Cinematical

Well you know, there's something weird and strange and interesting about seeing some television show showcased or some upcoming movie given the Entertainment Tonight treatment on the big big screen. And then a well done commercial or two or three, not like we haven't seen them before. Not so bad. And you know, the screens used to be populated by that lame slideshow or a loop of the same songs that never ended. And of course try watching PBS and not getting all those 'high end' commercials not to mention pledge drives and commercials for the yearly auction. Advertisement is everywhere and in the movie theater I just hope the floor is clean and they keep teenagers from running amok. Like you I feel as if I have an inherent right for things to stay the same but unfortunately life doesn't work that way.

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Frankly, I think this is the most irrational blog entry I've seen on cinematical. If you are that bummed out by advertisements, go 10 minutes later.

I'd agree that repetition in ads before movies is annoying (How many years in a row do I have to see the same Toyota commercial anyway?), but in the world of theatre problems this only ranks very slightly above the theatre employee with no sense of humour that introduces the big shows. Afterall, didn't Norbit lead the box office recently? Isn't *that* more concerning/annoying/disappointing? Its definately more deserving of the "frequent moviegoers need to have their heads examined" quip.

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Hah, in Singapore at least it's standard practice by just about every cinema to show advertising before a show. Never realised it was an issue at all.

Do trailers count as advertising too? I always liked watching the trailers before a film.

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I would be less annoyed by pre-movie ads if the sound was lower. I can't talk to my friends before a movie because the theaters have the commercials' (or First Look, whatever you want to call it) volume so cranked up that I can't hear anything but the ads. It completely removes the social aspect of moviegoing for me. And "go ten minutes later" only works if the movie isn't going to sell out. Like Chris, we have solved this problem by avoiding theaters that show the commercials, and fortunately Austin has a few of these theaters (Alamo, Dobie, Highland).

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My only complaint is that the popcorn, pizza and twizzlers are all gone before the movie actually starts. Bummer!

Hey, I never went to a movie when I was in Singapore. I wonder if you get Durian and Rambutan instead of popcorn? At least some lor mai kai, meh.

--
dwacon
http://dwacon.blogspot.com

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10 minutes later even when it’s busy would work over here (the UK), where can you generally buy your tickets way before going in (that's in distance and time); I've bought tickets, gone shopping and come back sometimes. Or you could go one step further and actually book from home, on the phone or online.

And I like the ads, again it might be a UK thing but cinema ads over here tend only to be the artistic ones where the creatives seem like they’re more interested in winning awards than selling the product. Most are pretty good and one out of the reel might just be a masterpiece. We've got people like Jonathan Glazer turning them out here so...

Check out his reel here:
http://www.academyfilms.com/

Incidentally, has everyone seen the new BMW ad with the, uh, re-imagining of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on it? I’d love to see that on a big screen.

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I've seen countless movies with pre-show ads over the last few years. Not once - NOT ONCE - has it kept me from having any kind of conversation with the people I was sitting next to. If anything, it's given us something to talk about if only to make fun.

Movie prices are through the roof, especially when you live somewhere like New York City. But the pre-show ads are so harmless in regards to the whole moviegoing experience, it's not even an issue worth complaining about. How about only being given a choice between Norbit and Wild Hogs? This advertising gripe is just there to make us forget that we're being asked to pay ridiculous prices to see BAD movies.

Bottom line: if blatant manipulation is a problem, why are you going to the movies at all?

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I used to be vehemently against pre-movie advertising (especially Regal Entertainment Group's atrocious "The Twenty" - they've since changed the name to "Regal First Look" I believe), but it seems like they've made the advertising segments shorter, and during them I'll just talk to whoever I'm with at that time or get some popcorn. Some of the ads are even mildly entertaining - case in point a "behind the scenes look" at Spiderman 3 before the 300 premiere last night - some people even clapped during the advert.

However, I agree, the constant advertising and sky rocketing prices are aggravating, but I'll deal with it to spend some time at the movies. It's obvious theaters are a dying business, so I understand if they have to add advertising to reap some profits. BTW - The ArcLight is phenomenal - whenever I'm in LA that's my theater of choice.

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Sheesh,the people that work on this website sure do have a lot of complaints. This has got to be about the most mundane and pointless thing I can think of to get upset about. Next thing you know Chris is going to be all pissed off that the cups his sodas come in say "Coke" on them. OH NO!! So you sit through 5 minutes of commercials. Some of them are entertaining, some of them are stupid, all of them are easily ignored. "very unacceptable"? Waste your time being angry at something slightly more meaningful, like the fact that you can't get the same number of hot dogs as buns at the grocery store. Now theres something we can all get up in arms about!

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