One of the questions we’ve been asked the most since assuming operations of the Oriental Theatre back in July has been, “Are you keeping the old staff?” In an effort to assuage your concerns, we present to you this lightly edited conversation with one of our beautiful theater’s new Cinema Managers, somebody we think you’ll recognize – Crystal!
Welcome, hello. If you could talk briefly about your time with the Oriental Theatre, or just theaters in general previously, that would be great.
My very first real job was at a movie theater – I helped as the initial staff opening at what the time was General Cinema at Mayfair Mall, which was a pretty big deal at the time. They were the first theater with in-house food service, 18 screens, in a time when stadium seating wasn’t standard. So that was like a real fancy multiplex. Since then, I worked for various video rental stores which I’ll leave unnamed, and now I’ve been at the Oriental Theatre for about six years.
When you’re not obsessing over movies or working at a movie theater, what do you like to do?
Watching movies with my kids, watching movies with my friends, maybe catch a television show.
Okay – this all sounds very much like obsessing over movies.
Well yeah, I mean how far away can you ever really get? Also, spending actual non-movie time with my children. They’re my crew, so I roll with them pretty hard.
Do you have a favorite memory of the Oriental Theatre?
There’s too many to choose from, that’s a really hard question. My favorite, or at least most impactful, experience was when we opened Inside Out, which was a big deal for me as a pretty significant Pixar fan and a mother of two children who found myself starved for proper opportunities to bring my children to my place of work. I had been promoting it heavily – although I hadn’t seen the movie prior to it opening, I had images from the film, and had constructed a full Joy costume from scratch and came to my shift on opening night fully in character. I was only supposed to work until 7 o’clock, and as I was punched out and heading for the exit, a mother came in with her daughter and her daughter’s friend. The mom was coming in to grab tickets and the little girls saw me and stopped dead in their tracks, shaking each other saying “Looklooklook! It’s Joy!”
So I walked up to them and said “Didn’t anyone tell you that this is a magical theater? This is the only theater where we’re allowed to come out of the movies. I only popped out real quick because I knew you wanted to make it in time for the show to start. Hurry up, the trailers are almost done, we’re waiting on you.” Then I turned around, went back into the theater and hid next to the garbage can until I saw them take their seats. That was significant to me because kids still believe in magic, and the Oriental Theatre is a magical space. I happen to be of the mind that Last Action Hero is secretly a documentary about my theater. I feel like that exchange was a direct line into that magic and hopefully there’s more opportunities for that going forward.
What’s your favorite movie of all time? And also, what movie have you watched the most times?
I have a prepared answer for this question because it’s an impossible question and usually people want an answer. So my prepared answer is Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze’s Adaptation, about as significant and personal a movie in my development and worldview as there could be. On different days I might be inclined to throw out a different title, but that’s my most stable answer.
As for the movie I’ve seen the most times – this is ridiculous, it’s the movie Alive about the Uruguayan soccer team whose plane crashes and – you know, not to spoil anything, but they did have to resort to eating each other’s frozen corpses. But the reason I saw this movie the most times was, that we had a scrambler box and there were five channels where they were either alternating movies or showing the same movie 24 hours a day over an entire week. Don’t tell the police that.
I think we’re okay – I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations expired on this.
Good. So my brother – who is six years older than me- and I saw Alive, and it was maybe at that time a little provocative for me thematically and I was so over the moon about how much I loved this movie and that I could watch this movie all day, everyday. And in true big brother fashion, he held me accountable to what spilled out of my mouth. I don’t even remember what was at stake – maybe just knowing that I could follow through. So I planted myself down on the couch, and for what I think was five days straight, only left the couch for bathroom breaks just to prove a point. And to this day, I guarantee I could recite every single line of dialogue from the movie Alive. I don’t know that this is something I’m proud of, but it’s the true answer to that question.
What’s your favorite movie screening experience at the Oriental Theatre?
There are some choice answers to that. I would be inclined to say Stop Making Sense because the Talking Heads are my first favorite band – my son’s named after David Byrne – I love Talking Heads. And historically that’s something that happened on a regular basis at the theater, but I’ve gone to a number to a number of them and they kind of blur together so that’s not a single screening. Instead I’m going to go with The Shining at the 2015 Milwaukee Film Festival – that was maybe the most electric sit-down experience I’ve ever been a participant in!
What’s your favorite movie you’ve seen recently?
I’m going to have to say Skyscraper. Give me a break – I’m at the theater, either my theater or another theater, almost every day of the week, so I’ll see it all – junk-watching or not. One of the things that I love the most about a movie is when it knows what it wants to be and it hits the mark – it can be any sort of genre, it can suit any sort of taste…Another note aboutSkyscraper is that I’ve learned over the years that one of the sub-genres of film I like the most is movies that take place all in one location. And among those, I’ve noticed that those which take place in a building are my favorite. There’s something about that’s deeply satisfying for me. I had a great time!
What movie scarred you for life at an early age?
This isn’t from an early age, but this is the time I was scarred for life and it happened at the Oriental Theatre. So I came in early to do a tech screening – I was the only person in the building, and I don’t like wasting electricity, so the whole facility is totally black. Just went into the theater and made just enough light to get the movie projected onto the screen – and it happened to be the Austrian film, Goodnight Mommy. So here I am, early afternoon, all by myself, pitch black building, sitting down to watchGoodnight Mommy. Unbeknownst to me, We Energies had come in on a service call and two guys crept in with headlamps on. Their intention was not to startle me, but they said “I just want to let you know..” and honest to God, I leapt out of my chair and couldn’t process what they were saying, and just had to breathe and say “hold on, hold on, hold on” until I got my bearings. So that definitely scarred me.
Preferred movie theater seat location?
I find that where I want to sit is dependent on the title itself. I have the great privilege of being able to tech screen things in advance of them playing in front of an audience. My ideal viewing condition is by my darn self. So, once I know what a movie is – sometimes I want to be totally immersed in the movie – so, especially in the main house, you have a really good line of sight from the front because of the orchestra pit creating distance. So while front row is usually a place you’d want to avoid in a megaplex, it’s excellent if you want to be deeply immersed in the movie at the Oriental Theatre. If I want to participate in the audience, I sit about five rows from the back on the right.
And if it’s a dark comedy – which I have troubles with personally, because I’m very conflicted on how to respond, I never laugh, and this is an ongoing conversation with my peers – I like to sneak up to the balcony so I can watch the audience watching the movie. That’s a fascinating glimpse into other people’s moviegoing habits.
Favorite movie theater sna-
-FROZEN JUNIOR MINTS.
Wow. No hesitation.
I do want to mention something, though, that I’m very excited to roll out. We’re going to have available both Twizzlers and Red Vines. I want to get hard data to resolve some personal disputes with many of my peers – it’s an ongoing debate: what is the superior theater licorice? At this point it seems pretty split, and I need some hard numbers to support my theory.
Where do you fall on this divide?
I don’t want to tip the scales.
You don’t want to influence – I mean, it’s Red Vines. Obviously.
[ANSWER REDACTED IN THE NAME OF CRYSTAL’S RESEARCH EFFORTS]
Thanks for taking the time to chat, Crystal! And be sure to say hi and chat movies with her when you see at the Oriental Theatre (starting tomorrow – wow!).
Posted by: Milwaukee Film