Holiday season repeats (employee division)

We always enjoy the Christmas season because usually, a few of our recently-graduated employees will be home from college, and will fill in a few shifts for us. This season, our "repeat performers" include Nichole Pellant (now in college at Missoula); Lynde Fitterer (now in Bozeman) and Alex Matteson (a 2006 graduate, now in Washington DC).

It's always nice to hear their college adventures and see how "our kids" have changed since leaving the home (and Roxy) "nest."

Movie booking nightmares

The questions start coming every time we don't open a huge hit movie on the break.

"'Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium?'" they say. "Where's 'I Am Legend?'"

And to a lesser extent, "Where's 'Alvin and the Chipmunks?'"

(Just fill in appropriate newer movies if you're reading this after mid-December 2007.)

Well the answer is always the same. We can't play every huge hit movie on the break for several reasons. Whenever we don't play one, one or more of the following reasons apply:

1. The movie studio would only take bookings of four weeks or more, which is too long for us. We can only play a movie two weeks (or possibly three, if we're talking "Star Wars" hugeness).

2. The studio didn't make enough prints to satisfy all the demand, and since we're in a small town, we are the first to get dropped from the list.

3. There is another movie opening next week that we want to play, so we have to pass on this week's movie (which would have to play for two weeks) in order to get next week's movie on the break.

4. Our booker has determined (based on several factors) that we wouldn't do enough business on the movie to make it worth playing for two or three weeks.

5. We just didn't realize the movie would be such a huge success and didn't get our request in on time. Our bad.

In the case of I Am Legend and Alvin and the Chipmunks, reason #3 applies. "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" opens on the 21st, and it looks like the one to beat this season, so we have to make the schedule fit around it.

Never fear, though....you can look for "Legend" and "Alvin" to hit our screen in January, unless some other gigantic blockbuster materializes in the meantime.

Upcoming schedule

Why not list some of the upcoming movies, I thought to myself. So here they are!

Disney's ENCHANTED plays through Dec. 5, by the way.

After that, and of course subject to changes:

Dec. 7 - Fred Claus
Dec. 14 - Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium + Beowulf
Dec. 21 - National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Actually the Dec. 21 booking is solid. The other two are the changeable ones. We'll also be adding a matinee on 12/22 but we don't know what it'll be, yet.

Not a lot to talk about?

It's been awhile since I had the time to write anything here. But, that's not surprising given the time of year we're in. This year we've also had the new wrinkle of adding our Gift Card program to the theatre's menu of products. We retired the old-fashioned MovieCard, which was good for five movies. The new Gift Card can be used for movies or concessions and it can be recharged.

If you are nostalgic for the old-fashioned MovieCard, don't despair. It will still be used whenever we donate movies to a charitable cause, so you might see one once in a while.

Otherwise, during November, I'm usually engaged in one of these pursuits:

1. Putting up the train layout at Valley Auto. If you haven't seen it, stop by the store anytime before January 10. It features several buildings built by my buddy Ray Deering (including a really cool 1/48 scale model of the Roxy), about 50 other buildings, a lot of model cars and trucks, and ... oh yeah, Lionel trains.

2. Putting up the Christmas lights at the theatre. If you've never seen them, just look up as you drive by. The lights go over the top of the building's middle arch. Looks like no big deal, but it's a challenge to get those lights up there and make them stay there. We decorate inside too -- the stage lights and the tinsel garlands in the entryway are over 25 years old! -- but the outside
lights are my favorite Roxy Christmas tradition.

3. Putting up the Christmas lights at home. I am constantly amazed at how perfectly-working lights can burn out while in storage at the house. The bulbs also come unscrewed from the sockets...how does that happen?

It'll BEE a fun weekend

Well, you'd think after all these years there would be no more "firsts" at the Roxy, but this week, for the first time, we're opening a movie that's exactly one week old.

Normally, if we don't play a film on its opening weekend, we have to wait anywhere from three to five weeks to get it; but this week, Paramount has decided to widen the release of "Bee Movie" by releasing a bunch more prints, so we've managed to snag one.

Their strategy is pretty obvious: There are no major contenders coming out on November 9, so by putting "Bee Movie" into a bunch more theatres, Paramount stands a good chance of claiming the #1 spot on the charts this weekend.

