St. Helena’s Cameo Cinema is the center of the community

It has seen modifications to the movie-making trade — the lack of a reside accompaniment by a pianist, the transition from movie reels to digital projectors, and no less than a couple of title modifications — through the years.

In the present day, it is without doubt one of the few single-theater cinemas just about wherever, boasting 140 seats, state-of-the-art visuals and sound, and critically-acclaimed movies and filmmaker appearances. However within the age of streamers, quick consideration spans, strikes and viral illness, how has the Cameo stayed such a vibrant neighborhood area?

In accordance with proprietor Cathy Buck, a variety of the theater’s success ties again to its lengthy historical past and custom.

“It has roots,” Buck stated. “110 years outdated? There’s few wineries right here that even hit that mark. It’s a part of the material of Napa Valley by way of the years. I hear tales from individuals who had their first date, their first kiss right here.”

Whereas many now grandparents and oldsters spent their childhoods on the Cameo or an identical native theater, fewer of their children do. Through the years, large field theaters have consolidated, and three chains — AMC, Cinemark and Regal — personal nearly all of film theaters within the nation. Some motion pictures even skip the theaters completely, going straight to Netflix or Hulu as a substitute.

Studios have additionally elevated charges and necessities through the years. Again in 2008, when Buck first purchased the theater, the largest studios required theaters to pay them 30% of each ticket bought to see their movie. In the present day, studios cost between 60% and 70%.

To place that in perspective, Buck stated in the course of the current run of “Barbie” on the Cameo, for each $10 in tickets bought, $6.66 went straight again to Warner Brothers.

She added that studios additionally typically have necessities that may be difficult for small theaters to accommodate, like necessary run occasions relying on how new the film is and cross-marketing prohibitions.

“Take ‘Little Mermaid’ for instance,” Buck stated. “That’s not a film I took on opening day as a result of I must play it for 3 or possibly 4 weeks, and that’s not a film that can play right here for 3 or 4 weeks. The primary week, each present may promote out, and the second week is likely to be about half full — that’s OK. However I’ve to comprehend that the third week is likely to be solely 25%. Does that each one stability out?”

A whole lot of occasions, the reply seems to be no — particularly in a single-screen theater the place just one movie can play at a time. So lately, along with exhibiting tentpole motion pictures like “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” Buck and her board have gotten inventive.

“We actually attempt to supply an expertise that’s not like the one you’re going to have at a giant theater,” Buck stated. “We’ve discovered that after we usher in one thing you possibly can’t go and get at one other theater, persons are particularly interested by that.”

In accordance with board member Stacey Bressler, the Cameo additionally servers as a neighborhood hub for the St. Helena neighborhood. Along with the films, the venue affords reside leisure and behind-the-scenes content material that you just will not discover at your native Cinemark.

The theater does an everyday “Dwell on the Cameo” occasion that options native music, from jazz to blues.

They’ve additionally launched a collection referred to as “Behind the Digital camera,” which brings patrons into the movie-making course of by internet hosting locals who’ve labored on large field movies for Q&A classes after a screening of their movie.

Most not too long ago, the Cameo hosted “Oppenheimer” manufacturing designer Ruth de Younger, who talked about developing the Nineteen Forties city and the entire war-era surroundings that was featured within the movie.

For the upcoming launch of “Priscilla,” primarily based on the lifetime of Priscilla Presley, Buck stated she hopes director Sofia Coppola may come to the theater for the same behind the scenes Q&A.

Cameo additionally does a Napa Valley-centric “Cinema Bites” occasion each two months, the place they present a meals or wine associated movie, accompanied by a meal, in partnership with the St. Helena Farmers Market.

This collection specifically will get patrons excited for the “Movie to Fork Competition” the theater hosts yearly (barring a hiatus in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic), at which they present three days value of films about farming, meals and wine.

In March 2024, the Cameo is asking for impartial filmmakers to submit their work, which if chosen, can be proven alongside big-studio hits.

