Quirky late-night shows attract unique crowd

2010 Traverse City Film Festival

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Moviegoers enter the State Theatre for the midnight movie Thursday during the Traverse City Film Festival. Keith King/Record-Eagle
Volunteers collect tickets from attendees for Thursday's midnight movie. Keith King/Record-Eagle

July 31, 2010

Quirky late-night shows attract a unique crowd

BY SHERI McWHIRTER smcwhirter@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Sat Jul 31, 2010, 07:14 AM EDT

Traverse City — Elsa Frank stood at the front of a line on Front Street with her face illuminated by the lights from the State Theatre's marquee.

She anxiously waited for the Traverse City Film Festival's midnight movie, where the late-night fare tends to be a little different than other festival offerings — and so do the people.

"We started the tradition a couple years ago and we always pick a midnight movie to go to together," said Frank, of Traverse City, whose husband ducked into a nearby tavern for a beer before the show. "We both like kung fu movies: the action, all the cool moves and the quirkiness you don't always get in other films."

Frank attended Thursday night's midnight movie, "Clash," a top-grossing Vietnamese martial arts film with a woman as the hero. It's the first film the festival offered from Vietnam.

Farther back in line, Brian Chamberlain waited to enter the theater in the muggy late-night air, not knowing exactly what was in store. He came for the experience, not necessarily for the specific film.

"I really don't know much about it. I think it's interesting to see something like this that I'm not really a fan of. It's seeing something new," said Chamberlain, of Traverse City. "It's about supporting the film festival."

Inside the theater, Nell Cunningham sat in the front row in the balcony, eager for the show to start. She, too, wasn't there so much for the film, but to people-watch the midnight crowd from her elevated perch.

"It's more that midnight movies are so much fun and the people who come make it worth it," she said.

The crowd swept into the theater to fill about two-thirds of the seats.

"It's different from the afternoon crowds — night owls," said Linda Barry, the theater's house manager.

Krys Crawford and her mother, Lori Wheldon, sat near the back of the theater and munched on popcorn.

"The midnight movies tend to be a little strange and I'm into the strange," Crawford said.

Crawford is from Georgia and during the festival is staying with her mother, who lives in Williamsburg.

"That way I can spend more on tickets," she said, adding she will take in 16 movies in four days by the time the festival wraps.

Festival founder Michael Moore sat in the theater lobby and spoke to moviegoers as they passed by. He said the festival offers midnight movies as a way to keep entertainment going in Traverse City past the typical end-of-business-day hours.

"It makes it cool to live in Traverse City. You can go to a midnight movie on a hot July night," Moore said. "We used to roll the sidewalks up at 5 p.m. and now we don't."

Such entertainment is important when it comes to attracting new businesses and jobs to the area, he said.

Tickets remain available for tonight's midnight movies, "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" at the State Theatre and "The French Kissers" at the Old Town Playhouse. The former is a documentary about Canadian rock trio Rush, while the latter is a French teen sex comedy.

Call the main box office at 922-8903 for more information, or visit www.traversecityfilmfest.org.