It's been four years now since Squamish could finally stop saying, "We don't even have a movie theatre." And in those four years we've enjoyed the least expensive first run theatre in the province. Now, like any Squamish establishment, there are local's secrets, and I'm here to give you the skinny as heard directly from the top.Since the first brick was laid, Andrew Noaro has been on the ground as the General Manager of the mighty Garibaldi 5 Cinema, and he was more than eager to answer some questions. The first is obvious: who the heck picks the movies?Everyone knows it's tough enough to rent a video for a couple friends, but picking movies for 15,000 people? Good luck. So it's with no surprise the first thing Noaro wants everyone to know is he doesn't pick the movies. "People don't realize just how much wheeling and dealing goes on when a film is distributed," he said. "If a phenomenal film has a limited release, there is almost no way for us to get it unless it's late in the run. Then if we want a big name film, the distributor forces us to take a bunch of 'other' films in the deal. That said, if there is a film anyone wants us to bring in, by all means let me know and I'll do what I can." As any business, Garibaldi 5 makes many decisions by the numbers, and that brings us to Noaro's first tip: "If we get a film you want to see, go right away because if not enough people show the first week, quite often it won't last a second week."As for when to see a movie? As we all know, you're better off trying to stop the earth's rotation than trying to quiet a tightly packed room of teenagers. "For the most part, one must accept that teens generally have the run of the place on Friday and Saturday night," said Noaro. "And for some movies a lively bunch is the best way to go. But if you want peace and quiet you have your pick of anytime from Sunday afternoon until Thursday to enjoy yourself."Now here's my favorite tip: Bring your own butter. "It's tragic" Noaro admits. "As a business it's simply unmanageable to sell real butter for the popcorn. Many already do, and everyone should feel free to bring melted butter as the staff will gladly put it on your popcorn." I tried it, and it's great (especially with a dash of Worcestershire sauce). I was actually surprised just how long butter can remain melted. Lastly, most people don't know that anyone can rent the theatre out. You can literally show any movie or play any video game for any occasion, dirt cheap. One thing is for sure, this is our local theatre and Noaro is more than happy to hear comments, just drop him a line. Oh. Shhhh, the movie's starting - happy viewing.
