| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Mike Temporale
Managing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 6516
Location: Toronto, Canada
|
 Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:45 pm Post subject: Movie Theaters Looking to Block Cell Phones |
 |
|
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsa...-CELLPHONES.xml
"Movie theater owners faced with falling attendance are considering asking federal authorities for permission to jam cell phone reception in an attempt to stop annoying conversations during films, the head of the industry's trade group said on Tuesday. Industry leaders at the ShoWest conference for theater owners want to find ways to win back crowds. "I don't know what's going on with consumers that they have to talk on phones in the middle of theaters," John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told the ShoWest conference in Las Vegas. Theaters are trying a number of ways to silence cell phones, from sweeps by ushers to funny fake movie trailers urging viewers to shut off phones."
Ok, if this isn't the craziest thing I've read in a while, then I don't know what is. Do theater owners really think that the falling attendance is due to cell phone use? That's just silly. I mean, it can't have anything to do with the horrible selection of movies they have listed or the drastically overpriced popcorn and soda.  Besides all that, some of us need to stay connected - even in a theater. That doesn't mean I'm going to sit there and talk on the phone, but in my line of work, I need to be reachable at various times. If I can't do that in the local theater, I'll have to find another place to kill sometime between client visits.
_________________
Want a Chance to Win? Check out our Gigantic Giveaway Event
"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein
|
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 3054
Location: Los Angeles
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
It will certainly keep me out of the theater. When I'm on call I can't be sitting in a movie unreachable.
_________________
[2125]
[8125]
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mbranscum
Smartphone Intellectual
Joined: 11 Dec 2003
Posts: 133
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 2:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yet another reason NOT to go to a movie theater and wait for the DVD release!!! 
_________________
Mike Branscum
Cool Smartphone User Guy
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
mikestew
Smartphone Pupil
Joined: 04 Nov 2005
Posts: 14
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 3:09 pm Post subject: Re: Movie Theaters Looking to Block Cell Phones |
|
|
| Mike Temporale wrote: |
| Do theater owners really think that the falling attendance is due to cell phone use? |
Maybe not, but it's one of the many things that has me rarely going to the cinema and more frequently viewing movies home. Finding more ways to get people to shut their yappers would be a step in the right direction.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
clintonfitchdotcom
Smartphone Neophyte
Joined: 20 Dec 2005
Posts: 6
Location: The Republic of Texas
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:06 pm Post subject: Re: Movie Theaters Looking to Block Cell Phones |
|
|
| Mike Temporale wrote: |
| Do theater owners really think that the falling attendance is due to cell phone use? |
It has to be the phones Mike... I mean, clearly it couldn't have anything to do with the quality of the movies being made these days....       
_________________
Clinton Fitch ~ MVP-Mobile Devices
Principal
Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Jerry Raia
Contributing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 3054
Location: Los Angeles
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
optikalsaint
Smartphone Thinker
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 344
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:25 pm Post subject: |
|
|
the last movie i saw in the theater was batman begins. why? because it was the last movie that came out that i felt was worth almost 10USD to actually go out and see.
sure people talking in the theater is annoying but there are other things that are annoying as well, like tom cruise and crappy remakes like war of the worlds or any of the other horrible movies they try and trick me into watching.
personally i think dvd's should be released when the movie comes out so i can buy it and go home and watch it and not worry about all the theater drama. i would rather waste 20USD on a dvd that i could watch whenever i wanted than 7.50USD on a ticket for a movie that i can only view once.
p.s. - ranting in t9 is hard  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mark Kenepp
Smartphone Neophyte
Joined: 14 Mar 2005
Posts: 9
Location: San Francisco, CA
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:57 pm Post subject: |
|
|
What do you people who have to be reached all the time do when you are called to jury duty?
I need to be reachable as well but you know, sometimes I am unreachable whether it is a result of something out of my control or it is my decision.
I am not a big movie goer myself but I see nothing wrong with movie theaters trying to block cell phones.
I guess if I did, I wouldn't go to the movies... Since I don't go to the movies maybe I do have a problem with blocking cell phones. Maybe that is why reception in my apartment is so lousy, my neighbors are trying to watch DVDs  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
ghostppc
Smartphone Neophyte
Joined: 28 Feb 2006
Posts: 2
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| optikalsaint wrote: |
| personally i think dvd's should be released when the movie comes out so i can buy it and go home and watch it and not worry about all the theater drama. i would rather waste 20USD on a dvd that i could watch whenever i wanted than 7.50USD on a ticket for a movie that i can only view once. |
I agree!!
| Mark Kenepp wrote: |
| What do you people who have to be reached all the time do when you are called to jury duty? |
True. Considering the absolutely crappy reception of my phone, it shouldn't matter much. But it's nice to be reachable no matter what. You should be reachable in a theater even(with your phone/pager on silent), it just doesn't mean you're supposed to hold a conversation during a movie. You get a call, you let it go, or you leave.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Mike Temporale
Managing Editor
Joined: 07 Jul 2003
Posts: 6516
Location: Toronto, Canada
|
| Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:02 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Mark Kenepp wrote: |
| What do you people who have to be reached all the time do when you are called to jury duty? |
I'm a consultant. I need to be reachable by my clients when they are having problems. If they can't reach me, they'll phone someone else, and I won't be able to put food on the table for my family. It's one thing to call my clients and tell them that I will be unreachable for the next week or 10 days because of A) Jury Duty, B) Vacation, or whatever. I can arrange a backup contact and they can plan those events. I'm not about to send out a notice saying I'll be unreachable for the next 3 hours because I'm going to see Titanic or what-have-you.
As an example, the client I was talking with today has to respond to an incoming data request in 50 seconds or else they loose the business. Teh 5 hour outage they had on Monday cost them an estimated $500,000.
Anyway, all this will end up doing is driving the pirate movie business into full gear. I've seen new theatrical releases for just $5 on the black market. I expect they'll be selling a lot more movies if people are unreachable in the theaters.
_________________
Want a Chance to Win? Check out our Gigantic Giveaway Event
"I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious" - Albert Einstein
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
Log in to check your private messages -> Log in 
