Watertown film fans wait for a fix

Watertown-area residents accustomed to escaping reality for a few hours with like-minded strangers are getting used to the dark days ahead.

The situation may have dawned for some on July 30 when the newly released "Dinner for Schmucks," was not served at Regal Salmon Run Mall 8 theaters. The only "Schmucks" around then were those who showed up to watch the movie and discovered the mall's theaters were closed beginning that day to make way for the construction of Regal Cinemas Salmon Run Stadium 12.

It'll be new and improved, but local movie buffs are down and out. Regal Entertainment Group says the new theater will open in the spring, leaving Watertown without a movie theater for at least eight months.

"It's such a long time," said movie buff Gina M. Outman of Watertown.

Mrs. Outman, with her two daughters, are scoping out future releases and making plans to drive to Syracuse, Potsdam and Canton to view them.

But others are toughing it out. Edward E. Fritz of Watertown won't budge from his easy chair to hop in his car and drive out of town just to see a movie. He said he'll wait three or four months after a movie's release and view it on video on his 42-inch television. "Inception" was the last movie he saw at the mall.

"I won't drive 150 miles (round-trip) to see a movie that I can wait to see on DVD," he said.

Mr. Fritz said he and his family are looking forward to opening day of the new theater, but he added he doesn't think the construction strategy was well thought out.

"I don't think the plan was very good to leave the community without this entertainment for so long," he said.

The temporary closure could mean curtains for long-standing traditions. Rebekah I. Madden of Watertown has gone to the movies on Christmas Day with her family for nearly 20 years. That will change if she's in town this year at Christmas.

Mrs. Madden and her husband, Scott A., have two teenaged children. "They love going to the movies as much as I do," she said.

Mrs. Madden laments the construction timeline of the new theater.

"This time of year is prime movie-going time," she said.

Yet Mrs. Madden said that with her husband in the military at Fort Drum, they have traveled around the country and have visited "stadium" theaters and are looking forward to the Watertown theater's upgrade. In stadium seating, the seats are stacked at a higher pitch than traditional theater seating, creating less-obstructed views. They are usually installed on a stepped floor surface.

"We're quite happy to get the upgrade," Mrs. Madden said. "We've been to crappy theaters and some nice theaters."

While the new theater is being built, Mrs. Madden said her family likely will travel to the Syracuse area to view films.

But there are options closer to home. Lowville Town Hall Theater on Shady Avenue is 27 miles from Watertown.

"We have seen some new faces come through our door since the closure of the Salmon Run Mall," Town Hall theater owner Patrick O'Brien said on the last full week of August. "However, it has not been substantial as yet."

Mr. O'Brien said his theater has a yearly slowdown that starts at the end of August and lasts well into October, due to the new school year and students returning to scholastic sports and the lack of new family movies. After Labor Day, the theater shows films on weekends only and won't return to its full-week schedule again until next summer.

"We are hoping that, with the closure of the mall cinemas, we might not see the slowdown this year," Mr. O'Brien said. "However, a lot of this depends on the offerings coming out of Hollywood."

The Black River Drive-In, Route 3, has seen a 10-percent increase in business since the Salmon Run Mall theaters closed, said owner John F. Nagelschmidt.

"It's a good opportunity for us," Mr. Nagelschmidt said. "If they come once, they'll come back."

Mr. Nagelschmidt said indoor movie fans may have a negative view of drive-ins, especially those who haven't visited one in several years. "They might think they're second class," he said.

But he said that in the past few decades, drive-ins have installed better sound systems and lighting and improved the concession areas.

Mr. Nagelschmidt, who also owns a drive-in in Minetto, Oswego County, added that attendance at Black River Drive-In has grown steadily each year since he opened it in 2006, bringing movies back to the property after a 56-year hiatus. It has room for 550 vehicles.

The Black River Drive-In usually closes in mid-October. After Labor Day, it's open only on weekends. Tickets are $6 for adults, $2 for children ages 7 to 11 and free for children 6 and under.

At Fort Drum, the Reel Time Theater in the multipurpose auditorium in building 10725 recently expanded its hours because of the temporary closure of Salmon Run Mall 8. The theater is operated by the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, an agency of the Department of Defense.

Becky VanValkenburg, office assistant at Fort Drum Exchange, said the Fort Drum theater, which has one screen, has recorded an increase in customers since the mall theaters closed. The movies on base aren't new releases but appear about a month after they arrive in first-run theaters. For example, "Inception" was playing Aug. 20 and "Predators" on Aug. 28.

The Fort Drum theater is open to anyone who has a Department of Defense or military ID. The ID holders are authorized to have friends and family members accompany them to the movies without having those friends or family members provide an ID, but the ID card holder must purchase the tickets.

Show times are 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays, with some showings eliminated when other events have been scheduled at the theater. Tickets are $4.50 for adults, $2.25 for children ages 6 to 11 and free for children 5 and under. Prices at its concession stand are 20 percent lower than prices at the mall theater, Ms. VanValkenburg noted.

Further north, J.S. Cinemas owner Jeffery A. Szot, who operates theaters in Canton, Potsdam and Massena, said he hasn't noted any increase in attendance since the closure of the Salmon Run Mall theaters.

Regal Cinemas Salmon Run Stadium 12 will add about 31,000 square feet and will total 51,000 square feet with more than 2,100 seats in the 12 new auditoriums. The expanded theater will feature digital projection, more RealD 3-D projection systems, digital surround sound, stadium seating, a computerized box office and automated kiosks.

"We're right on schedule," mall manager Mary P. Dudo said Tuesday. "Construction is going very well."

Mrs. Outman eagerly awaits the improvements but she has been critical of the movie selections at the mall theater. She said many quality, critically acclaimed films fail to come to Watertown, a situation she hopes changes with the larger theater complex.

"I'm hoping it will be more selections and better movies," Mrs. Outman said. "Time will tell."