Anyone Got $2,000,000 They Can Loan* Me?

Last summer, amid the crashing economy, the Bethesda Theatre went belly up. The art deco movie house had recently undergone a $12 million renovation, but was unable to make it into the black. So the owners defaulted on the mortgage and the building was shuttered. An auction in June failed to attract any bidders, and the bank bought the venue back for a measly two million.



So, if you've $2 million you want to give me, I'm going to head down to BB&T and purchase a nicely refurbished, 700-seat theater (with concession stand!) and start Dr. Deeky's International Film Series. First up: "Cinema of the Weimar Republic"!

We'd open with Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, because: duh. And obviously, there'd be a showing of F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu. Maybe the festival could close with latest restoration of Metropolis. If I could swing live accompaniment by a Weimar-era styled cabaret, that would be cool too. Or, (though less historically accurate (on many levels)) maybe a steampunk Theremin band.

A personal favourite of mine, Wegener's The Golem: How He Came Into the World would be included too, as would The Man Who Laughs starring Conrad Veidt. And Pandora's Box with Louise Brooks, too. Anyway, that's all just off the top of my head.

And somewhere in this, I'll figure out a way to get Nutriaman up on the screen. Probably after nunsploitation week.

Anyone with $2,000,000 please contact me ASAP.


* By which I mean "give."