Jack Black yelling “chicken jockey!” has inspired countless moviegoers watching “A Minecraft Movie” to throw their popcorn and scream at the top of their lungs. But what if you got the chance to see Black yell the viral phrase in real life? Videos of the actor surprising a crowd at a weekend showing of the blockbuster video game movie are making the rounds on social media as the actor impersonates theaters warning crowds against rowdy behavior.
“No throwing popcorn! And absolutely no chicken jockeys!” Black humorously yelled before revealing himself to huge applause. “Oh yeah! I am Steve. Are you ready to rock? Ladies and gentleman please enjoy, ‘A Minecraft Movie.’ Roll the projector!”
“I am Steve” is another line from the movie that has caused rowdy behavior during screenings. The movie has sparked a social media trend where audience members post videos of the crowd going wild during certain scenes, so much so that movie theaters have warned against unruly behavior and in some cases have notified the police.
“A Minecraft Movie” set a box office record when it opened around the world to $313 million, marking the highest debut yet for a video game movie. Starring Black, Jason Momoa, Danielle Brooks, Emma Myers and Sebastian Hansen, the movie is based on the popular video game of the same name from Mojang Studios.
As rowdy screenings became a viral trend, one Cineworld theater issued the following warning to its patrons: “Any form of anti-social behavior, especially anything that may disturb other guests such as loud screaming, clapping and shouting will not be tolerated. Anyone who is found to be acting in this manner will be removed from the screening and not entitled to a refund.”
“A Minecraft Movie” director Jared Hess responded to the rowdy screenings in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“It’s weird when you’re having too much fun and the cops get called,” he said. “It’s funny because I think it’s just literally cheering and throwing popcorn, which is so funny to me that cops are getting called for popcorn. Yeah, it’s hilarious. I’ve seen so many funny videos. It’s great, especially when people are climbing on their friends’ shoulders and standing up and cheering for those moments. It’s like this crazy anticipation. But, man, I’m just glad people are making memories with their friends and families.”
Hess added “I’m just so happy that people are finding joy in going back to cinemas and seeing things as a community, as a group of people. It’s like we’ve become so isolated on our devices, and it’s just fun to experience things as a group of human beings. I think people are starved for that experience. So it’s fun that they’ve found it in this goofy movie that we’ve made.”
“A Minecraft Movie” is now playing in theaters worldwide from Warner Bros.
