Why movies matter.

The popcorn. The silver screen. The experience. For the most part, movie theaters have been shuttered since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. And it’s uncertain when they’ll open again as the spread of the virus doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Meet the filmmaker that isn’t letting a pandemic stop him

Alejandro Montoya Marin isn’t going to let something like a pandemic stop him. The New Mexico filmmaker was prepping to shoot an indie movie when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production. Since then, he’s been busy, readying himself for when filmmaking is again allowed.

Marin is an accomplished writer and director, helming several shorts and feature films.

Born in Texas and raised in Mexico, Marin said he always knew he wanted to be a filmmaker. He attended the Vancouver Film School, where he focused on directing. He’s now based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Last year, he was selected as one of the five filmmakers for Robert Rodriguez’s “Rebel Without a Crew.” The documentary show was shown on Rodriguez’s El Rey network. Marin and the rest of the filmmakers selected had 14 days and just. $7,000 to shoot a film. For the show, Marin adapted his short film “Monday” into a feature film. “Monday” premiered at the 2018 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.

In fact he was about to debut his film “Millennium Bugs” at this year’s South by Southwest before the festival was canceled this year because of the pandemic.

But since the pandemic, Marin has been keeping busy by writing and watching movies — lots of movies. He said he has watched more than 200 movies since March.

Talking to Marin in early August, he said he has written several projects, including a new short and a feature film. He’s just waiting for the green light so he can put a crew together and say “action.”

Let’s talk movies

I had the opportunity to speak with Nat Davis, a New Mexico filmmaker who has worked on projects like “Breaking Bad,” Better Call Saul,” and “The Avengers.” He joins for an episode of “Let’s Talk Movies,” where we discuss what we miss about going to the movies and the state of the film industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why I won’t be in the audience when movie theaters open post-virus

It’s been 15 weeks since I went to the movies. It was in early March and the wife and I snuck away to see a movie before I left for a trip. In case you wanted to know — we saw “The Invisible Man.” (It was better than it deserved to be.)

I had no idea this was going to my last theater-going experience for months, possible for the rest of the year. Though movie theaters are set to open next month, I’ll be sitting at home rewatching old favorites and whatever movies Disney dumps on its streaming service.

Look — I love going to the movies. I love everything about the experience (except lines and loud moviegoers). I love the overpriced, buttery popcorn (I usually eat off a few pieces of popcorn with my tongue as I walk toward the auditorium). I love completely tuning out the rest of the world and sitting in the dark to watch a movie. I love good movies. I love bad movies. I love movies that I’ll never think about again. I love after the lights turn on, looking around to see how other patrons responded to the movie. It’s the only time I endorse talking to strangers.

In 2019, I saw more than 50 movies in the theaters. Movies and theaters are important. They create the zeitgeist that defines our pop culture. The communal experience of seeing a movie with others cannot be recreated with streaming services or movies on demand.

But despite how much movies mean to me when Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet” opens next month, I will not be in the audience.

Movie theater chains like Regal and AMC have announced plans to open in July, after months of sitting dark. AMC found itself in Twitter hot water when it announced it would not require moviegoers to wear masks but quickly reversed that decision. But mask or no mask, I’ll be sitting this summer blockbuster season at home.

And why? Because nothing has changed. There is no cure for COVID-19. There is no nationwide contact tracing program (despite having months to enact one). And there’s evidence things are actually getting worse.

Coronavirus cases are spiking in states throughout the country just as we’re reopening our economies. And while some aspects of the economy are critical (going back to work, doctor offices opening) and some are just nice to have open (like hair salons), movie theaters are far down on the list of things that need or should open.

I don’t think you could find a credible doctor who would advise people to congregate indoors for hours (the aforementioned “Tenet” is expected to have a run time of over 2.5 hours). And while masks might be required, that will be hard to enforce in a dark room and while munching on popcorn or slurping down a 64-ounce Coke Zero (my movie-watching drink of choice).

We’ve learned that the virus spreads through droplets we expel from our mouth and that we expel more droplets when we laugh or yell. So I can only imagine how I would feel during a scary scene in a horror movie or a LOL bit during a comedy and wonder how much more that scene exposed me to the virus.

For the past three months, we’ve been asked, requested and even bullied to stay home to “flatten the curve.” If we start fully going back to our pre-COVID lives, all that sacrifice will have been for nothing. We will help spread the virus, needlessly killing more of our friends and neighbors.

As much as I admire Mr. Nolan and his moviemaking talents, it’s just not worth it.

And I know this is going to change movies forever. The already shrinking moviegoing audience will shrink even more. The ever-growing libraries on Netflix and Amazon Prime, coupled with studios releasing movies on home video that were slated to open in theaters and finding huge financial success, will teach people to stay home even more to watch movies. And that’s a pity.

I see a future where $200 million-budget superhero movies are the only titles on the theater marquee but maybe that was inevitable and the virus only sped up that destiny.

But until there’s a widely available vaccine or a reliable contact-tracing program, I’ll keep the moviegoing experience at home. But I’ll still miss the popcorn.