Joe Neff wrote:
Farva, no offense intended. I actually quoted you because the base philosophy of your comment summed up a big part of these events: they're a little bit of everything. Some years have more of one thing, some more of another. But ultimately, it's not a big deal if one year has less 35mm rarities, or one year has less mainstream titles.
L.A. you hit the nail on the head. You have to be able to take chances with the lineup, to potentially piss off some of the crowd (something that, geez, I don't have any experience with or anything -coughSERBIANFILMcough-). And as part of that, it's imperative not to just play old films (at least with the crowd and environment we have.) Mixing in newer films and local premieres keeps things fresh and somewhat relevant. Hell, our best attendance in ten years came at the 2012 SHOCK AROUND THE CLOCK, a lineup that Bruce and I thought might be too decadent for a larger crowd, but one whose diverse mix of films of all eras and genres seemed to attract a lot of people.
At the same time, you're right in saying that old favorites aren't old to everyone. One of the key realizations we made a few years back was that we now had a decent percentage of the crowd who'd never seen DEAD ALIVE, EVIL DEAD 2, etc. in a theater...if at all! And that's why we've included films like that, even though some of us have seen them tons of times. And attracting newbies to the event can't be discounted either. Sometimes, it takes playing THE EXORCIST to draw a first timer in, after which they also fall in love with SUSPIRIA, NIGHT OF 1000 CATS and TRICK OR TREAT, and with the contests, trailers and the crazy crowd.
Awesome! My favorite of the 2 years I have been coming was The Phantom of the Paradise. I had always heard how great it was with a crowd but never had seen it. It was a pleasure seeing Something Wicked this Way Comes again on the big screen, I remembered seeing that with my dad when I was a youngin. I had never heard of Possession & wondered afterwards if I had been tripping, if it would have made more sense, but crazy, batcrap good fun. The highlight for my was the beautiful 35mm print of An American Werewolf in London.
Keep em coming! Any idea how soon the actual playlist lineup will be released?