Officially, the season of summer doesn't begin for another two weeks, but for the movie business, summer 2008 started back on May 2, with the release of Iron Man. Though it seemed like an early enough start, some exhibitors would like it to begin even earlier, like in April. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, John Fithian, who heads the National Association of Theatre Owners (the largest trade group for cinema operators), and Mike Campbell (no relation), who runs Regal Entertainment (the largest cinema chain in the U.S.), discuss the benefits of having tentpole (aka blockbuster) movies released all year long rather than in just the summer and winter holiday seasons and ask that Hollywood at least consider bumping up some major releases to April rather than the busy month of May.

The argument for limiting tentpoles to the summer has always been that it's a time when kids are out from school. But as Fithian points out, most kids are still in school through May, when the biggest blockbusters are released. And movies like Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull still made a lot of money anyway. In fact, aside from whatever tentpole is scheduled for July 4th weekend, the movies released in May are often the biggest moneymakers of the year. At least for Hollywood. But according to Fithian, theater owners actually lost a lot of money in May because of how many tentpoles are released so closely together. Campbell adds that overall box office gross would be up significantly if major releases were more evenly spread out. Certainly moviegoers would appreciate having more blockbusters and/or better movies released in months like January and September, as well as other months often considered "dumping grounds" for movies that shouldn't have even been made.

Imagine not having to input your birth date and other information in order to watch a red band trailer. Oh yeah, that's already a reality thanks to YouTube. But you know what I mean. Legally, currently, we've had to prove our ages to see restricted trailers for such movies as Pineapple Express, Semi-Pro, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, The Foot Fist Way (this comedy's whole website is age-restricted), Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem and, most recently, Tropic Thunder. We've even seen red band trailers for PG-13-rated movies like Beowulf, which doesn't make any sense at all. Well, now we can see them on the big screen again. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Regal Entertainment Group cinemas (includes: Regal, United Artists, Edwards) has decided to bring red band trailers back to theaters.

Regal, the nation's largest cinema operator, made the announcement last week at ShoWest (yet the news hit the trades too late for my summary) and will begin looking at red band ads this week to see which film gets to be the inaugural title (the chain has already been quietly experimenting with a few at its Art Theaters). Obviously the trailers will only be shown before movies rated R or NC-17 or which are unrated. And most of them will likely continue to be for Judd Apatow movies. The move by Regal should put some new life into the marketing of certain movies -- Semi-Pro might have done better had its red band trailer been shown in theaters -- and will possibly influence other cinema chains to follow suit.

For people in South Brooklyn, there are two great incentives to going to the movies on Tuesdays. Unfortunately, each is offered by a different theater. At the independently owned Cobble Hill Cinema, the attraction is discounted tickets -- $6.50 instead of the usual $9. Down the street, at the huge Regal Entertainment-owned UA Court Street Stadium 12, the deal is a free small popcorn -- upgraded to a medium for only 50 cents.

So, being a South Brooklynite, I typically schedule my movie going for Tuesdays. But how do I choose which theater to patronize? Well, obviously, the first factor is what movies each theater is showing. Normally, Cobble Hill has indie films and other similar, adult-oriented fare (I don't mean porn; I mean Elizabeth: The Golden Age) while the UA has mostly mainstream, studio pictures (e.g. The Heartbreak Kid). However, on occasion, they are both showing the one movie I want to see. This week, for instance, both theaters are running The Kingdom.

Because I'm both cheap and poor, the best draw seems to be Cobble Hill's discount ticket. But then if I'm going to buy popcorn (I almost always want popcorn), it isn't really any cheaper than going to the UA and paying $11.25 for a ticket and a medium bag. And as much as I'd like to say that you should always support the mom-and-pop business, the truth is that I prefer the projection, the seats and, most importantly, the corn at the UA. Besides, Cobble Hill offers its discount on Thursdays, too; so anytime I choose to see a movie on that day of the week, the smaller business is definitely first choice.

This week Reuters has been holding a media summit in New York City, and many entertainment industry executives have not only been participating, they've been delivering some enjoyable quotes. Of particular interest to Cinematical are the statements from Regal Entertainment CEO Michael Campbell and Blockbuster CEO John Antioco. Campbell discussed the ever-threatening release window shrinkage, which he says he will continue to battle with strong measures. He claims that studios are okay to move up DVD releases for films that don't perform well at the box office, but he stands firm against even small distributors who wish to put out DVDs within eight weeks of their theatrical release. He won't give a minimum for acceptance regarding the window's time-frame, but he urges the film industry to recognize the importance of theatrical exhibition to the success of their product. Campbell also used the summit to announce that Regal has had success with their Guest Response System pagers, which are providing a solution to all the "physical battles" involving assaults with "bats, knives and guns" against cellphone users, and hopes to have them in theaters nationwide next year.

As far as the video rental business goes, Antioco said that it is a business that has reached a plateau, but is still the preferred way for consumers to see films. He is also quoted as saying that, "packaged media remains king for a long time." He claims that Blockbuster is not interested in fighting the digital alternatives (such as movie downloading), and says that it is a business they will need to be in, "for competitive reasons and for consumer reasons, to have a full-service brand." His company hasn't decided on a format for their planned download service, which might be provided through cable or satellite TV rather than computers, and they aren't ruling out any possibilities. On the subject of Blockbuster's rivalry with Netflix and the battle for the online rental market, Antioco says that, "if (Netflix CEO) Reed Hastings thinks he is going to be alone in it, I don't think he is correct."

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.

In case you're wondering why it's taken so long for American theaters to switch over to digital projection, the technology is expensive. One digital projector used to cost millions (now a bit less), and cinema chains just haven't had the dough to replace all, or most, of their equipment with the new stuff. Considering they couldn't get the studios to foot the bill, they seemed to be okay with the slow changeover. It isn't like theaters pay to develop film prints and ship them around the world, so it wasn't a loss to them. Still, they have had pressure to switch, particularly now with all the buzz about 3D versions of the Star Wars films. Finally, cinemas are eying the prospects more clearly.

The major U.S. chains, owned by Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Entertainment, Inc. and Cinemark USA, Inc. are about to borrow $1 billion in order to furnish 13,000 screens (one-third of the country) with digital projectors. A joint venture of the three companies, National CineMedia LLC is working with JP Morgan Chase & Co. to raise the money from hedge funds and private-equity firms. The money will be paid back over seven years with help from the studios (this is still being worked out).

Personally, I've been enjoying the slower process, and this coming from somebody who spent three years working with the annoyances of platter-system film projectors. I love the way film looks and I probably won't change once I do see a movie in digital (I know, it's about time I check it out). Nonetheless, I am always excited about advances in the cinema industry, and am therefore excited about this news, if it is true (it comes from anonymous sources on the fund-raising side of the deal). As long as places like Film Forum always use the old projectors, I don't mind at all if the multiplexes do their thing.