Upcoming
October 10
Choose Connor
Lower Learning
October 17
Mary
True Loved
October 22
Stranded, I Have Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains
Reminder
In this National Post piece about movie-theatre manners, author Michael Reid fails to mention one of the worst offenses out there -- i.e, people claiming that nearby seats are saved without territorial jungle markings. Under-20s are the primary culprits. They'll point to three, four or five seats and say, "Sorry, these are saved." Not without markings they're not!
As I explained last summer, everyone needs to adhere to "a basic Animal Planet view that you can't 'save' seats without marking them like dogs and wolves and coyotes mark territory by urinating on the ground, or the way Alaskan gold miners stake claims with little piles of rocks in Henry Hathaway films.
"All you have to do is put something on the seat -- a jacket, a magazine or an L.A. Weekly page, even a folded paper napkin. But you can't just point to three or four seats (or six or ten seats...there has to be a limit) and say, 'These are saved.' Certainly not when the lights are going down. You can try this with one or two seats, maybe, but not with three."
The next 17 year-old kid who says "sorry, these are saved" without markings is gonna have to lay it out with me.
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on July 4, 2008 at 2:43 PM
comment #1
Mark G.
says ...
Who wants to sit next to 17 year old kids anyway?
Posted by Mark G.
at July 4, 2008 3:20 PM
comment #2
lexG-pleasestopposting
says ...
who wants to sit next to jeff wells? if the flick's bad he'll cover his face and groan throughout, and if it's great he'll stand up, walk right past you and leave just when it's at its best.
Posted by lexG-pleasestopposting
at July 4, 2008 3:25 PM
comment #3
Geoff
says ...
I did this when I was about 17. I was with one other friend and waiting on about 5 others who weren't even in the theater yet. The lights hadn't gone down yet, which would have been my stopping point. It was a busy theater and I realize now it was completely unfair to others.
It was just like that episode of Seinfeld. I hated doing it and felt bad about it. I've never put myself in that position again.
Posted by Geoff
at July 4, 2008 3:31 PM
comment #4
CinemaPhreek
says ...
My experience so far has been even though it does piss me off when someone goes "they're saved" every time I've taken the trouble of looking back later I have found that, yes, they did have friends who showed up at some point. And most theaters have a policy that limits how many one person can save.
But again, it can be a good thing - because it's usually a big group of (male) friends that you don't want to be next to anyways.
Posted by CinemaPhreek
at July 4, 2008 3:34 PM
comment #5
berg
says ...
At a screening of Gonzo the other night there was an old couple, I mean older than me, hell older than Leydon, and the lady had a friggin' laptop open throughout the entire film ... I finally moved, it was a big auditorium and my superhero code of honor prevents me from beating up senior citizens ...
Posted by berg
at July 4, 2008 5:25 PM
comment #6
Edward
says ...
I remember the old days when usher's actually did something and walked around telling you to keep your feet on the floor. They need to tell people to turn off their phones and laptops. But usher's busting people is distracting...An 1080P projector and surround sound system is looking better and better.
Posted by Edward
at July 4, 2008 6:16 PM
comment #7
TerryKeefe
says ...
If people are saving more than four seats, that's unreasonable. Simply sit down in one of them and let them argue with you. I've done this a number of times. Actually, they usually don't say much. Four saved, anything more than that you're completely justified in ignoring them and taking what you paid for.
Posted by TerryKeefe
at July 4, 2008 6:32 PM
comment #8
Joe Leydon
says ...
OK, Jeff, I have to ask: How do you deal with people doing this at film festivals?
Posted by Joe Leydon
at July 4, 2008 9:19 PM
comment #9
Dzayson
says ...
So what's the limit for seat saving if every seat has a tangible item on it? Six? Ten? Can someone buy a pack of baseball cards beforehand and parcel them out across an entire row?
Posted by Dzayson
at July 4, 2008 10:16 PM
comment #10
Hallick
says ...
"At a screening of Gonzo the other night there was an old couple, I mean older than me, hell older than Leydon, and the lady had a friggin' laptop open throughout the entire film ..."
Well, that's when you go buy a hot dog with extra everything and then slam the thing shut in that moron's laptop.
Posted by Hallick
at July 4, 2008 11:01 PM
comment #11
Nick Plowman
says ...
Um, I have noticed that it is actually obnoxious adults saving sets for their "hubbies" or whatever, and not so much teens.
At the press screenings I go to, the idea of "markings" of seats s like religiously adhered to, which I find horribly annoying, but what is more annoying is that it is a necessity.
Thank god I barely go to normal cinemas, because my latest escapade to a local Israeli film festival proved a near death experience. There were no assigned seats, we were told we could sit wherever we wanted – and I hate that. Give me a seat that is “mine” or don’t bother at all.
Never mind 17-year-old freaks, I am staying away from middle-age Jewish woman.
Posted by Nick Plowman
at July 5, 2008 4:03 AM
comment #12
gruver1
says ...
Wells to Leydon: You mean, how do I deal with people verbally saving seats without jungle markings at Park City's Eccles theatre? The answer is, no one I've run into at the Eccles has pulled this shit. And I've never come across anyone in Toronto doing the same.
Posted by gruver1
at July 5, 2008 8:01 AM
Post a comment