Sun-Ray struggling?

[ben says]

http://members.jacksonville.com/business/premium-business/2012-12-08/story/riversides-sun-ray-cinema-work-progress-one-year?utm_source=Sun-Ray+Cinema&utm_campaign=9134eb8c2f-Sun_Ray_12_9_2012&utm_medium=email

“I had this idea,” he said, “that you put something together, treat people well, choose a film people will want to see, and they’ll come.”

People have come, just not as many as are needed â€" though Massett is hopeful he can turn that around.

One obstacle is built in: The Sun-Ray, at 1028 Park St., is a single-screen theater from the old days, though considerably upgraded since then. In this day of giant megaplexes, it and the San Marco Theatre are the only single-screen movie houses left in Jacksonville.

“Trying to open up a business that was a great model for 1930 wasn’t such a great idea for 2012,” Massett said. “It’s getting there, but it’s slower than we thought.”

To make it work, he’s at the theater just about every day. His last day off was in September. So why do it?

“This is all I know how to do,” he said. “I’ve been working toward this the whole time.”

Massett has a huge collection of odd, old movies, some of which he used to show at an old warehouse he named The Pit. He programmed movies for the Jacksonville Film Festival and the San Marco. In 2008 he went to Duluth, Minn., where he was hired to open a two-screen theater from the ground up.

He moved back to Jacksonville to take over the theater in Five Points, which he renovated â€" new seats, new screen, better sound â€" with more than $100,000 raised in a crowd-sourcing campaign.

He wanted it to be an alternative to the big corporate theaters, showing both offbeat and mass-market movies, in the heart of an often-eclectic neighborhood without a movie house.

Just look at the concession stand. It offers popcorn and other typical stuff. But it also has several local beers, “wildly inauthentic” Cuban sandwiches and a kimchi and fried-egg creation called the Zaat, named after a 40-year-old cult horror movie made in Northeast Florida.

And the lobby? It’s painted in a swampy horror-movie motif, complete with an image from “Creature From the Black Lagoon” â€" which, not incidentally, will play in 2013 with star Julie Adams in attendance.

“It’s kind of like the last gasp of breath in trying to keep any kind of film and creativity in Jacksonville,” said Joe Black, a filmmaker whose documentary “Yellow Bellies,” about a Jacksonville all-girl punk band, plays at Sun-Ray Dec. 20.

He points to January events at the theater where comedian Doug Benson will poke fun during screenings of “RoboCop” and “Dirty Dancing.”

“That’s a true cinephile thing to do,” Black said.

The theater has had some hits since it opened last December; among them “The Avengers,” “The Hunger Games” and “Prometheus.” The undisputed high point, though, was “Moonrise Kingdom.”

Filmmaker Wes Anderson’s whimsical story was a perfect fit for Massett’s Sun-Ray, where it took in more money, he said, than it did in the city’s big multiplexes.

Live showings of TV’s “Walking Dead” also were a smash. He didn’t charge admission, yet the theater was packed with hungry and thirsty zombie fans â€" until the AMC network insisted he stop showing it.

Then there was the whole “Silver Linings Playbook” debacle.

He was scheduled to get the offbeat romance, which he figured would be a great Sun-Ray movie. So he juggled his schedule to fit it in, passing on hits such as “Lincoln.” But then the studio drastically reduced the number of screens it distributed “Playbooks” to â€" leaving the Sun-Ray trying to fill that space with movies few wanted to see there.

Some problems are out of Massett’s control: The Five Points neighborhood has struggled lately, and local media have been placing less emphasis on film coverage. And he can’t just pick from any movie that’s out there: Studios have rules about which films play where and for how long, and often frown on two shows sharing the same screen.

So if a single-screen theater gets stuck with a bomb, it’s really stuck.

Consider the Sun-Ray’s current film, “Killing Them Softly.” It got decent reviews, but it turned out few wanted to see Brad Pitt as a killer for the mob.

“So we end up opening a picture that’s the lowest-grossing Brad Pitt movie ever,” Massett said. Then he laughed. “It’s been a series of mishaps.”

Jacksonville’s lucky to have two single-screen cinemas that still regularly show movies, said David Blue, owner of the San Marco Theatre. He had a good year, he said, but it’s a tough business to make it in, particularly if you venture from the mainstream.

“Tim’s got a passion for movies and he’s tried to bring some things into Jacksonville,” Blue said. “You know, people say they want these art movies. I get emails, and he does, too, but you can’t just email that you want it, you’ve to get your butt and 15 other butts into seats. Talk is cheap. And when you get there, you better buy a cold beer while you’re there.”

During his year at the Sun-Ray, Massett has taken care to program what he calls “one-offs,” special one-day performances.

He likes those.

In December, those one-offs vary. There are two independent Jacksonville-made movies and an old creature-feature called “The Giant Spider Invasion.” There’s a film about the Old Crow Medicine Show band and a Quentin Tarantino retrospective before his new “Django Unchained” opens there.

He thinks “Django” will be another perfect Sun-Ray movie â€" offbeat but popular at the same time.

From there, he’s looking at booking the prestigious Oscar-contending movies in January and February.

