Jeff Olson's Friends

Nobody really likes to say goodbye...

LIVE IN OR NEAR C-U?

For those who hadn’t heard, Boardman’s Art Theatre will be no more as of December 31, 2009. They didn’t let him renew his lease—since they jacked up the rent on the place, now that downtown Champaign is “hip”—and a new “programmed” art theatre will be taking its place.

The final movie that is showing is a restored, 60th anniversary print of THE BICYCLE THIEF, generally considered one of the greatest films of all time.

The final showing is at 7pm on December 30TH, 2009. Lovely Wife Sara and I have already reserved our seats—center of row K, the best row in the place—and we’d love to see as many of our friends there for the last show as we possibly can.

You can reserve specific seats on their website, http://www.boardmanstheatres.com/

The text of his last message is at the bottom of this post.

Spread the word, tell your friends, and we hope to see you there.

Love,

b (and by proxy, S)

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“Fellow Independent and foreign language film lovers and Boardman's Art Theatre supporters...

What good is being on an email newsletter list, if you don't hear the news there first?

Many of you know that I was investigating reopening the Rialto Theatre (directly across from the Art Theatre) because my lease ends at the Art on December 30, 2009. While I would have loved the challenge and I love large, old, single-screen theatres, unfortunately, the owners of the Rialto Theatre did not feel the time was right for them. Other locations were explored, but none would have been ready in a timely manner.

I have sold my equipment and furnishings to a new operator, Sanford Hess, who has secured a lease with the owner of the Art Theatre, David Kraft.It is my understanding that the new operator will be using a professional film booker to secure films.

My hope and belief is the Art Theatre will continue to provide CU with quality Independent and foreign language films.

I am proud to have taken the Art Theatre from its closed and run down condition in 1993 to the best theatre in CU today. The lobby/concession area remodel, the picture and (especially) the sound presentation, is my design. I have booked every film shown since reopening in June of 2003. I worked with the U of I to bring French, Latin American, and Asian film festivals to the Art Theatre.

I would like to thank all of you for your interest in quality films, your attendance, and your film suggestions. Without your support, CU would suffer with only the multiplex offerings from the corporate giants in town.

They thought we would fail. They hoped we would fail. They did what they could to bring our failure about. But in the end, Boardman's Art Theatre performed better than the multiplexes in some head-to-head battles. And they don't even come close to our attendance when they attempt to show films that truly belong at the Art. Your support for our presentation of quality Independent films now has many film distributors calling me to see if they can book their films into the Art Theatre.

We should all be proud of that.

In addition to your support, Boardman's Art Theatre could also not have been successful without the help of talented, honest and dedicated managers and staff over the years. And none has been better to rely on than Yvonne Green, my present manager, and her staff.

Finally, I will miss all of the above and hearing from you. I wish that I could have been at the theatre more often, to discuss with you the many fine films you have enjoyed. I hope you continue to support the Art Theatre. Yvonne will be staying on for some time, helping with the transition. Smart Cards will continue to be operational into the new year.

Greg Boardman”

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