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Catharine Kendall Emerald
The Bijou Art Cinema, located at 492 E. 13th Ave., celebrated its 20th anniversary Tuesday, and owner Michael Lamont is counting on
another 20 years of showing foreign, art and independent films in the only art theater in Eugene.
Bijou celebrates 20th year
■ The local art cinema offers
eclectic films and a piece of
Eugene history
By Monica Hande
Oregon Daily Emerald
For Michael Lamont, success
was an accident.
When he was a University stu
dent in the late 1970s, Lamont did
n’t expect to land a career in the
movie industry. But on Tuesday, he
celebrated the 20th anniversary of
his very own theater, the Bijou Art
Cinema.
While flying helicopters in the
Army, Lamont met a person who
taught him to operate 35-millime
ter projectors. And in college, he
spent some time booking films for
a student group that offered show
ings to a campus audience. But that
was more or less the extent of his
film experience.
“I wasn’t a film buff,” he said. “I
was just a fan.”
In 1980, however, a friend told
him about a vacant building at 492
E. 13th Ave. that she thought would
be perfect for a movie theater.
The Spanish mission-style build
ing was built as a church in 1925 by
Walter Ross Baumes Willcox, a for
mer University architecture dean.
When the church’s congregation
grew too large for the space, the
building was transformed into a fu
neral home.
Lamont said he never dreamed
of opening his own business and
had no previous business experi
ence, but he took a shot; now, he
has two decades of success to show
for himself.
“Everything was sort of acciden
tal,” he said. “Things don’t always
go as planned.”
But it certainly didn’t take a plan
for Lamont to find a rewarding ca
reer in a field he enjoys.
So far, he said, it’s been “really
gratifying and exciting. ... It’s been
a wonderful experience.”
The Bijou is the only art cinema
in Eugene, and with its two
screens, 35-millimeter projectors
and stereo sound, it shows a variety
of foreign, art and independent
films that don’t usually make it to
the big box offices.
“There are a lot of really, really
good films out there that don’t
make the mega-bucks the Holly
wood films do,” Lamont said.
The Bijou “is responsible for
bringing in many movies,” said
Lois Wadsworth, the arts editor at
the Eugene Weekly. Wadsworth has
been writing reviews of movies that
have played at the Bijou for almost
20 years.
Louise Thomas, a former Bijou
manager, started working at the cin
ema’s concessions counter while
she attended the University in 1986
and was promoted to manager in
1992. The Eugene native said she
was fascinated with the Bijou when
she was in high school and wanted
to work there.
“Each film brought in different
people,” she said. “You never knew
what would happen. ... It was like
a sitcom in the lobby.”
Thomas said she had some excit
ing experiences while working
there, remembering in particular
the ghost stories shared among staff
members.
“There were a lot of little, dark,
cavernous hallways,” she said,
which were spooky until she got
used to them.
Thomas said she always enjoyed
being a part of such a unique place.
“I still feel a little possessive
about it,” she said, “like it’s still
mine. ... It’s been a fun ride; that’s
for sure.”
Although the ride has been a lit
tle rocky for the Bijou’s business
lately, Lamont said things are look
ing up. He said he’s not sure exactly
why business has been slow.
“Maybe people are just not going
out as much,” he said. “There are
so many other choices,” such as
satellite dishes and digital cable.
Also, he said, Cinemark’s Movies
12 at Gateway Mall — which is a
“dollar house,” charging only $1.50
all day for showings of previously
released movies — has cut into the
Bijou’s late-night series.
“I think it’s very convenient for
people to go to movies at a mall,”
Wadsworth said, but the Bijou has
a good location near campus and
near downtown.
She said the Bijou is not the only
theater that has been struggling
lately. Films just have not been as
good this year, she said, and it’s be
coming much more expensive to
bring movies into any theater.
“The box office is way down
compared to amazing growth in
past years,” she said.
But Wadsworth said she would
like to see the Bijou maintain its
business.
“The loss of the only art-house
theater in this community would
be a terrible loss,” she said.
Now, Lamont is forced to revamp
some details of his business. In an
effort to increase his revenue, he is
decreasing his expenses and asking
for volunteers to work as little as an
hour a night, three times a week, to
fill portions of some shifts. Anyone
interested should contact him at
343-8313.
As far as his business is con
cerned, Lamont has faith that he
can make it succeed.
“The Bijou’s been here for 20
years now,” he said. “And I’m go
ing to do everything possible to
keep it a Eugene tradition — to
show the alternative movies we
show for at least another 20 vears.”
-ROBINSON
Theatre
2000-01
SEASON
UTs Freedom Pack Vouchers
Set YdU FREE!
yAien
She Stoops to Conquer
by Oliver Goldsmith
November3,4; 9,10,11,12;
17,18
Dancing at Lughnasa
by Brian Friel
January 26,27;
February 1,2,3,4; 9,10
A Robinson Theatre Production
FREE PARKING
Electra
by Sophocles
April 13,14; 19,20,21,22;
27,28
Angels in America
A Gay Fantasia on
National Themes
Part I: Millennium
Approaches
by Tony Kushner
May 25,26; 31,
June 1,2,3; 8,9
Evening shows at 8:00P.M. • Sunday matinees at 2:00P.M.
UO Ticket Office 346-4363
University of Oregon
• Information 346-4190
ITALIAN RESTAURANT and NIGHTCLUB
(on the corner of Franklin & Hilyard)
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Eugene, OR 97401 • 344-6673
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