Before I remind you all once again, and probably for the last time, that July 4th is the last day to catch Something to Stand For in a theater, I want to close the loop on a problem that several of you have brought to my attention, regarding a handful of theaters that canceled the movie without first notifying those who had already purchased a ticket.
Here’s what happened. In late May, shortly after I encouraged people to buy a ticket in advance, several theaters pulled out. I don’t know how many, and I don’t know why. Maybe they weren’t pleased with the early sales figures? Or maybe other motion pictures took priority? I honestly don’t know. All I know for sure, is that when this happens, the theaters are supposed to contact the intermediary who sells the tickets to the consumer – in this case, Fandango. Fandango is then supposed to alert the consumer and facilitate the refund. Well, somebody dropped the ball, and as a result, I’ve been hearing stories from people who drove across town with their families a few weeks after buying a ticket, to see a movie that wasn’t playing. That’s really unfortunate, and I want to apologize to everyone who was inconvenienced. Equally unfortunate, is the fact that some of those same people have had trouble getting a refund, while others said they got a refund for their tickets but could not get a refund for the “convenience fee” charged by Fandango to facilitate the original transaction.
I’m still not sure why this happened, but it’s completely unacceptable, and I’ve been in touch with all the relevant parties. Today, I learned that the distributor – Fathom Events – has provided Fandango with a list of theaters who canceled showings. According to Fathom, Fandango is now in the process of reaching out directly to customers who were impacted. If you are such a customer, expect to be contacted shortly. If you’d rather not wait, I found this on Fandango’s site, which might allow for a more proactive approach. https://support.fandango.com/fandangosupport/s/ Either way, if you’re not contacted by the end of this week, please let me know, and I’ll do whatever I need to do to get it resolved.
On a more positive note, the people who have seen Something to Stand For, absolutely positively love it. The film has been reviewed nearly 500 times on Rotten Tomatoes, and still has a 98% audience rating. Maybe it’s because the current headlines have a lot of people looking with increasing desperation for something to stand for, or maybe a shamelessly patriotic film on the occasion of country’s independence is exactly what we need to see. I don’t know, but it’s been a privilege to tell the stories of men and women I genuinely admire. I’m proud of the film and think you and your family will love it.
Thanks, and Happy Independence Day
PS. Here’s an accurate listing of all the theaters airing the film tomorrow. https://bit.ly/3xi9fFq, Just enter your zip code to see if there’s one near you.
PPS. For what it’s worth, Freddy gave it two paws up…