I miss those pre-COVID days, when I was able to travel around the world and make appearances at local cinemas. Back when "Cheatin'" came out, I had a booking agent that arranged for me to visit a bunch of the cinemas that were premiering the film, I think I went to about 13 cities on one trip, and I felt a bit like a rock star on tour. You know how bands sometimes have t-shirts that list all the cities on their tour? I should have had a t-shirt made.
But because of the pandemic, one of my favorite venues, the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, TX has closed for financial reasons. I remember the first time I visited there, it was run by Tim League, a great guy, and I did a two-man show, co-starring the great Don Hertzfeldt. Of course, we had a packed house, because of Don's local fan base there.
What really surprised me was that they had a kitchen and served food like burgers, salads and hot dogs at the seats. Wow, what a cool concept, something more than just popcorn and candy - and in fact the idea was such a hit that Alamo Theaters got franchised across America.
Now, some purists were offended by the idea of eating in front of a classic film. They said it would disturb concentration and appreciation of the film. However, the Alamo preferred to show over-the-top, wacky films - comedies, horror and action movies, so drinking and eating complimented the enjoyment of the film. It made for a perfect date-night event, get the dinner and the movie out of the way in one fell swoop, then you can get on with the romantic portion of the evening....
I hope that after COVID-19 is gone (and I hope this happens soon) they will revive the Drafthouse plan, because it's such a great concept. And it really would be a shot in the arm, so to speak, for the struggling movie houses.
Speaking of COVID-19, I'm now working on a short film that is about the pandemic. Here is some art, posted below, and I'll be talking more about this project very soon.
Thanks,
Bill P.
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