Here’s the creepiest complaint we’ve received in a long, long time. Reader Sam says he was filmed by a security guard contracted by Time/Warner during a recent showing of The Invasion at an AMC movie theater.
When he complained about it to customer service, they told him “Time Warner/Warner Bros had contracted a security company to film movie theater audiences around the country during the opening weekend of its movies in an effort to prevent piracy.” Ew! We think this is scary. If we saw some potential psycho filming us during a movie we’d be weirded out and we’d leave. Especially if it was during a (sort-of) remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Do not go to sleep. Warner Bros. will film you.
We emailed Time Warner for comment, but haven’t heard back. Here’s Sam’s letter:
Dear Consumerist,
Last night (Aug. 19) myself and a friend decided to venture to the local movie theater (AMC Lowes Georgetown 14) to catch the 7:35pm showing of The Invasion. The movie started on time with a moderately full theater and immediately I notice an older gentleman who looked to be about 60 standing in the corner of the theater. Sporting a black suit and a black briefcase, he began to film the audience during the movie. Every 5-10 minutes he would sweep the audience with his video camera, then turn it off and just watch us, then turn the camera back on and sweep again. Now being in Washington DC people are very security conscious and at first I thought he might have been Secret Service but he only stayed in the theater filming for about 45 minutes.After the movie I went to the Customer Service desk to inquire if they knew about this incident. The manager behind the desk informed me that Time Warner/Warner Bros had contracted a security company to film movie theater audiences around the country during the opening weekend of its movies in an effort to prevent piracy. While I believe steps should be taken to curb piracy, this was one of the most unnerving experiences of my life, and I was not only person that felt this way. I overheard at least 4 other people complain to customer service about this incident, with 2 of them stating that if this ever happened again they would stop using this particular chain of theaters. I was quite surprised at the reaction of the customer service employee, he did not seem to to care one bit that people were opening telling him they would stop using this theater and he brushed off the criticism by shrugging his shoulders and just stared blankly back at those of us who were complaining and passed the blame to Time Warner/Warner Bros.
The question is, what does Time Warner/Warner Bros do with these video tapes? How long are they stored? Is there a massive database of these tapes somewhere? While I do know that laws allow for photography of people without their permission in public places but does this apply to a a movie theater since it is a private business? And if it is not allowed, I was not informed by AMC Lowes that I would be filmed during the movie so what are the legal ramifications of that action?
This email is also being sent to Craig Ramsey who is the Chief Financial Officer for AMC Entertainment and is listed as their Media Contact on their SEC filings and Craig Hoffman of Warner Bros who is listed as their Anti-Piracy press contact.
-Sam
We’re waiting anxiously for Warner to tell us it’s not true, that they hired the creepy guy with the video camera to scare people who went to see a scary movie, because the idea that Warner Bros. will be filming us during a movie is enough to put us off the whole thing.
UPDATE: Sam writes to tell us that the CSR he spoke to originally was mistaken and the scary Warner Bros. thug wasn’t filming, but was, in fact, using night vision goggles. Sam writes:
This afternoon I received an email from the Director of Guest Services for AMC Theaters, I spoke with her on the phone and she was extremely apologetic about the incident. She also wanted to clear up some misinformation provided by the AMC Customer Service Representative. The man in the suit was not in fact filming the audience, he was using a night vision scope. She assured me that AMC would never allow filming of the audience. Apparently the Georgetown 14 theater has been recently hit by pirates and this was part of the effort put on by the studio to combat such piracy. I explained to her that if this type of audience surveillance was going to happen theater goers need to be notified and she wholeheartedly agreed.
She said that she would be discussing the incident further with the manager of the theater and the CSR that I spoke with after the movie and then speak with the studio about the incident to see what can be done in the future. I was also provided with free movie passes and was told that I would be receiving an official letter of apology from AMC.
While certainly not as creepy as the scenario Sam originally described, being watched while watching a movie certainly is distracting. When Sam asked the AMC what was going on they should have been able to tell him.
