Regal Entertainment Has Read My Mind

Have you ever been so annoyed with another audience member while watching a movie that you went to get the theater manager? Or have you wanted to, but just couldn't sacrifice that bit of the show you'd miss if you walked out and tried to find someone to complain to)? Usually I just wait it out -- because, from my cinema background, I know how time-consuming the first choice can be -- and imagine what it would be like to have a "call button" on my armrest, similar to those used on airplanes to get the attention of flight attendants, or in hospitals to alert nurses. But I always figured that my idea was just wishful thinking and that such technology in auditoriums would be thought of by theater executives as too expensive, open to abuse, or both.

Fortunately there's Regal Entertainment, owner of the Regal Cinemas, Edwards Cinemas and UA Theatres chains. The company has just announced the very thing that I thought only existed in my mind: The Regal Guest Response System (RGRS). Currently testing in 13 of Regal's theaters across the country, the RGRS is a special pager with four buttons, one for each of the following problems: Sound, picture, disturbance and, of course, piracy. The pager is not located on the armrest or attached to any part of the seat, but is instead something given to some patrons to bring into the theater. I guess this fixes some of the expense and abuse issues.

For the first time in awhile, I am really starting to have hopes for my movie-going future.