SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- All derrieres are not created alike, say a group of fat activists who have launched a campaign to equip Santa Cruz movie theaters with special seats for people of plumpness.
The problem, says Mary Atkins, a 300-pound film buff, is that squishing everything into those one-size-fits-all movie seats can be a pain.
vTC "It's like when you go to school for a parent conference and sit in a children's chair," says Ms. Atkins, 51. "That's what movie theaters are like for the super-sized."
Phil Harris, who will open a nine-screen complex in the area by June, says he's trying. But he's finding the issue presents extra-large problems.
"The widest [movie seat] they make is 22 inches," he said. By comparison, airplane seats are 17 to 20 inches wide.
Also, he said he can't guarantee that thin people won't sit in special chairs. "How do we hold them for obese people? I'm not sure."