By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

As discussed in the last edition of “Artifice,” cinema seems to be surviving on shakier ground in our nation. Numbers are down and insiders are concerned. Not enough to ensure better across-the-board quality, mind you, but concerned nonetheless.

And in our fair ‘burg? Well, the movies receive the same passing interest they always have.

Film was once all the rage in the Port City and we have a lively history that formerly included a string of theaters on Dauphin Street. Of course, that was in the days before television, when your only chance to see a glimpse of the history read about in the newspaper was to catch a “News of the World” segment before the film feature.

Nowadays, we have a small number of theaters to carry on the American cinema tradition. Three mega-plexes – one near the baseball stadium, one near Tillman’s Corner and one near the airport – are what is left for Mobilians. Evidently, it’s felt that only West Mobilians attend the movies.

And what do we get from these theatrical equivalents of Wal-Mart? Mostly just the usual first-run dreck that suffices for entertainment these days, flicks aimed at 15-year-olds or trite, by-the-book romantic comedies.

Now, this isn’t to say the odd interesting foray doesn’t make its way onto the screen here. I saw “Lost in Translation” and “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind” at Hollywood Theaters, lacing through the hordes of obnoxious teenagers who were there to catch the latest artistic piece de resistance from Jessica Simpson or Lindsey Lohan. “Syriana,” a political thriller, has also been showing at Hollywood recently.

And for a while, the Marquee Cinemas in Springdale Mall bravely offered documentaries and other less mainstream projects. Sadly – or predictably, some would say – turnout was much less than needed to keep things headed in that direction. There weren’t enough fans of that ouevre to make a difference, or, just as likely, a lot of those who did the grousing about the quality of movies weren’t willing to back up their statements with action. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time Mobilians had been eager to complain and lazy to solve.

The Marquee changed approach and attempted to lure folks in with a cut-rate offering similar to the old “dollar movies” that survived at West Mobile’s Festival Centre for a decade. It didn’t work this time and representatives from Marquee Cinemas shut down the Springdale theater in early December of 2005.

As far as numbers go, overall Mobilians seem to head to the cinema with about the same frequency as others. Representatives of Wallace Theaters, the Portland, Oregon-based owners of Hollywood Theaters, told “Artifice” that attendance here is about the same as it is in similar-sized markets. In fact, Mobile’s attendance has bumped up a bit over the last few months.

As was discussed recently in the Mobile Register, some of the smaller films that are products of independent producers and more “artsy” creators rarely make it to Mobile simply due to the limited numbers of prints released. In fact, three of the year’s most critically lauded films – “Capote,” “Brokeback Mountain,” and “Good Night, and Good Luck” have been in conspicuously short supply.

Distribution of those smaller features is decided for us by corporate types in Oregon and Georgia (headquarters of Carmike Cinemas, owner of the other two mega-plexes in town), and they claim to have a complicated process that takes into account demographics and past performances of similar films. If that’s the case, then little ol’ Gulf Shores is evidently more cosmopolitan than Mobile, as marked by their short presentations of “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Capote.”

However, something is changing about Mobile’s demographics. Anyone who has ventured downtown has seen residential growth blossoming everywhere. New condos are springing up along Dauphin Street in anticipation of housing that will be needed once the RSA Tower and Battle House hotel are opened.

Downtown will need several things to complete the residential experience and, other than a decent grocery store or string of quality markets or bodegas, one of those is a cinema. It’s likely those new downtown residents won’t want to trek all the way out to West Mobile or over the Bay to go to a movie, not in the day of home theater technology.

My feeling is that if downtown attracts the sophisticated, urban, cosmopolitan types that recent developments seem geared towards, then a small theater that shows something other than blockbusters can find its niche. The trick would be grabbing films that never appeared in the local mega-plexes before they get to the rental phase, or ones that never appear on the shelves at Blockbuster. Or themed film festivals featuring, say, Hitchcock or film noir classics.

Simply put, offer something to us that we can’t find elsewhere. Maybe add an adjoining lounge area, or some top-notch food and you’ve likely got a gold mine on your hands.

But that’s only if you think Mobile can be more worldly than the Redneck Riviera.

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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