Dan Wyatt
Member Profile
How has Cinema United membership been impactful to you and/or your business?CinemaCon, SOTI’s and the Cinema United support staff-huzzah! When I first took over the Kiggins (89 years old this year and still kicking it!), the first thing I did was head down to Vegas to jump in feet first. I primarily went to go digital projector shopping, but learned so much more about this side of the business…and had a blast as a bonus!
It’s not all fun and games though and when reality hits hard as it did five years ago, the Cinema United team was there to ensure our survival and those weekly calls became a glimmer of hope through the dark times. I never miss a SOTI. We are lucky to have such a strong industry group at the national level in Cinema United to ensure we not only survive, but thrive.
Prior to living in Vancouver I had attended film school and worked in production, post-production and marketing components of the film industry while living in Los Angeles. Upon re-locating to my hometown the best way to stay involved with features and Hollywood (smitten by filmmaking at an early age) was to operate as an exhibitor!
The most rewarding aspect of operating a movie theatre is providing the cinematic viewing experience to my community in a historic theatre I grew up attending. I think of it as giving back for all those movie experiences I had AND continue to have in other theaters. Moviegoing not only brings people together, heightening the enjoyment of a story, but in the right setting with a well produced film you can engage in self exploration and that of the world around you. It’s a deeply moving experience to process thoughts and emotions about yourself and others through the ultimate medium of storytelling.
Of recent memory attending the Fall Summit in Los Angeles in 2023 was a definite highlight and an unexpected dream come true. Attending the Will Rodgers Pioneer of the Year Dinner celebrating the 007 franchise, meeting Barbara Broccoli, drinking martini’s and experiencing all the night had to offer was perfect. As a nearly life long fan of James Bond and most likely part of my inspiration for working in the film industry, that night will be difficult to top!
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How about a top ten moviegoing experiences of all time?! Alright, just one, I’ll have to pick at random. I was at a trade screening for Zemeckis’ (one of my fav directors) The Walk. The movie elicited one of the most visceral experiences I’ve ever had watching that film! Palms sweating, heart racing…several times the anxiety was running so high I almost jumped up and got out of there. What a ride! Good thing I was in there with just my programmer. Here I am grown up, and still laughing, crying, getting scared out of my wits like when I was a kid watching Raiders or ET- there’s two more! Okay you got three from the list.
I am looking forward to audiences realizing (again!) that the latest distraction from moviegoing pales in comparison to participating (as opposed to passively experiencing) the best form of storytelling ever dreamed up-the feature film. Radio, comic books, television, the internet…cinema is the best. For a deeper dive: read up on Marshal McLuhan’s media theory of the hot medium of theatrical vs the cool mediums of… just about everything else.
Ask yourself, “Do you love movies?” What is it about the craft of filmmaking or the enjoyment of story that you like? This must be tantamount. There’s the economics of the thing, sure, we must be profitable. However, if financial success is what motivates you, there’s other industries that can be obtained and in far greater amounts. Go do them instead. The movie theatre is the place for passion and dreaming bigger than what’s tangible. And don’t just be a presenter of movies, continue to be a watcher-never stop learning what it means to be a human longing for meaning.
