CHICAGO — A recent screening of the new hit film Wicked was disturbed when an unruly and inconsiderate patron rudely began telling other theater goers to put their phones away.
The patrons who just wanted to experience a night out at the movies were understandably upset.
“You hear stories online of poor theater behavior but I’d never experienced it until now,” said theater goer Mira Spencer while scrolling through Instagram. “We’re just trying to enjoy the movie and take some videos of the screen to post online and this asshole just starts pestering people to put their phones away. What a prick! He should have stayed home and waited to watch the movie on streaming if he didn’t want to experience it with phone lights and flashes.”
AMC spokesperson James Hill confirmed to press that the disruptive person, Mike Milligan was banned from all theaters across the country.
“We at AMC do not tolerate such abhorrent behavior and so mister Milligan is not welcome at any AMC theater. The theater is supposed to be a communal experience where cinema lovers converge together to enjoy and respect the art form. They do this by taking photos and videos of the screen to share with others, checking their social media feeds with full brightness on, even providing their own live commentary of the film. To have someone act so disrespectfully to the theatrical experience by trying to get people to put their phones away and pay attention to the film is beyond disgraceful and it will never happen again at this chain.”
The story gained traction and was picked up by some people in the film industry who gave their thoughts on the matter.
“It’s always terrible when people try to ruin the sacred ground of the movie theater,” wrote Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in the caption of an instagram video where he was promoting Teremana Tequila. “People pay their hard earned money to sit in a theater and enjoy a film in the background while they scroll through their feed or have intimate and loud conversations with their friends. No one should go to the theater if all they’re gonna do is ruin other people’s time by demanding phones be put away. It’s a slippery slope to further poor behavior if we let people do that.”
At press time, Milligan was also banned from all Regal Cinemas after an incident in which he disturbed singing theater patrons.
