Hammock Parties
05-14-2010, 01:48 AM
I say...screw this shit. Alamo Drafthouse FTW.
http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-gold-class-cinemas,40883/
Like all cities catering to the well-educated and conscientious, Austin brews self-entitlement the way Seattle brews lattes. While it’s all too easy to tout the city’s advantages—from a live-and-let-live philosophy that borders on hegemony to the vibrant music scene and so on—that civic pride can oh-so-easily slide into vanity. As such, Austinites can be brutal about slamming anything they see as threatening to their cherished way of life. Here, The A.V. Club examines some of the city’s most common Points Of Contention and debates whether they deserve their bad rap. This time, we look at the Alamo Drafthouse's latest competition, along with its jaw-dropping ticket prices.
Point Of Contention: Gold Class Cinemas (http://goldclasscinemas.com/Theaters/Austin-Texas.htm)
Why you hate it: When Gold Class Cinemas announced the opening of its newest theater in The Domain (http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-the-domain,27782/), reactions ranged from a skeptical "I can't imagine it's worth spending 30 bucks on a movie ticket" (http://austinist.com/2010/04/12/grit_grants_and_gold_class_film_new.php) to a defensive "back off of our Alamo Drafthouse, out-of-state corporation." (http://forum.austinimprov.com/viewtopic.php?t=10492&highlight=yuppie) While the concept may fly in the chain's hometown of Beverly Hills (http://www.goldclasscinemas.com/About-Gold-Class-Cinemas/FAQs.htm), it's kind of redundant here. Furthermore, situating the place in the middle of The Domain—North Austin's most fervent attempt at establishing itself as "New Houston"—doesn't do much to allay concerns that this is just more California bullshit (http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-californians,26490/) waltzing into Austin without any understanding of what makes our city great<object height="385" width="480">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ETIkkMVUBw4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480">[/URL]</object>
Why you're right: Gold Class declares itself to be the "first class" experience of film-going ("actually, customers say it is better," [URL="http://goldclasscinemas.com/About-Gold-Class-Cinemas/index.htm"]declares (http://www.youtube.com/v/ETIkkMVUBw4&hl=en_US&fs=1&) its website), which ignores the fact that the Alamo is widely (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1090060,00.html) recognized (http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/03/18/cool-stuff-the-alamo-drafthouse-the-best-movie-theater-ever/) as one of the finest theaters in the country. If watching a movie at Gold Class is flying first class, then attending a screening at The Ritz (http://www.avclub.com/austin/movietheaters/alamo-drafthouse-downtown,9439/)—with menu items crafted to reflect the film, pre-show entertainment thematically linked to the feature presentation, and a ticket price that's less than the mall cineplex—is like getting on a fucking rocket ship.
The issue here is more than one of redundancy; we recognize that being able to eat and drink during a movie is fun, so Alamo loyalty wouldn't be an issue if Gold Class was opening a location in Miami. But it's also one of cost—namely, that $29 ticket price. Austinites tend to bristle at the notion of spending that much money to see their favorite bands play at Stubb's, and those guys had to physically drive here in a van for us to see them. The movie you watch at Gold Class is no different from the one playing at every other theater in town, so in a nation with 10 percent unemployment and a struggling economy, a show of conspicuous consumption like spending triple digits for tickets, food, and drinks at a movie theater is the equivalent of lighting your cigar with a $50 bill.
Why you're wrong: Times are tough, and that's true not only for people who like to watch movies, but also the industry that makes them. Competing with piracy, Netflix, and Redbox is a challenge, and even after introducing rumbling seats (http://www.d-box.com/) and an additional dimension (http://www.reald.com/), the film industry is struggling to find new ways to make the experience of going out to the movies a unique and valuable one.
Theaters like Gold Class can only help with that. And if the ticket prices are high, they increase the profitability of the industry as a whole, which means that filmmakers are more likely to continue, you know, making films—and we can all agree that's a good thing. Plus, the fact that Gold Class is way up in The Domain means that it's not really much of a competitor for the Alamo—it's practically a whole 'nother city up there.
