Today's Column: just a taste of what cinema employees have to suffer through while everybody else is having fun

 2013's final column on MovieScene is now a fact:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/152676/column_kerst_de_bioscoop_en_menselijk_leed

Words alone cannot adequately express the chaos the Holidays cause in movie theaters, but I decided to give it a try anyway. The picture you see in this column, which is not one I shot myself (no cosy blue chairs in my theater!), reveals only a tame glimpse of the mess we have to clean up in over fourty theater rooms each day, but the thought behind it should be clear: people are having a ball, and they care not what happens to their stuff when the lights go on again. Of course we know what we get ourselves into and this is our job so we ought not complain about it too much, but the levels of utter disregard in terms of cleaning up one's own garbage, the sheer disinterest in and disrepect for the theater employees and the total decadence the Christmas vacation inspires in popcorn sales remain ever staggering. Even though my company apparently has reached record levels of attendance (again!) last Friday, this year is no 2009-2010, when we had Avatar to survive. One thing is for sure: as popular as The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug may be, it won't keep audiences coming for another three months on end like that movie did back then. Good thing too, since the last thing the global environment needs is another 'Afvaltar'...

Only had to clean up puke twice this week. That's good news, believe it or not. Now for the second week. If you think that one's easier, think again.
Oh well, wouldn't want to end the year on a note of despair, so here's a funny picture: