The Moviegoer's Bill of Rights

THE PAYING MOVIEGOER'S BILL OF RIGHTS

We, the undersigned moviegoing public, hold these truths to be self-evident, that all paying moviegoers are endowed by their ticket stubs with certain unalienable rights. Anything less is a violation of the contract between the paying moviegoer and the exhibitor.

I .THE RIGHT NOT TO HEAR PEOPLE TALKING IN THEATERS

The paying moviegoer has the right to not hear other moviegoers speaking or conversing during the movie's exhibition. We hold that the exhibitor has the duty and responsibility of ensuring that silence prevails during a movie, so that other paying moviegoers are not disturbed during the viewing of the entertainment they've purchased. Violations of silence we affirm to be most offense and common in movie theaters are audible conversations, cellular phones, and babies crying.

II. THE RIGHT TO NOT BE FORCED TO WATCH SLIDE SHOWS

The moviegoer has the right to enjoy the moments before the movie begins free of commercial and advertisement slide shows accompanied by music packaged specifically for the captive audience awaiting for a movie to begin. It is our belief that these slide shows and music packages annoy the paying moviegoer and degrade the moviegoing experience. Especially when slides encourage talking, shouting, clapping, or noisemaking. (e.g. "Shout if you like Coca Cola!")

III. THE RIGHT NOT TO BE FORCED TO WATCH COMMERCIALS

The paying moviegoer has the right to not experience commercials played in front of feature films. Unlike television, the moviegoer cannot change the channel, or mute the volume, and is therefore forced to experience these advertisements. It is our belief that when the moviegoer purchases admission to the film, they are purchasing the experience of the film and the film only, and we affirm that commercials and advertisements are not part of the purchased entertainment. Trailers for upcoming films are tolerable in that they've been an engrained movie theater tradition since the advent of cinema.

IV. THE RIGHT TO ENJOY THE END CREDITS WITHOUT THE LIGHTS ON

The paying moviegoer has the right to enjoy the end credits of a movie without having the house lights on. It is our belief that many exhibitors turn on the house lights during the end credits to clear the theater of people as quickly as possible. We believe that by turning on the lights during the end credits, the exhibitor degrades a significant part of the entertainment purchased by the moviegoer.

We, the signers of this petition, do hereby submit these grievances to the Exhibitors listed below. We agree to boycott the Exhibitors and theater chains below, and will demand full refunds each time we've paid for a movie and have not enjoyed the full basic rights enumerated above. Furthermore, if the Exhibitors choose to continue to ignore their basic responsibilities to their paying customers, we agree to completely boycott movie theaters until such basic rights are respected and upheld by the Exhibitors.

Allen Theatres, AMC Theatres, Apex Cinemas, Carmike Cinemas, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theaters, CinemaStar Luxury Theaters, Inc., City Cinema Corporation, Clearview Cinemas, Dickinson Theatres, Eastern Federal Theatres, Edwards Cinemas, Entertainment Cinemas, General Cinema, GKC Theatres, Jack Loeks Theatres / Celebration! Cinema, Kerasotes Theatres, Inc., Krikorian Premiere Theatres, Landmark Theatres, Loews Cineplex Entertainment, Mann Theatres, Marcus Theatres, National Amusements, Inc., O'Neil Theatres, Reel Entertainment, Inc., The Reel Theatre, Schulman Theatres, Star Theatres, Starplex Cinemas, United Artists Theaters, Village Theatres, Wehrenberg Theatres, Westates Theaters, and any other unmentioned major theater chain who chooses to sell an inferior theatergoing experience by violating the moviegoer's rights listed above.