What Does It All Mean?

It’s sure been an interesting week online with regard to all things “Astor” and, in response to the very many questions appearing on facebook, twitter and elsewhere, we thought we ought to clear up a few points that seem to be causing confusion. So here it is, as we see it, in simple points:

A Brief History Lesson

In 2007, the freehold for the building at 1-9 Chapel St, St Kilda was for sale. St Michael’s Grammar School purchased the building at auction for $3.8 million dollars. With the purchase for SMGS (landlord) came an existing lease until 2015 for the the current major tenant, The Astor Theatre. The building was Heritage Vic listed when St Michael’s bought it  – and we already had a lease in operation. So no matter who owned it, we were always going to be here until May 2015.  No developers were interested because of the Heritage Listing and our lease which is why there was only one bid at auction. The Friends of the Astor Association Inc did not exist until 2010 which is why they did not bid at auction (it’s difficult to do things when you don’t yet exist).

Unfortunately, the media and estate agent were calling it the sale of The Astor Theatre, but “The Astor” is an entity that was not for sale. So rather than ‘Save the Astor’ in 2007, St Michael become the building’s new landlord. Much like when you privately rent a property, the landlord is the person you pay monthly rent to and just because they own (for example) ’10 Happy Lane’ doesn’t necessarily mean they own, run, understand, or have anything to do with the “home” existing inside of it.  If you replace ’10 Happy Lane’ with ’1-9 Chapel Street’, and “home” with “Astor Theatre”, you see clearly the current existing relationship, one of landlord/tenant.

The Astor Theatre

This is the point with the most – and most dangerous – element of confusion; “The Astor Theatre”, “Astor Theatre”, “The Astor”, all refer to the entity currently in operation inside the building at 1-9 Chapel St, St Kilda. Furthermore, it is a trademark belonging to Chapel Theatres Pty Ltd, owned and operated by George Florence, Proprietor of The Astor Theatre as you know it, since 1982. The school have been asked to please not use the word ‘Astor’ when referring to the building as it creates confusion.

Simon Gipson, Head of School at SMGS, commented, that ‘The Astor’ will continue to show films, but this could only be true if George were to be given another lease or if the freehold was sold to someone (i.e. FOTA) who would ensure The Astor could stay. So even though the assurance is that 1-9 Chapel Street will in future show films, The Astor will not.

The school have said they will be in consultation with the broader community. Good news for everyone is that the community includes a great group of people called The Friends of the Astor who are actually offering assistance with community consultation. And so far the community are speaking up loud and clear in favour of The Astor Theatre, which is – everyone all together now – “the entity inside the building”, owned and run by George Florence.

Friends of the Astor

The Friends of the Astor Association Inc is a distinct and separate body from The Astor Theatre. It’s a not for profit incorporated body that aims to become a not-for-profit trust and was founded by a group of concerned individuals within the community who are passionate about The Astor Theatre. Their aims are to preserve and protect the Astor. Their campaign comes from a concern for the future of the Astor. Their intent is not cyber bullying, far from it, they are interested in opening up the dialogue about the future of the Astor and are calling on SMGS to be good corporate citizens, to see that thousands of people out there want the Astor Theatre to exist, in its current incarnation, for future generations to experience.

Too Early to Speculate

It has been stated by the school that it is too early to speculate on the long-term uses for The Astor (one more time – the entity inside the building) but their Preliminary vision, plus the architects who visited the building with tape measures, suggest there has already been at least some consideration for what the future may hold for “The Astor”. And as a entity, “The Astor” must take the landlord’s intended long-term use of the building into consideration: for example, The Astor has recently installed state of the art digital projection and we might be considering further technical additions/upgrades, but it’s difficult to know what to invest in if we don’t know whether or not our intended improvements have a limited time-frame of two and a half years – the time-frame we realistically have left to trade.

Moving house from a small flat with few belongings may only take a couple of days to pack up and move but moving out of a more than thirty year tenancy will take a lot longer. With that in mind, with things as they currently stand, we will close in late 2014 to give us time to take with us everything that belongs to the The Astor including, but not limited to; a cooling/heating system, courtyard full of plants, popcorn machine, film projectors, 4K digital projector, amplifiers, sound rack and sound system, as well as our iconic carpet and a much loved Astor cat. As such, there will be another seven Astor Theatre calendars. And if there are only seven calendars left and with, for example, the 70mm film print of 2001: A Space Odyssey belonging to George Florence, one thing we might like to consider is how many more times we will screen it on the Astor’s SuperScreen before that print is never seen theatrically again. Certainly without the Astor, without George, the building can’t screen it.

The Library

There’s also been some confusion about the library of films The Astor have access to. Some titles, such as Casablanca, that we regularly screen, belong to Chapel Distribution Pty Ltd, a company, though co-founded by George Florence, that is again distinct from “The Astor Theatre”. These films would continue to screen at a number of cinemas in Australia and New Zealand but of course would not screen in the building that houses the Astor Theatre without The Astor in operation.

The Future

Whether or not the people currently operating the business of the Astor wish to stay is not really what’s at stake here, what the concern is, is what the public want, and what might happen to what the public can access. The Friends of the Astor Association is an independent body who could ensure the aims and intentions of The Astor continue once the business is handed over to them as a not-for-profit trust, ensuring The Astor exists, not as a private business but as an entity open to the public. This is something the current model of The Astor strongly supports.

It would be an incredible loss if future generations could not put up an Astor Calendar on their toilet door and come see 70mm film prints of films like 2001: A Space Odyssey or Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet. If the Astor doesn’t stay inside the building then no one in Australia will see those films in those formats again. No one is saying that the school wouldn’t ever show a film again – as Simon Gipson, Head of School has stated, it will do so for perhaps ten weeks of the year. But will you be able to see It’s A Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve and then come back on Boxing Day for the Monty Python double? Will the Astor cat greet you in the foyer? Will you ever see the Astor logo on the big screen again as you take a bite into your Astor Choc Ice?

The Astor is so much more than just a venue and removing it from the building would be like removing its soul. The Astor isn’t bricks and mortar, it’s ethereal and it only exists today because the collective experiences of the community continue to feed its soul. If it’s gone then you will still have a building, and you will probably still see be able to see films there, but do you want to enter the auditorium having purchased a scarf from the uniform shop instead of an Astor Choc Ice?

