Joe Masher – Coming Home Again

Joe Masher – Coming Home Again – by Liam Sweeny.

Joe Masher stopped by the Radioradiox station for a chat. Joe owns Scene One Entertainment, formerly known as Bow Tie Management. He recently bought Spectrum Theater on Delaware Avenue in Albany, and Huck Finn’s Playland in Albany’s warehouse district.

RRX: Okay, so first question, I want to make sure I have everything right. I read the Chris Churchill article in the Times Union. Have you bought Spectrum and Huck Finn’s Playland, or are you in the process?

JM: I own both businesses, and I’m in the process of acquiring both properties.

RRX: I think there’s something pressing right now.  A few days ago, an ESPN commentator said, “Good luck trying to find something to do in Albany.” And here you are, you’re going to be bringing Spectrum and Huck Finn’s Playland back. So it’s weird how we’re getting there, getting better, but a lot of people in this area were kinda’ agreeing with her, saying that there’s nothing to do in Albany. Do you think there is anything Albany can do to counter that?

JM: I think there is plenty to do in Albany if you look for it. Central Avenue, if you saw the Chris Churchill article on that, so many years ago it was a hub of activity. The Westgate shopping center, and then beyond that to Colonie and everything, but downtown; there are quite a few restaurants down there now, quite a few interesting places. I had dinner the other night for the very first time at Café Capriccio, which I’ve never been to before. So that was pretty cool. But the Delaware Avenue neighborhood is great, I mean the only thing missing was Spectrum. And that’s not a testament to moviegoing, that’s a testament to a corporation running a theater a corporation shouldn’t be running.

RRX: So speaking of Spectrum, it’s been iconic; it isn’t just a standard movie theater. Trendy movies, artistic movies, all of these different kind of movies used to play, and the kind of people that go in there were people who were looking for a little adventure, something they couldn’t get in a major theater. When Spectrum comes online, you’re going to have those people that are going to want a specific kind of experience, and you’re also going to be wanting to get new people. What will you focus on when you bring in new people, and how do you balance keeping the older people happy while still being able to draw new people?

JM: So that’s actually an easy one. I was one of the “new people” back in 1981, I think? I went to the Third Street Theater, which was Spectrum’s predecessor. And I saw a movie that changed my whole moviegoing habits and experience and my love for film. It was John Waters’ Polyester, with scratch-and-sniff cards. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I liked it so much I went back the next two days, because they were only playing it Friday through Sunday. And then they opened Spectrum.

I’ve always been interested in old theaters. I went the very first week they were open. That was before they twinned the theater into Spectrum 1 and 2. That was really exciting. So I think that it’s about bringing back that sort of moviegoing that creates people who want to experience that kind of moviegoing. It’s creating the next generation of film lovers who want to see those independent, foreign movies that don’t play in the multiplexes or in my other theaters, frankly. So we are going to keep doing all those independent movies. We’re bringing back more than what the last operator was doing. And I’m not disparaging anything about the last operator. They had a lot of overhead to cover. And they are good operators, but Spectrum was a unique baby. So I want to bring back Spectrum to what it was.

On day one, we’ll have the baked goods, the famous mint brownies coming back. I’m actually ready to pick up the secret recipe. That’s going to happen at 2 pm today. We’ll have the calendars, the calendars they used to publish that told people what the movies were, what was coming up and what they were about. Because these are movies that you don’t see advertised on TV or hear about them anywhere else. Maybe online if you are in tune with groups or whatever, but you know, you have to cultivate your audience. You cultivate people’s love for those movies and get them to come back.

That’s the problem; they’ve played things like Wonka, and any of the Marvel movies. It’s a tough balance because I wouldn’t play Captain Marvel there because it won’t do any business, but I’d play Wonder Woman and Black Panther because they would do business there. It’s a game; it’s a shell game you play. We’re also going to do a lot of fun stuff that never happened there before. We applied for a liquor permit, so we’ll have a beer, wine, and cider license. So we’ll feature a lot of New York things, including Nine Pin Cider, and Saturday and Sunday mornings, we’ll show a classic film with “Movies and Mimosas” and have a classic movies on the screen. So it’s like brunch at the movies or a cinema church, if you will, on Sunday mornings. We’re also going to do things like “secret cinema club.” Starting on Monday nights, it’ll be, I think, a five dollar admission for this one particular event. And you’ll see a new movie coming out that you don’t know what you’re going to see. And because it’s five dollars, if you don’t like it, you can walk out. You might love it and talk about it. And we’re not going to show any schlocky things. They’re normal movies that are going to be coming out.

