Big-screen films set for Paramount
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David Giancola (left) and Bruce Bouchard are ready to light up the screen at the Paramount Theatre. Vyto Starinskas / Rutland Herald |
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By STEPHANIE M. PETERS STAFF WRITER - Published: November 5, 2009
When "Gone With the Wind" debuted in 1939, it was one of many now-classic films screened before huge audiences at the Paramount Theatre during the theatre's 50-year run as a movie hall.
This month, history has a chance to repeat itself, as the Paramount reprises its role as a haven for movie lovers with its first "Big Flicks at the Paramount" film series.
It kicks off Nov. 21 with 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. showings of the classic tale of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler.
In the weeks following, 11 additional films – all but two from the American Film Institute's annual Top 100 list of the most popular films of all time – will be screened in the theater as a test run.
The theater has a brand-new screen, sound and projection equipment, a concession stand and ticket prices at $6 for adults and $4 for children. Its board just needs to know if there's community interest.
"What we're really selling is the big-screen experience," said Executive Director Bruce Bouchard. "Everyone's seen 'It's A Wonderful Life,' 'Casablanca' and 'Citizen Kane,' but we want to them to come back out and have the big screen experience."
Screening films at the Paramount has been a goal of Bouchard's since before he even secured the job at the theater 20 months ago. He'd driven around town trying to get a sense of the community and immediately realized that he would have to develop programming that was accessible to everyone, including the most cash-strapped residents. He saw movies as a way to do that, he said.
Thus, the theater sought a $26,626 Vermont Arts Council grant to help get the project off the ground. It was awarded in the spring, but the theater's board and staff quickly realized they had underestimated the cost of having a company set up the theater for movies. So they undertook to do it themselves.
After a 10-month process that's included everything from the construction of a 700-pound steel frame for the screen by board member Dan Querrey's company, Querrey Industrial, to finding and purchasing the perfect projector, a Xenon 4,000-watt Lamphouse, the project is ready to go.
Board member David Giancola, who describes himself as the project's "film czar" and is also president of Edgewood Studios, played a large role in overseeing the effort.
"I wanted something big, special and unique that Rutland could be proud of," he said, explaining his advocacy for doing the project right – with the largest screen and clearest sound and picture possible.
If the initial run finds success, Bouchard said the theater will likely try a series of second-run films, which are those that just come off their run as new releases at the Cineplexes and Movieplexes of the world. Bouchard cites "Julie & Julia" as what would currently be considered a second-run film.
"It never came to Rutland," he said, referring to Rutland's recently defunct Movieplex 9, which closed Oct. 13. "The nearest screen that showed it was 64 miles away. Here's a perfect title that everyone was talking about and were frustrated they couldn't see."
Afternoon-long marathons of Three Stooges shorts or Warner Brothers cartoons are a goal Giancola envisions for later this winter.
"I'm looking for programming that makes sense for everybody," he said. "Not just independent films, not just blockbusters."
The Paramount Theatre will soon post the full lineup of films, dates and show times on its Web site, paramountvt.org.
stephanie.peters@rutlandherald.com
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