For more information please visit fota.net.au and sign the petition at change.org/astor

Written by Tara Judah, PA to the Proprietor at the Astor Theatre, for the Astor Theatre.

The Astor Theatre 2021: A Vision, Or, Melbourne’s Worst Nightmare?

For everyone who has ever walked through the front doors here at The Astor Theatre, and in doing so, felt something special, the building of anticipation as you ascend up the stairs, and if you have ever had the pleasure of experiencing a film inside the Astor’s auditorium then you will know what there is here to love and to defend. PROTECT THE ASTOR NOW.

You might have seen our online petition at change.org, please sign and circulate, and read the releases below as the events unfold…

16.05.12 St Michael’s Grammar School’s response FOTA’s online petition request: Media_Release_16May12_-_Astor_Building

17.05.12 FOTA’s media release: Media release_Protect The Astor_17May2012_corrected launch date

 

From St Michael’s Grammar School – “A Preliminary Vision”: Preliminary vision

New Astor Calendar

Whenever we put together an Astor calendar we receive an influx of comments, feedback and suggestions so we thought this would be a great opportunity to tell you in a little more depth about how and why we program the way we do.

Since 1982 George Florence (Proprietor) has conceived of and developed the unique style of repertory programming the Astor is known for. And whilst in an idyllic world the process would be as free and wonderful as choosing two quality films that compliment one another – be it by theme, director, stars, genre, tone, etc – there are a multitude of factors that restrict the options available to us, which is why we find you sometimes asking why we put Labyrinth with Killer Klowns from Outer Space and why John Carter is a single session rather than a double feature.

The primary concern for double features is that both films must come from the same distributor – this is due to Box Office Returns; a percentage of all ticket sales go back to the distributor.

The next concern is available theatrical rights. Just because a film exists, and indeed, even if it has a Home Entertainment release, doesn’t necessarily mean that there are valid theatrical screening rights. All films shown here must have valid theatrical screening rights and even though in some cases we might have shown a film in the past, doesn’t necessarily mean that the film will always be available to screen. Bladerunner is one example where, following our season a couple of years ago now, the theatrical rights have since expired. Conversely, Dirty Dancing and The Princess Bride are films where the rights had lapsed but have recently been renewed, and so we are once again able to screen them.

Then there is the issue of available film formats. Prior to June last year we were only able to screen films with available 35mm or 70mm film prints. And even though we are and will always be committed to both screening and protecting film prints, it is certainly true that since installing our 4K digital projection plant, opportunities to screen many previously unavailable cult and classic titles have now been made available to us. Certainly we could not have held our most recent re-release seasons of Taxi Driver, Dr Strangelove and Labyrinth if it weren’t for new digital restored and remastered DCPs being made.

 

The same is true of our upcoming major season exclusive Australian 2K digital re-release of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Whilst there were once perfectly good quality film prints available of all three Indiana Jones films – Temple of Doom in 70mm in fact – they were junked many years ago and as such, were until now, absent from the big screen. We very much hope we will see Raiders followed up later in 2012 and into 2013 with re-releases of The Temple of Doom & The Last Crusade. Hopefully one day we will be able to present them to you as a trilogy, as we have done recently with The Lord of the Rings and Back to the Future.

There are also certain restrictions for us as a repertory cinema with regard to release dates and the time periods after which we are allowed to screen the films. Usually new release titles will screen here 5-8 weeks after their initial release, with the earliest we are able to screen a new title being 4 weeks with some distributors.

There are also often restrictions placed upon which new titles can be paired with which other new titles and much of this is at the distributors’ discretion.

So, despite our efforts to avoid odd pairings and really weird double bills, we do sometimes end up with things like Safe and Cafe de Flore on the calendar. An example of a double feature that was originally intended to be Silent Souls and Cafe de Flore, but unfortunately the release date for Silent Souls was pushed back which meant we couldn’t include it on this calendar. Still wanting to screen Cafe de Flore, we looked at the next most seemingly interesting to an Astor audience title available. In other instances, with films like A Separation, we decide that it might just be better to let the film screen as a single session rather than a really weird double. Please also bear in mind that as we program for three-month blocks in advance, it isn’t always possible for us to have personally seen the films prior to putting them on the program. If it were, we might not have shown The Darkest Hour or Albert Nobbs on our last calendar.

But beyond what we think are quality films and what films we might like to support there is unfortunately commercial viability to take into account. Sure, I’d love to see a season of experimental films including Kenneth Anger and Stan Brakhage on our SuperScreen but the reality is that almost no one would turn up to see them – as our John Waters mini retrospective rather clearly indicated.

As we are presently still a commercial entity and without any funding currently available to us, we do have to give some consideration to making enough money to keep the doors open. And whilst our aims and intentions are to provide a unique cinema-going experience rather than to “make money” we do have to consider whether or not a film is likely to have an audience or 30 or 300 people attend. There is of course always a balance and sometimes we will persist with a certain title because of its merit and indeed we have again programmed The Art of Flight despite it not necessarily being a film that attracts several hundred viewers and certainly the session on our last calendar was decent but not staggering. The reason we are screening it again however is because it is one of the best quality digital presentations we have ever screened. The 2K is incredibly sharp and the cinematography quite impressive – something we strongly believe deserves to be seen on the big screen.

There are also some films that we screen regularly due to the film prints being very rare, these include; Hamlet in 70mm, Baraka in 70mm, Apocalypse Now Redux in 35mm and Grindhouse in 35mm. I’m sure many of you already know the story of Hamlet, but if not – it is a great example of why the Astor is important not only as a cinema but also in the continued preservation and exhibition of rare film prints. Following a strong release season in 1996 Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet has screened on every single Astor Calendar since. Earmarked for junking (the destroying of a film print), George contacted Kenneth Branagh and notified him that the rare 70mm print was about to be destroyed, but that we were very interested in continuing to screen it. Kenneth Branagh then directed the distributor to hand over the film print to us so that it can continue to be seen as intended. Similarly, with the hope that the distributors will not junk films we repeatedly book, we make sure rare film prints continue to screen at the Astor so that they won’t be lost to film history and so that future generations can continue to discover them on the big screen.

We are also very lucky here at the Astor to have someone so passionate as George about the protection, preservation and exhibition of classic films, film prints and now too high quality digital re-releases. In partnership with Mark Spratt, George co-founded and is co-director of Chapel Distribution – an independent repertory distributor for Australia and New Zealand with a library of many titles you see regularly appearing at the Astor. Films such as Flying Down to Rio, screening as part of a special event in June with the Cairo Club Orchestra live, and the upcoming 4K digital re-release of The Sound of Music, are titles that we are very pleased to see return to the big screen this year.

