With attendance dropping and prices of rentals from distributors rising, independent theaters are closing their doors with little chance of survival. But one historic theater is keeping its doors open in Atlanta.
The Plaza, built in 1939, is the city’s oldest continuously operating movie theater. The neon marquee of the Plaza Theatre, which is squashed unexpectedly between an Urban Outfitters and a FedEx, gleams brightly each evening as viewers attend showings each evening.
After the Plaza received non-profit status in 2012, Michael Furlinger gained ownership of the theater that April, and the Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) offered to pitch in efforts to help with labor and finances.
The Plaza Theatre is now the home base of the Atlanta Film Festival. ATLFF also controls marketing, development and management to help the Plaza continue its status as a landmark.
Christopher Escobar, executive director of ATLFF, shared his opinion on the sinking movie theater industry.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the death of movie theaters – let’s use the world cancer.”
In 2006, Jonathan and Gayle Rej bought the theater out of love and took out a second mortgage to keep its doors open. They were over their heads financially and were going to close the theatre down.
But since the start of the aid from the Atlanta Film Festival, they haven’t lost money a single month, something that was happening quite frequently before.
Escobar explained that there are two factors weighing on theaters: a consumer push and an industry push. The consumers want to watch things at instant gratification and at their own leisure. The industry is raising prices on what it takes to distribute films and what format in which they can be shown—a way to control cost and the theater without owning it.
Theaters in Atlanta are responding by making investments they never would have thought to do years ago. Phipps Plaza has made adjustments to allow the movie experience a luxury feel, with recliner seats and smaller showing rooms. Fork & Screen puts the “dinner and a movie” date night into one location to attract attendance.
The Plaza Theatre’s agenda is unique: their efforts focus on event-oriented showings, such as
monthly screenings of “The Room,” weekly performances of “The Rocky
Horror Picture Show” and other niche-based screening series.
“If they’re going to come less often, let’s make sure that that experience is worth the money,” Escobar said.
With future plans for renovation—such as updating carpets and seats and potentially gaining a liquor license—Escobar hopes for the Plaza
Theatre to represent what film buffs love about cinema.
“If film is
your religion, then that is your temple,” he said.
Escobar argues that the struggle of the independent film industry has an effect on smaller cinemas.
“Filmmakers like Spike Lee, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Joel and Ethan Cohen—all these huge names didn’t come from the studio system. They came from independents. If there’s no independents, then there’s no place for them to have a home; there’s no place for people to see their work or have word of mouth.”
“Having an independent home for cinema is important for it to continue to thrive as an art form, and not just an industry,” Escobar continued. “It can be both, but if it’s only left to the conglomerates, then it’s only going to be an industry.”
College students might not have a lot of time or money, but they have an
age that matters to sponsors and advertisers and they have their attention. Sponsors watch places that they could potentially put money into and support.
The Plaza Theatre’s renovations are a way to keep independent cinema alive, and for Escobar, the passion comes out of nothing but a deep love for film.
“We don’t do this for the money,” Escobar said. “We do this because we like finding new great films; we like the spark people get in their eyes when they’re seeing a film no one’s heard of before.”
For more information on the Plaza Theatre, including showtimes, visit http://atlantafilmfestival.com.
Like their Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PlazaAtlanta and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/PlazaAtlanta.
Nice article. I didn’t realize this theatre was still open!