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Author Topic: Former Employees Sneaking In To An Employee Screening. Richard Greco Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1180 From: Plant City, FL Registered: Nov 2003 posted 03-19-2004 10:06 PM                     I have a dilemma. Last night, we had an employee showing of Dawn Of The Dead. This theatre has a large balcony where the rear speakers are. No access is possible without climbing on the seats and walls like a monkey. During the previews, I hear a loud shriek behind me and up. I look up to see a person on the balcony in a white shirt. I have absolutely no clue who it is. I get up to go upstairs to look out the port window and see who it is when I am stopped by another employee watching the show. He tells me that it might be 2 former employees that quit about a week ago. I tell him that I am only going to look and I wasn't planning on telling the boss. I go upstairs to look out the window when I am confronted by the boss. Her: What the hell are you doing up here? Me: I thought I saw someone on the balcony. Her: Who? Me: I don't know, I was about to check. She then stuck her head out the window and couldn't see anyone. Her: Who is it? Me: I think it might be (the 2 former employees). She then shuts the projector down, goes downstairs w/ a ladder, and gets them down. She then called the police and had them both tresspassed for 90 days. After that, she started up the movie again and that was that. Today, I'm now being called a narc, a rat, and a sell out. I think what I did was right. I had no intentions on telling the boss but I was questioned upstairs. My question to all of you, Did I do the right thing? Would you have done the same thing in my position? I know that if I snuck up on the balcony, I would be ratted out in a heartbeat. I'm starting to doubt if I made the right decision. Finally, I was told today that the boss talked to the DM and apparently there won't be anymore employee showings with the exception of when I build, I can watch. What do you think?  |  IP: Logged Mike Spaeth Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1129 From: Marietta, GA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 03-19-2004 10:27 PM                        Richard - You did the right thing. The DM also did the right thing. Employee screenings are nothing but trouble waiting to happen. The projectionist who built it and a manager should be the ONLY people allowed to screen a film.  |  IP: Logged Jason Black Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1723 From: Myrtle Beach, SC, USA Registered: Nov 2000 posted 03-19-2004 10:31 PM                        Richard, You did the right thing. If, for nothing else, look at it this way. Say one of these kids happened to fall and get hurt or even killed. Guess who is held accountable for it? Yes, the theatre. These two were trespassing and shoudl have been arrested, not just given a trespass warning. You can bet your sweet ass that I have, in my days, stopped many a show and given people that had been let in by employees the option of either leaving voluntarily or being 'escorted out'. Those employees, by in large, didn't last very long after these 'ejections'. So far as I read, the rest of your staff, and I presume they are mainly kids, haven't quite reached the level of maturity that perhaps you have. Or, quite frankly, they probably just dont' give a damn. At any rate, we have a standing CORPORATE policy that prohibits ANY employees, save management and operators from screening films. Your manager should already know that. If she doesn't, she doesn't know policy that well. If she does, and she allows employees to screen, then she has openly allowed herself to be held fully accountable for anything and verything that could possibly result from having employees and/or friends in the building. Trust me, it's not a good position to be in. Talk to 10 different managers and you'll likely get 7 different responses. In my opinion, the two who were disrespectful enough to climb walls and be where they shoudln't be weren't punished enough.  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-19-2004 10:45 PM                     Employee screenings suck. I don't know many people that work at my theater so it is hard to keep track of whether they are all employees. It is only a matter of time before I decide to do away with screenings for all of the staff. Only booth and managers should be in the screenings. Allowing the rest of the staff to screen only causes problems and annoyances for the booth staff. Let them watch it during a regualat show.  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-19-2004 10:48 PM                    Did current employees let them in or was it truly trespassing?  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 03-19-2004 11:37 PM                        You did the right thing... if for no other reason than you weren't deceptive when your manager asked what was going on. You are only a narc to those who were trying to get away with something, knowing it probably would not have been approved by the theatre management, had it been run through proper channels. I might not have gone to the point of trespassing the former employees... but then you didn't indicate why they're "former" employees. There might be a good reason for it. Still, the other staff made a judgment call that wasn't within their right to do. The fallout is their problem, not yours. Don't sweat it. You've shown that you know who your work for... something maybe others there need reminding of.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-20-2004 12:33 AM                     Employee screenings, if they happen at all, are SPECIAL TREATS. Let's say that a certain movie is a real blockbuster. The boss knows that a lot of employees are going to want free passes to shows. If he has a special employee screening it will take the heat off so that employees don't take seats from paying customers. Employees get a little treat in return for not asking for passes for the rest of the week. How about having a special screening for people who have worked extra hard? At the end of the year, the boss decides that the "good" kids can come to watch a movie. I don't really know what reasons, but it's up to the boss to decide what they are... IF there are to be any at all! No matter how you slice it, kids who don't work there shouldn't be in the theater AT ALL unless they bought a ticket. Furthermore, nobody, whether employee or not, should be climbing the walls to get up to the balcony which is obviously off-limits to everybody but booth workers and managers. These kids were WRONG to even be in the building, let alone stealing movies and committing wreckless acts! What if one of them had an accident? What if one of them damaged the seats or something? Could you be considered a witness? Probably! Let's imagine that nothing went wrong but the boss found out later. Could you be called onto the carpet because you were complicit in the affair? Probably. Would you want to put your job or your reputation on the line for these piss ant little punks? Probably not. If the situation was reversed would THEY have taken the risk for YOU? Probably not. Finally, most people don't just simply "get into trouble." They usually "get THEMSELVES into trouble!" Don't worry about it! They're a bunch of no good little punks! I would have reported them in a heartbeat! They've got nerve trying to make YOU look like the bad guy! THEY are the criminals, not you! FUCK THEM! Good riddance to bad rubbish!  