Straight to it

Ok, no more beating around the bush. Today's post is going to lay out what's been happening with the theater, plain and simple. No frills, no thrills, no Claritin pills - I'm just going to tell it how it is.

Why did you switch buildings?

The building we had originally planned on using (herein known as 425) needed a lot of work done, and at a considerable cost to Andrew and Doug. The most recent quotes for 425 were nearly $100,000 over what we were expecting. Had we stuck with that building, we would've been looking at a monthly lease of roughly $6,000. On top of that, due to the amount of money Andrew and Doug has invested into the project, they would own a large share of the Moxie as a business. To regain control of the business in totem, we would have had to gradually buy them out with monthly installments. Add those two costs together and you can see why 425 was looking less and less desirable as time went on.

So what sparked the change?

Andrew, his wife Ellen, and Doug took a trip up to Columbia to visit Ragtag Cinemacafe, which I described in detail in Monday's entry. After they saw how things worked at Ragtag, they realized we were overshooting our goal and we needed to scale it back a bit. So we abandoned 425 and hopped across the street to 408, which is already in excellent condition, from a construction/renovation stand-point.

Does 408 have a bank vault?

Yes. It used to be the Bank of Springfield once upon a time. It has a bank vault, complete with door.

Will you lock Nicole inside?

Yes.

So how does moving from 425 to 408 affect the project?

Well, not only are we seeing a drastic reduction in the amount of time and money needed to get the building ready for the theater, we're also benefiting from an across the board cut in risk and start-up capital. With 425, Nicole and I would've needed a loan for $75,000 or more to cover the equipment and interior design costs, but now we're looking more along the lines of $40,000 since we're going from two screens down to one.

How many screens will you have?

I just told you - one.

How can a single screen theater still be profitable in these days of modern multiplexes, electric cars, and disrespectful teenagers?

Luckily for us, our booking agent, and all-around go-to-guy, is Paul Sturtz, one of the original founders and current booking agent for Ragtag. Paul has plenty of experience dealing with distribution companies and negotiated deals where we'll be allowed to split product.

Huh?

In other words, we'll be able to show 2 movies on 1 screen on the same day. We can show one movie at 7:00 and a completely different one at 9:00, which will allow us to have a more diverse schedule, and, in turn, bring in more movie-goers.

Will you serve things like food and drink?

Yes. We'll serve both of those.

So what's next for Dan the Man?

I have to finish this post and do some "real" work. I'm starting to fall behind with some of my corporate chores.

But what do you have to do next in regards to the theater?

Um... right now the biggest thing is getting the business plan done. I've been bitching and moaning about the business plan from day one, mainly because I don't think it's as strong as it can be. In the end, I may have to set my perfectionism aside, swallow my pride, and let it ride.

You're quite the proficient rhymer?

Thanks.

After the business plan is complete, what then?

Well, I've given myself a tentative deadline for the business plan of October 8th. Nicole and I are taking our first, and most likely last, vacation from our real jobs on the 9th through the 17th. I don't want to have to worry about the business plan over our vacation, so I'm going to try my hardest to finish it before then.

That's not very far away
. Can you get it done in time?

I hope. I have to e-mail our insurance agent today and get a new quote for 408. I also have to contact our equipment vendor and get a new bid from him on a single screen theater.

Do you have to present your business plan to a bank?

No. We send it in, along with our loan application and a copy of our lease, to the SFDC (Springfield Finance & Development Corporation) for review. We met with the President of the SFDC board and the underwriter when we were down in June for the roundtable discussion on film in Springfield. They both seemed very enthusiastic about the project.

Did you watch Scrubs last night?

Yeah, it was hilarious!

What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Slash from Guns n' Roses.

Sweet.

This interview is over.