We are also very lucky to have film print enthusiast Craige Blencoe working at Chapel who devotes a lot of his time to sourcing rare film prints for some of the titles Chapel hold theatrical rights to. Recently, Craige discovered a 70mm film print of The Last Starfighter down a salt mine in Mount Iza and we are pleased to be presenting that in two weeks time on Monday May 14^th. In a slightly different kind of discovery we will be presenting on Monday May 7th a 70mm film print of The Right Stuff -  a film print recently discovered by Roadshow in the depths of their warehouse in Brisbane. We hope to be presenting even more 35mm and 70mm film print discoveries later in the year as they are discovered and, if the films, once tested, are in runnable condition.

In terms of seasons on this calendar we are also pleased to announce three Sunday evening double features commencing June 10^th of The Marx Brothers: Carnival of Mayhem, featuring 4 35mm film prints and two digital presentations. We also very excited to see some of David Lynch’s films back up on the big screen from Sunday July 22^nd. Although we tried our hardest to include his entire oeuvre, there were several titles unavailable in terms of theatrical rights in our territory. I’d like to thank the Edinburgh Film House for their assistance in the process of trying to track down the likes of Wild at Heart, David Lynch’s short films and The Elephant Man. Sadly these titles weren’t available to us at the present time here in Australia but we do hope that we might see them in the future and are still working on bringing some of these great films back to the big screen.

A few other sessions that we’re extraordinarily pleased to be presenting on this calendar include a special Melbourne Exclusive screening of The Chemical Brothers: Don’t Think and Faithless: Passing the Baton, both presented on 2K digital Friday May 18^th, a special screening of CinemaLive’s Don Giovanni Opera Australia, two rare 35mm film prints of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s El Topo and The Holy Mountain, a new 2K DCP of the 1968 musical Oliver!, a special event called Lebowski Bash Melbourne, which includes a Lebowski Tribute band, a Dude lookalike contest, a trivia competition and a Kahlua White Russian bar after party, as well as of course welcoming back regular event screenings of Grease Sing-A-Long, The Blues Brothers and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

We hope this goes some way to explaining at least some of the processes we go through when programming but of course, as always, we welcome your comments, suggestions and feedback so that we can continue to strive to make the Astor Calendar the very best in repertory film programming and so that we can continue to screen the very best in both film and digital projection.

Written by Tara Judah for The Astor Theatre – excerpt from original introduction at May 2012 Calendar Launch.

 

 

LABYRINTH E-NEWS GIVEAWAY

Following our E-newsletter competition giveaway, we can now announce the WINNERS! Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter, we loved reading why you want to see Labyrinth on the big screen and quite a few of the entries even made us giggle. However, we did state that we would have just five winners and with the expert assistance of a meowing Marzipan we eventually selected five (it wasn’t easy and if you disagree with the judging panel’s final decisions, then please do remember that the judge who casts the final vote is a cat. Feel free to take it up with her next time you’re at the theatre, but don’t expect too much feedback.) We did however love your entries SO MUCH that we’ve put the honorable mentions up here with the winners. Thanks again to everyone who took the time to write to us.

WINNER #1: Marg Morris

“My husband of 35 years and I couldn’t afford much when we were married but when I saved up and took him to see the Labyrinth for his birthday it became his favourite movie of all time and he talks to the kids about it often. He is a very hard working husband with little time for himself and I would love to surprise him with a trip to your beautiful theatre to see the movie again. “

WINNER #2: Holly Le Brun

“To be honest, i just want to see this shot on the big screen!”

 

WINNER #3: Anna Prasser

“I don’t require 50-100 words.  I only need six. David Bowie in lycra stretch pants.”

WINNER #4: Jessie Macgregor

“Wow.  Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies and the same for my mum.  We never saw it on the big screen and the VHS copy we had ‘died’ from love and continued use!  I love Hogwart, and Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie are fantastic. I loved how this movie had a strong puppet cast and amazing costumes as well.  It is magical and mum and I would love to finally see it on the big screen, and have a sing-a-long too!”

WINNER #5: Gaylene Carbis

“There are three reasons: 1) to win the favour of my much younger sister, who will love me more if I win a double pass to this film – I’m a writer and that’s an impressive thing but much more impressive when my writing can do things like win me (and my sister) a double-pass to an Astor film;   2) any movie worth seeing has to be seen on the big screen; and 3) the Astor is my favourite cinema in the world, and my sister’s too. The Astor, a great film, a film with my sister: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE.”

HONOURABLE MENTIONS:

Rebecca Gibbins: “I want free tickets to Labyrinth because I haven’t seen it yet (I know, I know) and I would love to see Bowie on the big screen. Big.”

Chris A: “Would like to see Labyrinth on the big screen, simply because I’ve never seen it before; have been told it’s quite good; stills and production/art design suggest a rich and interesting cinematic world; and your 2K transfer presents an interesting opportunity for a “first-time-ever”.”

Emily Meyer: “I first saw Labyrinth as a small child and was blown away (on small screen too). I’ve been mesmerized ever since, and have seen it several times over the years. I love this film, and am very exciting to finally see it on the big screen, because it will bring new life to the film once again. I will slip back into being about 7 years old and wear pigtails to this screening if I win!!!”[Editor's Note - we hope you'll still come and wear pigtails!]

Ben Turner: “Labyrinth was the defining film of my childhood. The songs, the characters and the unique style of Bowie all came together that first time I saw it on the silver screen, though attempts to recreate the film magic at home so far have had no power over me. Sometimes the way forward is the way back though, and so I believe seeing Labyrinth on the big screen again, at the wonderful old Astor building, would be that helping hand to bring back the Dance, Jump and Film Magic of Jim Henson’s masterpiece for me. And the missus.”

Denver Grenell: “Hi there the reason I want to see labyrinth on the big screen is because the last time I saw it on the big screen it was 1986 in Christchurch, NZ and there were lines around the block to get in and of course also the movie is awesome and I want to see Bowies codpiece blown up to ridiculous size & detail. “

Murphy Wood: “Labyrinth is my Grandma’s favourite film, and when I saw that there was to be a whole week dedicated to the movie, I knew she would love to go with me. I told her all about how the Astor is one of the old, classical style cinemas, and she fell in love with the idea of going to go see a movie she loves, on the big screen, in such a beautiful theatre.”

