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Topic: Open for Christmas?

Paul Cunningham
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 146
From: Melbourne, Australia
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 12-15-2000 06:59 PM

John,

you'll probably go to work on the 23rd and they will ask you to give someone a crash course in projection. HaHa I know you wouldn't though.

I know cinemas are out there to make a profit but there is a difference between turning a profit and being downright greedy. Sometimes I think owners only see the $$$ and not the poor staff who make sacrifices for them.

Anyway Happy Xmas John.

Paul

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Erik Schill
Film Handler

Posts: 38
From: Rochester, NY, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-15-2000 11:09 PM

I will be working christmas day (for the 3rd year in a row) our first show is at 10:30am, and our last show is it 10:20pm, and the last show gets out at 12:35am, and hell no I won't be getting time and a half, but I have no other choice but to work, it's either christmas or NYE, and I want NYE off for once, last 2 years working both, plus thanksgiving 3 in a row and easter, I want a night to party for once

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Bill Enos
Film God

Posts: 2081
From: Richmond, Virginia, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 12-16-2000 08:10 AM

We're a single screen independent. This year we are open Christmas eve for the 7:15 only, usually though we're closed that day. Christmas day we do the regular evening schedule. Our 16-20 year employees have usually had enough family by that time and seem to welcome the opportunity to get away.

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Matt Gardner
Film Handler

Posts: 15
From: Charleston, S.C., USA
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 12-16-2000 11:09 AM

Ahhh..The joys of being an Imax projectionist. We close at 6:00 on Christmas Eve and are closed ALL day on Christmas. Ill be thinking about you guys who have to work. I kind of wish we were open so I could make that double time pay.

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Ian Price
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1714
From: Denver, CO
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-16-2000 12:23 PM

I have finaly convinced my business partner that one of the reasons that we are in business for ourselves is that we get to make the rules up as we go along.

We are now taking full evening Christmas Eve off and we are taking the last show of New Years Eve off as well.

I think when we looked at our last show figures for Thanksgiving and realized that we would be opening for 20 people, he decided that closing was Ok too.

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Richard C. Wolfe
Master Film Handler

Posts: 250
From: Northampton, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 12-18-2000 06:37 PM

Ian:

I can't understand why you would have decided to stay open on Christmas eve just because the other theatres did. If they want to be miserable to themselves, and there employees, and waste money for 10 or 15 (if they are lucky) people...let them do it.
No one is going to hold it against you for closing that one night of the year.

I run one matinee show on Christmas eve and one evening show on Christmas day. New Years eve I have a matinee and 7 PM show only. New Years day...both matinee and evening.

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Gracia L. Babbidge
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 709
From: Bowdoin, Maine
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 12-23-2000 12:41 AM

The theater that I am at is open every day of the year... The only possible excpeption to that would be if the power got knocked out all day - for obvious reasons!
However, we aren't running any evening shows on Christmas Eve, last show starts at 5 o'clock-ish, yet we'll be open until about 7, for purposes of selling gift certificates!
Christmas day, our first show will start after 2PM (normally first show is noon-ish), and the rest of the schedule will run normally.

Christmas Eve I have to work open to close, no big deal, about an 8 hour shift...
*does a happy dance*
Then I have Christmas off!!!

As far as being paid extra - I'm on salary, so it doesn't happen. And I'm fairly sure that the hourly employees don't get paid time and a half for working on holidays. But hey, we all got a Christmas bonus.

~GLB

------------------
In some cultures, what I do is considered normal.

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Steve Guttag
We forgot the crackers Gromit!!!

Posts: 12814
From: Annapolis, MD
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 12-23-2000 03:22 PM

For the past 20 or so years I have been in the biz, we have been open on the 24th and 25th. As others have noted, generally there has been a reduced show schedule on those two days. I can't remember ever dropping more than the last show on the 24th or the first show on the 25th.

It wasn't so much greed as that on the 25, after all the presents have been opened and food eaten, those that don't care for football tend to want to get out and movies are a good place. I've been in the entertainment business just about all of my working life now (legit theatre before) and working the weekends and holidays is just normal for that sort of thing...entertainment works when others don't.

