“You shall NOT pass”…into an R-rated movie!

This weekend is one of those rare situations where the majority of our movies are Rated-R. We have 7 Rated-R, 1 PG-13, and 2 PG movies. The problem is that kids that are not 17 and don’t have parent watching the R-rated movie with them, can’t see the movie that they hoped to see. So naturally, what do these kids do? Yep, they try to sneak into movies they aren’t allowed in. Which causes problems considering IT is still selling out and Kingsman: The Golden Circle is in it’s opening weekend and also doing extremely well. There’s literally no room for these kids to sneak into the movie, so we’re force to be extra strict with checking ID’s and ultimately kicking kids out of the theater.

Now I can’t exactly say there’s a wrong or right way about sneaking into a movie. But I can say, that there are certain red flags that let me know if a group of kids are going to try to sneak into a movie.

• If you show up with a group of friends and they all purchase Rated-R tickets, and then you buy a PG-13 ticket. I’m willing to bet my next pay check you are gonna go into that Rated-R movie with your friends. Then I go after you and kick you out without a refund.
• If you drag a mom up to box office to purchase a Rated-R ticket for you, but then get told you still can’t see the movie so you buy a ticket for a non Rated-R show. I know you’re still going to go to the R-Rated movie. Then I go get you and kick you out without a refund.
• If you buy a non Rated-R ticket for a show that started an hour ago and the only movies starting now are the R-Rated ones. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. You’re not that sneaky, and I will have to get you out of the movie to kick you out without a refund.
• If you ask to buy a ticket to an R-Rated and then tell me you don’t have an idea, but still by a ticket to another movie…I STILL KNOW YOU ARE SNEAKING INTO A RATED-R MOVIE! Then I go get you and kick you out without a refund.

90% of the time, I can tell when kids are planning on sneaking into movies they aren’t allowed in. So moral of this story, just wait till you are 17 to see a Rated-R movie and spare everyone the trouble… or…. if you must see an R-Rated movie because your life depends on it, bring someone who’s 21 with you! Offer to buy them some popcorn then make them sit a few rows below you in the theater. Throw in a soda and some nachos and I promise they’ll take you to whatever Rated-R movie you want to see!

P.S. Dont sneak into a movie because I don’t want to have to make you leave. And then you’re basically wasting money because I can’t give you a refund if you get kicked out.

“You’ll Float Too!”

So I finally convinced myself to go watch the new IT movie. With all of its box office success, it became a movie that in twenty years, I need to say, “Oh yeah, I remember when I saw IT in theaters.” Now normally, horror movies are NOT my thing, and I low-key have a phobia of clowns. So why did I want to watch this horror movie about a clown? I have no earthly idea! But anyway, I was genuinely surprised by how much I actually enjoyed the movie. So here 5 reasons why IT is worth going see!

1. Stephen King himself put his stamp of approval on this adaption of his novel. Hollywood’s been going overboard with movie adaptations of books. And to be honest, most of them are not good. But for an author to give his approval of a movie adaptation and the actors is pretty rare.
2. Two words. Bill. Skarsgard. From the first scene he’s in, it’s clear thatSkarsgard spent a lot of time perfecting how he would play Pennywise. From the laugh to his voice and mannerisms, his acting was unexpected, but completely blows you away!
3. IT broke the record for highest-grossing horror film on a domestic basis. Any movie that breaks any kind of box office record you should definitely go see. It’s basically like watching a piece of history.
4. Cinematography. For anyone who is a fan of great cinematography, this is a movie for you! The camera movements and shots help keep the flow going throughout the whole movie, and it keeps you guessing where the camera is going to pan to next. Literally my first thought after the movie started was “wow look at that camera pan, it’s awesome!”
5. It’s just as frightening as you’d hoped it would be. Now unlike most horror movies, IT doesn’t rely on cheesy gimmicks to scare you. The mix of creepy content, camera angles, and a carefully timed soundtrack all work seamlessly to give you that genuine scare.

F&B Blues

The “Food and Beverage Blues.” This would be the perfect title for a song about the struggles of working behind the concession stand for six hours. But I’m not a lyricist nor am I musically inclined, so I’ll just write about my F&B blues here.

Today I worked behind the stand mostly by myself from 4:00-9:30. It was little busier than normal Sunday nights because IT is still dominating in box office. This meant that I would be running back and forth taking orders, fixing food, popping popcorn, and turning off the popper before I burned the popcorn I just popped.

On the upside though, no one yelled at me today! It’s a good shift when you can go home without upsetting a single guest.

