Paul Ross talks about cinema etiquette (From Bucks Free Press)

Paul Ross talks about cinema etiquette

1:29pm Friday 23rd November 2012 in Freetime By Rebecca Cain

Paul Ross

ALMOST everyone at some point has been annoyed by a fellow cinema goer- whether it is eating their food too loudly, answering their phone or putting their feet on the seat. Cadmore End resident Paul Ross is championing the Empire Cinema's etiquette guide. The film critic who loves going to the cinema said it is about time people consider others while watching a film and remembers the time he saw one cinema goer mend a stool while sat watching a movie.

Paul Ross, who lives in Cadmore End, sees about eight films a week. Although not all at the cinema he has grown used to the annoyances of fellow cinema goers.

He loves the cinema and does film reviews for This Morning on ITV1.

Paul said: "There is nothing quite like that shared experience. You can watch something on the TV and no matter how good there is always the temptation to put in on pause and go and make a cup of tea."

But he said in the cinema it is completely different as you get totally absorbed in the film, unless of course there are distractions from other people. He said he thinks people forget there are other people in the screening, because it is dark.

He regularly goes to Empire in Cressex and said he still can't believe people leave their phones on.

He said: "I can remember the first time I heard it about 10 to 15 years ago. I though it was the fire alarm going off and then someone answered."

Paul said he is always amazed what people take to the cinema to eat, which they then chomp and slurp.

He said: "I was in the pictures about two years ago and I smelt something. A guy two rows in front of us was eating a container of Chow Mein with his fingers. "That smell isn't going to go away for the rest of the film.

"Years ago I was at the cinema and I got this weird smell and I thought what is that? It was a sort of glue. The guy at the end of the row had taken out two or three legs of wood and was repairing a stool.

"He squirted the glue on the legs, when he was convinced he was done he sat on it to press the wood into the glue."

He added: "My other no no and it is mainly women. Why do women take their shoes off in the cinema?"

He said even the most fragrant of ladies can have smelly feet. The etiquette guide has been released by Empire and says people should keep talking to a minimum, enjoy treats quietly, no PDA's, no mobile phones, to keep feet off chairs, don't disturb cinema goers by arriving late, don't remove shoes, no littering, no plot spoilers and sit in allocated seating.

But Paul added: "There are two noises everyone puts up with. Screaming in a horror film and laughing at a comedy.

"If you are at home you don't laugh in that uproarious way you do in the pictures."

And he said himself he is prepared to take a "ssssh" from other cinema goers as sometimes it is needed.

The star now lives in Cadmore End after moving from Bisham.

He presents The Breakfast Show with Gaby Roslin on BBC London 94.9FM so travels to London each day.

He said they loved their previous house but there wasn't any off road parking and they wanted a bigger garden.

Then they found a place in Cadmore End, which he said had a big garden and seemed perfect for them.

Paul said: "We effectively swapped houses. We came to look around this house and the owners were in the garden. "We said to the woman in the garden that we had ours on the market for six months and I said do you fancy a 14th century cottage in Bisham?

"They came over and looked at it. Consequently we found out the lady we bought if from- her husband had looked at out house before we moved in."

He said he likes living in the area as it is handy for London and is up the road from Empire cinema and Eden. Some of his favourite films are The Wild Bunch, Singing in the Rain, Godfather One and Two, Cabaret and The Exorcist.

And as Christmas nears what are his favourite festive films? It's A Wonderful Life, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Day They Gave Babies Away.

Paul Ross is championing the Empire Cinemas Etiquette Guide - a 10 point guide to considerate cinema conduct. For more information, visit www.empirecinemas.co.uk

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