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James Cameron: Theater Experience Key To Containing Piracy (torrentfreak.com)
Director James Cameron says that the key to containing movie piracy is preserving the theater experience as something special. He made the remarks when reporters asked him about his views on Sean Parker's upcoming streaming service Screening Room which will reportedly allow users to watch a new movie on the same day as its theatre release. From a TorrentFreak article: Cameron believes that having first-run movies in the home will stop people heading off to the cinema, the place where filmmakers can really showcase their art and take the fight to piracy. "The biggest hedge against piracy is still the sanctity of the viewing experience in a movie theater -- when it comes to movies," he says. "With The Walking Dead or something like that, that's not what you're selling, but if we're talking about movies and theatrical exhibition, keeping it great, making it a special experience, is still the biggest hedge against [piracy]." Interestingly, Cameron also says that even if piracy somehow became legal and download speeds were drastically improved, viewing content outside the theatrical setting would still come up short. "You're still watching [movies] on a small platform, and it's not that social experience," he explains.
How will screaming kids, sticky floors and overpriced snacks help them stop piracy?
sanctity of the viewing experience in a movie theater
I do not think he means to contain piracy, but more to maintain profits in the face of piracy.
The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
Give me free popcorn and Coke, give me front row seats, remove the schmucks that talk or text all though the movie and a front row parking spot in front of the building... I'll come. :)
I don't want a movie theater to be a social experience. Consider: ... people-watching (and yelling).
* The rotten parents who bring their too-young children to adult films.
* That ridiculous moron in the row behind you who can't get off their cell phone for 5 minutes.
* The 10-year old who won't stop kicking your chair.
* The guffawing dimwit who laughs like a throat-cancer riddled donkey and does so incessantly.
* Paying $12 bucks for crappy popcorn covered in artificially flavored cottonseed oil.
* The gang-bangers who decided that the parking lot is a hugely entertaining place to spend some time
I've not been to a theater film in 8 years and I've no plans on changing that.
- Overpriced popcorn, even more expensive then printer ink
- People throwing popcorn
- Tons of advertisement before the movie
- Movie delayed even further because some people actually buy overpriced ice-cream from some lackey that runs around after the first round of advertisements
- More advertisement after the ice-cream guy leaves
- Movie finally starts but is out of focus.
- Have to temporarily leave to report the focus issue, apparently everyone else is blind like a bat and doesn't bother
- Constantly some ringing cellphone
- People loudly talking during the movie
People want to watch it as soon as they can. Those who care for a 'cinema experience' will spend the time and money doing so, assuming it is convenient to do so (for me it's a 3hr round trip to a cinema). Those who have a home theatre will probably want to watch in the comfort of their own home, yes?
I'm not interested in getting shot at, overpriced snacks, modulating my bathroom breaks and putting up with disrespectful people. Theatres are small today compared to the large affairs they once were, maybe Mr. Cameron is thinking of those heady days?
Right now, many homes have theatre setups that produce a far better experience than the theatre. Big screen TVs coupled with good surround sound systems are ubiquitous, the furniture is usually more comfortable, and you place yourself in the optimal viewing position. You have full control of the volume level, the start time, and can pause for bathroom or snack breaks. You also get to chose who you share the experience with.
The ONLY selling feature theatres have left is that impatient people can't wait, and insist on seeing it in theatre because the studios refuse to release it anywhere else until they've made their fortune in the theatre.
If people can get the movie at home, without the ridiculously long wait, theatres are doomed.
First: North Branch MN, outside the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, to the north about an hour. It's rural. Instant service at the counter. They ran the soda fountain behind the counter, which was in tune. The popcorn was great. Theater was clean. Floor not sticky. Movie was fun to watch with the 10 other people in the theater. Good sound and video.
Second: White Marsh, MD, within Baltimore County and about 10 minutes from the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Had to wait 12 minutes for tickets because of a line. No explanation for the line. Then, skipped the popcorn because there was a 20-25 min line for that. This particular theater has a rewards program, meaning that one of the popcorn lines is reserved for people who pay an extra fee. Came out a half hour into the picture (chick flick, wasn't for me, so I found the trip out more interesting than listening to the movie) and still waited 5 mins for popcorn. Stale. Got a drink too, but had to dispense it myself. Drink machines were all sticky and semi-functional - some of those new Coke machines that are supposed to be so great - but are always out of service for one reason or another. Once in the movie, floor was sticky. About 15 people in the theater this time, more or less. Other patrons had BO and were leaning so far back in their seats it was hitting my knees, so I had to move. People talking during the movie - seems to be an ethnic thing in Baltimore, talking over the movie. Unpleasant theater experience overall.
#2 is more like my other recent experiences than #1. Makes a great argument for home theater. Sorry, Cameron.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
I have yet to see a recent release of a film on home video that didn't contain the phrase "Includes scenes not in the theatrical release!"
You know, if they'd release the movie without chopping it to death so they can hold back and then re-sell the movie with added scenes for the home video release, maybe the "theater expereince" would be better.
But I fail to see why I pay $12 per seat, followed by $30 for a water and popcorn, and then have three screaming kids in the dark, and some other jerkwad kicking my seat from behind, when I have a nice high-def TV at home, and can pause it at any time to go to the bathroom.
If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
I don't want the social experience, I want to see the movie.