Mark W: “Who wouldn’t want to see a legend like ‘David Bowie’ in action under the direction of a master like ‘Jim Henson’ ? And I couldn’t think of a more suitable venue, than the Astor Theatre “

Jackie Burke: “Labyrinth is my all time favourite movie.  I saw it at the pictures when it first came out and loved it, mainly because David Bowie looks awesome in it.  I now have children of my own and they have also come to love this movie and it would be even more special seeing it at the wonderful Astor Theatre.  They have never been before so I am looking forward to them experiencing it and the wonderful icecreams.”

Thanks to everyone who entered and if you want to read more about Labyrinth here are some review links we recommend:

• Milk Bar Mag
• Time Out Melbourne
• The Weekly Review
• Cinema Autopsy

LABYRINTH screens exclusively at the Astor Theatre Sunday April 8 to Sunday April 15. Sessions daily at 7.30pm (including Tuesday 10th). Sundays at 2pm, 5pm & 8pm. Tickets $15/$14/$13. No Free List. For more info visit: www.astortheatre.net.au

Is Australia On Screen Commercially Viable?

Here at the Astor we welcome programming suggestions from you, our audience. The reason we do this is because we do actually want to present films you want to see. It sounds simple enough, but in fact the process involves more than just picking two films that make a good double feature and placing them somewhere on our iconic calendar.

The first three questions we have to ask before programming anything are:

1) Does the film have valid, theatrical screening rights? Just because a film has been shown on TV or has a DVD release, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s available for theatrical exhibition.

2) Is there an available format for theatrical presentation? Where once this was limited to 35mm or 70mm film prints we do now have wider options for presenting repertory titles if they are available digitally – most commonly as 2K or 4K DCPs (Digital Cinema Package) and often, but not always, upon announcement of a studio re-release.

3) What other title does the distributor have an available format and valid rights for that will work in a double feature? Double features require both films come from the same distributor (this is because a percentage of the takings are then returned to the distributor as box office returns).

But, as the Astor is still presently a commercial business we aren’t eligible for any funding which means we do also have to take into consideration the commercial viability of screening each film. It’s an unfortunate reality and certainly we’d love to program free from this constraint, but at the end of the day we have to take at least enough money to keep our front doors open. As much as we’d love to, we just can’t afford to freight rare 35mm and 70mm film prints half way across the world for a single screening. An average screening just couldn’t cover those kinds of costs which makes screening certain titles prohibitive.

Bearing these things in mind, we still try to accommodate requests when and where we can.

But why are we telling you this? The reason is because we want to let you know why some films that meet the aforementioned criteria don’t always screen, or maybe do so only once. The titles that screen only once and don’t return for a second screening do so because even though they might be films that have been continually requested, they find their way back to our big screen only to attract really small audiences of less than even 100 people – and unfortunately that means they’re not viable for repeat screenings.

Something we hear often is that we don’t have enough Australian content on the calendar. That aside from contemporary break out successes of Australian cinema such as Animal Kingdom, we just don’t show enough Australian film. Well, we took your advice and beyond films such as Wake In Fright, Snowtown, The Hunter, The Tall Man, Mad Bastards, Sleeping Beauty and of course Animal Kingdom, we decided to put on some old favourites of Australian cinema, and, after sourcing what was available, came up with ten titles over five consecutive Monday nights showcasing a mixture of popular and cult, genre, Australian films. These included Mad Dog Morgan, Stone, Mad Max, Mad Max 2, The Adventures of Barry McKenzie, Dimboola, Puberty Blues, The FJ Holden, The Picture Show Man and The Lighthorsemen.

Unfortunately, despite the requests for Australian film, very few people actually attended this season of explicitly Australian film. The first two nights featuring films with greater cult followings – and of course Mad Max and Mad Max 2 being the most popular- were attended well enough to make it worth while screening the films. The following three sessions however just weren’t very successful at all, and with less than a hundred people turning up to see something, it’s just not viable for us to put it on.

So what does this mean? Is it just a case of mass coincidences that for the past few Monday nights all the people who said they’d wanted to see these films were unable to attend? Or is it that Australians want to support Australian cinema in theory but not in practice? And is there a similar level of inactivity at play when it comes to supporting Australian cinemas? We know you love the Astor and we know you love Australian film, but if the past three Monday nights are anything to go by then there’s something amiss. Perhaps there is a level of complacency at play? The Astor is here and perhaps many assume we will always be here. Maybe you like to know we’re here, but you don’t necessarily attend regularly for extraneous reasons. And perhaps the same can be said for public exhibition of Australian film. Maybe you want to know that it’s out there, that someone is screening it, but you don’t or can’t necessarily attend when it screens. Well, much like any independent anything, if you don’t actively support it, it will unfortunately, eventually, just cease to exist.

We aren’t trying to chastise anyone for not attending, but do want to know why often requested content doesn’t always live up to its level of request. If people don’t come to the Astor to see films then we can’t keep showing them. And if there’s no physical support for the exhibition of Australian films in Australian cinemas then Australian cinemas will stop showing them. If you want to know why there’s less Australian content in Australian cinemas than you think there ought to be, well, this could be one reason why.

True, there are more American than Australian titles on any given Astor calendar. And indeed in almost any cinema this weighting is present. And sure, this is partially due to the disproportionate quantity of US titles locally distributed versus other countries’ titles locally distributed, as well as of course the size and general output of the Australian film industry comparatively to a major studio driven film industry like Hollywood. But it might also be because not enough people constitute an Australian audience actively watching Australian films.

If you want to see Australian films on the big screen then please do more than tell us you want to see them – come and see them. Cinema isn’t just a passive arena, it’s a living thing and if you want it to survive in all its diverse glory then you have to take part!

Written by Tara Judah for The Astor Theatre.

What Happened Last Night

We all have nights we’d rather forget. But, sometimes it’s better to talk about it the morning after. And given that we’re in a relationship here (we the cinema, you the audience), it’s probably for the best that we tell you what happened and, most importantly, why it happened the way it did.

