The Last Remnant of the Roxy Theatre

A few more clues have emerged following the premiere screenings of my documentary "Your Cinema Needs You" at the Monarch Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The owners of the building that once housed the Roxy Theatre in downtown Medicine Hat were in attendance at one of the debut screenings and sent me a message about something they'd found in the basement of their building. Keeping in mind that the Roxy closed in 1960 and was immediately renovated, it seemed incredibly unlikely that anything from its history had remained after so many decades and businesses that followed.

But sure enough, tucked away in the very back corner of the basement was one last remnant. A single lamp house from one of the Roxy's projectors has been hiding out here for over 60 years since the cinema was dismantled. To add to this, I found a picture of the Roxy's projection room featuring who we believe to be Bev Botter's father, Tony Botter. Bev appeared in my documentary and shared her memories of her father when he was a projectionist.

So, within the span of a week an image of this projector when it was newly installed at the Roxy Theatre in 1941 emerged and I was able to see that a piece of it had still been hiding in the same building all of these decades later.

This is essentially how the documentary research progressed over 2 years throughout the entire production. Little clues would eventually link up and paint a larger picture of what had happened. And if you're now thinking I'd really like to see "Your Cinema Needs You" at the Monarch for myself - good news! I'll be formally announcing new February screening dates next week.

Bombay Beach Drive-In at the Salton Sea

Part art installation, part scrapyard, I can appreciate the fact that the abandoned aspect of the Salton Sea's Bombay Beach has continued to evolve over the years. The Bombay Beach Drive-In is quite obviously not a working theatre, but its collection of classic wrecks is both playful and haunting in its junkyard depiction of the drive-in aesthetic in the middle of the blistering California desert. There's actually quite a bit to see. In my opinion, worth the stop.

 

One Last Chapter: Monarch Documentary

It has been one year and seven months to the day - 577 days to be exact - since I made an announcement about the Monarch Theatre, a signed production agreement, and the new feature-length documentary I had going into production at the start of 2022. 

Deciding to uncover the story about a potentially significant old cinema is one thing, but you can't really appreciate just how long 112 years actually is until you find yourself face to face with what a single newspaper archive spanning that timeframe looks like up close - and worse, just how sparse the clues in those archives are when the subject you've chosen to focus on is a seldom written about single screen movie house in the middle of the Canadian prairies. 

What can I say though? I do love movies and the places that show them.

It's honestly been a dream to explore, document, interview, contextualize, and uncover artifacts in connection to a cinematic landmark that (let's be honest) the vast majority of Canadians have understandably never heard of before. There's something exciting about knowing you've found your hook though, a point that only became reinforced when just a month into production the announcement about my little movie was picked up and spread nationally by the Toronto Star.

 

As the months rolled on I was continually amazed at what I was finding, who was coming forward to share their stories, and what had seemingly been hiding in plain sight after so many decades. The story got bigger, the timeline extended, and I genuinely started to wonder when I was ever going to be finished. It was overwhelming and exhilarating. Exhausting and completely engrossing. 

And, oh yeah, was the Monarch ever going to reopen again? This news hung over the production for over a year while plans shifted, promises changed, and I continued to pretend that I knew what the conclusion to my movie would eventually be. As the Calgary Herald so fittingly put it in their feature about the documentary, "true stories rarely have tidy endings".   

So, here we are. After all of the teasers, updates, sneak peeks, rumours, changes, and behind the scenes snapshots, I guess it's finally time that I break the long-awaited news (and yes, I thought I'd make a meal out of this update too) the documentary is actually done. Scored, previewed, revised, rendered, cut, locked, and now awaiting release.  

Your Cinema Needs You is finally, officially complete. 

Exploring An Empty Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

It's always a thrill to capture really distinct locations on travel shoots, but there's really no beating those few rare experiences when you end up with an otherwise incredibly busy location almost entirely to yourself. Here's a look at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Walt Disney World in Florida during an after hours shoot with absolutely no crowds in the park. 

Talk of the Towne: Theatre Memories

This weekend I posed a question on my socials targeted at Medicine Hat, Alberta locals to share their movie memories from the former Towne Theatre. Closed in 2007, this was once the spot to see all of the biggest flicks when they came to the Hat. The responses were excellent.

Production on the documentary briefly moved into the Towne last month to capture some new footage of the abandoned movie theatre. You can expect new interviews, images, and the history of this former landmark theatre to appear in the finished film. 

Pieces of the Monarch: Collector's Prints

These framed prints are from a BRAND NEW collection titled "Pieces of the Monarch" photographed during the production of the new Monarch Theatre documentary being shot in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Composed entirely of artifacts found throughout the Monarch Theatre, these flat lays showcase over a century of theatre mementos in a series of (4) original prints photographed in the basement of one of Canada's oldest surviving cinemas.

Each print is 8x10" and comes in your choice of a black or white frame (with included white matte) and measures 13x17". Each print is also hand-signed and stamped on the reverse by photographer and documentary director Luke Fandrich, and includes a collector's note from the "Pieces of the Monarch" series.

Regular $125 - each print is on special for $80 as part of this limited release flash sale.

Shipping: Local delivery in Medicine Hat is FREE. Worldwide shipping is available for a flat fee of $30 (for up to 4 framed prints per order).

💥 Please message to purchase.

Framed prints available for selection:

A - Vintage boxes, tubes, capacitors, sprockets, and projector parts.

B - Carbon rods, the lamp house fuel of a 1940s projector.

C - 35mm film rolls, platter control plate, and leftover springs.

D - Fuses, circuits, shipping tags, and Simplex projector parts.

Thank you for the incredible support shown on this latest project!

Proceeds from the sale of these framed prints will directly fund the continued production of this documentary due to be released in the fall of 2022.

Documentary Production at the Towne Theatre

Documentary production briefly moved centre stage this week with some exploration of the abandoned spaces within the former Towne Theatre in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Those who remember seeing movies here would now be hard pressed to recognize this interior as the cinema it once was, but there are still a few clues hiding within these walls.

It's a strange feeling to return to a place you so actively remember from your own childhood, not least of which because you find yourself tapping into memories you didn't know you still had. Each step just gets me a little more excited about how this documentary is coming together.

This stage of production has become about rounding out a lot of the specific visuals inspired by the stories collected during numerous interviews at the nearby Monarch Theatre. Creating a record of a lot of these forgotten spaces has been a real bonus.

Westin Book Cadillac Hotel in Detroit, Michigan

The Book Cadillac Hotel (also known as the Westin Book Cadillac) is a historic skyscraper, luxury hotel, and high-end residential tower in downtown Detroit, Michigan. When it first opened in December 1924, the Book Cadillac was the tallest building in Detroit and the tallest hotel in the world. It's perhaps not surprising then that this flagship hotel hosted everyone from Babe Ruth to Elvis Presley to John F. Kennedy when they came to Detroit.

 

Over the years the property changed hands to become the Sheraton Cadillac Hotel in 1951, the Detroit Cadillac Hotel in 1975, and the Radisson Cadillac Hotel in 1976. By the 1980s Detroit's economy was worsening and the property ended up finally closing its doors in 1984. With few prospects for renovation or redevelopment, the contents of the Book Cadillac were liquidated in 1986 and the structure was abandoned. Explore abandoned images of the Book Cadillac here. 

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. After being abandoned for nearly two decades, the Westin Book Cadillac reopened in 2008 after a $200-million restoration project. The new property houses luxury condominiums and penthouses in addition to over 450 hotel rooms. The Book Cadillac has officially reclaimed its reputation as one of the finest hotels in Detroit.