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Alan Stock, CEO of Cinemark Theaters, donated $9,999 to anti-gay Prop. 8. According to AmericaBlog, it's "time to avoid this cinema like the plague." But what say you?
Cinemark operates 2700 screens in 13 countries in North and South America. In San Francisco they own CinéArts at the Empire (in West Portal) and Century 9 San Francisco Centre (at the Westfield Mall). Go here for a complete list of Bay Area theaters.
Oh, and Defamer has more on how it might affect the Sundance Film Festival if the Utah-penalizing boycott is actualized.
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At this point, I'm just looking for a list of what places I *can* patronize. If Trader Joes gave money to 8, please don't tell me. OK, no, please do.
NEVER again will I go to Century! Landmark Cinemas all the way@!
easily done. great target for a boycott.
I wonder if the $9999 amount was some misguided attempt to make this donation without identification. It's common (but possibly false) knowledge that $10,000 and up bank transactions are reported to the IRS.
You also forgot to report that Century Theatres on the BART Line in Daly City is also run by Cinemark
guess im not watching 007 this weekend.
Not a problem. Landmark rules anyway.
Geez.. maybe there should be attempts at educating those who were misguided enough to support 8. This blacklist is coming across as a bit McCarthyist. If gay-marriage rights are a righteous cause, it shouldn't require tactics of alienation and blacklisting.
People learn fast when they lose money.
How about something more results oriented than a straight up boycott - e.g. pressure Cinemark to fire their CEO, with a campaign on thepoint.com that says a boycott will begin only once, say, 100,000 people join, unless they fire the CEO?
Seems rather shortsighted to boycott and entire chain and risk the jobs of thousands of good (probably Prop 8 opponent) employees just because of the personal acts one douche officer of the company. Keep in mind, this is his money he donated, not Cinemark's. Benmullin33 hit it head on -- this is McCarthyism at its finest.
"...this is McCarthyism at its finest" is, oddly enough, hyperbole at its finest.
wait, so I can watch 007 this weekend?
russming: i know people who work at Cinemark. they pay their employees SHIT. they'd be well advised to get a jojb somewhere else. probably get paid more flipping burgers.
Hearts and minds, hearts and minds...
I always go to The Metreon cause it's right by my house. Fuck AMC.
Thank GOD The Duchess is playing at the AMC in the Metreon. Though I do really like the Century in the Westfield I will think twice about going there.
benmullin333, were Gandhi or MLK Marxists at their finest?!
I love the people who SAY BOYCOTT... sure will hurt the 1000 of normal / gay/ straight / young / old employees they have ....
$#IT!! I'm going to Balboa theater.
you all can always watch tv, which is much more exciting.
How would it hurt them, spysea? According to you, they'll be just okay on unemployment with the ten folks you fired for wearing Obama pins.
" '...this is McCarthyism at its finest' is, oddly enough, hyperbole at its finest" is, not so oddly, commenting at its finest.
He's the CEO, not some peon. It is absolutely right to boycott his theaters.
As for Prop 007, blond-Bond lovers of any gender or persuasion can enjoy Quantum of Solace at the AMC Van Ness this weekend. F-Cinemark.
So when or how does this boycott end?
whomever has outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed the rest.
@ Joel
Good question. If the State Supreme Court votes to protect marriage equality this week, I think many would be willing to call off the dogs. If not, we're looking at a projected fight that includes boycotts.
I'm not 100% on boycotts like this, but Century should be petty easy to avoid.
...now if Netflix gave to 8 I'd be fucked!
I've been boycotting them for years. Mainly because it costs $20 a head to take my family to a movie. Cuts deep into my alcohol budget.
So now, uh, REALLY fuck them!
Luckily, we have AMC and Landmark in downtown SF.
Like a few other commenters, I'm a little uneasy about boycotts. However! I noticed that CineArts at Empire -- one of Cinemark's boutique theaters over on West Portal -- lists "Milk" in the Coming Soon category (http://www.cinemark.com/empire.asp).