I want nobody talking, using their phone, bringing their noisy kids or making me stand up every ten minutes so they can get down the isle. I don't want to miss the next line due to people laughing at the previous one.
I want a screen that's as clear as the one I have at home, not a washed out, dim projection screen filtered further by 3D classes.
I want an audio system that doesn't have that one blown out speaker behind me.
The theater experience is detrimental to my watching movies. Charge me a little more and I'll buy it to watch at home on day one.
I understand the desire to maximize profits, I really do. The theater experience is terrible. $30+ dollars to get in the door for three people, another $30-40 on garbage snacks, if your lucky they have real butter, otherwise it's butter flavored product. Wedged next to people who sense of courtesy stops that sneezing on you. They won't shut up all film. Some kid kicking the back of the seat randomly. Uncomfortable chairs terrible angles if the theater happens to be full. People getting up mid way and walking Iin front of you. No thanks. I'd rather stay home, make fresh popcorn with real butter, maybe enjoy a reasonably priced beer, on my couch. Sure the screen isn't 900 inches across. I'll sit closer. Sanctity of theater experience my ass.
20 years ago it was cool. There's new things now. People get more jazzed about the experience of showing up at a pokemon gym and finding hundreds of others there.
Pokemon, as lame as it is, is honestly a superior experience. You show up. There's a bunch of people there who you share an interest with. You can talk, or you can just leave if they annoy you. It's like all the good parts of going to a movie without the overhead of feeling trapped with these annoying people because you paid good money to be there. It also doesn't come with the risk that the movie will be crap and you'd rather just have it on in the background while you did something you want to do.
If so, sorry, you've lost me.
Theaters today either cater to those who can't afford a home theater or to those looking for something special. Theaters can offer some spacial effects that you just can't get in a home unless you have 100+ foot walls at your disposal. Theaters need to sell their sound stage, image quality, and ambiance. They are less likely to sell on price, snacks, or customer service.
The other problem that theater face, and probably the biggest one is that the movies themselves are not enough to keep a theater in business. The studios take too large of a cut for something of a constricting market. If studios were to take less of a cut from theaters, theaters were to sell their services either as a cheap alternative to a tv at home or a quality experience surpassing a home theater, then the market would be sustainable. As it is the home experience is a growing market and a day of release streaming service is just another example of someone "getting it."
There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
Obviously, he is NOT going to regular theaters. MOST of them SUX BAD. I am finding that Regal and Alamo are becoming decent. OTOH, AMC? Please. PURE JUNK.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
First as long as you have 25Mbps+ you can stream just about any video quality even a 6Mbps dsl connection can handle HD netflix.
Most everything is streamed anymore
IIRC you can even stream a torrent nowadays.
As for social someone is forgetting netflix party mode.
But yeah.. I do like to visit that place with the $10 small soda's and watch movies on their gigantic screen's.
but then I won't go until the movie is just about out of the theater and there's less than 20 people in there.
Kinda annoying tho when the bass gets to going in the next theater over and it shakes the projector.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
http://www.fathomevents.com/ I subscribe to their newsletter, and I regularly see movies, tv shows, and specials in the theater that I wouldn't ordinarily be able to see with the "full theater experience". Recently it was Batman The Killing Joke, Doctor Who episodes, Shakespeare birthday celebration, etc. I paid about $12.25 per ticket (for three people) and bought about $30 worth of theater concessions. For Killing Joke we had a group of ten people and we all had a great time, and the entire event was sold out with such demand that additional nights and showtimes were added. so yes, for certain things, I will leave my widescreen monitor and go for the theater experience.
Horror & SciFi Erotic Nudes
Minnesota Nice.
I mean let's face it. Everything is better in Minnesota than out east. That said the theater experience in Metro Minnesota has the ability to be not much better than your experience in Baltimore.
There is or can be built a machine that can simulate any physical object. -Church-Turing principle
Here is how you take the fight to piracy -- take some risks, make some NEW movies (get off the remake train), make some GOOD movies, with a plot and character development and, you know, things that make it interesting and make people want to discuss your movie in a general way -- not just "That sucked! I wasted $25 to see that piece of shit? I should have downloaded it instead..." Also, stop gouging theaters so that tickets are $8 to $15 a head and climbing rapidly. I know theaters gouge us, the movie goer, with popcorn, Coke, and candy but we can opt out of that. We can't opt out of the ticket if we want to see the movie. Unless, you know, we pirate it *yarrrr!*
So, that's how you fight piracy James. Not make the movie theater experience "unique" -- fucking make the movies unique so we'll want to go see them. See the Marvel Cinematic Universe for an example of this. Even the bad ones. Stop changing movies because YOU know better -- when the fans want to see The Killing Joke, make The Killing Joke and don't change the story around. When we want to see God Loves, Man Kills (X-Men storyline), don't change the story around -- just make the movie. If you need to pad it out a bit, that's fine, just don't change the fundamental story. When we want to see Ender's War, put in the scene where Ender kicks that asshat in the balls until he dies -- don't change it to soften it up. I mean, fuck, it isn't rocket science. If the money people in Hollywood don't want to fund you, the internet exists -- crowdfund that fan-wanted movie. Go rogue, do something unique, take a risk and stop kissing Hollywood's ass for permission to make a movie.
Dream as if you'll live forever.
Live as if you'll die tomorrow.
