good evening i'm gene word of the photographer of the exhibit here at the belmont media center on lexington street i first want to thank the belmont media center for posting this evening along with it's open house the purpose of the the evening is to commemorate the ninety fifth anniversary of the studio the studio cinema so i've always had a real warm spot about the studio the studio was opened on september third nine hundred twenty one there was a cinema seating seven hundred patrons the entire town all the leadership everyone turned out for it there was another cinema up on lexington street and that was a small a cinema but it was also considered to be a real community service so i have with me here jim whom i was going to we're going to find out his plans for the theater he's been there since the late ninety's when i wrote the article and i wanted to ask you jim if you could tell us what what brought you to by the studio cinema what were you hoping corner called the paramount theater at the time of which the deal that came to us and we we actually got involved with was half interest in the paramount and also the full interest of the western cinema and  we had no background in the fin the film business we just figured you know how hard it going to be just sell some tickets and then you know go from there well here we are thirty years some what thirty eight years later or something like that when we started and we're still doing it and still learning every day and we've seen a lot of transition a lot of change in the in the film industry and the and the whole exhibition of film with from a in the film industry where we are the exhibition side so this this this this production is distribution and exhibition and we're sort of the last guy in the chain to make sure that that the films get into the public and get out so and again that that was a learning process we had to learn all that as we as we  we progressed and we were approached by the people who were at that time owned the studio cinema over here into power and asked if we would be interested in getting involved with operation we we took advantage of that opportunity for a short period of time but we quickly learned that it wasn't beneficial for us to maintain that degree of responsibility unless we actually on the property and so  we made arrangements to actually take over the the property and on and on the business and so we've been in there since the ninety's and it's been a i guess initially we had thought this is a nice facility a nice building with cinema and with the with the reputation of being a movie theater but the economics said this one movie one screen movie theater is going it's going the older facilities in somewhat to subdivide them into more economical revenue centers and but i would from the beginning i was just reluctant to do that because it was such a unique and novel building up just isolated as a single screen and so i tried all this time to hold on to that and we have held on to that it's a single screen theatre and as we mentioned we had a discussion a little while ago that it's it's one of the altogether right and so we've we've we've got that that novel old time movie theater feel that i've really tried to hold on to and to try to maintain the the that the decor and the feel and i see i hear it every day we've been fortunate over the past save a year or so to find our our availability of film which is really the lifeblood we have to we have to make sure that the product that people want to see is available you know at the theater in that stats opened up a little bit for us so subsequently we're every every week we see new people coming in people from local communities  and far away so because some of the films we play tend to be a little bit more limited release so and as they come in i hear all the time that people are just there that they didn't know the theater was there and they were just so happy that that this this this type of an experience are still available and they bring their kids and we have we have a very healthy family audience so you know like most businesses you sort of phone it's on what what your audience is is more adept to with and we found that we whenever there's a family related film you know whether whether it be this new one of these new wave the animated films of the disney  audience so well so you you want to tell the story of how you were able to get the first run movies when you opened it was difficult the cinema was no for running a lot of second run movies of course it was in deplorable condition when you bought it your feet would stick to the floor and it was pretty rundown and you took at and you worked really hard in renovating it and doing as you said really giving it some character to keep the all theater feel at the same time making it clean and really warm and i think what i tried to do is capture in the in the photographs the warmth of your theater so deep but it was difficult for you to compete with the mega plex getting the first run movies do you want to talk about that a little you know it's it's a it's it's an industry it's a business or an industry that has a lot of  precedent and a lot of you know procedure that goes along with it and through the seventy's we found that a lot of community theaters smaller independent theaters operators were  that as an alternative to multiscreen complexes at the time you'd have five a screen five screens was a lot of screens to have an a in a shopping mall there were two and three screen theaters and there's an interesting history behind the megaplex concept and how that was developed and and there is no there is really no we see these large chains amc and regal theaters now and then and then nationally but there was no like franchise theater chain that had been developed because it's so that the industry is so focused on a community each community is different you can't cookie cut and say i'm going to plug this in here plug this in there and change so  the answer to that was to some of the older theaters where the more community based that is would turn into is the subsequent run and this theater that the studio cinema through the seventy's into the eighty's adopted that for programming right format but the industry has has changed in availability the entire process the life of a film you know from the seventy's through the you know two thousand and sixteen is is so different you know that there's so many outlets that are there still are available so shifting back to the first run model has been difficult because of the precedence that has been set but i think we  e it was was in a proving that that this this theater in the small community could in fact compete with some of the surrounding the interests that are up on the highways in close of the boston market and i think a lot of both the industry the distributors as well as ourselves have a lot of faith that this area that that belmont in general and just the suits around the communities are in an upward trend at all and you know that these that this t a developer of entertainment development is will will will will