Critically acclaimed films make cameo appearances

There isn't always a Hollywood ending when Cape Girardeau film buff Edna Murphy heads out to the local movie theaters.

Often, the film she wants to see isn't among the movie posters featuring big draws like Keanu Reeves, Will Smith and Leonardo DiCaprio.

"My sister lives in Miami Beach and she's always telling me about such and such a movie that she loved," Murphy said. "I watch for it, and it never comes here."

Such is the life of the discerning moviegoer in Southeast Missouri.

There are two theaters here, Cape West 14 Cine, a Wehrenberg theater with 14 screens. Town Plaza Cinema, owned by Kerasotes, has five screens.

While it seems likely that the masses are content with movies like "Are We There Yet?" and "The Wedding Date," recent news that the Town Plaza Cinema is considering building a new theater with more screens has movie fans hoping for more eclectic choices.

"It would be great if Cape were getting more screens if they'd expand and let those of us who want an opportunity to see something like an art-house or independent film," said Dr. Dale Haskell, who teaches a course on the art of film at Southeast Missouri State University.

Haskell points out that movies like "Sideways" and "Hotel Rwanda" weren't released locally until they were nominated for Academy Awards. Then, they were here and gone.

"Sideways" is a critically acclaimed movie that stars Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as two middle-aged ne'er-do-wells who learn about life and love while traveling through California wine country.

It was released in October, but didn't make it to Cape Girardeau until recently, after it was nominated for an Academy Award. Even then, it was only here two weeks.

Likewise, "Hotel Rwanda," the dramatic true story of genocide in Rwanda, starring Don Cheadle as real-life hero Paul Rusesabagina, was only here three weeks after traveling here by Oscar buzz.

The theaters' side

Theater managers argue that it's impossible to tell what's going to be popular. They say that most people want to be entertained, and that's what the local theaters provide. When movies like "Hotel Rwanda" and "Sideways" do come, as few as two to three people may attend one showing.

"Besides," said John Fischer, who manages Town Plaza Cinema, "we have nothing to do with what movies come or don't or how long they stay. That's all done by corporate."

Kevin Dillon, manager of the Wehrenberg theater, said that sometimes it's not even up to exhibitors. Dillon said that sometimes distributors only make a certain number of prints and then want those to go to larger markets like Chicago, New York and Los Angeles first.

"Then we can sometimes pick them up after theaters in those cities begin to drop them," he said. " 'Life Aquatic' was like that. We picked it up after larger markets began to drop it."

Doug Whitford, the film buyer for Wehrenberg, said from his St. Louis office that it's never a case of having too few screens in Cape Girardeau.

"There are 19 screens there," he said. "In cities like St. Louis, if you have 18 screens, you can play everything. We'd love to play everything available in Cape Girardeau."

He said it's basically up to the distributor. If a distributor plans to go 2,500 runs, then Cape Girardeau is always one of the 2,500 locations, Whitford said.

"If they decide to go more limited, maybe 500 or 700, then Cape isn't."

Whitford said how long films stay is determined by how well they do.

"We're a business," he said. "And 'Sideways' is doing OK, but it's certainly not doing great."

Dr. Harvey Hecht, who has taught film classes at Southeast for 20 years, agreed. The theaters can't run movies that are only going to be seen by a few people.

"If I were a normal commercial theater owner, I'd have a tough time giving much time to a 'Hotel Rwanda,' for example, or even a 'Sideways,'" he said. "They could run 'Hotel Rwanda' for a week, 24 hours a day and not sell as many tickets as they would for one showing of 'Shark Tales.' It's unfortunate, but that's the way it is."

Sometimes, the university and the public library have film series that show independent movies.

"But right now, the best bet is to have a good tape rental place," he said.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137