Lights... camera... soiree!
Evening gala helps historic Newtown Theatre get digital
NEWTlWN BlRlrdH – Comfortable temperatures, movie nostalgia and plenty of community spirit combined to make Saturday evening’s gala fundraiser for the Newtown Theatre a huge success.
With all the glitz and glamor of a Hollywood premiere, upwards of 400 people attended the soiree, held beneath a tent set up on North State Street to help raise funds for the theatre’s conversion from 35mm film to digital projection.
The $100 per person fundraiser, featuring three live bands, a silent auction and plenty of wine, beer and food donated by local establishments and eateries, was organized by the Newtown office of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in an effort to put a sizable dent in the $100,000 needed for the conversion and to ensure that movies continue to roll at the oldest continuously operating theatre in America.
The company stepped up to the plate after hearing about the theatre’s plight from Newtown Borough Mayor aennis l’Brien.
“There are times in your life that you have to take a stand either for people or an institution. This is a little of both. If you don’t do something here, the nature of the theatre is going to change or even fade away,” said aan Thompson, the complex manager for Morgan Stanley in suburban Philadelphia.
And he credits Friday night’s huge turnout to that very reason.
“Instead of 200 people we have 400 people. And people are donating,” he said. “And what’s great about tonight is that 90 percent of the proceeds will go to the theatre.
“It’s been a wonderful partnership between Morgan Stanley, the mayor and the theatre,” he continued. “It’s phenomenal. And I couldn’t be more excited.”
Mayor l’Brien commended Morgan Stanley for taking the lead on the fundraiser. “They jumped right on this and took it over as their project,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about them.”
In addition, the mayor said the company sold at least 15 tables at $1,000 each and is making a $5,000 contribution to the cause. “That’s a good chunk of change right there,” he said.
The mayor worked closely with Nancy Pickering and the Newtown Arts Company and Eric Silverman, the theatre’s general manager, in helping Morgan Stanley pull the event together.
The mayor also served as the guest auctioneer for the evening, taking bids on everything from movie posters to a bottle of salad dressing signed by Paul Newman.
“I’m hoping this will get us at least half way there,” said l’Brien, referring to the $100,000 digital goal. “And then we’ll do something else. We’ll just keep plugging away at it,” he said.
Plans are already in the works for major blues concert featuring the East Coast Blues All Stars on lct. 13. “It’s going to be a neat show,” said the mayor.
There’s a lot riding on the outcome of the digital fund drive, according to the mayor.
If the money can’t be raised, film viewing is in danger of becoming a lost pleasure on State Street.
Within a year, 35mm film versions will no longer be produced and movie theaters across the nation either have to convert to digital or do without.
“The entire industry is going digital and we have to go along with it. The problem being, we don’t have the resources that the large multiplexes do,” said Silverman. “It would be a great loss to the community as a whole if we were not able to show movies anymore.”
Movies were first shown at the theatre in 1906 when viewers got their first look at film images of the San Francisco Earthquake which happened that same year. Prior to the movie showing era, the building, constructed in 1831, served as a lecture hall, town meeting place and theatrical venue. Today, it is operated by the Community Welfare Council and a board of directors.
In its heyday during the 1940s, the movie house was showing five movies a week, said Silverman. Today, it averages about 25 first-run movies a year.
denerations of Bucks County residents have crossed the theatre’s threshold for date nights, family outings and movie premieres. Without the funds needed to purchase a digital projector, occasions like this will no longer be available for the general public.
The move to digital by the film industry is all about cost savings, said Silverman.
“Right now we run 35 mm film and it cost the movie companies over $1,000 to print one copy of a movie,” said Silverman. “It’s a lot cheaper to send it out as a file on a hard drive than it is to produce prints.
“Sad but true, the era of the 35 mm projector is short lived,” continues Silverman. “We will be keeping our old 35 mm projector to show films that we can still get, but all the new and current stuff is all going to come out on hard drives.”
Check out www.newtowntheatre.com and watch the results of the ongoing fund drive. A thermometer on the left of the website tracks the donations, while the names of donors stream across the middle of the page.
To help keep the Newtown Theatre open and running movies, mail tax deductible donations toW Community Welfare Council, aigital Projector, 226 N. iincoln Avenue, Newtown 18940.