Page 14
Daily Nebraskan
Monday, December 15, 1986
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Tlie State: still standing against the mnmilti-screen assault
By Stew Magnuson
Staff .Reporter
The State Theatre has sat empty,
dark and alone at 1415 0 St. for the
past three months. One mask laughing,
another frowning. "King Kong Lives,"
the sign reads, teasing bad-film lovers
in Lincoln until the promised reopening
on Dec. 19.
The State Theatre is one of the
oldest movie houses in Nebraska. And
it's definitely the most unique. Seeing
a flick at the State is an experience
totally apart from the usual multi
screen modern theaters with plastic
seats and sound bleeding in from the
Ramboesque movie next door. The
whole exterior can be wonderfully
confusing. When you walk in the theater,
you're not at the top looking down at
the available seats, you're somewhere
in the middle.
What are those seats behind your
head? Is it a balcony or just an unusual
slope? The glittering murals of cowboys
keep you entertained while waiting for
the film to start. Finding the restrooms
can be a little perplexing. They're
down some stairs and past the lounge
with the Spiderman pinball machine.
The movie-going citizens of Lincoln
have been denied access to this won
derful theater for the past three months.
According to Richard Wytell, the district
'Other than the
gaudy decor, it's a
real nice theater
with a great sound
system.'
Wytell
manager for Commonwealth Theatres
in Kansas City, Mo., the company just
couldn't book good movies for the
State, so they decided to shut it down
temporarily instead of putting in a
"lesser product."
The State Theatre is one of the soon-to-be-extinct
animals called single
screen theaters. Movie studios would
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rather have their products showing in
the multi-screen modern complexes
like the Plaza 4 than in older one
screen houses.
"The State is hard to book on a
strong basis," Wytell said.
The State shows an unusual mix of
films not found anywhere else in
Lincoln. A State film can be a big,
popular movie like "Down and Out in
Beverly Hills," already "shown at the
Cooper, another Commonwealth theater.
For people who can't always make it to
East 0 Street, the State will run these
hits for a week before they leave town
forever.
Smaller, ignored films like the cult
hit "The Toxic Avenger" and the good,
but ignored "Crossroads," also showed
at the State this year.
What really does well in one-screen
theaters like the State are trashy horror
flicks, popular with teens. The failure
of these horror-genre films to do well
this past fall was one of the reasons the
State closed, Wytell said.
"The original 'Nightmare on Elm
Street and the original 'Friday the
13th' did real well at The State in the
past, but 'Elm Street II' and 'Texas
Chainsaw Massacre' just didn't do well
anywhere this fall, not just the State.
. . . And the single-screen theater
survives on that type of product."
What are the chances that the State
wil close down for good?
"There's always that chance," Wytell
said, "It's the last thing I want to do.
But it's just too early to make projections
for next year.
"Other than the gaudy decor, it's a
real nice theater with a great sound
system," Wytell said.
The State Theatre reopens this Friday
with "King Kong Lives." Lincoln's bad
film lovers are planning a celebration
at the 7 p.m. showing on reopening
night. So go check out a movie at the
State, while there's still time." r V
4'
e
' v
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Hi:
i I
Richard WrightDaily Nebraskan
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