~Anonymous~
Going to a theater these days little more than a chance to listen to the airheads continually yapping and playing with their cell phones, breathe the air filled with cigarette smoke and sit in a small cramped chair that's sticky with spilled pop and god knows what else. All for 15 bucks and a HUGE price for crappy popcorn and weak, flat pop.
I'd rather poke my own eyes out with a stick than sit in a theater these days, just to watch the 17th remake of an "interpretation" of a crappy comic book.
The modern "theater experience" SUCKS!!! I'm perfectly happy to wait a few months for a movie to be available on streaming rental, a cable channel, or Netflix, so I can watch it on my home screen. If *that* cuts into industry profits then that's NOT my problem.
Sometimes the "writing on the wall" is blood spatter...
I hate people who talk during movies
What I mean is that they will be dying a slow death and their days are numbered.
Once the big screen was the only choice...then with TV it still had unparalleled quality, then TVs started catching up and it still had size still amazing sound, all these advantages are evaporating.
Technology wise theatre will be pointless when VR movies hit mainstream. 2D Flatland and even IMAX 3D will be undesirable at the possibility of true 3D.
What will the "theatre experience" with its queues, inconvenient travel, annoying kids, dumb anti-piracy forced fed messaging and stupidly priced popcorn have to offer if you can have the same quality of sight and sound from the comfort of your own home?
Theft has been part of human existence since the dawn of time. More over, copying differs from theft in the sense that no one actually loses property.
If anything you can start working now on a secure content delivery that is locked down to MITIGATE against most piracy strategies but it cannot be eliminated.
Honestly, I cannot wait until we cut out all the long line of middle men between the final cut and the end user. If movies were the price of coffee it would also make piracy less common; not forgetting it will boost the number of paying customers and increase the likelihood of people paying for multiple films in a month.
But the cinema? it might hold on a while longer to combine VR physical simulators "4D" style maybe...I say maybe because omnidirectional treadmills etc are already being produced for VR.
A 'singular oddity' is an event that cannot be explained and only happens when you are alone.
Local area has a 21+ luxury style theatre with reclining couches with huge rows so you literally *can't* be touched or easily view the people in front of you AND couch-side food and beer delivery. they are also VERY aggressive about ANYONE disturbing the peace, if for no other reason then you pay a hefty sum for tickets... the last Startrek I saw there was $26 plus another 25ish in food/drink for one person, add in my GF and it's $100+ for a movie. that's why we don't go but 2-3 times a year but when we *do* go it's a nice experience and makes me want to go back.
Stickey carpet, and stickey arm rests that capture and hold on to your shirt, and those fart-soiled seats, all are key parts, not to mention concessions. Funny it's called concessions, because you are making a big one with your wallet boys and girls!
I will stop pirating when the cost of media is so small as to not be worth the effort to pirate it.
It's not supposed to be a social experience. The act of watching a movie is about an ass in a seat and your focus on the screen. If you're yammering on or screwing around on your phone or pretending that you're a cast member on MST3K in a public movie theater, you're doing it wrong. You can do that after the flick is done and in a growing number of cases, before the post-credit roll teaser.
I know this will fall on a lot of deaf ears but can we please have a few films a year with good dialog and acting instead of an endless CGI fest? And if you insist on continuing the CGI boredom can you at least please write something original?
This from someone who probably has his own personal cinema and is totally out of touch with the realities of watching a movie with other people (who he didn't personally invite).
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.
I used to love going to the theater but it sucks now. It's too expensive, too crowded, and I don't want to watch 15 minutes of product endorsements followed by 20 minutes of spoilers for upcoming films before they get around to showing the feature.
Mr. Cameron, you say you want to "preserve the theater experience as something special" but it hasn't been "special" in twenty years. It's the entertainment industry's version of going to the airport. It's only a matter of time before they start adding backscatter body scanners and abusive TSA (Theater Security Agency) officers.
"Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
I totally agree with what Mr. Cameron says; going to movies is a fun, social experience. Maybe this isn't true for other people, but I enjoy being part of a group performance (which is really what this is). It's a chance to get out with family and friends and treat yourself.
But why is it so bloody expensive? Taking a family of four out to see a movie will cost $150 CAN minimum, - $65 for four tickets (this includes a "Child") plus popcorn, drink and candy. Now, compare this to waiting a few months for the DVD - normally around $25 CAN for a Blu-Ray. Wait a year or two and it ends up in a bin at WalMart for $8.00 CAN (Blu-Ray again - DVDs are $5.00 or less).
So, when we go out to a movie, it's something that *everyone* wants to see and expects to enjoy. We do reasonably well with our picks but there are often duds which makes you question why you spent all that money and become more wary in the future.
Mimetics Inc. Twitter
People using their devices
People Talking
People Going in and Out
100s of people making noises eating
That theatre experience is really worth every penny that one pays.
Needles in seats, bedbugs, movies so long you risk busting your bladder, oh and mass shootings.
Maybe if he'd been to the 99.9% of theaters in the country that are crappy and don't do anything about the loud idiots and cell phones he'd have a clue.
I'd rather sit at home and watch ANY movie on my 50" with my sound system than in almost any theater. The reason, I have a better experience 100% of the time.
