Q&A: An Inside Look at the Lyric Cinema Cafe
After spending some serious time digging deeper into the film scene in Fort Collins, I found a special interest in the Lyric Cinema Cafe. As a theater that plays mainly independent cinema and delves into community strength, they definitely go about their business in a free and fun way!
I was able to sit down and chat with two of the Lyric’s managers, Maya Ortega and Megan Rice, to talk about what it is that makes the Lyric such a unique place.
Q: What made you want to start the Lyric Cinema Cafe?
A:
Megan: So, Ben [Mozer] is the one who’s the business owner, and he started the Lyric in 2007.
Maya: Eight years in April. He grew up with an appreciation of film. He went to film school and opening a theater in his hometown was kind of a joint dream with a friend of his, and they did it together. Now just Ben runs it and he has overall a grand vision with a lot of different things that the Lyric could offer, beyond just film. I think originally it was just the passion to be able to bring independent cinema to the community.
Q: Yeah, it seems like you guys really try to show things that don’t play at chain theaters.
Maya: Right. It’s with a drive to have a broader spectrum of film that you get to see, not just blockbuster pieces but really unique things. The things that come through the Lyric are really amazing. I’ve lived here a while and have been able to see a lot of different things, films that you aren’t going to find other places. There’s some weird stuff [laughs].
Q: What’s the business motto for the Lyric? I know you talked a little bit about just showing things that people aren’t going to see, is that the main attraction for the Lyric?
A:
Maya: Well, I think there’s also an emphasis in supporting local art and local artists, as well as local foods. 90% of our food is local. So I think there’s also an emphasis on trying to get the community to bring something into it as well. If you notice, the walls have been painted everywhere, and they’ve been painted by dozens and dozens of people who have been able to contribute something individually to the Lyric to make it what it is. I think that’s part of Ben’s vision as well.
Megan: Yeah, I would say that his motto is very open, and it’s not like, super strict or Type A about stuff, which is really good in some ways. I feel like the Lyric is very, I don’t know, it’s got sass and class. I mean that whole thing… Ben is very open and receiving about wanting us to throw an event or do something that will get people involved and it’s like further some sort of community in Fort Collins.
Maya: Yeah, I think it’s very flexible and very adaptable to us, as the people who work here, and as the culture and people change, it can adapt to that.
Q: Great, so it’s very based around the Fort Collins community?
A:
Maya: Yeah, and really seeing, you know, what we can get away with. [laughs]
Q: Do you think Fort Collins could benefit from a more film-centered atmosphere? A lot of theaters show the same films, do you think that it would be beneficial if there were more of an emphasis on independent cinema?
A:
Maya: I think it’s mostly about an awareness of what’s out there, I think there are people and things that are happening here and other places, but I think it’s mostly about being able to reach the ideas that we’re trying to get across and get people excited about that
Megan: Yeah, and I also think that maybe more isn’t the right word, but bigger. That’s what we’re planning on with this move. It’ll definitely be a way to reach more people, we’ll have a bigger space.
Q: Yeah, tell me a little more about that. Where are you guys moving to?
A:
Maya: North College. As you can see here now, our building here is triangularly shaped and really weird. It’s only about 3,000 square/feet, so we work it as best we can for the space we have. But the new place will have 10,000 square/feet, a lot bigger theaters and we’ll be able to do a lot more with the extra space. During Oscar season, it gets really crazy, there are lines out the door and we want to be able to accommodate people who want to see those things. Also to bring events and shows here, hopefully to attract bigger acts, I think, with a bigger space.
Q: When is that move happening?
A:
Maya: Not for a year and a half. It’ll be cool because we’ll be able to take what we have and sort of amplify it. We’ll have three theaters instead of two.
Q: Cool! Well I’m going to ask again about some of the events you have here. How often do they happen, whether it’s different acts or films?
A:
Maya: Let’s talk about movies in one section, because the movies we get are completely different than the events we can put on, usually.
Megan: Events. Cool. So this guy named Michael who worked here, he spent a lot of time working on the events here. He’s in New Zealand now, but I’ve sort of filled in for him in the meantime. He loves doing fun things, like we did Halloween movies, and retrospectives. Since I’ve worked here, Robin Williams died, so we did a retrospective look on his movies.
Maya: We did one for Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino.
Megan: And then Michael started this event called Bad Movie Nite, which is a monthly reoccurring event and this guy named Scott in Ohio mashes up different really shitty commercials.
Maya: Yeah, like PSA announcements.
Megan: Yeah, awful television and movie making. Then, it’s followed by an actual feature, and Scott adds in little comments here and there. Michael is also really good with doing one off-screens of movies we might not necessarily get for a full run. We just did the Arcade Fire, just those kinds of things that are out there, but nobody is showing them. Then, since I’ve been working here, I’ve really liked doing the live events. Things like story swap, we did a game show, we’re gonna do a late night show in a couple of months. Then, the music that’s going on is really cool. This guy named Jimmy is doing all of the booking for that and we project things in the theater.
