CellPhones Tagged Articles at Cinematical

The completely deranged practice of watching movies on cell phones just got a boost. The Hollywood Reporter has a story on Sony's recent deal to put some of its classics catalog on AT&T's "Mobile TV" network starting this May. Soon, subscribers will be able to watch movies such as Philadelphia, Stand By Me and Ghostbusters while on the subway or in the dentist's waiting room. Whether or not they will want to is an open question.

To their credit, the honchos behind this seem to recognize that people aren't going to sit there and stare into a tiny cell phone screen for two hours. According to a Sony exec, the objective isn't to get people to watch the whole movie, and they don't expect too many customers to watch Ghostbusters for the first time on a two-inch display. Rather, this is intended for those who've already seen the films and want to rewatch certain scenes on a whim.

Sony, of course, was responsible for the fleeting phenomenon of watching movies on your PSP (portable Playstation), and they don't seem to be giving up on "mobile entertainment." I guess there's been some traction; I have friends who keep up with their favorite TV shows on their commutes. My mind still boggles at the concept of this actually being a viable business model -- Don't your arms get tired? What do you even see in there? -- but I suppose people are starting to embrace anything they can carry with them on their gadgets. I'll leave you with David Lynch's immortal -- and entirely correct -- words on the subject, after the jump.

I love SXSW. It's by far the most favorite film festival to attend, in no small part because it's seemingly the last major film festival that cares about whether or not its audience is having fun. So when the people behind the acronym called and asked me to sit on the jury of their offshoot, SXSWclick, I jumped at the chance. SXSWclick, to quote the official website, "is a year-round initiative created to showcase short-form storytelling via mobile devices and the web." In other words, it's a festival specifically for shorts designed for digital, if not device-specific, distribution. There are five categories to submit work in, ranging from music videos to documentary, to "What the F*$!?" - or, the "Not sure we 'get it' -- but it's pretty cool" category. All work has to be under ten minutes, and it needs to arrive at the SXSW offices via VHS or DVD by June 12. Winners receive a passel of prizes, as well as a chance to screen their film for the ever-expanding crowds at the 2007 SXSW Film Festival, and all entrants will be seen by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals, including Jason Reitman, Bob Sabiston, Kirby Dick, and, well, me. Wanna enter? Here's the link.

The Christian Science Monitor's Peter Rainer has a great piece up on movie manners, deploring how everyone from teenagers to movie critics have lost all semblance of manners when watching movies these days. As someone who sees a lot of movies for a living, I have to agree with him. Cellphones, crying babies, talking teens, chatty groups of women out for a mom's night, rowdy frat boys, you name it, they're out in theaters set on annoying those of us who actually want to watch the movie. When I went to a screening of Hellbent, we even had a pack of gay guys tripping on acid (though in that case, they actually kind of added to the ambiance). Film festivals, which you would think would be attended by movie lovers who have some manners, are actually where you find some of the worst offenders. Film critics and filmfans alike think nothing of loudly offering their erudite opinions during the show. People get up and loudly walk out in the middle of a film if they don't like it. Cinematical is going to Sundance next week, and we're going to be covering the heck out of it. But we're also going to be dealing with a lot of rude moviegoers. So to that end, I'm getting prepared, with this list of ways to deal with rude moviegoers.

You know that big box office crisis that we've been hearing so much about lately? Well, the Suits have finally pinpointed the cause for it: Cell Phones! NATO (The National Assosciation of Theater Owners, that is, not the free trade org) are currently hard at work trying to get the FCC to block cell phone signals inside of movie theaters. President John Fithian says that as part of theater owners' attempts to bring viewers back to the movies, theaters need to start eliminating "rude behavior." Fithian says this isn't a particularly big step, as many theaters already have no cell phone policies, requiring guests to check their phones at the door. On the other side of this battle is another fancy acronym: CTIA, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Assosciation. The Washington-based cellular lobbyist group said that it will fight any move to block cell phones, because it interferes with people's ability to use wireless devices in emergency situations.

Am I annoyed by cell phones in theatres? Sure. Do I think we need to get the FCC involved to make a bunch of rules and regulations to prevent it? By all that is good and holy, no. It already drives me nuts that every law/rule making body in the states seems to feel the need to churn out legislation at the drop of the proverbial hat. Take care of it the private sector, like some theaters are already doing – check it at the door. Throw people out who violate the policy. Sure, you won't be able to catch everyone, and sure it'll result in a few seconds of frustration by a theater full of people every now and then. But isn't a few seconds of frustration better than yet more endless federal regulation?