No screaming kids, no sticky floor, no cell phones lighting up the room or ringing, no people of a certain um ethnic group talking through the movie, you name it. The theater has ZERO advantages over watching at home. Even for $50 to watch a new release movie at home is a bargain as that is what it'll cost you to take 4 people to a cheap theater or 2 people and 2 drinks with popcorn. If you want to go to a fancy nice theater (the only ones I'll go to anymore), then that $50 covers the cost of 2 tickets without drinks or snacks.
I stopped going to the theaters when they became too noisy with people eating crap, loud with the sound volume tuned up to almost unbearable levels, and unexpectedly cold. Good luck with that, J.C.!
Mr. Cameron assumes a lot of things in his argument:
1. You can watch movies in the original language at the theater. False in a lot of countries, especially for Hollywood movies. Watching characters speak asynchronously from their own lips totally destroys the experience.
2. A "more social" experience of the movie is better. It's not for those of us who are introverts. Having people talking and eating all around deprives us of our ability to really enjoy the movie and be completely immersed in the experience.
3. Having to drive, wait in line, paying an overpriced ticket, sitting in a not-steam-cleaned-in-how-long seat and then trying to drive back home at the same time as hundreds of other cars is not my idea of an enjoyable experience.
We've been telling the industry for years what's wrong with the " Theater Experience " but none of you seem to listen.
If you want folks to start going to the theaters again, you're going to need to step up your game or find yourself going extinct in the not too distant future.
You need to set your rules, and enforce them.
Folks chatting / texting on their damn smartphones mid show ? They need to go. Manager up and boot their ass from the theater.
The five year old heathen Mom or Dad brought with them who is running up and down the isles screaming mid show ? They need to go. Like ten minutes ago.
The employee who cranks the theater audio system up 10db past the threshold of pain ? Yeah, they need to go.
The nearsighted one who can't seem to understand what the f*ck focus even is ? They need to go.
Clean the damn place.
Most theaters are downright disgusting with the amount of trash and general filth you expect me to tolerate while in your facility.
I feel like I need a round of immunization boosters or a Biohazard suit when folks ask if I want to go out to the show.
Fix your damn gear.
That annoying ass ground hum coming from one of your speakers ? FIX IT.
The distortion coming from another speaker because of +10db guy above ? FIX IT.
Seriously, you're going to have to put in a SUPREME EFFORT to keep me from waiting for the home release. I have total control over everything mentioned
above when I wait and watch it at home.
The theater owners and employees I rely upon to ensure a positive theater going experience have failed miserably over the past decade or two.
Read that again. MISERABLY.
If you industry types don't get your shit together you may as well shut the lights off now and call it a day.
We won't miss you.
What really gets me is people wanting to watch hazy phone cam recordings of movies...to save a few dollars.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
"You're still watching [movies] on a small platform, and it's not that social experience,"
1) I have a 70" 4k TV at home. I sit about 8' from the screen. Proportionally, at your typical theater distance of 36' feet, that's a what, 27' wide screen? Small Platform? WTF?
Further, while a nice theater might have a very good sound system, I do too, with ample subwoofer and 7.1 THX select sound - my sound is just fine.
Further, I have FAR more comfortable seating, I can lay down if I want to, and I never stick to the floor nor have to share a goddamned armrest with anyone. I have to take a crap? Pause - I missed nothing.
So no, technically, I don't believe any theater can improve my 'home theater' technically.
2) I watch movies to ... watch the movie. I DON'T WANT A SOCIAL EXPERIENCE. Stop talking. Put down your phone. No, I'm not explaining that to you. Watch the bloody movie.
(Although, honestly, I'd probably have enjoyed Ferngully2000 - I mean Avatar - much, much more if someone had talked through the whole fucking thing.)
Nobody walks in front of me, spills their food on me, or complains that my 6'4" frame blocks their view.
No, I don't go to theaters any more.
-Styopa
... filmmakers can really showcase their art
Really? Multi Movie franchises are art in the same way that Thomas Kinkade prints are art.
Really? Reboots of classics are art in the same way that a 2017 Mustang is a reboot of the 64 1/2 Mustang. Or the 69 Fastback
There is very little in the way of Film Art left in the industry. And you wonder why we don't want to go to the theaters to see your "art"
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
I used to go to the cinema maybe every month or two, but then the price went from the 'Early Bird' cheap ticket that was about £4, to a ludicrous £11. The adverts went from about 12 minutes to about half an hour.
What possible incentive does this give me to go? None. None incentive. Incentive to the value of none.
I only go these days when something like a Terminator, Alien, or Star Wars film is released.
I'll go to the movies again when there's one that's not a superhero movie. Maybe sometime in 2019.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I know a lot of people don't like the theater, but I appreciate Cameron's sentiment: If you want people to give you money, give them something nobody else can. It's the same argument I make to people who call me a "bad consumer" for buying used cars. If car companies want me to buy a new car, they need to offer me something that I can't get out of a used car. Unfortunately, The car fundamentally hasn't changed much since Ford's time. Sure, they added fuel injection, A/C and newer sound systems, but there's really no innovation. I buy a new computer every few years, but that's because new computers do stuff my old one couldn't. If his recommendation for fighting piracy is "Offer something that pirates can't provide", I'm all in.
..James Cameron is still worth $700 million despite all this rampant piracy.
I havent been to one of those in 15 years!
Alamo Drafthouse.
