The front of the line

Animas City Theatre selected for exclusive N.Y. Film Critics series

by Stew Mosberg      

When it comes to top-level Hollywood stars, Durango has hit the big time. Next week, the Animas City Theatre (ACT) will have the honor of kicking off its inaugural screening of the New York Film Critics series, a national, monthly event that features early showings of acclaimed films as well as simulcast interviews with the stars and directors. The ACT’s first screening happens next Wed., July 9, with “And so it Goes,” an as-yet-to-be released major motion picture starring Michael Douglas and Diane Keaton, and directed by Rob Reiner. The storyline revolves around a self-centered Realtor who enlists the help of his neighbor when he’s suddenly left in charge of the granddaughter he never knew.

Adding to the exclusive nature of the evening will be a 30-minute live broadcast question-and-answer session with Reiner, the award-winning director of such audience favorites as “The Princess Bride,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “When Harry Met Sally.” The national screening series will be moderated by Rolling Stone magazine’s film critic Peter Travers, who also hosts a celebrity interview show called “Popcorn” on ABC.

Being selected as a showcase for the New York Film Critics series is something of a coup for Durango. Only two other Colorado towns, Boulder and Fort Collins, were chosen out of just 50 cities nationwide for these exclusive screenings.

Up until this point, personal appearances by stars and filmdom’s notables have only been accessible to New York, Los Angeles, and better known film festival audiences. Now, with this newly expanded series, Durango film buffs can enjoy up-close and personal moments from major movie stars, producers, writers and directors in the comfort of the revitalized Animas City Theatre. These curated motion picture selections allow filmgoers to see the best independent movies before most anyone else. Next in the series will be “Child of God,” starring James Franco, on July 29. 

Stars who have appeared in prior presentations of the series include Woody Harrelson, Anne Heche, Frank Langella, Alan Arkin, Steve Buscemi, Aidan Quinn, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Sigourney Weaver.

Each movie in the cycle will be preceded by footage of New York City plus an introduction by Travers. The films will be followed by behind-the-scene footage, back-story on the making of the film and interviews between Travers and performers from the various movies.

Durango’s Jane Julian is the booking agent at the ACT and initiated the process to bring the New York Film Critic series to Durango. Julian, who is also the programming director for the film festival in Port Townsend, Wash., a small town northwest of Seattle on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula, said it was by sheer chance and good timing that she secured the program for the ACT. “I was visiting a friend in Fort Collins and got to see the New York Film Critics program at the Lyric Theater,” she said. “I was so impressed with the format I contacted the Series’ Producer Mark Ehrenkranz, and we were put on the waiting list.”

Cities were selected by the NYFC and the movie studios. Most theaters selected are similar to the Animas City Theater in that they are smaller venues; not multi-screen blockbuster extravaganzas. With sofas in the balcony and beer, cocktails and snacks available at the bar, the Animas City Theater has a more relaxed, living room-like feel.

Ehrenkranz explained that the NYFC was started 20 years ago by he and his father, but this is the first year the series has gone national. “It’s a way to bring these films to an audience that might not have the opportunity to see them in local theaters, but it also generates interest and word-of-mouth advertising for a picture.”

The whole concept is to provide better movies to the public, he said. “It’s about passion for film and not about getting rich,” he said. “It is one of the reasons the choice was made to present the series in smaller venues that were better positioned to nurture the independent movie-making spirit and address a niche audience.”

Formerly the Abbey Theatre, Michelle and Chris Redding – who owns Cuckoo’s Chicken House next door – took over the Abbey Theater in August 2013. Asking who they could enlist to help find the right movies, almost everyone they spoke to recommended Julian. Ironically, Julian called Redding around the same time. While continuing to host live music, the Reddings also are interested in bringing more “art films” and independent movies to their screen. Their vision is to make films more than just entertainment but a “social experience,” said Michelle. Thus, you can imagine their excitement when they were told the ACT was the “perfect” venue for the series.

Adding to the vision, ACT hopes to bring “live” Broadway and London theatrical simulcasts to the screen as well, beginning this fall.

For more about the film series, go to www.nyfilm critics.com or www.animascitytheatre.com.