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Movie theater shooting: Shaken film industry reacts After movie theater shooting in Colorado, theater owners review security and Warner Bros. cancels events surrounding 'The Dark Knight Rises.'
Ted Mundorff, president and chief executive of the 60-location Landmark Theatres chain, said exhibitors always place a premium on their patrons' safety and comfort, in large part so moviegoers can "enjoy escaping and visiting other worlds."
But even with additional security measures, he said, it would be almost impossible to thwart an attack like the one in Aurora, which he called "an American tragedy." Said Mundorff: "The reality is you don't stop somebody like this."
Anyone near a theater on Friday could tell it was not business as usual. The L.A. and New York City police departments said they would station officers at cinemas showing "The Dark Knight Rises" this weekend, and some theater chains said they would bring in extra private guards to make patrons feel safer.

• Photos: Colorado movie theater shooting
• Christopher Nolan: 'The movie theater is my home'
• 'Dark Knight Rises' shooting: Skip the blame game and take action
• Photos: 'The Dark Knight Rises' shootings: Celebrities react

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The National Assn. of Theatre Owners said it had circulated to members various security guidelines provided by theDepartment of Homeland Security, such as ensuring that emergency plans are current and staff are trained to report suspicious activity.

"We've had no guidelines to go by because this kind of thing just doesn't happen," said Phil Zacheretti, president and CEO of Phoenix Big Cinemas, a Knoxville, Tenn., company that operates 25 theaters in 15 states. "In my 37 years in the industry, I don't recall a premeditated planned attack liked this."

Zacheretti said he met with staff Friday morning to review security measures and reminded them to report suspicious activity and double-check that exit doors are properly secured. He said the Colorado shooting could prompt his and other theaters to install security monitors on exit doors.

But Zacheretti and other theaters owners said they had no plans to check patrons' bags or install scanners. "We're not going to start checking everybody's purses," he said. "We're a place of enjoyment, where people come to be entertained."

In Utah, the popular Megaplex Theatres chain said it was moving forward with parties it had scheduled to celebrate the opening of Nolan's new film.

"We have a Gotham City bat cave set up at one of our theaters, and a bat signal beaming up onto some of our buildings," said Blake Andersen, senior vice president of Megaplex, which has 16 cinemas in Utah, one of which was the second-highest-grossing location in the country for post-midnight screenings on Friday. "This is a random act of violence that could have happened at a mall or at McDonald's or a school — and now in a movie theater. The worst thing we can do is hunker down and let these random few bad guys win."

At L.A. area theaters, numerous patrons said that although they had followed news of the shooting, they did not change their moviegoing plans. "I'm not scared — because I can't live my life like that — but it's still a scary, scary thought," said Val Herrador, 22, from Valley Village.

Added Jannik Berum, 19, who was visiting Hollywood from Denmark: "It's a bit weird, but I want to see the movie. I'm not afraid. It happened in Colorado. That's a long way."

john.horn@latimes.com, ben.fritz@latimes.com, richard.verrier@latimes.com

Times staff writers Danielle Paquette, Amy Kaufman, Steven Zeitchik, Joe Flint and Meg James contributed to this report.