that Olympian looks like Ronald McDonald
Regal Cinemas has dropped "The 2wenty." Before you get all worked up, let me tell you that they've replaced it with the "Regal First Look" which, except for the name, is identical. The 2wenty's website, the2wenty.com, has the same content as firstlookonline.com.
Like you, I thought, "so what?" That is, until I did a search for the websites I just mentioned. My family and I went to a movie yesterday. I think it might be the first movie we've seen in 2006. I was going to make a quick mention of The 2wenty's name change in yesterday's posting but my search results revealed that a lot of people really hate watching stuff before their movie is supposed to start. I realized the topic deserved it's own posting.
Some guy named Kevin Murphy (no relation) complained about The 2wenty on NPR. Somebody at a website called Yankee Pot Roast wrote a strongly worded letter to Regal Cinemas and got a very polite reply. Perhaps most impressive is the entire website somebody built to address this matter of national concern.
I applaud their energy and excitement but I completely disagree with their opinion. What is so horrible about a few minutes of corporate shilling before your movie's scheduled start time? Don't they remember how incredibly boring it was to sit in a dim movie theater with nothing on the screen? Those lame slide shows with ads for mall merchants and Coca Cola trivia questions were a slight improvement but each slide was shown way too many times. At least we could listen to Movie Tunes with Kris Erik Stevens. The 2wenty took it one step further. They have some behind the scenes infotainment stuff and some ads. And it only runs before the published start time of your movie.
When we lived in Burbank, we had to get to the theater at least 30 minutes early to get a seat. Here in Knoxville, most moviegoers arrive within 5 minutes of the advertised showtime. I can easily beat the crowd and get that dead center seat I like. It's probably safe to say that most of the other people in the theater with me yesterday have never seen The 2wenty or the Regal First Look for that matter. I wonder if they changed the name because it sounds too much like a local TV channel. My only gripe with The 2wenty happened back when it first started. A voiceover told you to get to the theater 30 minutes early so you could watch The 2wenty. How did they decide that the best name for a 30 minute program was The 2wenty? I suppose "The 3hirty" is no better.
Like you, I thought, "so what?" That is, until I did a search for the websites I just mentioned. My family and I went to a movie yesterday. I think it might be the first movie we've seen in 2006. I was going to make a quick mention of The 2wenty's name change in yesterday's posting but my search results revealed that a lot of people really hate watching stuff before their movie is supposed to start. I realized the topic deserved it's own posting.
Some guy named Kevin Murphy (no relation) complained about The 2wenty on NPR. Somebody at a website called Yankee Pot Roast wrote a strongly worded letter to Regal Cinemas and got a very polite reply. Perhaps most impressive is the entire website somebody built to address this matter of national concern.
I applaud their energy and excitement but I completely disagree with their opinion. What is so horrible about a few minutes of corporate shilling before your movie's scheduled start time? Don't they remember how incredibly boring it was to sit in a dim movie theater with nothing on the screen? Those lame slide shows with ads for mall merchants and Coca Cola trivia questions were a slight improvement but each slide was shown way too many times. At least we could listen to Movie Tunes with Kris Erik Stevens. The 2wenty took it one step further. They have some behind the scenes infotainment stuff and some ads. And it only runs before the published start time of your movie.
When we lived in Burbank, we had to get to the theater at least 30 minutes early to get a seat. Here in Knoxville, most moviegoers arrive within 5 minutes of the advertised showtime. I can easily beat the crowd and get that dead center seat I like. It's probably safe to say that most of the other people in the theater with me yesterday have never seen The 2wenty or the Regal First Look for that matter. I wonder if they changed the name because it sounds too much like a local TV channel. My only gripe with The 2wenty happened back when it first started. A voiceover told you to get to the theater 30 minutes early so you could watch The 2wenty. How did they decide that the best name for a 30 minute program was The 2wenty? I suppose "The 3hirty" is no better.
posted by Frank Murphy at
3:57 PM
2 Comments:
Maybe those pre-movie features are a good idea.
I remember back when I was a kid my sister and I were bored in our seats waiting for the cartoons to start (dating myself now...) and the urge hit her to throw a SweetTart at the screen and it put a hole in it.
Amen. Totally agree. No problem with a little corporate shilling. At least the time does go by a little fater. Silly people.
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