Home > Crime > Man Angry Over Open Captions Pulls Fire Alarm During “Avengers” Movie

Man Angry Over Open Captions Pulls Fire Alarm During “Avengers” Movie

May 18, 2012 at 11:11 am by Morbid

ABINGDON, Md. – A man in Maryland is facing prison time after his dumbass pulled a crowded theater’s fire alarm during a showing of THE AVENGERS.

David Walters was at the theater Monday night to watch the latest super-hero flick (it’s damn good, btw) when he got upset over the theater’s decision to accommodate the hearing impaired with open captions.

Open captions are sort of like subtitles, but the text on the screen includes descriptors of dialogue, song lyrics, and important sound effects during the film. I think it’s pretty cool of the studio to provide it and awesome of the Regal theater to show it.

Walters didn’t think so, however, and felt the text was ruining the movie. He decided that if he couldn’t enjoy the movie like the hearing impaired in the audience, then no one was. So with tears streaming down his face, and blood flowing from his weeping vagina, Walters used his balled-up fists to pull the fire alarm in protest.

Because of his actions, Walters is looking at up to five years in prison. I’d rather him be ordered to push a cum-mop at the local adult video store for a few weeks or, at the very least, volunteer time at a deaf senior living facility.

Tags: Avengers, Crime, David Walters, deaf, fire alarm, Maryland, movie, open caption, theater

89 Comments

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Wolf_of_Mars

What a totally self-absorbed ass-wipe.
Granted, the theater should have notified patrons of the open captioning (it IS annoying as Hell.) But, this dimwit should have just requested his money back, not ruined it for everyone else. He deserves whatever time the judge gives him, and the civil judgements for ruined property that are SURE to come.
http://truecrimereport.com iLLusionS

Yeah take it out on everyone else, instead of just leaving and requesting a refund….or a chance to come back without the captions..Some people wake up and swear the world is just going to revolve around them or else.
Snickering_Hydra

An angry march to the ticket counter and demanding a refund is what I would have expected too. Pulling the fire alarm is just waaay out of line in this situation.
abbys_mom

He deserves what he gets for this…uncalled for and idiotic. I do think, however, the theater should’ve made clear that it would have the captions, and most theaters have many movies showing…so I don’t understand why they didn’t have one showing with hearing impaired captions and one without? After paying 11 bucks for a movie, I’d be pretty upset to have to read captions. Regardless, I hope he gets a long time in jail for this…a stampede could’ve hurt or killed people, when he could’ve simply complained and possibly received a replacement ticket for a time they weren’t showing the hearing impaired captions.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

We are not sure the theater didn’t notify patrons of the open captions and that Walters just didn’t see it. But yeah, either way, get your money back and leave.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

We don’t know that they didn’t. I checked the theater’s current showings and they have two theaters showing the movie. Regular and 3D. No clue about Monday night and if they advertised open captions or not.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

We don’t know that the theater didn’t advertise or have alternate showings without open captions. I checked the theater’s current showings and they have two theaters showing the movie. Regular and 3D. No clue about Monday night and if they advertised open captions or not.
OutOfBubbleGum

“pull the fire alarm in protest”

Duh! How else could tell if these people really are deaf or not?
http://profiles.google.com/coldlogic HAL 9000

The thinking part of his brain was is slower than the talking/reading part, so it was kind of like spoilers in real-time with those captions. I see the angst here. He would’ve gotten pissed sooner, but like all things it takes him a while figuring it out.
DangerousKindOfSnark

It was a good movie, first movie that’s gotten me to a theater in a year. We had the same 3D and regular showings choice too. I went with normal. Which one did you catch? I don’t know anyone who went to the 3D version and I’m wondering if it was any good or if the 3D was just gimmicky shit thrown in as an after thought.
EveryVillainIsLemons

Being deaf or hearing impaired is also annoying as hell. I have several family members who are deaf or hearing impaired, and it’s frustrating as fuck for everyone. While I agree that the theater ought to have posted a notice that the showing of Avengers was using open captioning, I think that it’s awesome that the theater thought enough about their deaf and hearing impaired customers to have such a showing in the first place.
EveryVillainIsLemons

I want to put this asshole’s head through a wall. He should have gone to the desk and asked for his money back instead of throwing a temper tantrum worthy of a toddler and ruining everyone’s showing of the movie.

Seriously, if he thinks that looking at open captions is such a hardship, he ought to try being deaf or hearing impaired.
rensuchan

I watched regular but I’ve heard from people that saw it in 3D that it was really well done in 3D as well. Personally the 3D movies give me a headache so I avoid them.
Coyote

I saw the 3D version, but had never seen a 3D movie before,
so I really couldn’t compare it to anything else, but this old redneck found it
pretty cool.
JohnQknowitall

I don’t mind the subtitles so much as the throaty noises of the hearing impaired as they talk (sign) during the movie.

