MOVIES Theaters will help disabled get access

One official said companies are being cooperative.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Did you catch the new movie that everyone's talking about?
If you're visually or hearing impaired, you probably couldn't.
That would change under a deal with eight national theater chains aimed at making it easier for people who are visually or hearing impaired to enjoy movies in 140 theaters statewide, according to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
The agreement will include "rear window captioning," in which customers with hearing disabilities would use an acrylic panel to read captioning projected in reverse to the back of the theater. Thirty-eight theaters under the agreement would provide on-screen captioning and headsets that offer descriptive narration of films.
Just two theaters in western New York, one in Central New York, one in Albany and five in metro New York City offer captioned or narrated movies.
Helping out
Spitzer said the companies are showing "extraordinary cooperation." They are AMC Entertainment, Carmike Cinemas, Clearview Cinemas, Dipson Theatres, Loews Entertainment Cineplex, National Amusements, Regal Entertainment Group and Zurich Cinemas.
Representatives for Loews, AMC and Regal Entertainment Group, three of the largest chains, didn't immediately respond to requests to comment.
Under the agreement, theaters would also have to provide listening devices that are more compatible with hearing aids. Most headsets for customers with disabilities only amplify a movie's soundtrack.
The American Foundation for the Blind said the measures outlined in the deal will help bring more customers into theaters.
The foundation "hopes all theaters will soon offer more options to their patrons, giving people with vision loss the same access to the social and cultural experiences that movies provide," said Carl Agusto, the foundation's president.
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