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Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

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Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#261

Post by lotsofpulp »

Forgeties79 wrote: post #259
lotsofpulp wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess what I mean is if education is the goal, then a written medium is far better than a video. Real life has too much nuance to be able to accurately re-create, plus the more expensive the production, the more it needs to earn a return incentivizing the entertainment aspect over the education aspect. Obviously written works do not present more information, but they can provide only the known information (which I…

I don’t know how one can assume that the written word is somehow more reliable or accurate than a video. What difference does it make if you interview me and show me talking on camera vs. using the stuff you wrote down as text? One could even argue that it’s inferior in that regard, because you remove all tone and body language as well as put someone between me and the person presenting the information. And as you sa…

>What difference does it make if you interview me and show me talking on camera vs. using the stuff you wrote down as text? One could even argue that it’s inferior in that regard, because you remove all tone and body language as well as put someone between me and the person presenting the information.

It isn't, which is why I specified:

>(which I guess a documentary composed of the actual recordings and interviews of the events can provide)

>I still don’t understand what the bar is or what you consider necessary for something to be deemed “accurate.”

The bar is lack of dramatization. I gave multitudes of examples of videos based on various real life happenings, but they don't do a good job representing actual happenings. The "based on" is strictly a marketing term, but no one should be under the impression they are getting any actual data from watching it, hence it is entertainment.

A documentary with various interviews, actual footage, blah blah is of course better, but many documentaries include dramatizations, and are edited to have "twists and turns" in the story to captivate the viewer. A documentary that sticks only to the known facts is probably pretty dry and boring (although I am sure they exist). There are myriad "true" crime documentaries (including podcasts) that leave out key details about the case because including them would make the story boring.

However, I am sure there are far more accurate documentaries, and I have heard this is one of them:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Zachary:_A_Letter_to_a_So...

But back to the point, broadly speaking, probability wise, if I sit down and some video media says it is "based on" or it is a "documentary", I would be wise to be skeptical, and I guess that goes for the written word these days too.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#263

Post by ekimekim »

specproc wrote: post #137
ap99 wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But aren't they pricing based on how much it costs to show the film? Which in turn is how much the studios and distributors pay to make/market the film? Which is in turn driven by costs... Which are basically large bets on if a piece of art will have mass appeal.

I used to work at a VUE, my flatmate was a manager. I always complained about the awful, awful films we showed with no one watching them. Surely it'd be better to show some classics that would sell? Apparently the deal back then was that theatres had to buy films in packages. If you wanted the latest blockbuster, you had to buy a bunch of terrible dross, and commit to showing it X times.

That practice is known as Block booking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_booking) and was supposedly ruled illegal in 1948. The more things change, I guess...

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#264

Post by Rebelgecko »

BrannonKing wrote: post #149

AMC should start showing Chinese and Korean dramas. That would help them a lot. I'm sure that they could work a deal with those studios that would let AMC set the ticket price. There hasn't been an American-made movie since Lord of the Rings that has compelled me to go see it in the theater. The movie studios seem to be pushing more extremes on immorality, violence, gore, etc, being completely disconnected from the a…

AMC by me shows a surprisingly high number of Indian movies relative to the demographics. I wonder if they have some distribution deal to encourage that... I imagine they would do better with K-dramas.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#265

Post by nebula8804 »

GJim wrote: post #172
nebula8804 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the one hand Its fun to watch movies alone on a big screen. My area of NJ apparently could care less about movies like Knock Down The House(Biography of AOC and other house candidates), Navalny (Movie about the murdered politician opposing Putin), The Imitation Machine: Movie about Alan Turing or Last Night in Soho (A wonderful Edgar Wright thriller) On the other hand, I feel sad that no one in my region seems to…

> My area of NJ apparently could care less Surely you mean " couldn't care less"?

Sure, im fine with either and at 3AM I'll write one or the other.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#266

Post by WorldMaker »

tracker1 wrote: post #248
WorldMaker wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, the dynamics and shifts in trends of where the newer theaters get built and which theaters become the busiest theaters is fascinating to me, and especially how much nostalgia influences which theater I want to spend the most time at. I lost my favorite theater in the early 2020s and then its sibling, and last locally-owned and operated theater, to a landlord screwing with rents to try to attract an inner-city P…

Haven't even considered the theater from when I was a kid... I was in a smaller town, and until I was about 13yo, there was a single theater with two screens. I remember waiting about 3 hours in line across two showings to see Return of The Jedi opening weekend. Aside, I also remember when you could get the movie, a small popcorn and a small drink for $5, and not being able to convince my dad to fork over the extra w…

The new mall one is facing the parking lot like a classic "anchor" department store and doesn't even have a door connecting to the mall, you have to leave the theater to visit the mall. It leaves for me a lot of questions about what the point of having built it attached to the mall was. (Same thing with the Top Golf at the other mall. At least the Putt Shack has a window wall inside that mall. I don't remember if it has a door, though.)

