If, like magazines, the product would otherwise be so expensive no one would buy it, I could understand

Except that this is the case. Movie theatres make next to nothing on ticket sales. Profit comes from ads and popcorn.

I don't really understand the "can't talk before the movie anymore" complaint -- has anyone ever really been shushed for talking during a Fanta ad?

I would have shushed them, were everyone around me not staring perplexed or horror-struck at the screen in silence. I love the Fantanas!

Ads don't bother me. I mean, trailers are ads, and we expect them. Adding other products to the mix to make my ticket cheaper seems a small price to pay.

I wish they'd mix the ads up more. That run of LA Times ads has been going since I got here, and it's hateful.

But, really, I don't care. They air before the movie start time, I don't have to look, and I can still talk. I even allow for one-liners during trailers.

I work in a theater, and it's true that the theater company doesn't make money off the ticket sales. That money goes directly to the company making the film. Plus, the theater company has to pay for lots of accessories, like shipping the prints to and fro, equipment and maintenance, employees, buildings, etc.etc. The large majority of their profit comes from the food.

I certainly agree that the food is too expensive. Sometimes I feel absurd trying to convince people that $3.25 for a large soda or $6.00 for a tub of popcorn is a good value. $4.25 for a liter of water my foot! Yeah, they're making a crazy profit. But that profit also paid for the giant screen, powerful speakers and squishy stadium seats. Also, it's a bit of a vicious cycle... the more expensive the food, the less people buy it, the higher the prices get. But it's hard to convince people that if everyone buys a drink at the movie, eventually their popcorn might get cheaper.

Went to see Batman Begins yesterday and liked it lots.(Note: I am not so much into the comic book Batman, though I have read Batman:Year One and The Dark Knight Returns) On a shallow note, Cillian Murphy has really pretty eyes...

Oh, yeah. We got Serenity as one of the trailers. Yay!(Also The Dukes of Hazzard Why, dear lord, why?)

Oh, yeah. We got Serenity as one of the trailers. Yay!(Also The Dukes of Hazzard Why, dear lord, why?)

Why "Dukes of Hazzard"? Because next year's Oscar race was crying out of a "For Your Consideration" campaign for Jessica Simpson.

I *still* haven't seen the Serenity trailer on the big screen. I'm so sad. We traveled two hours to see Howl's Moving Castle last week, and it was so worth it. But still no Serenity trailer.

But we did get the Dukes of Hazzard trailer. DH and I sat there, mouths slightly ajar in appall, wondering, like Sheryl, ...why?

We also got a Willie Wonka trailer I hadn't seen before, and it was enough, unlike the others I'd seen, to make me want to see the movie.

DS has also seen the Narnia trailer and says it looks like the movie's going to be really good.

But it's hard to convince people that if everyone buys a drink at the movie, eventually their popcorn might get cheaper.

Short of total economic collapse in this country, I don't see that happening. Almost no one lowers prices once the public is used to paying them, unless it's for a short-term sale. But the more people buy concessions, the better the theaters can be run and the longer the prices can hold at the same point. I don't think food costs have risen as quickly as ticket prices in recent years, although being about 95% profit from the cost of materials and prep probably helps a lot with that.

Saw War of the Worlds. Pretty much hated it. The plot holes burned, precious! Also, Dakota Fanning never really registered much with me before, but she's just a creepy little robot child, isn't she?

Batman Begins, however, was very satisfying. Mmmmm.