When I found out that Rich Tuliszewski, one of our Project Managers here at Focus on the Family, had been the General Manager of a Carmike Cinemas Theater for five years, I knew I had to interview him for a blog. There was no doubt in my mind that Rich would have a unique perspective about movies that only a theater manager could have. And besides, there are not too many people here at Focus with a name as cool as mine.
BW: I worry that in today’s multiplexes that it’s too easy for a kid to tell his/her folks that he/she’s going to see Planes when they just want easy access to Sex Tape or similar. Talk about the ease of access.
Rich: You’re right; it can be extremely easy in some theaters for kids to do that. But each theater is different. Because I’m a family man, I’d make it a point to watch for that, my staff, too. But there are a lot of theater managers who won’t take the time or the effort. They’re in it for the money. The Saw film was an example of a movie that in our theater kids were often trying to sneak in to see. Because we knew this was happening, we’d actually do theater checks to make sure kids hadn’t managed to get in in spite of all our efforts. And if parents specifically asked us to monitor a situation such as this, we’d do that.
BW: Do you have any advice for parents in light of being a theater manager?
Rich: Know what your kids are watching. And also, remind them to behave. I once had a kid cut up a movie screen with a knife. It was a $20,000 screen. I sat him down; neither he nor his parents ever had to pay. When kids destroy a chair or throw something at a screen, the price of the ticket will have to reflect that damage.
BW: Were you required to see films as part of your job? If so, did film watching actually help you help families?
Rich: I watched nearly every movie, mostly to make sure that nothing was wrong with it from a technical standpoint. And because I watched these films, there were times I talked to parents about what was in a film. I was a watchdog for parents to caution them, the last line of defense when customers would ask me. Many times, I’d refund their money and put them into something else.
BW: Do your regret certain films you saw during this time?
Rich: Absolutely! Any horror film or a film with nudity. As time went on, I’d have someone else watch the film for me. I just couldn’t watch that any more, I just couldn’t.
BW: What about when customers pay for one movie and then “steal” a second or third film? Was that a big problem?
Rich: This was my pet peeve. In my theater it didn’t happen very often. My employees were watchful about that. Again it falls upon theater managers and all managers are different. But in theaters overall, it happens a lot. Now that I no longer am a theater manager, I go into theaters and see it happen all the time.
BW: The trailers are often quite problematic. Should people tell theater managers? Does it do any good?
Rich: There’s very little control theater managers have over trailers. That’s dictated by Hollywood. There are always exceptions, however. We can elevate it to the corporate office and get it pulled. But that’s not the norm.
BW: Families, even Christian families, often bring food and bottled water into the theater. Is that a problem? Or perfectly legitimate for those who choose to do so?
Rich: In my mind, it’s stealing. It is legal for a theater to prohibit outside food and beverages. Most people don’t understand that most theater costs are covered by concessions.
BW: Plugged In talks regularly about the power of films to impact lives, both positively and negatively. Did you see any examples of this?
Rich: Many times, actually. For instance, Tyler Perry films. A lot of people were touched by his films. People would come out feeling touched and changed because they could resonate. Any military films that came out—soldier movies brought about a sense of community. Because of where our theater was located, we didn’t get a lot of life-changing films like Fireproof.
BW: I have attended church in a theater on several occasions. What do you think about this growing trend?
Rich: I love it! One of the great things about being a theater manager was the ability to schedule things beyond movie watching. Birthday parties. Church. It just had to be done before business hours.
BW: Do you think theaters are here to stay? Or do you think on-demand movies will eventually cause theaters to go the way of Blockbuster stores?
Rich: I don’t believe theaters as we currently know them will continue to exist, those with 24 and 18 screens. But I think there will always be theaters; these likely though will just show the epics. Other movie watching will take place on-demand in other settings.
BW: And one more question just for fun: Your fondest memory?
Rich: When How to Train Your Dragon came out, we built a large paper mache volcano and we had Viking Day. Everyone on my staff dressed up. We did it just because it was fun.
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