Coaster File Photo
The Asbury Park Movie Club has met at the ShowRoom cinema in Asbury Park since 2022.
By ED SALVAS
It’s a wrap. The Asbury Park Movie Club has finished watching all the Academy Award winning films awarded Best Picture since 1927 when “talking” pictures hit the big screen.
The challenge began with the 1927 film “Wings” Dec. 8, 2022 and ended June 5, with the most recent Oscar winner, “Oppeheimer,” the three-hour story of the development of the atomic bomb.
The last Academy Award winner drew approximately 45 people to the ShowRoom Cinema in Asbury Park.
The idea came from Asbury Park residents Casey and Marc Skarecki who enlisted a few friends who then told some of their friends through social media, and so on. They rented the ShowRoom on Wednesday evenings to show the films.
They bought most of the movies they showed on DVD’s and were able to “stream” others on the big screen.
“We started with eight people,” Casey Skarecki said, and the numbers began growing each week. “A community was formed of fellow Cinephiles and we’re all friends now.”
They hope to keep the momentum going and are working on a new theme for the club. It could be the 100 Best Films as determined by the IFC (Independent Film Channel) or a series of summer themed films.
During the Academy Award series, which spanned the years 1927 to this year, the movies went through some major changes including the transition from black and white to color in the 50’s and 60’s.
One special viewing night featured “The Lord of the Rings,” which was a three film series and the club watched all three in a one-day marathon. For more about the Asbury Park Movie Club, follow them on Facebook.
