(NEW YORK) — A 38-year-old man suspected of shooting and gravely wounding an off-duty NYPD officer on Saturday night has been arrested in Rockland County, New York, where he was found hiding out in a hotel, according to police.
Charges are pending against Randy Jones, who was apprehended at a Days Inn in Nanuet on Monday and taken into custody in the wounded officer’s handcuffs, police said.
The injured officer, 26-year-old Adeed Fayaz, remains at Brookdale University Hospital in grave condition, according to police. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Saturday that Fayaz — a husband and father of two — was “fighting for his life.”
Just before 7 p.m Saturday, Fayaz and his brother-in-law went to a location in Brooklyn to meet someone to buy a car, according to authorities.
Fayaz and his brother-in-law were met by Jones, who asked whether either of them was carrying a gun, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said. When they said no, Jones allegedly put Fayaz in a headlock, pointed a gun at him and demanded money, police said.
Fayaz broke free and Jones shot him in the head, Essig said. The brother-in-law took a gun from Fayaz’s holster and returned fire, getting off six shots before Jones fled in a 2011 BMW, according to authorities. Police tracked the car to Jones’ mother, according to police.
Jones has at least three prior arrests, including one in 2014 for strangulation. Police are also looking into several Facebook Marketplace robberies to see whether he was involved, Essig said.
British actress Naomi Ackie embodied Whitney Houston in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, but how was she able to imitate the late singer’s voice and movements?
Speaking with People, Ackie explained the lengths she went through in order to become Whitney. “There was many different elements: How do I prepare myself vocally, singing-wise? The accent work took about six months to get really comfortable with it,” she recalled.
She continued, “And how do I prepare myself physically? In terms of movement, I worked with my amazing friend and my movement coach, Polly Bennett, and we kind of split it all up.”
Bennett previously worked with Austin Butler on Elvis, as well as Rami Malek on Bohemian Rhapsody, thebiopic about late Queen singer Freddie Mercury.
“Everyone has certain cadences. Everyone has a sort of inner rhythm. And if you study it and practice it enough, the hope is that it comes out really naturally,” she said.
In all, the actress hopes her performance would earn Whitney’s seal of approval — and bring empathy to those struggling with addiction.
“The thing about Whitney and people who are suffering from addiction is it’s a reminder that it’s an illness, that the person who is going through this is the victim of it … Her life was extraordinary, but the things she was going through were things we all go through,” she said.
I Wanna Dance with Somebody is on digital now. It’ll be released on Blu-ray on February 28.
When it comes to the sin of helping to invent punk rock, Iggy Pop still ain’t got time to make no apology.
The highly influential StoogesRaw Power album turns 50 Wednesday. Released on February 7, 1973, Raw Power didn’t exactly set the charts on fire at first, but proved to be instrumental in pioneering the burgeoning punk scene.
Raw Power was the third Stooges album, following 1969’s self-titled debut and 1970’s Fun House, but was the first to be credited to Iggy & the Stooges. Along with Pop on lead vocals, the record featured guitarist James Williamson, and brothers Ron and Scott Asheton on bass and drums, respectively. It was co-produced and mixed by David Bowie.
Having built a reputation for wild stage antics, Iggy’s energy is felt throughout Raw Power, beginning with the album opener “Search and Destroy,” in which Pop memorably yelps, “Look out, honey, ’cause I’m using technology” and “I’m the world’s forgotten boy.”
By 1974, the Stooges had broken up, but their impact had been made. The sound and ferocity of Raw Power paved the way for the explosion of punk rock in the mid-’70s, and Iggy is now known as the Godfather of Punk.
Following the demise of the Stooges, Pop went solo, and memorably reunited with Bowie for the 1977 albums Lust for Life and The Idiot.
Eventually, Iggy reunited with the Asheton brothers in 2003 and they released a new album, The Weirdness, in 2007. Following Ron Asheton’s death in 2009, the Stooges were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Williamson rejoined for one final album, 2013’s Ready to Die. Scott Asheton died in 2014.
A remastered edition of Raw Power was released last week in honor of its 50th anniversary.
Hailie Jade Mathers; Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Eminem‘s daughter Hailie Jade is getting married.
