I’d like to usher an impassioned, sobbing and tearstained-face cry for help to save the beloved ISIS Theatre. Perhaps there’s someone out there in Aspen who has bottomless pockets, and a desire to gallop to the rescue, clad in shining armor and riding a white horse, to have a theater in Aspen under their command — a pet project, if you will, to cement the future of cinema into their local legacy.
I know you’re out there. Think, one-of-a-kind concept theater — interior decorators, overstuffed Italian leather recliners for all, F&B service, fresh-cut flowers, film festivals and premieres with A-list stars. Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time something fantastically absurd happened in Aspen.
Based on my loose understanding of who owns what, and owes who how much, current exhibitor Metropolitan Theatres — which has done an excellent job to date, all things considered and as far as I’m concerned — is basically running a pop-up until its lease expires at the end of August. After that, the venue will effectively be thrown to the wolves of local real estate development. Blood is in the water. The piranhas are already circling. This could very possibly be like a bad movie where the guy gets hit by a truck in the end.
Some locals would just assume the ISIS dried up and blew away with the rest of Hollywood, but not I. Admittedly my reasons for wanting to save the ISIS are selfish, and can be reduced in a saucepan of nostalgia down to a thick, rich, brown reduction you’d glaze a steak au poivre with. The mere mention of the ISIS brings a flood of memories. My favorite was seeing “Flash Gordon” there and hearing the crowd cheer when my dad’s name (“screenplay by …”) flashed up on the screen.
When we were underage kids, you used to be able to go to an R-rated movie at the ISIS with a note from your parents. Can you imagine? “Dear Dominic, Please allow my 13-year-old son Lo to see ‘The Exorcist’ tonight. I hope he gets the fecal matter properly scared out of him. Signed, Lorenzo Semple.”
Dominic Lindsa was the owner of the ISIS and would be seen at the cash register at the top of the stairs at the entrance every night. He’d then take up his post in the projector booth and announce the coming attractions as well as his brief take on the movie you were just about to see. He was definitely an over-sharer of information. The term “spoiler alert” may have even come about as a result of his notorious pre-show reviews.
His wife Kitty always reminded me of my grandma Dot, as did a fixture behind the snack bar. I’ve never been able to scrub the image of the pickle jar on the counter from my memory. The only thing strikingly close to the ISIS these days is the Crystal Theatre in Carbondale — one of my favorite rides on the ol’ time machine.
The other movie theatre in town was the Playhouse run by Don Swales. When the anticipated monthly schedule came out, X-rated adult films ran once a week much to the delight for all the creepers in town. My friend Mark Kelly and I went to see the sold-out movie “Greased Lightning” starring Richard Pryor one night, and he dropped a full bottle of wine out of his ski parka and it shattered on the floor in the lobby.
The Wheeler Opera House was the third movie theater in town, and they had a regular movie schedule as well, perhaps more on the avant-garde/eclectic side. The Wheeler used to be a dump. There were bench seats in the balcony and they used to show 3-D movies each year — a double feature even — such as “It Came from Outer Space” followed by “Creature of the Black Lagoon.” The mighty John Busch would often take a verbal beating by the raucous, inebriated crowd when he announced the movies with his less-than-booming voice.
We’ve gone from three theaters to one and almost none. What can be done? Why doesn’t Aspen, with its rich movie tradition and strong ties to Hollywood (past and present) have a more robust moviegoing populace? I’ve heard of saving the ISIS with the swollen Wheeler RETT fund, but there are too many emotional and financial wires crossed there for that to ever happen. We need a local nonprofit war for funding, or another reason for people to judge then hate the city, like a fish needs a bicycle. The best way to save the ISIS is to commence going to movies again, something I’ve not started doing. Yet. The ISIS is now open. Beat the heat. Go get dinner and see a movie.
The ISIS has survived sharing a name with a notoriously heinous terror organization, but the coronavirus, absurdly high rents and America’s fascination with streaming may be its last act. I sure hope not. We need an overly generous movie buff to step up. Who’s going to be the next local legend? Imagine the possibilities.
A town without a movie theater just doesn’t feel like a town. Besides, if the ISIS shutters, where are all the local middle school and high school kids going to go to make out?
Contact Lorenzo at suityourself@sopris.net or follow him via instagram.com/lorenzosemple3/
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June 12, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Semple: Who will step up to save the ISIS? - Aspen Daily News
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