Maya: It’s a really unique live-music experience, and the sound quality is really good. Really cool.
Megan: And going back to Ben and how he runs his business. Any of us who work here, since we’re such a small staff, if any of us have an idea for an event or how to do something, Ben’s just like ‘Go for it’. So those kinds of things, we cover a broad spectrum of events. Yeah.
Maya: What’s great about Ben is that he wants us to enjoy what we do here, so by letting us try out new things, it makes it better for all of us.
Megan: Yeah, so that’s the events side.
Maya: And we can talk too about the movies if you want. It’s a strange world how we get our movies.
Megan: It really is.
Maya: A lot of it isn’t really up to us. We have a booker, a middleman essentially, between us and the distributers.
Megan: And a distributor is like Warner Bros.
Maya: Yeah, so they have a certain amount of say in what they want, there’s also a certain limitation of movies we can get because of our size. And sometimes we can get the same movie that the other big theaters can get that are more appropriate for us, we’ll have to get it later. For example, with the Grand Budapest Hotel, we got it a month after Cinemark. It still did very well, but we got it a month later. The distributor is thinking numbers, they want more asses in the seats, if you will. They’re thinking, ‘If I can get more bodies, we can get a lot more money’. Then they’ll just back-end off of us after they’ve had their time in the big theaters. Sometimes we’ll get movies, like we got Amy, nobody else got Amy, which was a really great documentary.
Megan: Why did nobody else get Amy?
Maya: I really don’t know, actually. I’m really surprised, because his first film did so well. So it kind of varies. Sometimes, we’ll be able to request things, like Turbo Kid, which was a Canadian film. Like a comic book story in the future, but kind of 90s [laughs]. But that was something we were able to ask for and play for a while.
Q: So it’s not a set amount of time that a film can play, it just kind of depends?
A:
Megan: We always do a week run.
Maya: Yeah, that’s the minimum.
Megan: That’s just how our schedule works. After that, it just depends on if a movie does well or not. Yeah, we had Whiplash and Birdman, which were two Oscar nominations, and we had those for weeks.
Maya: We also have movies that we can only get for a week, some of the best films. That’s another thing I would try to communicate. As far as trying to reach people, sometimes the best movies I’ve seen here only last a week, because they’re not the big attraction.
Megan: What’s cool too, I was just thinking about this, is that the best things about the Lyric, I’m just so happy that we don’t get the shitty, chick-flick-y movies that are just everywhere, they’re so predictable. The things we get are little gems.
Maya: That’s a good way to put it, I watched this movie from Argentina with one person in the theater, and we had a ball. So, you know, we only sold one ticket for the show, but he had a really, really nice experience. So if we were to just play a film that everybody knew the ending to, it wouldn’t feel as special of a job, and you have people walk out of there and experience something. They have an emotional reaction to something, that’s really what it’s all about. I think the Lyric really tries to do that, to give an experience you’ll be able to participate in and enjoy.
Q: So you guys are really trying to push the boundaries of what everybody else is doing?
A:
Megan: Yeah, like, this is what we see other theaters doing, but we’re gonna try and take it this other way.
Maya: Yeah! Very wild west [laughs].
Clearly, this is an environment that caters to their customers, their community and also to enjoying all kinds of cinema. With a passion for film and the bravery to experiment different things, this is definitely an atmosphere to check out!
Below is a list of upcoming events at the Lyric, click here to get to the Lyric’s events website.
Movies
Sleeping with Other People
Jason Sudeikis and Alison Brie star as two romantic failures whose years of serial infidelity and self-sabatoge have led them to swear that their relatioship will remain strictly platonic.
Dude Bro Massacre III
In the wake of two back-to-back mass murders on Chico’s frat row, loner Brent Chirino must infiltrate the ranks of a popular fraternity to investigate his twin brother’s murder at the hands of the serial killer known as “Motherface.”
The Black Panthers
This documentary tells the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, one of the 20th century’s most alluring and controversial organizations that captivated the world’s attention for nearly 50 years.
Goodnight Mommy
Nine-year old twin brothers are waiting for their mother. When she comes home, bandaged after cosmetic surgery, nothing is like before. The children start to doubt that this woman is actually their mother. It emerges as an existential struggle for identity and fundamental trust.
Halloween films: Beetlejuice, Zombieland, A Nightmare on Elm Street,
Events
Bad Movie Nite! — October 3rd
Like horrible, awful, hilarious movies? The first Saturday of each month a program of awful PSAs, commercials, music videos and other clips are mashed before a surprise bad movie.
Kickstarter Film Festival — October 15
A program dedicated to the films made with Kickstarter money. Please check the website for program specifics and details.
V for Vendetta — November 5–7:00
Remember, remember the 5th of November.
Live @ the Lyric (live music)
Paul DeHaven w/ Robin Lewis — October 1–9:30Back Luck w/ ORGANOMOTRON — October 11–9:30Luke Carr and Johnny Bell w/ The Great Aerodrome — October 18–9:30The Good Life w/ Big Harp — November 6–9:30
