05/30/2007

Record-Eagle/Loraine Anderson
The Traverse City Film Festival’s Michael Moore, left, with Harold Wilson and his son, Harold “Buzz” Wilson, of Leelanau County. The film festival has reached a deal with the Rotary Charities of Traverse City for ownership of the State Theatre in Traverse City. Harold “Buzz” Wilson has pledged to pay for some improvements at the theater. Behind them, from left, are Dick Ford, chairman of the Rotary Charities of Traverse City board of trustees, and film festival co-founder John Robert Williams.

Film Festival to take over

Deal for theatre reached with TC Rotary Charities

By TOM CARR

tcarr@record-eagle.com

and BILL O'BRIEN

bobrien@record-eagle.com

Record-Eagle file photo
Lights from the State Theatre reflect off a limousine as the opening night show lets out of the Traverse City Film Festival in 2005.

TRAVERSE CITY — Downtown's State Theatre will host films on winter weekends beginning late this year and offer movies throughout the week during summer months beginning next year, the result of a long-anticipated deal between Rotary Charities of Traverse City and the Traverse City Film Festival.

The groups planned to announce the deal today. Business owners are excited, while principals project the State will become a year-round destination.

"We feel with the success of the film festival, there is support for this,” said Michael Moore, Oscar-winning documentary director and founder of the nonprofit film festival. The theater has shown movies during the week-long summer festival for the past two years after it closed in the mid-1990s.

Plans are to open the State by Thanksgiving weekend with state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment and show foreign, documentary, classic and independent films.

The festival agreed with Carmike Cinemas, which owns two local multi-plexes, to not show first-run films that open in more than 200 theaters nationwide. Carmike lifted more restrictive conditions placed on it by the former owner of its complexes.

"We won't be showing the Spidermans and the Shreks, but we will be showing the things that people say, 'I wonder if this will come to Traverse City,'” said Moore, who used Hollywood connections to obtain a new 40-foot screen — touted as the largest within 200 miles — and projection and Dolby surround sound equipment.

Rotary Charities will hand over the theater, subject to a $600,000 mortgage. The festival will not pay for the building, as long as it meets benchmarks by 2012 that require the theater be open a certain number of days per year.

"We knew we didn't want the lights on just one week a year,” said Marsha Smith, Rotary Charities executive director. "It was a very conscious board decision to continue our investment in downtown Traverse City.”

Harold "Buzz” Wilson of Leelanau County pledged to fund needed improvements, including repair of a leaky roof and updating the electrical system. He also plans to purchase a top-notch popcorn popper.

Wilson and film festival officials estimated that repairs and upgrades could cost $500,000 to $600,000.

"I grew up in Shelby and watched the demise of the Muskegon downtown,” said Wilson, chief executive officer of Rainbow Rehabilitation Centers in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor. "I was determined that Traverse City was not going to go the way of Muskegon.”

Kathy Stanley, manager at Mackinaw Brewing Co., said the festival's been a boon to the restaurant and brew pub and extended use of the theater likely would produce similar results.

"If (people) are going to go to the movies, they're going to go out for dinner or maybe a few drinks, and that's good for us,” Stanley said.

Jennifer Liedel, co-owner of Creme Brulee in Front Street Commons, said last year's film fest brought a flock of shoppers into her clothing store. She expects a full-time movie house to bring a young, artistic following downtown.

And as a downtown resident, Liedel is looking for things to do.

"I'd love to see that happen,” she said.

Long-time downtown merchant Phil Anderson, owner of Diversions, said State Theatre offers "a lot of neat nostalgia.” He enjoys the festival but said he wishes it were held at a slower time for downtown.

The festival board will run the theater and plans to have it open initially Friday through Sunday in winter, and at least five or six days per week Memorial Day to Labor Day.

The board wondered if keeping the theater open year-round would sap interest from the event, which had larger crowds than expected its first two years.

"But we have a plethora of incredible movies and not enough space on the schedule to show them,” Moore said. This year's festival is July 31 to Aug. 5.

Carmike's restrictions dated to when GKC Theaters Inc. sold the building in the 1980s to minimize competition for its movie houses in Acme and south of town, which since closed. GKC later opened theaters in Grand Traverse Mall and Horizon Outlet Center. Carmike bought GKC in 2005.

The State will not host live acts, other than possible lectures, because of the size of the new screen, Moore said.

Possible offerings including tributes to classic actors like John Wayne, free matinees, free Spanish language films, or a "cry room” where parents may watch movies with young children.

"In keeping with our nonprofit mission, our movies should be available to everybody,” Moore said.

The theater's history goes back almost 90 years.

The Lyric Theatre was built on that site in 1918 and was gutted by fire in January 1923. It was rebuilt and re-opened that December, but burned again in 1947. It opened as the State Theatre in 1949 and continued until the early '70s, then later opened as a twin cinema.

GKC Theaters Inc. sold the building in 1986 with eventual plans for a $7 million performing arts center. Millions were raised in pledges and donations and some improvements made, but complete plans never gelled. Rotary Charities took back the property last year through liens.