Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Let's go out to the lob-by...

According to a brief news snippet this morning on the Today Show, the Loews Theater chain are finally addressing an issue that has been pissing off movie goers for some time now: Commercials. They have offered a compromise in their adjusted policy: Instead of getting rid of commercials altogether, they will now post starting times for films that are actually for when the movie starts, enabling ticket buyers to come in after the commercials are over.

Is it a perfect solution? Not at all. Earlybirds such as me will still have to sit through a lot of crap before getting around to the film, and this solution does nothing to those attending opening weekend films who know that if they get there closer to when the movie starts, they're likely to guarantee themselves bad seats. However, this eliminates the guessing game some people who plan their evening have to play in order to figure out how late they will be getting out of the theater. If they known the running time of the film and the posted start time, then the calculation is now easier.

There is no news update at the Captive Motion Picture Audience of America website, either lauding or criticizing this development. As for myself, I applaud their efforts (even though I personally will not benefit from this since there are no Loews theaters in Jacksonville). It's a step in the right direction, at least. The less time we waste watching dishwashing detergent ads on the big screen, the better.

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