OSF - Don't remember the name of the cinema but it was on the main drag in the University District, yes.  And they didn't allow me to smoke, I just did because there was no-one else there, and it made me feel like a big man.

Neff - I enjoyed that insight.

Thankyou very much for your insights John - so great to see the film here in England (Nottingham, seen it three times now but each time not the whole due to certain problems with cinemas not my own fault!) and then 'talk' to a person personally involved in the film.

The barbeque scene is one of my favourites in the film, I found it hilarious. In a sense.

It was more the images that scared me but the sounds were fascinating. Laura doing her BOB thing was terrifying. Made me jump!

The woods scenes I loved too. Many Twin Peaks-esque elements in the film, I thought. Overall, great film and I hope Lynch makes something soon but maybe a little more plot!

Not that that has anything to with you John.

All the best,

James R Woolley

So I will go see 'Pirates', because of the huge soundtrack (and I watched some of the greenscreen model shooting), and some others of the big summer movies. In a certain way, though, it is a bit like going to work on your day off...

In a word...no.

I'll go if there's a blockbuster.  I'm talking Star Wars trilogy or Lord of the Rings.  Anything else I'm happy to watch at home.  Most people these days are set up with sound systems and TVs almost as good as the theatre anyway, so it's hard to justify leaving that kit at home, driving down to the theatre, paying exhorbitant prices for the food and drink, queuing up, watching the movie and then having to drive home again.

Better to microwave some butter popcorn at home, kick back and watch 2 movies for nothing in the same time period!!

My fond memory of theatres though harks back to my uni days.  The student guild would put on 2 movies on a Friday night.  It'd be in one of the old lecture theatres, and I especially liked going in Winter.  It was super-casual, so you could take in whatever you wanted to eat or drink.  We'd buy something like chicken and chips and have that for dinner.  Between the movies I'd duck out and grab some hot chocolates.  Those were the first years I spent with my wife (as girlfriend back then), so that's probably sweetened up the memories even more.  But it really was a special time for me - a great way to spend Friday nights...

Funny enough, I have been attending random showings of the local theater's "Retro Revival Movie Night" wherein they dredge up old-ish flicks and charge a fraction of the usual door price to watch it. Yeah, most of the movies are on DVD, and quite a few of them I actually own. But there's something magical about going back to the theater to see old favorites like Spinal Tap, Ghostbusters, and Dr. Strangelove. The audience that shows up is there because they enjoy the film. So you get great audience "participation" with comedies and action flicks, and when they show the (rare) solemn films like Poltergeist or Shawshank Redemption, there is a welcome quietness among the moviegoers. Yes, none of these films have blockbuster audio (they're all original prints...no remasters) and I haven't seen one yet that has digital effects...but for me, the retro revival nights are true moviegoing experiences for me. They're helping me to once again discover escapism through film.

Of course, they're also helping me to discover the exorbitant costs of the snack bar. $10 for nachos and a soda. GAH.

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

A new weapon in the war on sh*tty theater experiences:

Select moviegoers get tattletale tool

By David Lieberman, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Movie theaters don't have vice principals or hall monitors to enforce the rules, but they seem headed that way as they step up their battle with a big and growing problem: rude customers.

Major chains are telling managers to monitor audiences more frequently and clamp down on disruptions, including cellphone use, talking and gross littering.

The largest theater owner even is enlisting moviegoers themselves. This week, Regal Entertainment Group will significantly expand a program to give selected patrons wireless devices to anonymously alert the manager of disruptions.

"We have noticed over the years that customer etiquette has become more and more of a problem," says Dick Westerling, Regal's senior vice president of marketing and advertising. "We're doing what we can to provide a friendly environment for all moviegoers."

Summer is the peak time for complaints as kids pack theaters for the season's high-energy adventure and animation flicks.

"I don't believe that this generation of younger folk is as respectful of fellow audience members as previous generations" were, says National Association of Theater Owners President John Fithian. "Maybe that's because I'm getting older. But the sense among our members is that this is a growing issue."

Rudeness isn't limited to kids, though. "Parents who bring really small children into R-rated movies are an annoyance," Fithian says.

Theater owners must act. As HDTV and home theater sales grow, "They have to make it worth people's time to leave home and go to the movie theater," says Research Associates analyst Marla Backer.

The financial toll isn't obvious this year. Box office sales already are up 6%, with an unusually high number of potential blockbusters on tap. Shrek the Third, Spider-Man 3 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End have set a heady pace ahead of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Live Free or Die Hard, Ratatouille, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and The Simpsons Movie.

Owners still recall, though, the 2005 box office slump that led many to fear disturbances had done permanent damage.

"There's a subtle structural change going on," Backer says. "Certain people don't go to the movies anymore."

Regal will try to change that this week by introducing its Regal Guest Response System in 114 theaters, up from a test at 13 that began last year. Customers in Regal's loyalty points program will be invited to take a cellphone-size device into the theater. If something pushes their buttons — a disturbance, picture or sound glitch, someone recording the film — they can push one of four buttons to alert the manager.

"We've seen an improvement in the customer etiquette with the implementation of this program," Westerling says. "It addresses these problems on a more routine basis and in a faster manner."

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

Heh, no. Typically I head straight from work to school, and then from school to the theater so I'm famished by the time I arrive. I try to remember to pack an extra meal for those days for me to scarf in the car, but it doesn't always happen. So that's how I end up eating $10 nachos and soda. I've never really liked eating in the theater, so it's rare when I will buy something from concessions. I have to be pretty damn hungry. :D

I'm not a huge fan of watching DVDs all the time either. I don't rent, and I only buy DVDs I really give a hoot about...I'm not prone to just buying a DVD because a film won an Oscar or someone said it rocked. Most movies I'll just catch on HBO or Showtime. I'm OK with waiting a year to see things. If it was THAT important, I would have sucked it up and hit the theater when it came out. :) But as far as there being too many distractions and whatnot from watching a movie at home...well, I can control the distractions at home. I can turn the phone off and get the cats settled down and gather any food around me ahead of time so that I'm not up and down constantly. The same can't be said for the rude patrons that have driven me away from theaters. I have no control over them, no matter how loudly I complain to the manager. And while I can't speak for anyone else, I can say that when I put on a movie at home, I put it on at a time where I won't be pausing and going off to do other tasks. If I can't make that kind of time commitment, the movie waits for when I can. :) Even stuff on HBO and Showtime. 'Cause of course, those get TiVo'ed. :D

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Well, I don't care if they do allow you to bring in a bottle of wine, I still don't want to go to this new fancy schmantzy West LA theater for those who can afford the very best. 

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin