This weekend, I was given a harsh reminder of why I can't go see movies on an opening night weekend.  Some friends wanted to see X-Men: First Class at the Regal Atlantic Station and since I wanted to see the flick again, I came along.  What followed was like a checklist of everything crappy about the moviegoing experience*.  For starters, multiple people had to go and track down an usher because the dumb projectionist had forgotten to turn the pre-show projector off so you could still see it on top of the trailers (which had no sound).  Then there was the requisite crying toddler (family film!), the clown who must share his humorous commentary with the theater, and finally, the texter.

I could see the guy texting, I politely asked him to turn off his phone, he laughed in my face, I had to go to guest services, they had to get security, I had to bring security to the seat, and they had to give him a warning.  If I hadn't already seen the movie, I wouldn't have done any of this and would have to suffer silently with another patron's dickish behavior.  If you want to get into the mind of someone who is that fucking selfish, hit the jump for an angry Alamo customer (as she stresses) complaining that they kicked her out for texting.  There's also an awesome new Mondo poster you can check out.

[Click here for a censored version of her curse-filled rant.]

This is a fascinating voicemail because of the sense of entitlement this person has.  She believes that because she bought a ticket, she is free to behave any way she wants.  She says that no one ever told her there was no texting, which I find hard to believe.  Not only is it common courtesy (which she clearly lacked), but even the Regal has a message to not talk or text during the movie (of course, it's in a very calm, polite tone that's almost a whisper so that the people who need to hear it are probably going to ignore it), so I'd be surprised if the Alamo didn't make that policy exceedingly clear.  I also like how she believes that she's the only person who is allowed to act how they want and that since no one complained to her, then it must be okay.

But back to my experience at Atlantic Station, I was surprised that enforcement doesn't simply keep making the rounds in the theaters.  That's what they're on duty to do.  When I go to press screenings, they make it very clear that if they even so much as see a light, they will boot you from the theater (I've come to discover it's an empty threat, but it does cut down on the number of people willing to risk it).  But the fact that other theater chains don't bother implementing the Alamo's zero-tolerance policy is absurd.

In happier news, Mondo will release a new poster this week to coincide with the DVD release of AMERICAN: THE BILL HICKS STORY.  The poster was designed by Ken Taylor, it measures 18x24, is limited to an edition of 200, and it goes on sale this Friday.

For those who don't know about the Alamo Drafthouse:

The Alamo Drafthouse is a lifestyle entertainment brand with an acclaimed cinema-eatery, the largest genre film festival in the United Sates and an online collectible art store. Named “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse Founder & CEO, Tim League, created Fantastic Fest, a world renowned film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety. Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of offbeat cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood Studios. The Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art boutique, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is expanding its brand in new and exciting ways, including the launch of Drafthouse Films, a new film distribution label and plans to extend its theaters and unique programming philosophy to additional markets across the United States. More information about Alamo Drafthouse franchise opportunities are available on the official website.

*I will say that the manager on duty, Victoria, was awesome.  I lost my ticket and broke out my Regal Crown Club card to try and prove that I had just purchased it (I couldn't use my credit card as proof since I had paid for the ticket in cash).  The transaction hadn't registered yet, but she believed my story and gave me a replacement ticket.  If everyone who worked at Atlantic Station that night was as cool as her, it would have been a better evening.