Dip a toe in the stream

The world is your oyster with online options from The Bijou Theatre

By Gretchen Ammerman

Oregon Coast TODAY

Lincoln City’s Bijou Theatre is currently unable to provide the big-screen experience fans of the art house theatre come for. But according to owner Betsy Altomare, a smaller screen doesn’t have to limit your entertainment experience. Now more than ever, actually, the small screen can open the world to you.

“In this time of staying home or limiting travel there are endless things you can look at on your computer,” she said. “And if you send them to your television you can really enjoy them so much better.“

Beyond the movies and TV shows that people are used to seeing on their TV screens, more and more places are adding content to provide a virtual experience.

“You can take tours of some of the big museums without even leaving your house,” Altomare said. “Places like the Louvre, the Smithsonian, the Vatican, even NASA has something now for people to enjoy. You can browse catalogs and watch TED talks; the list is long and getting longer all the time.”

And Altomare said audiences don’t have to settle for watching these virtual treats on tiny screens.

“A lot of folks, especially older ones, don’t know that there are a lot of ways to get from the computer to the TV,” she said. “For example, even though you can’t go wirelessly from an Apple device to a non-Apple device, you can still go by using a cable that can be found at most stores that sell electronics. I have an android and I just downloaded the ‘Smart Things’ app so I can easily connect my devices.”

If you still just want to watch movies but have used up all the options available to you that have any appeal, some movies that would have been on the big screen are available by streaming from the Bijou’s website at cinemalovers.com.

“We have new releases that are not available anywhere else,” Altomare said. “Our site has eight movies we are playing right now. You click on the poster to see the trailer and if it looks good, you can purchase it right there — it’s just like buying something on Amazon. We get a percent of the ticket sales so it’s a great way to support your favorite local art movie house.”

Looking for recommendations? Altomare is happy to give a few.

“We’re excited right now about the the Ella Fitzgerald documentary, ‘Just one of Those Things,’ and ‘Shirley Jackson’ starring Elizabeth Moss,” she said. “‘St. Frances’ was probably one of my favorites that we’ve had lately and that’s still available. We usually add new titles every week.”

Looking for an easy present that doesn’t require donning a mask and keeping your distance from other shoppers?

“You can pay for something and put in someone else’s email address for the link,” Altomare said. “These are great for kids- we have grandparents that do it for their grandkids. And, for all these cat lovers out there, we have the ‘Quarantine Cat Film Fest’ going on right now.”

If you still aren’t sure how to navigate the constantly changing world of streaming, the Bijou is here to help.

“There is a whole troubleshooting page on our website that walks people through how to do it,” Altomare said. “They can even send us an email through our website if they are still confused after reading all of the instructions, and the great thing about that is once people learn how to do this streaming, they can do all the other things I mentioned. The TV stations all have streaming sites now, too. Basically, you no longer have to restrict yourself to a computer.”

There is one thing all the cables and apps in the world can’t recreate though, and that is movie theater popcorn.

“We can’t open the theater to the public to watch movies yet, but we still open from 6 to 7 pm for popcorn hour,” Altomare said. “We’ll be opening on a limited basis once Phase 2 rolls around, but until then we really enjoy getting to see some of our loyal customers when they come get a tub of buttery (or not) popcorn. We’ll even bring it out to people if they don’t want to get out of their car.”

The Bijou Theatre is located at 1624 NE Highway 101 in Lincoln City. For more information, go to cinemalovers.com or call 541-994-8255.