I recently got a behind-the-scenes tour of the "new and improved" facility as part of an article I wrote for the current edition of the Bexley News. One of the coolest parts of the tour was seeing the projection room, where the magic of the moviegoing experience begins.
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| The projection room at the Drexel Theatre. |
The Drexel is within walking distance of where I grew up in Columbus, Ohio, so I always thought of it as one of several neighborhood movie theaters that were going strong when I came of age in the '80s (long before the advent of the multiplex). One of my fondest memories of the Drexel is that it's the landmark where I was first exposed to independent cinema. As an eighth grader at Holy Spirit School, I snuck into an R-rated movie at the art deco picture palace.
I was otherwise a very well-behaved and obedient child, but one afternoon in 1985, I decided that instead of going straight home from school like I was supposed to, I'd head to the Drexel and check out what was playing. Like the rebellious character Gigi in my novel "The Chloe Chronicles," I bought a ticket to a tame PG-rated movie and proceeded to duck into a much more interesting R-rated feature instead.
I'm not sure why the comedy/drama "The Coca-Cola Kid" appealed to my 13-year-old sensibilities. Maybe because it was 1985 and "New Coke" had just come out and was all the rage.
Sitting in the darkened theater in my Catholic schoolboy uniform, I felt very sophisticated watching this sexy foreign film, which starred Aussie actress Greta Scacchi and American actor Eric Roberts (who rose to fame before his little sister, Julia; perhaps you've heard of her).
"The Coca-Cola Kid" was the first indie movie that I bought a ticket to with my own money. Even as a sheltered middle-school kid, I could tell there was something different about this movie. It wasn't as formulaic and predictable as the mainstream movies that I voraciously consumed on cable TV in my grandparents' rec room.
Other fond memories of the Drexel:
Meeting actor Joe Morton. I don't remember the occasion that brought Morton to the Drexel, but interviewing him was one of my first assignments for the Call and Post Newspaper in the early '90s. The revered African-American actor is now famous for his role as Olivia Pope's father on "Scandal," but I knew him from the John Sayles indie classic "The Brother from Another Planet." Morton was easy to talk to, especially for the very shy, very green "cub reporter" that I was.
Meeting actor Leon Robinson. Another accomplished black actor, Robinson was in town to promote the movie "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored." He was also easy to talk to when I interviewed him. I mentioned to him that I grew up watching him as the black saint who comes to life in Madonna's iconic "Like a Prayer" video. When I asked him what it was like working with the Material Girl, he said, "She's totally cool."
Supporting black cinema. Some of the best movies made by and starring African Americans, I've seen at the Drexel. These vehicles made outside the Hollywood mainstream defy stereotypes and present African Americans as three-dimensional human beings, including "Down in the Delta," "Daughters of the Dust," "To Sleep with Anger" and the above-mentioned "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored," co-starring Robinson and Columbus native Al Freeman Jr.
Family outings. Seeing Robert Duvall's Christian drama "The Apostle" with my grandparents and my grandmother's sister, my Aunt Rudene, was a reel treat (pun intended). Bob and Pearl Bourne (the reason why their last name doesn't have an "A" on the end like mine is a long story) and Rudene Goolsby were never big moviegoers, so seeing a church-related film that we all could enjoy was one of the best moviegoing experiences of my entire life and one of my favorite memories of all time.
Other fond memories of the Drexel:
Meeting actor Joe Morton. I don't remember the occasion that brought Morton to the Drexel, but interviewing him was one of my first assignments for the Call and Post Newspaper in the early '90s. The revered African-American actor is now famous for his role as Olivia Pope's father on "Scandal," but I knew him from the John Sayles indie classic "The Brother from Another Planet." Morton was easy to talk to, especially for the very shy, very green "cub reporter" that I was.
Meeting actor Leon Robinson. Another accomplished black actor, Robinson was in town to promote the movie "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored." He was also easy to talk to when I interviewed him. I mentioned to him that I grew up watching him as the black saint who comes to life in Madonna's iconic "Like a Prayer" video. When I asked him what it was like working with the Material Girl, he said, "She's totally cool."
Supporting black cinema. Some of the best movies made by and starring African Americans, I've seen at the Drexel. These vehicles made outside the Hollywood mainstream defy stereotypes and present African Americans as three-dimensional human beings, including "Down in the Delta," "Daughters of the Dust," "To Sleep with Anger" and the above-mentioned "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored," co-starring Robinson and Columbus native Al Freeman Jr.
Family outings. Seeing Robert Duvall's Christian drama "The Apostle" with my grandparents and my grandmother's sister, my Aunt Rudene, was a reel treat (pun intended). Bob and Pearl Bourne (the reason why their last name doesn't have an "A" on the end like mine is a long story) and Rudene Goolsby were never big moviegoers, so seeing a church-related film that we all could enjoy was one of the best moviegoing experiences of my entire life and one of my favorite memories of all time.
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