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Note from the executive director
"What on earth were you thinking?" I'm not a stranger to that question -- usually put to me by friends or family about a new facial hair configuration or about the shirt I chose to put on that morning. Recently, however, I've been asked the same question by customers and members of the Tropic Cinema about our summer movie choices. One customer put it succinctly: "All I can say is WHY?" Another loyal member wittily asked, "Did the Tropic get bought out by the Regal?" They are talking, of course, about the Hollywood blockbusters we screen at the Tropic Cinema during the summer. "Alice in Wonderland." "Killers." "Iron Man II." "Sex in the City 2." Well, why? To say it's a good question doesn't give it adequate weight. It's a question that goes to the core of the Tropic Cinema's existence -- of why we were first created, of what we do now and how a member-supported, revenue-dependent nonprofit moviehouse stays viable and genuine. A fundamental part of the Tropic Cinema's mission is to screen the best films the world has to offer. Some are Big Hollywood productions, but more often they're small, independent art films, foreign films and documentaries. Our Programming Director Scot Hoard works closely with our New York film buyer Jeffrey Jacobs to bring those hard-to-secure films to the Tropic. I'm very proud of the job they do all year long to bring first-run, award-winning, yet small and out-of-the-mainstream films to our town. It's also a critical part of our mission to stay in business. In tough economic times that's not always easy. Screening films in a state-of-the-art, purpose-built cinema is an expensive undertaking. Here's a fact many of our fans are surprised to learn: We often pay over 50% -- sometimes less and sometimes more -- of our ticket revenues directly to film distributors. In other words, we generally make less than five dollars for every ten-dollar ticket we sell. Less surprising is the fact that, like everyone, we must pay for rent and power bills and the thousand and one other costs of doing business. When summer comes to Key West, many regular moviegoers leave town and our attendance at the Tropic falls off drastically. Nearly 9,000 people came to see presentations at the Tropic in January; fewer than half that number came in May. While we stay busy in the winter with more art-house fare, we find folks buy tickets to Hollywood movies in the summer -- and that really helps us out so we can continue to screen small, independent films all summer. I also suspect that people come in to see wide-release movies who might have felt a little intimidated by the Tropic -- they fall in love with the place and come back for Hollywood movies as well as the independents we show. I hope that's true. We count even more on our members during the summer than in winter. Memberships account for about a third of the Tropic Cinema operating revenue. Especially for the next six months, our members really pull us through when we're not making hay as we do in the winter. If you have an expiring membership, please renew it. Did I say PLEASE? If you can, upgrade your membership level -- it helps you and it really helps us. I happen to like both mainstream and independent film. But the Tropic's first love and first loyalty is independent, art-house movies. They're why we started and they're why, with your help, we'll be around for a long time. Matthew Helmerich,
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