Film Exhibition in Baltimore (December 2008)

You will note that I have decided to change the month by which I track this post, as it tends to reflect the current moment as opposed to the past. There shall be no November 2008 post.

Three things on my mind, currently:

Topic One: Is the Landmark Harbor East homophobic?

There has been an interesting change in the pattern at the new theater in town, the Landmark Harbor East. Apparently, they will show any film that will maximize their profit share unless it deals with homosexuality (and the attendant and ongoing struggle for equal rights in that community) in a frank and open way.

Once you discount the fluke of the success of Slumdog Millionaire, which no movie suit predicted (it was apparently headed straight to DVD at one point), it makes no sense as to why Landmark would not be playing Milk. It is right up their alley in every way. It is another film for Mark Cuban to swipe from the Charles as he laughs and blow smoke from a cigar lit with a hundred dollar bill in the theater's face.

I am certainly not accusing the Landmark chain of being homophobic, as to look at their national exhibition picture shows several arthouses that are clearly gay friendly. So, my question is: was the decision not to play Milk based on having too many hits to handle already, or is there a policy of some kind in place at Landmark Harbor East?

It is certainly also possible that letting the Charles have Milk is based on its location near the heart of Baltimore's LGBT community. But something seems odd about the whole thing to me. I guess we shall see the next time a film like this comes down the pike. In any case, the film is having a successful run at the Charles, and this is a good thing for the theater.

Topic Two: Does the Arthouse have a future in Baltimore?

As discussed in a prior post, the Charles has cut the nine o'clock screenings on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from the schedule, prime time for college kids and those of the cineaste stripe among us to catch the films they want to see. This is outrageous to some, and another clear sign that the theater is catering to and getting more support from the greatest generation and the boomers than the youth of today.

It is extremely unfortunate that these screenings were cut, but financial concerns were involved. I wish that the next generation of film lovers were coming out to see these films in enough numbers to justify the screenings, but I know in my heart that the next generation of film lovers is moving away from the arthouse.

In conversations with young (and gen-x) lovers of film, it is clear that they get their movies on their laptops and Netflix most of the time, and do not understand the need to sit with a group of people in a darkened room and watch something projected on film more than a few times a year. Of course, I get a true and resonant enjoyment from this regular communal experience, but, to them, it is as antiquated a practice as reading a daily newspaper.

It is then only logical that a new paradigm is needed, as this is a business without a future. Perhaps the Senator's current move to non-profit status is an acknowledgment that the need now is for preservation as opposed to profit.

Topic Three: Why the heck are so many films opening on Christmas day?

I don't get it. How am I supposed to choose between The Spirit, Doubt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Reader, Valkyrie, and Frost/ Nixon, all scheduled to open in Baltimore on Christmas day? Outside of skipping out on my friends and family, I don't see options that allow me to take it all in over the holidays. Why is all this product is being dumped on this day into our market?

Of course, I must remember that some of these films will live on, being passed from theater to theater for months and months. Despite my warm memories of seeing the film back in August, I am beginning to think that Vicky Cristina Barcelona was about zombies, as it is clearly the film that will not die when it comes to Baltimore movie houses.