Boise Classic Movies makes new memories with old film favorites.
By Liza Long
It’s Tuesday night. You could stay home and watch This Is Spinal Tap or The Sound of Music on Netflix, if you’re lucky enough to find it. Or you could join hundreds of other Boiseans who share your excellent taste in movies at the Egyptian Theater, where you can relive your childhood memories and make new ones with Boise Classic Movies (BCM).
Boise Classic Movies is the brain—or perhaps love—child of Wyatt Werner, web developer by day, movie aficionado by night. “At BCM movies, people routinely cheer the heroes, boo the villains, dress up like characters, sing the songs, laugh before the joke is told. You don’t get that without a good crowd of people who really love the movie. Since they are the ones who chose the movie in the first place, you will always get that level of interaction,” says Werner.
Werner, who moved to Boise from Oregon 12 years ago, cofounded the popular annual Ignite Boise event, where interesting people get five minutes and 20 Power Point slides to share their best ideas. In true entrepreneurial fashion, BCM uses a crowdsourcing model to decide which movies to screen. You can suggest movies you want to see on their website, purchase required advance tickets, and vote for future films.
December’s candidates include the ever-popular Sound of Music, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version), This Is Spinal Tap, Grease, and Singing in the Rain. Movies that reach a tipping point – usually a minimum of 200 tickets reserved – are shown in the historic and magnificent Egyptian Theater, a downtown landmark since 1927. Your card or PayPal account is not charged the $9 ticket fee unless the tipping point is reached.
“Beyond being a time machine, taking me immediately back to the first time when I saw the film, Boise Classic Movies reminded me that these old films are great and timeless, and that the films were meant to be seen up on a giant silver screen in a room full of people collectively laughing and screaming and swooning. It’s nostalgia, it’s art, it’s a total blast,” says Boise writer Alan Heathcock, whose short story collection Volt earned numerous accolades and inspired a short film, “Smoke.”
BCM is a member of the Think Boise First movement. They also offer local businesses a unique marketing opportunity: you can sponsor a movie for just $350. Sponsorship includes a 60 second promotional video shown before the movie, recognition on the BCM website and Facebook pages, and 25 tickets to share with clients or colleagues.
December’s holiday lineup promises something to please everyone on both the nice and the naughty list. BCM plans to offer Elf, White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street, and Christmas Vacation. Popular past movies have included the 80s cult classic Goonies and Ghostbusters. “At BCM, people are part of a community of movie lovers. It’s a shared viewing experience versus an individual going to a theater to see the latest release,” Werner, whose favorite movie is The Big Lebowski, explains. “You can go to a well-engineered theater like Edwards, with all the latest technology. But it doesn’t feel like a space you want to be in. There’s something magical that happens in a space that feels right.”
The Dude abides.
What:
Boise Classic Movies
Individual tickets $9
5 pack for $39
www.boiseclassicmovies.com
Twitter @boisemovies