Last night we had an unexpected, unwanted and unpleasant delay to our screening of Take Shelter – the first feature in our Wicked Wednesday double bill. I use the words unexpected, unwanted and unpleasant because we’d like you to know that it was for us very much as it was for you – and it was also something that arose out of our control. As the cinema in this relationship there are many aspects of your experience that are within our control; the atmosphere you take in when you visit the Astor is something we work hard at crafting to provide to the best of our ability, given that it too falls within the confines of often extraneous factors. But sometimes those extraneous factors, that we do our very best to work within and to work with, present themselves in such a way that we can’t control the outcome and consequently all we can do is deal with the problem at hand as quickly – and hopefully – as best possible at the times when they occur.

The landscape of the industry is changing, rapidly. Most of you will already know this because we share with you the changes as they occur. Last year, we installed a new, state of the art, Barco 32B 4K digital projector. The reasons for doing so were varied and many. With so many wonderful classic film prints having been “junked” (destroyed) over the years and with the unavailability (certainly commercially) of so many film prints there has always been a huge void in what we were able to show in a theatrical environment (this is not even including the various issues surrounding the availability of valid film rights). The advent of digital projection and the increase in availability of digital formats for classic and cult films has indeed opened up some truly wonderful opportunities for us to present to you films otherwise confined to the small screen (among them films such as Taxi Driver, Dr Strangelove, South Pacific, Oklahoma! and Labyrinth, to name a few). Further to this, the major studios within the industry are moving towards what is being hailed as the “digital revolution”. The term itself is terrifying. Whilst there are many advantages to digital presentation there are, as with anything, pitfalls too. What we are seeing now is the removal of 35mm film prints in favour of digital presentation, most often DCPs (Digital Cinema Package).

Unlike 35mm film prints that are tangible, come on spools, and run through a mechanical projector, DCPs are files that are ingested into the digital projector which is in many ways simply a very high-tech computer system. Because the physical file is ingested into a projector it can – if the cinema has enough space on its server – be kept there indefinitely and so, having created this situation themselves, the studios and distributors lock the files so that they can only be screened at the times scheduled, booked and paid for by the cinema. This means each DCP comes with what is called a KDM (Key Delivery Message). The KDM unlocks the content of the file and allows the cinema to play the film. It is time sensitive and often is only valid from around 10 minutes prior to the screening time and expiring as close to 5 minutes after the scheduled time. Aside from the obvious fact that this means screenings really do need to run according to scheduled time, it is also means the projectionist can’t test to see if the KDM works or that the quality of the film is right before show time. This isn’t always a problem. But when it is…

When it is a problem we have what happened last night. The KDM we received for Take Shelter didn’t work. We discovered this about ten minutes prior to show time. Being a cinema, and holding evening screenings we couldn’t just call the distributor to get another one because they work office hours. So, our steps began with calling a 24 hour help line in the US. Once we went through the process of authenticating our cinema and scheduled screening we were told we had to call London to authorise another KDM for this particular screening. After calling London and re-authenticating our cinema and session, we were told we could be issued another KDM, but not before the distributor also authorised it. This meant another 5-10 minute delay as we waited for the distributor to confirm that we were indeed allow to show the film at this time. Once confirmation was received we waited for the new KDM to be issued. The KDM arrives as an email zip attachment that then needs to be unzipped, saved onto a memory stick and uploaded onto the server. This takes another 5-10 minutes. Once uploaded the projector needs to recognise the KDM and unlock the programmed presentation. Thankfully, this worked. However, until the very moment when it did we were as unsure as our audience as to whether or not the new KDM would work and therefore whether or not our screening would actually go ahead.

This is one example of one incident in one cinema. There are thousands upon thousands of screenings at cinemas just like us all over the world constantly experiencing these same issues. Had we been presenting the film in 35mm it would have started on time. The projectionist would have had the film print made up, threaded up and aligned before you even took your seats, heck, before we even opened our front doors for the night. But this is the situation the industry has created and one that they continue to tout as superior to the presentation of 35mm film. I’m not saying there aren’t advantages to digital cinema but what I am saying is that there are problems. And worse still, problems that are often out of our control but that make us look incompetent. We employ fully trained projectionists  at the Astor Theatre, you know, the kind who have more than twenty years experience each, who used to hold a projectionists’ license (when there existed such a thing), and if a reel of film were to break, or the projector were to need maintenance, or if a lamp needed changing, they would be qualified and able to solve the problem on the spot. With digital however there is no skill in the problem solving; it requires above all else, phone calls, emails and delays. The fact that I – who holds only the most elementary and theoretical training in cinema projection – can even be a part of the process of “solving” the issue at hand demonstrates clearly just how removed the industry is becoming from its own medium, its own unique essence.

We’re not saying that digital is the devil but we want you know what’s at stake. The industry is determined to remove film prints from circulation – they openly say that there won’t be film prints in theatrical circulation within just a couple of years’ time. There are instances in the US already where some studios are refusing to freight 35mm film prints to cinemas. The pressure this puts on independent cinemas to “convert to digital” however is a topic for another blog post, another time. What I’d really like to leave you with here is the essence of how last night made us feel: the industry is shifting – not only its medium, not only its focus, but with it – and most significantly for theatres like us – it’s shifting the element of control. We’re in relationship with you, our audience, but it seems to me as though someone is trying to break us up. We want to continue to give you the experience you expect and deserve when you visit our theatre, and we want more than anything for you know that even though we can’t promise it won’t happen again, we’ll do everything we can to continue to fight for this relationship and the first step to repairing the damage done last night is to be honest with you about how and why it happened.

Written by Tara Judah for the Astor Theatre.

The Seventh Art

I walk through the doors and the majesty of the place hits me.
Marbled terrazzo floor, high archways, and grand staircase leading up
to the oval foyer.
Faces stare down at me from the walls
Bogart. Hepburn. Heston. Bergmann.
Cruise? I guess they have to make some concessions to modernity.
The swirl of the red, green and gold carpet makes my head spin.
People are milling about, drinking champagne, waiting in anticipation
A beautiful communal experience.
Step up to the candy bar, the buttery popcorn smells like a heart
attack waiting to happen.
I buy Jaffas with the sneaky possibility of rolling them down the aisles.
Ticket gets ripped by a proper gentleman in a bow tie and crimson vest.
I take my seat; the old green leather girl has seen better days.
My back starts to ache.
But then the curtains open, the sound of 35mm celluloid flickering
through the projector fills my ears
and golden light flashes across the screen.
I’m home,
at the movies.

