November 30, 2006
Theater Chain arms theaters goers with cell phone busters
According to Reuters, the next time you talk on your cellphone in a movie theater, beware: Your neighbors are listening.
"Regal Entertainment Group the largest U.S. movie theater chain, is arming moviegoers with a new gadget that allows them to call in the ushers and remove unruly audience members with the press of a button
Regal is testing devices at 25 of its theater locations, handing them out to frequent customers and may roll it out nationwide in the next year if it proves successful, Campbell said. Regal operates 6,400 screens nationwide.
About the size of a pager, the gadget has four buttons. One alerts theater managers about a disruption in the audience, such as a fight over a cellphone.
A second button gives notice of faulty movie projection, a third button can be pressed if the room temperature is off and a fourth button, marked "Other" covers any other problem.
... The bigger problem seems to lie with a whole generation of youngsters who cannot disconnect from their cell phones, instant messaging and other devices even as they sit down in a public theater."
Related:
-- Sydney Pollack Teams With Cingular to Promote Cell Phone Courtesy at the Movies
-- US movie theaters may ask to jam cell phones
-- Cell Phone Jammers Authorized in French Theaters
-- US Lawmaker may propose banning cell phones in theaters, stores
-- NZ Cinema Owners Seek to Curb Phone Rage
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