That balancing act is difficult because what happened pre-pandemic even to independent film is that those independent filmmakers realized they can make more money selling their movie to a streamer right away, than releasing it theatrically, spending money on advertising and marketing and everything else. It’s just a way for them to recoup their budget and make a little bit of money and go on to the next project. That’s been easy for them, so we at the National Association of Theater Owners (I’m the president of the New York branch of that, and the Treasurer of the national body,) we are constantly meeting with filmmakers and distributors and everything and telling them how important and profitable a theatrical release can be for them. It’s a final part of the process of moviemaking.

RRX: We interviewed Laurent Rejto of the Hudson Valley Film Commission. We talked about local, independent filmmakers, and what they have to navigate through. And I’m talking about really low-budget stuff that may not even make it to streaming. Does a theater like Spectrum have something to offer them?

JM: A thousand percent yes. Since the articles cam out about my acquisition of Spectrum, I’ve been approached I can’t tell you how many times by people who have made films locally or even nationally, I’ve had Zeitgeist Releasing reach out to me and say “hey, this movie is perfect for Spectrum. Can we date it there, and all that stuff and I’m sending it all through my film buyer right now, but yes, we do have a local premier booked right now. That’s in June.

RRX: One thing I was curious about Spectrum, being that it’s an old theater, being that it’s that really iconic theater, you just got the keys. You just saw it in a way you never did before. Now you’re in the backrooms, now you’re all over the place. Can you tell us something about Spectrum that nobody would know except you at this point?

JM: The original auditorium of Spectrum, it was a single theater called The Delaware, built in the 40s, and was run by the Warner Brothers, it was a Warner Brothers theater, they owned it and operated it for many years. When the group that owned Third Street bought Spectrum, the current owners of the building, the started with a single, then they twinned it, so theaters 3 and 4 are the original Delaware Theater. So if you look up, you’ll see the Art Deco ceiling, cool little trims and stuff like that in there that is still visible. To the left of the original theater, they added on two more screens back in the late eighties and throughout the nineties added four more on the other side of the building.

Something really cool about it is that it has a solar farm on the roof and it produces more energy than it uses. I don’t know what the exact name for that is. So the theater sells power back to National Grid. That’s very good because utility bills can kil you, I know from my other theaters. I want to put solar panels on the roofs of those as well.

That’s one really cool thing about it. Another really cool thing is that, I always find it interesting that a big old theater with that many seats, the bathroom is so woefully inadequate. The original ladies room has two stalls. That’s still in use, but there are actually six bathrooms now. But the original ladies’ room had only two stalls and the men’s room only had two stalls and two urinals. So I can’t imagine a crowd at the end of a show all having to use the bathroom.

Let’s see, other little secrets, the original candy case from The Delaware is still in use. That’s pretty cool. The theater also has two auditoriums that are capable of showing 35mm film. So they’re digital and 35mm side by side. When Christopher Nolan comes out with his next movie and he wants to shoot it in 35mm, we’ll be the only theater in the area, I believe, that can play it on a regular run.

RRX: Let’s hop over to Huck Finn’s Playland. The last time I was at Huck Finn’s Playland, it was Hoffman’s Playland, and it moved over. So you bought Spectrum, you’re in the business of theater, but then you go and buy Huck Finn’s Playland. Was there a connection between buying the two places?

JM: You know, that’s why I changed the name of the company to Scene One Entertainment moreso than Theaters and Cinemas, because the synergies between them are great. We can co-promote at either property. Kid has a birthday in the park, we can get them a free movie ticket. Have a birthday party at the theater and they can get ride tickets. It’s a comingling of things like that. The park, I don’t want to say it was in danger again; it wasn’t. But the owners that saved it ten years ago when Hoffman’s were going to auction it off, they saved and moved it. They closed their furniture store and consolidated it down in the building next store and the warehouse is now a big apartment building thart has a smaller furniture store in there which is still gigantic. And it’s a great store, Huck Finn’s Home. They just weren’t interested in operating the rides anymore. I told them my history with the place; as a kid that was the first Ferris wheel I ever rode, that little baby Ferris Wheel. Scared the heck out of me when I was four years old.

