The Mighty Avengers vs the Modern World
April 30, 2012 10:47 AM
Will there be a place in the lobby to check cell phones at tomorrow's preview screening of The Avengers at the AMC Empire 25 in NYC?
I won passes to a preview of The Avengers! Yay! The passes state in no uncertain terms that no device with any sort of image or audio recording capability will be permitted inside. Fair enough (although the benefit of banning photos of a polarized 3D projection of a movie that's been playing across the rest of the globe for weeks is... well, moving on).
The last time I attended a preview, this wasn't an issue. In most of the country, it would be easy enough just to leave these things in the car. However, this is NYC... my car will be 60-90 minutes away by train at the time. I'm not looking forward to the possibility of going an entire day and driving in my stall-prone car without my phone, and enduring my train commute without my personal aural environment.
Surely I can't be the only person who ever attended a preview screening in Times Square having come straight from work. For anyone who has: will they offer to check cellphones and such in the lobby, or will anyone carrying a phone just be turned away?
I won passes to a preview of The Avengers! Yay! The passes state in no uncertain terms that no device with any sort of image or audio recording capability will be permitted inside. Fair enough (although the benefit of banning photos of a polarized 3D projection of a movie that's been playing across the rest of the globe for weeks is... well, moving on).
The last time I attended a preview, this wasn't an issue. In most of the country, it would be easy enough just to leave these things in the car. However, this is NYC... my car will be 60-90 minutes away by train at the time. I'm not looking forward to the possibility of going an entire day and driving in my stall-prone car without my phone, and enduring my train commute without my personal aural environment.
Surely I can't be the only person who ever attended a preview screening in Times Square having come straight from work. For anyone who has: will they offer to check cellphones and such in the lobby, or will anyone carrying a phone just be turned away?
Turn it off and stick it in your underpants.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:48 AM on April 30, 2012
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 10:48 AM on April 30, 2012
I have a similar experience to dfriedman. Over some twenty or so movie previews I've been to, I've never bothered to leave my cell phone somewhere before the movie. Once, I went through a metal detector, but I don't think it was doing anything, as I had quite a bit of change, my keys, and my cell phone in my pocket and nothing happened.
posted by saeculorum at 11:00 AM on April 30, 2012
posted by saeculorum at 11:00 AM on April 30, 2012
I go to screenings all of the time- for a movie coming out in less than a week, they won't be as strict with the rules. In fact when I saw The Raven last week, people were texting right until the opening credits.
If they do wand you or make you walk through the metal detector and find your phone, I have seen them handle it three ways: 1) tell you you aren't allowed to turn it on. 2) make you take out the battery. 3) make you put it in a paper bag that they collect and give you a return ticket for after the screening.
Have fun!
posted by haplesschild at 11:10 AM on April 30, 2012
If they do wand you or make you walk through the metal detector and find your phone, I have seen them handle it three ways: 1) tell you you aren't allowed to turn it on. 2) make you take out the battery. 3) make you put it in a paper bag that they collect and give you a return ticket for after the screening.
Have fun!
posted by haplesschild at 11:10 AM on April 30, 2012
I should add that I have never seen anyone turned away from any screening for having a cell phone on them.
posted by haplesschild at 11:11 AM on April 30, 2012
posted by haplesschild at 11:11 AM on April 30, 2012
SO & I went to an advance screening for John Carter at the AMC Lincoln Square last month. The Disney people collected everyone's cell phone. Phones went into clear baggies and baggies got filed in bins. We the sheeple were given claim tickets, wanded, and let into the theater. It was low-tech but fairly seamless. As the movie let out there was some milling about, but it worked just fine.
posted by jcrcarter at 11:13 AM on April 30, 2012
posted by jcrcarter at 11:13 AM on April 30, 2012
Thanks all! I am officially no longer worried. Haplesschild had the answer I was hoping for, but since the passes came from Disney, I suspect I'll experience jcrcarter's answer in person.
posted by Devoidoid at 11:21 AM on April 30, 2012
posted by Devoidoid at 11:21 AM on April 30, 2012
Are you going to the pre-screening? They only ask for your cameras. Phones you can simply turn off and stash away in a bag. Disney has silly rules like that, I know because I work for them and go to many of the screenings. If they collect phones, the phones go into a clear bag and you get a claim ticket. The security team is made up of retired police detectives and would want you to please collect your things when the movie is over because they don't want to have to wait for you to come back for them (nor do they want to have to figure out how to get them back to you in the event you forget.) Enjoy the film!
posted by Yellow at 12:16 PM on April 30, 2012
posted by Yellow at 12:16 PM on April 30, 2012
As a last resort, you can leave your cell phone with the bellhop or front desk at the Hilton hotel right next door to the AMC.
posted by Kruger5 at 1:20 PM on April 30, 2012
posted by Kruger5 at 1:20 PM on April 30, 2012
To wrap things up, it was exactly as jcrcarter and Yellow described, with the exception that one of the retired detectives announced they were collecting "all electronic devices, I don't care if it can take pictures or not," which was actually good as it removed all ambiguity from the situation. They also searched my bag, pausing momentarily at my headphones and power adapters, and wanded me, finding my keys.
Retrieving the plastic bag after was relatively painless as well. The only minor snafu was trying to find the actual end of the line, which started on the other side of the lobby from the table and snaked down the hall and around the corner.
And for what it's worth, The Avengers is terrific. If you like the films leading up to it, I can't recommend it highly enough. (And if you hate those films, you'll despise this one too.)
posted by Devoidoid at 1:51 PM on May 2, 2012
Retrieving the plastic bag after was relatively painless as well. The only minor snafu was trying to find the actual end of the line, which started on the other side of the lobby from the table and snaked down the hall and around the corner.
And for what it's worth, The Avengers is terrific. If you like the films leading up to it, I can't recommend it highly enough. (And if you hate those films, you'll despise this one too.)
posted by Devoidoid at 1:51 PM on May 2, 2012
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posted by dfriedman at 10:48 AM on April 30, 2012