We'll sure do our best to help them achieve that goal. See you at the movies...or as Jerry Seinfeld might put it, "Bee there!"

Bee Movie

We're bound to get a lot of questions this weekend about why, oh why we aren't playing "Bee Movie" which opens this Friday. (We're playing "Mr. Woodcock" and "The Kingdom" instead.)

Well, we fully planned on playing "Bee Movie," but our booker reports that Paramount is not taking very many smaller, single-screen bookings for the film. That means one of two things:

1. They couldn't find enough small situations to make it worth going into any of them

or

2. The movie isn't going to be as huge as they thought.

Or possibly a combination of both. Personally, being a Jerry Seinfeld fan (he wrote, produced and plays the main character), I'm looking forward to this movie. We'll probably play it either Nov. 16 or sometime in early December.

Also for those keeping score: Disney's "Enchanted" is booked to open on Wednesday, Nov. 21 for the Thanksgiving weekend. I think that one will stick.

Remakes: They can be good (but not usually)

Okay, so one of my all-time favorite movies that nobody under 40 has ever heard of is "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" from 1974. It features several great actors who are no longer with us -- Robert Shaw, Walter Matthau, Ernest Borgnine. It has a terrific story and one of the most satisfying endings of any movie I've ever seen.

In the movie, a New York City subway train (complete with passengers) gets hijacked and held for a million dollar ransom by three armed men. They give the mayor one hour to cough up the cash, or else they will execute one of the passengers for every minute the money is late.

Of course the premise raises some questions. Like, how do the bad guys take over the train? How do they plan to get away? How do you get a million dollars gathered, counted and transported down a subway tunnel in less than an hour? And, how many hostages (if any) will live through the ordeal?

It's a fine movie and well worth seeking out, if only to watch the look on the video store clerk's face when you ask for it.

Why am I bringing this up? Because the movie is getting remade, that's why. There will be a new version coming out in 2008, starring Denzel Washington. I don't know if I'm excited about this or not. The original movie is so good, it really shouldn't be remade. (Think "The Longest Yard.") Do we really want a hatchet job like that performed on one of the best thrillers ever made?

On the other hand, it could be decent. (Think "Ben-Hur.") Of course, the original "Pelham" wasn't a black and white silent movie, like the original "Ben-Hur" was.

One of those nights

Friday nights can be interesting at the Roxy. This week our film came direct from another theatre -- the Carmike Mall Cinemas in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. I don't know who the "projectionist" is there, but the film arrived in about the worst condition I've seen in years. (But don't worry, I was able to fix all the bad spots.)

On top of that: One of the concession people was late for work; we had a computer malfunction; the drain on the pop machine clogged up; and a threading mishap (by OUR projectionist, who we're currently training) caused the show to start out of focus which I hate. AND THEN, thanks to the genius at that Colorado Carmike, we had a film break about ten minutes into the movie.

Well, let's see....SOME things worked. The popcorn was good, the toilets didn't overflow, and we had a nice crowd. So all things considered, it could have been worse.

Upcoming goodies

OK, all two of you who see this... here's a list of what's coming up at the Roxy. Too bad more people haven't found this blog, they'd be more in the know than the average man on the street.

Oct. 5 - 3:10 To Yuma (for 2 weeks)
Oct. 19- The Game Plan (Disney movie starring The Rock)
Oct. 26- The Kingdom (War movie ... looks good)
Nov. 2 - Bee Movie (Animated film featuring Jerry Seinfeld)
Nov. 16- The Heartbreak Kid (maybe)
Nov. 19- Enchanted (new Disney film)

Of course all of this is subject to change, except 3:10 to Yuma which starts tonight. See ya at the movies!

Some personalized plates are just dumb

I was just outside looking at the cars of the people who are at the movies tonight. Among them are two personalized plates:

H82BL8

and

DA WAGON

Now those are pretty good ones. What I don't understand is when somebody buys a '92 Ford and they get personalized plates that say:

92 FORD

Is that to help them remember their plate when they check into a motel? Make it easier to buy replacement parts? I don't get it.

If I had a '92 Ford, I think I'd like to get a plate that says 08 VETTE. It would be more of a conversation starter.

Slow weekend/busy weekend

Movies were pretty slow last weekend, as we expected. I don't mind that so much when we expect it. It's when we plan for a big crowd and don't get one that I get (to use a '70s term) bummed.

