy was to start the pre-show an extra 5 minutes before the advertised start time. That was supposed to drive you back to the snack bar and you got the early and the late arrivals. There was a hoot of a SNL bit about a crowd sitting through a Loews pre-show and ending up as skeletons.
And, Chris, you are right about the excessive trailers. I never use the green bands, they're meaningless anyway, and only play a max of 3 trailers. If you are standing behind an audience during trailers, after a while, you can actually hear an audible sigh every time another green band appears. Those cinemas belonging to the MPAA have agreed to use them.
At the Key we start pretty much on time with only about 5-6 minutes of trailers. Unfortunately, the long pre-show has taught patrons to show up late if they choose. With us, they get mad because they've missed the beginning of the show.
There was some hoopla about advertised show times -vs- actual feature start. Don't know if it was resolved but I do remember a woman suing. I think those megaplex corps that belong to the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) agreed to an adjustment. It's just like abiding by the rating system; there ain't no law, just agreements. Did you know that trailers are recorded 5-10 decibels above the feature specifically to stop you from using your cell phone or talking to your friends and pay attention! Hollywood likes it that way.
And the new megaplex policy? Herd 'em in, show it to 'em, herd 'em out! And, oh, yes, get them to part with as much money as possible while making them believe they've been entertained.
Ain't the movie business wonderful!
I also really dislike the Regal pre-show thing. Is it The 20? I don't like getting to the theater early only to be bombarded with super-loud noises and previews of TV shows or whatever.
Give me AMC's movie trivia and games (with a few ads mixed in). At least that doesn't dull your senses before the movie starts.
I understand these people want to make money, but come on.