On Monday, the Just a Little Shady podcast host shared a carousel of pictures from her engagement to longtime boyfriend Evan McClintock. The first photo shows the happy couple popping a bottle of champagne, the second is a snapshot of McClintock down on one knee, and the third a close-up of the engagement ring.
“casual weekend recap… 2.4.23,” 27-year-old Hailie captioned the post. “I love you @evanmcclintock11.”
Hailie, whom Eminem shares with ex-wife Kim Scott, has reportedly been dating McClintock since 2016.
Offset is shutting down rumors that he and his fellow Migos member Quavo got into an altercation at the Grammys Sunday night.
Taking to Twitter Monday afternoon, the rapper wrote, “What tf look like fighting my brother yal n***** is crazy.”
The social media post comes after TMZ reported that the pair got into a physical fight just before Quavo, 31, took the stage for a tribute performance to the late Migos member Takeoff, who died November 1, 2022. Quavo reportedly blocked Offset from taking part in the tribute, which allegedly prompted the altercation. TMZ reports that Quavo initiated the squabble.
Quavo took the Grammys stage Sunday with Maverick City Music to perform his tribute song “Without You” during the ‘In Memoriam’ segment of the show.
McConaughey and Hudson in 2007 – Jemal Countess/WireImage
This year marks the 20th anniversary of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey celebrated the 2003 film in an Instagram live session on Monday.
“I think it’s so amazing,” Hudson said. “We got lucky to be in such a classic one, you know.”
The film follows Hudson’s character, Andie Anderson, a magazine columnist who devised a plan to dupe McConaughey’s Ben Berry into leaving her in 10 days. But like all good rom-coms, the two end up falling for each other.
“Everyone wants to know … what’s it like to kiss McConaughey,” Hudson began. “And my whole thing is we’re always in weird environments. There was only one time when we kissed that was so nice and gentle in the bathroom.”
“Yeah, everything else was not climate control,” McConughey added.
“Or you’re on the Brooklyn Bridge and the wind is blowing in your face…” Hudson laughed.
McConaughey said of their chemistry, “We enjoyed going toe to toe. It was fair game and we knew it wasn’t personal — and hopefully the camera’s rolling while it’s happening…I think we can…take the joke further … We were never afraid to push it where some would consider it to be too far.”
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days has enjoyed a revival on social media, with many delivering some of the film’s lines on TikTok or singing to Carly Simon‘s “You’re So Vain.”
“There’s been this whole viral How to Lose a Guy moment and it’s basically introduced our movie to an entirely new generation of young kids,” Hudson said. “And all these younger kids are…lip-syncing and doing moments for it.”
McConaughey agreed: “…They’re like, ‘We just watched your movie for the fifth time’ — and it’s very current to them.”
Sunday night’s Grammy Awards telecast on CBS drew over 12.4 million viewers, according to time zone-adjusted fast national ratings from Nielsen and including streaming on Paramount+ and CBS apps — a three-year audience high for the awards show. That makes the Grammys the most-watched network primetime program this season, with the exception of sports. Sunday’s show put up the best numbers on CBS since the 18.69 viewers for the 2020 telecast, which was the last ceremony held before the COVID-19 pandemic began…
Sony Pictures is eyeing an I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot with original stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in talks to reprise their roles, according to Deadline. The 1997 film, about a group of teenagers stalked by a killer, one year after a fatal accident on their graduation night, grossed $125 million worldwide and helped launch Hewitt and Prinze Jr.’s careers, as well as those of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe. Plot details for the reboot have not been revealed…
The soon-to-be-named Paramount+ on Showtime is expanding two of the cabler’s popular dramas — Dexter and Billions — with “multiple offshoots in the works,” sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. As many as four Billions spinoffs are in the works, including Millions and Trillions. Billions now ranks as premium cable channel’s longest-running scripted original series. Showtime also has gone straight to series on a prequel series: Dexter: Origins, which will tell the origin story of Michael C. Hall’s serial killer and a new version of Dexter: New Blood, depicting “the ongoing emergence of Dexter’s son Harrison”…
Showtime has given a straight-to-series order for a political thriller tentatively titled The Department, according to Deadline. The series, executive-produced and directed by George Clooney, follows the “‘Bureau of Legends,’ responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources”…
(NEW YORK) — More than 4,300 people are dead after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey and northwestern Syria early Monday, according to officials.
