What it's like to go to a movie theater during coronavirus pandemic - Insider

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I have a tradition

. I like to see them on the opening night on the biggest movie theater screen because Nolan is shooting his movie

I watched

And know that I can benefit from seeing it on the big screen. I'm sure that the experience of watching Matthew McConaughey venture into the silence of space on a TV or tablet will not be the same. 

So when "Tenet" finally appeared

, I am a little frustrated. The theater where I am going to see the Nolan movie is an 80-foot-tall IMAX screen in AMC Lincoln Square in New York City. its

And one of them

. 

That will not happen. Especially since I moved to Los Angeles at the end of 2019 to shoot movies and theme parks for Insider.

When the lockdown of the state occurred during the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, I thought of the idea of ​​"Tenet". (This didn't stop me from doing some Google searches to find out how far it was to drive to the nearest theater in Las Vegas, but my brain won the rational side.) 

Then a few days before the movie’s release on September 1, AMC and Regal

-A two-hour drive away from me. 

As the days of "Tenet's" were released, the ruthless, naive feeling in my chest will not fade. A close friend told me that they had seen this movie at the time in an empty cinema, where there were far fewer COVID-19 cases, and they liked it very much.

I decided to watch a movie. 

Except for my friends and some family members, I have no plans to tell anyone that I have seen "Tenet". If they don’t take similar precautions, I don’t want to urge anyone to go to the theater. I also don’t want others to question my judgment or judge my behavior. This may be selfish. I know this is a very controversial decision.

But even if people don’t go to the movies, I imagine some people might want to know how it feels to go to the theater during this time. Therefore, I share my experience. So what is going on here.

Until I decided to drive for two hours to see "Tenet", I stayed in the apartment to buy groceries, run and some individual hikes. 

After a month of consideration, I drove to San Diego. When I am not involved in Comic-Con, I always want to go back there. It was one of the few places on the West Coast that I was not familiar with, and thought I would feel safe enough to travel alone. 

One of the only reasons I feel uncomfortable in entering public places is because one of my best friends is a nurse who has been treating COVID-19 patients in the ICU since March. My friend’s advice for outdoor adventures is simple: be smart, wear a mask, and wash your hands. Take a shower when you get home. You should be fine.

I'm. 

My colleague Jason Guerrasio compiled a list of

This helped me narrow the theater location to three relatively close Regal theaters. The closest family to Escondido (Escondido) takes about an hour and 40 minutes by car. the furthest? In the Parkway Plaza shopping mall in El Cajon, less than 2 hours and 14 minutes from San Diego. Distance really doesn't matter to me. The number of people in each performance is the same.

I spent more than a week checking and rechecking how crowded each theater was during multiple screening times and screening days. I want to find the best time with the least number of people. The best option seems to be on an ordinary workday morning, when most people are at work or school. 

I decided to choose the first performance of Regal in El Cajon on the morning of September 11. It has the fewest seats. If I can help, I don't want to share a place with strangers, nor do I want to be with other people.

The night before the trip, I packed my wallet full of Clorox wipes, gloves, clothes and hand sanitizer. The cloth mask I plan to wear while watching the entire movie is already on the counter.

On that warm September morning, I wore a long-sleeved shirt, sports pants and sneakers. I don't want any bare skin to touch the armrests, chairs or railings. Although it is hot outside, I think that if the air conditioner is turned on, the theater will be relatively cool.

When I arrived at the theater before 11 am, I made sure that I could use my mobile ticket, put on blue gloves, and got off the bus. I have been using mobile theater tickets for a while, so when I arrived at the theater, a Regal employee routinely scanned the QR code on my phone and directed me to the theater on the second floor.

It has been more than six months since I walked into the theater. Except for some visible hand sanitizers, it looks no different.

Usually, the theater is my home away from home. Before March, I went to the theater to watch a new movie to cover up about once a week. Even if I don’t comment, I usually return at least once a week to watch other content. Back to the theater, even if it is a theater I have never set foot in, I am a little excited. 