will grow and just keep it be more and more successful so that's i think that's what i think that was that's what gave us the the support to actually push and push and push and now you know now the old adage is speak if what you ask for because you might get it well now we've got it and that sure all the time it's making sure we can we play the right film frog right for the community that they get a little bit annoyed with us because we're not playing the film and it's but we can't we just have one screen we just you can i mean we can only we can only do what we can but that's that's that's the thrust right now it's actually the to develop a nice flow we've got some we've got the holiday season the historically going we're in september now so september october good play months for us and so that will go into the holidays and hopefully though we'll just have a wonderful flow of people coming in right enjoying doing some movies in and in it's a different experience not only just in in the in the audience but it's i felt we are a lot of people personally i like the idea of going parking half a block a block away right going to the theater not waiting in line at giant lines and coming in seeing the fun i want to see going getting out being home within ten minutes right it's so wonderful  institution we brought our children there you know all of our children were born and raised in belmont we've been there so i stand by me on t v the other night i saw stand by me at the studio and we brought our kids to grandkids to prose and one thanksgiving night after everybody had digest their food and so we have wonderful memories i don't think a lot of people realize tuesday night is two for one i'm not even sure everybody knows that the studio is there and running first run movies but do you want to talk about some of the other things you've done to reach out to the community the film festivals and and other things that we've we we have a lot going on there's always something different going on  thirteen thirteen years of doing this the spelling of will from festival now and and i have to give credit to to to the people the staff that run it and they they they do they do all of the real heavy lifting on that one i show up and like the movies on and make sure everything runs right but it that the hard part is choosing the films and and and and in doing the the  the promotion that's neat that's required to really move that along yes it's developed and it's driven over the past thirteen years and turned into something that's actually quite respected within the film industry and it's not just a small community film festival but we at the belmont at the belmont film festival have have premier films that didn't even make it to the boston from last of all that were premier prior to the boston from france which is that's that's quite an accomplishment and they've done a wonderful job with that and we were very very happy to be to be proud of it sometimes it can be it can be a burden because of scheduling issues and such like that but we're very happy to be to be involved in subsequently through  now we're talking march april and may we've already booked those dates out of this coming to south sixteenth seventeenth seventeen season but through that period now there will be and within several blocks from this location there will be some premier films on monday and sunday evenings playing right of the street and anyone who were to do a little bit of research into that would find that these films come may or june will be paying will be playing in the theaters and around the house for that i've seen many of those pounds and that's a packed house and they've developed the we have two hundred something seats right at the theater and we will sell out on a monday night which is very unique for yes any as a theme from the theaters perspective right any time you can get more than five people and with the end of monday night you can get it right there any other i know you've had birthday parties there any other community well i'm open to suggestions if anybody has any suggestions call me if you have had have a great idea we had a woman come to me again where i am probably a sixth or seventh year with the national association of social workers and she's a film buff but she's a social worker and she's involved with the continuing education part of the program so what she does is she develops a film program which i think says this is a wonderful idea it w five socially conscious films of sort of serious matters and it over a period of let's say three four months will take a sunday they they come to this to this performance i'll call it a performance and a an expert on that matter either a professor at a college or doctor at a hospital will come in and will speak for a set period of time it's they just can't leave they have to stay in and stay for the little talk and have an interaction have it and it's in it's in a theater environment so they can buy popcorn they can drink coffee they can you know feel like they're in a screens that big as opposed to a t and they watch these films and then they get out they get they get they get they get their room their paperwork stamped in this qualifies for their continued relation requirements and in they again that's grown from thirty forty people that are to two hundred fifty people on a sunday those tables well the trend in the industry and you know that i saw a long time ago and i said i thought i try to adopt but for other reasons that didn't seem to work out which is to is to restaurant addition to the theater and that that was that was a venture that although it was a great learning experience i decided that i would just sort of keep it simple that let that let that go on with someone else handle that but when they're there and part and in conjunction with that we feel that if people are so inclined they there where the markham to to bring something a little bit more than what we offer the concession stand bring it to the theater and and enjoy  you i know you've reached out if anyone has any suggestions for i know the schools have came one night and showed a film or had a lecture or an idiot school so there and we do sometimes wednesdays a busy day because half have today so we'll have we have now i think two or three schools that are that or after after after school programs will come to the theater down the street right in the theater and a guy was going to have another one and so i'm dan i want to thank the belmont media center and if anyone has any suggestions or ideas but most of all i want you to just come and enjoy the theater and know that you can come hassle free and enjoy first run movies on a beautiful spot huge screen with great sound surround sound and it's not even far from your home thanks so much jim i want to say thank you to you for bringing me in and also for the the wonderful job you did with the photos thanking the media thank you we're all the time whatever we can do you know the photos will be up through october for anyone who wants to see them and take a look firsthand into the studio thanks thank you