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AMC sobers up, apologizes for silly cinema texting plan
Company accepts that terribly bad idea shouldn't be implemented
Chalk one up for the grumpy old complainers as AMC Theaters says it will not let people text during movies after all.
The theater chain said on Friday morning that it was not going to make good on CEO Adam Aron's suggestion that the theater chain could allow people to text during film showings.
Aron made the comments while discussing in an interview with Variety ways that AMC could appeal to the millennial audiences, who have by and large steered clear of watching movies in cinemas.
Reasoning that kids these days would rather "cut off your left arm above the elbow" than turn off their phones, Aron said that AMC was toying with the idea of allowing people to use their phones in some theaters or showings.
The response was swift and unfavorable, with the public telling AMC in no uncertain terms that the idea was a bad one.
In an open letter posted to Twitter, Aron said that AMC would continue to ban users from texting during film showings:
NO TEXTING AT AMC. Won't happen. You spoke. We listened. Quickly, that idea has been sent to the cutting room floor. pic.twitter.com/JR0fo5megR
— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) April 15, 2016
"With your advice in hand there will be no texting allowed in any of the auditoriums at AMC theaters," Aron wrote.
"Not today, not tomorrow, and not in the foreseeable future."
The move should come as welcome news to theater-goers who feared a sea of glowing phone screens might soon make going to see a new film an even more trying experience.
Aron says that AMC will, however, go forward with other plans to overhaul its chain theaters, committing $1bn to a redesign plan. The company also plans to install new seats in its theaters and expand the food and drink menu. ®