Independent films coming to Galaxy

At the end of last week’s column about Atascadero’s 10-screen Galaxy Theater, I urged the movie house to show independent films here.

Within hours after the column was published (exactly a week ago today), I began receiving emails announcing that Galaxy is going to do just that.

In fact, according to Rita Carr, general manager of Atascadero’s theater, the first one, “Sarah’s Key,” opened Friday and will run through Thursday of this week.

The film, which features Kristin Scott Thomas and is set in Paris in 1942 during the time of the Jewish roundup by the Germans, is the premiere showing of independent films in Atascadero.

I talked to an assistant manager early Friday morning who said that the films will be featured exclusively in the VIP 21-and-over lounge.

Galaxy will show “The Devil’s Double” on Sept. 2.

This is good news for Atascadero moviegoers.

Diane O’Neil, a member of the Atascadero branch of the American Association of University Women, headed up a petition drive to let Galaxy know there is a genuine interest among North County folks and especially Atascadero for independent and foreign films.

She picked up 80 signatures during the Tuesday Night at the Park series at Atascadero Lake. Local Galaxy management forwarded the petitions to corporate headquarters, and the response was “yes, we can.”

In an email from Lee Josselyn, the film buyer for Galaxy Theaters, forwarded to me by O’Neil, Josselyn said the theater will try to play films at the same time as the Palm in San Luis Obispo. Josselyn told O’Neil that Galaxy will try to open films that have not opened yet at the Palm to give this area as much variety as possible.

The start times for this first film are 11:45 a.m., 2:15 p.m., 7:15 p.m. and 9:45 p.m. On Wednesday only, the times will be 11:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Now that Galaxy has acquiesced to the request for these films, it becomes incumbent upon those who asked for them to show support by going to see them.

Galaxy told me it would continue with the independent films as long as there is support (meaning people buying tickets) for them.

I’m already hearing people talk about getting together to form “film clubs,” much like the book clubs that exist in such groups as AAUW, Friends of the Library, Newcomers and others.

See you at the movies.

Lon Allan has lived in Atascadero for nearly four decades. His column appears in The Tribune every week. He can be reached at 466-8529 or leallan@tcsn.net.