To the Editor:
Arlington has 28 movie screens. Imagine living in a town with only one screen. Now visualize that screen going dark forever. How would you feel? Where would you go to fall in love with your movie idols that appeared larger than life every week? How would you help save the planet from aliens and space monsters? When would you be able to travel to exotic locations to view the world, in all of its splendor, on a huge screen, for only $10 a week? And how would you be able to connect with your friends in one place for a fun, popcorn and drink filled evening of thrills, spills and excitement?
Tomahawk, Wisc. has one theater that will go dark by Dec. 30, if it does not get help. You see, the Tomahawk Theater and about 100 other theaters in the United States are living in “Back to the Future.” They still use the reel to reel movie tape and old, old, old time movie projectors. But at the end of the year, Hollywood “Frankly dear, won’t give a damn.” All movies will be digital and these theaters will have to change or close. Changing from film to digital costs approximately $65,000 to $100,000.
Did you know that these small theater venues make about 40 cents on the $8-$10 movie ticket? Forty cents! That is because that is how much the movie industry charges the theaters to rent the movies. If the theaters can convert to digital, the cost will be reduced and the theaters will not have to rely on popcorn and soda drinks sales to stay alive.
Wild Birds Unlimited in Arlington is holding a fundraiser from now through Nov. 30, to help the Tomahawk, Wisc. theater stay open. For every $10 donation, Wild Birds Unlimited will be giving away a 5# bag of Deluxe Bird seed ($10.99 retail value). Every dollar raised goes to the “GO Digital or GO Dark” campaign for Tomahawk, Wisc.
Why should we help a town that is 1,087 miles away? Because we have 28 movie theaters and they will have none in one month. And because we can! We can keep those dreams alive so children can believe in fairy tales and heroes and wizards and worlds far different than theirs and laugh, cry and cheer and believe that anything is possible.
Michael Zuiker
Wild Birds Unlimited