10 Craziest Cinema Demands Made By Hollywood

Harry Potter director David Yates once described cinema projectionists as an "extra member of our crew" in a letter enclosed with The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

He wasn't wrong, as without a legion of projectionists and ushers there is no cinema experience. Indeed, staff in multiplex cinemas are likely just as poorly paid, overworked and stressed out as the various runners and junior staff members on big Hollywood film sets.

This hard work can take a toll. Hell, a projectionist once (jokingly) threatened to kill Italian director Sergio Leone after having to sit through Once Upon a Time in the West non-stop for two years!

In short, cinema chains and their employees are often just as vulnerable to the whims of movie directors and producers as those working on set.

Sometimes, these are commercial requests based around cold hard cash, other times they're designed to give audiences the best possible experience at the movies. This list collects requests that are more cynical, more creative and more elaborate than asking staff to hold off on sweeping up the popcorn until the end of an MCU movie.

William Castle's movie gimmicks were legendary and have inspired the work of directors like John Waters and Joe Dante.

He was cinema's greatest showman, promoting his schlocky B-movies with all manner of fun stunts. One of his best known was the "Fright Break" during 1961's Homicidal. Castle promised that anyone too scared to see the end of the film could be refunded, so long as they sat in the bright yellow coward's corner and signed a declaration that they were "a certified coward".

His most infamous stunt was Percepto!, a cinema chair rigged with buzzers, operated by the projectionist at the right moment in 1959's The Tingler. To set the scene, Vincent Price plays a scientist who has discovered a parasitic creature that feeds on fear. The creature inevitably breaks loose towards the climax of the film.

Here, the image goes black and Price's voice warns viewers that the Tingler has been unleashed inside the cinema! Cue buzzing seats being activated left, right and centre to the shock and delight of audiences.

The Tingler, and Percepto! still do the rounds at horror movie festivals to this day.