The Oak Street’s founders will explain the theater’s current situation and ask the public for support of their plan to take over the challenge of funding and operating the publicly owned theater, while staying true to the original vision of the Oak Street Cinema.

Dear Fans,
Nice to get all your feedback. Havent perused ALL info on site, but from what Ive read,Oak St. is sum of all its parts. Dont forget there was a U Film Society BEFORE there was an Oak St!! The merger failed to properly absorb a 40-yr.historyand the rest is history as they say.
(To comment properly(sic!)and I was therewould involve hiring a lawyer)..Before we are all history,let it be known that THE OAK ST. IS OPEN!, expects to remain open thru the intl fest(Apr.14-29) and thereafter, will do some rep house type programming,some foreign, some indep.whatever a minimal crazy fool staff can put together, and we also expect both our fairand foulweather friends to show upthe loyal bloggers(?)
(Where were you guys this weekend? We were in the Trib Movieguide Fri. prominently, to mention one media outlet& I dont subscribe to that capitlist rag are you saying to yourself??)
How about the Bell? Also. That venue is also considered now part of the Oak did you know? (as MnFilmArts rubric, a very unhappy moniker, in my book,it doesnt sing, as we used to say in the newspaper business, but who am I.It was a Cowgill &Co.name. Too late now to change? Not a household name, in most T.C.minds, is my thought.
Yes, the Oak is open. All of you now suppport people now please show your money where your collective mouths are, as the saying goes.
I would find it inexcusable if,for example, you failed to show for Illusive Tracks or Murder on the Stockholm Express due to open Fri.Feb.3, 7:30 p.m and to run at least a week.(Only a few ,.very few hands went up at the Sat.Oak gathering a wweek ago )(One of TOP five films in the last MStFF April Film Fest here. Not on DVD!! And wont be. Would I put this film in if I were not sure it will knock you on your ass!! Of course, audience members must be able to readsubtitlesbecause the original dialog is in Swedish. (Why should you see it? Not because you are nice people. Because it will lower your blood pressure; you will laugh.Im trying to give you a reason to see films on the BIG screen, beyond coming out of guilt or pity. Yeah, Rick Hanson and myself, and Adam in his lame duck role, and our noble board, which is committed to seeing this thing through with their cashI know, there are also noble skeptics out thereand Joe and his noble crew too  have some great flics coming up (see the web site after today). Only have some patience, until we can replace some key staff who quit. And if you feel so impelled, if you trust us (I know, why should you;
and if you then can say yes,why trust you by way of a rhetorical comment, please imagine what my riposte would surely be, re: the above), and we dont want your money out of kind generosity only, we are trying enlist GENUINE support for the sake of the film, not because of nostalgia alone( I cant believe you love the Oak alonenever mind the Bell at this point, if all except a few die-hard patrons, had failed to support us throughout the year. This is a hard financial fact!
As it is 5-plus A.M. and my bout of insomnia has waned, it is now and-so to bed. If you want to help with office duties ( it will abet keeping the Oak open, we need capable volunteers for postering, for answering phones,for helping with mailings, and some expertise on the computer for film fest data entry. Write Rick@mnfilmarts.org.
Your obedient servant Uncle Al Milgrom.

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: PARKING near the University of Minnesota!

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Value added above-and-beyond what Netflix provides

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Getting beyond the wildly romantic idea that the staff and board will set an agenda for the public viewing of film

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Improvng the cinema experience at Oak Street (AND Bell)

MUCH BIGGEER ISSUE: Advertising and marketing of film program

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Appealing to the members to grow their numbers, set managable and obtainable goals for a campaign to save MFA

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Seed and cultivate new revenue streams

MUCH BIGGER ISSUE: Have a plan for the future of MFA

email… come on, get real…

1. The University of Minnesota has become a cultural wasteland. It is a stop-off on a barren freeway of one-way exits and parking ramps. This is KILLING the Oak Street Cinema and Bell Auditorium. PARKING is an issue, assh*le…

2. The cinema must become a more highly curated cultural experience. Just a list of oddball and off beat films you cannot see in suburban multiplex and mini-art house-plexes, is not enough to drawn people out from behing their Netflex fed wide-screen, in home cinemas. Classical repetorie houses around the country are dying due to changes in technology, viewing habits, and cheap availability of DVD versions of films. The STAFF and the BOARD of MFA must look to examples around the country of success and failure and transform the Oak Street and Bell cinema experience into something you cannot obtain from Netflix and Amazon movie purchases.

3. A lot of time is being wasted pointing fingers at Jamie Hook and it is misdirected and diffuse in its purpose. The future viability of the organization rests with the BOARD — it is the entire purpose of a board to take over-arching responsibility for both the fianncial and the programmatic scope of the organization. That is their legal, fudicuary and moral reponsibility. The most disturbing moment in Saturday’s meeting was when the Treasurer stood up and tried to deflect responsibility and point blame — that was totally lame. Legally and in every other sense, the complete responsiblity rests with the board. They hire and fire staff; they set the vision; they move the organization forward… it is all bullshit to blame an individual like was done on Saturday night.

And some idiot, I think, called Ray said “shut down Oak Street and save the taxpayer money…” yeah right bonehead. First, there is no taxpayer money being spent at Oak Street and secondly, if you want to save the taxpayer money than stop throwing million upon millions of dollars at Northwest Airlines, the Minnesota Vikings and Twins, Timberwolves, Minnesota Wild and all the big sucking corporate machines that are raiding your pocket RAY…