Buffalo is full of people helping to cultivate cinema and we want to celebrate those involved. The Cultivators is a new monthly feature in which we highlight individuals who are integral to the presentation, promotion and production of film here in the queen city.
THE CULTIVATORS #020
BOB GOLIBERSUCH
Owner of The Screening Room
Twitter: @screeningroom1
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
What got you interested in movies?
I was just pulled in by the magic of the big screen experience. As a kid, seeing The Poseidon Adventure at the theater just pulled me in and got me hooked on the excitement of going to the movies. The cinema felt like it was a neighborhood portal to take you to other places, and it was something I knew I always wanted to be involved with. Working for General Cinema for years only increased my interest and helped with opening my own theater.
What is your favorite movie related memory?
My first movie theater trips as a child still hold an impact. A couple movie premieres that I was able to attend (Clerks, Jackie Brown) and my first trips to the Toronto International Film Festival still seem magical. Also, after first opening The Screening Room and selling out a screening of It’s a Wonderful Life (when it was showing on TV at the exact same time) reinforced my belief that there is still a need/desire for the theatrical experience.
How did you end up in Buffalo?
Born and raised in Buffalo, almost took a position in California a couple times, but something about the city and people kept me here.
What do you want to see more of in Buffalo?
In terms of cinema, the fact that I really cannot think of much is a testament to how far Buffalo has come. From Dipson to the North Park to Hamburg Palace, there are some great theater options beyond the chains. There are numerous film festivals and emerging film series that really offer a lot for movie-going in Buffalo. In addition there is a thriving movie-making scene of indie and major productions that seems to be happening nonstop. Hopefully the Market Arcade cinema will finally re-open and provide a good mix of programming in the downtown area.
What are your essential film books?
- Frank Capra: The Name Above the Title by Frank Capra
- Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind
- All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger by Lloyd Kaufman and James Gunn
- Hitchcock/Truffaut by Francois Truffaut
TOP TEN FILMS
I have a huge list of “greatest movies,” but 10 of the movies that are favorites and I could watch over and over are here in alphabetical order:
- After Hours [1985], directed by Martin Scorsese
- Casablanca [1942], directed by Michael Curtiz
- A Clockwork Orange [1971], directed by Stanley Kubrick
- Dead of Night [1974], directed by Bob Clark
- The Godfather [1972], directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- Jaws [1975], directed by Steven Spielberg
- Psycho [1960], directed by Alfred Hitchcock
- Pulp Fiction [1994], directed by Quentin Tarantino
- The Third Man [1949], directed by Carol Reed
- Touch of Evil [1958], directed by Orson Welles
Film stills from left to right, top to bottom are The Poseidon Adventure, General Cinema University 8, Clerks, TIFF, It’s a Wonderful Life, North Park Theatre, Hamburg Palace, Market Arcade.