Rules of the Rude

Today’s blog is nothing new for those of us who love to go to the movies.  I hope that you don’t find yourself in any of the following, for true movie lovers are more likely to ‘go to the movies’ than just ‘go to a movie.”  We love to attend movie showings and do not go just to ‘hang out’ or have ‘something to do.’

Good movie etiquette is like driving.  92% of people feel they are better drivers than everyone else.  So why all the bad drivers out there?  And so with movie going, if most people feel that others have poor movie etiquette, why do we still have this with bad manners in attendance?  Rhetorical, yes, but annoying none-the-less.

Last weekend, I was able to get “Red Tails” into my timetable, and with the audience I happened to see it with, I just thought today I would do my weekly blog as a therapy letter.  I am not the only one to expound, as there are dozens of these complains online & visualized on YouTube,  and the like.  This is the ‘tip of the iceberg,’ and so much more could be added to this tongue-in-cheek motivational handout for the ‘others.’  I am sure those of you who are reading this will agree.

 Bad Manners Movie Protocol:

1. Be late.  You’re silhouette across a movie trailer or 

opening it what everyone else who was on time came to see.

2. Make sure the movie theatre employees restart the movie if

they have already begun to ‘roll film.’ 

They obviously have not checked the newspaper or online for the 

show times, and you know those are always the ‘gospel truth.’

3. When heading to the snack bar, just pick any old item off the

top of your head that you’d like. 

If you’re wanting it, they must be serving it. 

Movie theaters are just another form of restaurant or fast-food establishment.

4. The lobby is in no way the place to foreshadow attendance of a movie.

So,make sure you only leave one or no seat between you and the

next person in the row (especially if you don’t know them). 

After all, those who come [later than you] are more likely to 

show up in pairs, and subsequently be separated and 

make even more of a disturbance.

5.  Since you’re probably late already, you’ve missed all the 

requests to silence cellphones and pages.  Good for you! 

Those PSA’s are for everyone else but you, anyway.

6. Sound travels & that’s a good thing! 

Now everyone else waiting for the picture to start or during can hear

what you have to say about the movie. 

They obviously don’t have anything critical thinking skills themselves, nor

are they here just because they need something to do,

so make sure you talk about it loudly to your neighbor,

so others can understand what’s happening.

7.  Remember to snap open those soda cans as loud as possible. 

You want people to know you do not understand that movie 

theatres make their revenue from the snack counter and 

that you are delighted to announce you’ve 

brought your own (especially when you leave the remains in 

the theatre for the employees to pick-up - this is what they live for).

8.  Always stand-up immediately after the movie is over by 

taking time to put on your coats, talk about the movie, or 

hey!, even watch the credits. 

As in motivation #1, the people behind you love seeing your silhouette

against the screen.  They don’t need to see the names of 

all those whose hard work and talent went into the making of the movie.

9. Just remember these are the folks out there who

are NOT following these rules.

10. Keep up the good work!

Please feel free to add your theatre-going pet peeves in the comments!

Sweet on You

Wow!  Feeling good to get this blog published on schedule today! And, I’ll make this one short and “sweet.”

When I attend the movies, it is like an imperative to have a bucket of popcorn. I watch some folks come in empty-handed and stay that way (not smuggling in outside snacks, which I ABHOR, by the way!). I honestly don’t know how they do it.  Perhaps it is just great self-control, or they have just been to dinner and had a wonderfully, satisfying meal.  But for me, many times at the movies, my snack IS the meal.

I have two sons and a daughter-in-law that work in the movie theatre industry.  I know theatres do not make their revenue on the movies themselves, per se, but mainly on snacks.  That could be an additional addendum to this week’s blog by one of the kids, but today’s thoughts are all about those wonderful, delightful snack counter treats that enhance the salty – the sweet.

My favorites are mostly candies.  I never could quite understand consuming pizza or burgers, nachos or hot dogs at the movies.  Maybe at the drive-ins (for those of us ancient enough to recollect those wacky landmarks from our childhood) a hot meal from the food counter would work for me, but aside from popcorn, I’m strictly a candy kid!

 My favorite candies were Bottle Caps© and Flicks©.  My mother would buy these for me at the Cinedome (blog Jan 14, 2012) when we would attend the movies while my older sister was at camp. “The Apple Dumpling Gang,” & “Walt Disney’s Robin Hood” never were better without these in my lap. 

   It was fun to find these candies again as a chaperone on a field trip with my youngest son in Old Town Sacramento many years ago.  1201 Front Street, Sacramento is where the candy of yesteryear dies and goes….”Candy Heaven.”  There I found not only a barrel of Flicks©, but Bottle Caps© and so many others.  What a find!  I bought several rolls of Flicks©, and saved them to

eat while watching movies at home.  Yes, the movie really IS better!  That delightful droplet of chocolate in the mouth is worth every pick from the tube, and just as with Bottle Caps©, those crazy discs that hit the sour spot in the back of the jaw make for a sad face when the package is empty.

I feel this way now when the bottom of the Reese’s Pieces (my new favorite movie candy) box is empty.  But now I know how to ration my treats for the 2-hour escape into darkness and fantasy, so they last much longer, and I am no longer disappointed when they’re gone.  There’s still more popcorn in the bucket!

You Must Remember This...

Well, another week has passed, & I made it to the keyboard to blog once again.  Thank you for the kind messages and comments; I appreciate your encouragement.  After last week’s blog, I feel I have big shoes to fill, even though they’re my own.

The first person that began the “I remember where I was when I heard…” was President John F. Kennedy.  Perhaps even before then were our ancestors recalling a particular date or time in their own memories, but as the world began to get smaller, the tragedy of Kennedy would mark this expression.

