Question of the Week, For Movie Theatre Owners and Managers
Dear Moviegoers,
It was twenty years ago, in my college days when a good friend of mine flat-out stated that we should start a movie theatre. Of course, this wasn't the first time that the idea had come across my mind, as since a child, I had always wanted to build a screening room in my home. At doctor appointments, in the waiting room, I'd read (or look at the pictures) home entertainment magazines, the kind of publications that were, more or less, meant to sell tech products to consumers. Products like projectors, screens, seats, sound equipment, and more. Front cover to back, it was all so entrancing, and still is.
College was a breeding ground for crazy movie programming, as I was part of a misfit group of students that would show wild independent, and foreign films to the surprise of anyone who happened upon our usually underground showings on campus--sometimes with permission, sometimes without. My good friend and I shared a similar macabre approach to choosing movies, selecting titles to cause a stir among our fellow student audience, almost to encourage them to leave on purpose. It was fun at the time to be so antagonistic, but my sensibilities have changed a little since then.
One night, years later, I went to a midnight screening at the New Orleans single-screen theatre, the Uptown Prytania, of the first Human Centipede movie. A gross flick meant to make people squirm that, indeed, caused all of us to choke back some bile at times. During one particular sequence, at the height of disgust, I recognized that the theatre owner and manager, Robert Brunet, was standing in the doorway of the auditorium, taking all of our reactions in and laughing. He was laughing.
I love telling this small anecdote, because it represents something that I love about going to the movies: the opportunity to share experiences, no matter how pleasant or disturbing. To be challenged and to feel.
And so, I have a question for you, theatre owners and managers. To all current, former, and wannabe ones:
Is there a line or limit to what movies you're willing to screen to the public?
Please feel free to leave a comment below, or email me at binxmoviegoer@duck.com. I'll share the best and most interesting responses in a future post. You can remain anonymous if you'd like, though I'd be happy to let the world know of your cinema. Sharing is caring, after all.