Occasionally, people ask me "if anyone goes to the movies anymore." On a weekend like we just had, it might look like not many people do. But our attendance is running ahead of last year; in fact, we've been "up" over the previous year in 12 out of the last 15 years. So yeah, people still go to the movies. If YOU don't, you should change that...you're missing a lot of good stuff.

Next up is a flick we expect to have a better run with: 3:10 To Yuma, with Russell Crowe. It'll run for two weeks.

A little more press

Well this week I was interviewed by a guy from Uptown Magazine, in Winnipeg. (That's in Canada, for you geography buffs.)

The reporter's name was Walter Forsberg. (I meant to ask him if he was any relation to the Forsbergs who used to live here, but never got around to it.) He toured the theatre, took pictures and we talked about the history of the building quite a bit, along with the peculiarities of small town theatre ownership.

Walter is a movie reviewer and a columnist for that particular magazine so the results of the interview should be posted or published shortly, after which I'll put it on the Roxy website if they'll let me.

New neighbors

Well, the Lariat Bar next door to the Roxy has been closed since April and I can't say I've missed it. We've enjoyed the added parking, and the best part has been freedom from having to clean up beer bottles, cigarette butts and worse from our sidewalk on a regular basis.

Now the Lariat will be reopening with new owners in a couple of months. I'm glad to see it being remodeled and reopened, but I'm hoping the new guys will take note of what goes on outside their business, not just inside, and apply the cleanup crew accordingly.

By the way, there have been rumors running rampant around town that the Roxy is wheeling and dealing to buy the Lariat building from the new owners. Let me state for the record here that no such deal is in place. While we were hoping to acquire the Lariat property and turn it into a second Roxy screen, that didn't happen for reasons I won't go into here. For now, we'll be staying single. (In screen count, that is!)

No lines this week

Usually in the movie biz, we know (sort of) what to expect, crowdwise, before a film rolls in. This week, we have one really good movie and one other one. Unfortunately, neither are expected to hit hard.
"Balls of Fury" is the late show. It tags onto the "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" idea and applies it to ping pong.
The other movie, the good one, is "Becoming Jane," featuring one of our favorite actresses, Anne Hathaway. Looks good, and it's an adult art film, which is a rare thing at the Roxy, so if you want to see more like this, now's the time to show your support.
And for those waiting for "3:10 To Yuma" -- cheer up, it's coming next week or so we're told.

Ferris Wheels: The ones you see now are all phonies

Here's a picture of my wife, Lynn, and me on a real, old-fashioned Ferris Wheel in Kalispell, Montana last summer.

Actually you can't really call it a Ferris wheel. In the carnival industry, it's just a wheel, because Ferris is the name of the guy who invented the first big wheel for people to ride on. The name has stuck with the public and become synonymous with the wheels at county fairs, but for those in the know, there's really only one Ferris Wheel, and that's the original -- and it's gone now.

But anyway, one of my small pet peeves in life is the gargantuan device that passes for a wheel at the county fairs these days. Even the fair in Forsyth has had one of these wheels for a few years. It's called the Century Wheel, which implies that it's 100 feet tall, but nope -- it's 65 feet.

Century Wheels are bigger than the old-fashioned wheels you used to see at carnivals, for sure...but they're just not the same.

Why? Because the seats, instead of being loveseat-like chairs that are carried on the rim of the wheel, the newer wheels have "gondolas" that hang down below the rim.

As a result, you never get that lighter-than-air, king-of-the-world, high-above-it-all feeling on the newer wheels.

On a traditional wheel, when you go over the top, your head and shoulders are above the top of the wheel. On the way down, you can see the scenery and view the fairgrounds with nothing in front of you. On the newer wheels like the "Century Wheel" and the "Giant Wheel," you are never outside of the machine. And if you're with your wife, you can't even sit next to her on the new wheels because you have to sit on opposite sides of the gondola to balance it.

So I was delighted to find out that the Northwest Montana Fair in Kalispell had a real old fashioned wheel. The kind that used to be at every carnival everywhere. The kind you don't see around these parts anymore. So naturally I insisted that we queue up for a ride. And it was great. The operator even let us go around an extra time at the end, because I'm sure he saw how much fun I was having.

