I want to talk about one small piece of our massive, new, and confusing pandemic culture, one that’s very important to me: movie theaters. Before the pandemic, you could find me at Cinemapolis, Ithaca’s very own member-supported independent theater (shameless plug), pretty much all the time. Okay — not actually all the time, school exists — but a lot for sure. Depending on the week, I had often seen up to 80 percent of the five or six movies Cinemapolis was currently showing. And, when the pandemic hit, its closure was one of the saddest things for me. Time-jump to now, after six seemingly year-long and days-short months; it’s still closed, with no reopening date. Ideas are floating around, and other countries are models, but what does the situation look like?
Much earlier in the pandemic, around the end of last school year, New York and many other states went through a phased reopening. Various safety measures had to be put in place, and numbers of new cases had to be low, but we got through all four phases. Some businesses like movie theatres and gyms, due to more contact, were not a part of this, leaving people pondering their fate. Gyms subsequently reopened, while cinemas were left waiting in line. However, the theaters have not been completely inactive during this period. Purely in terms of film distribution, many independent cinemas, including Cinemapolis, have adopted a virtual cinema system as an alternative. Essentially, movies are available to rent online, and proceeds are split between the film company, the website or business hosting the virtual screening, and your local theatre. I’ve used Cinemapolis’s version of this, and I talked to Brett Bossard, the executive director of Cinemapolis, to get his take on virtual distribution. “The biggest disadvantage,” he says, is “not being able to see and talk with our patrons! Our regulars are part of the Cinemapolis family, and we miss the post-film conversations that were so commonplace in the ‘before times.’” Cinemapolis is member-supported, and largely funded by memberships and donations. When those people suddenly can’t come to the theater, it makes it harder for that community to exist. However, many theaters, including Cinemapolis, plan to keep using virtual cinema even when they can open their doors to the public again. As Bossard says, it’s “a useful tool,” simply as another option for customers.
Of course, the closure of movie theatres is only part of the problem. What about the movies themselves? Because production crews are generally large, and pandemic-level safety would be difficult to enforce in that setting, shooting film and TV has been put on pause, like so much of the rest of the world. But, some movies and shows had already wrapped shooting when the pandemic started, and were in other parts of their production process. Post-production can easily be done remotely, through technology and the Internet, so most of that process can continue.
Take Denis Villeneuve’s new sci-fi epic Dune (the first of a two-film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 novel), which is slated to come out this December. The film was shot primarily in 2019, and by March 2020, the work remaining consisted of editing, scoring, and other parts of the post-production process. Although legendary film composer Hans Zimmer had to improvise with recording musicians for the score socially-distanced, the movie’s process has moved on as originally scheduled, and, at this point in time, will be in theatres as planned (that is, if theatres are open). The other option that some have chosen is to quarantine the entire cast and crew before working on a film, which takes time, but does allow for shooting in-person, obviously with safety measures in effect. A notable example of this kind would be Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s movie Malcom and Marie, which stars only Zendaya (of now Emmy-winning Euphoria fame) and John David Washington (whose Tenet is its own kind of pandemic film story), and was shot mid-quarantine with a minimal crew.
While these two films do offer examples of ways to work, hundreds of other projects do not have the same means or advantages, and have been delayed until further notice. For many, this was due to the inability to shoot and be in person, (e.g. multiple upcoming Marvel Studios projects), and for many more, lack of revenue from physical theater ticket sales (e.g. James Bond feature No Time to Die).Whether or not delays will have a noticeable effect on how many movies we see being released is still unknown, but it doesn’t matter much when nobody can even attend their local theater.
But wait—don’t think the Cinemapolis doors have been unopened for six months. Brett and the rest of the team have been working so that when theatergoing is allowed again, Cinemapolis will be as safe as possible for the new age of pandemic protection. Brett says of the new bathrooms to come of the current renovation, “New counters, new lighting, and, most importantly, all touch-free fixtures will welcome Cinemapolitans when they can return to the cinema.” Everything will be more sanitary, including the theaters themselves, with the addition of new electrostatic sprayers (look it up, it’s cool). They are developing touch-free options for purchasing the coveted Cinemapolis snacks, and of course all government-mandated safety protocols will be enforced.
And with that, the final question becomes, “when can we actually, physically, go back to theaters?” The answer could take many forms. Brett told me about the National Association of Theatre Owners working with an epidemiologist in order to set guidelines that will allow for a safe reopening, including things like significantly reduced capacity, masks except when eating in your seat, and more. However, New York doesn’t currently have plans. “In the states, countries, and territories where cinemas have been allowed to re-open, there have been zero documented cases of coronavirus transmission traced to movie-going,” Bossard says. It could be any day now, or it could be six more agonizing months. Brett finishes, “now we just have to wait for Governor Cuomo to give the green light.”
So, whatever the future holds, movie theaters will still be here, whenever the world is ready for them. I implore you not to wait until then to support them (namely Cinemapolis), by taking advantage of the virtual cinema, their new movies in the backlot (partnering with the delicious Serendipity Catering), or simply donating. Movie theaters and the communities they create have been a core part of American culture for almost a century now, and despite the rise of streaming, they will continue to hold that spot. Cinema is an astounding medium for examining our culture, and has played a pivotal role in many periods of American and world history. There are new movies coming, and we will get to see them, hopefully sooner rather than later.
Oh, and of course I asked Brett which movie he was most looking forward to. His answer was iconic American auteur Wes Anderson’s new film, The French Dispatch, for which I am also very excited. I hope all of you are there to see it with me, whenever we’re able, at Cinemapolis.