Jim - I think it has to do mostly with saying 'yeah I want to see that' after seeing the ad. I don't get that feeling 5 months later at the local Movie Hut. I think: 'oh yeah, I kinda remember that, what else is there?'.

The rest of your argument boils down to 'I like theatres, why don't you?', which is fine, but I don't really care for them. I can appreciate that you and others do, but I don't.

Quote:
we plan lunch before/after with some care

I don't like 'planning' on movies. I want them around when the whim strikes me. To me they're ephemeral sparkly things that come and go in and out of our lives. I want them to rotate about my life. I've got other things that need planning, like how to get in good quality skiing when the snow flies, or cutting the grass or painting the house, or mountain biking or going out to dinner with my wife (you know with conversations and everything!). I don't want to plan on a movie and neither I nor my wife have enough hours to rearrange to meet somebody else's schedule. I think a lot of people fit that mold who don't get to talk about the new releases at work because they don't have time to see them. Who has conversations about movies that just came out on DVD? (LOTR/Trek/Starwars fans I'm NOT talking about you! )

Anyway, I'm not saying in the least that theatres should go away. I like going when the stars align and me, my wife and my friends all have time to go (and it's raining and there's no BBQ to be had).

I just want to see more new movies. I think they should make that easy for me. I think they will make more money that way than even with DVD.

When any other product comes out I can get it via vendors a,b,c,d,e,f....why not movies?

-Zeke

Edit: Regarding comedy - I love a great live comedy and Broadway shows. I like real people in front of me, in the moment. It's better than any movie. But it's also a relatively rare occurence. I laughed my ass off at The Producers and at Spamalot. I even liked 'Moving Out', and I'm not really all that into dance, but those people were amazing athletes. I just don't get the same feeling about a movie theatre.

ps: The popcorn comment made it seem like it's about the money, it's not. It's about the hassle.