My wife and my friends may not understand this affinity I have for the real old-fashioned wheels. That happens to me a lot...people don't see the awesomeness in something that I see. But then, it works the other way too...my wife loves "Dancing With The Stars," and I just don't get that.

But anyway. Real wheels. The Big Eli, as they're sometimes called. By the way, they're only made by the Eli Bridge Company. Remember that next time you visit a county fair.

Superbad - it was great until it ended

OK, so here's a glimpse into the "inside" of the movie biz.

Wednesday afternoon, we got a call from the Miles City theatre telling me they had booked "Superbad" for this weekend and they were supposed to get our print. A half-hour after that phone call, our booker called me and told me the same thing.

Good to go, right?

Now it's not as easy to send a print of a movie to Miles City as it is to just send it back to the film exchange. Miles City likes their film to arrive on two 6000-foot reels, rather than the six small ones it normally comes on. So we put the film onto the big reels, and pack up the regular "shipping" reels into the box they came in, and haul the whole mess over to my day job where George from Miles City will pick it up the next day.

Normally it goes that way, and everything's fine.

THIS time however, George called me up today and said they had received another print of Superbad from the film exchange, so there is no reason for him to come and get our print. So that means I have to haul everything back to the theatre, put the film back onto the small shipping reels and then haul it to the post office to ship it out a day late.

This is the kind of thing that makes me long for "digital cinema."

What in the world is (are?) "The Nanny Diaries?"

Sometimes (usually in the early spring or early fall) we play a movie that slips under my radar. With most movies, I have a fairly good idea of what they're about before we book them.


This week's film slipped through the cracks. Well, I do know a few things about it. It's a chick flick, it has Scarlett Johansson in it, it's a comedy, it's rated PG-13. But that's about all I know. For some people, just knowing it's a chick flick will be enough, I guess.

Cruisin' Main in Forsyth

Another Saturday night in Forsyth and it's looking pretty dead downtown.

I remember when "cruising" was really a big deal. Driving around endlessly, listening to music on our tape decks, pulling over into parking lots to talk to our friends, and honking and waving at girls. Back and forth up and down Main Street for hours. Hoping that special girl would return your wave. If she did, and especially if she smiled, that meant you could flash your headlights at her, which was a signal for her to pull over somewhere to talk, which could (if all the stars were aligned) lead to her getting into your car for a cruise or two.

Like many social situations, the path to cruising fun was littered with land mines. There was always the risk that, when you gave a girl the lights, she would ignore you. At that point it was up to you to decide: Did she just miss seeing the signal? If you were pretty sure she did, you could flash again the next time you saw her. But this was risky: If she ignored the signal a second time, it was the ultimate cruising humiliation, a total rejection. Proof that she had no use for you.

If you successfully pulled a girl over and then got her into your car, the next step was to get rid of all the other people in the car. Fortunately, they were usually cooperative. "Wow, I said I'd be home by 9:30...better drop me off, man."

It was a fun game to play, and even if you didn't win at it, you still had a pretty good consolation prize: An evening of socializing with your friends and listening to great music.

Kids now don't cruise that much. This town used to hop at night, but these days it's much more sedate. I'm not really sure what the young people do for fun. Sit around and watch videos? Listen to music on iPods? Update their MySpace pages? Play video games? Somehow staring at various TV screens all the time seems sort of boring. Of course I'm staring at one as I type this, so what do I know?

I still enjoy just driving around. I'm lucky to have a wife who enjoys it, too. I have a much better car stereo now, too. It's a little less fun these days because of the gas prices, but that doesn't matter too much, because there are no girls cruising Main tonight anyway. Even if there were, honking and waving at them could put me in jail (or divorce court).

Launch this sucker

Well, who knows where this will lead, how long it will last or where it will go, but I'm now an official member of the "blogosphere," whatever that is.

I'm the owner of the Roxy Theatre in Forsyth, MT. I'm married to my lovely wife, Lynn. We have no kids, but we do have six teenage employees and a bunch of nieces and nephews. I tend to be the quiet type out in public, but I have kind of a big mouth online, which hopefully won't get me into too much trouble. (So far, so good!)

The main reason for this post is just to see if everything's working, so please don't be too disappointed at how boring it is. I hope to change that almost immediately. Happy reading!