State Theater in Woodland Closes

Troubled days:

At the State, Morgan and his staff of film geeks offered movie facts gleaned from trivia books kept behind the counter. Engaging patrons well beyond the "would you like butter on that?" level, the State crew sometimes dissuaded customers from seeing a particular film.

"We (would) tell them our honest opinions," said Justin Keith, 25, who worked for four years at the theater before Morgan reluctantly let the small staff go in August.

"They were always super-informative, about what (film) was worth it, and what wasn't," said Kelly Azevedo, 25, a longtime customer.

Through such personal attention and ticket prices lower than those at Woodland's other theater – a five-screen Cinemark multiplex – Morgan drew enough business to afford first-run Hollywood films, despite lacking the clout of the chains.

Then the recession hit, followed by changes in film-viewing habits. Woodland residents skipped hometown theaters for Sacramento screens with 3-D and digital projection, Morgan said. Or they rented DVDs for $1 at supermarket kiosks.

"We have become that kind of instant society, where everyone wants everything under one brand-new roof," Morgan said.

Morgan could barely afford to fix broken seats, let alone buy an expensive digital projector.

It's hard to run a movie theater these days that makes money. There has to be some value-added feature that makes the experience worthwhile. For my money, it's hard to beat Wanaka, Otago, South Island, New Zealand's Cinema Paradiso as a model of what a movie theater should be like in these dark days. All the sofas and comfy chairs!