They server beer, kids are not allowed, and they will boot your ass out if you talk or whip out your cell phone.
...and a beer is cheaper than a soda. But a $1.50 surcharge on every ticket I buy (since you must have a reservred seat, and the theater only sells thorugh Fandango, or at the door and you get whatever seat is left) and 45 minutes of advertisements before a 90 minute movie - no. They've made the theaters clean and enjoyable, and then shit all over the experience with ads ("This new, exclusive content provide by Chipotle").
This is why I put a ten foot screen in my playroom, so I don't have to put up with all this shit.
A 60" flat screen from 10 feet away is not that small.. and they are relatively cheap. I've got a 100" projection screen in the basement that only runs 720p but still looks pretty damn good. The popcorn is way cheaper.
I rarely go to the theater any more and when I do I tend to go empty ones.... matinees or movies that have been out for a while. When I saw The BFG in 3D a few weeks ago we were the only people in the theater. As for 3D filling up theaters, IMO, 3D is quickly forgotten after the first 10 minutes. Its fun but it's not required.
Hmm... when I want to watch something I could sit in my comfy chair 4 feet from my 60 inch TV which is connected to cable and my PC, in a room free of smelly, loud, rude, view-obscuring, aisle-filling people and with a floor that isn't sticky, and have easy access to my own private kitchen, bathroom and all the other amenities of home. But oh ya, I gotta have that theater experience because it's just such a thrill... pfft.
I haven't gone out to see a movie in over 4 years and I have no desire to change that.
Fuck $10 per-person per-showing tickets.
Fuck $10 popcorn.
Fuck $10 drinks.
Fuck $20 candy.
Lower the food price and show price a bit.
You have to try realy hard to beat the big screen sound with a full Dolby Atmos or DTS:X setup with a super big screen.
But this shit of $15 per person + $1 3D up change. Also $4.50 a coke??
Of course he has to say something about piracy, being so heavily vested in the film industry. But all the things you guys and gals are mentioning (I hope) is exactly what he's talking about. Just as you explain, who in their right mind would want to go to a movie theater instead of staying at home when it's $12 for the ticket. Plus super high prices for everything else, gross floors, inconsiderate people, etc. In fact, we SHOULD blame the theaters some, as it is quite obvious they are simply resting on the movie industry's policies of allowing them fist dibs at movies. Forcing those who desire to see the movie to endure their BS practices. However, I have noticed an uptick in theaters who have done a 180 to this. Around here, we have quite a few theaters that are no more expensive than the crappy, run of the mill places, and they offer nice leather reclining seats, food and drink service including full bar, online ticket sales with seat reservations, etc. And they WILL boot you if you don't turn of your phone or keep your trap closed. And when you don't feel like you are being bent over with no other choice but to abstain, it IS kind of fun. Hopefully it will catch on more.
You can never compete with piracy on price, so you compete in other areas.
I pay for movies and music from Netflix, Amazon, red box, etc. because the service is better. They're instantly available, I'll never get a bad torrent, never have missing subtitles or the wrong song mislabeled. I pay for games through Steam, GoG and Humble for similar reasons.
I'll gladly spend the money if the service is worth it, and I'm clearly not alone. Right now, this is where movies are failing. There's nothing of value provide by a theatre that's drastically better than watching at home.
The seats aren't any more comfortable than my couch, and the viewing angles are very hit and miss in the theatre. The food isn't any better than what I can whip up at home. The audio/visual, while certainly bigger, doesn't push an appreciably better quality than my home setup. And, perhaps most fundamentally, the quality of product on screen has declined dramatically.
Why the hell would I go see Ghostbusters or Star Trek in a theatre, when I already have a BETTER Ghostbusters and Star Trek on the shelf at home??
If James Cameron wants to get butts in seats, they need to fix both problems. Make better movies, and display them in better theatres. Then, maybe, you can combat piracy with "The Theater Experience."
This signature is false.
Most films these days are not worth the price of admission! Add all other factors (from parking to concessions and gun violence) and there's no "social experience" which can make the product (film) any better.
Some theater companies are making solid efforts (IMAX, table seating, adult drinks), but even James is guilty of producing crappy movies not worth the price of piracy... much less the price of admission.
US ticket sales have been declining for years, masked by increasing ticket prices. Revenue is expected to soon turn south as well, as the home theatre experience continues to improve relative to cost. World wide theatre ticket revenue is still increasing, especially in China, but for how long?
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
that's why I don't go anymore
DVD's and Blu-Rays are rife with crap I can't readily skip through. So I mash at a bunch of buttons till I get past the falsely advertised "Fast-Play" previews. Now frustrated I get to my movie.
Or I go to the movie theater and end up pay $25 for the early bird special for the three of us, smuggle in some snacks, suffer through 20 minutes of previews and faux newsy crap (or get bad seats if I come later). Good movies are crowded, and cell phone glow is a frequent distraction. Theaters are not much better/worse than in my youth, but they sure feel like they price gouge worse than I remember.
So yeah, we buy just a few movies per year, and go to only 2-3 in the theaters a year. Pirates clear out all the annoying crap, while law abiding citizens like me have to suffer through all the force fed marketing crap to see a movie I just paid through the nose for.
For the first time in many many years, I went to the cinema to take my daughter to see the pet movie that just came out. I basically wrote it off in my head as cash spent to keep her quiet for a few hours.
