Indian Lake Theater
The survival of small-town movie theaters is being threatened by requirements to convert from 35mm film to digital systems, something Hollywood is requiring by September 2013.
Bob Card, co-owner of the Strand Theatre in Old Forge said he has already felt the affects of the change, experiencing delays in current film availabilities due to the limited number of 35mm prints.
The switchover, which is estimated to cost $60,000 to $70,000 per screen, has already forced doors to close at a number of small, independently operated movie houses, including the Inlet and Norwich theaters.
Ben Strader and Vinnie Smith in the projection room at the Indian Lake Theater
“We’ll have to be digital by this fall if we’re going to make it,” Card said.
He said he is looking at a $300,000 cost to install digital projection for four screens at The Strand.
He has recently been promised a $25,000 Rural Area Revitali-zation Program (RARP) grant, but said he needs to spearhead a major fundraising campaign to raise the rest of the conversion costs.
The Adirondack Film Society, a not-for-profit organization in Lake Placid, is working to find funding for all small theaters within the Adirondack Park, including The Strand and Indian Lake Theater.
Bob Card at the Strand Theater concession counter
In the meantime, theater owners are figuring out creative ways to survive.
Ben Strader, president of Indian Lake Theater, Inc., a non-profit organization, has worked for the past five years to reinvent the theater as a multi-use community venue.
The theater provides opportunities for residents of the region to perform, present their work and meet for community discussions with members of such organizations as the Economic Community Development Council.
It’s a connecting place for Hamilton County and Indian Lake, according to Strader.
“We have fewer and fewer gathering places in our communities, and they’re really important for gathering, having ‘face time’ and getting out of our houses—away from our Netflix,” he said.
The Indian Lake Theater, Inc. will begin a capital campaign in February 2013, in part to cover the costs of digital conversion, according to Strader.
The theater recently received a New York State RARP grant for $62,000, which will assist with the costs of a new roof, a new marquee and facade on the front of the building, and replacement of the heating and cooling system.
The ILT organization currently has $90,000 of the $180,000 needed for all of the changes and improvements. Strader mentioned one private donor who gave $25,000 toward the digital conversion.
In making the donation the donor told Strader, “I love the fact that local kids can go to the movies for five bucks. I want to make sure they can keep doing that.”
Strader also said that filmmaker Frank Oz, who lends his voice to Miss Piggy and Yoda, among other characters, is a seasonal visitor to the area and has offered his help with a fundraiser.
Strader and his organization is not only passionate about the survival of their own theater, but for the local Strand Theatre as well.
“We are great admirers of The Strand Theater and what Bob Card has been able to do in Old Forge. We try to create a theater that will serve our part of the county with respect for what he’s been doing.
The Strand is an amazing place. If any theater is going to survive in the Adirondacks, it’ll be his,” Strader said.
The Strand has also played host to a number of cultural events such as Adirondack Lake Center for the Arts performances, a Dirty Dancing Review last summer, and The Nutcracker Ballet at Christmastime. In May, it will host a bluegrass concert during Paddlefest weekend.
With four theaters within The Strand, Card said they can host live performances on the stage of the main theater while simultaneously showing movies on the remaining screens.
Card is looking to begin a capital campaign for the digital conversion costs, perhaps enlisting www.kickstarter.com, a site designed for online donations for creative projects.
