Cinema Detroit: Theater draws buzz in city — and beyond

Last fall, Cinema Detroit opened for business with a Halloween-themed double feature of "Night of the Living Dead," the mother of all zombie movies, and "Birth of the Living Dead," a documentary on the making of the 1968 horror classic.

"Only six or seven people showed up, but it was still cool," remembers Paula Guthat, cofounder of the year-old movie theater in Midtown Detroit.

A year later, Cinema Detroit is still alive and kicking. It regularly screens buzzed-about current movies like "Camp X-Ray," a drama starring Kristen Stewart as a Guantánamo Bay detention camp guard, and recently drew a sellout crowd to two "Rocky Horror Picture Show" screenings.

And Guthat, who is the programmer, booker, projectionist and promoter of the independent movie theater, is getting some national attention for her cinema devotion.

On Saturday, she'll appear on Turner Classic Movies network to help introduce 1951's "The Lemon Drop Kid," a Christmas-themed comedy starring Bob Hope that is part of an afternoon of fan favorites.

You might say Guthat is living the movie dream that's long been playing in her mind.

"I've wanted to do this since I was a teenager," says the former University of Detroit Mercy social media manager and marketing professional, who left the world of academia last year to jump with both feet into a new career.

How she got started

Let's flash back to Guthat growing up in Livonia, where she got her love of movies from her grandmother and aunt. She recalls spending time with them watching films like the 1939 Hollywood epic "Gone With the Wind," Douglas Sirk's 1959 operatic drama "Imitation of Life," Laurel and Hardy movies, and so on.

"I saw those when I was pretty young," she recalls. "It set me on this path."

Cut to her college days at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she met her husband, Tim Guthat. "We met when he was the entertainment editor of the college newspaper and I was a movie reviewer," she says.

Fast-forward to June 2013. The Free Press ran an article about Cass City Cinema stopping its screenings. The theater, located in the auditorium of the old Burton International School, was run by Joel Landy, who purchased the building in 2009. From 2009 to mid-2011, until a lease dispute ended things, that same space had been the home of a popular indie-film site, the Burton Theatre.

Tired of lugging chairs and projectors to different venues, the Guthats negotiated a lease with Landy over several months and opened Cinema Detroit in late October 2013, with Paula in the lead role and Tim, a former high school teacher, handling behind-the-scenes business.

According to Paula Guthat, it was a decision driven by a love of movies and a simple mission.

"We hope to attract people who have an open mind about film and are willing to take a chance on something that isn't 'Captain America,' isn't the latest Woody Allen movie and is something different, something that only we have," she says.

Open seven days a week (except for major holidays like Thanksgiving), Cinema Detroit has settled into its role of what she calls a truly independent cinema devoted to a quirky and quality mix of contemporary, indie, cult, genre and classic films.

There are two screening rooms in the unusual setting, which is best described as a scruffy mix of vintage school building and funky art house theater. The main auditorium holds about 125 people, while a downstairs room holds about 90.

The range of movies shown is not limited to "Artywood," or independent titles with Hollywood studio distribution. The lineup is largely determined by Guthat's eclectic taste, which includes a fondness for film noir and precode Hollywood movies as well as a wide swath of current films.

She finds it nearly impossible to whittle down her favorite films to two or three. Instead, she'll share numerous titles spanning the decades, from silent films like Buster Keaton's "Seven Chances" and Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" to the 1960s classic "Bonnie and Clyde" and the 1980s John Hughes essential "Pretty in Pink" to the 1990s indie standout "Lone Star."

Cinema Detroit has been the site of local events like a DVD release party for the Tiger Stadium documentary "Stealing Home" as well as in-person or Skype question-and-answer sessions with directors, like one held with Rola Nashef of "Detroit Unleaded."

This year, it also served as a venue for the Cinetopia International Film Festival, the expanding event programmed by a team that includes Russ Collins of Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater and Elliot Wilhelm from the Detroit Film Theatre.

It's a 24/7 job for Guthat, yet she has continued to be involved in her other film passion, cohosting TCM Party on Twitter. Essentially, it's a real-time conversation between TCM fans (via the Twitter account @TCM_Party) that happens during a specific movie.

TCM viewers can talk to each other anytime using the hashtag #TCMparty. But the TCM Party, which Guthat cofounded in 2011, happens weekly and offers fans knowledge and tidbits about specific titles. For a schedule of upcoming parties, go to TCMParty.tumblr.com.

The TCM Party twitter account has grown into an online community of 7,000 followers that reflects the network's hold on its fans.

"It's great when you're happy. It's great when you're sad. It's gotten people through unemployment and illness. There's something about it that's more than a network. I wouldn't be donating my time to any other channel," says Guthat.

In August, TCM asked Guthat to introduce a fan-favorite film around the Thanksgiving holidays. She taped a Skype interview with regular network host Ben Mankiewicz that will be broadcast at 2:30 p.m. Saturday on TCM.

Next year, she plans to attend her third TCM Classic Film Convention in Los Angeles. The only hurdle is figuring out who will handle all of the jobs she juggles at Cinema Detroit while she's gone.

"I'm really proud of the films we've shown. We have grown a bit ahead of where we expected to be. I think it's encouraging," says Guthat, adding that the theater just re-upped its lease for another year.

"We'll just keep going. We're not going anywhere."

Contact Julie Hinds: 313-222-6427 or jhinds@freepress.com.

'The Lemon Drop Kid'

Introduced by Paula Guthat of Cinema Detroit

2:30 p.m. Saturday

Airs on TCM (Turner Classic Movies)

Cinema Detroit movie showtimes

'The Way He Looks'

7:30 tonight; 8 p.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 5:30 p.m. Sunday

'Birdman'

7 and 9:30 tonight; 9:15 p.m. Friday; 9:15 p.m. Saturday; 7:15 p.m. Sunday

'Sundance Film Festival Animated Shorts'

7 p.m. Friday; 5 and 7 p.m. Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday

Cinema Detroit will be closed Thanksgiving day.

3420 Cass Ave. Detroit

For more information, call 313-281-8301 or go to CinemaDetroit.com.