Unintended Pre-Show at Last Night’s “Safe” Preview

I got a movie pass to a sneak preview of Safe, with Jason Statham. A decent action movie with lots of martial arts and gun play, and three sets of villains (the Chinese mob, the Russian mob, and corrupt American cops).

But it’s what happened before the movie that I wanted to talk about. After the usual (for sneak previews) prize draws and before the movie started) a woman announced that they didn’t have the proper code to play the movie and Alliance was refusing to give it to them.  So people had three choices: they could stay and see Hunger Games and get a free movie pass, they could go to a movie in progress and get a free movie pass, they could go to a movie that hadn’t started (21 Jump Street, the excellent Cabin in the Woods) and get a free movie pass, or they could leave the theatre entirely and get two free passes.  I opted to the first option, not having seen the Hunger Games and not really feel like getting up.

As some people were leaving this room of the theatre and getting passes they got an announcement that Alliance had relented.  However, everyone would still get the pass or passes as promised and could still leave if they chose.  A few did choose to leave still.

Once they left the audience was given the choice of getting the pass before the movie or after. They were some choice due to noise of which option the lady was asking for a show of hands first, but then the movie started.  It was quickly paused but the false start pretty much pushed the decision the latter direction.  Regardless I did indeed get a pass upon leaving the showing of Safe, good for any movie except “No Passes” movies and good until March 2013.