Poll in a moment or six.
Oooo! I am the first vote! I rule.
Anyway mainly it’s because it’s a story I really wanted to see on the bigscreen (coughLOTRcough). The other things are all factors but to a much lesser extent. Sometimes the are contributing factors the other way - I won’t watch anything with Dakota Fanning or Ben Affleck, for example.
I voted director, incidentally, though screenwriter was a close second. And I generally decline to watch movies based on books or short stories I love; they always annoy me.
It’s a Rhymer thread, Mika. You rule by definition. 
You only hate Fanning because you’re a big meanie. As for Affleck, I’ve long suspected that I am the only person outside of Japan and Eastern Europe who was generally pleased with Daredevil.
I saw the first LotR before reading the books, so I can’t count that. But the things I like in books don’t work on film, so movies based on books I adore are contraindicated for Rhymers.
Oops. I should have voted for “two are tied” because I would see on a movie based upon the lead actor or actress. Complicated poll!
For me, it would be the buzz. If people I know and/or respect are saying that this is one of the best films they’ve seen, I’m inclined to see it ASAP. Less than that, and I’m more apt to scope it on my laptop when it comes out on Netflix.
Extra points if it’s showing at the local art theater instead of the multiplex.
More than anything else, is if it’s playing in a VIP theatre. Meaning nobody under 19 is allowed in, and you pay more for the tickets. Also, the seats are wider and extra comfy. Keeps out 99% of the idiots who are just there to text or talk.
It seems to me that that is more about what theatre you will patronize than what movie you’ll see, though. I mean, if it were a movie with a lead actor and actress you despised, directed by someone whose previous work you found repellent, based on the worst novel you’d ever been forced to read, would the VIP theatre make a smidgeon of difference?
Vita, I thought about combining lead actor & actress, but it occurs to me that a lot of straight guys will go see a movie based on the hotness of a female lead but couldn’t give a good goddamn about the actress. (I don’t know any straight women who admit to the reverse, but it’s possible.)
I chose “You left out mine. Also, you’re a sexist pig for using the term ‘actress’” – but I don’t agree with the second part, just the “you left out mine” part.
Anyway, I’m all about the trailer/advertising. Which I guess means I’m all about the story, as long as the trailer/advertising makes me think it will be a well-told story. Or at least entertaining.
I will sometimes be interested in something just because of the lead actor (for example, I’ll see any Jason Statham movie before I even know the title), but mostly it’s the “that looks good” factor.
I didn’t see Daredevil, but I was pleasantly surprised by The Town.
The story, followed by the trailer and the buzz.
The presence of certain actors will actually deter me from seeing a movie that otherwise might be excellent. Seth Rogan and Meryll Streep being the prime examples. I also will not bother with certain directors, as I feel they are total hacks. There are more factors that will keep me from seeing a movie than there are to compel me to.
I only go to see about 3-6 movies per year in the theatre, too, so I resent deeply whenever any movie doesn’t live up to my expectations. (Avatar, I am totally looking at you). After story, I tend to go see movies that would look best on the big screen.
I try to only go to the theater if it’s a well-reviewed movie, because I don’t want to waste the money if it might be bad. If I’m not sure or if it’s borderline, I’ll see the movie with the great F/X or cinematography or art direction in the theater, and save the visually conventional movies for DVD. For example, “Inception” was a theater movie but “The Kids Are All Right” was a DVD movie for me. And I ended up not loving Kids anyway.
The only reason I specifically choose a movie to be seen in the theatre is for effects that need that size screen.
I do see other movies in the theatre but that’s for social outings. In general I prefer to see movies in my own home.
Agreed - if I am going to the theater, it is likely to see something best shown on IMAX and/or in 3D.
All things being equal, I am more likely to be drawn by the director than anything else (I’m automatically there for anything Tarantino or Coen brothers, for instance), and adaptaions of books I like will at least get me to read the reviews, but I really make my decisions based on reviews more than anything else. casting won’t generally attract me to something, but it can turn me off of something.
I chose director.
A good director IMO does some of the selection for you based on the story and the characters.
A good director can bring the best out of great and for that matter very average actors, and gives you the “feel” of the movie by their use of shots and editing.
A great actor with a poor script can’t really improve the script or the story.
Not that there are that many good, let alone great actors in the movies in recent times.
There has to be a large cash prize given to one of the people seated in the theater by random drawing, plus the movie has to be something I could watch without feeling I need to fast forward through boring parts. The movie has to have free admittance too. I’m serious in this post.
I chose the last option, not so much because of Skald’s sexist piggishness, but because none of the preceding options will necessarily get me into a dark room full of loud, obnoxious, stinky, moronic popcorn munchers. Normally, what gets me to a theater, aside from weekend boredom or the nagging of a wife, is the expectation that the theater viewing experience will be different and somehow better than the home viewing experience. For me this usually means some kind of special effects or spectacular imagery whose grandeur just won’t come across on the television I have in my house. I’m glad, for example, that I saw the *Lord of the Rings *and certain of the *Star Wars *movies up on a big screen, the morons I shared space with in the theater notwithstanding. Also, on very rare occasion, I’ll just get so excited about a film that I can’t wait for the DVD. What makes me so excited, on the rare occasions I get that excited, varies though.
Positive reviews/word of mouth.
Last option, because free beer and hot wings will do more to get me to buy a ticket than anything that’s put up on the screen.
Count me as totally astounded by that one. Or are you just a lot younger than I had thought?