Classic Films host hopes to continue series
The leader of Park Ridge Classic Films, an occasional film series, says he hopes to continue to show movies at Park Ridge’s Pickwick Theatre even as the 900-seat auditorium’s future is up in the air.
News that Uptown Park Ridge’s iconic Pickwick Theatre would close due to fewer movies being released and consistently lower ticket sales ripped through the north suburbs earlier this month, inciting a flood of memories and speculation about how to keep movies in the 1928 Art Deco building.
Co-owners Dino Vlahakis and Dave Loomos plan to show “Gone With the Wind” as the final picture of their run as theater operators on Jan. 12. They’ll hold onto the building itself, which is home to 24 other tenants.
The day before, Park Ridge Classic Films host Matthew C. Hoffman will show “The Shawshank Redemption” as the final installment of the winter season of Park Ridge Classic Films, the occasional series he’s run out of the Pickwick since 2013.
Co-owner Vlahakis told Pioneer Press he is still fielding offers and inquiries from potential heirs to the movie operation in the space and expects to be able to announce new operators early next year.
Vlahakis and Loomos found themselves inundated with inquiries in the days following the news that they planned to close the theater, with a list that at one point stretched to at least 12 interested parties.
Hoffman said he is waiting to find out who will take over the movie operation at the Pickwick like everybody else. He said he’s hoping to get between 500 and 600 attendees for “The Shawshank Redemption,” which will have two showings at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
“I think we’re going to have a pretty good crowd,” Hoffman said. “I think when more people become aware that this could very well be our last film, I think more people will come out.”
Hoffman runs the spring installment of the series out of the Park Ridge Public Library, where he works. But he isn’t considering moving both seasons of the program to the library, he told Pioneer Press.
Some films just don’t translate in smaller viewing formats, he said.
“I show lesser-known films at the library,” Hoffman said. “The types of films that I show at the Pickwick are more big screen events, films like Lawrence of Arabia or any of the big MGM musicals from the ‘50s that really deserve a theatrical performance.”
So Hoffman is approaching the Jan. 11 event as the final showing for the winter season of Park Ridge Classic Films.
Given the level of interest in continuing to show movies in the Pickwick auditorium, Hoffman said he is “hopeful that we’ll be able to continue the classic film program.”
He is not looking at alternative venues.
“Right now I’m kind of all in on staying at the Pickwick,” he said. “I’m just focused on the Pickwick Theatre and hoping that something can be worked out there.”
Hoffman said he wants to give any new managers of the theater “every opportunity if they want me to continue there.”
“There’s not many events that can draw in 500, 600 people,” he continued. “And this is for a classic film program. So I would hope that they would be mindful of that value.”