But because I did it in a rural theatre, and not the ones in the city, it was very different.
It was dirt cheap to buy an entire "box" to ourselves in the theatre. I could book online in seconds. I did so, and then spotted the served-food section. I added on some popcorn and chips and other things. In total, for me and her in a private box, it came to less than I would pay for a child ticket in my own local cinema.
We arrived, and there was nobody there. We grabbed tickets and walked straight into the theatre, no waiting around. A guy led us to our box. We had four seats to ourselves, an unobstructed view to the entire screen.
There was barely anyone else in the theatre so no distractions. We still had the usual shite of tons of adverts but I was talking so didn't care. The food was brought to us and we were left alone when the movie started. We could hear, we could see, there were no disturbances, we had our own little table. It was great. The film, however, wasn't. But the experience is the best I've ever had in a cinema.
However, that just doesn't scale. I realise that.
I don't pirate. I have loads of purchased content on Amazon (including Prime), Google Play, etc. as well as my own library. Because it's one-click, play anywhere, download for offline, share with family. It's simple. The biggest problem is price online (£7.99 for Ghostbusters II, the original Terminator, etc.? Fuck off).
But if you could combine decent prices, decent content (even old movies at the right price) and the experience I got from that cinema, I'd go every week.
As it is, before that, I went for The Imitation Game (personal hero, movie was worth the money, the cinema wasn't). Before that? I can't even remember. Probably the original Independence Day.
Fix the experience, it doesn't cost ANYTHING to do that, fix the shit on show (including old re-runs at really cut-down prices if you want to fill the cinema in the week and weird hours, and empty screens on the evening), but also scrap crap adverts, horrible people in cinemas, stupendous prices, and utter shite "remakes" (everything post Aliens in that franchise, for instance, Mr Cameron).
Fuck the 3D. Fuck the Dolby super-whatever-sound. Fuck the "movie start time is 15 minutes after the time on the ticket" (literally, just tell me both, I'll still be there on time to get my food and beat the queues, but won't feel cheated), and fuck the "this movie won't be out on DVD until a year after it's never been played in a cinema" shite.
Decent theatre, decent management of it, nice and easy, and a half-decent price. How can it cost less in a rural theatre to a city theatre, when national minimum wage applies to most of the staff?
Outside of that, online availability everywhere, for the same (decent) price that drops over time, and isn't (like a recent Ghostbusters rental) butchered with all the original music cut (probably for contractual reasons, but fuck that shit), within a decent time of the movie being released.
The most obstacles you insert between me pressing play or buying a ticket and watching the movie throughout unhindered, the more people will go elsewhere.
10-20 years ago, beforem torrenting moveis was a thing, comercial movie theaters essentially committed a slow suicide.
Extra-high ticket prices.
"Popcorn smell" pumped into the ventilation system (the chemical is known to cause lung damage).
At least ten minutes of commercials preceding anything else.
Commercials playing while you are waiting to the movie to "begin"---I mean by that, commercials during seating time.
10–15 minutes of previews that I don't need to see again.
No "good" seats left if you are smart enough to come in 30 minutes "late" to the film.
An extra charge for assigned seating, just in case you don't like being forced to watch commercials.
Crying babies.
Idiots on their cell phones – the whole movie through.
And so on.
I will go to art-house theaters because they have no bullshit. They also usually play great movies. Big-chain commercial theaters? Less than 10 times over the past 20 years.
The asked for it, and they got it.
The only movie I can think of that I really enjoyed the theater experience "recently" was Gravity in IMAX because that was probably the only way to really experience the movie. Avatar probably would have been a better visual experience but I was in the first couple of rows and it wasn't so awesome (beyond the lousy script).
I can't think of anything else I've seen that I left and said it was a great decision to go see it in theaters. Not that it was a bad experience - I've seen a lot of movies in theaters in the last year but they were usually mostly empty because of when and where I go (always early matinees and now a dumpier theater) and that is great. However, I get that experience at home too with all the perks of being at home.
Maybe Hollywood should find ways to cut costs so I can watch something at home in an affordable capacity and still make the money they would like.
How exactly is Mr Cameron proposing that Cinemas compete with 82-100" UHD TVs? The cinema only goes up to 4-8K resolution currently. You can get screens that'll do that in your house which are gigantic. The cinema has already lost all of its advantages. The 82" TVs are going to crash in price within 3-5 years.
No boat no pirate.
Sharing is sharing period. If somebody has time to be mr or mrs downloader and watches something cool, they tell people who don't have time to do it and they just go watch it. That is more people than would have just jacked off or played video games or whatever.
Fucking Jews. Their religion is only law. They write shit down and say DO THIS.
Theater Experience is the cause of Piracy.
-FIFY
I'm hearing-challenged, to put it with political correctness. I can still hear, but I frequently miss words midst the background noise of the music and sound effects.
Every subtitling system for theaters requires you to focus your vision to within a couple of feet of your eyes to read the subtitles, and then jump back to follow the movie. I can testify that about 20 minutes of this bouncing back and forth leaves the eye muscles feeling boiled in oil.
At home, the subtitles are at the exact same focus distance as the TV screen, for some funny reason, and I can follow the story in complete comfort and read the subtitles as I do.
The theater, at least for me, has become a place I go to only when my family insists on it. I can preview whether I want to rent the DVD and follow the dialogue: at home.
