Movies on a Big Screen…the blog!

Well look at that! We get a blog, then I injure my back. Then get busy. And the brand-new blog sits all lonely and empty. Ah well.

First off, a tiny bit of MOBS news – if you haven’t notice on our schedule page… the Found Footage Festival will be making a return to Movies on a Big Screen! Not only that, but I gotta date for you all! Sunday, Oct 4. The tentative times are 4 PM and 7 PM (update- there will be one screening at 7:30 PM only). This will be at The Guild. Earlier this year, we were on the tail-end of the tour, and now, we’re closer to the start of the tour featuring an entirely new program for 2009-2010! Yep, you read that right – it’s a new program! Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher (Colbert Report, Late Show with David Letterman and The Onion) will again be here with their live comedic accompaniment to the found footage that they dig up. If you went last time, you know you need to go again. If you didn’t, don’t make that mistake again. Seriously. You have no idea what you missed.

You also probably won’t want to miss Mad City Chickens this weekend (August 7 and 9 – with the filmmakers in attendance on the 7th), The Visioneers on August 14 and 16, and Back to School Night with Movies on a Big Screen on August 23 at The Guild, as well. That’s going to be hosted by Cinema Insomnia’s Mr. Lobo! Just check out our schedule.

On to other news that might be of interest.

It seems that the Los Angeles County Museum of Art is putting its weekly film series on hiatus by November. This series has highlighted classic and foreign films for the last 37 years. It recently has been programmed by Ian Bernie. Bernie has been a full-time employee, but will be dropped to a part-time consultant.

The issue at hand seems to be about money. Audiences have been dwindling and funding has been difficult to obtain. As a result, they will “reconsider the nature, scale, and scope of our film programs.”

They further state, “As part of that, and for the present, we will certainly place greater emphasis on artist-created films reflecting the museum’s growing relationship with contemporary artists and the contemporary art world.”

I’m not precisely sure what they mean by “artist-created films” (what they were showing were made by people with no artistic sense?), but I think I can guess, as can you.

Some folks have speculated that part of the problem is that the film program was really only marketed to museum members, so outside awareness was low. In a forum set up to discuss this hiatus, one person specifically stated that they first heard about the film program because of news that it was being shuttered (for now). There seems to be agreement that promotion was definitely minimal on their series.

Variety’s Todd McCarthy thinks blaming the economic situation “seems too convenient.” He further states, “I’m told the film program ran at a deficit of $70,000 last year, which is chicken feed for such an institution. Is it worth closing down the entire film operation just for that? Hardly. It seems like just an excuse to eliminate an activity in which the current museum administration must not be very interested.”

LACMA does say that they will continue to present exhibition-related programs, a reliance on which I always find somewhat puzzling. I realize that this is “the thing that museums do,” but having an on-going film program which is not tied to current exhibitions can be profoundly important. And mixing up that film program in attempt to make it appealing, I think, is a great thing – heck, make it a little bit “dangerous.” Keep in mind, I do understand that it can be difficult, as museums need to keep their current members happy (often, a large portion of whom are generally older) while still trying to attract new, younger members, and finding a balance can be more than tricky.

However, given that LACMA is one of only a couple of museums who have had an on-going film program over the years (e.g. the New York Museum of Modern Art also does), it’s really too bad they have found the need to bring it to a halt, at least for now, rather than continuing it while adjusting programming.

I do also understand the problems with limited promotional ability. Heck, without social networking, word of mouth, and the help of those in the local media who support us, no one would know we even existed. We have no marketing budget, as we have no money for marketing. Add to that, most of the titles we run have no marketing budget either, so no one has ever heard of them, and you start to get the picture. So I do feel the pain in this area of LACMA’s series.

Having said all of this, keep an eye out for some news on a batch of very cool films that the Crocker will be hosting (which, yes, will be tied to an exhibition)! As soon as we can, we’ll let you know the details.