York Square goes for (or towards) broke

After 20 years of being denied the opportunity of showing first-run films at his theater, and of watching a number of independent and national theaters in the downtown New Haven area go out of business, Robert Spodick of the York Square Cinema filed a legal complaint against Buena Vista Pictures International and 13 other distribution branches of major movies companies. The complaint, filed in May 2000, alleges that these movie companies have violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by refusing to make commercially viable films available to the York Square theater.

MARISSA BASS / YH

In response to the lawsuit, four of these companies—Sony, Universal, Columbia, and Dreamworks SKG—terminated their distribution contracts with York Square and have said they will no longer sell even second-run movies to the theater. In a letter to York Sq. Manager Peter Spodick, an attorney for Universal wrote that the movie studio "believes the relationship between a distributor and an exhibitor should be reasonably harmonious...the bringing of any lawsuit, however, is a breach of that relationship...we have been asked to inform you that York Square Cinema is now off-service with Universal." While other companies have not terminated their contracts with York Square, they have persisted in their policy of refusing to sell first-run films to the theater. James Amos, vice president and eastern division manager of Sony Pictures Releasing (SPR), defended this policy in a letter to Peter Spodick, writing, "Sony Pictures Releasing does not believe that York Square has the same grossing potential as North Haven or Orange, nor does SPR believe that an additional run is justified in this area."

Amos argued that Sony's policy does not deprive New Haven residents of seeing first-run films, since public transportation to North Haven is available. He also pointed out that York Square's returns show no "dramatic increase" over the previous week's returns at North Haven or Orange, as they should if the audience for these theatres were indeed completely different. Peter Spodick has responded to this claim by pointing out that by the time these films come to York Square they are old news and have lost their original aura of excitement that does so much to attract audiences. He also said that the returns on delayed films are insubstantial since many people have seen the film by the time it comes to York Square, especially in the case of popular and heavily-promoted films like Star Wars and Shakespeare in Love.

He claimed that most downtown New Haven residents are either unwilling or unable to drive to the outlying Showcase cinemas. Yet many weeks, if not months, often pass after a film's theatrical release before York Square is offered the chance to show a movie. Therefore, he said, people without transportation to the North Haven or Orange Showcases find themselves so inconvenienced that they begin to lose interest in the movie. And even those who do make it to the suburban multiplexes, he argued, are often confronted with an impersonal atmosphere and seating that ignores their needs. Stadium seating and the wheelchair ghetto A specific point that Spodick returned to again and again is the "state-of-the-art" stadium seating that is the pride of Showcase Cinemas. This design, he claimed, does not care about senior citizens or the handicapped—the former find it difficult to climb the steep steps, while the latter must sit either at the very front or at the very back of the auditorium— places that disability lawyers, according to Spodick, call "wheelchair ghettoes." Among Spodick's implicit supporters on this issue is the Massachusetts government, which the Mon., Dec. 18 issue of the Washington Post reported is suing two U.S. movie chains, saying theaters with stadium seating discriminate against people with disabilities. It continued, "U.S. Attorney Donald Stern accused National Amusements Incorporated and Hoyts Cinema Corporation of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and relegating handicapped people to inferior movie seats." National Amusements Inc. is the company that operates Showcase Cinemas.

But York Square, Peter Spodick said, is popular with senior citizens and handicapped people. In a series of depositions given in late December, Robert Spodick argued this very point. The lawyer for the opposition, Richard Bowerman cross-examined Robert Spodick about stadium seating, asking him whether it were not a more advanced and better design than York Square Cinema's. Spodick argued that it was not, explaining that theaters in New York had stadium seating as far back as the 1930s. Bowerman claimed that Robert Spodick simply didn't understand what "state-of-the-art" meant. But Peter Spodick reiterated that he sees stadium seating as "state-of-the-art of discrimination."

In addition to implying that Showcase Cinema discriminates against the handicapped, Spodick also attacked the movie companies that he is suing for discriminating against minorities. While the percentage of African-Americans living in New Haven is relatively high, Spodick argued, that percentage is extremely low in a place like Orange, where Showcase has a multiplex.

Among the companies Spodick has accused of attempting to "close down the theater" was Sony Pictures Classics (SPC), which is currently not a defendant in Spodick's lawsuit. Their acclaimed recent release, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, won't be coming to York Square for its first run, even though the cinema has shown a number of smaller, unprofitable SPC movies other exhibitors may have rejected.

Yet not all of the film companies have persisted in the practices which Spodick attacks. One company, 20th Century Fox, has agreed to sell first-run films to York Sq.uare, allowing the cinema to show popular and profitable movies like Boys Don't Cry, Fight Club, Cast Away, and Quills before they have exhausted their market appeal. It is being punished for its insubordination: Showcase Cinemas has refused to buy and show in its area theaters first-run films that 20th Century Fox sells to York Square. Cast Away, currently the most profitable film in the United States, is therefore not showing at the Milford, North Haven, Orange, or Fairfield Showcase Cinemas, because 20th Century Fox has sold it to York Square. Yale and the city In late November, Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. held a press conference at the cinema to criticize what he saw as the boycott and the unfair practices of the movie companies. "This is discrimination, period," DeStefano said prior to the conference. "Not only is Showcase punishing 20th Century Fox for breaking the red-lining of downtown New Haven, it is also promoting limited access to entertainment for city residents." Ted Baldwin, the corporation counsel for the City of New Haven, also publicly expressed support for the lawsuit. "Denying York Square access to first-run movies is denying urban residents access to quality entertainment," he said. "The practices of the major film distributors undermines our capacity to be what we should be as a city." According to Peter Spodick, the city has filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Broadway Theatre Corporation and plans to support York Square when the case comes to court in several months. The office of the mayor, however, could not be reached for direct comment.

The city would be hurt in another way were York Square forced to close its doors—the New Haven Film Festival (NHFF) uses the theater for screenings. If the theater were forced to close its doors, the festival would lose its home and much of its screening space.

Though the city's support is encouraging, Spodick hopes to convince more individuals and organizations to support his cause. Few have been as open and as decisive as the city itself. Yale has remained neutral, a fact which is especially frustrating to him, since so many undergraduates want York Square to survive. Student support of the theater, though by no means the only opinion, shows its strength in straddling taste boundaries: some want the theater to stay open even though they prefer Showcase's more mainstream offerings. But the Administration has responded neither to his advances nor to requests for comment.

With this important question unanswered, Peter Spodick is uncertain about the coming months. He feels slightly more secure about the financial situation of the theater and even plans to install new projectors and a Dolby sound system in time for the NHFF in April. But at the same time, the theater is trying to cut costs in ways so small that they suggest financial difficulty—ways such as limiting the times when the front lobby of the theater is lit, slightly raising ticket prices, and replacing the student discount with a concession stand credit. It seems likely that unless the theater wins the court case, which will not begin for several months, it will have to close its doors.

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