This is another in the ongoing series of articles on legal way to compete and defeat CORPORATE ART. In this issue we talk about MOVIE THEATERS.
NOW you go to a Mega-sux 17 Theater and there's 17 mini theaters to choose from. Let's look at the reader boards: 10 `Godzillas', 3 of the feel-good weeper , 2 of the moron comedy , 1 of the insipid 2 hr. cartoon movie `for the whole family', & 1 nobody-ever-sees so nobody even know's what's playing in that LAST DOOR. That's a total of 17 theaters and 5 choices!
And after making your choice you've still got the $6.50 per person admission and $5 bucks a bucket 'o popcorn ( and do they EVER have the candy you like?) And a big drink costs.. don't ask.
GUERILLA THEATER. First, you must think DIFFERENT. Think arts /hippie/fun/ and drive-in-y. Imagine if you will a small room (fire marshall says it'll handle 50) - may be in a strip mall, office building basement, warehouse, old Victorian house, whatever.
Inside there's a bare room -carpeted - filled with pillows - deep with pillows, and somewhere in the BACK of the pillows is a video projector and somewhere in the FRONT of the pillows is a big video screen.
And outside the room is a man on a stool with a strong box for change. He's charging you maybe $3 or $5 FOR THE NIGHT!
And between the outside ticket seller and the pillow room is a different type of concession stand: with sodas (not all Coke, or all Pepsi, but all kinds) candies, and popcorn and maybe even bakery goods that YOU requested, at only slightly inflated prices. (They WANT to know your favorite snacks)
STILL WITH ME? Cause this is going to be a fun night at the movies. YOU snuggle down into the pillows, prop up your head, smooth a place for drinks and snacks and... Lights go down & What comes up?
THE 99% OF MOVIES THAT ARE NEVER SHOWN IN MAINSTREAM THEATERS!!!
Like: classics, straight-to-videos, midnights, screwball comedies, cult, music videos, documentaries, shorts, animation, foreign, college student films, indies, exploitation, sexploitation, film festival favs, slapsticks and much more.
And if you doubt there is all this product, Musca encourages you to go to a shop like Forbidden Books and Videos in Dallas (Exposition Park) and look at the 1,000's of videos you've never seen. Or go to the annual USA FILM FESTIVAL's Short Film And Video Competition, or go to the Internet and check out some of the online video co.s. And remember, these are all by film makers, actors, technical guys who WANT THEIR FILMS PLAYED. And would be delighted to not only give you permission to play them but would, in many instances be glad to host the showing.
SO WHAT WOULD A WEEK'S SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE?
Glad you asked:
M-F and Sat & Sun Nite:
5:00 Classic or older adult fare.
7:30 Main feature (something popular for
all ages.)
9:50 Midnight, drive-in type flicks.
PLUS shorts, cartoons, newsreels, videos, etc. in between the main features.
SAT Morning: All kids stuff till noon.
Weekend Afternoons: General Interest Films.
And all this for $3-5 a nite or a Sat Morning or a Sat/Sun afternoon.
AND WHY STOP AT FILM?
Add live acts in between to spice things up:
Musicians, short theater pieces, performers of any kind. Plus spotlight some artists work on the walls.
AND LET'S SAY IT'S REALLY GETTING POPULAR
Franchise the pillow theater concept to any city that wants to try it. AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT Call for videos from anyone anywhere. Select the best of these `ready made' films, that no mainstream distribution will touch, put them on compilation videos and voila, a film co in 15 minutes, with 100's of films in your roster. Then sell them thru the theater, over the Internet, or thru the mail.
The whole package is very do-able at very little start up cost. And it's all very GUERILLA THEATER!
I'LL BUY THE TICKET!