Verdict: You know, even if Gold Class Cinemas is just the Alamo Drafthouse for assholes, it means that you'll have to deal with fewer assholes the next time you go to the Alamo. This town is big enough for the both of 'em.
http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-gold-class-cinemas,40883/
Like all cities catering to the well-educated and conscientious, Austin brews self-entitlement the way Seattle brews lattes. While it’s all too easy to tout the city’s advantages—from a live-and-let-live philosophy that borders on hegemony to the vibrant music scene and so on—that civic pride can oh-so-easily slide into vanity. As such, Austinites can be brutal about slamming anything they see as threatening to their cherished way of life. Here, The A.V. Club examines some of the city’s most common Points Of Contention and debates whether they deserve their bad rap. This time, we look at the Alamo Drafthouse's latest competition, along with its jaw-dropping ticket prices.
Point Of Contention: Gold Class Cinemas (http://goldclasscinemas.com/Theaters/Austin-Texas.htm)
Why you hate it: When Gold Class Cinemas announced the opening of its newest theater in The Domain (http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-the-domain,27782/), reactions ranged from a skeptical "I can't imagine it's worth spending 30 bucks on a movie ticket" (http://austinist.com/2010/04/12/grit_grants_and_gold_class_film_new.php) to a defensive "back off of our Alamo Drafthouse, out-of-state corporation." (http://forum.austinimprov.com/viewtopic.php?t=10492&highlight=yuppie) While the concept may fly in the chain's hometown of Beverly Hills (http://www.goldclasscinemas.com/About-Gold-Class-Cinemas/FAQs.htm), it's kind of redundant here. Furthermore, situating the place in the middle of The Domain—North Austin's most fervent attempt at establishing itself as "New Houston"—doesn't do much to allay concerns that this is just more California bullshit (http://www.avclub.com/austin/articles/points-of-contention-californians,26490/) waltzing into Austin without any understanding of what makes our city great<object height="385" width="480">
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ETIkkMVUBw4&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="385" width="480">[/URL]</object>
Why you're right: Gold Class declares itself to be the "first class" experience of film-going ("actually, customers say it is better," [URL="http://goldclasscinemas.com/About-Gold-Class-Cinemas/index.htm"]declares (http://www.youtube.com/v/ETIkkMVUBw4&hl=en_US&fs=1&) its website), which ignores the fact that the Alamo is widely (http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1090060,00.html) recognized (http://www.slashfilm.com/2008/03/18/cool-stuff-the-alamo-drafthouse-the-best-movie-theater-ever/) as one of the finest theaters in the country. If watching a movie at Gold Class is flying first class, then attending a screening at The Ritz (http://www.avclub.com/austin/movietheaters/alamo-drafthouse-downtown,9439/)—with menu items crafted to reflect the film, pre-show entertainment thematically linked to the feature presentation, and a ticket price that's less than the mall cineplex—is like getting on a fucking rocket ship.
The issue here is more than one of redundancy; we recognize that being able to eat and drink during a movie is fun, so Alamo loyalty wouldn't be an issue if Gold Class was opening a location in Miami. But it's also one of cost—namely, that $29 ticket price. Austinites tend to bristle at the notion of spending that much money to see their favorite bands play at Stubb's, and those guys had to physically drive here in a van for us to see them. The movie you watch at Gold Class is no different from the one playing at every other theater in town, so in a nation with 10 percent unemployment and a struggling economy, a show of conspicuous consumption like spending triple digits for tickets, food, and drinks at a movie theater is the equivalent of lighting your cigar with a $50 bill.
Why you're wrong: Times are tough, and that's true not only for people who like to watch movies, but also the industry that makes them. Competing with piracy, Netflix, and Redbox is a challenge, and even after introducing rumbling seats (http://www.d-box.com/) and an additional dimension (http://www.reald.com/), the film industry is struggling to find new ways to make the experience of going out to the movies a unique and valuable one.
Theaters like Gold Class can only help with that. And if the ticket prices are high, they increase the profitability of the industry as a whole, which means that filmmakers are more likely to continue, you know, making films—and we can all agree that's a good thing. Plus, the fact that Gold Class is way up in The Domain means that it's not really much of a competitor for the Alamo—it's practically a whole 'nother city up there.
Verdict: You know, even if Gold Class Cinemas is just the Alamo Drafthouse for assholes, it means that you'll have to deal with fewer assholes the next time you go to the Alamo. This town is big enough for the both of 'em.