Good For Cinemark

When it comes it comes to places that have been affected by mass shootings, I have a very strong opinion in not knocking down the building that the shooting occurred in. I understand that for any family or friends affected by anyone that died, it may be very hard to ever return to these buildings. It is a very sad thing. Unforgivably,  life must go on for those that are still in this world and the lost lives fade into memories, great and beautiful memories. There was talk as to what Cinemark 16 in Aurora, Colorado should have done with the theatre building and now there is similar talk about Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut.

Cinemark decided to keep the theatre and renovate the building. I commend this action for many reasons. One reason is this lets those that cause the deaths, pain, and suffering to see that they can’t simply defeat everyone  involved. Another reason is, there isn’t always the financial backing to rebuilding something, just in a different part of town. Destroying a perfectly good building isn’t going to cause the pain and suffering that the families and community are feeling go away. Those feelings will be there, most likely for the rest of those people’s lives.

Many people think that movie theatres make a ton of money based on the $10 admission(varies in your area) to see a non-3D feature these days. I can tell you though, theatres run on very little money at all. Most money that movie theatres make comes from concessions. The ticket goes to the cost of leasing the films that the theatre are showing. The first few weeks to months if a film is doing really well, the theatre only gets about 5%-10% of that ticket price. The longer the film is out and the less popular it gets, the more money that movie theatre makes.

Many people were wanting Cinemark to close the theatre the shooting occurred in and open a new one elsewhere in Aurora. I can tell you that if they closed that location, Aurora probably would have lost a theatre. I doubt there is much financial needs to build a whole new movie theatre elsewhere. Instead, Cinemark spent one million dollars to renovate the current theatre. Then they invited the families to be the first to see it for a ceremony that was to remember the victims. Some surviving victims and victims families of the lost supported the idea. Some from the same groups did not like the idea of this event. They even saw it as “callous” and just Cinemark trying to show off a good public image.

I do think Cinemark should build some sort of memorial for the victims. That I feel will come later when the community comes together to donate the money to build such a memorial. I assume Cinemark may chip in some money and they might even take it upon themselves to build one. Some people wanted theatre 9 to be shut down and turned into a memorial. While that is a nice thought, you really don’t want something like that haunting the movie goers every time they go to see a movie.

The way I see it, Cinemark was in a lose-lose position. They had many options that they could have went through with and whichever plan was chosen would have been wrong to one group or another. There are some people who even blame Cinemark for this happening. I find that ridiculous. I feel like they did the right thing. It is better to heal instead of destroy something that has been hurt. As humans, with our bodies we try everything before we amputate a limb. That is what Cinemark is doing, they are trying to heal regularly instead of closing down for good. Again, I applaud them on their decision. It isn’t a “Hollywood” stunt, it is the most sensitive way for them to continue operating in the city of Aurora.

 

Madonna Uses Guns

Madonna continued Saturday with not going along with what countries and government officials in certain countries have asked her not to do on her MDNA Tour. I understand that her performances are art and should be treated as such, but sometimes when a swastika or guns are involved, you just don’t do it. In case you didn’t know this, across the pond, gun violence isn’t taken lightly like it is here in North America. Movies and games are often edited due to gun violence so that they are able to be shown or sold with the same rating equivalent giving over here. I mean, even The Hunger Games had to edit out certain “violent” scenes to lower the rating in the UK. Living in North America, specifically the United States, I guess I’m so use to it, that I didn’t see anything wrong in The Hunger Games.

Anyway, back to the main point. Saturday, Madonna had a show in Edinburgh, Scotland where police officials asked her to not perform with fake guns like she had done at every show since the MDNA Tour started. They asked her to not use the guns because of the sensitivity of guns after the shooting at The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado this past Friday at a midnight showing. Do you think Madonna listened? Of course she didn’t.

Grandma Madonna needs publicity and went along with the show like she normally would. During that part of the show, Madonna marched out with pistol and an AK47 . Though they were fake, she could have complied with the police. The only reason why Madonna did this and some of the other stunts that she has pulled while on this tour this year is to get media attention. Clearly she has gotten it, I mean, here I am writing about her. She has gotten old, grumpy, hateful, and apparently no one pays her attention.

While Madonna is Madonna, she isn’t the Madonna that was edgy and got attention for being edgy when she was at her height of popularity. She has become a person who has to create headlines for herself, but not because she is creative and such, but because she is defying authority. Way to go, Madonna. Love her music, but really being turned off by who she is seemingly becoming these days.

Source: MSN Entertainment

 

Should Warner Brothers Give Money To Victims?

The idea that Warner Brother’s should donate money from this weekends opening earnings, to the victims and victims families that were involved in the shooting at a Dark Knight Rises midnight showing at Century 16 in Aurora, Colorado is growing. I guess I don’t quite understand why this is growing? Warner Brother’s didn’t pay this guy and weren’t involved. It isn’t like this was a media stunt gone awry. Why should Warner Brother’s be expected to give money to these families? Why is it that some people are saying they should at least pay medical cost involved?

This incident was a very sad and tragic thing to happen to our country. It wasn’t the first and it won’t be the last of such events. It made us think about our safety at one of America’s and becoming the world’s favourite things to do in our spare time. It made that safety blanket of fun and excitement go away. The victims in that auditorium in that theatre that survived are more than likely just happy to be alive. I know that I would be happy. I wouldn’t be expecting any money to come my way from this. The people and families that lost people in that auditorium are, I’m sure, quite sad. But no amount of money is going to replace the lost, or make that pain go away. Again, I would be sad if I lost someone in this, but I wouldn’t expect some kind of payout from it either.

Now with all of that said, I would like to say that I would be surprised if Warner Brother’s doesn’t do something for the victims. It however, shouldn’t be expected and they shouldn’t be harassed if they end up not doing anything. I’d also like to say to the people complaining about not being able to dress up to go to your showing of Dark Knight Rises, please remember it is a small sacrifice that you’re making compared to those that were in that auditorium at Century 16.