The pre-dawn quake was centered in the town of Pazarcik in Turkey’s southeastern Kahramanmaras province and was followed by several powerful aftershocks. Thousands of buildings were toppled on both sides of the border, and the death toll was expected to rise as rescue workers searched for survivors in the massive piles of rubble.
Both Turkey and Syria have declared a state of emergency.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
Feb 07, 7:32 AM EST
Over 8,000 people rescued in Turkey
More than 8,000 people have been rescued in southeastern Turkey since a powerful earthquake and aftershocks struck the region, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Some 24,000 first responders are on the ground, including more than 3,200 first responders from 14 other countries who traveled to Turkey to assist with the massive search and rescue effort following Monday’s quake. They are carefully combing through the wreckage and looking for survivors amid the 6,000 buildings that have been either damaged or destroyed, according to Oktay.
Feb 07, 7:04 AM EST
Death toll tops 5,000
Monday’s massive earthquake and powerful aftershocks have killed at least 3,419 people and injured another 20,534 in southeastern Turkey, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay announced during a press conference on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, at least 1,603 were killed and 3,649 injured in both government- and rebel-controlled areas of northwestern Syria, according to combined figures from the Syrian Ministry of Health, the Syrian civil defense and a medical group that operates in opposition-held areas, known as the White Helmets.
Feb 07, 6:41 AM EST
ABC News witnesses rescue operation in Diyarbakir, Turkey
More than 24 hours after devastating earthquakes, ABC News reporters on the ground are witnessing the fevered effort to rescue survivors at a collapsed apartment building in southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir.
ABC News learned that crews had recently rescued a woman from what used to be an eight-story apartment building, where the top half now rests on three flattened floors below. The front wall had fallen away, exposing what used to be homes with furniture, pillows and air conditioning units.
In and around the collapsed building, there was a flurry of activity — but then a moment when it all came to a grinding halt. Generators were turned off, everyone stopped talking and the block went silent. Search and rescue teams thought they may have found another survivor. It was quiet for several minutes, but then the urgent effort returns.
Rescuers continued working in the cold, wet weather while also facing the threat of aftershocks. None of that has deterred them. They know this is a race against time.
Feb 06, 9:39 PM EST
More than 4,000 people dead in Turkey, Syria following earthquake: AFAD
The death toll continues to climb in Turkey and Syria 24 hours after the earthquake struck.
More than 4,300 people have died in the two countries following the devastating earthquake, officials said.
According to the Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Organization (AFAD), 2,921 people have died in the country from the earthquake, with 15,834 people sustaining injuries.
Approximately 6,217 buildings have collapsed and about 7,840 people have been rescued from the debris and rubble, according to AFAD officials.
In Syria, 1,411 people have died since the earthquake struck the region, officials said.
Feb 06, 6:12 PM EST
Biden calls Erdogan, offers support following quake
President Biden called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this afternoon, following the earthquake that caused devastation in Turkey and Syria, the White House said.
Biden extended condolences and “reaffirmed the readiness of the United States to provide any and all needed assistance to our NATO Ally [Turkey] in response to this tragedy,” according to the White House.
“[Biden] noted that U.S. teams are deploying quickly to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and coordinate other assistance that may be required by people affected by the earthquakes, including health services or basic relief items,” the White House said.
-ABC News’ Ben Gittleson
Feb 06, 5:16 PM EST
No US citizens among Turkey casualties so far: State Dept.
State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters Monday that while the department has not confirmed that any Americans were killed in the recent earthquakes abroad, officials were “realistic” about the high chances of that changing.
“We’re all very sober about the implications of this and the fact that many countries, many nationalities are likely to be implicated just given the massive toll and destruction that this earthquake has cost,” Price said.
In the meantime, he confirmed that all State Department staff in Turkey are accounted for.
The American consulate in Adana, Turkey, would be able to host first responders coming in from foreign countries, Price added.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
Feb 06, 4:54 PM EST
13,000 injured in Turkey
As the death toll climbs to 2,316 in Turkey, another 13,000 people in the country are reported to be injured, according to Turkish Emergency Management.
