In terms of Bitter Lake, I can see the point of view that you didnt want the movie disturbed every 5 minutes by late people, it was just frustrating. Also in terms of the friends thing, apologise if I got that wrong:) just seemed like that due to being told no, and then someone turns up and gets let straight in. no hard feelings:)
I can chime in here, as I was at the door most of the time by pure chance, to catch a breath. As was already said, it's frustratingly annoying for people watching a dimly lit stage event like the Pawpet Show or a movie with people coming in late, or worse, just peeking in, and not even closing the door properly afterwards. That's why we decided to close the doors for good after the show started, and considering how people were trickling in every bloody minute, up to 30(!) minutes after the movie actually started, it was a necessary thing to do.
Now, to be honest, it simply didn't occur to me to use the back entrance to the stage until someone pointed out that option to me. Derp! This didn't interrupt the movie too much, and we began escorting people to the back of the stage, where the last few remaining seats were, anyway.
I'm sorry if it appeared as some sort of shady deal to you. I can assure you it wasn't. We merely found an alternative to let people in that we didn't think of before.
Either way, we'll have to announce such specifics somewhere the next time, to make sure people know that they're required to be there on time, or else get no chance to attend the event.
