If you’ve been to a movie theater recently, you may have noticed that there are more trailers (advertisements for future movies) than ever, and they last (continue; has a duration that is) longer than ever. Film studios (movie companies) pay movie theaters to show trailers of their upcoming (future) movies, and movie theaters in the U.S. have increased the number of trailers shown to about six or seven at many locations, while a decade ago (10-year period previous), only three or four were shown.
Trailers are very effective advertising, second only to (only less effective than) television advertising, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article. But there is a constant battle between movie theater owners and movie studios: movie theaters want to show more trailers to make more money, and movie studios want to show longer trailers with a longer lead time (time period before something happens) before a movie is released.
The latest move in this tug of war (contest; battle) was recently made by the National Association of Theatre* Owners, a group that consists of (includes) major theater companies. It tries to influence rules and policies relating to movies and theaters in its favor (to benefit it). The Association issued (released) new guidelines (rules) for trailers: they should be no more than two minutes long, and they should not appear more than five months before a movie’s premier (showing in theaters for the first time).
As you can imagine, movie executives (important people working in movie companies) aren’t happy. They say that the new guidelines are not to benefit moviegoers (people who go to movie theaters to see a movie) who have complained about too many and too long trailers. Instead, they say, movie theater owners are making room for (space for) more advertising from other companies.
Are there these types of rules for trailers where you live? Do you like seeing the trailers shown before feature films (main movies)? If you could lay down the law (make the rules), what would be the ideal situation with regard to trailers?
– Lucy
* Note that, in the U.S., the word “theater” is generally spelled with an “er,” not a “re” at the end. However, some organizations and companies in the U.S. like to use British spellings since Americans generally have positive associations with British English.
Photo Credit: Airscreen from Wikipedia
Hello everyone,
I am afraid, and a little bit ashamed of revealing I have not been in a theater for at least 6 years!
That because of laziness. Think that I have not seen a movie in 3-D yet.
I like movie and video games trailers. They make those quite spectacular.
I usually watch trailers on You Tube. Just the other day I was looking at the new Godzilla trailer, and I must say that is cool.
They have reached impressive quality with the CGI. In the trailer Godzilla, which is quite huge, is destroying San Francisco, I guess, and the devastation looks real.
Hey Godzilla, go south and squeeze Jeff a little bit. heheheheh
There is a scene at the beginning where this special forces parachute from a military plane. That is beautiful/impressive.
Something annoying bout certain trailers, is when they show you flashes. When the longest piece lasts 2 seconds.
An example of that, if I recall it correctly is the latest trailer of The Transformer 4.
Thanks
Dear Lucy,
Since a long time I am not going to watch movies in the Madrid´s theaters, I don´t like to go alone
so Cuca and me watch movies at home in the tv screen that is good prepared to work as a good
big screen fo watch movies.
It has 46″ and we can watch movies in 3D also that is a real nice pleasure.
As Cuca hasn´t watch a 3D movie I wanted to buy a nice good smart tv. with wifi, 3d, and HD quality
so last year we spent a big amount of euros in the last model of this characteristics.
It is like incredible to see a movie so good in HD definition and even in 3D that works really good in
a high standard quality smart TV.
To have these results it is necessary to by bluray supports and it is easy having Amazon with a touch
of the mouse.
Every bluray has three or four trailers of next movies in that supports or even at the theaters in the
bluray is recent.
Now movies are in bluray or dvd in three or four months after been shown in the theaters.
Of course it is better to go to these theaters and watch the movies in person but you Lucy know
quite well that we can´t go since a long time.
Watching movies at home in the big TV screen I can´t say what is happening now in the theaters
were new movies are being exhibited.
One of the good movie we could see in 3D was “Life of Pi” it was absolutely nice but even other
are great, “Avatar” for instance was great to see that way.
Thank you dear Lucy. emiliano
Thank you Dear Lucy
I think I need to write more or to lose my ability to write soon.
So, what should I write?
Yes, about movies trailers. I am not exactly a keen moviegoer because I hardly go watch a film in theatres. Mainly because it is quite expensive to watch a film in theaters.
The last time I went to a theatre was eight years ago when I watched The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
I vaguely remembered they showed a lot of trailers, and it went on for a long time.
I thought it was not very nice that they wasted our time like that. But I could understand that the movie industry had to promote their next available films. It would be silly to waste the golden opportunity to present their next films.
Now I have a chance to watch 3 films in a month on my smartphone or ipad. It was through a subscription to Anyplex, a Video-On-Demand service.
As a matter of fact, I didn’t want to subscribe it because I had a feeling that they would not be good films anyway. However, my phone company said I had to spend 38 Hong Kong dollar which equivalent to 5 US dollar a month as part of the phone contract. The only choice I had was to pick either films, magazines or music.
