The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 24, 1997, Page 4, Image 4
SITE OF THE DAY
i
Lights, Car
Nickelodi
AMY SHANNON Staff Writer
"Welcome to the dungeon," said
Dale Campbell, motioning for me to
sit down among mounds of
paperwork, exposed insulation and
some old brick walls.
The underground business office
of the Nickelodeon moviehouse on
Main and Pendleton was not quite
a true dungeon, but it certainly gave
me the feeling of being in a cluttered
basement with its cast-away sofa,
table, chairs, mismatched desks and
the six-packs of beer and soda stacked
in the corner.
Campbell, the full-time manager
and programming director, described
the Nickelodeon as a non-profit,
community-oriented movie theatre
which features the types of films not
shown at regular, commercial
theaters.
The movies at Nickelodeon are
not the ones likely to be listed on the
marquee at a multiplex cinema.
"We try to fill the niche by finding
the best of the movies which don't
make it to town, or those movies
which only played for a short time,
not long enough for people to realize
what the movie was," Campbell said.
Unlike Nickelodeon, the
commercial theaters only schedule
movies with large opening weekends,
and although Columbia has many
different theaters, the same movies
are shown all over town, Campbell
explained.
That leaves Nickelodeon to fill
the gap in the market with films
that may not have received as much
hype as Hollywood blockbusters.
Decisions.
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The film genres at Nickelodeon
encompass a wide variety, including
Cannes Film Festival winners, local
productions, independent movies,
tdocumentaries, Classics, foreign
films, Kurt Vonnegut adaptations
and Spike Lee productions, to name
just a few.
Most of the foreign films come
from Great Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, Australia, and Iran.
Recently, some foreign productions
have become harder for Nickelodeon
to find.
In Germany, the government
stopped subsidizing movie productions
so the number of motion pictures
has dropped from 150 per year to
four.
In Italy, almost all the great
Italian directors are dead, and no
one has stepped up yet to take fill
their places.
And since many of the Australian
directors have moved to the United
States, their films are no longer the
same as they once were.
But the French continue to make
movies and a large number of the
regulars at Nickelodeon enjoy
watching French movies more than
any others.
Above all, however, the audience
at Nickelodeon wants a little bit of
a challenge as well as entertainment,
Campbell said. They like to see other
people's perspectives of the world,
such as the insightful Iranian nims,
which capture the lives of average
Iranian citizens living with next to
nothing.
"The third-world poverty level
drives it home. If s more enlightening
. Derisions.
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alternate
than what you see at a commercial
movie theater," Campbell said.
In its role as community-oriented
movie theatre, Nickelodeon has
scheduled several films during
February to celebrate Black History
Month.
In March, selections will focus on
Women's History Month. In the past,
World AIDS Day and World Amnesty
Day have also been highlighted with
special programs.
Nickelodeon also reaches out to
the community by inviting local and
visiting filmmakers to speak about
their current projects and answer
questions after their works are
presented at the theatre.
Campbell said during these
presentations, USC media arts
students often talk with the
filmmaker to gain insight on filming
techniques.
In fact, Nickelodeon receives a
*
lot of support from USC, according
to Campbell.
Many students and professors
attend the movie showings, and the
majority of board members of the
Columbia Film Society are USC
professors.
The Columbia Film Society is the
official organization behind the
Nickelodeon, and the board of
directors helps decide upon film
selections. The board's involvement
is based upon one of the Nickelodeon's
founding ideas, which is "listening
to the community and programming
things people want to see," Campbell
said.
Actually Nickelodeon was started
18 years ago by two USC students,
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Wednesday, February 26,19
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The Nickelodeon, pictured above, is at the corner of
campus. The theater offers Columbia residents a chan
Carl Davis and Linda O'Connor. A was allowed to sele<
media arts major and a drama major, Davis and O'Conr
respectively, both served on the fed up with this s;
Russell House theater planning decided to go on th
committee for choosing movies. They develope
Even though the off-beat, Independent Film
alternative films picked by Davis potential member
and O'Connor drew large crowds of friends for $10. Th
students, the other committee money" for a proj<
members would always choose typical, rented space,
commercialized films, Campbell said. Davis and O'C
Since each committee member showing movies in
House Specialties *~r,sNs>s^
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West Columbia
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We try to fill the niche by
finding the best of the movies
which don't make it to town
of those movies which only
played for a short time.
Dale Campbell
manager and director
The Nickelodeon
11
a moviegoers
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HIllIK* Jm!wm I BhB:
TORI O'HARA The Gamecock
Main and Pendleton streets, just a few blocks from
ee to see releases not offered at bigger theaters.
:t only one movie, Building. From its start there, the
tor soon became film society experienced a fair amount
/stem, and they of success, so they leased the building
eir own. on Main Street, where Nickelodeon
d t.hp irtea of an is located today.
Society and sold The film society's following kept
ships to all their growing, and after a while the theatre
is provided "seed reached financial solvency,
ector, films, and The name of the theatre comes
from the Nickelodeon machine, a
innr^fnby NICKELODEON page 5
the USC Nursing ^
"X ? HPoil|^ial$
* Deli Selection
| \ 11:30am to 4pm Daily
10 oz, Ribeye
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" f^ursday ?:
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id brown 16oz. T-Bone
with Baked Potato
Delivery (PM Only)
and Take-Out
on Hie Corner, Still Right on Hie Price."
RjflE &
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7o Ji'r'er
Commitment s*?p9s
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