Poem written by Ben Lipson, about the Astor originally for a university assignment, re-printed with permission from the author.

Too many to mention…

As New Year’s Eve approaches and we prepare ourselves for the most raucous night of the year – yep, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, now in 2K with 5.1 Surround Sound for an even more boisterous and blisteringly good time – we thought we’d take a look back over the year and some its highlights. In order to make sure this isn’t just one person’s subjective view of the year, we’ve pulled together a varied list of highlights as enthusiastically told by some of the Astor’s staff and regular E-news contributors. We welcome your input and would love to hear what your own personal Astor highlight was this year so please do let us know in the comments section below!

From our New York arm of the Astor (yes it’s true we do have an ex-pat devotee who tirelessly puts together our E-news and designs all our artwork all the way from NYC), Andy cites the arrival of our Barco 32B 4K digital projection plant and the re-release of Taxi Driver in 4K, “I’d say Taxi Driver – the debut of the new 4K projection system, further cementing the Astor as the home of the finest movie presentation in Australia.” And we have consensus from the Bio Box where Kaz says, “My favourite was the 4K re-release of Taxi Driver because it’s such a great film and seeing at that quality was amazing!” and resident ticket seller Tara agrees too, “Hearing Bernard Herrmann’s score – previously only ever in mono – in 5.1 surround sound was the most wonderful experience I’ve had all year.” Doesn’t hurt that the film itself is brilliant too.

But as we soon learned, even 2K looks amazing on our Barco 4K and so whilst TD didn’t take out number one spot for everyone, it did often get a honourable mention. From our new web designer (and we really do have to say an enormous thanks here too to Tyson who helped us put together a wonderful new website that far outshines the old one – in fact, I’d probably cite our new website as another of my greatest Astor highlights this year!), “I think my favourite was the Ghostbusters re-release, but the Taxi Driver in 4K was pretty awesome too!”

But amidst all the love for our new digital awesomeness it’s also true that we are still the home of film – both 35mm and 70mm. From the FOH Jake found a classic highlight in the charms and wit of Billy Wilder, “Some Like it Hot + The Apartment. Hadn’t seen them before; masterpieces!” And equally loved are the big screen staples we show regularly – both due to demand and also, in some instances, to ensure the prints won’t be thrown away. Regular E-news contributor Dave knows that the only way to see these films is as intended, “any screening of Apocalypse Now, Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz is something special. Three films that are best seen on the big screen.”

2011 also saw a few marathon screenings with the complete Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 & Pt 2 screened as a double bill and there were three popular trilogies; all three Back to the Future films which screened in an epic afternoon to evening event to help raise money for Parkinson’s Victoria (plus we actually had the DeLorean at the theatre!), Halloween was another special trilogy event with Night, Dawn and Day of the Dead screening to an audience who had just seen a Zombie playing a mandolin in the candy bar foyer(!), and of course, even though the extended versions were too long to run on this occasion (we will screen them at some time in the future), there was The Lord of the Rings. FOH Shift Supervisor Les sites the latter as his highlight, “For me the Lord of the Rings marathon in July. I really was surprised by the eclectic audience that attended that day and it would be amazing to put together something similar for the forthcoming movie of the hobbit in 2012.” Indeed it would be and I don’t doubt we will!

Something we pride ourselves on at the Astor is a unique and varied style of programming that caters to a wide ranging audience. Certainly we know not everything will be to everyone’s tastes, but another joy of the arrival of our digital projector has been the much wider range of films available to us to present to you. With so many films no longer available on actual film (there are various reasons for this and they range from the only print in the world being available at a cost we can’t – with no government funding – cover, to the prints themselves having been – in my own opinion foolishly – thrown to the tip; this is called “junked”), digital has meant we were finally able to screen a hoard of films that wouldn’t otherwise have found their way to the big screen this past year, including Dario Argento’s Suspiria, John Waters’ Cry-Baby, Tarsem Singh’s The Fall, the Cairo Club presented special screening of Key Largo and E-news contributor Ben‘s favourite Metropolis. Some of these films may not have got an individual staff mention but we know from our audiences that there was some genuine love for these screenings in 2011.

We managed to fit in a fair few horror sessions on our most recent calendar and writer/FOTA member/Astor and horror film enthusiast Ben (we have a few of them!) cites the Fulci experience as his best, “In a year the gave us a legion of masterful resurrections it was a much loved and worn print of the legendary video nasty, Zombie (aka Zombie Flesh Eaters), that will sit amongst my most cherished moments. It was my 1st Italian horror film on the big screen. Nothing could prepare me for the towering joy of zombie versus shark, or the destruction of a glistening  eyeball by a monument of a splinter. Projected from a different era, I could almost smell the dust of the dead, & watching it with Fulci virgins & devotees alike as we all gasped & laughed in eager appreciation, it was a night I shall never forget.”

But with so much and so varied a program there is also sometimes the issue of being decisive and certainly it’s true that at least two people weren’t able to decide at all. The lovely Lenny whose found her way from FOH to ticket box this year gave us five options, “Very difficult to pin 1 movie / event down….. Here are my favourite 5; 1) Silent Film Festival – Chicago, the Astor is the best place to see silent films – like a journey back in time to the start of cinema. With live music it is such a treat! 2) Hamlet, Simply awe-inspiring! A must see at the Astor with 70 mm print! 3) Cinema Fiasco’s Sheba Baby, Perfectly hilariously groovy!
4) In A Better World, and 5) 13 Assassins, bring on foreign films, both fabulously epic; one emotionally and one violently and morally.” All great picks and of course the writer of this piece has a special spot for Hamlet in 70mm even if I didn’t see it at the Astor this year. Hamlet‘s not only the first film I ever saw at the Astor though, it’s also an example of a film print saved by the Astor’s awesome George Florence. Marked to be junked some years ago, George stepped in, contacted Kenneth Branagh directly and told him what was about to happen to that glorious 70mm film print with six-track magnetic sound. Kenneth was of course appalled and directed the studio to hand over the print to the Astor to continue to screen forever more. So thank film for George or we wouldn’t have the opportunity to include such a magnificent film and film print on this fast becoming lengthy list of bests!