The downside however, is having to close the stand at the end of the night. You see all the things you can buy that are out in the stand? Yeah, I’m the one who has to pick all that stuff up at the end of the night. And clean the popper, the fryer, the garment popcorn holder, take out all the trash, sweep, and do the dishes…and more things that just make me tired thinking about it!

But tonight I had some help! Shoutout to Sarah for offering stay late and help me close the stand!

Your Friendly Neighborhood Film Crew

My job as a film crew member has me running around like crazy when I’m at work! So I feel like it’s important for me to let you know exactly what it is that I do, and hopefully shed some light so you understand just how hard our film crew actually works! So here are the four main spots film crew members work:

• Box Office: This is probably the first place you’ll encounter a film crew member. You can purchase or pick up tickets here and find out all the movies and showtimes we have. TIP #1: when you walk up to box office, speak clearly into the mic and say how many tickets you need, specify any adult or child’s tickets, and say what movie you are seeing. This helps us ring up your tickets quickly without having to ask you multiple questions to figure out what you need.
• Greeter: This where the ticket taker stands and tear your tickets. TIP #2: all you need to do is hand us your tickets and pay attention to which direction and theater we point you to. If you’re talking or trying to walk past me, chances are you’ll miss my directions and go to the wrong theater.
• Concessions: This is often the busiest spot for a film crew member mainly because we are running back and forth between taking your order and fixing your food. TIP #3: try know what you want to order before you get to the counter. It just makes the process go faster so you can get into your movie quicker.
• Usher: This is the crew member that basically clean up the entire theater. When a movie, they exit great and then go in and clean up all the popcorn and spilt drinks. They sweep the lobby and keep the bathrooms tidy. TIP #4: if you have any problems, the usher is the closest person who can stop and help you.

As a film crew member, I can work in any of these areas, which often keeps things new and interesting each shift. Sometimes it’s nice to have a greeter shift that’s not busy, and sometimes working in box office on a busy weekend makes me want to yank my hair out. But regardless working at the movie theater is one of the funniest jobs to have!

“Manners Maketh Man”

Let’s talk about movie theater etiquette! I know, I know! You wouldn’t think these two things go hand in hand, but they do! When going to a theater to watch a movie, there are a few situational factors that can happen that may disrupt your movie-going experience. Some of these factors can be avoided by our film crew, and some of them can not. For example, if I accidentally give you the wrong item you ordered in concessions, that is my fault. Typically though, it is an easy fix and I can get you your correct item quickly without any further mishaps. If you show up to see a highly anticipated movie on its opening weekend only 10 minutes before it’s showtime and the movie is sold out, that is NOT my fault.

The movie “IT” premiered this weekend. Now, at my theater, we knew we would most likely be extremely busy with this movie so extra film crew were put on then schedule for weekend shifts. In all honesty though, we were totally NOT prepared to sell out 6 showtimes! The amount of people who came out to see this movie was ridiculous! IT’s opening weekend did just as well as Beauty and the Beast’s opening weekend did at our theater. Saturday night I bounced back and forth between cleaning theaters and working the second line in box office. I’d never seen the box office line that long in the entire 18 months I’d been working there. 

But this post is about manners right? Correct! When you show up 10 minutes before a popular movie in its opening weekend starts and it’s sold out, please don’t yell at me. You running late is not my fault! And if you barely scrape by and get tickets before the movie sells out, please don’t come yell at me that you can’t find enough seats for you and your 4 kids and wife to sit together. I’m sorry but I can’t control where people sit in the individual theaters. I can ask them to move over and not skip seats, but if they don’t want to move, I can’t force them.

I got yelled at about 12 times Saturday night for things that were out of my control. So please when you come see a movie and things don’t go your way, do not take your aggression out on our film crew. We will do out best to help you and offer any compensation if we can. A little tidbit, if you come up to me with a problem and you are nice about it, I’m going out my way to do more for you just because you didn’t yell at me.

In the words of Colin Firth in the movie Kingsman, “Manner Maketh Man.” So please remember your manners when you come to the movie theater.

“IT’S SHOWTIME!”

Welcome to Film Crew Chronicles! I’m Mallory! My hope for this blog is to give you a little insight on what it’s like for me working at a movie theater. My job can get hectic and sometimes be totally crazy.

Everyday at work brings a new adventure and I hope to share some of those adventures with you! Movies have been such a big part of my life. I’ve grown up loving movies and appreciating the lessons we learn from them. This blog will also serve as a way for me to write about all the movies I watch, which is a lot since I get to see free movies, and hopefully get people excited about going to the movies!