Well, 2020 has definitely been a strange one for sure. Never in my wildest nightmares did I ever think I'd be holed up in a bunker made of toilet paper and hand sanitizer two and half months into the year because of a global pandemic, but here we are.
As of today, the American Cinematheque, which runs the Egyptian and Aero Theatres and where I host the majority of Cinematic Void's screenings has made the hard, but ultimately correct decision to close for an indefinite period and cancel all upcoming events. I don't want to make any assumptions on when the projectors will light up the screen again, but let's just take things a day at a time because I certainly don't want to live in a real life OMEGA MAN scenario.
With that said, the INTRUDER event with Scott Spiegel and Danny Hicks that I was co-hosting with Josh from Friday Night Frights is off for now. But once we get the green light, we will be rescheduling this and since we sold it out so quick, maybe use this as an opportunity to something a little bigger.
As for the SEVERIN SUPER-SHOCK POP-UP FILM FESTIVAL that is scheduled to be offsite at the Montalban, I know Severin has a planned statement that is forthcoming so stay tuned for that.
Finally, I just announced that Cinematic Void was heading to Crypticon Seattle the beginning of May where I'll be moderating some panels as well as debuting a brand new live show I've been working on with Jonah Ray (MST3K, Destroy All Movies, The Meltdown, Hidden America). As of right now, that is still happening, but again, one day at a time.
So, what does that mean for the Void in the meantime? Obviously, like most of my programming peers, we won't be hosting any in-person screenings, but I did hear of this thing called the internet that you can do stuff on. Granted, the theatrical experience is the one component I can't recreate this way, but hey, gotta be willing to adapt.
For now, I'll continue posting and being present on social media, recommending films to watch, and recording new episodes the Cinematic Void podcast. I'll also put together some mini-audio/visual mixes over the next week or so. I'm also open to any suggests you may have that you would like to see Cinematic Void doing/posting/presenting while we patiently let this thing run its course.
To close, I'd be remised if I didn't mention the other side of the reality of this whole scenario. A lot of my friends, co-workers and colleagues are potentially going to be put in a tough situation of losing income with all of these closures. And not just my rep cinema peers, but also musician, comedians and other artists who rely on being able to perform live.
If someone you know is being hit hard by this, and they have a Patreon, donation page, have merch for sale, etc., if you can, give/purchase something. If you can't because you might be in the same boat, maybe just repost/retweet/signal boost. Remember, this is going to be hard on a lot of people, so a little bit of kindness and compassion can go a long way.
Everyone stay safe and I'll see you in the Void,
Jim Branscome
Cinematic Void
P.S.: If wish to support Cinematic Void, you can join our Patreon HERE! This is where we host the podcast.