Folks:

It is altogether too little that I get to post news of success, or read about news of success, in regards to our struggle to obtain captioned movies in Kentucky or elsewhere.  Well, I have some good news!  Thanks to the hard work of a bunch of advocates in Richmond, Ky. (home to Eastern Kentucky University, my good ol' alma mater!), the local Cinemark theater there has agreed to work with them and begin offering captioned movies on a trial basis.  These movies are already Open Captioned, as apparently, the theater is not set up for offering RWC, nor does it have OC equipment.  It is a start....A foot in the door....and these folks are to be commended for their hard work and persistence.  Below is a copy of the announcement sent out about the offering:

Open-Captioned Movies at Cinemark

Due to the efforts of several groups on campus and the advocacy of individual students, staff and faculty, Cinemark has agreed to schedule open-captioned movies. Currently there is only one source to obtain open-captioned movies, so the choices will be limited. Cinemark will bring "Duplicity" (starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owens) and "Fast and Furious"(starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker) to the Richmond Mall Cinema 8. Mark your calendars, as each title will be made available to for a two-day showing only.

"Duplicity": Sunday-Monday, May 3-4
"Fast and Furious": Sunday-Monday, June 7-8

Campus groups working on this project include the Office of Services for Individuals with Disabilities, ADA Awareness and Accessibility Committee, ASLIE, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, and Center for the Deaf.

 While there may be naysayers out there who may bemoan the fact that the theater is not already equipped to show captioned movies anytime, I say this is fantastic as a first step, and I congratulate the groups on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University for their hard work in securing this for the deaf/hoh community in Richmond.  The Kentucky School for the Deaf is a short drive away (approximately 30 minutes or so), and they have a rather large community of deaf/hoh in the Richmond area as a result of this, their Interpreter Training Program at EKU, and various other reasons.

I would be remiss if I did not also congratulate Cinemark theaters for recognizing the potential, at least, of this market, and agreeing to at least a trial basis.  This is truly an example of a forward thinking theater, and I congratulate them on that fact....

Now, if they can just get other theaters across Kentucky to follow their "big picture" thinking and agree to offer this, we would REALLY be rolling!

But a word of caution...

This will NOT be successful if the deaf and hard of hearing community does not rally behind this and show up for the movies.  Too often, in my conversations with theater executives, I have heard the same battle cry, "They say they want it, but they never turn out when we offer it!"...So, Kentucky residents who live close to Richmond, get out...go see a movie, and when you get a chance....

THANK THE EMPLOYEES THERE AND LET THEM KNOW YOU WILL KEEP COMING BACK

You have no excuse, you now know when the movies will be offered.  No show times were included in this announcement, but do not let that deter you.  Call.  Email.  Find a way to find out what times these will be offered.  I will be watching, and making every attempt to drive down there myself.  It is a 2.5 hour drive each way, but I realize the need to show my support.  Do YOU?

Eddie