So until now, my movie-going has been to a few downtown or small-town singles, a "mall 2" and a couple late-70's downtown 3's (one chopped, one purpose-built). And of course, the drive-ins.

Last night it was to the new Famous Players 8-plex (which replaced the mall 2). I feel like I've been in a time-warp. First of all, it seems odd for there not to be a street out front or the structure of 7 and 9 showtimes. Ours was 10:15 for "Meet The Parents". It was very congested as all the teenagers were getting out of the "early" shows. There were automatic ticketing kiosks
and a small line for the "live" cashier. Another odd thing was to have so many people in the "lobby" without necessarily being movie customers. The manager used to work with my wife in the museum field. You can tell it's very hectic for her. She seemed to be the only adult staffmember, lamenting the fact that the theatre was now more of a video-arcade hangout for screaming kids than
an actual cinema.

The presentation was fairly good, those little white lint spots I figured was a problem with the print, but the black lint was starting to collect on only the second run-through of the print. The auditorium was roughly 55x72, with a 50 foot screen. First time I've seen on-screen slide advertising. Very annoying, especially when you see the blanket ads for IMAX showings 2 hours away, gives you that "let 'em eat cake" feeling. Traditional sloped floor, screen almost too big (right from wall to wall). I think it would be great for scope, the only problem is that in order to "dazzle" the patrons with the "huge" screens, they make the flat image much lower, so that it's nearly as wide as scope, and with the traditional rake, the bottom of the image is obscured by patrons in the front. I know what they're doing, but I wish they'd raise it a touch.

As mentioned in the thread about the 50's theatres, the whole place "reeked of cheap".
From the exposed ceilings, painted-concrete floor in the lobby, video arcade and garish decor, it just doesn't "feel" like the movies. The popcorn was stale (recycled?).

BUT - It was very clean, and once you get through the annoyances, the presentation seemed fairly good, and the volume level was reasonable. The auditorium was again, uninspiring, but clean. We sat near the back, I can't imagine sitting much closer. Overall, I think, managed by someone who cares and is doing the best she can with the cards dealt. A businessman myself, I wouldn't expect much more from an all-adolescent staff and no full-timers. Still, I think I'll stick to my small-town singles until the DI's open again in the spring.

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In an 8 plex, they 7 and 9 showtimes are not practical. You need to spread your showtimes out, so that everyone doesn't just show up at the same times, causing traffic jams for box AND concession. (Mine currently run from 6:50 to 7:30.) Next, you need to spread your drop times, so that not everything drops at once, causing traffic jams at the restrooms and exits, and also to give your ushers time to clean (mine currently run from 8:43 to 9:44). Lastly, you need to stagger your late starts, for a combination of reasons listed above (mine currently from 9:35 to 10:15). Show scheduling is not an exact science, but you want to ATTEMPT to expedite the customers in and out of your building as smoothly as possible.

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