[Left to Right: Becky Dupuis (Polson Theatres), Paul Gunsky (CineLux), Stephanie Silverman (Belcourt Theatre), and Lauren McChesney (Shankweiler’s Drive-In)]
Four independent leaders at Cinema United–Becky Dupuis (Polson Theatres), Paul Gunsky (CineLux), Lauren McChesney (Shankweiler’s Drive-In), and Stephanie Silverman (Belcourt Theatre)–drafted an OpEd for Indie Wire touting the importance of the SCREEN Act:
For more than a century, the American motion picture industry has been an enduring part of our shared experience. Movies bring audiences across the country the unique magic of sitting with their neighbors to see extraordinary stories told on the big screen at their local cinema.
This summer’s strong box office demonstrates once again that Americans still love going to the movies. But that success masks one important truth facing theatrical exhibition today: Over the past six years, studio consolidation, a global pandemic, and multiple labor strikes have all contributed to a long-term erosion of available capital to reinvest in our businesses. For nearly all theater owners, years of lost and disrupted revenue mean that even as audiences are returning, the capital needed for major improvements has not. Thankfully, a bipartisan bill, the Supporting Cinema Renewal, Enhancement, and Enriching Neighborhoods (SCREEN) Act (H.R. 9938), is waiting in the wings. This legislation will have a direct economic impact in all 50 states, and we urge Congress to act.
We are four small business owners who represent this vital piece of the American film industry’s success, and as Congress considers how to restore and strengthen American film, it must ensure movie theaters are part of the solution. We own and operate independent theaters in Northern California, Nashville, rural Montana and Idaho, and America’s oldest drive-in theater in Orefield, Pennsylvania. We are not part of Hollywood, although we’re vital to bringing films to audiences. We are proud Main Street enterprises.
