Tampa Theatre is turning back the clock to the time of Lisa Frank school supplies and Tamagotchi’s with their showings of classic movies from the eighties and nineties. Much like the interior design and fashion trends of decades past, movies from recent times gone by are a nostalgic pleasure for Millenials who wish to relive the golden years of their childhoods. With the advent of such things as Pokémon GO, the Power Rangers reboot, and film remakes like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, what was once the past for “90’s kids” is now, once again, apart of their present. Coming up first today is E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. The classic early eighties Spielberg film features a very young Drew Barrymore and tells the story of an alien who finds himself lost on Earth and taken into the care of two young children who want to help him. The film retains its charm over thirty years later, and will undoubtedly be a delight for both adults watching the movie they loved from childhood, and children who will be seeing it for the first time. Next Sunday, April 2, the theatre will be airing Space Jam. This movie follows the story of then NBA star Michael Jordan as he helps the Looney Tunes in a basketball game against aliens who wish to kidnap them. While both Space Jam and E.T. feature creatures from another planet, the similarities stop there. While many consider the latter to be a timeless classic, the same cannot be said for the former. More likely, this film is beloved by Millenials due to the fact of it being iconic of the nineties, when Air Jordans and Looney Tunes clothing were all the rage. Combining those factors with the Crying Jordan meme of today, and viewers are likely to watch this film, if only to laugh at it.
The series of nostalgic films continues through the end of April featuring films like Rumble in the Bronx, Pee Wee’s Big Adventure, and The Princess Bride.
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As a follow-up to writing about the fundraising efforts of the Tampa Theatre, earlier this week I sat down with Director of Marketing and Community Relations Jill Witecki to discuss the ongoing project.
Witecki oversees any and all marketing that surrounds the events hosted by the Tampa Theatre, as well as any for the building itself. During the private stage of the restoration project, Witecki’s focus was mostly behind the scenes. “As we started into this campaign, a couple of years ago at this point, it was my job to come up with the plan, about how we were going to roll out the campaign in the public eye,” said Witecki, stating that in the beginning she was “the one making the plan and working with our development team to make sure that I was gathering all the stories that were happening along the way.” The “Cush Your Tush” fundraising campaign was announced to the public in December of last year. “Now, we’re starting the work,” said Witecki. After the fundraising details were released to the public, the theatre was met with a great deal of support. “Tampa Theatre is such a beloved building,” said Witecki, “that it’s pretty much universal that people understand how important it is to protect it, to restore it.” As far concerns from the community, Witecki said “If anything, the pushback we’ve gotten is the public just being concerned of ‘what do you mean, you’re taking the old seats?’ But, typically, when they do that, they don’t realize that the seats that are there now aren’t the original seats. These were seats that were installed in the seventies.” With the fundraising underway, Witecki is focusing on the next big thing the public is waiting to see. “The next, really exciting beat, I think, is going to be when we finally decide exactly what the seats are going to look like, exactly what the fabric is going to look like, exactly what the carpet’s going to look like,” said Witecki, “and we will be able to release those details to the public. I’m hoping that will happen within the next couple of months.” The Historic Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa is continuing its efforts to raise funds for restorations. The plan is to raise enough funds to overhaul the seating completely, in addition to updating the electrical systems and other problems that have stemmed from the natural aging of the building.
The fundraising efforts by the theatre have been in the works since September 2013. One way that Tampa Theatre is attempting to raise the necessary money is with their “Cush Your Tush” campaign. For this campaign, patrons who wish to support the theatre can donate a seat the theatre with a minimum donation of five hundred dollars, and in return the seat will display their name or a message of the donators choosing. For those who really want to make a large impact, an entire row of theatre seats can be named for $10,000 by contacting the Director of Development JL Wagner. In addition to the larger donations, anyone want to contribute towards the efforts can choose any amount they like and gift it to the theatre. In addition to Cush Your Tush, Tampa Theatre has hosted many events since fundraising began, including the “O’ Brewer, Where Art Thou?” beer festival held in April of 2015, and “Caskablanca,” a wine festival that was held in September of 2016 just before the theatre’s 90th birthday. For the theatre, acquiring funds has been quite the journey. In January, News Channel 8 reported that theatre received a $325,000 grant from the Hillsborough County Commission, and in April of 2016 the family of Tampa Theatre Board Member Anne Arthur Pittman donated half a million dollars. While those donations will surely be a great help to the renovation project, Director of Marketing and Community Relations Jill Witecki claims that budget to make all necessary funds are totaling over 12 million dollars. In addition to the crucial renovations, the theatre plans to repaint and restore the plaster so that at the end of the project, the building reflects original beauty of its opening in 1926. Sunday February 26th, Historic Tampa Theatre in Downtown Tampa hosted their “Hollywood Awards Night”, a celebration and live viewing of 89th Annual Academy Awards. The event hosted guests from around Tampa Bay to walk the red carpet, enjoy popcorn and soda, and view the Oscar’s in real time. Stylists from Paul Mitchell the School were also on hand for make-up touch-ups to keep up with the Hollywood glamour, and limo rides around the block set the mood for the event. Inside, a “Predict the Winners” game was held for five dollars a ticket, where attendees could predict the winner of any given nomination. The attendees who correctly guessed the most winners were given many local prizes, such as a dinner at Bern’s steakhouse and a night at the Epicurean hotel. At the beginning of the night, impersonators of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Robert Redford walked the red carpet, all being cheered on and fawned over by volunteers from the community to create an authentic awards show atmosphere. The volunteers for the theatre, affectionately referred to as “gargoyles”, were invited to enjoy in the festivities after the red-carpet reception.
One special guest during the evening was Madison Harrison, a ten year old photographer who was photographing the event and interview the attendees as they arrived at the event. One such interviewee was with Clifton Smith, former NFL Tampa Bay Buccaneer player, who was in attendance. Throughout the evening, reactions to the awards were posted in real time on the Facebook page for the theatre. After the now infamous moment of the incorrect announcement of the Best Picture winner, which named “La La Land” when the correct winner was “Moonlight,” the theatre stated “What the heck just happened? #SteveHarvey,” in reference to the television’s hosts gaff at the Miss Universe competition in 2015. At the very end of the evening, guests who made it through the entire broadcast at the theatre were treated to complimentary coffee and doughnuts from the Tampa confectionery Datz Dough. The night following the event, Tampa Theatre followed up their engagement by showing the animated shorts nominated for academy awards, and the live actions shorts were shown on Tuesday, February 28th. The “Hollywood Awards Night” was the 18th annual for the Tampa Theatre. |
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