It’s no secret that Malibu has a significant population of entertainment industry residents. What this means, however, is that the New Malibu Theater plays a vital role in film screenings for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members, whose votes determine who captures the coveted statuettes.
The local theater is a favorite among industry players both for its proximity and for its willingness to hold special screenings. For instance, Malibu resident and actor Ed Harris presented his directorial debut, “Pollack,” at the theater, and director Anthony Minghella appeared here for a question-and-answer session after a showing of his 1996 film, “The English Patient.” This year, the theater also held screenings for the Malibu Film Festival.
Aware of its unique relationship with the industry, the theater’s owner, Wallace Theaters Corp. of Portland, Ore., welcomes Academy screenings and reportedly spends more time evaluating films for Malibu than for the rest of its more than 70 theaters in 10 states.
“The Malibu Theater on average presents over 75 films per year,” said former theater manager, now theater owner, David L. Lyons, 39. “Rarely do we miss a quality film. On occasion, we present independent, foreign and documentary films. Distributors want their films at our theater because of the high concentration of industry residents and solid attendance, given the size of the town. Typically, we have [shown] every film that gets nominated, including foreign nominees.”
Exposure to the right film at the right time in Malibu may indeed impact Oscar voting, suggested Lyons, vice president of worldwide marketing and advertising for Wallace Theaters. With the 1999 Best Film winner, “Shakespeare in Love,” Lyons said he noticed “an unusually high number of Academy sign-ins for the film. I suspect that the balloting was extremely close [with ‘Private Ryan’]. It is likely that those who voted for Best Picture may have done so because it was available for viewing at our theater.”
Do distributors pressure the theater to run their films in Malibu? “I receive significant interest to book films at Christmas and in the month of January from all studios that feel their film has a shot at an Oscar,” said Lyons. “All of the emphasis with respect to getting a film booked is placed before the nominations are announced. Studios understand that getting the nomination is critical, and to do that, their films have to be seen in December and January.”
But competition among distributors to get their films booked at the prized theater is only part of the story. Industry heavyweights bring their own brand of pressure to bear as well.
“I remember one situation where a star who was also the director of a major Thanksgiving release peered into our lobby to see if her poster was on display,” Lyons recalled. “When she did not see it, she rushed into the lobby with her boxer and was very concerned. The next day the theater received an abundance of poster, trailers and cardboard displays.”