At least 5,606 buildings in Turkey have been completely destroyed, according to Turkish Emergency Management.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Feb 06, 4:25 PM EST
Death toll climbs to 3,700
At least 3,727 lives have been lost in the devastating quake.
The death toll in Turkey has climbed to 2,379 across 10 Turkish provinces, according to Turkish Emergency Management.
In Syria, at least 1,411 people died in three cities, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.
-ABC News’ Will Gretsky
Feb 06, 2:04 PM EST
Death toll climbs over 2,700
At least 2,701 lives have been lost in the devastating quake.
The death toll in Turkey has climbed to 1,651 across 10 Turkish provinces, according to Turkish Emergency Management.
In Syria, at least 1,050 people died in three cities, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.
Feb 06, 1:28 PM EST
Turkey declares seven days of mourning
Turkey has declared a seven-day mourning period in the wake of the devastating quake, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
“Our flag will be hoisted at half-mast until sunset on Sunday, February 12, 2023, in all our country and foreign representations,” Erdogan said.
More than 3,400 buildings in Turkey have been destroyed and over 11,000 people are hurt, according to Turkish officials.
Feb 06, 1:19 PM EST
US deploying two search and rescue teams
The U.S. is deploying two 79-person urban search and rescue teams to Turkey, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said.
“The president has authorized an immediate U.S. response. So right now, in addition to personnel currently on the ground, we are in the process of deploying additional teams, including two 79-person urban search and rescue teams, to support Turkish search and rescue efforts and to help address the needs of all those who have been hurt or displaced by the earthquake,” Kirby said.
Feb 06, 12:40 PM EST
Death toll nears 2,500
At least 2,494 people have died in Turkey and Syria.
The death toll in Turkey has climbed to 1,651 across 10 Turkish provinces, according to the Turkish Emergency Management Agency.
In Syria, at least 843 people have been killed in three cities, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.
Feb 06, 11:34 AM EST
No casualties on US base
There are no known casualties among U.S. personnel assigned to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, and no major damage to facilities, a base spokesperson told ABC News.
The base is roughly 125 miles from the earthquake’s epicenter.
The 39th Air Base Wing at Incirlik “is still mission operational,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
The Air Force is prepared to assist Turkey if called upon, according to the spokesperson.
Feb 06, 11:03 AM EST
More than 4,200 buildings destroyed
More than 2,800 buildings across Turkey have been completely destroyed, according to Turkey’s Emergency Management Agency, while over 1,400 buildings were demolished in Syria, according the Syrian Civil Defense Agency.
At least 45 nations have pledged to send volunteers and other aid to Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Feb 06, 10:45 AM EST
Death toll climbs to 2,300
At least 2,343 people have died in Turkey and Syria.
The death toll in Turkey has climbed to 1,500 across 10 Turkish provinces, according to the Turkish Emergency Management Agency.
In Syria, at least 843 people have been killed in three cities, according to the Syrian Health Ministry.
Feb 06, 9:54 AM EST
Biden ‘deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation’
President Joe Biden tweeted that he’s “deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation” from the earthquake.
“I have directed my team to continue to closely monitor the situation in coordination with Turkey and provide any and all needed assistance,” he tweeted.
Feb 06, 9:14 AM EST
UK deploys emergency response teams to Turkey
The United Kingdom announced Monday it is “immediately” deploying emergency response teams to Turkey to assist rescue efforts following a deadly earthquake and powerful aftershocks.
According to a press release from the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 76 U.K. search and rescue specialists, four search dogs as well as rescue equipment will arrive in Turkey on Monday evening. A U.K. emergency medical team is also being sent to assess the situation on the ground.
“We stand ready to provide further support as needed,” U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.
In northwestern Syria, where the quake was also felt, the U.K.-aid funded volunteer organization White Helmets has activated a significant search and rescue response and mobilized all its resources to respond to emerging needs. The U.K. government is in contact with the United Nations on emergency humanitarian support to those affected in Syria, according to the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
“The British Embassy in Ankara is in close contact with the Turkish authorities to understand how we can best support those on the ground,” Jill Morris, British Ambassador-Designate to Türkiye said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with all those affected by the earthquakes today We pay tribute to the brave Turkish first responders working to save lives.”
