The Case So Far

There's a picture house on The Boulevard -- it's sleek, sexy, and seductive. It shows old classics, new independent cinema, and some flicks that just don't fit into any category. But it languishes in obscurity on the shadowy streets because not enough people know it exists. It has a faithful following of filmgoers who love the darkness of an intimate micro-cinema. But too often seats go empty and that's a crime.

Here's the lowdown: Take a look at our little cinema and what do you see? That's right, nothing that screams out it's a place where  guys and dolls can come and watch a movie. Most of the folks on the block don't know what it is. How's a picture house supposed to get suckers in the seats when passersby can't even figure out what it is? 

We're behind the eight ball and we need to take action or this beauty could face the big sleep. Circumstantial evidence points to one thing: this place needs a marquee, a nice one with some neon to give a tawdry glow to the night, youse all know what I mean, right? Dames and gumshoes need to know what's coming to 'em, when it's coming, and how they can let it knock their socks off without having to give someone the third degree to get the scoop!

The Verdict

We, The Film Geeks at The Digital Gym Cinema, have decided that our only course of action is to stage a lock in. Remember how you used to sponsor kids in jogathons or those dance marathons like in "They Shoot Horses Don't They"? Well that's us and now you can sponsor a Film Geek in a 24-Hour NoirAThon! 

So for 24 hours starting in the wee hours of July 3 we will be locked in our micro cinema watching nothing but TCM's Summer of Darkness -- a 24-Hour NoirAThon! We will be live Tweeting through 14 films noir, with a special perk tailored to each film. And of course we will be leaning on youse all to be our butter and egg men, ya know to cough up the cabbage... the mazuma,,, the dough to get us a marquee. 

The Sweet Smell of Success 

We know we're aiming high and the streets we're traveling are long and dark but there is a light. As added incentive to get you to donate, TCM has offered to match funds. That means TCM will match your contribution dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. So if you contribute to our campaign each dollar you give will be worth twice as much (until we hit the $5000 goal) and that means we can put the additional funds toward programming expenses and other improvements in the theater like getting DCP projection. This is a huge show of support from TCM and to show our thanks to you and to them, everyone who donates during the matching funds part of the campaign will receive an exclusive TCM Summer of Darkness button.

Amicus Curiae (Friends of the Court)

Thanks to our food and drink sponsors Bread and Cie, Trails Eatery, Pizzeria Luigi's, and Lightning Brewery, who are making sure we never leave the theater during our 24 hour NoirAThon lock in. 

What We Need & What You Get

• This is a pledge drive to raise $5000 to get our only truly independent cinema a new marquee so it looks like an authentic picture house. This includes permitting, electrical wiring, neon, and marquee to list the titles of what's playing. This not only helps the city of San Diego maintain a home for truly independent, fringe, educational, and arthouse cinema, but it provides an exhibition center for creators and filmmakers from around the globe to have a big screen exhibition in San Diego. 
• The meat of this pledge drive will focus on our 24 hours NoirAThon featuring 14 films streaming live in the TCM Summer of Darkness, starting at 3:30am, PST on July 3rd, until the following morning. 
• But you can pledge at any time this campaign is available! You might just want to watch along or check out our live Tweeting where we will be sharing noir trivia, hardboiled slang, and more.
• We were inspired by Turner Classic Movies's "Summer of Darkness" festival of films noir -- and the genre we love so dearly -- and we have come up with perk levels to match every one of the 14 films that are programmed on TCM during our July 3rd NoirAThon. 
• We are doing this for a marquee, yes, but we also have a real passion for film history and keeping these wonderful films noir alive for posterity and to introduce them to a new generation of fans. We think that TCM has been instrumental in this mission. TCM aims to share and celebrate the entire spectrum of film history, and we wholeheartedly take our cue from this message, and hope our actions here help in spreading an appreciation specifically for film noir just a little bit farther.

Risks & Challenges

Other Ways You Can Help

Have a blog or podcast? Tweet a lot? We need all kinds of enthusiasm behind this! We will be livetweeting all 14 films, ALL DAY AND NIGHT, on July 3rd - 4th with the hashtags #NoirSummer and #TCMParty. Let's make this the biggest global film livetweeting event EVER! If you are on the nut and can't afford to pledge some dough, then definitely lock in with us on social media. 

Share this campaign, post this on your blog, talk about it on your podcasts! This is not only for a marquee, this is for the love of cinema, for the love of films noir, for the love of Turner Classic Movies. This is for the true appreciation and perpetuation of film love!

Case Updates

Be watching for updates that will include videos and images highlighting the different film specific perks. We will also be inviting people in San Diego to join us in the darkness of our cinema to celebrate noir by stopping by for a pair of films that we will designate in an update. We'll even have free pizza and beer for ya. But that's just for you San Diego folks, most of the time we'll be in the cinema alone and hoping you'll be following along in social media.

Last Words

Please note,TCM is not one of the campaign organizers and is not responsible for fulfillment of any of the perks for this campaign.  Any questions regarding perks or fulfillment of perks should be directed to the campaign organizers. This campaign is run by The Film Geeks at the Digital Gym Cinema, a group of volunteer film enthusiasts working with the non-profit organization Media Arts Center San Diego (which runs the Digital Gym Cinema) to program and promote unique film programs. Thank you.