Strange segue to today’s topic, I know, but as I sat in two theatres this week, (the Tower Theatre, Sacramento for “The Artist” and “Sierra Cinema, Grass Valley for “The Adventures of Tin Tin”), I began to recollect all the wonderful places I have seen movies.  Perhaps not  “wonderful” in architecture, design or décor, but the sentimentality they derive that makes them “wonderful.”

The first movie I remember seeing was “The Sound of Music.” My uncle took the entire family to see this film at the Tustin Theatre.  Sadly, it has been a dinner theatre for more than 25 years now.  I remember how small I felt in the seat, trying to hold it down by my own weight (not a problem today!), and how large the screen looked.  That is all I remember. 

I do, however, have better memories of "Walt Disney's The Jungle Book."  Sitting in the back seat in my pajamas at the Orange Drive-In, getting to see Mowgli & Baloo dance up a storm, and of course, be frightened by Kaa the Snake, (although now that I know it was Sterling Holloway, how could I ever be afraid?)

The Foxx Mann Theatre is Costa Mesa is where I fell in love with not just the movies in general, but the classic era of the musical.  This is where my mother took her mother, aunt, and me to see “That’s Entertainment!”  I sat there thinking, “Where have these films been all my life?” and thus began a new love lust for Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ann Miller, Eleanor Powell, and the list goes on and on and on and…

I also saw “Rocky” (with a dear friend) on one of the screens at that theatre, and yes, people really did stand up, cheer and applaud! 

A favorite theatre during my teen years was the Cinedome, Orange.  Which was torn down over ten years ago.  On a return visit to Orange County, I had to catch my breath when I saw nothing but a weed-infested parking lot.    

http://www.in70mm.com/newsletter/2000/62/cinedom/index.htm

During this theatre’s heyday is where we would stand in line for (what seemed like) hours to see the latest new release. One of my favorite memories was taking my dad to see “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and sitting near the back at the top of the dome and hearing those first scouter ships come from ‘behind’ us and over our heads - not to mention the immense power of the mother ship as she delivered her famous communication melody! 

Dozens of films at the Cinedome are logged by me, but of course, I have to mention “The Empire Strikes Back” as a memorable picture there, for it was the first movie date I had with my now husband of almost 29 years. Seeing a “Star Wars” picture is a pretty good one to have for a ‘first date’ memory!

Now the Edward’s Newport Beach, that was a like walking into pure luxury!  The chandeliers that hung from that expansive ceiling were divine. I saw my first “R” picture there (with much guilt), but it was also there I saw “Amadeus.”  I was expecting my first son, and of course, we made sure with those huge crowds for me to get an aisle seat (for obvious reasons) – it was a feat, but we did it!

I keep extensive records of the movies I have seen, (yes, I save ticket stubs), the places I saw them, those I saw them with, and a little about the film to help me remember the film.  I also include my own “1-10” rating scale.  It is a soothing memory to go through this list  - to recall what was going on in my life at the time.  To see landmarks not only in my own in life, but also in the lives of my children, and a recollection of friends who enjoyed films with me.  This list in itself is a journal of serenity and calm.  I hope this will inspire you as well to write a journal of your movie memories.

Fade Out…

Fade Out / Fade In

I wanted to start blogging again, and after the myriads of "In Memoriams" that occur at the end of any year, "TCM Remembers" (Turner Classic Movies) ignited my desire to start this blog once again.  Each year I watch this remembrance of who passed away during the year, and I admit I had forgotten some of these had actually died.  Why?  Because we have that wonderful gift of celluloid –film and the magic that made me fall in love with it when I was a girl.  These amazing faces, movie stars, if you please, were truly larger than life, and they took us to a new place each time we walked into that dark room ready to be transported.  Granted, I am a child of the 1960’s, and have no idea what it was really like to go see a picture say, in the 30’s, 40’s, & 50’s, but last spring, as Del Oro Theatre in Grass Valley hosted their ‘classics series,’ I got a taste - a delicious bite of movie star delectability.  Seeing Charlton Heston in “Ben-Hur”, Elizabeth Taylor, James Dean, & Rock Hudson in “Giant” (these both two of my favorite films ever, anyway) on the big screen took my breath away. 

I realized how these ‘stars’ were born and how unique each face was – unlike today, where so many are cookie-cutter  copies of one another.  I can’t tell the difference (nor do I really care to know) between Blake Lively& Sienna Miller or Ryan Gosling & Ryan Phillipe, and frankly, they just don’t hold a candle to the likes of these.

I would say Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton were the first stars I really recall being media personalities.  As a child, I would go to the beauty salon each week with my mother.  While I waited, I looked at the Hollywood magazines.  There they were, on every page, & I was fascinated. Although movie going was not encouraged in the home where I was raised, I would put my money on this as where my interest started.

Prior to the Christmas holiday, I happened to see “Hugo.”  It looked like a ‘discovery picture,’ with two children: One with a key and one with the lock that it fits.  I enjoy this genre. “Cheers” to the creator of this trailer, as this is what I thought I would see.  But as this film progressed, I actually had to catch my breath and wipe a teary eye, for this film renewed that which I first fell in love with, and I felt it again.  I describe it as “finding a cardboard box, opening it, and discovering valuable treasure.” Treasure that recalls memories.  Treasure that inspires.  Treasure that reminds us the good in filmmaking and the endless possibilities.

Movie critics and fans are a dime a dozen, myself included, each with our own picks & pans, and thankfully, this is love/hate relationship is subjective.  You may or may not agree with anything I have scrawled here in these few paragraphs; however, this blog is dedicated to the movies and all they contain.  I hope to write not reviews, but about the people, the films, anecdotes, and the magic of the cinema.

As the New Year is born, the old year fades into history.  But with the gift we've been given of film, may this never be.