Sunday, September 02, 2007

For the record, 'Brokeback Mountain' never played in Springhill

Chris Jay and I filed a story on the Spring Theatre in Springhill for today's paper. Online, you'll find an audio slide show featuring photography by Shane Bevel.

The New York Times took a recent look at the last days of a drive-in in Buffalo, N.Y. Click here to read that story.

Not that we were looking for controversy, but Chris and I stumbled upon a funny anecdote. Since its opening in Sept. 2002, the Spring Theatre has only once been the center of a Springhill ideological battle, according to owner Adam Harris.

A preacher supposedly blabbed to the local newspaper that the theater was planning on showing "Brokeback Mountain," the love story about two gay cowboys. (You saw it.) Harris received all kinds of letters from his supporters, questioning whether he should show it.

It turned out that the preacher never asked Harris if the Spring Theatre was actually going to play it. He just assumed. Harris said, "Nope." Never considered it. A couple years removed from the fury, Harris finds the story amusing. Not sure if Harris and the preacher have reconciled, though.

Incidentally, one of the theater's best performers ever was "Open Range," a gunslinger action flick with Kevin Costner.

PHOTO: Dustin Owen serves up snacks at the concession stand at the Spring Theatre in Springhill, La. Shane Bevel/The Times.

3 comments:

pj said...

This is the woman formally known as Chris Jays' mother. You can address me now as "Backroads Biker Babe". (Yeah, the kids are grown and gone, let the party begin!!)Poor little Chris with the oh, so strict Mother!!! Ask him sometime about his party he through for himself( HIS SOPHMORE YEAR) and any one else from 13(for females) and 35(if you were male). Picture this: Both lanes of our country mile road were blocked to oncoming traffic til, lets say midnite or so.. I still have pictures of a refigerator full of nothin but Ole English -40 oz's. Ask him about "Tiffany" the beautiful "Senior girl" he went to prom with when he was a FRESHMAN... poor little "G-rated" Chris and his strict Christian upbringing!!! Don't be fooled I'm smart I have pictures!!! He wasn't old enough to get a Drivers License... Because he was 12! We got him a Honda Accord his Junior year! What movies were you watching then, CHRIS??? ps I think I still got some on VHS in cabinet under TV....I'll hold them too, for evidence..ps watch what you say..I'm computer literate, no matter what Chris has said.

Unknown said...

Is the accompanying article online or only in the paper. I know this is obvious, but I can't find it on the absolutely inaccessible, completely unusable ShreveportTimes.com

Alexandyr Kent said...

The link is here.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070910/LIVING/70910017/1004/LIVING