All the distractions in general! Who wants to pay $10.50 to go see a movie, and be disrupted, and annoyed by various nuisances.

Yep, me or the wife go to the little side area by the door where we wont bother anyone but wont miss any of the movie either to check

I turn off my cel when I go to the movies. If anyone was in contact with me (either over the phone or via text) I let them no the phone is going off until the movie is over. Either way, people know I rarely pick up the phone unless I'm at work.

There are no ushers anymore.
Our theater doesn't even have a ticket taker on week days anymore.
If you wanted you could just walk right into the theater and go into any room you want to see a film.
we purchased tickets on fandango and printed them, tried to find someone to give them to and the guy walking around told us no more ticket taker, just go right in.
This is a 16 room Regal.


i would try to make sure they weren't outside waiting for me if I could.

Good idea. I didn't know there was such a device for personal use.
Theaters should jam the signals themselves. So should sensitive areas in hospitals, and libraries, and anywhere else where it bothers others or it isn't appropriate to engage in mindless babbling and texting.

My theater does have a cell phone jammer

I guess the reason it isn't widespread is because theaters have to do the economic calculus between appeasing those who are there to watch a movie and are annoyed by intrusions such as cellphone use and appeasing those who simply can't do without looking at their phones for 2 hours.

This is what's wrong with the world.

The question should really be Do you have to text....ever ?

It isn't widespread because it's illegal.

In the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and many other countries, blocking cell-phone services (as well as any other electronic transmissions) is against the law. In the United States, cell-phone jamming is covered under the Communications Act of 1934, which prohibits people from "willfully or maliciously interfering with the radio communications of any station licensed or authorized" to operate. In fact, the "manufacture, importation, sale or offer for sale, including advertising, of devices designed to block or jam wireless transmissions is prohibited" as well. Anyone caught manufacturing, selling, owning, or using a jammer in the U.S. is punishable by an $11,000 fine and up to a year in prison for each offense.

Jamming is seen as property theft, because a private company has purchased the rights to the radio spectrum, and jamming the spectrum is akin to stealing the property the company has purchased. It also represents a safety hazard because jamming blocks all calls in the area, not just the annoying ones. Jamming a signal could block the call of a babysitter frantically trying to contact a parent or a someone trying to call for an ambulance.

The Federal Communications Commission is charged with enforcing jamming laws. However, the agency has not yet prosecuted anyone for cell-phone jamming.


Currently the only *legal* way you can block a cell signal is to use metal shielding in the construction of buildings to block cell phone signals. A inexpensive version is to wrap a room in chicken wire. There's also a paint which can create such shielding (aka Faraday cage).

That said, I'd *love* to own a personal jammer. I'd use it every opportunity I could... church, family dinner, holiday gathering, graduation, shopping (I do *not* need to hear you on your phone 3 isles over!!!), etc., etc. And if *you* come to my house for a visit *leave the phone in the car*!

....please don't make it a rant about your dislike of the modern.

Well, that law and similar laws worldwide need to be amended to address conditions as they exist in this century.
One need not be accessible every second of the day, and if that's a problem then don't go to locales where your talking or texting is interrupting the peaceful enjoyment of others.

my imax strictly warns people if their phones are not off they will be removed from the theater with no refund. So if that happened to me I would probably just casually go out to the lobby, and tell them there is a kid with a phone on, let them know about where he is, then let them catch em.

Read a few posts above mine

Y'know what I do when I go to see a movie. I watch the fucking movie.

I saw Thor this weekend and was surprised that I wasn't distracted assholes on their phones or texting. The dipshits who bring their infants on the other hand...

This is one of the reasons I rarely goto the movies anymore. People are just so rude during a movie, whether they won't shut the fuck up, or getting up in the middle of the movie, etc. Now that we live in an age of cellphones, the rudeness factor is goes up with the todays movie-goer.

As Tony Soprano once said after his cellphone kept ringing non-stop, "It was such a better world before cellphones!"

Getting up in middle of the movie is bound to happen, either to take calls or go to the restroom or snack bar.

As for cellphone usage, talking, etc; I've actually not had any problems with that unless it's opening night, even then it's pretty rare.

Babies remain an annoying issue from time to time.

So the glowing light goes on every half hour while you are checking for missed calls? Just as bad.
The glow is the worst part. Watch the movie while you are there, Set it on vibrate. If it is your kids, go outside.

We got threatened during Thor because parents brought about 5 4 year olds to the movie and they were crying and talking and whining.
My partner said real loud, I guess we are going to have to put up with this the whole movie and the Guy turns around and says, Hey, you wanna take this outside? and my partner said, I don't need to go outside to see who's dick is bigger.

If it's just a flash of the phone I don't think anyone really cares except the most anal. It's when it's on for 5 minutes that gets annoying.

Sorry, but I need to do it as part of my "real time movie reviews" twitter feed.

Any flash distracts you from the movie as you look up to see who is only thinking of themselves.

Naw not really, no, but if there's for a while it tends to draw my attention.

Thor is pulling out some sort of big weapon, I can't quite make it out.

It might be riley_dude's partner's unit.

If you go see kids movies, you should expect the distractions that come with kids in a theater.