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How to get Tim League, the founder of the famously strict Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chains, to allow phones and chatter during a screening? Metro Private Cinema, his upcoming venture in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, is the unique, if pricey, solution.
Opening sometime this summer (late August or early September is the current target), the 20-screen complex will allow cinephiles to rent plush screening rooms for groups of four to 20 people. Each four-hour booking includes a pre-movie dinner and your pick of flick.
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Recent releases are prioritized, with a rotating selection of classics (all-timers like Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and off-beat ones, like Donnie Darko and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, are first on the slate) available. Want to screen an even deeper cut? Metro will find it for you, for an extra fee.
Speaking of fees, experiences range from $200, for the smallest room, to $1,000 for the 20-count. Meals are $100 per person with alcoholic drinks upping the bill an extra $50 or more.
But League maintains this is a way to eventize moviegoing at a time when the practice is in peril of disappearing, and when social media is filled with complaints about bad behavior, service and quality at most multiplexes.
On par with Alamo’s creative upscale cuisine, menus will be seasonal, and some films will get their unique culinary adventures. (Look out for special Paddington 2 and Goodfellas menus, and Les Blank’s 1980 documentary, Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers, will have a particularly pungent pairing.)
And, from the looks of the theater's website, rooms will have vibe-setting features like vinyl record players and a variety of seating options, for those who prefer a spine-correcting stool over a comfy couch.
Stationed near many of New York’s most accessible subway lines, this first iteration will serve as a pilot for future Metro Private Cinemas.
Alamo might not allow speaking or phone use, but League told The Hollywood Reporter, with some cheek: “You can text, as much as it pains me to say it. You can talk. It’s just you’re a worse person if you do.”