Oct 15: Rocky Horror at the Soo Theatre

Just in time to get you into the Halloween spirit, the Soo Theatre Project will be showing the cult classic movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. (Poster)

This 1975 British musical comedy film parodies science fiction and horror films. Still in limited release nearly 36 years after its premiere, it has the longest-running theatrical release in film history. This movie is about a newly engaged couple who have a flat tire and go to a nearby castle to ask for assistance. Little do they know that they have stumbled upon a crazy household of aliens who are involved in some very odd situations and creations.

The movie will be shown at the Soo Theatre for one night only, Saturday, October 15th at 11pm. The box office will open at 10pm. Audience participation kits will be available for purchase prior to the movie.

Tickets are just $10 and will be available at the door. For more information, call the Soo Theatre at 906-632-1930.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is rated R – Restricted – Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian.

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Check the Soo Theatre Project website at sootheatre.org and like us on Facebook - Soo Theatre Project, Inc.

Show Cancellation

The Soo Theatre Project regretfully announces the cancellation of the Rocky Horror Picture Show which was scheduled for October 8^th and 9^th.

We apologize for any inconvenience and disappointment caused by the cancellation and look forward to offering this show again next year.

Ice Age: The Story Behind the Story (from the Writer Michael J. Wilson)

Ice Age plays at the Soo Theatre this weekend as follows: Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, November 21 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, November 22 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for everyone. More details (a plot summary and movie trailer) from the Soo Theatre website.

Editor’s Note: When we found out that Michael J. Wilson, the writer of the Ice Age story, is the son-in-law of Soo Theatre Board members Mary and Al McKay, we asked him for a little background on his experience. Here’s what he sent us.

Ice Age began as a two-word idea that 20th Century Fox wanted to develop. Many writers went in and pitched on these two words. Pitched characters. Pitched story. Pitched anything and everything to get the job. This is what you call a "bake-off" in Hollywood. The good news is, you are "approved" to come in and pitch. Not just anybody can enter the bake-off. The bad news is, they don’t pay you for the work you bring in for the pitch. So, for all the time you spend preparing the pitch -- it’s a risk. You could end up with nothing! I spent two weeks researching the Ice Age. I discovered that for a brief period of time Neanderthal man and mammoths co-existed. The Neanderthals used the mammoth skin and bones and fur for everything. Shelter. Soup. Jewelry. Blankets. Weapons. You name it! Nothing was wasted. I came up with a central conflict. What if a mammoth saved a Neanderthal baby's life? What if this is the one mammoth a Neanderthal can't kill -- because he owes the mammoth big-time?

My three-year-old daughter helped me with the pitch. She came up with a character in Ice Age that is a combination of a squirrel and a rat. She called him Scrat. "What does Scrat want?" I asked Flora. "Dad. Hello? Scrat wants the acorn." Wow! So simple. I have been forever in Flora's debt and creative shadow ever since.

Speaking of my daughter Flora, at this period in time I was telling stories in her class every week. So, as I was writing the Ice Age script, I would pitch out ideas and characters and her class would help me write it. One day I was stumped. "What does Diego want?" I asked the class. (Diego is the saber-tooth tiger). One kid named Willie raised his hand. "Diego wants to EAT the baby!" he proclaimed loudly. Thus began the thread behind the story of Diego, and how he had a secret agenda, and was leading Manfred (the mammoth) and Sid (the sloth) and Roshan (the baby) into a TRAP! Thank you, Willie.

I used to follow Willie to his mom's car and ask him question after question about my script. I thought he was a genius. He eventually moved away. I was very sad. (I was also asking him questions about my life. He was three. He was very wise.)

The studio did not want Roshan's mother to die in Act 1. This was a big fight. They were afraid it was too scary and downbeat for little children. I pointed out many characters in many classic fairy tales and movies die. They insisted I let her live. But it did not work dramatically. I wanted Manfred to see her die so we would buy that he would take on little baby Roshan's plight. I won that fight -- but it took three months. Finally we compromised. I got to kill the mom. But it was a cutaway. One moment she was in the water pleading for Manfred to take care of her baby. When we cut back to her moments later -- she was gone. Drowned. It was very effective. I am so glad I won this fight! Studios are so afraid of scaring little kids. When I was four, I saw The Wizard of Oz. It was terrifying! I loved it! Can you imagine The Wizard of Oz without those flying monkeys? Or without the Wicked Witch trying to kill Dorothy?

The best thing about creating the story for Ice Age and writing the script was that it took three years. It was so much fun! But eventually I got very burned out. Animation takes a long time. The rewriting is insane. They wanted me to move to New York where the animation was being done and keep working on it. But I had family obligations in California and couldn't go. Other writers were brought in. They created the dodo birds sequence which I love. They also added some other characters—some of which ultimately were cut from the finished film—and they did a lot of work and had a lot of fun with Scrat. They all did a great job.

