24-Hour NoirAThon Fundraiser for Theater Marquee

The good folks at Film Geeks and Digital Gym Cinema in San Diego are having a 24-Hour NoirAThon fundraiser July 3 to get a real marquee for this small independent theater. It works sort of like one of those marathons you used to do in high school where you would run a certain number of miles to raise money for the cross-country team. Although technically the sponsorship levels are based on the names of the films being watched, and not how many they get through. Still, the idea is roughly the same. 

On-board as the main sponsor is and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). The Film Geeks contacted TCM in hopes of getting permission to stream TCM's July 3, Summer of Darkness Film Noir offerings. TCM graciously agreed to match dollar for dollar (up to $5000) all donations to the event (through indiegogo.com). They also granted permission to stream TCM at Digital Gym Cinema for the NoirAThon.

The funds will go toward a real theater marquee for the venue, including installation, permits, etc. The Digital Gym Cinema is a cool little theater but looking at it from the street, it is a bit of a mystery. It doesn't scream movie theater. In fact, it kind of screams, I wonder what's going on in there. This is what it currently looks like from the street:

But inside is a sweet little theater:

To sweeten the pot, they set a mini-goal of $1200 by the end of the day today (assuming that would be Midnight Pacific time, June 29). If they hit that goal, Miguel Rodriguez (@HIFFSD) has agreed to post a video of himself in drag in his best Noir Femme Fatalle style. Fortunately, he has the gams for it. I just threw a few coins in the kitty, and they are now less than $200 away from the minigoal

Beth Accomando (@cinebeth) and Miguel Rodriguez (@HIFFSD) will be live tweeting during the event using the hashtags #NoirSummer and #TCMParty. The cinema will be open for people who want to join them. I plan to join them for at least part of the time, and hopefully, my 15-year-old partner in crime, Jasmine (@CineBopper) will be joining us as well. I might even be tapped for a food run from one of the food and drink sponsors Bread and Cie, Trails Eatery, Pizzeria Luigi's, and Lightning Brewery, who are making sure Beth and Miguel won't starve during the 24-hour NoirAThon.

To donate, go to:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/24-hour-noirathon-film-geeks-investigate-darkness#/story