Kicked out for texting at movies. Her voicemail is used for a pre-show PSA — Page 3

I only pray that she has seen this news story.

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Romantico and others-
I think the idea of carrying a cell phone jammer is just as bad as someone who texts during a movie. Who are you to tell people when they can or can not use their phone (outside of a movie, concert, musical, etc?) If you are in the public then you should expect to deal with the public and whatever they feel like doing, as long as it's legal.

I sit in the back row of a movie theatre and always turn my cell phone on silent. Usually when I go to a movie, it's one I've chosen to go to, but sometimes in a big group I get dragged to something (like Battle: LA). If I think the movie sucks, and I'm in the back row, then I will definitely text or check my email. Does that make me a bad person? No.

I once had a guy chew me out for texting 20 minutes before a concert started, and told me he hoped I'd put my phone away and that I should actually do that now. I told him that I was well in my right to text message, that if the noise was bothering him I'd put it on vibrate or silent, but that he had no business telling me what to do before the concert was even close to starting.

And the argument that doctors or anyone shouldn't go to a movie when they're on call is asinine. When I have a new employee closing the shop for the first time by themselves, I leave myself relatively available. If I make plans I tell whomever I'm with to not be surprised if I have to answer a text or a phone call. Are you saying that I should instead sit at home and amuse myself in some other fashion instead of going out with friends? Are you saying I should kill my social life so that my job can reach me without distracting others? Because if so, you need to get a reality check.

And if you think I'm saying this and that it makes me part of the entitled generation, you're greatly mistaken. I don't expect the world to be handed to me on a plate. I don't assume that I'm always correct. I just know what to expect when I'm in public and which battles are worth fighting.

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"If you are in the public then you should expect to deal with the public and whatever they feel like doing, as long as it's legal."

I'm not getting your logic. As a member of the public, you should have to deal with me doing whatever I want to do in public as long as it's not illegal?

So my talking, dancing, eating a meal, or texting--all legal activities--while at the theater or a movie is just something you're expected to put up with?

Erik, I can't imagine anyone having a problem with the behavior you just described. (First of all, how would they even know?)

But I honestly don't think we're really talking about professionals being on call. Not really.

We're talking about people who want to use their cell phones simply because they want to.

I appreciate people's need to be reached to a point, but it does sometimes sound like those people STILL seem to think they're a titch more important than the rest of us. And really, once you GET notified, go out and take care of and leave the rest of us in peace. I have no problem when people behave the way Erik explains.

I also agree that people who complain about you using your phone to text before the show starts are a-holes.

Well, first off Phone jammers I believe are illegal. Doesn't mean people can't get them or use them. So, if I had a jammer I would not advertise about it. I can see where people would think those who jam a signal are no better but like I said,there is a time and place for everything. Cel phones have given people bad habits and they feel they are justified because after all, everyone does it.Lets just say If I had a jammer and someone was being rude on their phone they would suddenly lose their signal. I guess its the old two wrongs don't make a right argument.They are being an A-hole and I am being an A-hole.

I get bothered when I am minding my own business and a guy walks right in front of me 4 or 5 times throughout the store. This guy grabbed a magazine each time,his elbow about an inch from my face while talking loudly about how how much it was gonna cost for him to get his car fixed. I also heard that his wife was going to be out of town that weekend and how he felt like playing golf.To this jerk,I was in his way.Seriously. I would never walk in front of someone and stop without saying excuse me but this jerk did it 4 or 5 times following me throughout the magazine section. Other people were looking at him and he even used profanity a couple times. If you think that makes me thin skinned then that is your opinion and I assume you felt his actions were okay.

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Updated On: 6/8/11 at 02:07 PM

Don't get me wrong Reginald...I agree with you. But the public will be the public and people have been doing things to annoy people in movie theaters way before cell phones. People that do that in the theater are aholes...but jamming cell service is a bit extreme.
I think the real problem is with theater management. If they actually enforced their rules like this theater in Austin did then we wouldn't have to worry about these problems.

The Problem IS WITH THEATER MANAGEMENT!

They complain because people are waiting for films to come out on dvd/blu-ray and complain about the cost of movies but are afraid to confront a rude patron in fear their theater will get a bad reputation.

I saw a phone jammer for $150 but I still doubt I would buy one. A)I do not have that kind of money to spend on something like that and B) I tend to agree,it is extreme. However, if I saw someone using it I sure as hell would not complain.

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I thought of this thread about a half hour ago walking home from the store. I was at the intersection at 42nd and 9th and a man who was texting started crossing the street when we didn't have the walk signal and almost got hit by a taxi. He started screaming at the guy and kicking the car and I was just amazed. But I thought of this instantly.

It was the cab drivers fault. Couldn't he see the guy was texting? I mean, its not like texting is illegal or anything. I hope he got the license number of the bad driver.

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A little common courtesy all around would go a long way.

Unfortunately, that's too much to ask these days. Self-centeredness rules!

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I can't remember for sure which show, but I have heard the inclusion of the fact that it's against the law in at least one recent pre-show announcement.

There are tales from many shows about various outside sources triggering show automation. The London production of Sunset Blvd had to completely replace their hydraulics with an older model because they found out that police radios outside the theatre were sending signals on the same frequency and causing things to move when they shouldn't. The PSM on the former Cheetah company of The Lion King tour told me a story about how a new (cheap) microwave the make up department bought was causing Pride Rock to just take off on it's own in one theatre where their room was right below it's off stage left parking space. I'm sure most crews are perfectly happy to not have to worry about adding in some sort of jamming device to the mix of what might things go crazy backstage.