The theme for Ice Age is simple. Stick with the herd. At the beginning Manfred is a broken lost soul with no family. By the end he has integrated lovingly and successfully with Roshan and Diego and Sid. They are his "herd". I was very proud of Manfred's character. Especially the scene where he looks at drawings on the wall and remembers what happened to his family. The animation work on this scene is amazing. His face. His eyes. This is some of the best animation I have ever seen. Not a lot of noisy crazy graphics. Just pure simple emotion.

I was asked to work on the other Ice Age movies but declined. You can't top that first one! I didn't want to try. The other movies are wonderful and very funny. But I love the emotion and the creation of the characters in the first one.

Back by Popular Demand! Movies at the Soo Theatre!

Since more than 400 people attended The Rocky Horror Picture Show on October 17, we decided to bring you more of what you've been asking for: movies at the Soo Theatre!

For five weekends from Halloween through Thanksgiving, the Soo Theatre Project will present some movie classics on the big screen to celebrate the season at an affordable price. Admission is just $5. Want to know more about a movie? Check the Movies at the Soo Theatre page on our website at sootheatre.org for links to movie trailers.

Oct 31-Nov 1 Young Frankenstein
Halloween Weekend
Saturday, October 31 (Halloween night) at 10 p.m.
Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for everyone

Mel Brooks' monstrously crazy tribute to Mary Shelley's classic pokes hilarious fun at just about every Frankenstein movie ever made. Summoned by a will to his late grandfather's castle in Transylvania, young Dr. Frankenstein (pronounced "Fron-ken-steen") (Gene Wilder) soon discovers the scientist's step-by-step manual explaining how to bring a corpse to life. Assisted by the hunchback Igor (Marty Feldman) and the curvaceous Inga (Teri Garr), he creates a monster (Peter Boyle) who only wants to be loved. With Cloris Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr. 1974, PG. Movie trailer

Nov 6-8 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
Friday, November 6 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 7 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 8 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for everyone

Glamorous showgirls Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell set sail for Paris on a luxury liner with the goal of landing some eligible millionaires in the lively musical comedy based on Anita Loos’ play. With Charles Coburn, Tommy Noonan, and Monroe’s legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” number. 1953, Not Rated. Movie trailer

Nov 13-15 The Princess Bride
Friday, November 13 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 14 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 15 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for everyone

This fun fantasy for the family from Rob Reiner follows the fairy tale quest of a young swashbuckler to rescue the title heroine from the evil machinations of her husband-to-be, a wily prince. Robin Wright and Cary Elwes are the young lovers; Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Andre the Giant, and Peter Falk also star. 1987, PG. Movie trailer

Nov 20-22 Ice Age
Friday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 21 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 22 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for everyone

They came... they thawed... they conquered the hearts of audiences everywhere in the coolest animated adventure of all time! Heading south to avoid a bad case of global frostbite, a group of migrating misfit creatures—woolly mammoth Manfred (voiced by Ray Romano), ground sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) and saber-toothed tiger Diego (Denis Leary)—embark on a hilarious quest to reunite a human baby with his tribe. 2002, PG. Movie trailer

Nov 28-29 Miracle on 34th Street (1947 Original)
Thanksgiving Weekend
Saturday, November 28 at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 29 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $5 for everyone

This perennial holiday film classic relates the tale of “Kris Kringle,” a Macy’s department store Santa Claus claiming to be the real thing—much to the dismay of a no-nonsense store executive (Maureen O’Hara) who is raising her daughter (Natalie Wood) not to believe in fantasy. But when Kringle (Edmund Gwenn, in an Academy Award-winning performance) is declared insane, a good-hearted lawyer (John Payne) fights to prove that the man is truly jolly old St. Nicholas as young and old alike face the age-old question: Do you believe in Santa Claus? 1947, Not Rated. Movie ad

And finally…

Don’t forget, the Soo Theatre’s Haunted Hall will be open on Friday, October 30, during the 16th Annual Fall Festival, Safe Trick or Treating from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Hosted by the Sault Ste. Marie Downtown Business Association, the festival also includes free hayrides and a children’s carnival, winding up with a kid’s costume contest at Avery Square at 7:00 p.m. You’ll have a great time at the Haunted Hall, so make sure to stop by and enjoy this free event!

The Soo Theatre Project is located at 534 Ashmun Street in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 49783. For further information, call the theatre at (906) 632-1930 or visit our website at www.sootheatre.org. Come, join, and support the Soo Theatre Project! With your help we can continue to improve your theatre experience!