The Weekly Moviegoer - What Do You Do When the Movie is Over?

What do you do when the movie is over? The last scene has played, the credits have begun, the lights have come up, maybe you clapped, maybe you read the credit scroll to the end, you exit the auditorium and then… Because you are reading a movie blog, I presume you like to discuss movies, but where do you go for the discussion, and how long does it last?

Despite the fact that I write about movies, I feel like I don't talk enough about a movie — immediately and with real people — after seeing it in the theater. Sometimes a friend and I will exchange a few words about

The Weekly Moviegoer - Do Release Windows Really Matter?

Do you pay attention to movie release windows? If movies came out on DVD and Blu-Ray sooner, would it encourage you to wait to see more titles on home video instead of seeing them in the theater?

I can't imagine that the general population would answer yes to either of these questions. But the chance that they would is of great worry to American cinemas. That's why whenever a release window is shortened, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) throws a fit. It's been awhile since one of the studios had the gall to significantly venture lower than the average length of time between theatrical release and

The Weekly Moviegoer - Free to Be Scared at Midnight

Many New Yorkers will see any movie for free. This is probably the case for people in other cities, as well, but given the large population of NYC it is especially apparent here. Free previews of new films happen every week, whether sponsored by one of the local free papers or a radio station or directly presented by the distributor, as a way of initiating word of mouth in the last few days leading up to a film's opening weekend. But most of the time these screenings are not worth trying to fight the usual freeloaders for a seat at.

Last week's complimentary New York screening of Paranormal Activity, however, was different.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Does This Popcorn Make Me Look Fat?

I go to the movies a lot, and every time I buy concessions. There are a few reasons for this. I like supporting cinemas in the place they make their primary income. I consider it part of my job as a commentator on the movie industry and moviegoing trends to be familiar with each cinema's options as well as the quality of those options. And, of course, I am a fiend for popcorn.

The more movies I attend, the more popcorn I consume, and presumably this is making me fatter. Not that popcorn is an especially unhealthy snack, but any food is bad for you in excess. I must confess, however

The Weekly Moviegoer - Marketing the Theatrical Experience

If you've seen the trailer for the upcoming fourth Final Destination movie, you know it looks pretty terrible. Not quite as bad as the third Final Destination movie, but not nearly as good as the first two. You also know that it looks to be a recycled plot without having even the slightest connection to the rest of the franchise. And last but not least, you're aware that it pretty much already shows us all, or at least the majority, of the Rube Goldberg-type kills featured in the movie. But there's still a chance you're going to see it anyway, because you haven't seen any of it in 3-D, just as the tagline says: "Death saved the best for 3D!"

The Weekly Moviegoer - Paying More for Better Movies

We're all familiar with the phrase "you get what you pay for." But how many times have you come away from a movie thinking you were ripped off? How often do you think you really got what you paid for with the experience? Do you see fewer films because of the ticket cost, and would you go to the movies more often and see more kinds of movies if they weren't so expensive? You don't have to actually answer any of these questions, though, but they're at least ideas to think about. I've been driving my brain crazy lately trying to figure out how the cost of a movie affects our experience with it, especially in relation to critical opinions.

Filmmaker John Hughes Dies at 59 of a Heart Attack

Another '80s icon is gone. John Hughes, the writer and director remembered best for churning out classic teen movies such as The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, as well as the scripts for others, including Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful, National Lampoon's Vacation, Home Alone, and Miracle on 34th Street, suffered a lethal heart attack this morning while taking a walk in New York City. He was only 59. For those of us who grew up in the '80s, Hughes was a legend, perhaps one of the first filmmakers we knew of by name and could associate with a certain brand of movie.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Is Movie Hopping Acceptable?

