The Mall Walkers thread reminded me of this story, but I didn't want to thread jack. This is part Sucky Customers, part Morons in Management.
Eltf177 mentioned his friend who warned the mall managers what they were getting into with this particular group of mall walkers. A similar kind of warning from me went unheeded many years ago.
When I was in college, I worked for the school radio station as a DJ. It was more of a club than a paid thing. We put on free movies in what we called the Red Square on campus from time to time. Usually we just projected the movie onto some big sheets we sewed together. However, we'd bought a nice screen we could set up in large open areas that semester. It was very expensive: about $10,000 IIRC.
The first movie the station manager (a student like me) decided would be shown on the new screen was the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The idea was greeted with much enthusiasm by the rest of the staff, except myself.
Me: Don't do it. Don't show this movie on the new screen. The students will ruin it.
Manager: No, they won't. It'll be fine! This is a really popular movie.
Me: Yes, I know. I've seen it and I love it. Have you seen it?
Manager: Well, no.
Me: It's a cult classic. It's an audience participation movie. There are places in the movie where people will be throwing rice, water, even eggs at the screen. And don't get me started on the profanity and the vulgarities people will be shouting through the whole show.
Manager: They won't do that! Our students aren't like that, they wouldn't do something like that. Besides, most of them probably haven't seen it before.
Me: Are you kidding me? They're kids! Of course they will. A lot of them will have already seen this movie. You're not thinking it through. Please don't use the new screen. Use the sheets, if you must show this movie.
Manager: You're over reacting. It will be fine.
Fast forward to movie night. Needless to say, Red Square was packed. Everyone wanted to see the movie. And it didn't take long for things to start flying. The rice started flying as soon as the wedding scene started. Manager stops the movie and sternly warns the students not to throw things at the new screen, and to watch the language. Movie starts playing again.
We get to the scene where Brad and Janets car breaks down. Cue the water pistols and the newspapers. Campus police stops the movie and issues another warning.
Movie plays. We get to "there's a light", the candles and flashlights come out, and that's where Campus Police shuts it down. Between the warnings and the vulgarities, everyone was just going apeshit. Eggs, rice, toilet paper, newspapers litter the place after the students (who were about to riot with all the interruptions) file out of the Square.
Manager: Well, guess it's time to clean up, everybody.
Me: Have fun with that.
Manager: What? What are you saying? Aren't you going to help?
Me: Hell, no. I warned you. I warned you not to show this movie. You wouldn't listen. No way in hell am I cleaning up your mess.
And I left.
He was pretty pissed, but he graduated that semester so I just didn't give a fuck.
Eltf177 mentioned his friend who warned the mall managers what they were getting into with this particular group of mall walkers. A similar kind of warning from me went unheeded many years ago.
When I was in college, I worked for the school radio station as a DJ. It was more of a club than a paid thing. We put on free movies in what we called the Red Square on campus from time to time. Usually we just projected the movie onto some big sheets we sewed together. However, we'd bought a nice screen we could set up in large open areas that semester. It was very expensive: about $10,000 IIRC.
The first movie the station manager (a student like me) decided would be shown on the new screen was the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The idea was greeted with much enthusiasm by the rest of the staff, except myself.
Me: Don't do it. Don't show this movie on the new screen. The students will ruin it.
Manager: No, they won't. It'll be fine! This is a really popular movie.
Me: Yes, I know. I've seen it and I love it. Have you seen it?
Manager: Well, no.
Me: It's a cult classic. It's an audience participation movie. There are places in the movie where people will be throwing rice, water, even eggs at the screen. And don't get me started on the profanity and the vulgarities people will be shouting through the whole show.
Manager: They won't do that! Our students aren't like that, they wouldn't do something like that. Besides, most of them probably haven't seen it before.
Me: Are you kidding me? They're kids! Of course they will. A lot of them will have already seen this movie. You're not thinking it through. Please don't use the new screen. Use the sheets, if you must show this movie.
Manager: You're over reacting. It will be fine.
Fast forward to movie night. Needless to say, Red Square was packed. Everyone wanted to see the movie. And it didn't take long for things to start flying. The rice started flying as soon as the wedding scene started. Manager stops the movie and sternly warns the students not to throw things at the new screen, and to watch the language. Movie starts playing again.
We get to the scene where Brad and Janets car breaks down. Cue the water pistols and the newspapers. Campus police stops the movie and issues another warning.
Movie plays. We get to "there's a light", the candles and flashlights come out, and that's where Campus Police shuts it down. Between the warnings and the vulgarities, everyone was just going apeshit. Eggs, rice, toilet paper, newspapers litter the place after the students (who were about to riot with all the interruptions) file out of the Square.
Manager: Well, guess it's time to clean up, everybody.
Me: Have fun with that.
Manager: What? What are you saying? Aren't you going to help?
Me: Hell, no. I warned you. I warned you not to show this movie. You wouldn't listen. No way in hell am I cleaning up your mess.
And I left.
He was pretty pissed, but he graduated that semester so I just didn't give a fuck.
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