“Thomas Keller was a guide on ‘Ratatouille,’ so we’re pondering we’ll kick off the occasion with a screening, possibly accompanied by a Q&A, and serve just a little ratatouille!” Buck stated.

The theater additionally companions with neighborhood teams to placed on fundraisers and personal occasions. In the summertime, the Cameo often hosts the Boys and Ladies Membership for personal film screenings, and the theater has labored with the St. Helena Hospital to throw employees appreciation occasions.

They’ve additionally performed film screenings as fundraisers, like for We Care Animal Rescue, exhibiting the documentary “Hearth Cats,” about animals who grew to become strays in the course of the 2017 fires.

The ambiance of the theater additionally units it aside. The scent of freshly-baked cookies wafts by way of the foyer, luring you to the concession stand that options nearly completely native wines and distributors.

Popcorn — made with actual butter — can also be accessible, for a deal. Should you convey your personal bowl, bag or bucket, you will get a replenish for $4.

“To see all people sitting in right here with 20 completely different bowls simply makes you are feeling such as you’re at dwelling,” Buck stated.

However whereas the ambiance is likely to be homey, the film viewing expertise is not like any you possibly can have on your private home TV — whilst increasingly more houses have flat screens and encompass sound.

Buck stated when she took over the Cameo in 2008, upgrading its visible and audio programs whereas sustaining the theater’s old-timey appeal was a precedence for her.

“It drives me loopy if I can not see and listen to in the highest quality I can,” Buck stated.

Fortunate for Cameo patrons, Buck is aware of the best way to get that very best quality. She stated that again in 2013, for the centennial of the theater, she attended an IMAX conference the place Dolby, an audio software program firm, debuted its new “Atmos” sound system.

Buck stated on the time, and nonetheless now, the sound field was the “Rolls Royce” of theater programs. When she first stated she wished it for the Cameo, she was met with laughter.

However she reached out to the neighborhood, connecting with a Dolby Board of Administrators member who occurred to reside within the Napa Valley.

“He put me in contact with the CEO and I pitched it,” Buck stated. “And I stated, ‘I need it donated.’”

So she received it donated. Paired with high-end audio system and a brand new laser projector in 2019, Buck stated filmmakers love to indicate their motion pictures on the Cameo as a result of they’ll choose up on sounds they hadn’t been capable of hear since audio modifying.

“We should still to today be the one single-screen theater within the nation with Dolby Atmos sound,” Buck stated. “And I do know for certain, the one one with the Meyer audio system. Solely Dolby labs and a number of the personal screening rooms for the studios have the sound tools we’ve.”

These tools upgrades are made doable by donors, Bressler stated, because the most liked, and attended, neighborhood occasions, like Cinema Bites and Dwell on the Cameo, aren’t large income turbines after bills.

Buck stated it’s necessary for folks to know that the Cameo Cinema is fueled by donations.

“Due to the rise in what the studios take and the value of products … about 45% of income has to come back from donations,” Buck stated. “Which means about $400,000 a yr, we’ve to begin over and lift. That could be a problem.”

This fall, the Cameo can be holding a number of fundraising occasions, along with welcoming on-line donations at any time. On Nov. 27, they’ll host “Cameo Day” when neighborhood members are invited to come back to the theater and pledge a month-to-month donation, whether or not it’s $10 or $100, to the theater.

They’ll be greeted with popcorn, Cameo swag and an invite to the evening’s “Faces of St. Helena” occasion. That night, they’ll roll out the pink carpet and host a viewing of some native quick movies.

Earlier this month, the Cameo hosted a workshop with filmmakers instructing patrons the ins and outs of interviewing and prepping them to create their very own characteristic movies targeted on St. Helenans making a distinction. Cameo Day would be the debut of the movies, which Buck hopes will function a reminder of the neighborhood the city fosters and the Cameo celebrates.

“It’s actually a neighborhood right here,” Bressler stated. “I come alone often … and I by no means really feel alone. I do know all people. And I believe that’s actually necessary on this neighborhood.”