A Weekly Blog from the Manager's Perspective

It sure looks different from the projection booth

Oct. 24th, 2008

Hello again Liberty Theater-goers. Tonight saw the opening of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. It is fun and, if you are a dog lover, you will enjoy yourself. We also had a special short produced, directed, performed, and edited by yours truly before the film. You have to see it to believe it. It also stars my Chihuahua, Ruby. 'Nuff said.

I talked to a Liberty supporter today who said they already saw Beverly Hills Chihuahua at the "other" theater with all those screens and expensive, stale popcorn. I took it personally. I know I shouldn't, but when people tell me that they go elsewhere to see a movie that we are going to show only two or three weeks later, I feel sad. Of course, there is nothing we can do about it. The movie business is structured in a way that makes it awfully hard for single-screens like us to survive. Yet, we HAVE survived and done well. But, next time, lie to me and say you aren't interested in the movie. Or, better yet, COME HERE TO SEE THE MOVIE!! There are plenty of movies we don't run. See those at the mega-plex and plan your schedule around the movies we do show. Just check the website a few weeks ahead and hold off that extra week or two until it comes here. (-;

MAILBAG

Reid, how much do movies cost? Are some movies, like the bad ones, cheaper than others? Can you make money on the bad films too?

Jim

Thanks for the question, Jim. Movies usually cost a percentage of our ticket sales. Most movies that we show have already been out for a few weeks, so the movie studios only take 35% of whatever we make in ticket sales. Most movies also have a minimum of $200 or $250. So, if that 35% doesn't add up to the 200 or 250, we pay the minimum amount. That does happen to us at the Liberty occasionally. Now, some studios like Disney or some blockbuster movies charge more than 35%. Disney often charges more like 50% for their films. If we get a movie on the break (when it first comes out) we may have to pay 70-80%! That is why we usually don't do that. Finally, there is also a "House Allowance" that sets an upper limit for how much money you can make in ticket sales before you have to give the studio 90% of what you take in! Yes, 90%!!!

For example, if we have a blockbuster like Iron Man and sell 300 tickets for a week's showing of a movie and take in $1,800 with a 55% rate and a $1,200 allowance, we will only get to keep $600. Nobody gets rich in the movie ticket sales business! Most theaters make their money on concessions. It can be as much as 90% of their profit. We don't operate that way and don't like to gouge our patrons on the concessions. That is why our concession prices are so low. Thank us next time you get that popcorn for a buck or two!

Fiddler Update: 800+ tickets sold. About 800 left. Better hurry.

See you in the Lobby.

Reid

Oct. 17th, 2008

*sip* *sip* Oh, excuse me. I was just trying the new 'cab' from Dumas Station. We had a wine tasting before the film, Bottle Shock, tonight. A wonderful crowd of about 40 showed up to sample some Dumas Station wine and then enjoy this delightful little film. Prior to the showing, a woman approached me and gave me a bottle of wine from Gustavo Thrace Winery. It turns out that she is the sister of Gustavo Brambila who is portrayed in the movie by Freddy Rodriguez. (The movie is based on the true story of the establishment of California wines on the international stage, so most of the characters are real people) I was pleased to announce that we had a sister of one of the characters in the movie sitting in our audience. Everyone applauded and she got to be our local star for the night. Gustavo sent us the bottle to toast our showing of the movie. I was delighted. Only at the Liberty do things like this happen! None of the megaplexes in the area showed this move - not Walla Walla, not anywhere in the tri-cities. I am pleased we were able to bring it to the region and show it on our little, single screen.

There will be another wine tasting on Saturday night at 6:30pm. It is a fun way to get in the mood for a movie about wine making and a nice way to spend a Saturday night. Gustavo's sister, Adelina, is going to ask 'gus' for some more wine and we might be able to raffle some off on Tuesday.

I have been sneaking a look and listen at the Fiddler on the Roof rehearsals now and then and got to hear a bit of "matchmaker" last week. Wow. I was impressed. Beautifully sung and nicely choreographed. I am really looking forward to this production. As some of you know, my father *alav hashalom* played both Motel and Tevye. Playing Tevye was a dream come true for him. It was later in his life, but definitely worth the wait. As a Jew myself, with ancestors from a Russian shtetl perhaps like Anatevka, and a father who loved and performed in the play, Fiddler on the Roof has special meaning to me. Although, Fiddler, which takes place in 1905 Russia, was a bit after the time my family left for the U.S. and found work building the World's Fair in 1890's Chicago.

Renowned artist, James Christensen, will be at the Liberty this Saturday from 1-2pm to give a slide show and lecture. We are honored to host his presentation and are pleased Wenaha Gallery has chosen our venue for this event. He will be at the Wenaha Gallery after the talk where you can view and purchase his artwork.

Well, I need to go wash some wine glasses. I am looking forward to something more 'low-brow' when Beverly Hills Chihuahua opens on the 24th! Be there or be square.

See you in the last row of the balcony.

Reid

Oct. 10th, 2008

Hello. It's been a busy week and I still haven't caught my breath. We finished up a successful week with The Women, opened up ticket sales for the fall musical, Fiddler on the Roof, hosted the AAUW's Candidates Forum, and presented the second film in our Classic Film Series, Road to Morocco. Phew!

Tickets have been on sale for Fiddler for less than a week and we've already sold 400. Don't worry, there are over 1200 left. Don't wait too long, however. We expect to sell out most performances.

On Wednesday we crammed about 150 in the theater for the Candidates Forum. People were sitting on the floor up in the balcony! The locals really take their politics seriously and it showed Wednesday night. I was pleased the theater was able to continue housing the forum and look forward to doing so again next year. I like to think that the Liberty is a vital institution in this community and events like the Forum confirm that belief. Thanks to the local AAUW for putting on such an important event!

