Vinegar Hill Theatre has to go digital, but they don’t quite know how to pay for it. #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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With Regal 6 only step away converting to art house and indie this might be the least of their short term problems. Of course, no was can Cville support a 6 screen indie joint. It could not even push a 1 screen to profitably for an upgrade.
Kickstarter-it’s their best shot
It doesn’t make sense for the distributors to keep Cville a one-theater-per-movie town. Vinegar Hill should be able to show blockbusters downtown if Regal doesn’t want to. The other Visulite theaters show mainstream first-run movies in Staunton, and second-run in Lynchburg.
I’d love to see Vinegar Hill go back to the sort of schedule it had in the late 80’s early 90’s with an eclectic mix of European art house stuff, American independents and an occasional classic. I used to be there at least once week if not more, but what comes now is so uninteresting that I’ve only seen one movie at VHT in the last several years. I might be kind of sad in a nostalgic way if it closed, but not any sadder than I am at what it is now.
I know there was a group locally that was trying to utilize the Paramount as a way of showing more classics from the Library of Congress’ collection just up the road, but understood the problem to be that they didn’t have enough support to make such a large venue work financially. I wonder if they approached VHT about using their theater? Would seem like a win/win as long as their equipment and projectionist met the LoC’s standards.
VHT would need an endowment to go back to the old days when everyone had its schedule on the refrigerator door. That was before VHS (more or less), high cable channels, DVD and finally, downloading & streaming. Meanwhile the indie and foreign film biz consolidated and marketized and megaphied. Plus corporations don’t like people.
As I recall it each movie ran for two or three days, sometimes a different movie at 7 & 9. Many cities had the same kind of fridge-poster theater, and a few still do, showing Rocky Horror on Saturdays at midnight. For a good look at a different kind of 1970s alternative film scene, check out Van Peeble’s Baadasssss! (2003).