For all of the good things about a trip to the local cinema, there are just as many headaches and annoyances to put up with. From outrageous prices to crying babies to the guy who finds it absolutely necessary to take his call smack in the middle of an important plot point, there seems to be no end to the inconveniences one faces at the movies. I should know, I work there.
My job as a projectionist affords me countless memorable movie-going experiences, for better or worse. That being said, if I had to think about my worst movie-going experience, I’d have a lengthy list of candidates to choose from, but at the top of that list is an event that has since come to be known to myself and my co-workers as "The ‘300’ Riot."
When major releases come out, like summer blockbusters, theatres usually receive them two nights before the intended release date (Wednesday night, in most cases.) While not exactly a blockbuster, "300" fell into this category, so for quality assurance purposes, it was screened for employees that night. There was also to be a midnight screening open to the public the following night.
The employee screening went flawlessly, except for the fact that an alarm was tripped at the end of the film (this meant that the film was missing a "cue," or a strip of tape placed directly on the film to designate when the auditorium lights as well as the projector motor should go on and off.) So, to remedy this, a co-worker of mine, Brent, went through the film, found the right spot, and added a cue. Problem solved, right? Not exactly.
So, Thursday night rolls around, and it’s time for the midnight screening. My theatre (the University Village Cinemas) isn’t exactly the biggest around, but on this night, we had managed to pack in about 400-500 people into our two biggest auditoriums.
Everything runs smoothly until near the very end of the film; in fact, during the climax of the movie. (For those of you that have seen "300," the "spear-throwing" scene) From what we’ve gathered since then, right around that scene, the lights came up and the film stopped completely, but because the film hadn’t tripped its fail-safe, no alarm sounded. Apparently, one too many cues had been placed on the film, making the projector think the movie was over. Thus, Brent and myself are patiently waiting for the movie to end, not knowing it had stopped altogether.
That is, until we see guests coming directly up to the projection booth and imploring us to rewind the film (for any of you that have asked that at a theatre, it’s not possible.) Now, theatre employees aren’t even allowed into the projection booth without authorization, so it’s definitely not for guests. Wanting to get them out as soon as possible, Brent and I run and restart the film where it left off...not knowing that everyone who had been watching is already out in the lobby complaining, unaware that the movie had restarted.
So, basically, 90% of the crowd (if not more) misses the end of the film, and like I said, it can’t exactly be "rewound." Combine this with the fact that the manager on duty didn’t have the combination to the safe at the time in order to give refunds, and you have the makings of a pretty volatile situation.
What ensues is the closest thing to a riot that I’ve ever been a part of, an event that saw hundreds of grown adults climbing all over arcade games, yanking banners directly off of the walls, and shouting at the top of their lungs. A few hours of Spartan bloodshed had riled up the crowd, as one ponytailed guest took on the role of a pale, oafish Leonidas, commanding the crowd from the balcony he wasn’t even supposed to be on. When he learned that myself and Brent were the projectionists on duty, rather than taking his frustration out on us (the obvious cause of the problem), he shouted "Hey, these are just the guys that run the movies!" Either he didn’t deduce that it was essentially our fault, or simply was too focused on getting his money back at that point.
Guests repeatedly attempt to come up to the projection booth, where there’s quite a bit of expensive equipment, so Brent and I close the door and lock ourselves in. Another projectionist, Joe, who had been off the clock watching the film, nearly got into several fights reclaiming banners and theatre property from angry moviegoers trying to walk away with at least a memento of the night’s events.
It then takes about 30 minutes for the police to arrive and clear out the building. By this time, it was about 3 A.M., and all of us were just glad everyone was gone. This was definitely my worst movie-going experience, a testament to just how childish adults can be when they don’t get their way. So the next time you have to put up with a sobbing child in your theatre, or pay a few bucks extra for your popcorn, just keep in mind...it could be worse. It could be much, much worse.
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