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The Grand Cinema's high noon

The next effect of technological change on traditional art forms: celluloid

LISA FRUICHANTIE: She's been watching movies behind the Grand's projector for years. photo credit: The Grand Cinema

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The hum of reels and ribbons in the movie theaters will soon disappear. By 2015, film will slip to niche status; venerable old 35 mm film will be mostly gone. Digital is the way now, and while that makes life easier for distributors, the cost for small cinemas across the country could be enough to put a lot of them out of business, including The Grand Cinema in Tacoma.

So the obvious solution is for theaters to just bite the bullet and snag a fancy new Digital Cinema Projector, right? It's not that easy. There's no inexpensive option to make the leap to DCP.

"The film industry is shifting from 35mm film prints to digital, largely because it is cheaper, but also because the quality can be more consistently strong - 35mm prints eventually get old and scratched, digital prints don't," says Philip Cowan, executive director at The Grand. "If they only make digital prints, we have to be in a position to play what they produce."

While some may be sad to see 35mm go, or even feel nostalgic about the format of the days of yore, digital projectors offer sharp, beautiful images.

"While there will always be a special place in our hearts for 35mm, we believe this is a step forward into the future of visual presentation," states The Grand's promotional material concerning the change to digital.

The Grand has four screens and is aiming to have all current projectors replaced with new digital projectors by fall 2013. While the overall switcheroo has been coming for years, The Grand decided to wait earlier changes out - hoping the quality of projectors would go up and the cost would go down. Waiting any longer, though, might mean an interruption of movies.

And nobody wants an interruption of movies.  

"Fundraising starts now," says Cowan. "We hope to have them in place by next fall. As long as we purchase them before films are only available in digital, there will be no interruption. I suppose we may have to close for a day or two during installation, but that would be the max."

Each projector will cost $75,000 to purchase and install, totaling about $344,000. Chump change to the likes of The Grand, right? Well, not quite. The Grand, being a non-profit theater, will need to raise the funds. Fundraising will be an ongoing process as the theater works toward raising this amount - an obvious challenge, but one that The Grand hopes to meet with community support.

The theater's fundraising efforts launch Thursday, Nov. 15 and will continue into the New Year. One example, in March 2013, The Grand will host a 24-hour movie marathon. Marathoners will solicit sponsors then put their movie-watching prowess to the ultimate test. Participants will also be able to sign up in teams.

Aside from fundraising events, donations can be made at GrandCinema.com or via mail at 606 Fawcett Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402. Some local community powerhouses are stepping up to the plate already. For example, the Bamford Family Foundation will match donations between $100 and $5000 so you may get more bang for your donation buck.

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