Taking the Commercials Along With the Movies

It’s obvious that, while Melody Suppes loves foreign movies, she’s unfamiliar with foreign culture (“For Love of Movies, Stop Commercials,” Oct. 18). Commercials have been a staple in French and British cinema for years. They do have intermissions (at least in Italy). And because production (and creative) values are held to a higher standard than on TV, audiences find them entertaining.

Given a choice, I certainly would rather sit through Super Bowl-quality commercials made by budding filmmakers than the monotonous, repetitious drivel of the L.A. Times’ “Get the Story” (sorry, guys), THX (got it), Dolby (enough already) and theater chain commercials using singing and dancing popcorn and soft drinks to sell me food (start the film, dammit!).

BILLY FRIED

Los Angeles

I have been really disgusted lately at the number of commercials at the movies. I pay a premium so that I don’t have to watch them--if I wanted to see commercials, I would watch TV!

JOHN FREEMAN

Rancho Palos Verdes

I hate being subjected to commercials in movie theaters as much as the next person, but if you’re going to blame somebody, get your facts straight.

All that money that’s being made is not going to the exhibition side of the movie industry. It’s going to the studio and the marquee stars. Let me give you a lesson in simple math. Most of the money made on a movie--”Titanic” and “Star Wars” are exceptions--comes in the first month after release. The studio’s terms make sure that they get the lion’s share--90% of ticket prices in the first 10 days, for example. That $2.25 popcorn is paying the landlord and the minimum-wage salaries of the kids who clean up after you.

And as for the cost of that $5 matinee ticket, consider what you pay for live theater or a seat at the new Staples Center, and tell me where else you can go to a $30-million complex and watch a $250-million production for that price?

If these whiners were willing to put their money where their mouth is and cough up a reasonable ticket price, and if the studios would allow the theater chains to at least clear enough to pay expenses, we could all once again enjoy a movie without commercials. Until then, get used to it. Commercials are here to stay.

MAXINE O’CALLAGHAN

Lake Elsinore

I agree that theater owners could be seen as being greedy, but I don’t think she’s looking at the “big picture” with regard to what those owners are having to give up in ticket price to the George Lucases of the industry. How much of the first few weeks’ box office of the last “Star Wars” did your local movie theater give up to Lucasfilm? And how many weeks was each theater contracted to play the film, success or not? Who’s the greedy one in this equation?

It won’t be long before the advent of digital movies makes it virtually impossible for theater owners to afford to run movies (I’ve heard that conversion costs are astronomical). If commercials before the movie are the price to pay for continuing to see a first-run movie in an actual movie theater, then it’s a price that this movie lover will gladly pay.

ANDREW ALTENBURG

Los Angeles

The commercials are not going to go away: The theater owners, who get big bucks for running the ads, have learned that the patrons’ displeasure, frustration or anger isn’t enough to stop them from attending a popular movie.

My solution? I now ignore the show times listed in the newspaper. I call the theater or check in advance with the box office to find out the actual start time of the feature, and I don’t arrive until the feature is actually about to start.

TOM OGDEN

Hollywood