Witching hour's the watching hour

By Marijke Rowland
mrowland@modbee.com

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I have, as far as I can remember, never been to a midnight movie.

This doesn't include attending midnight screenings of new movie releases. That is a whole other category and a whole other level of geekery best left for another day.

No, I mean the midnight movie in the cult-movie sense. Like your "Rocky Horror Picture Show" or your "Pink Flamingos" or your "Freaks."

Rick Deakard (Harrison Ford) pursues suspect through a crowed downtown area of Los Angeles in the year 2020.

But now, thanks to the State Theatre and its new Midnite Movie Classic Cinema Series, I have my chance.

The series kicked off last month with the people-vs.-primates classic "Planet of the Apes." I rue the fact that I missed out on seeing Charlton Heston scream, "You damn dirty apes!" on the big screen.

Tonight, the series continues with Harrison Ford's iconic sci-fi thriller, "Blade Runner."

The theater board has launched the Midnite Movie series to help attract a younger audience to the venue. Indeed, the theater's concert schedule and slate of indie films skew toward an older demographic.

But the series won't be filled with the "It Came From the Swamp Thing of Living Dead"-kind of cinema that some associate with midnight movies. These are bona fide cult hits: "A Clockwork Orange" on Aug. 8, "Pink Floyd The Wall" on Oct. 10 and "Shaun of the Dead" on Nov. 14.

Heck, they've even thrown in a family-friendly offering, "The Goonies," on Sept. 12.

The films will be shown at midnight on the second Friday of each month and again for the following Saturday or Sunday matinee at 3:30 p.m. for the non-night owls.

As Modesto's only dedicated arthouse theater, the State's inclusion of a midnight movies is fantastic. These days, even though the number of screens at the multiplexes keeps increasing, the space for indie cinema seems to be shrinking.

When it comes to the Central Valley, that old on-screen adage of "coming to a theater near you" simply doesn't hold true for lots of small releases.

And that's exactly why theaters like the State and events like midnight movies are so important. What I like best about going to the movies isn't the tub of popcorn bigger than my head. It's the communal experience of seeing a movie in a big room with a bunch of strangers.

You share the oohs and ahhs and, sometimes, boos.

Something like a midnight movie only enhances that experience. It makes a movie less of a movie and more of an event. I hope it does, at least -- like I said, I've never been.

Well, until now, that is.

Elsewhere around the Scene:

Hughson singer/songwriter Matt Scheuber, the vocalist for Trees & Vines, is one of five national finalists in the "Henry Poole Is Here" theme song contest on MySpace.com.

The independent film starring Luke Wilson ("The Royal Tenenbaums," "Old School"), Oscar nominee Adriana Barraza, George Lopez, Cheryl Hines and Radha Mitchell is being called a "modern-day fable about the unexpected wonders of the everyday."

The winner of the viewer-voted contest will have a music video for the song shot by the movie's director, Mark Pellington ("The Mothman Prophesies," "U2 3D").

The song will première on the film's MySpace site and be included on its DVD bonus material. More than 3,450 songs were submitted for the contest. Online voting started this week and ends Monday.

To vote, visit myspace.com/henrypooleishere, and for more on Scheuber, visit myspace.com/mattscheuber. ...

Catch a homecoming show today for Modesto native and Downey High graduate John Ulloa, a Latin jazz bandleader and percussionist now living in San Francisco.

Ulloa, who has master's degrees in Latin American history and cultural anthropology, plays rumba, salsa and cumbia. He has performed and recorded with the likes of Los Lobos, George Clinton, Pete Escovedo, WAR and Sly Stone. His debut CD, "Rum & Smoke," came out last year.

The Olé Productions show will feature John Ulloa Y Su Missión. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., with music at 9 at the Rumba Room, formerly Club Max in the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Modesto. Tickets are $20. Call 524-4758 or 573-1710. Visit www.johnulloa.com. ...

And finally, keep all that jazz going with a performance by trombonist Bill Watrous on Thursday at the Barkin' Dog Grill in Modesto.

Over the past 30 years, Watrous has been bandleader for Columbia, Famous Door, Soundwings, GNP Crescendo and Double-Time. He will perform with Ernie Bucio's Little Big Band. Show's at 8 p.m. Cover is $15.

He will perform the following night, July 18, with the Gottschalk Student Jazz bands.

Bee entertainment writer Marijke Rowland can be reached at mrowland@modbee.com or 578-2284. Read her blog SceneIt at thehive.modbee.com/sceneit.