I chose films because that would be more entertaining than magazine and music, I thought.
One good thing about Video-In-Demand like this one is, there is no trailers.
In fact I don’t mind some trailers but not too much.
If I could lay down the law, I will make sure that they limit the number and length of trailers. It wouldn’t be fair for videogoers who wish to enjoy the main movies but instead are being forced to watch something irrelevant.
Many thanks again Lucy for encouraging us to read and write more English.
Best Regards
Betty 🙂
Hi! Last year I went to the movie theater for many times to see the newest movies, the movies with the chance
to win the Oscar.
This year, I don’t know what happens but there is no intersting movie to me.
I want to see all the famous films at this moment:
12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Gravity, and of course, Wolf of Wall Street with Leonardo Dicaprio.
I think I have to wait for a moth or two.
Hi! I have to say that I could see Nymphomaniac, a 2014 movie, at my movie theater.
But I prefered to watch the figure skating at the Olympic Games, and I lost it.
Seeing the trailer on YOU TUBE , I think it is not a great loss.
In my country it was banned for a short period of time then it was for over 18 years old people.
Hi! There are a lot of trailers and on TV.
It is a simple way to see if you are intersested in a movie or not.
Hi! Thank you Dan for the mentioned new movies: Godzilla and The Transformer 4.
Maybe I can see them at my theater movie.
Hi Emiliano
I am very happy to learn that you watched “Life of Pi”. I also watched it on New Year Eve 31 December 2013.
My son bought a big flat screen TV for the family as a Christmas present. He bought the film online and the whole family watched it from the TV.
It’s such a good film. I wonder how my son knew it would be good for the whole family to watch.
I am also very happy to learn that you are doing exercise to keep fit in order to be strong enough to help Cuca.
It tells us that you are positive and very strong mentally and physically. Is all or most Spanish strong like you?
Anyway, I have to stay strong mentally and physically like you. There are a lot of things that I need to do and I won’t be able to do them without the right body and mind.
According to Chinese medical theory, happiness helps people maintain a healthy body. A lot of clots inside people’s body could have derived from unhappiness. Those clots give people pain inside their body and make them ill.
I am sure contemporary medical theory also concludes that happiness brings people good health.
This ESLPOD.com website has helped me to remain happy. Armed with English skills, I have been able to do a lot of things. For instance, I used my English skill to talk to the plumbers recently.
I watched some Youtube videos about how to do something for the boiler etc. Had I not learned English, I wouldn’t be able to understand what they say!
Well, I’d better not to overestimate my English skills, I still need to work very hard to keep up with the demand of modern day life.
Now time to listen to more ESLPOD episodes.
Please take care.
Betty 🙂
Betty
do, what you like to do, but not in a hurry. enjoy your weekend in some slow manner. in a quiet place. it helps to charge your batteries. like a good movie when it ends…
Yes Betty, it sounds funny but as Gatufo has said I am doing some exercise indoor to be a little more healthy
and get some strength to help Cuca at home.
Thank you dear Betty for your words but I don´t know if I am strong, what I know about me is that emiliano
could have is tenacity and will.
Spaniards are a people acustomed to suffer along history, we have been conquered by Iberos, Celts, Fenicios,
Greeks, Catagineses, Romans, Suevos, Vandalos, Alanos, Visigodos, Arabes, and once Arabes were in the
Spanish lands, the Christians has to reconquer (conquer) all the Spanish lands along 800 years, since 711
till 1492 when Granada was taken by the Catholic Kings.
Imagine eight hundred years fighting agains Muslims, poor Muslims as they were Spaniards too after so many
years and poor Christians fighting to conquer again the land that they thought it was their goal.
After that, the Quen Elizabeth First (the Catholic Queen) sent Colon to find another route to go to India, just
round the earth, because he said the earth was round, but Colon discover the new unknown land of America.
Colon thought that he was in India, so he and his men call the native of that new lands INDIOS – INDIANS, that
was his big confusion, he didn´t know it was a new great land.
The Spaniards conquered all America, from the North (lands of EE.UU. like California, Nuevo Mejico, Florida, etc.)
till the South (Chile, Argentina), and they were not too many people, they were strong enough to go through
deserts, jungle, mountains, and so forth. They conquered all the Incas Empire, (Peru Ecuador, etc.) the Aztecas Empire,
(Mexico) and nearly dozens of other natives great warriors of South America.
Yes, they were strong people acustomed to fight for hundred of years even to be hungry and fight to survive.
How are the Spaniards now?, I don´t really know but it is sure we are not like these old Spaniards that conquered
half the world.
Well, the lesson of Spain´s History is enough, thank you a lot dear Betty,
All my best to you dear.
emiliano