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You don’t have any expectation of privacy in a public space, but I’d say that you could at least talk to a lawyer about this experience and see what they have to say. While I’m not necessarily advocating suing, I do think it might be a good thing if these people received lawyer nastygrams from customers’ lawyers.
I have never, ever seen a disclosure on a ticket that I might be filmed — only warned that I can’t have a camera in a theater. If I can’t, why can someone else? Furthermore, due to the nature of a theater I feel I am safe from being recorded by anyone.
I would have walked out and demanded a refund and not even waited til the end of the movie.
What’s disturbing is that AMC is the only theater that provides captioned shows in my area that I am aware of and I have been using their (unfairly limited – wheelchair users get accomodated any time, but I don’t) captioned shows to see movies while they’re still in theaters.
If this ever happens to me I will seriously consider going back to waiting for the captioned DVD.
I doubt he was actually video taping the crowd, in all likleyhood he was using a night vision camera to ensure that the movie was not being pirated. Being a theatre manager I have been present for hundreds of screenings and not once have I witnessed a screening audience being taped. The guard sweeping the crowd every few minuted with the camera is standard practice. Finally AMC or any other exhibitor does not have anything to do with the screenings as they only rent out the space for the screening and anything that happens inside security checks etc. is the responsibilty of the renter.
this was one of the most unnerving experiences of my life
Don’t get out of the house much do you?
A movie theatre is sort of a public space, but you wouldn’t expect somebody to be filming you at a restaurant, either (excluding security cameras at the register — I’m talking about some guy with a camcorder filming you while you eat). This is intrusive and weird.
The customer service guy was probably copping an attitude because he knew there was absolutely nothing he could do about the WB guys being there, and that even if his bosses could do something, they probably wouldn’t.
cool that he saw it at the amc-nee-loews 14 in georgetown since much of the filming was done across the street.
for better or worse, more and more of our lives are winding up on someone’s tape somewhere. i don’t really buy the “as long as you’ve done nothing wrong you’ve got nothing to worry about” line, but what else are you going to do? become a shut-in?
isn’t filming inside the actual theatre, an act of piracy?
@roche: Actually, it is rather unnerving to be filmed by someone you don’t know who looks like a hitman in a place where it’s dark and you can’t really see what they are up to.
Would you not be intimidated if I pointed my pro-caliber zoom lens and SLR at you and started clicking away? Especially if you weren’t told ahead of time and weren’t asked first and the resulting photos would clearly show your face and you didn’t know what I would do with the pictures?
I’ll take my Scanner Darkly “scramble suit” now, please…
@dualityshift: Only if you are doing it inside a place with a posted no cameras rule and aren’t exceeding fair use limits. And even then it is not a criminal issue.
I wonder what they would have done if someone had gotten up and stood in front of the camera?
Forget filming, just hire bouncers. Big ones.
The guy could have been just sweeping the theater with a camera to look for the infrared glow of other cameras. But even if he was recording, I don’t see what the difference between a security camera on the ceiling and one in this guy’s hand. Although it might have been nice if the theater had said something beforehand since it is a tad weird to have some random person filming you with no further explanation.
I wonder what would have happened if someone had gotten up and stood in front of the camera?
They’ll pull a stunt like this, and yet continue to claim that it’s piracy that’s hurting ticket sales? Nice.
I think that you can be filmed for security purposes inside a private business, ala 7-11. I believe the camera needs to be in plain view or there needs to be a public sign.
Still very creepy since they should have signs at the entrance so you can choose to see a different showing if you don’t feel being treated like a criminal is a fun Friday out.
Suing them sounds expensive and I don’t know what lawyer would want to take such a suit with questionable financial damages. You could of course be wealthy and willing to spend the cash on principle.
I would recommend dealing with your local town government. It should be fairly easy to pass a local ordnance or law against it.
I guess I won’t be seeing that movie until it comes out on Net Flicks.
It’s possible the security guy was just using a night vision system. They’ve been using those for a few years now at pre-release screenings.
@jaredgood1: Yeah, what good does catching someone on tape actually do? How are they supposed to track you down? It’s not impossible but it seems like it would be more effective to kick them out when you see them doing it.
