Independent movie theaters fill niche
July 20, 2007A few weeks ago, the Pleasant Street Theater in Northampton was playing “Waitress,” the independent film about a pregnant woman who dreams of escaping from her controlling husband, when owner Bob Lawton noticed that the Amherst Cinema’s Web site featured the film as a coming attraction.
“He called me and asked us to take ‘coming soon’ off the Web site because he didn’t want us to take away his audience,” said Carol Johnson, executive director of the Amherst Cinema. “We agreed to do it. It’s in the best interests of both of us to see both theaters thrive.”
In addition to the 30-year-old Pleasant Street and the 7-month-old Amherst Cinema, independent films are now showing on Wednesday and Thursday nights at the Academy of Music. There may be more interest in these movies in Hampshire County than in other parts of the country, but now there are now three competitors for the same nonmainstream audience.
Read More: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/50782/