The State Theatre in Ann Arbor is a bona fide landmark and, along with the Michigan Theatre, is kind of the only game in town for independent and “art house” flicks. But the fact that they show movies with subtitles or that haven’t been directed by Michael Bay isn’t the only reason to love them. They also have a killer lineup of midnight movies that runs from the end of July through the end of October. If you’re a night owl, these movies give you the chance to see films that have been out of theatres for perhaps your entire lifetime and share the experience with other weirdoes like you. But what goes into choosing which movies get the privilege of a special midnight showing at the State? I posed that exact question to the flame haired general manager of the establishment, Christine Tremblay.
“Especially for this round, we tried to pick a diverse selection of popular cult-y movies older or newer – a lot of which we’ve never shown before.” This most certainly seems to be the case. The offerings span genres from sci-fi celebration of Willis “The Fifth Element” (August 11) to the Jon Waters classic and Johnny Depp swoonfest “Crybaby” just a few weeks later (August 25). She makes the point that the movies that do the best at a midnight screening are those that have either a fun factor or a nostalgia factor, and most of this lineup has both on lock. Tremblay explains, “It’s exciting to see ‘The Labyrinth’ or ‘The Breakfast Club’ (September 15) because you either loved it as a kid or have never seen it on the big screen or both.” This year the films also include a couple of celluloid love letters to the awkward teen in all of us: “Ghost World” (September 29) and “Rushmore” (September 8).
But all is not well at the State. If you think that the process is as simple as picking your most beloved movies and then kicking back with a tub of popcorn, you would be mistaken. “Sadly, there are a lot of classics we can’t show anymore because distributors will no longer distribute 35mm prints. “ Tremblay informs iSPY. Among the movies that are no longer on the roster for this reason are favorites like “The Goonies,” “Fight Club” and “Empire Records.”
But the show must go on! Ms. Tremblay gives us something to look forward to when it’s pointed out that she’s “excited to show scary movies for the month of October, which hasn’t been done in a couple years.” It’s set to be a blood-curdling end to the season with “Friday the 13th” (October 13) and “The Blair Witch Project” (October 20). The season closes with a double dose of THE midnight movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (October 26 and 27).
The State Theatre in Ann Arbor is a bona fide landmark and, along with the Michigan Theatre, is kind of the only game in town for independent and “art house” flicks. But the fact that they show movies with subtitles or that haven’t been directed by Michael Bay isn’t the only reason to love them. They also have a killer lineup of midnight movies that runs from the end of July through the end of October. If you’re a night owl, these movies give you the chance to see films that have been out of theatres for perhaps your entire lifetime and share the experience with other weirdoes like you. But what goes into choosing which movies get the privilege of a special midnight showing at the State? I posed that exact question to the flame haired general manager of the establishment, Christine Tremblay.
“Especially for this round, we tried to pick a diverse selection of popular cult-y movies older or newer – a lot of which we’ve never shown before.” This most certainly seems to be the case. The offerings span genres from sci-fi celebration of Willis “The Fifth Element” (August 11) to the Jon Waters classic and Johnny Depp swoonfest “Crybaby” just a few weeks later (August 25). She makes the point that the movies that do the best at a midnight screening are those that have either a fun factor or a nostalgia factor, and most of this lineup has both on lock. Tremblay explains, “It’s exciting to see ‘The Labyrinth’ or ‘The Breakfast Club’ (September 15) because you either loved it as a kid or have never seen it on the big screen or both.” This year the films also include a couple of celluloid love letters to the awkward teen in all of us: “Ghost World” (September 29) and “Rushmore” (September 8).
But all is not well at the State. If you think that the process is as simple as picking your most beloved movies and then kicking back with a tub of popcorn, you would be mistaken. “Sadly, there are a lot of classics we can’t show anymore because distributors will no longer distribute 35mm prints. “ Tremblay informs iSPY. Among the movies that are no longer on the roster for this reason are favorites like “The Goonies,” “Fight Club” and “Empire Records.”
But the show must go on! Ms. Tremblay gives us something to look forward to when it’s pointed out that she’s “excited to show scary movies for the month of October, which hasn’t been done in a couple years.” It’s set to be a blood-curdling end to the season with “Friday the 13th” (October 13) and “The Blair Witch Project” (October 20). The season closes with a double dose of THE midnight movie “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” (October 26 and 27).