Even if they wanted it as proof, doesn’t it still make sense to just film the person when you see them recording instead of filming everyone all the time?
Who would want to pirate The Invasion?
@Karl: Hmm I wonder what they would do if I brought my nigh vision gear in and sat and looked at them with it for a few minutes every so often…
As others have said, there is no expectation of privacy on private property when it has the consent of the owner and doesn’t violate other laws (i.e. voyeurism and other mischief). The way to stick it to them is to take your business elsewhere or don’t buy the Time Warner product.
@umonster: LOL I was thinking that myself.
I think that there is still a legal question at work here. If you aren’t informed of the recording that is technically a violation of privacy I’d say. In Ohio a recent ruling would only require that you hold up a sign saying you don’t consent to being recorded. At that point they would be in violation of case-precedence within the State of Ohio.
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t they trying to get more people into theaters to see movies? Wouldn’t a program like this have the OPPOSITE effect?
How about an expectation of people not freaking talking, text messaging or kicking my seat during a movie. Obnoxious theater goers is what stopped me from going. Why should I pay all that money for a ticket and snacks to have people around act like they are in a coffee shop.
How bout they post someone inside the theater to stop that crap, I’d go back in a second.
The music and movie industry sure do look at their problems ass backwards.
If it was a nightvision set up, it would still weird me out but it’s not the same as actually being filmed (which is what the minimum-wage counter jockey said it was). If you’re being actually taped, I imagine you’d have to be informed of it on your ticket or before entering (same way they have to inform you that you’re not allowed to bring in food or beverages)–so the customer has the choice of whether or not to sign up for it.
For what it’s worth, I live in NYC and I’ve been to plenty of screenings and early releases and I’ve never seen this happen before. I get my bags checked and that’s it. For what it’s also worth, I’m still boycotting the movies until they put out something worth seeing and quit charging exorbitant prices on crappy food.
@scooling: How do you know the guard doesn’t press the record button?
If this ever happens while I am in a theater (not very often these days anyway) I will be walking out and demanding a refund immediately. I will not pay to have someone spying on me and I sincerely hope the general population will agree so it becomes financially unfeasible for them to continue this and other practices like it. When did people stop standing up for what they believe in?
Mark Frauenfelder: The Consumerist ran a letter from a guy in Washington DC who said a man was videoing the audience at a screening of The Invasion.
I will second the Night Vision excuse too. I have seen it happen a few times recently, its just a night vision camera trying to pick up the IR from camcorders and also to blind out the recorder with its own IR…
A. Throw popcorn at the creepy guy with the camcorder.
B. Spill a “Big Gulp” soda on the camera AND the creepy guy with the camcorder.
C. Tell the oldest lady in the theater that the guy with the camcorder is filming her boobies.
D. Bring a large magnet.
E. All of the above.
Well, what you could do is bring your basic IR remote for your TV from home, get a few of them and a few friends and just point at the guy with the IR remote and it will cause the camera to pick up bright spots and shit… and if they think ur sporting a camera u can just show them the remotes… there is no sign anywhere saying “No tv remote controls” anywhere in the theatre…
Third the night-vision scope. And a guy that doesn’t get out enough.
In Soviet America, movie films YOU!
@Buran:
How about you leave the mis-stating of the law to the MPAA, especially when 1-6 years of federal prison time is on the line? While this doesn’t address this post’s point about skeezy old men recording the viewers, unauthorized recording of a movie in a movie theater is a federal felony, regardless of how little you record and any arguments about fair use. State law is often similar. Both usually have provisions allowing movie theaters to tackle, kidnap, and lock you up while waiting for cops, too. Harsh and wrongheaded, sure, but its teh best law money can buy.
[www4.law.cornell.edu]
@Buran: I work with photographers and videographers… seems like you need to make the audience aware this is occuring. And sometimes you need them to sign releases (ie filming a music video at a night club).
…And New York is requiring you get a permit to shoot film.
This is odd and creepy. I didn’t notice anyone filming me when I saw it this weekend.
