I started my first job in the movie industry today!

Walking into movies during break was a really odd expereince at first. I regret watching fifteen minute portions of EWS before watching the entire thing.

Don't remember. It just ruined the experience of watching the entire film straight through for the first time.

...there's a movie about sheep?

Ah, the movie theater job. So much fun. Being able to see movies for free is awesome. I worked at a movie theater for almost 2 years.

OK, I'm damn new here (longtime lurker though), but will override my fear of posting to share this anecdote from my (depressingly long-ago) high school days:

I grew up in a small town with one (U.A.) movie theater. Jobs there were highly sought after among the town's teenagers because of the excellent perks --- unlimited free popcorn and movies for you AND your friends (ah, the innocent 80s). The most sought-after job was usher: cool red polyester jacket, perks conferring lots of status/popularity, and a light work load.

You see, at that time and in that place, only boys could be ushers, and ushers had only four responsibilities: 1) Tear tickets, 2) Open and shut the theater doors, 3) Carry the big bags of popcorn kernels from the upstairs storeroom, and 4) Look fabulous as hell in the regulation dark red polyester jackets and black pants. You could get your friends into movies for free, and you got to leave with big garbage bags full of popcorn to take to parties. Girls could not be ushers, and thus took on the harder jobs: manning the candy counter and actually selling the tickets. The boys ... Basically, they got to be the cool hosts of the only real entertainment in town.

Needless to say, I DESPERATELY wanted to work there; I'd been a film freak since my parents took me to see Jaws (very cool parents) in elmentary school, so the idea of free movies and a bump in social status literally got me hard every time I thought about it ... which was often. (Well, I was also anticipating the job would help me get laid, so I wasn't that big a dork.)

Anyway, I was fortunate enough to land an interview through a relative of a friend. The theater had just hired a new manager who turned out to be a young guy just out of college. We talked for a bit and hit it off; clearly, he was a bit of a geek and politically liberal to boot, which was RARE in my small central PA town.

Then he says: "You can work here, but you have to work the candy stand."

I say, "What? I'm not sure I heard that right. You want me to be a 'Candy Girl'?" (Yes, the gender lines were so clearly drawn that the unofficial title was "Candy Girl.")

He says, "This place is a backwards hickville, and I want to do something about it. I'm hiring a guy to work the candy counter and a girl to be the usher. I want to turn these gender stereotypes upside down. You want to work here, you're going to have to volunteer to take one for social progress and break the gender barrier."

Now, this was a very conservative community. Someone once said, "In Pennyslvania, you have Philadelphia on one side, Pittsburgh on the other, and Alabama in between." And, by and large, that is (or was) true. Taking that job would potentially bring about my social ruin rather than the opposite.

But the thought of free movies trumped my fear of getting the shit kicked out of me by the town's tough guys, so I said "yes." My parents had a fit. My friends thought I was crazy. I DID get harrassed the first few weeks. But I loved it anyway. LOVED it.

Three months later they fired the manager and replaced him with a former high school wrestling star named "Butch." Butch comes in the first day, takes one look at me standing behind the concession stand in my Candy Girl outfit, and screams, "What the fuck???!!! You fuckin' sissy!!! Get the fuck OUT from behind that fuckin' counter, put on a jacket, and get ready to tear some goddamn tickets!"

So all's well that ends well, I guess. But it was a little sad, too. I was a DAMN good Candy Girl. Everyone said so.

Sissy....

And his name was "Butch" to boot.

I don't think I could handle working in one of the HUGE multiplex theaters. Drive me batty it would. I'd yell at the people seeing the next J-lo flick or god forbid another Queen Latifa comedy.

I BADLY want to work at our local theatre. I am willing to do anything to see the free movies. Unfortunately it is the most popular place to apply for a job around here so I am going to have to be very very persistent. Wish me luck, this may take several months.

Good luck Werewolf Gurl! Free movies is definitely the perk to end all perks, at least among starter jobs. I saw nearly every major film released for an entire year. Must have seen Lost Boys 50 times. (Now I've REALLY dated myself.)

Movie Geek: Free posters too??!! Alas, the theater I worked at drew the line there. I'd say that's worth the extra janitorial duties, long as ya don't run across any shit weasels.

Crap, I need a job NOW! Well, there are two or three video stores around here, guess I can try around there too.

dude that's awesome! i know a couple people in the theatre 'biz' and they love working there, one's a manager and the other's a ticket office person i think, anyways, yeah, that movie poster take-home option is sweet! good deal, congrats...