I decided a while back that reading the right columns and borrowing, buying, and watching too many pricey DVDs was a good alternative to spending my entire undergrad life doing nothing but taking film classes that I may or may not learn much (if anything) from.
That said, Arthouse Cowboy will cover a wide variety of subjects, often focusing on the state of my local moviegoing scene and exploring the hostile landscape of the college cinematic experience.
Unlike most Texans, I don't always use "y'all" in place of the less-rednecky "you." I do, however, come from the suburb of Dallas that was allegedly the model for the animated Mike Judge TV show King of the Hill. Some of us are just lucky that way.
The Not-So Open Range
I rarely get the chance to travel to larger cities that are within the scope of those "limited engagements" in which interesting movies tend to play most immediately. In these cities, you might see a restored print of Godzilla (the original 1954, Emmerich-free one), or something like Ladies in Lavender and even Rize without taking a long drive.
One could never be very sure whether you'd have access to such films in Tallahassee. It'd be a crapshoot as to whether the local arthouse (Miracle 5) would show the little film that NY and LA see no matter what.
With the recent acquisition of the Eastern Federal Corporation by Regal, that probability becomes less likely yet. The big news in cinema chain consolidation is the AMC-Loews merger, which effectively gives the world the two mega-chains of Regal and AMC/Loews (or whatever it'll get renamed).
A couple months ago, Tallahasseeans were made aware that Eastern Federal, a southeastern U.S. movie theatre chain, was being bought by Regal. Eastern Federal has (well, had) twenty-two cinemas (238 screens) in three states (FL, NC and SC).
Every so often, you'll see Ong Bak or another small release film hit the AMC or Governor's Square (but very rarely), leaving the Miracle as the only first-run arthouse in town. The only other options are the Cinemark Movies 8 and FSU's Student Life Cinema. The SLC has a dedicated once-a-week "cafe cinema" series and once again, very rarely, you'll see a piece the calibre of The Upside of Anger at the Movies 8.
The first reaction around town from arthouse cinema patrons was outright panic. Where would Tallahasseeans see their beloved arthouse movies? The AMC 20, the IMAX? Not a chance in hell. The only thing people could do was upgrade their Netflix accounts in advance and get settled in for their role in The Big Fade.
Staying away from the theatre was no longer a choice, but a necessity for the discerning moviegoer. At first glance, it would seem the arthouse was dead, so long live the Megacorporation Mediocreplex.
Light on the Horizon
Upon further investigation, that may not be the case at all. I jumped onto the Regal website to look over their Art Cinema theatres, and most of those listed don't remotely reflect that description.
All of the aforementioned Non-Art Cinemas have over ten screens, which bodes well for the Miracle 5.
There are a couple cinemas of a similar screen count that Regal programs similarly to the way the Miracle has been typically programmed.
Taking a look at selected locations, notably Austin's Arbor 8, Atlanta's Tara 4, and Irvine's University Town Center 6, I was filled with hope. The Arbor I already knew as a decent location used by South by Southwest (a festival near and dear to my heart). Only two movies currently showing there classify as "mainstream" releases (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Cinderella Man). The University Town Center 6 features two movies I've never heard of, which is a minor miracle if you ask my friends.
Those and a couple others are fine, it's the Tara 4 that worries me.
At the time I did this research, on one of Tara's four coveted screens lay The Longest Yard (and that's precisely what it does, is just lay there). It's frightfully similar to the recent marquee at the Miracle 5.
Whereas Miracle as recently as last week featured The Longest Yard along with four other movies, for the four weeks following its opening, it was on two screens. Films appeared and disappeared on the other three screens, but Sandler's wrecking crew persisted on two of them.
The Regal press release came out in April, and it has been whispered that their guys had already started to take the programming reins by then, with this similarity to Tara at the time helping confirm those very suspicions.
So, the potential positive comparisons to the Arbor & University aren't enough to assure me or anyone I know that our only sure source for smaller release movies is safe from Regal reshaping or outright closing Miracle in a year's time. It’s times like those that make me question the existence of God and whether he/she/it's punishing the human race, or just me all by myself.
Regal cancelled all post-7:30pm shows at both Eastern Federal theatres with no notice outside of their box office listings at the theatres Thursday night (7.21) so that they could re-model and inventory both locations. I spoke to a Regal manager about the changeover that night, annoyed that I couldn't get into the now-cancelled 9:30pm Wedding Crashers. The gentleman smiled and directed me to a number at their corporate offices when he asked whether I was and I answered that indeed I was with the media.
As of Friday morning, both cinemas were rebranded the Regal Miracle 5 and the Regal Governor's Square Stadium 12. The Tallahassee Film Society has spread word that Regal has informed them that they're "dedicated to Art Cinema," but we'll see what really happens to the little cinema that (usually) could.
I'll followup with further developments, as well as photos and reactions from local folks, but this is all I have for the moment. As for now, all I can do is wait and hope.
After three revisions (as its posting got pushed further and further back), this first piece turned out to be a beast so I'm going to hold on my Hustle and Flow analysis until after the weekend. My five word review for the moment: worth paying more than twice.