SERIOUSLY CORNY

There are so many issues to concern oneself with on the world stage. I realize that the issue I've chosen to address might seem slightly less important than others.....maybe all others....but I can't believe what I read this morning.

THE COST OF POPCORN AT THE MOVIE THEATERS WILL BE RISING.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

This has always been an issue with me....even when popcorn was reasonably priced....which I can't remember when that was but I know it wasn't that long ago.

The fact that a small popcorn at the local Santa Monica theaters ranges from $4.75 to $5.25 simply blows my mind. One of the theaters even has the gall to charge sales tax.

I regard myself as a fairly observant person and I've noticed over the years that the percentage of people buying popcorn probably ranges in the 20 percent bracket.

If popcorn were reasonably priced.....example...large popcorn $3.00....I think 40 to 50 percent of the people would indulge.

Please note that one must compare what it cost to buy popcorn at the store. Anybody who needs popcorn will most likely wait until they get home....but then again there is that magic question.

WHO NEEDS POPCORN?

It's generally hard to digest and when one adds salt and fake butter then one is risking other eventual problems.

THE COST OF CORN SEEMS TO BE THE ISSUE HERE.

I understand that the demand for seed corn, to be used for ethanol, has risen dramatically in the last few years and I understand that the price of seed corn has doubled in the last two years, so that's why farmers are growing seed corn and not popcorn.

The actual acreage( according to LA TIMES) is 240,000 acreages for popcorn and 77 million for seed corn. I get that concept......

...but that doesn't explain why a small POPCORN at the AMC in Santa Monica has been $4.75 for the last few years....and why tax is charged. Other theaters build it in to the price.

Supposedly Americans consume 4 Billion gallons of Popcorn every year....which converts to 13 gallons per person. 13 gallons per person, which means that some people must be consuming hundreds of gallons to offset the people who don't consume any.

Popcorn, Oil and Gold are reaching record highs....and when oil gets to $200 a barrel and Gold reaches $2000 an ounce....will a small Popcorn at the local theater be......$20?

It's conceivable that popcorn will actually cost more than the movie ticket within a few years.

POP THAT CONCEPT FOR A MINUTE.

And since it came up in the story.....does anybody seem to care about the price of oil or the price of gasoline?

I remember how everybody went ballistic during the Carter Administration when it hit $1.00 a gallon.....people were flipping out. Nobody seems to care....so that means the pissed off point for gasoline prices must be in the $5 to $6 range.

I seem to be the only one who ever complains about the cost of Popcorn because most people just ignore the concession stand when they go to the movies. I honestly think that 70 percent of the people don't buy anything at the concession stand and therefore the prices have to keep rising.

What ever happened to VOLUME pricing. The more you sell the less you have to charge.

DOES THAT CONCEPT ONLY APPLY TO WAL-MART AND COSTCO?

WHY CAN'T THE THEATER OWNERS OF AMERICA ADOPT THAT CONCEPT FOR ONE MONTH AND ACTUALLY SEE WHAT HAPPENS?

IMAGINE HOW NOISY THEATERS WOULD BE IF A LARGE POPCORN WAS $3.00....A CANDY BAR WAS $1.00 AND NACHOS WERE $1.50?

OH MY GOD.....THE PLACE WOULD BE A FEEDING FRENZY AND THERE WOULD BE FOOD FIGHTS ON A REGULAR BASIS.

Let's see......should I buy some gold or corn seed?

Hummmmmm.......???????

One side-bar to this issue is.......THEY BETTER START IMPROVING THE OVERALL QUALITY OF MOVIES OR NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER.

Theaters will be available for AA meetings and self-help seminars....if studios keep putting millions into movies like SEMI-PRO.

Talk about CORN....

Michael Timothy McAlevey