So...while I would willingly defend the CEO's right to donate to whatever dumbass causes he chooses, I *am* a little uncomfortable seeing a movie about a gay-rights pioneer at a theater owned by a gay-rights opponent. So maybe we shouldn't be boycotting Cinemark-in-general; maybe we should just protest the fact that the CEO is (a.) taking advantage of the gay community's interest in this movie while (b.) robbing that community of its rights.
boycotts don't work for things like this. If they do, I'd like to see some verifiable proof that they do, but until then they're the same trite as gas strikes and "don't buy shit on thursday!!!!" days. They make some noise, but ultimately the people they hurt aren't the ones that matter.
You boycott Cinemark and what happens? Normal people who may or may not be gay, may or may not support the prop and all have just as good a chance (if not better) to lose their jobs. Meanwhile, the CEO will still be employed or at worst have a golden parachute.
Who wins? Nobody!
Instead of pushing all the negative energy out there on this thing, why not find better ways to make your case a positive one? Boycotts are hateful, just like the people who voted for prop 8, so it's not really winning anything to just jump on the other side of hate and hurt people.
This isn't something that a weekend's worth of angry shit is going to solve. People have severe misconceptions, and stirring up people to hate businesses that really have nothing to do with anything at all (does the guy taking tickets hate prop 8? you don't know!) is totally unproductive. Find a better way to make people like your idea, rather than just being the thing they hate the least. Nobody likes choosing between two things they hate.
I'll skip the Century Theaters at Westfield Mall. They suck anyway, and this information just makes it that much easier to avoid them.
joshb: Netflix are already on my shitlist for their popunder ads.
rasselasboy: I think there's an idea there. Who is the distributor for Milk? That is a much better target for protest and communication than lower Dolores Park by far.
rasselasboy: It's time to get uneasy.
If underwriters to contentious propositions get the sense that there are negative implications to their actions, then maybe we'll have fewer underwriters to contentious propositions. Hell, if we're lucky, we'll have fewer propositions altogether.
And if Milk is coming to the Westfield Mall, well, I suspect we will have a high-profile showdown.
Hmmm, we bought tickets last Sunday for a 7:45 showing tomorrow night at the Westfield so I'm going regardless.
But, I won't buy anything at the concession stand.
Oh, wait. I already don't buy anything from concession stands.
And if Milk is coming to the Westfield Mall, well, I suspect we will have a high-profile showdown.
And what will be learned? Any minds about the source of the issue to be genuinely changed, or just bullying "consequences"?
Oh, if they're showing Milk at Westfield, you can count me in for the protest.
Just checked the site for Westfield -- they're not selling advance tickets for Milk, though they're selling 'em for Australia (opening Nov 27), which may or may not mean anything.
As for the film's distributor -- I believe it's distributed by Focus Features.
Cinemark has a feedback page where you can let them know what you think.
Masterdave, not only are you disconnected from the gay blogosphere, but you are also sadly mistaken that "these boycotts" don't work.
I'm not going to ask if you are gay, but how fucking dare you compare the loss of a civil right for gay people with an internet drive to give up gas one day as a protest?
You obviously don't see this as very important. We must try every avenue at our disposal, including marches, protests and yes, boycotts.
There is always collateral damage in any civil rights uprising, but this is too important. I have no desire to even get married, but the fact that just recently I had that right and then no longer do, is cause for action.
This is non-negotiable for most gay people, and this protest on Saturday is going to be huge all around the country.
How on Earth is a boycott hateful? All you're doing is saying that you have a choice and if you disagree with the way a company does business or what political causes they or their officers support you will take your money elsewhere.
It's like I'm not allowed to have a preference for which establishments I choose to patronize. Is it hateful and unfairly hurting the AMC employees if I choose to go to the Cinemark 20 in Daly City because I live near there and can easily walk there?
Every purchasing decision I make will likely have an effect on the low-level employees of a company that have nothing to do with my reasons for choosing otherwise. It is not a valid reason to base these decisions on.
Masterdave, I couldn't have said it better myself. Good job.
Actually, SFMichael and Belgand said it better. The idea that we shouldn't boycott a company because it might hurt their finances is so ludicrous I'm amazed it was advanced as an argument.
There’s a great video I saw on San Francisco IAM on Proposition 8. It shows both sides of the issue and what it means for same sex couples in California. It’s a must see for those concerned about the issue.
I’d recommend checking it out: http://www.sanfranciscoiam.com/videos/d80e34400efa
They also got a lot of other interesting video journalism video.