…Liked the movie. It was entertaining and they resolved much of the silliness of the prior versions.
Just one more reason not to go to the movies anymore. Dont these companies know more often then not the people filming for piracy do so from the projection booth so they can also get the direct feed audio?
Maybe those junk p2p copies come from some shmoe in the audience but the ones that are being sold on the streets generally dont.
My GF worked in a theatre long ago and the kids were always letting people into the projection rooms.
I’m going to ignore the privacy concerns and simply point out that this sounds like it would be extremely distracting when I’m sitting trying to watch a movie. Already I have to ignore the morons who think they’re too important to turn off their cellphones.
Adding another distraction (and one with a creepy big brother feel to it, no less) is not the way to entice me to the theater more often. It’s a really good way to get me to download a pirated copy and watch it in the comfort of my own home however.
Maybe someone wanted to know what kind of people would actually pay money to go see that movie.
You sure they weren’t just looking for photographic evidence that people actually paid to see “The Invasion”?
Its kind of odd, why didn’t the Time Warner guy just do it from the viewing booth, where no one would have seen him doing it, and the audience would never have known?
Also, the theatre owner is somewhat helpless, if he says no to a time warner demand, they can say we won’t let you show this movie (i.e. for big chains, bluff, for small theaters, it would be the truth).
Lets call a spade a spade here, if a particular movie is not playing at that theater, consumers who want to watch it, won’t go there.
I fully expect at some point, to see movie theaters one day go the bar/department store/every place model, where you have hidden cameras, and a security guard (who may or may not be in uniform).
Also to answer the question, what if he did see someone recording the movie, the simple answer is call the police, it is not like the bootlegger is going to leave, they are going to want to film the whole movie, the cops come, and security guy gives the cops the evidence.
The “Theater Experience” is that much better than watching movies at home!
No, really!
@Sonnymooks;
As far as I’m concerned, the IR in night vision cameras is directional. The LED lights are designed to shoo the light straight forward. I don’t see how it would work from the projection boot. But I agree that this seems shady. I mean, who knows, this guy could have been the equivalent of Agent 47 (Hitman video games) in real life, and snap the necks of those filming the video. Seeing what the RIAA and MPAA does to people who do pirate stuff, I wouldn’t put it past them just to grotesquely murder them, after sucking all their money out of their banks first, of course. Hell, you can’t even film/take a picture of a person at my public high school with out them signing a waiver stating that they agree to be in this shot or something.
Dear Time Warner,
Thanks for giving me yet another reason not to visit my local movie theater. As if the poor selection of films and the high prices were not enough, but amazingly, you found yet another way to antagonize your customers! You must be taking notes from the RIAA.
I haven’t visited a movie theater in over two years. The added bonus of being filmed by creepy men won’t entice me back.
Sincerely,
Hoo Foot
Dear Time Warner, can you tell me where you will have the guy with a night vision camera? I want to participate!
Here’s a novel idea..don’t watch movie screenings or when it first comes out..it’s less packed anyway!
Here’s a novel idea…don’t watch screenings or movies when they are first released! it’s less packed anyway!
Did you know that bootlegs don’t come with distracting guys in the corner? Way to up the benefits of piracy, Warner!
Seriously though, escalate the camera war. Let’s get pics of these guys on the internet, ASAP.
Here’s an idea. Leave the theatre, call the police and say “A creepy looking pervert is standing at the edge of the audience – near some women and children (if they’re over there, of course) – and it looks like he’s trying to FILM them or something.”
Sit back and wait for the fun to start. Worst case, the cops disrupt the showing so badly you get your money back.
@mantari: Yeah, a 48″ HDTV, 7.1 Dolby Surround Sound, comfortable chairs/sofas/bed, private viewing at your own leisure and pace (including *gasp* rewind and bonus features not seen in theaters)… No way that could beat out a movie theater…
so now going to the theaters means paying up the wazoo for tickets, food, and beverages…AND getting treated like a criminal?
all the more reason to say fuck the MPAA and their slowly sinking business model. i’ll rent movies and watch them at home. most of the movies coming out in theaters these days are crap anyway.