I wonder what my grandmother thought of film piracy. I am suddenly curious because she passed away earlier this month, and I never thought to ask her before she died. The reason it would be interesting to know is she's the one who introduced me to movie hopping - the art of buying one ticket and staying inside the theater to see other movies. Of course, most of us don't think of sneaking into a movie as being equal in offense to pirating a movie. Which is why it would have been neat to know if someone of her generation saw any difference — not that she was tech savvy enough to download a pirated film, but still.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Fanning the Fading Fad of 3D

I finally went to see Pixar's Up in 3D on the eve of the release of Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I knew that the latter movie was going to take over most of the 3D screens in my area, so it seemed this might be my last chance to catch the Pixar film in the heightened format. Why had I waited so long in the first place? Well, besides being a chronic procrastinator, I was still attempting to introduce some friends to digital 3D, and I was waiting for them to come around in order to see it with them. Unfortunately, a lot of people, including many I'm acquainted with, continue to have no interest in this 3D "fad" as it's being called.

Terry Gilliam Scraps His Sci-Fi Project Zero Theorem

And another one down for Terry Gilliam. The overly ambitious and terribly unlucky filmmaker has told the fansite Dreams that yet another of his projects is going in the trash bin. Zero Theorem was the title of the project, a science fiction film supposedly about a reclusive and tortured data processing genius working on a mysterious project. The last we heard it was due to begin filming this year with Billy Bob Thornton set to star. But apparently due to all the extra work and publicity put into Gilliam's latest, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the project got delayed and eventually had to be scrapped in the end. Very sad news.

George Clooney Leaves Warner Brothers and Signs With Sony

After residing at Warner Brothers for nearly nine years and feeling like "part of a family" there for "almost 20," George Clooney is moving over to Sony Pictures with his producing partner (and co-screenwriter on Good Night, and Good Luck) Grant Heslov. The duo's company, Smokehouse Pictures is has signed a two-year deal with Sony Pictures (as first announced by Deadline Hollywood), the very same studio that last week shocked the industry by abruptly dumping the baseball movie Moneyball, which was to be directed by Clooney's former Section 8 partner, Steven Soderbergh, and was going to star Clooney's buddy Brad Pitt.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Favoring the Ticket Kiosk

Expect long lines at your local box office this week thanks to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Public Enemies, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. But remember you can always avoid the long line at the ticket booth by buying your tickets at a ticket kiosk instead. No, you don't have to have already purchased your tickets online. As long as you have a debit or credit card, you can just walk up to a kiosk and get your tickets easily and quickly. Plus, you avoid at least one impolite theater employee. Certainly this isn't a new concept, and you're probably reading this and wanting to comment with something like, "how is this news?"

TV and Film Icon Farrah Fawcett Dies at 62 Today

TV and film icon and 1970's sex symbol Farrah Fawcett died at the age of 62 this morning in a Santa Monica hospital after a brave and public battle with anal cancer as reported by the Associated Press. Fawcett was first diagnosed with the disease in 2006, but she temporarily beat the cancer through chemotherapy and surgery before being re-diagnosed in 2007, at which time she began documenting her life and condition. When things got much worse two months ago, and the media and rumors got out of hand, the footage she had shot over the past three years was aired on NBC as part of the feature documentary Farrah's Story.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Pump Up the Volume!

People are so noisy and disrespectful at the movies. Often I find myself trying to enjoy a good comedy, and the audience goes and ruins it by laughing out loud, causing me to miss whatever dialogue follows a joke or bit of slapstick. Who knows if I've missed an important line of exposition or a successive joke because of these rude outbursts? It's no wonder that I tend to wait for comedies to hit DVD, when I can watch them in the privacy of my own home and hear every bit of it over my light guffawing. Obviously I'm kidding… mostly. Although I've never been a loud laugher, I appreciate the sound of a crowd in amusement.

The Weekly Moviegoer - Watching Terminator with Motion Seats

As much as I enjoyed Terminator Salvation for what it is, I left the movie theater thinking I'd never have reason to watch it again. But I was wrong. Last week, while visiting my grandmother in Arizona, I felt compelled to revisit the relatively disappointing yet sufficiently entertaining sequel when I drove out to the Ultrastar Cinemas Surprise Pointe 14 movie theater in Surprise, AZ, for a first-hand trial of the new D-Box motion seats. I previously wrote about these fun auditorium furnishings a couple months ago in a column about cinema gimmicks, but I just had to experience the seats for myself. And how was the experience?