Popular films return to The Palm

For all you movie buffs out there, there is a new religious holiday: Palm Wednesday.

The new series at San Luis Obispo’s beloved Palm Theatre begins today, and each subsequent Wednesday the local theater will have a special screening at 7 p.m.

Cameron Bowman, general manager of The Palm, said he hopes titles like “Billabong Odyssey,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Amelie,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” will appeal to the younger student population.

“We want the students back,” he said.

Seniors are currently the theater’s biggest audience, and the theater sells the most tickets for Saturday and Sunday afternoon matinees, he said.

“I wanted to make something to reach out to more people,” he said.

Recently, the theater had great success with “Juno” and “There Will Be Blood.” The Palm had the exclusive screening in town and sold out every show of “Juno.”

“I think that was kind of a turning point for the theater,” he said. “In the coming months, you’re going to see a lot of strength coming out of this theater.”

Bowman has been working in the industry for eight years and joined The Palm in October. He works both behind the scenes in the projection room and in crafting new promotions for The Palm, which gives him a chance to do what he does well on both levels, he said.

If the series proves successful, Bowman said, they would like to continue it year-round, bump the special screening up to two nightly showings and introduce other series. Bowman said he is open to suggestions.

“I’m not going to limit any requests. We have a chance to bring in a lot of fantastic cinema,” he said.

The nearby Fremont Theatre also screens older films with its SLO Rewind series. Bowman, however, is not worried about the competition. Palm Wednesday is different, he said, because it’s weekly, and the Fremont’s showings are ’80s big box office hits and cult classics. Bowman said Palm Wednesday will feature movies that weren’t as popular in the theaters but gained a bigger following when they were released on DVD.

“Jim’s really on the cutting edge with these kinds of things,” Bowman said of Jim Dee, owner, founder and operator of the theater. “Boom or bust, he keeps (the theater) open and is extremely loyal to his clientele.”

Bowman said he and Dee selected the titles to bring good films back to the screen.

“I love movies and I was so sick of seeing movies like ‘Fool’s Gold,’” he said. “Hollywood’s so afraid to do anything, but movies that I watch here are consistently fantastic.”

Admission will be regular price, which is $7.50 for general admission. The series will show on screen one, which has 124 seats.

The special screenings are listed through June, and other possibilities include “Donnie Darko,” “SLC Punk,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Run Lola Run.” In the end, Bowman said the theater’s commitment is to good cinema.

“Even if there are bad movies all around town, there’s going to be a good movie at The Palm,” he said.