Entertainment
How indie theaters are evolving in a new era: “Everybody wants movies in their lives”
Audiences have been enjoying films at movie theaters for decades, but streaming and expensive ticket prices have impacted moviegoing habits. For the owners and operators of independent theaters, survival means getting creative.
Kevin Smith, the man behind cult classics like “Clerks” and “Mallrats,” bought a theater in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, in 2022. It was the cinema he’d gone to growing up. He renamed it Smodcastle Cinemas, and hoped that even as it reeled from COVID-19 shutdowns, he could rekindle the magic he’d loved as a child.
“I learned more about myself sitting in this (theater) than I ever did sitting in a classroom or sitting in church or something like that, and it led me to the rest of my life,” Smith said.
But the reality of operating the movie theater was difficult, even for a celebrity like Smith. They operate as a non-profit, Smith said, because if they functioned as a for-profit business, they “would die.” Smith can bring in celebrity guests for Q&A sessions and other events. The theater also hosts an annual film festival.
CBS Saturday Morning
“Saving my childhood theater with my friends? Dream come true, worst financial investment I ever made in my life,” Smith said.
On the opposite coast, film store Vidiots has been bringing new movies to audiences for 40 years. When it opened in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, in 1985, it operated as a traditional video store with an extensive and rare collection of films. In 2023, Vidiots moved to Eagle Rock and expanded into an exhibition space, reviving the historic Eagle Theater.
“We opened to uncertainty,” said executive director Maggie MacKay. “We had no idea if people would come, and they did. And they’ve been coming ever since.”
MacKay said Vidiots has become a touchstone for local kids.
“One of the biggest surprises and the happiest surprises for us and the thing that I think I most wanted to happen here is that young people come here,” she said. “Teens, tweens are getting dropped off by their parents. And because this place is affordable and welcoming and nonjudgmental and safe, they are coming here all the time. We’ve got kids growing up here who call the video store their video store. We have a kid who calls it ‘my video store.’ That kid has no idea that that is a very unique thing to say in the 2020s.”
Jesse Grant/Getty Images for HBO 
Like Smodcastle, Vidiots operates as a non-profit. That isn’t the only path to success for these kinds of theaters, though, as New York City’s Metrograph proves. The two-screen theater in Manhattan’s Lower East Side shows international and arthouse fare and operates as a for-profit. Business is booming, CEO Christian Grass said, with the theater recently enjoying its best summer on record.
“People love going to the movies and people love the experience,” Grass said. The theater also has a bookstore, a magazine, a streaming service, an extravagant concession stand and a swanky bar and restaurant. The establishment has focused on building a sense of community, said Metrograph director of programming Inge de Leeuw, which ensures people keep coming back. MacKay said she’s also found people are looking for connection, community and a place they can go.
“Everybody wants movies in their lives, whether they know it or realize it or not,” MacKay said. “To save this thing, you have to make available every point of access for it. You have to make a return to a social experience.”
While independent theaters are taking different paths to success, they have one thing in common: They want to keep introducing new and classic films to audiences.
“You want to learn something about somebody, sit in the darkness and watch movies with them,” Smith said. “You will learn a lot about a person. You’ll find out if they’re empathetic. You’ll find out what makes them laugh. You’ll find out if there’s a real human being there, if there’s a heart underneath that all, man.”
Saturday Night Live veteran Tina Fey reflected on her years at the NBC sketch institution, acknowledging that some of her jokes were “on the wrong side”.
Speaking at the History Talks event in Philadelphia, Fey said she’s realized with time that not every punchline was fair.
The two times Globe Globe winner added candidly, “I was pretty dumb.”
Fey joined SNL in 1997 and later became head writer.
She recalled navigating some of the show’s most difficult broadcasts, from the first episode after September 11 to the anthrax scare and even President George W. Bush’s visit to meet Will Ferrell.
Over time, she said, the line between comedy and current events grew thinner, with politicians and public figures often responding directly to the sketches.
One of her most memorable stretches came in 2008, when she teamed with Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler to craft the now iconic Sarah Palin sketches.
