Movie Madness

It has become a familiar realization: The movie didn't do as well as we had hoped.

Student groups eager to boost their treasuries by screening films in the Science Center are frustrated by the unreliability of profit making.

During his first year, Jeremy N. Smith '00, now co-president of Demon magazine, says a screening of "Eraser" earned Demon precisely seven cents. "Good Will Hunting" fared much better a year ago pre-frosh weekend--raising about $1,000--but Demon has decided to quit while it's ahead.

"It all depends on the luck of the draw," Smith says. "I would agree the probable profit rarely justifies the effort extended."

Beyond a rare hit that has recouped postering, facility and film costs, student organizations have been so frustrated by turnout at the Science Center that many group leaders now say they will leave the movie business for someone else.

Poor returns at the box office--coupled with high movie costs and publicity that fails to woo $8-ticket buyers from Sony Harvard Square--may limit the Science Center's future as student movie house.

Fatal Attraction

Demon's "Good Will Hunting" coup is atypical of student group efforts. Some organizations that have gone the movie route have actually lost money.

Hoping to make about $600, Daniel A. Lyons '00, former director of the Intercollegiate Model UN team, says his organization showed "Austin Powers" this fall. The movie instead ended up putting the team $50 in the hole.

"Dead Poets Society," shown last week, fared worse, costing the group between $200 and $300, according to Michael J. Gilbert, current co-director.

"We showed two movies this year," Gilbert said. "I doubt if we'll be showing two movies next year."

Tales of frustration abound.

The staff of Perspective magazine worked hard to publicize a winter showing of "E.T.," parading a "real-life" E.T. around dining halls to heighten interest.

But Perspective barely broke even, prompting the publication to give up on a planned showing of "Shakespeare in Love" later on this month.

"The amount of time we have to put in to put on a movie we could make double or triple that amount doing dorm crew," says Evan S. Levine '00, who heads the magazine's movie efforts. "It's not the most efficient way to make money."

Megan C. McCallion, who is in charge of Science Center classroom scheduling, says she has seen a downward trend in recent months.

"We have noticed that fewer student groups are signing up for film showings," McCallion said.

Last year, the Science Center hosted 19 films. This year--including movies scheduled through the end of the year--the number has dropped to 13.

War of the Weekends

McCallion notes that there have always been many limiting factors associated with student group success in the Science Center.

"Attendance depends on many factors such as film title chosen, effectiveness of the postering efforts, and other activities that weekend," McCallion says.

Student group leaders say securing the right weekend is crucial.

"In the past, there has been a problem with groups showing different movies on the same days, because no one wants a weekend when there are midterms or a billion other events going on," says Emily Y. Yang '01, co-president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association (AAA).

During the popular weekends--like when lonely prospective students invade the campus--two groups may battle it out for audiences and hurt each other's profits.

But even a prime weekend was not enough to fill the house for a showing of "Dead Poets Society."

Postering is a major component to a profitable weekend. And the College's rules regarding where a group can place signs prevents effective publicity, some student leaders say.

Smith says groups are bound to violate one of the administration's regulations and incur a $50 fine-but that's a small price to pay for the potential dollars lost if a group didn't publicize.

"If you attempt to follow the rules, you get lost" in a sea of colorful fliers, says Niki V. Santo '00, who organized this weekend's showing of "Enemy of the State," sponsored by the Mather House Committee.

"The postering situation is vicious, but that's for any event," says Smith, who is also a Crimson editor. "It's just war--people tearing down each other's signs."

The Avengers

Weeks, sometimes months, before they want to show a film, groups have to stake out their intended flick, following "13 easy steps," according to the Science Center's Web site, in order to place a valid reservation.

Groups must reserve their timeslots a semester in advance--this week, groups can begin signing up for fall 1999--and vie for particular movies.

Student groups can "yellow tag" up to 15 movies they are considering, preventing rival student groups from claiming those titles themselves. Other groups interested in showing a "yellow-tagged" movie can force the "tagger" to make a final decision in two days.

If not challenged, at the end of two weeks, a group must have "red tagged" their film--securing movie delivery from the distributor and declaring their intent to show the movie. Otherwise, it becomes fair game for others.

In recent years, the process has sometimes been an exercise in endurance and strategy. In the bowels of the Science Center sits a book that contains years of handwritten movie requests, chronicling the clashes between groups hoping for the same film.

After dutifully re-reserving "The Phantom Menace" every two weeks since last fall, Perspective's Levine missed a week, only to see another student group yellow-tag the movie. Levine re-secured the rights for the film two weeks later but says he has been less diligent as of late, leaving the yet-to-be-released "Star Wars" movie up for grabs.

In general, however, student leaders do not fault the tagging system for the decline in movie showings.

Tiffs between student organizations have actually declined in recent years because of lack of interest. Before tagging, the Science Center had a lottery system in place to deal with the number of showing requests.

More recently, groups ranging from the Prefect Program to the Mainly Jazz dance company to the Canadian Club jostled their way through the tagging system. As the pages of the log record show, barely a few days went by in 1997 without someone requesting a film.

As of yesterday afternoon though, no one has tagged anything since April 9.

Risky Business

If the rules are not the problem and costs--while high--have remained fairly steady over time, the decline in movie showings may be a result of fewer student groups willing to undertake a venture inevitably spoiled by a small turnout.

Costs include $300 for a Harvard police officer to monitor ticket sales, another $300 for the projectionist and the machine and upwards of $1,000 for the actual film. Usually, the more popular the film, the more the distributor charges.

"You want a blockbuster, but the new movies will run you about $800. It all depends on how much you're willing to lose," Levine says. "You'll make about $200 to $300 on a good weekend."

With no guarantee that the money will be recouped, movies are a gamble some groups experienced with the process are now less willing to take.

"Usually organizations only charge around $3 per student, which means they need at least 280 viewers to break even, due to poster costs as well," Yang says.

Still, for some groups such as the Intercollegiate Model UN team, there is little choice in fundraising options.

"For an organization like ours, it's one of the only ways we have to raise money," Gilbert says. "I think we may have to only because we're desperate."

In the meantime, Smith suggests an extensive renovation of College facilities to make the Science Center a better draw for student audiences.

"It's time to make the Science Center into a first-run luxury theater. We need surround-sound, skyboxes and low-cal popcorn," Smith says. "Get 'Phantom Menace' into Science Center B, move C.S. 51 to the crappy Loews down the street, and all is forgiven. Are you listening, Neil?"