I pay a premium to see a movie at a cinema.
For it I get:
a seat that MIGHT be in a comfortable position to watch the movie.
at least 20-25 minutes of advertisements after the movie 'start time'
overpriced snacks
noisy people nearby
seat kickers
I went and saw a movie last weekend at a cinema. last time I will - when the cinema operators feel that half an hour of your time wasted on stuff that isn't the movie is acceptable, they're disrespecting theatre goers.
I thought it said that James Cameron had an experience in a theater that turned out to be key to containing piracy. That might have been interesting.
Could we all stop calling a theater visit a theater experience, starting a computer program a software experience, and so on? It is inherent to doing things to experience what you do, that word doesn't need to be repeated all the time. It doesn't even say what it actually is that one is doing, it reduces the expressiveness of language to something similar to those little blue guys who constantly say 'smurf' when they mean something else.
The Experience depends on the theater, I have been to a few in the last few years. Here is why it's not the best experience.
1. Cell phones
2. Blurry screens.
3. Less conformable seats than decades ago.
4. Big Giant Red Exit signs, that by the way makes it to the screen, and puts a red glare on the screen, um, that didn't used to happen.
5. You have to buy the tickets in the concession area, and you might not even get a ticket.
6. They used to start the commercials at the time of the movie, now they start the movie at the time, and start the commercials before the time the movie starts.
7. Too loud of sounds system, if I have to wear earplugs, and peoples kids start crying, it's too loud.
8. If you call a movie theater, you can no longer speak to a human, you get a automated message.
9. The carpet in new movie theaters look like a poor mans carpet.
10. No more velvet ropes, whoever runs the fastest, gets there first.
11. No more ticket takers, so I can just walk from movie to movie, since I don't have a ticket, wait that is a bonus, I can watch all the movies I want, and don't have to prove I have a ticket.
I am sure I could think of other reasons. Oh 10 dollars for a movie ticket, and 3 dollars for 3d, and no 3D for the movies that count.
It all went down hill once they removed the interval from the movie. Other than being able to show more movies why would you get rid of that? I used to love stretching my legs half way into the movie. Plus if it is crap it is also a good chance to look at the weather outside and decide to catch some rays!
If feeling like you got raped in the ass for $12 per ticket is his way of "theater experience" then he can keep it to himself. If on the other had you want to minimize piracy greatly make the movie available on DVD/BR/Download (cross platform) on the same day for $20 and $10 a couple months later and then say $5 a year later.
I'd buy the movie for $20 with no issues and I'd probably buy 10-20 new ones per year so I can watch at home.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
For one someone understands it. I can't afford to have the nice iMAX big screen in my house. I love the big screen and the big sounds and the whole going out to the movies thing. I typically get a bit of minor depression because of lost opportunity when I did not get to see a movie I like on the big screen at least once.
Now, I do have alot of problems with the movie theater of course. My strategy is to come in on a Tuesday night or something like that, when the movies are not filled with people and the smell is down. I'm just not the type of person that will go to the movies on the opening night because I just don't like massive crowds.
I work in a design position in a factory in a medium wealth area in upstate NY. When I talk to regular working class people the #1 complaint they have about the movie theater is pricing.. even with some of the engineers. What they will do is either see it in "red box" some time after the release for like 5$, or go to a drive in movie. One guy likes the drive in because you can get to see two movies back to back for one price.
I compare going to the movies to a fireworks show. Sure you can watch one on tv... but its pretty shit in comparison. There is also the whole psychological enjoyment of "going out" too, that is to experience something in a new environment is to experience it differently.
What James Cameron should have said:
Cameron believes that having first-run movies in the home will stop people heading off to the cinema, the place where advertisers make the cinema experieince more and more like the TV-in-your-livingroom experience. "The biggest impetus toward piracy is still the ongoing destruction of the sanctity of the viewing experience in a movie theater -- when it comes to advertisements," he says... Interestingly, Cameron also says that if piracy somehow became legal and download speeds were drastically improved, viewing content outside the theatrical setting would become preferable to the car-ad-laden, trivia-quiz-infested crapfest that is the modern cinema experience. "You may be watching [movies] on a small platform, but at least you have some measure of control over your environment," he explains.
It used to be that every once in a while the smell of Kentucky Fried Chicken would get the better of me and I'd plunk down a few bucks; then the food tasted like shit, I had indigestion and buyer's remorse, and I'd swear off the stuff. Finally I learned my lesson, and I never eat KFC any more. For me, going to a cinema is increasingly like eating KFC.
'The Economy' is a giant Ponzi scheme whose most pitiable suckers are the youngest among us and the yet-unborn.
I used to hate watching movies in the theater.
First, the movie would be invariably out of focus - but the advert projector they play before the movie would be in perfect focus.
Secondly, the seating sucked - but that has improved in recent years. It isn't as comfy as home, but at least now I get more legroom than an airline seat.
Third, the sound systems used to totally suck. Now, they've gotten much, much better. I still much prefer my own sound system but theater sound is actually quite good now.
Lastly... the sticky floors and all the trash left behind by the fucking slobs who sat there previously. WTF, people! Clean up after yourselves - if not out of concern for others, but to prove that you don't completely lack all sense of class and self-respect.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Best way to fight piracy? Make streaming service that's affordable and has all the damn movies. i happily pay some money to have access to massive archive of old movies as well. BTW thats service that docent exists.
