weird scene at F911 last night.....

[liberalitch]

The commie and I went to the 8:00 show at the little fancy mall in our city named for a guy who disobeyed Pres. Truman's direct order and had to be fired (Gen. D. MacArthur, go figure).
The attendance was light. At first everything went normally, then AFTER the previews the house lights came back on and stayed on for the first 10 minutes of the film.... then one of the other audience members got up and went and complained after which they were turned off.
Then when the movie was over.... the credits were not allowed to roll,... the reel was shut off and the house lights came on fast.
As everyone left.... the theater manager was there to scowl at all of us... with what looked like ALL of the mall security.

Y'all think maybe the blood is in the water even more so than it was before?

[BlueStateGirl]

1. Was it a Reagal Cinema? Because that is exactly what happened

at the showing I attended.

[liberalitch]

6. Why, yes... by golly it was!

This could be a pattern....
Is this EXACTLY what happened to you?

[BlueStateGirl]

15. Yeah.... sat thru that stupid thing called " the twenty" and then about 6

previews of coming attractions. As soon as the previews ended the house lights came up, stayed up for about 5 minutes. Several people complained. The projection was cut off as soon as "Keep o n Rockin' in the Free World" started. Absolutley no credits.

Must be Regal policy. Perhaps they are expecting disruptions?

But at my Regal, as I said in an earlier post, there was a community church service going on. Evidently this church has their regular Sunday morining service at the theater. Weird.

[matcom]

10. our Regal didn't do that

matter of fact, they left the lights OFF FOR all the credits. nobody moved until it was ALL OVER

:shrug:

[0007]

18. Same in Odessa Texas

[Blecht]

28. Our Regal was fine, too

Normal showing -- nothing weird at all.

[DenverDem]

2. What city was this?

What coprorate theater?

[liberalitch]

9. Norfolk, Va.

Regal

[Killarney]

3. You should complain to the corporate offices

and tell them that your movie-going experience was ruined by the lights being on and by the movie being cut short.

At the least, you'll get free tickets.

At the most, maybe the repuke theater manager will get a lashing.

[Tosca]

11. Report it!

Make a stink about it!

[Cheswick2.0]

33. Yes, I think it is illegal for them not to show the credits

I agree with you, people should complain to corporate HQ. They are making a fortune off this film.

[ThreeCatNight]

4. Is the theater part of a national chain?

If so, complain to the headquarters. The credits are part of the movie, so the manager failed to show the entilre film.
This along with the light situation is intimidation plain and simple.

[melv]

7. post it at Michael Moore's site

he is asking for our stories. Let him know.

[TransitJohn]

24. This is what you should do.

Moore would love it.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

12. Yep. I'd say money back on the ticket price is due.

You got gypped.

[cheezus]

21. not meaning to bitch, just a fyi

the term "gypped" means the exact same thing as "jewed", only referring to the gpysies rather than the jews.

no offense, don't mean to go all PC on you.

[AP]

14. Regal, Edwards and UA are all owned by the same company, I believe.

[Caution]

5. Call up lions gate and complain. They are OBLIGATED by the rental

agreement to show the credits. Also call the corporate parent of the theater, you shoudl be able to get a free round of tickets out of this at the very least.

[T Bone]

27. Use your free passes you get to attend FH911 AGAIN

So it gets its attendance figures pushed up even more. And go back to the same theater and make sure they are Showing ALL of it the way a movie is supposed to be shown.

[funkybutt]

8. wierd scene at my showing as well

they delayed beginning the film for about 15 minutes...people just assumed it was b/c it was sold out and they wanted everyone to find a seat. People were beginning to get impatient but pretty much kept their cool. Then the previews began, but then they suddenly shut off..the lights came on and we were told they were having "technical difficulties". The crowd laughed..some jokingly yelled out "it's the republicans!" This delay lasted abotu another 10 minutes so the movie was actually started like 30 minutes late. I've never had such a thing happen at a movie. It was very strange indeed. Throughout the film i kept wondering when it would go off again...Thankfully it played in it's entirity.

[JHB]

16. That only happens to me at dinosaur movies...

Had something like that happen at both "Jurassic Park 2" and the US "Godzilla". Those were on opening night, though.

So it does happen to regular movies too. Got free tickets for both.

[yankeeinlouisiana]

25. Where did you see the movie, Funkybutt?

I saw it at Canal Place. The movie did start late, but I assumed it was because of the large crowd? :shrug:

[funkybutt]

29. I couldnt get in at canal place

tried to get tickets at noon...but the line was WAY too long for my lunch hour

ended up seeing it at AMC in Harahan...(for those not familiar with New Orleans, that's just outside of the city)

[funkybutt]

31. You going to any F-911 house parties tonight

I'm going to try to hit the one on Mazant street

for info http://action.moveonpac.org/f911/

[scottxyz]

13. So nice to live in America where we have freedom of speech

Unlike those poor Iraqis.

Is it legal for a theater to tamper with the content or showing of a film? (Messing with the lights while it's playing, cutting off the credits?)

I would imagine there'd be some contract in the film-rental clause that says if you're gonna show the film, you have make a good-faith effort to show the film in its entirety (barring power outages etc.)

I'd ask for a refund AND report this to the distributor.

[leftofthedial]

17. I saw it yesterday at a Regal Cinema

and the very beginning of the reel (where it shows the Film Company logo, before the movie actually starts) was messed up.

But they didn't bring up the house lights and the credits rolled normally.