I skipped the canteen and the escalator. Instead, I chose to walk slowly up two flights of stairs to fully appreciate the time in the theater that I took for granted, rushing out of the theater to catch the train home or encountering the censorship embargo lifted early the next day. I never imagined that there would be a time when I could not go to the theater to escape reality. I stared at the high ceiling and the giant movie subtitles above my head. It's a bit exciting to come to a drab environment in an apartment that I don't remember.

When I arrived at the theater, several people were already seated. Most of them are older men or older couples. When the film began to show, all eight of us were scattered. 

I chose an end seat in row L. Normally, I sit in the center of the theater, but I want to minimize people sitting on either side of me, regardless of whether there are separate seats. If I am uncomfortable at any time, I don't want to climb on anyone. I hope to be able to rush down the stairs of the theater.

When I got to the seat, I took out the Clorox container and wiped the armrest on my seat and the armrest beside it. I reluctantly put my wallet on the seat next to me as a cushion. I was in survival mode, thinking that anyone else could enter the theater and try to sit next to me. 

When the trailer played, I was full of excitement that I can only describe when you ride a roller coaster. A mix of worrying and exciting.

I forgot that I had watched the first six minutes of the movie before "Birds of Prey" in February. The familiar scene made me relax and immerse myself in Nolan's world. When you watch one of his movies, it is difficult to think about anything else when trying to follow up on the movie and figure out what happened.

Have I ever forgotten to wear a mask? No, it's not. But as the anxiety subsided, I became more and more invested in movies. 

After the end, I finished some of the credits so that everyone else can leave first. I am not in a hurry, I am curious to see how to clean up the theater. An employee walked in, looking like an ultraviolet lamp used on the seat. 

Nevertheless, I still don't want to wear longer clothes. I drew a straight line in the bathroom opposite the theater, entered the largest booth, and hung up my wallet. 

I changed from sweatpants, sneakers and clothes to lighter shorts, shirts and sandals. I took off my gloves carefully, threw them away, and then used disinfectant before leaving. All the used clothes are put in my school bag and I am leaving. 

The strangest thing about going to the movie theater is not that ghost town, or that I am wearing a mask. That was the theater that felt like it was permanently stuck in March. 

Each movie trailer played in front of "Tenet" has an original release date. 

"The Personal History of David Copperfield", "Black Widow", "The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie: The Sponge Is Running" and the movie"

"Play before my show. 

They are not even the trailers originally scheduled for the release date of "Tenet" in July. "Black Widow" and "SpongeBob SquarePants" were originally supposed to come out in May 2020 and August 2020, respectively, and then postponed to 2021.

It didn't stop there. The theater is full of movie posters, namely "Ghostbusters", "High Aspirations: Mavericks" and "Wonder Woman: 1984", promising that their initial summer 2020 releases are gone. It feels like I am in a zombie movie and the world ends in March. 

I don’t know how many people have had an honest conversation

. Although I am lucky to have a huge network of family and friends to sign in to me, you can only receive so many Zoom, text and Facetime calls until you think again by yourself, try to read, draw, cook and play through time Electronic games.

My small solo road trip feels like an arduous adventure. During this period, I need to help me stay sane.

It's not safe to go outdoors in areas near me

.

In this regard, it is worth it for my mental health. But as a movie, "Tenet" is not a movie you need to spend all of your time in the theater. As Nolanstein, this disappoints me a bit. Maybe i'm used to it

, But I can predict some changes in the film, including a big surprise later in the film, and some small things that may not be discovered until the second watch

Overall, the film itself is pleasant-the complex car chase in the middle of the film is a major highlight-but it feels like it wants to be much smarter than it actually is. Although it is worth watching at certain times (like all Nolan movies), I don’t put it in Dunkirk, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, Mendo, or Inception.

Although I never really felt that my health was in danger, I didn't see myself returning to the theater anytime soon.

I also do not recommend others to go temporarily.

Although I have my own pleasure, it seems unnecessary in the current climate.

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