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With one of the largest moviegoing populations in the U.S, the City Council is making sure that New Yorkers can get the most out of their trips to the movies. Yesterday, a bill was proposed to make sure movie theaters list the actual movie start times - not when advertising and previews begin. City Councilwoman Gail Brewer told the media:
"We can't outlaw advertising. But at least we can tell the industry that they have to be honest about when their movies start, not their ads."Gothamist applauds the spirit of the bill, but we thinks it's a little off. People should get into their seats by the start of the previews, but, given the already stupid antics of some moviegoers, we want to ensure that people aren't coming in late during a movie's opening. Movie theaters are arguing that people already know that movie start times include ads and previews, but Gothamist would like to say, "Yeah, but we didn't know we'd have 20 minutes of pure promotional drivel before seeing four not-that-great previews." If we had our druthers, we'd like to know how long the ads would be, what previews there were ... oh, screw it, Gothamist is a psycho about being at the movies on time...we're the losers waiting in the hall while the theater is being cleaned out.
And speaking of psychos, did you know that moviegoers once entered movies any old time they wanted, even well after it started? Alfred Hitchcock insisted that late moviegoers to Psycho be turned away, thus beginning the movement to see the start of the movies at the beginning. Edit your own Psycho shower scene here.
Ask Gothamist on movie theater annoyances and latecomers.
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I like the spirit of the bill as well, but I do enjoy those previews. I know movies on average start 15 to 20 minutes after the stated start time, but I think its worth it for me to catch those trailers.
The city council really has their work cut out for them. Aren't there more pressing issues in the city?
of course there are more pressing issues, but they're hard, so it's easier to tackle this one.
when i lived in queens, we were about 10 minutes from the college point multiplex. typically we would LEAVE OUR HOUSE at the time the movie was advertise to start, and still manage to get there, find parking, buy tickets, popcorn and soda and get in our seat before the actual movie started. in the outer boroughs where theatres aren't that full, there's a great benefit to this type of policy. but my recollection of having to stand in lines just to get into very full theatres in Manhattan would tell me that if you waited until the movie actually started, you'd probably have very slim pickings of seats.
I certainly don't love the ads before the movies, but I can't say they bother me either. What is the big problem with them? If you don't like them, then don't buy the products they're selling. It's simple.
Debbie, the problem with the ads is the time wasted sitting there. Time is valuable and I don't like wasting mine watching ads.
Looney tunes started by being shown before movies. I wish they would do that again, even while people are still coming in before the ads start. As you can see on the internet their are so many great short films that could be shown instead of the stupid slides.
Well, at least in the previews you can pretty much tell which upcoming movies will suck!!!
I think the more pressing issues are mfers whose feet keep hitting the back of your chair or who bring little kids to inappropriate movies or who won't shut up or who laugh way more than necessary like that idiot girl during the Team America movie whose boyfriend even told her to shut up.
They do this in Paris (movie watching capital of my world). Every movie listing has two times: start of "stuff" and start of film.
This is a silly thing to be fighting for. All issues would be solved if movie theaters in the US adopted an assigned seating policy. I first experienced this in Singapore and it's great. Show up when you want to (within reason) and you know where your seat is. Never get stuck in the very front and get stuck with a crick in your neck. Assigned seating people!
Anyone who thinks you can go see a movie in NYC without getting there a at least a half hour early is nuts. I am amazed that people show up a couple of minutes before the movie begins and think that they a) won't be sitting in the front two rows, and b) will be able to get a seat next to their date. That's the one thing NYC has done to the movies for me...it's no longer a spontaneous event. It has to be planned. And of course the high cost prompts me to skip the movies that don't really need to be seen on a big screen. Why pay $30 to see that mediocre comedy when it'll be on DVD in a couple of months?
I recall in England (this was a while ago) they had 3 start times: one for the ads, one for the trailers, one for the film itself.
But I believe they also had assigned seating. Which I like.
And beer!
some theaters in NYC have 'premium seating'
granted the tickets cost a little bit more, but it's worth it