May an Orc cut out thy offending tongue, dude

To some people, spending the day (and much of the night) in a movie theater would be torture. To those of us who were at Tuesday’s all-day (and much of the night) “Lord of the Rings” marathon at River Park Square Cinemas, the experience was well worth the $25 ticket price.

The folks at AMC gave us breaks on concession prices, handed out free pizza between the screening of “The Two Towers” and “The Return of the King” and even awarded every member of the audience a souvenir frame of actual film pieces.

But you know what was best? Sitting in a packed movie house of nearly 400 people who knew how to act in a theater. When they were supposed to laugh, they did. When they were supposed to cheer with excitement , they did. Most of all, when they were supposed to shut up and watch the movie, they did that, too. In the one instance that a cell phone went off, I thought there might be a riot. But the moment passed.

Too bad regular audiences aren’t as savvy. Too many people think that movie theaters are just extensions of their living rooms. Here’s a news flash, sports fans. They aren’t.