I went to a movie earlier this week.
The show was prefixed by twenty-six minutes of advertising and trailers.
Cutting that back would be a major step to improving the customer experience at theaters.
http://www.themeparks.ie
We need to turn down the volume at theaters. It is WAY TOO LOUD! I have to bring ear plugs. Hence I see a film in a theater about once a year. I'd love to go more, but it is too uncomfortable. Same is sadly true of concerts. Everyone is deaf these days.
The movies I enjoy in a real theater tend to be very bad movies. I sometimes go to the Astor in Melbourne and their current calendar has Mothra, The Thing, and Videodrome. They are running a double feature with Wrath of Kahn and Beyond where I expect the audience will be more interesting than what is on the screen. They also do good movies but I'm less likely to go to them but their screening of the Shine might be interesting since there will be a Q&A session with the producer, director and screen writer. The place sells beer and has strict no talking policies for most movies. They also do sing alongs like Meaning of Life and Rocky Horror.
Home theatre is best. 4K projector. Comfy seats. Better quality snacks. Free parking. No need to be deafened due to whichever failure in determining the appropriate speaker outputs.
Requiem for the American Dream
I've had good and bad experiences in Cinemas; Some tips that I have picked up over the years:
Arrive 15 minutes late - This gives you time to buy any food, get the tickets and get to your seat in just in time to miss all the adverts. If you don't buy food and use on-line ordering, 30 minutes.
Pick the smaller/harder to get to Cinema - There are 2 cinemas near me; One is on a major road accessible by public transport. This cinema is full of obnoxious loudmouthed kids who talk, throw popcorn and are generally a PITA. The other cinema is only accessible by car and 1 bus which, to this day I don't know where you can get on it other than at this cinema. It mostly visited by adults who can drive and families. This people have a much lower arsehole rating.
Don't see the film in the week of first release - Go the week after: There will be less people watching the film.
Add the audience members engaged in mindless conversation, running "critical" commentary about what is on the screen, rampant cell phone use - talking, texting, and playing games. Sorry James Cameron, the reality of modern "theater experience" is part of the problem. not the solution.
How to enable to movie theaters to compete:
1. Make in-home screens larger than 42 inches illegal.
2. Make in-home audio systems with more than two speakers illegal.
3. Make fast forward/skip and rewind/back buttons illegal.
4. Start embedding random phone ringing, talking and infant screeching in the audio tracks of Bluray and DVD.
5. Require that home systems 1% chance making a curtain appear in front of the left and right edges of the picture. (Make sure it's time based so restarting won't fix it.)
6. Require that home systems digitally add film scratches and artifacts when playing older movies.
With all these perfectly reasonable requests implemented, people should start seeing the value in coming to the theater more. Anything less is a dire threat to the world economy and entertainment industry, both of which are very clearly on the brink of collapse because of criminals who have been allowed to brazenly pirate elements of proprietary theater designs into so-called "home theater systems."
I quit going to the movies when they started abusing consumers by showing commercials before the film. ~20 years ago.
Many of us grew up understanding that commercials are what supports commercial broadcast TV. We also know that our money is what pays for a movie theater experience.
So when a movie theater takes your money and then decides to go for extra profit by showing you a pile of Jeep and Pepsi ads.. Yeah if you want to take those minutes of my life you can do like businesses do and pay me my billing rate for them.
Sure, people with Stockholm syndrome will tell you things like "Those commercials are the only way the theater can make money!" (so concessions do not exist anymore?) or "Just show up late and get the worst seats in the house and you do not have to see the commercials!" (What a swell deal!). Those people have enough problems, I don't need to say more about them than that.
So I have a wonderful couch, big screen plasma, and surround. The whole scum bag theater industry is dead to me now... Well OK I quit long before Star Wars ep1 due to commercials and only went to that because Lucas promised no theaters could show his movie with them.. and for that I got Jar Jar.
and as every time I say this, some "special" person will always argue "What do you have against trailers?!". I'm talking about TV ads before your movie. Trailers are always great.. well if they are a good trailer.
James Cameron has determined that he does not have enough money yet. Therefore, he has decided what everyone else needs to do to make him richer.
How could anyone NOT want to watch a movie at home? Even Cineopolis cannot come close to the enjoyment I get from watching at home without the disgusting general public crowded around me. That last bit was mean but also true. Many of you are disgusting and do not know how to conduct yourselves during quiet, no-cell phone time type events. Theaters need to die just like Tower Records and Blockbuster did. The only time I think its worth going to a public venue is to watch a live performance and even then only if I have "good" seats.
I have an HTC vive. The VR experience lets me have a theater sized screen in my house. Not quite the quality of the real thing but close enough.
I have no fucking intention of buying 10$ POPCORN, it's POPCORN. The prices for the movie a reasonable, 12-15$.
The experience typically includes going to the concession stands, which normally is enjoyable, but for two people to get some snacks worth about 2$ and see a movie. it's a 50$ expense. This is why I don't go.
If the prices were reasonable and not super gouging, I'd go for the experience, for the fun of going with friends, but now it's more expensive then a decent restaurant.
The only thing I go to now is the drive in theater out here, it's the last one, I want it to stay, I buy their food, and they also have way more reasonable prices.