“Bamboozled”: Now playing at a theater not so near you.
Spike Lee’s controversial new film, which screened two weeks ago on campus, isn’t showing anywhere in or around East Lansing.
But East Lansing isn’t the only college town not showing “Bamboozled.” Theaters in Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Big Rapids and Mount Pleasant also have not received this film.
Like may low-budget or specialty films, “Bamboozled” is only being shown in larger film markets.
“It’s a huge problem when films like Lee’s, art films and films from abroad aren’t being showed,” said American Thought & Language Professor Erik Lunde, who specializes in film.
“Bamboozled” played on only 17 screens and grossed just under $200,000 in its first weekend.
Larger audiences may not get the chance to see lower-budget and foreign films, making it harder for these films to rake in the dollars.
Where a film is distributed depends on the market, said former Meridian Theaters employee Troy Holcomb, an astrophysics senior.
“Lansing’s not a large market like Detroit. There have been lots of movies that have come to Lansing that shouldn’t have,” Holcomb said, adding that some of these smaller films haven’t done as well in this market.
Generally, low-budget and non-blockbuster films are easy to find in this area. Lansing’s Celebration Cinema and the East Lansing Film Society try to make more films accessible to local audiences.
With weekend screenings of foreign and low-budget films at Wells Hall, the East Lansing Film Society prides itself on giving the public an opportunity to see these types of films, said director Jennifer White.
“The biggest thing is that there’s not a lot of press for small films,” White said. “The more press a movie gets, the more likely people are to come see it.”
Some smaller films are given the chance to make it at the big movie theaters. Celebration Cinema has shown films such as “Black and White,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Being John Malkovich” and a monthly Native American movie, said Dan Boyer, general manager of Celebration Cinema.
Despite being a bigger theater, Celebration Cinema holds goals similar to the East Lansing Film Society, which reaches about 500 to 1,000 people each weekend.
“We’ve played a tremendous amount of films, but in order to keep them around the community has to support them,” Boyer said.
But some smaller films are harder to get because distributors determine markets and markets determine where and what is played.
Limited release may be another reason why “Bamboozled” is not playing in the area, said Meridian Theaters manager Greg Hunt.
“Usually small runs don’t get picked up, unless they get some sort of critical acclaim. If ‘Bamboozled’ does well, there’s a chance we’ll get it,” Boyer said.
In any case, the East Lansing Film Festival has several other smaller films on its schedule for this fall.
“Our films are on campus and they don’t sell out. Dealing with these films there’s always room for more people,” White said.
