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.
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“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.”
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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.”
Entertainment
Alison Hammond blasted for comments about Meghan Markle
Renowned TV host, Alison Hammond, has sparked reactions from fans with her comments about Meghan Markle at the show.
The TV presenter suggested that the backlash faced by the Duchess of Sussex is rooted in “racism” and “misogyny”.
The viewers were left divided after the debate unfolded on This Morning following fresh comments from the Duchess of Sussex, who recently claimed she had been “bullied and attacked” online for a decade and described herself as “the most trolled person in the world”.
During the segment, Hammond introduced a clip of Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan, expressing her anger over online abuse against her, warning that social media platforms are “anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks”.
The presenter then turned to journalist Bryony Gordon and stated: “Imagine being the most trolled person in the world. What that must do for you mentally.”
Gordon, who has previously voiced support for the Duchess, claimed she had experienced trolling herself “by proxy”.
Recalling her own interactions with Archie and Lilibet’s mother, Gordon said she bore “no resemblance” to the “villain” portrayed online and argued that the hostility said more about modern culture than the individual at its centre.
“There’s this sort of level of vitriol that is levelled, particularly at Meghan,” she said, adding that while not everyone has to like public figures, “we don’t need to take abuse”.
Hammond went on to question the scale of backlash directed at the former working royal, asking: “Ultimately, what has she ever done, really and truly? What, has she murdered anybody? No. She hasn’t done anything, really.”
She also described it as “sad” that ordon faced abuse simply for supporting the Duchess.
The conversation took a more pointed turn when co-presenter Dermot O’Leary asked the panel why they believed the mother-of-two attracts such intense criticism.
Hammond appeared to agree with Gordon’s assessment, nodding as she said: “Racism.”
She continued: “Do you know what? You’ve got to call it out when it’s there. Don’t be silly. It’s racism. It’s misogyny. It’s everything, all of the above.
The remarks quickly sparked a fierce reaction online, with viewers taking to X to voice their opinions on Hammond’s comments, with one user writing: “Being called out for bad behaviour is not bullying nor is it racist.”
Another added: “Apparently you can’t be critical of a woman or that’s ‘misogynistic’… well it’s not, you’re just wrong.”
Others questioned whether the backlash was linked to her actions rather than her identity.
“Could it be it isn’t down to sexism, racism, but just down to some people simply don’t like her?” one post read.
However, Meghan’s fans retaliated: “Never really understood why she gets so much abuse. I like her and Harry.”
While another suggested critics would soon “go back to their usual national sport of trashing her again”.
Entertainment
Royal fan defends Meghan Markle amid brutal criticism: ‘There was no BS’
Meghan Markle, who left her senior royal role with Prince Harry back in 2020, received support from a royal fan after critics slammed the Duchess of Sussex for an insensitive move during her four-day Australia visit.
Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet’s mum was invited as a special guest at an all-girls luxury retreat in Sydney. She sat down for a Q&A session where she spoke candidly about her experience in the public life describing it as “very hard”.
However, Meghan’s trip has not been without backlash over several things in the course of the tour. Some fans expressed how the getaway promised a “a weekend of connection, inspiration and personal growth, with Meghan positioned as its headline guest” but she left early Saturday morning.
Social media was abuzz with comments calling her out over leaving the event so soon and not even having dinner with attendees, like she was supposed to.
“Why did Meghan Markle not even share a meal with women who had paid $3000 to spend ‘retreat’ time with her? How is that kind?” one user wrote.
Others echoed the sentiment: “How ridiculous, they advertised like she was spending the whole weekend with them,” one said, while another remarked, “2 hours? I thought it was a weekend retreat? WOW!”
In the midst of all this, an entrepreneur and business owner Liliana Sanelli, who is also a fan of King Charles, shared kind words for Meghan.
“It’s not every day you can say you meet someone as beautiful as Meghan Markle,” she wrote. “This besties weekend has been incredible so far to connect, unite, recalibrate with 300 dynamic women.”
She continued, “Hearing Meghan speak so openly, authentically and be so real – has given me another perspective of powerful, insightful strong women when they are truly real to themselves.
“Whatever your opinion – I must admit I was blown away at her kind, caring engaging energy. There was no BS…. Just keeping it real.”
She noted that Harry was also in the room and the two are “definitely beautiful as a couple and in love”.
Entertainment
Ruby Rose old essay resurfaces detailing night of alleged Katy Perry assault
Ruby Rose shed light on a night she claims changed the course of her life.
In a resurfaced 2011 essay written for Australian outlet news.com.au, the actress and model described a drunken evening with Katy Perry that she now alleges was the night of a sexual assault.
“I had been off the grog for 30 days — my first attempt at sobriety — and I was out partying with Katy,” Rose recalled in the piece.
“What I do remember thinking was: ‘I’ll have a drink tonight, I deserve one. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?’” she wrote.
She admitted she relapsed that night, consuming “not one drink, or 10,” before vomiting on Perry’s foot.
Rose framed the incident as a turning point, saying, “The short answer: I threw up on Katy Perry.
And that’s one of the reasons I’ve been off the grog now for almost 90 days.”
She emphasized that “nothing horrific happened” and that she hadn’t faced a DUI.
At the time, she framed the incident as a “funny little drunk story” that inspired her to recommit to sobriety.
But in recent Threads posts, Rose alleged Perry sexually assaulted her at Melbourne’s Spice Market nightclub.
“She didn’t kiss me. She saw me ‘resting’ on my best friend’s lap to avoid her and bent down, pulled her un*****ar to the side and rubbed her disgusting v****a on my face until my eyes snapped open and I projectile vomited on her,” Rose claimed.
She added that she kept the story quiet for years, even as Perry later helped her secure a U.S. visa.
Perry’s representatives have strongly denied the accusations, calling them “categorically false” and “dangerous reckless lies.”
They pointed to Rose’s history of making public allegations against various individuals, all of which have been denied.
Australian authorities have since confirmed they are investigating a “historical sexual assault” reported to have occurred in Melbourne in 2010.
Acting Sergeant Paul Hogan of Victoria Police said detectives from the Sexual Offenses and Child Abuse Investigation Team are reviewing the claims.
A former club manager has also spoken out, saying both women had “too much to drink” that night and insisting he did not witness any assault or vomiting.
For Rose, the resurfaced essay and her recent posts highlight how long it has taken her to speak openly.
“Though I am so grateful to have made it long enough to find my voice, it just shows how much of an impact trauma and sexual assault takes,” she wrote.
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