Amazon MGM Studios has taken the spotlight in an emerging drama after they asked the small Oregon theater to cease the viewing of their documentary film Melania due to the tongue-in-cheek jokes displayed on the marquee outside the theater, which the studio took umbrage with. This news first came to light through an article published by The Oregonian, which has since gained momentum through an article published by The Daily Beast.
Amazon intervened to stop Melania screening
The Lake Theater and Cafe, situated in the small town of Lake Oswego, has gained fame for the witty jokes displayed outside the theater on the marquee. It appears that the jokes displayed outside the theater are satirical in nature, aiming to lure people into the theater. Upon the decision of the theater to screen the documentary Melania, the theater continued its tradition of witty jokes displayed outside the theater, stating, “Does Melania wear Prada? Find out Friday,” and Sun Tzu’s quote from The Art of War, stating, “To defeat your enemy, you must know them. Melania starts Friday.”
The jokes, however, did not go down well with Amazon, and the manager of the theater, Jordan Perry, told The Oregonian that the theater’s booker had received a call from an individual from Amazon, asking that the documentary not be screened. All viewings of the documentary have since been canceled. The theater’s management of Lake Theater & Cafe posted on Instagram after receiving massive backlash from moviegoers.
“Got a call that the higher-ups (i.e., at Amazon) were upset with how our marquee marketed their movie (i.e., Melania), that, per them, Sunday would be its last day here. Also got, before then, countless emails and voicemails and Google / Yelp reviews (Google / Yelp took them down) wondering why the hell we had Melania here, or disdaining our disparaging of her. Now that it’s prematurely over, the plug pulled on us not from public outcry (always listening, thank you) but by some corporate executive (fair enough, sorry AMZN, please don’t cancel my Prime), Jordan figured he’d …say something? Link in bio. TLDR: welp”
Perry revealed the theater sold just $196 worth of tickets during the film’s lone weekend run. He admitted the booking was motivated by a slow-release calendar and by the comedic absurdity of showing such a polarizing documentary in an openly anti-establishment neighborhood cinema.
