When i go to the movies, i typically try to go in as late as possible, as to avoid the annoying “captive advertising” crap they spew at us, i usually have my iPod and/or cell phone with me…
when the adverts are on screen, i’m typically drowning out the audio (if there is any) with the iPod, and i play Solitaire or Brick on it, or i play a few rounds of Tetris on the cell*, either way i’m not paying attention to the adverts at all, when a movie trailer catches my attention, i put down the cell/iPod and watch the trailer…
what i’d like to think in the back of my mind is that i’m subtly sending signals to other movie patrons about what i think of the adverts/trailers, i’d like to think that my actions are sending a “message” to the advertisers that “your product/movie is not worth my time, go away” i KNOW this isn’t the case, but it’s my kind of silent protest, movie theatres should NOT have commercials, trailers, yes, fine, that’s allowed, but other adverts should not be permitted, and by ignoring them, i’m sabotaging the advertisers efforts…
anyone else do this?
*the cell phone ringer is set to “Manner Mode” (silent, vibrate only) while i’m playing games as to not disturb the other movie patrons, and once the film starts, the cell is turned off and pocketed
Has it ever occurred to you that some people enjoy watching the trailers and that it’s really annoying when the person in front of them is pissing about with a phone as the light from it keeps catching their eye and distracting them?
i try to shield the phone/iPod display with my body so there’s less light bothering other viewers, i also tend to take in late shows that are less crowded, and try to keep as much distance between me and other patrons, i’m antisocial that way…
strangely, the iPod has a much brighter and more annoying display than the phone (Tetris has a rather dark background), and the phone display gets dimmer when viewed off-axis so i’ve been using it less, only in a relatively uncrowded theatre, and generally during the commercials, not the movie trailers…
…unless it’s something truly worthless (at least in my opinion) like that “traveling jeans” movie
…hey, at least i’m not as bad as the group of kids playing their PSP’s at full volume during the commercials/trailers, and the kids behind me that kept getting cellphone calls during ROTS last night, after the second call, i turned around, glared at them with a cold stare and asked (rather darkly and sarcastically) “would you mind turning the phone off, other people are trying to watch the movie”
coincedentally, this happened as Anikan was starting to turn to the Dark Side
I realised I neglected to answer the actual OP…
I normally try and time it so I don’t see any advertisements at all.
In Britain we usually get advertisements for about 10 minutes then the trailers after that.
If I mistime it then I’ll usually just talk to my friends, usually it involves guessing what trailers will be on. At the cinema I go to, pretty much everyone talks during the adverts then settles down to watch the trailers in relative silence.
There are a group of people- I’m almost positive I read of them months ago in Ent. Weekly- who go to the movies in groups, pick their seats, and as the commercials come on, leave the theater, having left small signs of some sort on their chairs to protest these commercials. 
I wouldn’t go that far, but I do plan on staking out a seat and leaving from now on.