(…sending in my application to Hollywood…)

We took our tickets and went to watch another movie for free. In this case it was Be Kind Rewind. I emailed Warner Brothers that instead of getting free publicity for their movie, their Draconian practices made me opt to use the advertising money to watch another film instead. They didn’t respond.

I started keeping a rudimentary blog of which companies were trying to collect phones. Unfortunately, I did a poor job of updating it. http://securitymonitor.livejournal.com/

Since then, I have never been asked to surrender my phone. I’ve managed to see atleast another 10 sneak previews.

People can’t be trusted to not be idiots when they drive their cars, should we confiscate them too?

It’s easier to lobby for protection if everyone thinks there’s a pirate in every theater.

The theater won’t care. They make their money off the snacks. You’ll already be holding your tub of popcorn by the time that you decide not to surrender your phone.

Here’s the link for those who can read in spanish:
http://alt1040.com/2009/07/la-paranoia-extrema-de-warner-bros-con-las-funciones-de-prensa-de-harry-potter

a) properly securing each item, ie, in a sealed bag, labeled on the outside. Maybe the owner’s business card placed inside for identification.

b) liability! who is responsible if “something happens”? Me, my employer, the theater, etc… If someone takes the wrong phone, must I do paperwork? lol…

c) secured storage of items. Locked in an office. who has access? If someone has to leave, can they get their phone back in a reasonable amount of time?

d) are the patrons being searched??? ie with a wand, pat-downs, etc. What’s the policy if someone is “caught” with a phone?

I don’t necessarily agree with the confiscation policy, and if my phone were being “held”, I would want the above information, at a minimum.

And, wouldn’t it be A LOT EASIER AND SIMPLER to just have a guard or two WALK THE AISLES DURING THE MOVIE to look for cameras????

We have power over you, cringe in awe.

“since you pirate movies, I’m jobless and I don’t have money for food”

Yep, the outright bald-faced propaganda. Funny that a homeless, out of work, starving person is parading around whining about phones while pretending to be a Warner exec or PR tard. Enhances the disbelief in the message, eh?

They made the people attending feel like the homeless vagrants, scum-of-the-earth covnicts. I could not believe that they would totally outlaw cell phones, but they did manage to enforce it. People had to keep running to their cars in the parking garage and running back. I actually put the phone in my shoe when I was in line, but then noticed they had metal detectors, and didn’t want to chance it.

The goon running the show, was spot on with #6′s comment. He looked like the bald guy in Airplane! (“Lenny’s Getting Larger!”). Sadly, his silliness was concentrated on the absurd — screaming and carrying on like he was protecting China from the mongrel hordes. He claimed I “threw” a pen at him, when I tossed it to him underhanded after completing out a form. Thoroughly unbalanced.

The one friend who I had asked to join me, told me this is why he NEVER goes to these things, despite having the financial and movie-loving motivation to participate.

I’m never going again, that’s for sure.

Some phones – iPhone, I’m looking at you – have non-removable batteries, so just taking the battery isn’t an option.

I presume that anyone who really wanted to steal a movie with a cellphone would be willing to slip an extra battery or memory card into their sock.

Realistically, my guess would be that cellphones are about as big a threat to the movie industry as photocopiers are to the paperback book industry. Sure, you can do it, but why would you bother?

Naturally, you’d have to present this to them with your best polite manner, and speak movingly of your fear of piracy, and how you can’t trust anyone these days, and so on.

Oh, and of course, you’d film it and put it out over BitTorrent. Mustn’t forget the salt when we’re wounding…

They’re like “That guy’s pirating, no wait… cell phone. That guy has a cam… no wait, cell phone.”

So now they’re just confiscating the phones so they don’t get confused.

They think they can actually stop piracy. That’s about as retarded as trying to stop terror. lol

They do it to protect themselves, not boss you around. They aren’t benevolently letting you see a movie for free because they want to exercise their power and enforce their “draconian” rules on you. They’re showing you a movie so they can get valuable feedback as to how they can improve the movie.

As someone who works in the arts, I jump at the chance to go to a test screening. It is an incredible thing to me, seeing an unfinished work, and having input (even if only a tiny amount) on its final result. And plus, free movie!

I have something they want, My Time, My Money. Only thefts and cheats are so paranoid that they think everyone is out to seal from or get them. They can keep their… ( I’ll stop now )

It would have been easy as hell to simply film it.

There’s a difference between test screenings and preview screenings. Most of these people are talking about preview screenings – those movies are be released soon, and the studio is not going to make any changes at that late hour. The point of the screening is to have those people tell their friends to go see the movie. That’s it.