REIMAGINING THE DENIS: An Update from DTF President Jon Delano
Welcome to the second newsletter of your Denis Theatre Foundation (DTF) as we move to reimagine, reconnect, and revitalize plans to reopen The Denis Theatre in collaboration with Row House Cinema.
Eighteen months ago, the DTF Board, with several new members and leadership, opted for a new approach to the restoration of a theater in the heart of the South Hills. Rather than assume the task of constructing a film theater on its own, the DTF reached an agreement with Brian Mendelssohn, principal owner of Botero Development, the owner/operator of the highly successful Row House Cinema in Lawrenceville.
While we owe a great debt to the original DTF board members and early supporters for “saving” The Denis a decade ago, we concluded that the DTF did not have the capability to build and operate a theater by itself. We needed a partner with theater expertise to develop and manage The Denis of the future, a destination theater that will attract people from all over the region. That’s where Brian and his Row House team come in.
What will that new theater look like?
Please come to the Mt. Lebanon Public Library on Saturday, March 29th, at 10:00am to hear Brian Mendelssohn, Jon Delano, and others discuss the project at a public forum moderated by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and Mt. Lebanon resident Marylynne Pitz.
This strategic decision was the right decision to keep this project moving ahead. Brian has a growing commitment to the South Hills, having recently purchased the Hollywood Theater in Dormont. With the Hollywood’s unique programming and eclectic audience, he sees this as a complement to The Denis which will focus on first-run, foreign, and independent films, along with movies from the past. Brian hopes to reopen the Hollywood in late 2025.
Our next challenge is to continue to secure pledges in 2025 to start construction at The Denis. We have already obtained nearly $200,000 in pledges, and Brian has committed $750,000 for state-of-the-art equipment and pre-opening setup expenses at The Denis. Our goal is to secure individual pledges in 2025 totaling $1 million to $2 million. In the meantime, we need your donations for the cost of maintaining the building, whether $25, $100, or $250. Please click here and thank you for giving generously.
UPCOMING DENIS EVENTS
REBUILDING THE DENIS:
Reimagine, Reconnect, Revitalize!
Brian Mendelssohn joins DTF Board President Jon Delano for a public forum, moderated by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and Mt. Lebanon resident Marylynne Pitz, to update the community on plans to rebuild The Denis and re-establish the theater as not just a Mt. Lebanon landmark, but a Pittsburgh film destination.
Saturday, March 29 / 10:00am - Mt. Lebanon Public Library
MARCH "SPRING FORWARD" MOVIE PICKS
In keeping with the theme of this newsletter, this month we’re recommending a handful of movies featuring TIME TRAVEL to accompany your March “spring forward.” You’ve seen your Back to the Futures, Bill & Teds, and the Terminators… so we’d like to share four other films that might put a nice wrinkle in your time-space continuum.
Time After Time (1979) dir. Nicolas Meyer
Author and time-machine inventor H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) pursues Jack the Ripper (David Warner) from 19th century London to 1970s San Francisco. High-concept historical fiction time travelogue uses the fish-out-of-water premise to spotlight character and motivation rather than indulging in sci-fi silliness.
Somewhere in Time (1980) dir. Jeannot Szwarc
At the opening night of his first play a young writer (Christopher Reeve) meets an old lady who asks him to “come back” to her. He learns she’s a famous stage actress from the early 1900s. His obsession leads to method of time-travel self-hypnosis and a liaison in the past. Narrative simplicity creates an unusual, proximate intimacy between Reeve and Jane Seymour’s young actress. Zero time-travel rigamarole leaves narrative room for a timeless romance.
Les Visiteurs (1993) dir. Jean-Marie Poiré
Poorly remade in the U.S. as Just Visiting (2001), this French farce pits medieval knights against contemporary 20th century evils. As much a live action cartoon as a narrative film, Poiré’s film is 107 minutes of frenetic fantasy and charmingly chivalrous adventures.
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) dir. Colin Tevorrow
Magazine employees (Aubrey Plaza and Jake Johnson) head out to interview a guy who placed a classified ad seeking time travel companions. The time-travel device in this instance provides an excuse for eccentric characters to engage in comedic banter and stumble into earnest emotional connection.
Jay Patrick is a Mt. Lebanon-based syndicated writer of film and fiction and the host of the Cinema Shame Podcast (formerly produced by DVD Netflix and available wherever you get your podcasts) where guests watch, for the first time, a movie they really should have seen by now.
See more picks from Elaine and Jay at denistheatre.org/blog including Irish movies for St. Patrick’s Day.
FILM SCHOOL: THE JUMP CUT
In this space, we'll share and define terminology specific to film production and the film business. For our second Film School segment, we wanted to discuss a literal "spring forward."
Consider an editor’s techniques. It might not be top-of-mind while watching a film, but an editor has total control over the way a movie feels. An editor can prioritize continuity editing by making subtle cuts and hidden edits to maintain seamless forward progression. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s the sometimes-controversial JUMP CUT.
A jump cut is literally a leap forward in cinematic time. Whereas a traditional cut would transition to a new shot or a new angle (while maintaining the 30-degree editing rule), the jump cut is a broken single shot. It’s like a piece of footage has just been removed.
Let’s look at a few examples in action.
From the earliest days of cinema, filmmakers would use jump cuts to create early special effects. Characters and objects would appear or disappear, as if by magic. George Méliès’ A Trip to the Moon (1902) uses this technique several times, most memorably when the rocket ship lands on the face of the moon. (Just after the 6-minute mark, if you want to jump ahead.)
The following clip from Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) depicts Richie Tenenbaum’s (Luke Wilson) fragile mental state as he reinvents his reflection before the film transitions into a montage of juxtaposition. It’s a beautiful piece of editing that draws inspiration from music video techniques and early silent Soviet montage.
And now for something completely different… in Schindler’s List(1993), Steven Spielberg uses a series of jump cuts to denote the passage of time. His use of music and diegetic sound unifies the sequence. The jump cut permits the director a conservation of cinematic language to show Schindler (Liam Neeson) choosing a secretary by comparing their talents one after the other. The viewer understands the shots as the condensation of a long process into a short amount of time. It also allows for some comic relief created by the editing tempo.
And, finally, let’s look at perhaps the most famous jump cuts in the history of cinema from Jean-Luc Godard’s Breathless (1960).
Godard and editor Cécile Decugis used the jump cut in place of traditional editing. Godard’s not condensing a repeated sequence, disorienting, depicting a narratively relevant passage of time, or breaking down a fragile mental state. The Godard jump cut intends to reinforce the artificiality of the medium by jarring the viewer’s sense of expected editing rhythm. He’s marrying the image with the jazz soundtrack, likening filmmaking to improvisational technique—and he’s shortening the duration of long takes. Notice how he’s urging the conversation and the car ride forward, decreasing the time between scripted dialogue.
We mentioned that the jump cut has been somewhat controversial – it is denigrated for the very same reasons that its celebrated. Amateurish filmmaking might overuse the jump cut, perhaps out of necessity because a scene was poorly shot or staged. Overzealous film students have been abusing the Godardian jump cut to over-emphasize their art without connecting it to narrative utility. As with any specific stylistic choice, they’re best used in moderation and in the right context.
Help us reach our goal! Every donation brings us a step closer to opening the doors of The Denis and giving the South Hills access to a vibrant cultural center. Your gift is tax deductible and may also be eligible for a matching gift of up to 100% – be sure to ask your employer. There are a variety of other opportunities to support The Denis including bequests, stock gifts, and IRA-qualified charitable distributions. Contact us at info@denistheatre.org to learn more.