BTW this is close enought to Baltimore to make perfect sense.
sugarpie

Douchebag poster child…
http://twitter.com/tinalib13 Tina Wech

A little tolerance goes a long way. I like the idea of him pushing the cum-mop at the adult vid store Morbid, but I think he should he should also have to do the booths with a toothbrush. What a dumbass.
Jycorro

I would hazard to guess the theater did post a sign. The reson I say this is because someone dumb enough to pull a fire alarm in a crowded theater more than likely dumb enough to miss the sign.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_O3GASQPR24R35PUNHTSJYABKYQ msfl

lets put a pair of noise protection headphones (like the things you wear while shooting at the range) then let him in to see the freaking movie! It really sucks missing things – especially when you are paying more then $10.00 to see a movie at the theatre. Pulling ht fire alarm is just childish and dangerous!
Wildheart

Bravo to Regal Theaters and fuck this douche! I loved the movie too….have seen it twice.
Wildheart

I saw the 3D version and thought it was pretty good, but I seriously doubt not seeing it in 3D would have detracted from it at all.
Jodie Martin

What a fucking asshole!
Jodie Martin

What a fucking asshole.
http://twitter.com/Iheartross Nonya Business

When my niece was a baby she started fussing and woke up during Saving Private Ryan, some dude totally flipped on my sister. Lotsa weirdos out there. I don’t give a shit if you lived through that shit, you don’t need to give an infant PTSD too………….
EveryVillainIsLemons

And it didn’t just ruin the movie for the people who were watching that movie–when a fire alarm is pulled, the whole building has to be evacuated.
Chinchillazilla

Things you can’t do at a crowded theater:
1a. Yell FIRE
1b. Pull fire alarm
Wolf_of_Mars

I think it was a good thing of the theater to do, too.
pikeman

Unless the theater is full of deaf people.
PhantasmaGora

Was he trying to be all Professor Chaos. Friggin douche! And yes…Avengers is one of the best movies Ive ever seen. The way Hulk handled Loki was brilliantly done lol
PhantasmaGora

It was great in Imax 3D but not as good as Avatar. That movie set the bar pretty high. Though the trailer for Prometheus in 3D looks like it may get er done!
PhantasmaGora

I see what you did there.
Zazen

I see this guy as a beetle-browed, mouth-breathing moron who prolly has to move his lips when he reads. The captions were going too fast for him and his lips were sore from moving so much.
JGo555

I need motherfucking subtitles if there is a person speaking with anything other than an American or Canadian accent when speaking ENglish. Hell, if they’re speaking Spanish from Spain or Argentina I need fucking captions.

Fuck this cumquat jizzhead.
LuvsHorror

Weeping vagina? So he is an asshole and that means he has a vagina? What an insult to women!
LuvsHorror

You don’t need to take a baby to a movie either.
LuvsHorror

You can say that again!
LuvsHorror

What if you are deaf and can’t read?They do have headphones that work really well if you only have partial hearing.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

No, my use of “weeping vagina” is reserved for a person who gets emotional or overreacts over something trivial. Like this man and the opened captions, and on a smaller scale, you with this comment.
LuvsHorror

Are you seriously calling me a weeping vagina? And “person who gets emotional or overreacts” is another insult toward women. This guy was a PRICK. He has a prick. And I think you may be a prick, too.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

Like I said.

Oh, and let me clear up any of your confusion… I am definitely a prick.
LuvsHorror

There was actually no confusion. Like you said.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

Awesome. I suggest in the future, don’t pussyfoot around by predating an insult with “I think you may be”. Just go for the gold and keep reaching for the Midol.
Snickering_Hydra

. . .
Snickering_Hydra

Obvious.
LuvsHorror

Sure, and you continue to enjoy douching your ass.
Athena

Only idiots and assholes take babies to a theater.
LuvsHorror

Agreed.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

Yeah, no call for it. Had a couple bring a baby to THE AVENGERS. Luckily the movie was so loud that it drowned him out. It also scared the shit out of him and the dad had to take the kid out.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

I prefer Pete’s nightly fistings, but whatever, I’ll give your suggestion a shot. But since we are giving each other advice, may I suggest something for you?
LuvsHorror

Does it have to do with weeping assholes? Because I seriously doubt you are capable of any type of constructive advice. I was just kidding with my first comment, but your reaction and insult has caused me to now believe men do have vaginas, and that you have pms. Would you like some midol?
Snickering_Hydra

I’m afraid it’s no use trying to reason with her / it.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