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#267

Post by Forgeties79 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #261
Forgeties79 wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know how one can assume that the written word is somehow more reliable or accurate than a video. What difference does it make if you interview me and show me talking on camera vs. using the stuff you wrote down as text? One could even argue that it’s inferior in that regard, because you remove all tone and body language as well as put someone between me and the person presenting the information. And as you sa…

>What difference does it make if you interview me and show me talking on camera vs. using the stuff you wrote down as text? One could even argue that it’s inferior in that regard, because you remove all tone and body language as well as put someone between me and the person presenting the information. It isn't, which is why I specified: >(which I guess a documentary composed of the actual recordings and interviews of…

> A documentary that sticks only to the known facts is probably pretty dry and boring (although I am sure they exist)

My point is that they don’t and can’t, objectivity is a myth. You and I (and everyone) are literally incapable of being truly objective. So the only conclusion i see is you don’t think any media is able to inform or educate. If you do, then you need an actual bar beyond “must be objective.”

“Dramatization” is just one tool some documentaries, not all, lean on and isn’t well defined. Are you talking about dramatic reenactments? Or introducing any drama of any kind? Isn’t drama sometimes just inherent to the subject?

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#268

Post by nebula8804 »

jonners00 wrote: post #140
nebula8804 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the one hand Its fun to watch movies alone on a big screen. My area of NJ apparently could care less about movies like Knock Down The House(Biography of AOC and other house candidates), Navalny (Movie about the murdered politician opposing Putin), The Imitation Machine: Movie about Alan Turing or Last Night in Soho (A wonderful Edgar Wright thriller) On the other hand, I feel sad that no one in my region seems to…

This is a bit off topic, but I occasionally used to sleep on the sofa in our first floor office in an old Georgian building in Fitzrovia. One occasion when I did that, I woke up at about 3.30 am with intense red light flooding through all the rear windows and the sound of loads of people chattering in the street out front, which seemed as busy as it normally would be in the daytime. I rushed to the front windows and…

That is such a wonderful story! Thank you for sharing!

I was able to experience the movie in a very special way. In New York BAM Rose Cinemas was running a special 35mm press of the film one week before its official debut. Edgar Wright did a red eye run debuting the film in London and then getting on a plane to rush to New York where he arrived just in time for the credits. Having him walk down the steps and sitting right in front of me for Q&A was a amazing experience. Its really a shame the movie flopped even with the extra slack it was given due to debuting during COVID. His most recent film did pretty bad as well. I'm bummed as he is my favorite director. :/

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#269

Post by nebula8804 »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #113
nebula8804 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the one hand Its fun to watch movies alone on a big screen. My area of NJ apparently could care less about movies like Knock Down The House(Biography of AOC and other house candidates), Navalny (Movie about the murdered politician opposing Putin), The Imitation Machine: Movie about Alan Turing or Last Night in Soho (A wonderful Edgar Wright thriller) On the other hand, I feel sad that no one in my region seems to…

I have seen too many video projects that were supposed to be non fictional either have fictional material or a misleading slant such that I would not consider it a good use of my time.

I can understand this for Nvalny given I think CNN help with the production...but Knock Down the House was an indie producer and just happened to choose AOC as one of four candidates she was covering. When it was filmed I don't think the producer would anticipate her explosive popularity after the election so its hard to concede that it was a puff piece. The premise of the film was the massive wave of females deciding to run for office in 2018 after Trump's win in 2016. There was the collective awakening that despite females making up 50% of the population they in no way had anywhere near the representation that they should have. Due to AOC's popularity the film took on a new meaning as a historical record of her campaign.

If you apply your logic to all political documentaries then you're just going to end up not watching anything.

Re: Empty Screenings – Finds AMC movie screenings with few or no tickets sold

#270

Post by hgoel »

blintz wrote: post #7

This is cool. Something about dropping everything to go see a movie in an empty theater is sort of tempting.

I think whether or not it's worth it really depends on the kind and quality of movie.

When I went to see Project Hail Mary, I enjoyed the full theater, when I went to watch the new Jurassic World movie in an empty theater I was bored out of my mind, on the other hand I've seen many anime movies in empty theaters where I absolutely loved having a quiet theater entirely to myself.

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