Last night I went to Lexington Green, the first movie theatre that I ever saw in Lexington . . . for the last time.
I remember it being really busy the first time I went there, but last night the same girl working the ticket stand was working concession. Don't get me wrong, they're not closing, but they're going to be a discount theatre and that's, well -- I don't fly coach if I can help it. I'm not ragging on them for doing what they need to do to survive, I just wish they were still going to be my source for obscure gems.
The Kentucky is another art house movie palace, it's downtown, and it's . . . great. It's a classic building, plus it has lots of interesting movies. I saw Priceless there. Lost in Translation. And the re-release of Blade Runner (and? By the way -- Deckard? Totally not a replicant.). I saw a few others at The Kentucky, too. Parking is a nightmare, although they make fun choices -- but, then, they only have two screens.
Lex Green is right in the middle of town so it's easy to get to, easy to park, etc., etc. Plus, I've seen a ton of great movies there. I saw Pan's Labyrinth, The Orphanage, The Visitor, When Did You Last See Your Father, and Mama Mia!, just to name a few.
We saw Bottle Shock there the other night (great!) with a pretty full house. Then we saw Henry Poole Is Here last night and we were the only ones in there (also great!).
Concession Girl said they are now going to be a dollar theatre (to be truthful, $1.50), she said it was a corporate decision, it came as a surprise to her, and she was kind of bummed about it because she really likes the movies they show.
She thinks they will still have the opera series.
1 comment:
It is a bummer.
I LOVE The Kentucky Theater. In general, it's my favorite place to see a flick, but as you said, it just isn't as convenient and with only 2 screens it can't offer the variety that Lex Green did.
Lex Green also was half discount theater anyway. They seemed to regularly devote a few screens to new and interesting things that you wouldn't see elsewhere (except maybe The Kentucky), and they would play stuff that had been out a while (the latest Indiana Jones movie, Iron Man, etc.) on a couple of screens.
I don't know why they can't continue to try to cater to both crowds, unless they're just seeing that the "art house" films just aren't drawing like the other flicks.
It's kinda hard to believe that going strictly that route (while dropping the price to $1.50) will bring in the same kinda box office, but as we've already discussed, maybe more tix (even at a cheaper rate) means more concessions sold. Maybe.
I still do the discount theaters from time to time, though, especially for flicks that the boys are interested in seeing. Taking them to see a first run movie on opening weekend is quite expensive when you figure in tix, popcorn and drinks. Anymore, we either go to the drive-in or wait for the flick to get to the cheap theater.
Anyway, this is a lot of words just to say that I agree with your blog...
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