As to New Years, it depended on the location of the theatre...if it was downtown, the general rule was full schedule on both days. Suburbs generally dropped the last show on the 31st. Downtown, there seemed to be a lot more seemingly lonely, single people that went to the later shows.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"

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Charles Everett
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1470
From: New Jersey
Registered: May 2001

posted 12-09-2001 07:16 PM

Since it's that time of year let's bump this topic back to the top.

This year it isn't just "Open for Christmas?" There are 8 wide releases in 7 days between 12/19 and 12/25. Throw in "Oscar Bait" if you run arthouse product. Not only that, the 2 wide releases on 12/25 get shipped via Technicolor. Imagine the horror if Ali isn't delivered until 12/24 and you can't get replacements for defective reels until after Xmas Day!

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Gerard S. Cohen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 975
From: Forest Hills, NY, USA
Registered: Sep 2001

posted 12-09-2001 09:10 PM

Holiday work in NYC for projectionists wasn't a problem, because Christmas and New Years were two of the ten holidays that paid the local IATSE contractual time-and-one-half.I used to work extra double shifts those days for an indy twin where the manager handed me my paycheck at the START of the day, and he and his patrons wore carnations and orchids as they sipped the gratis demi-tasse in holiday moods. At many booths projectionists would swap schedules with their partners, working each other's religious holidays; if all projectionists in a booth observed the same holidays, a call to the local would put the date on the "the list" to be picked up at the
(twice) weekly replacement roll call. There were always enough "unemployed" (many by choice) working the list to pick up days
when others for family or religious reasons wanted days off.

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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-09-2001 09:29 PM

Gerard just mentioned one of the reasons I had mixed feelings about unions. There might be day to day problems that would have me grinding my teeth, but often they would come up with great ideas like this. Time and a half on Christmas is decent, no matter what your religion. Thanks for reminding me how good unions could be, Gerard.

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James R. Hammonds, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 931
From: Houston, TX, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-10-2001 12:25 AM

Charles, last year, prints for christmas day came a couple days early.
This year I would sespect them to be in no later than Friday, hopefully Thursday with the 12/21 movies.

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Bernard Tonks
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 619
From: Cranleigh, Surrey, England
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 12-10-2001 03:38 PM

When I first took the cinema over I had a full time job in a television news station on Telecine and VT. I worked many Christmas day shifts when it fell on your normal roster day. This year we are just having a matinee only on Xmas eve, closing 25th, 26th and 27th. New Years eve matinee only. Seems sensible to me and popular by the staff.

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Andy Muirhead
Master Film Handler

Posts: 323
From: Galashiels, Scotland
Registered: Dec 2000

posted 12-10-2001 07:35 PM

Xmas eve and New Years eve we do a matinee only, close by 4pm and that's us till boxing day or day after new years day. Usually i work all the xmas shifts so i get the new year off. I must be getting old because i'm not bothered this year. Time and a half? what the hell is that?

Double time?

visavi! We have two hourly rates - working or not working!

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Dave Williams
Wet nipple scene

Posts: 1836
From: Salt Lake City, UT, USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 12-11-2001 01:23 PM

First off, I really wish we had Boxing Day here in the states.

Now to business, We are a new theater, and corporate has not decided what hours to be open for xmas eve and day yet. However, we are a second run house, and in our previous location just seven miles away, we did only EIGHT people on christmas eve for the evening shows, and only six on new years eve. Christmas day, we did all of 100 people all day.

Now we are required to run each film at least once each day as per conract, and we run double features in some auditoriums. SO, IMHO we should definately close after 6 pm on XMAS eve and not open until evening on XMAS day. We have no brand new movies, so no real desire to come to my place on that day.

ANd our corporate policy as per the owner is as follows:

"We do not pay any extra money for anyone no matter what day it is, and if they dont want to work it, then they dont want the job and you go and hire new people now to compensate for the expected quits."

Why the hell would anyone want to be a manager for a company that makes him be open so the company can make an extra four hundred dollars at the expense of losing 85 percent of your staff?

Dave

PS, i am crazy! but i love the work.

I myself will not work eve or day, niether will my staff. Hell I will give him the four hundred dollars if thats all he wants. Why be greedy on this day of all days?

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