With evidence increasing that the American moviegoing habit is in decline, theater owners are undertaking a concerted campaign to bring it back.

The National Association of Theater Owners, the primary trade group for exhibitors, is pushing to improve the theatrical experience by addressing complaints about on-screen advertisements, cellphones in theaters and other disruptions, while planning a public relations campaign to promote going out to the movies.

Some exhibitors are hiring more ushers to ride herd on inconsiderate patrons and are thinking about banning children after a certain hour, to cut down on crying babies in the theater, said John Fithian, president of the trade group.

"We have to attack rude behavior - fighting, bickering, talking too loud," Mr. Fithian said.

Some of the proposed solutions may not be so popular. The trade group plans to petition the Federal Communications Commission to permit the blocking of cellphones inside theaters, Mr. Fithian said. That would require changing an existing regulation, he added. But some theaters are already testing a no-cellphones policy, asking patrons to check their phones at the theater door....

The problem with cellphones at the movie theater is not merely the danger that some inconsiderate dipshit might make or answer a call. That doesn't actually happen all that often in my experience. The far more common problem--the problem that most cell users seem wholly ignorant of--is that if a theater goer even opens his/her phone--to check the time, a caller ID, or even to turn it off--the bright LCD light the thing gives off is incredibly distracting. In the last few years I've noticed a marked upswing in the frequency of teenaged movie goers text messaging each other during films. This has got to stop.

Between the more and more frequent talking and cell usage, the pleasure of the theater-going experience is now seriously threatened for me. I, for one, am happy that NATO is taking the problem seriously. I think a policy that gets you removed from a theater if you're caught with a powered-on cell phone (in a non-emergency situation) is a good first step, with clear warning signage: "WARNING! You will be removed from this theater if you are observed operating a cell pnone or other wireless communications device during a feature."

People who ruin my movie-going experience by talking and text messaging aren't doing it because they're mean, but because they're clueless. They don't get it. Cinema audiences need a smack in the face about this.