Meh. I was bored.
onlyme356

So he couldn’t just ask for a refund on his ticket? What a baby! Funny thing is that in the end, the only person who would still be able to enjoy the movie was the deaf person who couldn’t hear the fire alarm.
onlyme356

Then you better learn.
LuvsHorror

Well, of course, that would be an idea. But will they?
LuvsHorror

Captions are alright, but i find they distract me from the movie because even though I don’t need them, I see them and read them and miss some of the action. Hearing impaired people can use the head phone the theatre offers, they work really well. Of course, regardless, this guy was just being a selfish weeping prick.
LuvsHorror

You were trying to reason with me? I am sorry, I guess I did not get that. Thank you, snickering hyena.
kimbev69

Esp since there were hearing impaired people there
lizard_spock

If you look the word ‘douche’ up in the dictionary, there’s a picture of this guy. Way to go to ruin it for the rest of the crowd.

This was a great thing the theatre did. We have been using subtitles on movies and tv shows on DVDs for years. My kids have been able to follow what was happening on the screen while reading as long as they have been able to read. This also
means they can watch foreign films as well. So had the theatre done this while we were watching a movie, my family would be quite grateful (as no matter how good your hearing may be, one always misses something – there’s nothing more annoying than, ‘what did he say?’)

I remember when my son, who was 9 at the time, had his friend over for the night. We had just gotten ‘Wasabi’ on dvd so when asked about what movie they wanted to see, my son quickly voted for that one. He popped the movie into the player, and when it started, his friend said, ‘dude, you didn’t tell me this was in French. I hate reading words on the screen.’ (This seems to be why most people don’t like foreign films). He politely asked if it could be dubbed in English.

My 9 year old son, with a completely straight face replied, ‘but dude, it loses something if you don’t watch it in it’s original French translation.’ LOL!
http://twitter.com/Iheartross Nonya Business

Only idiots and assholes justify what this guy did.
http://twitter.com/Iheartross Nonya Business

She was at the age where they sleep a lot. Sorry, most ppl aren’t lucky enough to have babies like that and are obviously jealous! =)
http://twitter.com/Iheartross Nonya Business

It’s not like my sister wasn’t escorting her out. ALL DENSE PPL HERE APPARENTLY.
LuvsHorror

You aren’t making any sense.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

No, just considerate ones.

People pay good money to go to a theater and enjoy a film without the interruptions of rude people who won’t shut up or who bring infants into a show.

Not that I don’t expect rude people who don’t give a shit about ruining other people’s enjoyment because of their feelings of entitlement, but they shouldn’t be surprised that people prefer they keep their babies at home when they got to a movie.

When my kid were infants, we would get a sitter and enjoy the movie without them, If we couldn’t get one, we just didn’t go. But then again, I am better than people who do the opposite, and have learned to live with them without my stress levels rising.

I wish theaters just wouldn’t allow people with infants into the theater — and use a cell phone jammer as well. What happened to the days when ushers used to make trips up and down the aisles a couple times during the film? You never see that anymore..
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

I haven’t seen one person here justify what this guy did.
Zazen

What happened to the days when ushers used to make trips up and down the
aisles a couple times during the film? You never see that anymore.

Then you’d be covering stories of assholes who shoot ushers to death for asking them to turn off their cell phones =D
Zazen

That was a damned good movie too =D
newstarshipsmell

I saw it in IMAX 3D and regular 2D too – The 3D didn’t look worse but it didn’t really add much either IMHO. Honestly, the only thing I really appreciated the 3D for was the Prometheus trailer (which was also in 3D.)
OutOfBubbleGum

Chinese Fortune Cookie

Personally, I love going to movie with subtitles. I prefer to sit in the front row and pull out a little stick sign that reads “in bed.” I put it next to the displayed text. It gives the movie a new insight that the writer intended, but was inappropriately removed in editing by the studio.

[from trailer]
Nick Fury: You think you’re the only hero in the world? “in bed”

[from trailer]
Nick Fury: Gentlemen, you’re up! “in bed”

Tony Stark: [to Thor] No hard feelings Point Break, you’ve got a mean swing. “in bed”

[from trailer]
Nick Fury: [to Thor] What are you prepared to do? “in bed”

[from trailer]
Nick Fury: There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so when we needed them, they could fight the battles that we never could… “in bed”

[from trailer]
Agent Phil Coulson: What do we do? “in bed”
Nick Fury: We get ready.

