Cinema rage: Man beaten for using phone at the movies

Nicholas Glasgow (L) couldn't contain his rage. Photo / 123RF

A US man has been arrested for assaulting another man who was using his phone during a screening of the hit film Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.

Nicholas Glasgow, 34, was charged with assault after the incident at a multiplex in Iowa City that left his alleged victim with "a cut to his head, swelling, soreness, and redness to his face" according to arrest documents cited by The Smoking Gun.

The documents state the movie hadn't even started with yoga instructor Glasgow began to feel enraged, demanding staff "speak to the victim about his phone usage" before telling workers at the cinema complex to "take care of it or he would".

He kept his temper until the film ended when Glasgow, who describes himself as a "fiercely loyal, flexible, freedom lover" in an online Q & A, allegedly unloaded on the victim.

Glasgow allegedly approached the victim and demanded an apology before punching him, while he remained seated and "before he could react".

The fight ended with the victim on the ground and Glasgow kicking him, with the arrest report noting that the victim's glasses were left broken.

Glasgow was arrested and charged with assault and criminal mischief.

Cellphone use in the cinema is considered a massive faux pas by many, with the light from the phone providing a distraction as well as the obvious noise from phone conversations.

Use of jamming software has been considered and signage often warns patrons not to use the devices in the theatre.

A Waverley cinema hit the headlines in 2015, when the owner kicked two women out for using their phones, with Gary Vinnell telling the Whanganui Chronicle that there was no excuse for using cellphones in the cinema.