Road to Morocco brought in a nice crowd of 30 or 40 people out of the cold rain. I forgot how silly and fun those "Road" movies were. My generation was probably the last to really know those two men and their movies. Not many comedy teams like Hope and Crosby anymore. In December, the Classic Film Series presents Neptune's Daughter. It's a hilarious film with Red Skelton goofing off and Esther Williams doing lots of fancy swimming. Oh yeah, don't miss the great song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that came out of this film. I think Ricardo Montalban sings it too!

Opening tonight is Burn After Reading. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of the directors, the Coen brothers. They are quite famous for their work and considered important directors, yet I find their movies a bit dark and often unsatisfying. Yet, this film has piqued my interest. The cast looks fabulous (Pitt, Clooney, McDormand, Malkovich...), the reviews have been positive, and the previews looked fun and a nice change of pace for some of the actors involved. I'm looking forward to it! I hope you are too.

MAILBAG

"Reid, how do you choose your films? What are the criteria?" - anonymous Dayton resident.

Dear Anonymous,

Film selection is performed by our Film Committee. They make recommendations to me and then I work with them to choose from those recommendations the films that make the most sense for the theater and for which prints are available through our film booker.

Films are chosen with a concern to maintain the identity of the theater as a ‘family’ theater that also brings in films of cultural/artistic merit. (yes, I brought in the Adam Sandler film, Zohan. It was a mistake. Sorry! )

Once a month we try to program an independent or foreign film and the rest of the time we look for what will appeal to the broadest audience while trying not to offend anyone. We strive for a balance between the artistic quality of a film and one that will bring in the largest audience. We do have to make money on films (or, at least, break even) and also offer cultural opportunities that may not be available elsewhere or have special value to our region.

With just a single screen and only 40 films a year, there are going to be hard decisions to make among the 500 films available and not everyone that comes to our theater will be happy. I hope, however, that you can understand how difficult these choices are for us and how thoughtful we are in making these selections.

I look forward to hearing from more of you. Just click the e-mail link on the left.

See you in row F.

Reid

Oct. 3rd, 2008

Hello again Liberty Theater fans. I am still beaming about last night's screening of River Ways, a locally made documentary about the Snake River dams. We had a great turnout (over 100!). Thanks to all of you who attended. One of my goals for the Liberty is to make it a showplace for some of the region's young filmmakers and their films. It is awfully difficult to get a film out to an audience once it is completed. So many of those small films are a delight to watch, but fail to make it to theater screens. I was glad to be able to show Colin Stryker's documentary and look forward to finding more films like it out there in the Northwest and bring them to our rural single-screen.

I have another dream to bring in some great little travelling performance troupes to our stage. It would be wonderful to offer the Touchet Valley some unique, offbeat, or simply wonderful live performances in addition to our already excellent local productions. Plainly put, I want the Liberty to be THE showplace in the region for performance and film artists - local or not. I think we're gonna make that happen. Just watch.

Tonight we open the run of THE WOMEN, a remake of the 1939 semi-classic. It is an all woman cast (even the extras walking in the background are man-less) and stars many big names, old and new alike. I am not sure if it can work in 2008 with what was fun and unique in 1939, but you'll need to come out to see it to decide. Tonight's crowd was almost all women and they had fun razzing me during my introduction. It was enjoyable for all of us and helped to remind me of how special a theater we have in Dayton. I know of no other theater in the region with the atmosphere that we share here.

See you at the concession stand.

Reid

Sept. 26th, 2008

We are currently showing The Visitor, a gentle and beautifully made independent film. The performances are wonderful and understated. The message of the film runs powerfully throughout (maybe too powerfully?). This is one of the films that was my selection and I would love for you to come out to see it and let me know what you think.

Only a handful at tonight's screening. Those that came out to see the film loved it. We sat and talked about it for a while after the movie ended. There are many things I love about this job and one of my favorites is talking to patrons about a film right after they have seen it. Even if they want to critique the film, I feel good as they thought enough of the film to want to engage with it in some way - even if it is just to say "That was terrible...and here's why...."

I hope you can find the time to catch this film before the run is over. If you come, let me know that you read this blog and the popcorn is on me.

I'll be keeping an eye out for you

Reid

Sept. 19th, 2008

First post! All blogs start out so energetic and full of optimism. Hopefully, you will help me to keep it that way. This blog is designed to grow into a discussion between me and you, the Liberty Theater supporter. I have a lot to say and there are many things Liberty Theater related to talk about, but I expect to hear from you often. To reply to my comments, just click the e-mail link at the bottom of the page. I'll read what you write and post the good stuff in the blog. It will be fun to read what you have to say about my approach to managing The Liberty as well as gain better insight into your relationship to our historic movie/playhouse.

After a high-flying summer with near record attendance, we are back to the fall doldrums. I welcomed only nine of you into the theater tonight for the Friday opening of TRAITOR, a rather good film starring Don Cheadle. I fear that the usual pattern of dull fall movies and even duller attendance numbers will revisit The Liberty. I take this personally people! We have been doing really well this year (up 8 or 9% from last year), yet I wish we could keep the high attendance going all year long.

Next week we have our independent film, THE VISITOR. It is, in my opinion, one of the best films we will present all year. I wonder what will entice more local Dayton residents to attend a film like THE VISITOR? Most folks in town prefer the more mainstream offerings, yet I think they are missing out on some of the better films that we play at The Liberty. What would help you to consider watching an independent or foreign film? I can't change your taste in films, but can I do something to convince you to watch something that is "outside your box?"

Let me know what makes you choose to watch the films that you do at The Liberty, and, if you go to that giant 12-screen box up the road for films, what was the appeal to make you schlep out there and avoid the film played here in our warm, cozy little gem of a theater? (-;

See you next week.

Reid