An Open Letter to CAPA

A letter I sent to Rich Corsi, director of programming at the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, concerning this year's Summer Movie Series at the Ohio Theatre.

Mr. Corsi didn't respond. We saw only one film at the Ohio Theatre this summer: The Awful Truth.

Dear Mr. Corsi,
As a longtime subscriber to the CAPA Summer Movies Series, I regret to say that, for the first time in memory, I won’t be buying series tickets this year, or plan on seeing more than a couple of the movies scheduled.

I’m very disappointed that CAPA continues to add relatively recent (‘70s to the present) films to the schedule. What I’m interested in seeing at the Summer Movies Series is what you used to program: classic Hollywood films from the silent era through the ‘60s. I’d really prefer to see at the Ohio Theatre films made before the MPAA rating system. This is not because I don’t like to watch more harshly rated films (personally, I enjoy films by Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and Paul Thomas Anderson), but because I think the Summer Movies Series should remain an event the entire family can enjoy.

Of the older films which are programmed this year, several of them (Spellbound, Ben-Hur, The King and I, Rebecca) have been shown repeatedly throughout the decades. (I think my ears are still ringing from your last screening of Spellbound – the volume was louder than a Metallica concert). The Male Animal is an interesting pick, but was just shown at the Wexner Center within the past year or so.

I’m especially disappointed to learn you’ll be showing Blue-ray DVDs for some of the movies scheduled for this year. I have no interest – zero interest - in seeing DVDs shown at the Ohio Theatre; nothing replaces the look of film pulled through a projector at 24 frames a second. Despite the Universal lot fire of last year, there are many 35mm prints of worthy, entertaining films available, many of which have never screened at the Ohio Theatre. Other venues rent them. Indeed, there’s a whole world of movies to see besides Oscar and Hammerstein musicals, Hope and Crosby, and Hitchcock films.

Here’s hoping that you’ll consider showing more diverse and older films, on film. And I’ll be back then with my wallet open.

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