[from trailer]
Loki: In the end, it will be every man for himself… “in bed”

[from trailer]
Tony Stark: Dr. Banner, your work is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster. “in bed”
Bruce Banner: Thanks.
http://www.dreamindemon.com Morbid

True
newstarshipsmell

The theater I worked at didn’t allow infants. But then, it was also a concert venue with a full bar, that filled the gaps in the concert schedule playing second-run films. So we didn’t allow anyone under 18. This was before the cell phone market saturated, and anyways, what with all the drunks yelling at the movie, people talking on their phones was rather inconsequential. But having “ushers” who were actually bonded security guards was nice; I never had a “problem” with a customer that didn’t involve a single-word solution.
c0urtlynn

Um… deaf people still can’t hear, even with headphones.
http://www.hulds-blog.tk/ Master Huldschinsky

ya he is asshole…. I am deaf myself and to understand the movie i must see captions peoid…. without them i wouldnt understand the movie….
Andy P

That’s what I was wondering. I appreciate the theater having concern and accommodations for hearing impaired patrons, and I’m sure I will be in the minority here, but I have to be honest, they personally bother the hell out of me during a movie too. I think the theater should offer both and make it known that there are two choices and what the associated show times for each are. Nothing against our folks who have disabilities and I do agree a little tolerance goes a long way. ..and I’m certainly not condoning the baboon who pulled the alarm..
Andy P

Like Morbid has indicated before, (paraphrasing) – It seems we teach way too much entitlement in today’s society – You know, where everyone gets a trophy, all kids are winners, hell my niece’s soccer team doesn’t even keep score. WTF is that? Yay everyone’s a winner. Life doesn’t work like that.
Andy P

I’m pretty sure LuvsHorror meant the theater offers headphones for hearing impaired (not completely deaf) people.
newstarshipsmell

WHAT DID YOU SAY?!
newstarshipsmell

I would guess, off the top of my head, that they probably don’t plan/schedule/advertise closed-captioned screenings, but rather, since it’s probably as simple as pushing a button to turn them on, if they have a hearing-impaired patron (or more likely, a group of them) request captions, they turn them on, figuring they can just hand out passes to anyone bothered that much by them. Which is what the featured douchebag should have asked for, instead of trying to force the center of the universe inside his rectum.

Anyways, I wasn’t even aware theaters were doing this, and I’m glad to hear it. A few years ago one of my friends married a (mostly) deaf woman, and the subject of watching movies at the theater came up. He indicated that it was virtually impossible to find places that catered to the deaf community, and they mostly were forced to either lipread in the theater or wait for it to come out on DVD.
LuvsHorror

Um, those who are hearing impaired, with only some loss of hearing, can use the headphones. I know this because it works for my father, who can’t hear well at all.
https://twitter.com/#!/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

Darn you. I’m in a restaurant reading this and burst out laughing. Now I just look crazy.
Lena60

We had the same thing Morbid when we went to see the movie. The movie sound was not loud enough to drown out the baby crying.I also had a fidgity little girl sitting next to me, who could not sit still for 30 seconds.
Babydoll0630

I think I’ll take my son to see The Avengers this weekend! He’s one, my husband is military and we haven’t been at this base long. So no sitters, FUCK everyone in the theatre. I’m sure my little family will have a blast. Consider me an asshole….don’t give a shit. I don’t want to get a sitter when they aren’t family or do you ppl not read this site?? Pot meet kettle.
OutOfBubbleGum

If you’re near NorthEast Baltimore, you can go to the Bengies Drive-In. Three movies for $8.00. They played Avenders past two weekends. Search for their website.
http://truecrimereport.com iLLusionS

Damn they don’t keep score? That kind of defeats the purpose of playing a “game” doesn’t it? I mean what are we working to obtain in soccer if not ultimately a final score?
People just have all these expectations, and if these expectations aren’t met they somehow feel wronged…or that something is sneakingly personal, there is some intent to “just fuck with them or their day.”
So deaf people want to watch cool movies too and pay their own money as well, and a theater is willing to provide that for THEM! HOW FUCKING DARE THEY!
Babydoll0630

We used to ALWAYS go to the drive in before we moved here. Don’t think they have one here. FREAKING 8 bucks for 3 movies, and we’d bring alcohol. Only good thing about living in Wichitard. LOL that’s really funny they do the 8 bucks for 3 movies too.
Dirk

Abingdon is pretty ghetto, so they can’t afford to go all White Marsh (a few miles away) and — this is true — actually provide a teleprompter-style window in front of the hearing impaired patron’s seat so he or she can enjoy the film with captions without bothering the cinematically illiterate hordes for whom subtitles are as much a dealbreaker as black-and-white.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=736546181 Michael Heldman

1c. masterbate in private.
1d. remember which hand was lotion which hand was buttered popcorn.
https://twitter.com/#!/AngelsMom0806 Angels Mom

“Then you’d be covering stories of assholes who shoot ushers to death for asking them to turn off their cell phones =D”

I almost got into a lot of fights when I was a theater usher. One day I’ll tell you the story about the woman who tried to sneak in a whole giant bag of White Castle.