Also indecisive when it comes to selecting just one highlight, E-news and blog contributor, FOTA member and regular supporter of the Astor Mark gave us a great list that is impossible to select just something from. So, and as the person who I suspect has actually attended the most screenings of any of our attendees for 2011, we’re going to list them all: “The Graduate/Lenny. The former has long been a favourite and the latter was a first-timer for me that really blew me away–it was a privilege to witness it in its original format on the big screen. Rollerball/Westworld. Two of my favourite futuristic films, always wonderful to see this ideally matched pair revived at the cinema. Lawrence of Arabia (even in 35mm this was an amazing experience and I kept coming back for more), 2001 (always a stunning experience in 70mm–nowhere else in Australia shows this classic sci-fi movie in this format, it gets better each time I see it), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (one of my favourite Clint Eastwood movies and the extended footage version makes a great film even greater, in fact, all of the Sergio Leone epics, including Once Upon a Time in the West and A Fistful of Dynamite), Das Boot, magnificent in 70mm, a technical marvel, an all together different view of the German military in WW2, Ben-Hur, simply demands to be witnessed on the big screen, Amadeus, semi-fictional period piece deserves praise for sheer amount of detail and care, not to mention its compelling story and the fact that it does not take everything too seriously. Honorable Mentions: Network, one of my favourite movies and one that I feel should be seen by as many people as possible [ed's note - this screened as part of a private hire not a regular screening, for Mark's birthday earlier in the year], The Red Shoes, simply because I am starting to lose count of how many times I have seen this at the Astor and I only first saw it just under three years ago. You just know there are others but I’d be here typing forever otherwise.”

Speaking of private hires – which I mentioned briefly above – we’ve had some wonderful events this year that were “off-calendar” so to speak, including premiere screenings of Face to Face, Twice: The Cam Sinclair Story and Reservoir Cats. And from the Bio Box we also get a favourite non-film event, Alex and Allyson Grey. Also from the Bio Box George cites TD as a highlight and of course 2001: A Space Odyssey (if you didn’t already know, it’s his favourite film and the 70mm print is another one he acquired himself!)

Finally, we have two mentions for the film that screened back in 1982 when George first took over the lease at the Astor Theatre: the original 1933 King Kong. For anyone who missed the wonderful milestone event in April, The Astor celebrated its 75th anniversary with a special screening of this film. Gerard who contributes to our E-news and also wrote the excellent extended review we had available at the event says, “I think it has to be Kong/the 75th celebration for me. As an animation enthusiast, the film has been a wellspring of fascination for me since childhood, yet I’d never seen it projected. The Astor’s grand deco milieu – and the post-film company – ensured the experience was well worth the wait!” Owen in FOH agrees, “My favourite of 2011 was seeing the original King Kong for the Astor’s 75th.”

Well folks, there are so many examples that didn’t quite make the list and of course not every staff member managed to get their picks in in time for this post (a certain cat who shall remain nameless failed to email me in time…) which goes some way to explaining just how awesome this year has been for us. But of course, we want to know what your highlights are too – the whole point of this is to share our experiences and with even more awesome films and events on the way for 2012 we can’t wait to share yet another year of wonderful experiences with you!

Comments collected and arranged by Tara Judah for the Astor Theatre.

Favourite Christmas Movies

This week in our E-newsletter we featured a very special Christmas giveaway to tonight’s splendid double bill – Shop Around The Corner and It’s A Wonderful Life.

And because we love to hear from you so much we asked for your favourite Christmas film and why. Thank you to everyone who entered (sorry but not everyone could win!) and congratulations to our 10 winners whose answers were so wonderful we just had to publish them here for everyone to read (in no particular order).

1. Anthony – It’s A Wonderful Life

“My favourite Christmas film of all time is, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Not because it’s showing at The Astor Theatre but it has a great meaning & significance not just in the Christmas sense but life in general. George Bailey being a generous person who has spent most of his life helping other people. The message is clearly evident at the end of the film that Christmas isn’t only a time for giving but appreciating life & the people who are close to us. As human beings, we tend to have a grouch on the world because we’re having a bad day or something isn’t going right in our lives but when we stop to think about it, life isn’t so bad at all because if we’re still alive, able to achive our goals & willing to assist those who are less fortunate than us then we have performed miracles by bringing happiness & joy the lives of other people.”

2. Konrad McCarthy – It’s A Wonderful Life

“My favourite Christmas film: “It’s A Wonderful Life” is because it’s often a tough time of year, it drives some people turn to drink, meds and/or illicit substances, but I find the best cure is to be reminded people, there can be good things too by taking a dose or two of Capra.”

3. Mary Kenneally -It’s A Wonderful Life

” You just can’t beat “It’s a Wonderful Life”, because it does tackle very serious issues – the despair that  George Bailey feels when his life of self sacrifice seems meaningless in the face of the power and success of the unrelentingly selfish and cruel Potter.
[There are echoes in  "Back to the Future 11" when Biff takes over Hill Valley and turns it into a nightmare place riven with  selfishness and nastiness, similar to the way Bedford Falls deteriorates due to the unfettered power of Potter, unchecked by the good deeds of George.] James Stewart expresses the explosive anger that often accompanies depression, and the emotions he portrays are razor sharp. The happy ending is well and truly worked towards, and hence completely satisfying.
[The anti- capitalistic message is rare in American films after this time. Had Stewart  been in "We got Mail", the little book shop would have won.] I can’t help feeling that knowing the real life Stewart’s  heroic career in WW2 also feeds into my attraction to the nobility of the character he creates in George Bailey. “

4. Eve Urban

” My favourite Christmas film is “It’s a wonderful life” and the reasons why are mulitple:
* Jimmy Stewart
* Frank Capra
* Even when I feel cynical and feel the film feeds humans overwhelming need for significance, I still love it!”

5. Jeannie Rae – It’s A Wonderful Life

“I have to admit that I am very fond of It’s a Wonderful Life, because despite it being a cliché, the values of caring and recognising your and others’ worth is so fundamental. Maybe also it reminds us that it is self-centred to think only of yourself and not how important you are to others – rather than such an attitude being humble when it is actually indulgent.”

6. Pat Plum -Marvin’s Room
“Not your standard Christmas movie, but when my four children were young teenagers, Marvin’s Room became our traditional Christmas Eve movie. The story of a very real family comprising of a man bedridden by a stroke, his self focused daughter who estranged herself from the family twenty years earlier, her two troubled sons – the elder of whom had been admitted to a mental institution for setting their family home alight, and the man’s other daughter-caregiver who had been diagnosed with leukemia and needed a bone marrow transplant, was a refreshing change from the sugar-coated offerings that seemed to abound at this time of year. The family’s journey to reconnection (without any ‘happily ever after’ ending) helped me significantly, over the years, to teach my children what Christmas is really about. Additionally, the superb acting by a stellar cast – Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, Robert De Nero and Leonardo DiCaprio – also helped me to teach my children about quality independent films!
…And Boxing Day always, of course, included Ben Hur! Thanks for such a fun competition that has given me cause to think about the place movies have in our Christmas celebrations!”

