Who knew that writing a sports column for the local newspaper could be so controversial? David Selvig, who writes for the Jamestown Sun raised some hackles with his off-hand dismissal of the Bison 6 Cinema’s movie “choices.” The article Mr. Selvig wrote really had nothing to do with the theater, but he used the price of movie tickets to illustrate that going to a local sports event was cheaper. If he’d left it there, that would have been fine, but he did rather sling mud at the theater, which has backfired.
Cory Keim, co-owner of Bison 6 Cinema, responded to the article with a letter to the editor, which you can read here:
http://www.jamestownsun.com/event/article/id/148807/
There have been movies I’ve wanted to see that have not been brought to Jamestown, but I believe in almost every case it was because of a limited release, as Cory Keim points out, and not out of a desire to rob local audiences of a greater variety of movies. And after all, didn’t they bring in The King’s Speech (when they still only had four screens), which could very well be a much better movie than Ides of March or J Edgar?
I’m thankful for the service the Keims provide, bringing in entertainment, not to mention the number of people they employ. I’m hoping that the furor raised over Mr. Selvig’s column will help people think a little more before blindly criticizing something they might know nothing about.
6 comments
Comment by seaofstories on November 21, 2011 at 8:49 am
While I agree with your take I think that the theatre owner’s response (reducing his ad run) was petty and vindictive. That should be a business decision based on where he can get the most for his marketing dollar not a response to an commentary in the newspaper that he doesn’t agree with (even if it is flat out wrong).
Comment by Buffalo Bill on November 21, 2011 at 8:51 am
Maybe the owners of the theater can explain why they aren’t accepting credit cards yet. IIRC, accepting credit cards was mentioned in articles published around the time the place opened. It’s ridiculous that they don’t.
Comment by seaofstories on November 21, 2011 at 8:52 am
At the end of the day this isn’t a local theatre problem. It’s an industry problem. Where I’m at we’re blessed with many movie options, lots of theatres and lots of screens, but so many of them are consumed with tent pole popcorn flicks targeted at 12 year olds that I still find myself driving 30 minutes to the art house on a regular basis despite living within walking distance of a theatre with a dozen screens.
Comment by Buffalo Bill on November 21, 2011 at 9:40 am
Seaofstories, I completely agree. Based on his childish letter, I am boycotting his theater. I’ll take my entertainment dollars to Fargo where I’ll have more options.
Comment by Laurel on November 21, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Seaofstories, it’s possible that since you live in an area where there are a lot of theaters, certain ones gear their movies more toward certain audiences. I know that in Jamestown, the Keims do a good job of having a variety of movies. For example, they kept the movie Courageous longer than other places might have because it was popular in the area.
Buffalo Bill, if the credit card option was installed, it’s quite possible the price of tickets would have to increase as well, to cover the cost of the fees from the credit card companies. And there is an ATM right around the corner from the theater box office.
Comment by seaofstories on November 22, 2011 at 9:29 am
Laurel:
I think that’s correct. There are more people here so there’s a large enough nitche for art house theatres to be successful. I’m very happy to have the option of being able to see something like ‘The Artist.’ Where I grew up the closest option for any movie was 40 minutes away, so I don’t want to leave the impression that I’m complaining about having to go 30 minutes now to see a limited release silent b&w film.
The simple reality is that theatre owners have to make a living and they do that by attracting as many eyeballs to their screens as possible. That’s just as true in big urban/suburban metro areas as it is is Jamestown.