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Chinawoman sues cinema for showing too much advertisements

Cootie-Monster

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Cootie-Monster

Cootie-Monster

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Chinese woman sues cinema over excessive advertisements

 

She said it wasted her time by showing 20 minutes of commercials before the movie. -AFP

 

Tue, Sep 07, 2010

AFP

 

BEIJING, CHINA - A Chinese woman is suing a cinema and the distributors of domestic box-office hit "Aftershock" for wasting her time by showing 20 minutes of commercials before the movie, state media said Tuesday.

 

Chen Xiaomei claims the Polybona International Cinema in the northern city of Xian and film distributors Huayi Brothers Media Corporation should have told her how long the pre-movie advertisements lasted, Xinhua news agency said.

 

Chen, who is a lawyer, has accused Polybona and Huayi Brothers of wasting her time and violating her freedom of choice.

 

The case has been accepted by the People's Court in Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, Xinhua said, citing a statement from the court.

 

The report did not say when the case would be heard.

 

Chen is demanding the companies refund her 35-yuan ticket (5.20 dollars), pay her 35 yuan in compensation and one yuan for emotional damages and write her an apology, the report said.

 

She has also advised the cinema to publish the advertisement times on its website, in the lobby or on its customer hotline and asked Huayi Brothers to cut the length of commercials to less than five minutes.

 

"Aftershock", which is about an earthquake that devastated a Chinese city in 1976, has become the highest-grossing domestic film, raking in 650 million yuan, Xinhua said.

 

The movie directed by Feng Xiaogang tells the story of a mother's emotional reunion with her daughter, three decades after a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the northern city of Tangshan, killing more than 240,000 people.

 

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Cootie-Monster

Cootie-Monster

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i wonder how much is 20 minutes of her loser life worth?

 

Chen is demanding the companies refund her 35-yuan ticket (5.20 dollars), pay her 35 yuan in compensation and one yuan for emotional damages and write her an apology, the report said.

 

About $11-12 SG dollars? [laugh]

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1fast1

1fast1

Supersonic
(edited)

Actually, I think that's a very fair point - why are cinemas allowed to screen ads prior to the movie? Basically, patrons pay full price for the ticket - why should we, as a captive audience, be subjected to revenue-generating ads as well?

 

And ads encourage bad behaviour - people get used to coming in late for movies so that they can beat the ads. But a lot of inconsiderate morons mistime it so that they end up blocking people trying to find their seats after the movie has begun. Movies should start bang on time, as listed. People who really want to see the damn movie should already have been queuing up early - they should be allowed in 5 minutes prior to the start of the show so they can quickly find their seats and get settled.

 

The ad model is fine for free-to-air TV, but should never be allowed for pay-per-view and cinemas. And frankly, I think even cable advertisements are in poor taste (at least HBO movies are shown free of ads).

 

Good that this lady stands up for the rights of patrons. Maybe it should be a class-action suit and maybe we should have one in Sg.

Edited by Turboflat4
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Maxus-MIFA9

Maxus-MIFA9

Supersonic

i wonder how much is 20 minutes of her loser life worth?

 

Chen is demanding the companies refund her 35-yuan ticket (5.20 dollars), pay her 35 yuan in compensation and one yuan for emotional damages and write her an apology, the report said.

 

About $11-12 SG dollars? [laugh]

Hur...... so ex...... [grin]

 

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Icedbs

Icedbs

Turbocharged

Actually, I think that's a very fair point - why are cinemas allowed to screen ads prior to the movie? Basically, patrons pay full price for the ticket - why should we, as a captive audience, be subjected to revenue-generating ads as well?

 

And ads encourage bad behaviour - people get used to coming in late for movies so that they can beat the ads. But a lot of inconsiderate morons mistime it so that they end up blocking people trying to find their seats after the movie has begun. Movies should start bang on time, as listed. People who really want to see the damn movie should already have been queuing up early - they should be allowed in 5 minutes prior to the start of the show so they can quickly find their seats and get settled.

 

The ad model is fine for free-to-air TV, but should never be allowed for pay-per-view and cinemas. And frankly, I think even cable advertisements are in poor taste (at least HBO movies are shown free of ads).

 

Good that this lady stands up for the rights of patrons. Maybe it should be a class-action suit and maybe we should have one in Sg.

 

Problem is, without those ads, the ticket could be even higher priced.

 

 

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Rongshu

Rongshu

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GV also shows about 20 minutes ads after pulished show time till show starts. Isn't it too much considering we pay for the movie already but forced to watch ads? 5 minutes ads is acceptable. Shaw is better I think.

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David

David

Clutched

I am pretty happy with my current Japanese ride but when I goto the homepage, I am sway to buy a new ride, VW. I am quite disturbed at the thoughts of another big ticket buy.

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1fast1

1fast1

Supersonic
(edited)

Problem is, without those ads, the ticket could be even higher priced.

 

I'm sure the cinema proprietors would claim exactly that. But always be skeptical when listening to someone with a vested interest. (Do you believe the local petrol companies when they tell you that our petrol is fairly-priced?)

 

I'm willing to bet you that in a truly free market (with no cartelisation or anti-competitive practices allowed), the ticket prices might be even lower than what we're paying now *without* ads.

Edited by Turboflat4
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1fast1

1fast1

Supersonic
(edited)

Learn from me. At showtime, I am still outside buying popcorn, having a last minute pee ......... [thumbsup]

 

I honestly hate people who block me when they saunter in after the movie's started - even worse, the ones I have to get up for (to allow them to squeeze in). I might "accidentally" spill my popcorn and drinks onto them. :angry:

Edited by Turboflat4
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Cootie-Monster

Cootie-Monster

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I honestly hate people who block me when they saunter in after the movie's started - even worse, the ones I have to get up for (to allow them to squeeze in). I might "accidentally" spill my popcorn and drinks onto them. :angry:

 

Don't worry buddy. I always book aisle seat. [thumbsup]

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Chewbacca

Chewbacca

1st Gear

You buggers. I support her!

 

I'm bloody fed up about the amount of adverts the local cinemas are showing. Nearly 20 minutes too! I think 10 minutes is acceptable, but this is too much!

 

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