7. Jenny Krohn – Gremlins

“My favourite Christmas movie is Gremlins, because it’s got everything a Christmas movie needs:

Humour
Suspense
Cute Critters
Evil Monsters
A legend
A curse
A fight to the finish
Christmas carols
A happy ending

What more could you ask for! Season’s Greetings!”

8. Jordan Dautovic – Die Hard

“Die Hard. It’s totally a christmas film. Except with machine guns (ho ho ho) and a badass German bad guy.”

9. Adam Pietrzak – “Pere Noel est une ordure”

“…and my French isn’t even that great – absolutely hilarious – and any movie with a title that translates as “Father Christmas Is Crap” has got to be brilliant!”

10. Gaylene Carbis – Meet Me In St Louis
“Although not necessarily classified as a ‘Christmas film’, Christmas features significantly in this beautiful, moving film. This film is about a family facing change – facing leaving their beloved hometown of St Louis to ‘move up in the world’ as their father has been offered a new job. The family, however, love their hometown – something I deeply relate to, having lived in Carnegie for most of my life and having a deep and passionate love for where I live and reluctance to live anywhere else.
The scene in which the young, beautiful, heartbreakingly poignant Judy Garland sings “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” to her little sister (Margaret O’Brien) is one of the most moving scenes in cinematic history. Judy and Margaret look out the window onto lawns covered in snow, treetops of snow, a winter wonderland, while Judy – singing along to a tinkling music box, to console her little sister who is filled with fear and apprehension – is gorgeous in a sumptuous red gown. Never has Judy been more filled with heart and compassion and tenderness.

“Here we are as in olden days
Happy golden days of yore
Faithful friends who are dear to us
Gather near to us once more

Someday soon we all will be together
If the fate’s allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bow
And have yourself a merry little Christmas now”

Judy singing this breaks my heart every time – it’s heartbreakingly sad and yet at the same time, filled with love and hope. And the best that family can be.”

Please note that winners selected for Astor Theatre giveaways are always at the discretion of the judging panel at the Astor Theatre. The panel usually consists of a ticket seller in consultation with Marzipan, The Astor Cat.

HOW TO SURVIVE OUR ROMERO DEAD TRILOGY – (these points might also be useful in the event of a zombie apocalypse, or they might not.)

1. BRING A BLANKET

Sure, we have heating in the auditorium but you’re going to be sitting through THREE zombie films, surrounded by living beings who claim they’re human but are pretending to be the titled dead – which in a round about way means they are actually UNDEAD. Now we can’t claim for sure that the undead will bring the cold dank atmosphere of six feet under into the auditorium, but why take the chance?

2. DRESS TO IMPRESS

But also to sit. It might sound silly but even if you’re entering our Best-Dressed Undead competition (and we do have some pretty cool prizes to give away) you’ll still want to be comfortable. You are going to sit through three films and as much as we love our original 1936 seats we are aware that one or two of them (ahem) don’t quite equal the royal treatment for your behind. So make sure your get up is comfy enough to withstand the evening. And make sure you get up and walk about in search of brains during the scheduled intervals.

3. BRING A CAMERA

Or a camera phone. Or an Etch-a-Sketch. In addition to you and your friends looking the part we are planning to have a Zombie Mandolin Player – IN A CAGE – performing for your entertainment in the upstairs foyer. This is the kind of weird and wonderful rare opportunity you’ll want to describe to all your friends and family and trust us, it’s always easier with visual aids.

4. BUY SNACKS AT THE CANDY BAR

Whilst we won’t have brains for sale (our apologies but even at cost price they’re just a little too high for our standard retail prices and besides, they make an almighty mess. Squishy. Ewwww.), we will have our regular array of candy bar items in stock as well as some more substantial food to satiate those hunger pangs brought on by the image of the undead munching on the living. There will be sandwiches (Ham & Pickle, Chicken, Lettuce & Mayo, and Cheese, Salad & Pickle), as well as sausage rolls and some vegetarian pastries (Potato Burekas, Pumpkin Burekas and Spinach and Ricotta Swirls). You aren’t allowed to bring outside food or drink into our auditorium and you wouldn’t want to anyway because that doesn’t help us stay in business. Plus we sell a fine selection of booze to fill all your drunken undead desires.

5. TREAT THE VENUE WITH RESPECT

We know you’ll do this but we have to say it. As you know, we’re a grand old place and we’d like to keep it that way. We do our best to make sure the standard here is as high as we can get it (despite there being some issues of disrepair we are actually very proactive about keeping our standards up, unfortunately our landlord doesn’t necessarily share in our vision of repaired plaster work and re-painted walls), so all we ask is that you leave the venue just as you found it; you might be undead but there’s no need to be untidy.

6. REMEMBER YOU’RE IN A PUBLIC SPACE

We all love to get involved and we encourage you to enjoy the atmosphere and all that it allows. But please do remember that this is a public space where other people have also paid to attend in order to enjoy themselves. This means no mobile phones (talking, texting and otherwise; including checking the time, we don’t like to see mobile phone lights in the auditorium), no talking, swearing or other odd activities that will be disconcerting to your fellow undead and of course just generally being courteous to others while the movies are playing.

7. FINALLY, ENJOY!

We’ve recommended a bunch of relatively straight forward things to help your zombie marathon along but the very most important thing of all is of course to enjoy the evening. After all, that’s the entire reason we put it on. Have fun, make friends, watch fine films and bask in the atmosphere of the most awesome cinema in town. That’s a total no-brainer.

Our Romero Dead Trilogy takes place on Sunday October 30. Doors open at 5pm and our Zombie Mandolin Player in a Cage starts pre-show at 5.30pm. Night of the Living Dead 6pm, Dawn of the Dead 7.45pm, Day of the Dead 10pm. Prices are: $15/$13 for one film, $25/$22 for two and $30/$27 for all three. Tickets available on the door.

Written by Tara Judah for The Astor Theatre.