1 week Ago
Videos circulating on social media show an unusual guest attending a Tuesday night showing of “A Minecraft Movie” in Provo: a live chicken. The movie’s director, Utah resident Jared Hess, told The Salt Lake Tribune that the antics in the videos are “pretty on point for some farm-boy shenanigans.” The videos shot at the Cinemark Provo 16, in the Provo Towne Centre, are part of a viral trend that started shortly after the movie’s nationwide release on April 4.
The trend centers on Jack Black’s character, Steve, seeing a baby zombie riding a chicken and saying “chicken jockey!” — causing the whole theater to scream it with him, throw popcorn and erupt from their seats. At this particular screening, someone is atop another person’s shoulders and pulls out a live chicken, holding it up triumphantly as the snacks fly. The videos end with the theater’s house lights coming on.
According to the posts, the people who brought the chicken were kicked out. A post shared by Chuck Nadauld (@chucknadauld) An employee who answered the phone at the Cinemark Provo 16 theater confirmed Friday that the video was taken there, and that it was the first showing with that extreme of a reaction. Cinemark’s corporate offices did not immediately respond Friday to a request for comment.
‘It started organically’ Hess, in an interview Friday, said it’s been fun to see the “chicken jockey” trend take flight. “I’ve been watching all the videos and laughing my brains out,” Hess said. “I don’t think any of us would have anticipated this kind of reaction, but I’m just glad that families and friends are making memories of the movie.
” In the weeks before the movie was released, Hess said, his son was home from college for spring break. While still at school, he and his friends had picked up on the “real funny one-liners and deliveries” from Black that were used as promotional material that “really reflected the tone of the comedy.” “It had started at his school, and he was annoying his sisters here at our house,” Hess said.
“I was like, ‘Oh man, that’s pretty funny.’ And then obviously it just kind of took on a life of its own where people were already quoting stuff from the trailers and the teasers that had been put out.” Hess said no one could have anticipated the celebration the movie was met with in theaters when it was released.
“It was just something that happened,” he said. “It started organically. You can never manufacture that kind of stuff.
” Hess shared some of the other videos he’s enjoyed — featuring someone giving an impassioned Minecraft speech before the film rolls, little kids giggling with glee throughout the movie, and a line of men the post says are Marines waiting outside a theater. How far is too far? Sneaking a live bird into a theater is too much, in the opinion of many who have commented on the video of Provo’s rambunctious scene. They voiced concerns for the bird’s wellbeing and that of the theater workers — a group that has taken to social media to show videos of the messes they’ve had to clean up after “A Minecraft Movie” screenings.
The Provo Police Department received a call about the chicken after-the-fact from a third party. Camille Good, an animal control officer, said she hasn’t heard back from the caller after she reached out to confirm what happened. She said they reported that people threw the chicken at Cinemark employees, though that was not confirmed.
Hess said that, “of course,” there’s a line audiences shouldn’t cross. “You don’t want anyone to get hurt,” he said. “You don’t want anyone’s experience to be bad.
” The guests at Utah-based Megaplex Theatres, which has the most theaters in the state, are “overwhelmingly well-behaved,” company spokesperson Jeff Whipple said in a statement Friday. Megaplex, Whipple said, is posting a message before each screening of “A Minecraft Movie” that says “those who disrupt our guests and damage our theater will be escorted out of the theater immediately by police. We will press charges for any damage to our property.
” Hess said the more extreme incidents are isolated, but receive the most attention on the internet. More often, he said he’s heard from families around the world saying the movie was an unforgettable experience. “Fans of the film, people that have grown up with ‘Minecraft’ that are, like, so passionate about it, I’m just thrilled that they’re having fun and enjoying it,” he said.
“There’s more fun things to come that the studio has planned. So it’ll be a lot of fun in the coming weeks.”.