He’ll be all digital by then: He took out an $85,000 Small Business Administration loan to convert to digital projection this month, as movie studios soon will no longer make 35mm prints.

After that? Like any business owner, he’d like to make money â€" a not-unreasonable goal.

The new digital system will allow him to show 3D films. So he’ll show some of those, along with other movies large numbers of people want to see.

“That’s what we have to go back to â€" those films that have permeated the entire consciousness of the public. We definitely have to go back to those super-popular movies,” he said.

“For now. With the one-offs sprinkled throughout.”



Matt Soergel: (904) 359-4082

[Tacachale]

That's too bad, it's a great venue. Folks need to get out there and support it. And it sounds like he needs to show some bigger money makers. I think they'll do well with Django Unchained.

[funwithteeth]

I was gonna do the midnight screening of Django, but I'm at the point in my life where I can't sit in a darkened theater until nearly 3 a.m. without risking falling asleep.

[danno]

Tim and his wife Shana are good people.  They have done great things with the place.

[MEGATRON]

That's too bad, it's a great venue. Folks need to get out there and support it. And it sounds like he needs to show some bigger money makers. I think they'll do well with Django Unchained.

We have tried but every time we think about going they are playing some uninteresting indie film.

[funwithteeth]

I don't know what you consider uninteresting, but I appreciate the place not just playing what can be seen at any of the megaplexes around the city.

[Captain Zissou]

I've been a couple times and loved it.  I wish I could have made it there for the showing of Bones Brigade.

I'll be there for Django for sure.

[peestandingup]

Sounds like its a content problem. They've had good luck with movies/shows that are actual quality (Moonrise Kingdom, Prometheus, live viewings of TV shows, etc), but bad luck with, well, bad movies or documentaries. And not to offend, but no one wants to see a docu about a local all girl punk band in Jacksonville, FL. There's just not that big of a market for stuff like that here.

Show things like Lincoln because its good. Show those indie, but still popular, documentaries that people are actually talking about & want to see. There's a ton I'm personally DYING to see, but guess what? No showing in Jacksonville. Well, why is that?

[Tacachale]

With only one screen they can't show everything. It also makes it so there's no real way to recoup when something they've committed to turns out to be a dud. And "Good" and "bad" is subjective. Prometheus was pretty successful, but it's arguable how good it was. Fortunately it sounds like Massett understands the challenges and will adjust accordingly.

[peestandingup]

With only one screen they can't show everything. It also makes it so there's no real way to recoup when something they've committed to turns out to be a dud. And "Good" and "bad" is subjective. Prometheus was pretty successful, but it's arguable how good it was. Fortunately it sounds like Massett understands the challenges and will adjust accordingly.

True, but we can say that about anything. A good programmer has to be able to see what's actually going to be good that will bring people in, whether its indie or a big release, and what's going to be shit that no one but a handful of people will actually come out to see. You also have to remember where you are. Meaning what people come out for in bigger, more diverse cities might not have the same results here.

I know thats "screening 101", but still. The fact that he passed on Lincoln, but will show some off-beat romantic comedy or docu about a no name local band that probably won't be together in a year doesn't give me a lot of faith that he totally understands this.

More sci fi, more mainstream documentaries that more people can relate to, cult classics, indie films that have a pulse, and the blockbusters that are actually good.

[funwithteeth]

What are "indie films that have a pulse" and how are you differentiating between that "off beat romantic comed[ies]."

[fsujax]

what has made the San Marco theater successful enough to stay in business for so long?

[Tacachale]

With only one screen they can't show everything. It also makes it so there's no real way to recoup when something they've committed to turns out to be a dud. And "Good" and "bad" is subjective. Prometheus was pretty successful, but it's arguable how good it was. Fortunately it sounds like Massett understands the challenges and will adjust accordingly.

True, but we can say that about anything. A good programmer has to be able to see what's actually going to be good that will bring people in, whether its indie or a big release, and what's going to be shit that no one but a handful of people will actually come out to see. You also have to remember where you are. Meaning what people come out for in bigger, more diverse cities might not have the same results here.

I know thats "screening 101", but still. The fact that he passed on Lincoln, but will show some off-beat romantic comedy or docu about a no name local band that probably won't be together in a year doesn't give me a lot of faith that he totally understands this.

More sci fi, more mainstream documentaries that more people can relate to, cult classics, indie films that have a pulse, and the blockbusters that are actually good.

The article does say he plans on booking more of those big hit's you're talking about, so I'm not sure why you don't think he understands that.

It also says he passed on Lincoln show the new movie by David O. Russel, which certainly would have been one of "those indie but popular" movies people go to Sun-Ray to see. When you only have one screen you're going to be passing on a lot of what's out there, and run greater risk of getting hosed. In that case, he got screwed when the distributor pulled it, not because the film was a flop. I don't know what band documentary you're talking about, but I'm sure it was one of those one-day things they run for a day or two; not the kind of thing he's passing hit movies to show.

[Tacachale]

what has made the San Marco theater successful enough to stay in business for so long?

I'm sure a lot of it is due to their shifting to only the big movies.

[fsujax]

I saw Argo there a few weeks back. Decent crowd on a Tuesday night.