[Joe the Revelator]

19. I'm going to this same theater tonight...

i'll let you know if the same thing happens

[jobycom]

20. I wonder if they had threats, like Republicans were claiming they would do

To me it sounds like they had some reason to think that there would be a disruption at the very beginning or the very end of the film, possibly from some of these Republicans who were threatening theater owners and planning all kinds of disruptions.

If I recall, no Regal Cinemas are showing the film in Austin yet. Tinseltown and a few of the independents (I think all the independents) are. The Regal by my house isn't, for sure.

[trumad]

23. I posted on opening day

that our theater in Oviedo, Fl, (Orlando) had the power go out during the Goat story and about 3/4's of the way through the film. My son was in another movie at the theater, (White Chicks) and he said the power went off early on but that was it. I don't suspect foul play and we were given free passes to a future movie. Shit happens?

[Bluebird]

26. I wrote to R/C theatres because

They aren't showing Fahrenheit 911 here on the outerbanks of nc. This is what they emailed back:

There are 2 basic things that drive out booking decisions, gross potential and distributor. Obviously we want to play the movies that we feel will gross the most money.However we also have relationships with film companies that we must maintain. All of the major distributors have multiple titles they want to release (and get on as many screens as possible) during the very busy summer period. For a smaller distributor to attempt to open a film (that is, or at least was, considered to be a specialty movie best suited for art houses) during this crowded period makes it difficult if not impossible to play. What with the great response by the general public I am sure you will see the bookings expand exponentially. Our booking department will be analyzing this today to determine where we can fit it in. I can assure you that our reasons for not playing it have nothing to do with politics or the content.

[jobycom]

34. I buy that, for a lot of theaters

I mean, unless you hang out at DU, you might not expect the massive response this film got. How many major media outlets have been predicting this type of showing? Few of them really covered the Cannes reaction, aside from mentioning it won. A lot of films win Cannes and have only a small showing here.

Now, if CNN had blasted the airwaves with the twenty minute ovation, or with Moveon's promotion of the film, or DU's reaction, they may have expected a bigger turnout. But unless you were a political junkie, you wouldn't have seen this coming by watching the mainstream media.

I doubt most theater managers are political junkies.

It's nice to see the art theaters and the independents get a boondoggle like this, too.

[jobycom]

36. Yeah, although the security reaction is odd

I've been to films where they start late or forget to turn the lights down. I went to a film once where part of the film ran backwards for fifteen minutes. (The funny thing was, it was Time Bandits, and no one was sure the film wasn't supposed to run backwards.)

But the reaction of having security watch the audience as they left sounds a little bizarre. THough from the description, it was a late showing on a Sunday night. I saw Harry Potter after Midnight at a Regal Cinema in a mall in Tampa, and when we left, security was bunched up at the door, waiting for everyone to leave so they could finish up and go home. I guess after a long day and frustration at audiences who hung around after the film to watch ten minutes of credits, the manager may have just tried to rush things along.

Who knows? At least they are showing it.

[libertad]

22. I went to the Orange Park AMC24 on Friday night and it was very

similar. They had cops posted in the theatre the entire time, standing by the entrance/exits in the screening room and when we were first entiring the screening room, they made us line up and show our id cards and movie ticket stubs to the theatre manager. After the movie, we had to leave the theatre through the side door nearest the room we were in (no chance to use the restroom, etc.). It was very weird.

[kayell]

30. I wonder if the theatres have been receiving threats from freeps

that would explain this level of "security".

[playahata1]

32. What the hell is THIS?

I am in Jacksonville, just up the road from you. (Haven't seen the movie yet.) From whom do the Clay County cops get their marching orders?

BTW, in Jacksonville, F-9/11 is showing at the Pablo 9, the Regency AMC 24, and Tinseltown.

[OpSomBlood]

35. I saw it at a Regal theater and the sound quality was bad.

Otherwise, nothing else to report.

[Gruenemann]

37. Holy shit!

It happened in San Antonio (Quarry) too--AND it was a Regal cinema! The start was delayed ten minutes. After the first five minutes, someone came in and announced they were having some sort of technical difficulty and would have it straightened out in another five. Once that time had passed, everything rolled and we saw the whole film. I left while the credits were rolling instead of watching them as it was late and the crowd was huge.

[JVS]

38. Go back and spill lots of coke and popcorn on the floor

that'll learn em

[n0_data]

40. Yeah

Some kid making five bucks an hour will be made to clean it up. That'll sure show those owners/managers.

[JVS]

42. Ok fine, take a knife and shred the seats

[wettap]

39. No problems here this weekend

Though I was somewhat disappointed with the film. Roger and Me, and Bowling were much better films, IMHO.

[jokerman93]

41. Interesting

I saw F9/11 on Sunday. The marquee outside the theater is an elevated billboard that you can see from the highway. I almost didn't go because they didn't have the title listed. When I asked them about it, they said, "Oh it's up there, on the other side.

I went out and looked. Sure enough, there it was:

"F nheit 911"

Right there were he said it was. Right where you could see it from the dumpsters behind the theater.

They kept the projector out of focus for the whole show. I shouted twice for focus. No one else said a word. The audience was strangely unresponsive all the way through the film. That may have more to do with the fact that there is a huge East Indian and Afghani population in my town (Fremont, CA). But I don't know if thats why.

Even still. the whole experience was weird. people weren't looking at each other and very few people said anything on the way out. But there was applause from most of the audience at the end.

Weird.