ISSUE #9
BEAM FROM THE BOOTH | GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY
[EDITED BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
Welcome to yet another installment of BEAM FROM THE BOOTH brought to you by GRAND RAPIDS FILM SOCIETY!
We’re coasting on some great energy this afternoon. Last night’s inaugural FILM SOCIETY ROUNDTABLE was such a thrilling experience. Nearly 50 of you came out to meet your fellow local cinephiles and filmmakers. We have spent the past couple months striving to put together more events and resources for West Michigan creatives, and the success of the Roundtable was an exciting start. To those who came out— thank you! It was great meeting all of you. To those who couldn’t make it— that’s okay! We already have the next event on the books. Everyone who wants to join us at the next Film Society Roundtable should clear their calendars for the evening of THURSDAY, MAY 11th.
And, of course, I will remind you that NEXT WEEK we have, not one, but TWO EVENTS!
TITANIC: AN EVENING AT SEA on FRIDAY (4/14) will be a night to remember, featuring a screening of James Cameron’s 1997 epic and live music. Formal wear is highly encouraged. And on SUNDAY (4/16), we’re hosting a special matinee screening of the 1952 classic SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN. Find more info and ticket links for these events in our Upcoming Events section below.
But before you do that, check out these three new columns!
BRIEF FINDINGS FROM TWO DECADES OF MOVIE TICKETS
[BY: GRIFFIN SHERIDAN]
I know I’m not alone in collecting movie ticket stubs, but I pride myself on having a large collection of tickets that includes very nearly every film I’ve ever seen in a theatre and spans the majority of my life. (It isn’t actually two decades worth— closer to 17 years, but it sounds better the other way.)
I have cherished my time at local multiplexes since a young age, and the ticket collection was something that just happened because of that appreciation. The collection recently moved from a notecard holder that was bursting at the seams to a binder full of pages meant for trading cards. My project of organizing and arranging the tickets in chronological order was one that was on the docket for a long time so this past summer I set a couple hours aside and, with help from my lovely (and very patient) partner, finally did it.
Going back through all of them immediately brings back memories of the screenings and the life events surrounding them. Whether the movie was an absolute dumpster fire or a genuine masterpiece, the memory lives on in this ever-expanding collection of mine.
The first stub in the collection is from July 30th, 2006, an IMAX screening of Superman Returns that I remember fairly well. I was 8 and wore a cape to the theater because I was a very cool 8 year-old. The latest stub is from this past Monday, April 3rd, 2023. I saw John Wick: Chapter 4, and it ripped.
Perhaps the most interesting realization I made while organizing this was that in 2016, when I got my first car and acquired the ability to take myself to the theatre, the number of movies I saw increased dramatically, and that summer seems to have the most stubs. It is rivaled only by the summer of 2019, my first summer living on my own, away from my family, and the advent of my ongoing VIP theatre subscription that allows me to see all the movies my heart desires. These outings usually saw me sitting in AMC 18 all day, using all three of my weekly screening passes in a single day. (Ah, the triple-header. Always a good time.) Both of these moments in time involved me gaining a new found independence. And with that independence I said, “I’m going to the movie theatre whenever I god damn please.”
Organizing the tickets provided me with an overview of my career in moviegoing and with revelations about my passion that I perhaps would not have discovered if it weren’t for this collection; a thermal paper tapestry of my life.
ECHOES
[BY: SPENCER EVERHART]
Echoes is an exclusively-visual column based on the MUBI Notebook series of the same name - a fun way to find the repetitions, reverberations, and recapitulations in images throughout cinema history.
Cobra (George P. Cosmatos, 1986)
EO (Jerzy Skolimowski, 2022)
PRODUCTION PARABLES
HONORING AN IDEA
[BY: CALEB FRANCIS JENKINS]
Perhaps I am high on finishing a film project of my own…I don’t know. What I do know is I feel very proud of myself for honoring an idea, for seeing it through. Maybe this idea won’t be translated, relayed, or curated in a way that is relatable to the large majority, but the idea resonated enough with me to not ignore. If I were to ignore this one, how many other creative (future) inklings would I be leaving in the dark?
Each project is a devotion of time, energy, and attention. It involves a choice to step into a focused sub-universe of careful attention and obsession with a vision. It absolutely bleeds into every facet of life, and every artist must be equipped with a fly swatter to combat the bug that is distraction. The lines between reality and the project may be hard to decipher: your friends will miss you, your partner might hate you or find a way to hold the boom pole just to spend time with you, sleep and nourishment will become afterthoughts. It’s important to prioritize the necessities and then get back to work.
I watched a movie in theaters recently, Therapy Dogs. Two high schoolers commit their senior project to a video exploration of the months that make up their last year of high school. When the movie started, I didn’t know how to take it. It felt like a mashup of TikToks, a series of video clips of stuffy classrooms, cringe-y cafeteria cliques, unsupervised after-school activities, late night partying, skateboarding, and boxing in parking lot cart corrals. Needless to say, nostalgia was triggered very quickly. I decided to stick with it and found the project to be something more; I saw it as a processing-vehicle for these two young men as they transitioned into adulthood. They learned a lot about themselves, their friendship, their context, and the fragility of life. This all came from a couple of high schoolers who said YES to a rather simple idea. And, in the end, they have a movie to show for it.
I think a lot of people get caught up on what they don’t have, and that stops them from embarking on a creative project. “I don’t have an Arri Alexa.” “I don’t have access to a mansion to show my character has wealth.” “I don’t have the time or money to make this happen.” STOP! If the idea is important enough to you, I promise you will find a way to make it happen, and it might involve simplifying things a bit. What DO you have access to? If you feel all you have is an iPhone…well, there are plenty of incredible examples of that being enough to make a movie. Christopher Nolan and plenty of other notable directors shot their first movies with what they had available to them. One of Nolan’s first shorts, Tarantella, was shot on an 8MM camera. That project eventually led to another weird thing…and then that great thing…and then that incredible piece…and then…oh yeah, wow, that masterpiece.
So I say congratulations to each of you who have honored an idea, who have stood by a thing you feel very deeply about. Keep going. You have to start somewhere. Go with the idea.
UPCOMING EVENTS
TITANIC: AN EVENING AT SEA
WHAT: An all-out event featuring live music, a commemorative ticket, and a screening of James Cameron’s 1997 epic, TITANIC. *Formal wear highly encouraged.*
WHEN: Friday, April 14th, 6:00pm (Film start: 7:00pm)
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
WHAT: A special matinee screening of the classic film!
WHEN: Sunday, April 16th, 2:00pm
WHERE: The Wealthy Theatre
And so we’ve arrived at the end of another BEAM FROM THE BOOTH! We appreciate you taking the time to read it and truly hope you’ll continue to do so. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to get each issue in your inbox every FRIDAY and stay up-to-date on all things GRFS!
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Look for ISSUE #10 in your inbox NEXT FRIDAY, 4/14!
Until then, friends…