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-20-2004 02:28 AM                        i would say you didn't do anything wrong per se, as you answered a question you were directly asked, and in this case it looks like the perps were putting themselves and possibly the theater furnishings in jeopardy. however, in general, i don't see any reason to be a hardass about screenings. if need be, lay down some ground rules for behavior (no smoking, no sex except in the back row , etc.). but what's the big deal if the staff as a whole (& a couple friends) gets a treat? it keeps morale up in the face of shitty wages. still, that's a matter of policy and probably not something you have any say in. carl  |  IP: Logged Ian Price Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1714 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-20-2004 11:09 AM                     As Ky once said to a lady in the lobby: "Look lady, my theatre, my rules."  |  IP: Logged Chris Hipp Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1462 From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas) Registered: Jul 2003 posted 03-20-2004 11:38 AM                     quote: but what's the big deal if the staff as a whole (& a couple friends) gets a treat? Well, if you have 30 staff members in a screening and each one brings two friends you have 60 non employees watching a movie that they should have had to pay for. 60*$7=$420. I am sure the studios would be interested in theaters that let people watch their movies for free and before they are released.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-20-2004 11:46 AM                     I never understood why the need for screenings at all. I consider it a waste of electricity and un-needed wear and tear on the equipment. Added payroll expense. If the person building up the print is competent, why the heck screen it. If he/she can't reliably build a print, then they need more training, or replaced. Screenings not the answer. In 25 years, I've only had true print problems maybe 3 times. And two of those times was discovered while building the print. And I agree, employee screenings are simply asking for trouble. You did the right thing Richard!  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-20-2004 01:36 PM                     quote: If the person building up the print is competent, why the heck screen it. Lots of reasons... many things you can't notice at the bench while building, like if the sound goes out of sync on a bad reel or drops out of digital consistently. You also can't see if there's any safelight fogging, or something like I found: the leader of the reel printed ON TOP OF several feet of film in the MIDDLE of the reel of our LXG print... strange, but true. Pre-screenings, especially of films that are expected to do a high volume over the weekend aren't just a good idea, they should be mandatory! That being said, I agree they should only be for the projectionist and/or management. You're there to check the print, the other employees are there to watch the movie, which means they really have no reason to be there at that time. But it's gotta go both ways... Management shouldn't be allowed to corral their friends into screenings, either. Back when Austin Powers 2 came out, my manager called me in on my day off to build the 3 prints. I came, I built, and he told me I can watch one of them with my brother. I come back to the theater later, and there's the manager with a LARGE group of his friends and a woman under each arm telling me that "I have the theater for the night" and that I had to go home. WTF kind of example does that set for the "no employee screenings" policy?? The guy was a dick. So I told the DM. He was "transferred" after that... to a theater closer to him & his WIFE'S house =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Daryl C. W. O'Shea Film God Posts: 3977 From: Midland Ontario Canada (where Panavision & IMAX lenses come from) Registered: Jun 2002 posted 03-20-2004 04:00 PM                        quote: You also can't see if there's any safelight fogging Sure you can, as long as you have your eyes open, and look in the right places.  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-20-2004 05:36 PM                     IMHO, it is necessary to run a print through before customers pay to see it played. As Thomas pointed out, you never know when there may be a big problem with the print itself. Also, while some may be great at building up prints no one is 100% perfect at it. If you take pride in your print handling you'll be deeply embarrassed if customers wait until late in the weekend to tell you there is a frame line right through the center of Reel 5. As the law sees it (and this sometimes get spelled out in printed notices in the cans of big title film prints) only the projectionist and perhaps the manager can view the print. Usually two people, tops. Theaters can get into a hell of a lot of trouble if distributors find out you're letting a lot of people view the movie before opening day. Employees and friends of management have to realize just what kind of courtesy they're being afforded by being able to watch a movie before it opens. They need to understand the risk. When you have a couple idiotically stupid teenage brats climbing into an inaccessible balcony, shrieking and doing all sort of other nonsense (probably up there puffing on meth pipes or each other's flesh flutes) they risk doing a shit load of damage to the theater. Not only will the theater get sued if they get hurt. Wind of the incident would indeed travel to distributors and cost the theater management their jobs.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 03-20-2004 08:39 PM                        quote: I never understood why the need for screenings at all. I have to deal with this issue both ways. My drive-in sometimes doesn't see film until Friday... especially during the fringe season & when "gently used" co-features come in. There's no way to screen the prints, for obvious reasons.... and for anyone who sweats over providing a quality product, Friday night at the drive-in is not exactly a stress-reliever. Based on that, there's no way I'll do a first-screening in my indoor house with customers who paid for the best show I can wring out of my machines.  |  IP: Logged

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