The U.K. government’s announcement came on the heels of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) declaring a “level 4 alarm” in the wake of the pre-dawn earthquake, calling for international assistance.
Feb 06, 7:25 AM EST
Monday’s quake was as powerful as the strongest ever recorded in Turkey
Monday’s deadly earthquake in Turkey, which was felt in Syria and other surrounding countries, was as strong as the most powerful one on record in Turkish history.
A 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Turkey in 1939, killing approximately 30,000 people. Monday’s quake in southeastern Turkey had the same magnitude, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Earthquakes frequently occur in Turkey, which is situated on top of major fault lines.
Some 18,000 people were killed in powerful earthquakes that hit northwestern Turkey in 1999.
Feb 06, 7:02 AM EST
7.5 magnitude aftershock hits Turkey
Several hours after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked southeastern Turkey early Monday, a powerful aftershock measuring 7.5 hit the country’s Kahramanmaras province around 1:30 p.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Feb 06, 5:42 AM EST
Death toll jumps to over 1,200 in Turkey, Syria
Monday’s earthquake has killed at least 912 people in several Turkish provinces and injured 5,382 others, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced during a press conference.
Thousands of buildings were destroyed, Erdogan said.
Turkey’s disaster and emergency management agency, AFAD, is deploying 1,898 search and rescue workers along with 150 vehicles in response to the deadly earthquake. Turkey’s national police force has deployed 130 tactical unit members with mobile command centers and kitchens to the city of Kahramanmaras, near the quake’s epicenter. A total of 300,000 blankets were also sent to the region, which is deep in winter weather.
Meanwhile, at least 239 people were killed and some 600 were injured in government-held areas of Syria, according to Syrian state media. In rebel-controlled areas, at least 147 people were killed, according to the Syrian civil defense and medical group that operates in opposition-held areas, known as the White Helmets.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a United Kingdom-based monitoring group, put the overall death toll at 320.
Feb 06, 12:12 AM EST
US ‘profoundly concerned’ by ‘destructive earthquake’ in Turkey, Syria
The United States “is profoundly concerned” by the reports of the “destructive earthquake” in Turkey and Syria, and “will continue to closely monitor the situation,” U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement late Sunday night.
“We stand ready to provide any and all needed assistance,” Sullivan added, noting that U.S. President Joe Biden “has directed USAID and other federal government partners to assess U.S. response options to help those most affected.”
The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake in Turkey at magnitude of 7.8.
(NEW YORK) — A major set of changes to the rules for retirement finances took effect this year, but many people may not have noticed. The rules were buried within a 4,000-page long, $1.7 trillion spending measure signed by President Joe Biden in December.
The batch of changes, called Secure Act 2.0, affords people greater flexibility in how and when they withdraw from their retirement accounts. The act also creates the first government-backed database for identifying lost retirement benefits, for instance when a person moves to a new job.
The rules aim to ease retirement finances at a time when most Americans are struggling to set aside a nest egg for their twilight years. Roughly 55% of people say they have fallen behind on their retirement savings, a Bankrate survey found in November.
“There’s a crisis out there — people haven’t saved enough for retirement,” Dan White, an author and founder of the financial advisory firm Daniel A. White & Associates, told ABC News.
“This is a big deal,” he added. “It’s trying to get people incentivized to put away enough money.”
Here’s what you need to know about Secure Act 2.0, the new retirement law:
What is the new retirement law Secure Act 2.0?
As its name suggests, Secure Act 2.0 is not the first of its kind.
The measure builds upon a previous version of the Secure Act — which stands for Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement — enacted at the outset of 2020.
Like the initial law, Secure 2.0 eases some of the restrictions placed on retirement accounts, but the changes carry some caveats and exceptions that will add complexity as people adapt to the new rules, White said.
“Overall, the Secure Act is very friendly for helping people with retirement,” he said. “At the same time, the government makes everything so stinking complicated.”
Why are the key changes in Secure 2.0 around retirement saving?
Key changes in Secure 2.0 center on the relaxing of restrictions on retirement accounts, such as 401(k) and Roth IRA accounts. For such retirement accounts, individuals must begin pulling out money at a minimum age, even if they’d prefer to leave the accounts untouched.