It’s amazing that those rides are still operating now. This is going to be the 72^nd year – none of the rides are seventy-two years old. I think the park had a different train, something else, but most of the rides are from the fifties. And they’re still operating thanks to one guy that’s maintained them for thirty-five years. The park is so well maintained that New York State brings other parks in to see how a ride should be maintained. You know, training employees and having ride maintenance logs, etcetera. But I have to give credit to the one guy who’s been there thirty-five years. His name’s Dave Matthews, believe it or not.

RRX: Okay, so, Spectrum, Huck Finn’s Playland, they’re up and running, they’re making money… What’s your unicorn? What’s the thing you really want to get but may be very difficult to get?

JM: I don’t think it’s going to be so difficult. When the opportunity is right, I want a drive-in. I’d love a drive-in. That would complete my [inaudible].

RRX: What’s the nearest drive-in? I don’t remember what the nearest drive-in is.

JM: Oh, there are plenty of them in the area. We have The Jericho just south of Albany on 9W, Troy has The Hollywood, on 66 going towards Averill Park. Malta, Route 9, just south or Saratoga. There is one in Hoosick Falls. There’s a really cool one. A couple bought a drive-in down in Greenville. And they show repertory movies. They’ve put in a beer garden. So they have a really cool outdoor beer garden and they theme the drinks to the movies they show. So when they show The Big Lebowski, they serve a White Russian. They do pretty good things like that. And not taking credit, but we fought ten long, hard years to get alcohol allowed in traditional movie theaters. So that was a big fight. Because of that, this drive-in can open and operate.

RRX: So you’ve gone through the process of bringing something to Albany, resuscitating, if you will, two places that bring something to the city that can entertain people. How was your reception with the city? And what do you think can be done for people like yourself to help get shuttered buildings back to life?

JM: The mayor’s been very cooperative. She took a meeting with me, I’ve discussed the situation with both businesses with her. She gave me some suggestions on what to do, who to talk to. She was very helpful. I think that the city had a big wakeup call with the NCAA ESPN commentator. I think that a lot of feelings were hurt. There are people doing a lot of great things in Albany. And they deserve more recognition, so that could be a wakeup call for the city itself. How can we promote ourselves better? How can we do this better or that better? I think in this environment, it’s self-promotion, that’s going to be the key.

RRX: Albany has a cabaret law, which, I’m not extremely knowledgeable about, but I know it affects entertainment. Does it affect what you’re doing?

JM: I don’t have much experience with that. Right now, movie theaters can apply for a tavern license, which is beer, wine, and cider. And we are in the state legislature right now. We know we have the votes in the Assembly, we’re hoping that the bill gets brought up into both houses, and in both chambers, and that will allow full alcohol in movie theaters. So that’s what we’re working on. Cabaret more responds to live music, dancing and stuff like that. I do have to look into that, though, because I’m planning a lot of fun things in the park that never happened before, like kids’ karaoke. Does that get affected by Cabaret law? We have to check that out before we do our first event. We have a bubble party first Saturday of the month, a lady is going to come and blow bubbles all over the park. Just a lot of things that never really happened before. We’re doing a summer kids’ reading program with libraries. I’m trying to get this up and running for July and August, where we’ll reward kids for reading over the summer.

RRX: Let me give you the last word. Anything you want to say to everybody.

JM: Sure. I get these projects out of my “you can’t go home again” experience that I’m having. I’ve moved back to the area, I moved out in 1990 for work, moved back last November. So I’m home again, and I would just hope that people support these businesses. I’m not looking to get rich. I just don’t want to see Playland close, I don’t want to see Spectrum go away. That will be detrimental to the area. Both of those things are institutions. Don’t be afraid of the warehouse district in Albany. It’s really cool, bring your kids down. We will have plenty of shade, I know that’s a major complaint about the park that it’s sunny down there and not a lot of trees. We’re working on putting in a misting station, things like that. So there will be plenty of shade, plenty of cooling down. And I just ask that you support the businesses, that’s all.

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