Fey explained that the team worked hard to make sure their material was “a fair hit,” grounded in truth rather than random exaggeration.
“If it’s not true, it will not be funny,” she noted.
Reflecting on the influence of SNL, Fey said it was both thrilling and intimidating to know that what she wrote could be taken seriously by people in power.
She emphasized that the show never set out to control politics or the national narrative, but admitted that some of her own jokes didn’t age well.
Fey appeared alongside Nicole Kidman, Ted Danson, Kate McKinnon, Colin Jost and others at the event, which marked the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared to completed a successful four-day tour to Down Under, as they received a warm welcome from the Aussies.
The optics of the visit worked in the Sussexes’s favour, having plenty of similarities to an official royal tour. However, there was one particular item on their to-do list which they were not able to accomplish after facing a major rejection.
The Irwin family is hugely popular in Australia and especially with Robert Irwin’s work and amplified fame after winning Dancing with the Stars, they hold a special prestige in the country. So much so, Prince William has made Robert one of the ambassadors of the Earthshot Prize, a deeply personal and important initiative William had taken over five years ago.
Hence, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were hoping to get a meeting with the Irwins especially the celebrity conservationist at Australia Zoo in Queensland. However, it was not possible during the four-day trip, per New Idea magazine.
The source revealed that there is “no ill-will” towards the Sussexes from the Irwins and cited that it “wasn’t possible”. Although, it is key to note that they are all “staunch monarchists and fiercely loyal to The Firm”.
“Aligning with the Irwins’ worthy causes is something that Meghan and Harry could be on board with,” the source said. But, it seems that Robert may have played it safe as he did not want to upset William.
David Gross has won the Special Breakthrough Prize for Fundamental Physics with a whopping $3 million prize, as announced by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation on April 18, 2026.
The prize honors scientists whose discoveries have contributed significant advancement to the development of human knowledge.
The Breakthrough Prizes—commonly known as the ’Oscars of Science’—were established in 2012 to celebrate the wonders of the 21st century scientific age.
David Gross, who is a Nobel Prize laureate in Physics (2004), served as director at the Kavli Institute of Theoretical Physics at University of California, Santa Barbara for three decades.
What earned Gross winning Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics?
In the early 1970s, there was a wide gap in quantum field theory, as it could not define the strong nuclear force, which holds the atom’s nucleus together.
But in 1973, Gross and his graduate student Frank Wilczek cracked the mystery.
They discovered that the strong force works the opposite way to familiar forces like gravity: it gets weaker as particles approach each other, but stronger as they move apart.
That discovery led to the development of quantum chromodynamics.
After taking home the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, he drops a shocking prediction for humanity in an interview with LiveScience.
Gross, when asked if humanity will ever get to a place where we get rid of nuclear weapons.
Gross predicted, “We’re not recommending that. That’s idealistic, but yet, I hope so. Because if you don’t, there’s always some risk an AI 100 years from now, but chances of (humanity) living, with this estimate, 100 years, is very small, and living 200 years is infinitesimal.”
Gross became one of this year’s six awardees for his contributions to theoretical physics, earning the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics.
David Gross has remained an authority in fundamental physics for six decades.
‘Saturday Night Live’ alum Tina Fey admits past jokes missed the mark
There’s New Evidence for How Loneliness Affects Memory in Old Age
Prince William’s ally Robert Irwin rejects Prince Harry, Meghan offer
-
Fashion4 days agoFrance’s LVMH Q1 revenue falls 6%, shows resilience amid Iran war
-
Sports7 days agoThe case for Man United’s Fernandes as Premier League’s best
-
Entertainment1 week agoPalace left in shock as Prince William cancels grand ceremony
-
Business1 week agoUK could adopt EU single market rules under new legislation
-
Entertainment5 days agoIs Claude down? Here’s why users are seeing errors
-
Sports1 week agoLamar Jackson hits back at critics with faithful message on social media
-
Fashion1 week agoEnergy emerges as biggest cost driver in textile margins
-
Business1 week agoRoad accidents: a massive economic challenge | The Express Tribune