Secure Act 2.0 raises that minimum age of distribution from 72 to 73 years old, allowing older Americans to push back the time when payouts begin if the individuals have alternative sources of income or frugal spending habits, White said.
Further, the new rules alleviate the penalties for individuals who miss a required minimum distribution from their retirement accounts.
For instance, if a retiree was supposed to take out $10,000 by the end of 2022 but instead took out only $5,000, then under the previous rules he or she paid a 50% penalty for the remaining $5,000. Under Secure 2.0, that penalty has been cut to 25%.
In addition to easing the penalties for those who access a retirement account too late, Secure Act 2.0 softens the blow for some who take out money too early.
Federal law imposes a 10% penalty on any money pulled from a retirement account before age 59.5, but the new rules expand exceptions that allow some individuals to evade such penalties. For example, if a person suffers financial losses due to a natural disaster or contracts a terminal illness, he or she can access retirement accounts early without penalty, White said.
How does Secure 2.0 change how younger Americans put money into retirement accounts?
Besides adding flexibility for withdrawals from retirement accounts, Secure Act 2.0 changes the way the accounts operate in the first place, potentially setting up younger Americans for improved savings down the line, Joel Dickson, the head of enterprise advice methodology at Vanguard, who has closely followed Secure 2.0, told ABC News.
First off, the new rules will take the onus off of workers to initiate new retirement accounts, instead enrolling them automatically when they start a job. Also, Secure Act 2.0 allows retirement accounts to automatically travel with workers when they move from one job to the next, Dickson said.
Plus, the law creates a database for finding lost retirement benefits, helping workers keep track of and collect savings generated at a given employer or over a particular period of time that they may have otherwise overlooked.
“There’s a lot that gets lost in the system today in many ways when people change employers,” Dickson said.
The new rules “make it a little easier for people to know where those resources are and keep track of them over time,” he added.
When do the changes in Secure 2.0 go into effect?
Many of the provisions in the new measure go into effect at different times, leaving the availability of any given offering murky at first glance, Dickson said. People should seek help from an advisor if they’re trying to take advantage of a given rule change on a specific timeline, he added.
Some of the important provisions have already taken effect, including the rule that pushes back the age of an initial required minimum distribution from 72 to 73. The provision that mandates automatic enrollment for all new retirement accounts, like 401(k)s and Roth IRAs, will take effect next year.
“Although Secure 2.0 may be a lot of different individual changes and measures, the broad theme is increasing flexibility and access for people to be able to meet their retirement savings goals,” Dickson said.
(NEW YORK) — AMC Theatres announced a new ticket pricing initiative Monday that has customers paying based on where their seat is located.
The initiative, called Sightline at AMC, is described by the company in a press release as a way for moviegoers to “now have the option to pay less, or more, for a movie ticket based on their seat selection.”
There are three tiers of seats for customers to choose from: Standard Sightline, the most common in auditoriums and the traditional cost of a ticket; Value Sightline, seats in the front row of the auditorium as well as select ADA seats which cost less than Standard Sightline seats; and Preferred Sightline, seats typically in the middle of the auditorium and priced more than Standard Sightline seats.
Value pricing is only available to AMC Stubs members, including the free tier membership, AMC Insider. AMC Stubs A-List members won’t pay the additional charge for the Preferred section.
Sightline at AMC will only be applied to showtimes which begin after 4 p.m. and is not applicable on Discount Tuesdays.
AMC Theaters offering the initiative will provide a detailed map showing the seating sections for customers purchasing tickets online, in the AMC app and at the box office.
“Sightline at AMC more closely aligns AMC’s seat pricing approach to that of many other entertainment venues, offering experienced-based pricing and another way for moviegoers to find value at the movies,” Eliot Hamlisch, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of AMC Theatres, said in a press release.
Hamlisch said the program seeks to deliver an experience to those “who prioritize their specific seat and others who prioritize value moviegoing” by ensuring that guests “have more control over their experience.”
The company said the initiative has rolled out at select locations and is expected to expand to all domestic AMC and AMC Dine-In locations by the end of 2023.
