2012… the year it all comes to an end.
After biting off a little more than I could chew with the 2011 Year End Review, I decided to take a little break from writing and enjoy the holidays. Well, 2012 is now well upon us and my scribbling holiday has come to an end. We’re playing around with the posting format for the site a little and will try to structure a monthly post to serve as a new release calendar and rental guide. Stay tuned on that front.
Happenings…. Our good friends at Black Dog decided to ramp down operations just prior to Christmas. Skyrocketing rent costs and diverging career interests were at the heart of the decision. On the upside, we ended up with one of Black Dog’s best assets, Farah B, who started at the west end a week or so back. Our best wishes to all the Black Doggers in their future endeavors. On another down note, Tinto’s, a couple of doors up from the FBW, closed rather suddenly around Christmas and the dreaded “For Lease” sign is now in the window. It begs the question whether a business model that includes customers who order a single cup of coffee and then sit for 5 hours using somebody else’s WiFi connection is a sustainable one. I’ve got my doubts.
The release highlights for early 2012 include Moneyball, Drive, 50/50, Season 1 of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire (finally), Ides of March, Julie Taymor’s The Tempest, A little indie called Toast, and a few others. We’re in the middle of the 2nd season of the Danish series The Killing, which unfortunately is only available in the PAL format currently. It’s terrific and it’s North American release can’t be far off.
We’re working on updating our rental system to roll out the rental subscription model we trial ran in the fall. I’ll post on that when we get closer and include an info handout at the counters to outline how it will work. Stay tuned.
Scott