Moxie Cinema 2.0

December 4, 2008 6:54 AM

Moxie Cinema 2.0 is box office boffo! MeFite Bjork24 and wife hand-built (with AskMe help) an independent theater with kitschy appeal that won Springfield, MO's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2007 and last week moved to its new, hand-built 2-screen home.

Also, some useful information for would-be entrepreneurs on the U-Haul damage insurance exemption and how to tell when you have an extra hole in your head, thoughtfully condensed into one blog post.

posted by planetkyoto to MetaFilter-related at 6:54 AM (35 comments total)

That is wonderful news.
posted by jessamyn at 6:58 AM on December 4, 2008

And they show lots of cool movies.
posted by planetkyoto at 7:00 AM on December 4, 2008

I used to be an employee of the Moxie, but moved away to Chicago recently. I even directed and edited those MoxieTV episodes (the "kitschy" link). Boy, do I miss that place. ;(

So glad/proud to see Moxie 2.0 come to fruition!
posted by nitsuj at 7:07 AM on December 4, 2008

Looks like a cool place that I would support if I were a local. For the first time ever I am going to use the sentence "I wish I lived in Springfield Missouri."
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 7:28 AM on December 4, 2008

Wow, this is awesome. If I'm ever in Springfield, I know how I'll be spending an evening.
posted by owtytrof at 7:31 AM on December 4, 2008

Thanks for the MeTap, planetkyoto!

Please excuse the state of our website, everyone; we still have a lot of updating to do. Anyone and everyone is welcome to stop by if they ever find themselves in our fair city. The MeFite Popcorn Special is still in effect, btw.

Thanks again!
posted by bjork24 at 7:37 AM on December 4, 2008

Also worth noting: The Moxie was mentioned in the WSJ here.
posted by nitsuj at 7:50 AM on December 4, 2008

Congrats! My sister in Springfield (she's around here someplace, too) regularly raves about the place.
posted by ewagoner at 8:06 AM on December 4, 2008

Awesome!
posted by arcticwoman at 8:13 AM on December 4, 2008

I was back in Springfield last week, but didn't get a chance to stop by. My brother (whom you might know, bjork24, as he owns the vintage clothes store near your old theater) said the new theater is great. I really admire you guys who are fighting to carve out little niches of cool in Springfield.
posted by Bookhouse at 8:15 AM on December 4, 2008

Congratulations! Very cool news.
posted by paisley henosis at 8:15 AM on December 4, 2008

Any joy I might have felt is overshadowed by the horrible horrible image of what it must feel like to have a hole in your face.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:18 AM on December 4, 2008

This is so cool! I want to move to Springfield! Congratulations!
posted by triggerfinger at 8:20 AM on December 4, 2008

Yay! The Moxie, which I only know through MetaFilter, fills me with a peculiar combination of snuggly, cuddly delight and seething jealous rage.

Y'all are inspiring! Asshole.
posted by dirtdirt at 8:21 AM on December 4, 2008

Moxie is the name of my dog. That is all.
posted by Grither at 8:34 AM on December 4, 2008

I want to run/own a movie theatre.

There's a pretty good location for one here too. Course, city's only 18k people.

I guess what I'm saying here is that someone should bankroll me. I have much film watching experience.
posted by ODiV at 8:44 AM on December 4, 2008

Congratulations. I, too, am simultaneously jealous of and inspired by you. Such a cool thing to do.
And the website is immensely entertaining.
Good luck at the new locale.
posted by chococat at 9:05 AM on December 4, 2008

Wow, this is cool.

Popcorn Special, eh?
posted by Pronoiac at 9:13 AM on December 4, 2008

Yay! I've been meaning to make a visit to Springfield specifically for the Moxie for years now. Congrats! Very exciting news.
posted by dog food sugar at 10:13 AM on December 4, 2008

bjork24, the wife and I were in town over Thanksgiving weekend to see my parents and were this →← close to catching the flick at the Moxie. Unfortunately, baby-related difficulties rendered this impossible, so I still have yet to see even the old theater.

But we will. Oh yes we will.

Do you usually work the lobby, so I can flag you down when we do come? Maybe we'll make Christmas weekend work.
posted by middleclasstool at 10:50 AM on December 4, 2008

Hella cool. What's this about "shirtless Dan night"?
posted by roger ackroyd at 11:26 AM on December 4, 2008

Whenever I read these threads, it seems like an unusual number of Mefites hail from Springfield. Am I wrong? It could just be confirmation bias or some such.
posted by Bookhouse at 11:33 AM on December 4, 2008

Wow! That is one awesome project never mind being a great business! Congratulations to you guys!
posted by GuyZero at 12:05 PM on December 4, 2008

So cool. I want to come visit.
posted by roll truck roll at 1:18 PM on December 4, 2008

Congratulations on making the second step in your movie world domination plan. Also Happy Healing to your face.
posted by Cranberry at 1:40 PM on December 4, 2008

You guys are full of awesome! Great to see something cool and funky be successful. If I ever pass through I definitely am going to demand my special on popcorn. Not likely to happen, but just the same, fair warning.
posted by Eekacat at 2:06 PM on December 4, 2008

i've been a fan of indie theaters all my life. i have a whole theory about the decline of civilization directly correlating to the decline of neighborhood movie theaters. perhaps not so ironically, the only neighborhood theaters left are indie theaters. therefore, indie theater = hope for mankind. from where i sit, you're saving the world, one movie at a time.

big props, and major congratulations!
posted by msconduct at 2:25 PM on December 4, 2008

Aw congrats! I miss the Moxie in a big way. You always brought the best films to that little burg. We have FilmStreams here, but it's just not as comfy warm as the Moxie.
posted by bayliss at 2:44 PM on December 4, 2008

Snakes at the Moxie is one of my favorite MoxieTV episodes we made. (Shift-refresh if the embedded player's controls are missing.)
posted by nitsuj at 3:06 PM on December 4, 2008

Also: Bloopers and outtakes from MoxieTV.
posted by nitsuj at 3:11 PM on December 4, 2008

*gets popcorn*
posted by crossoverman at 4:23 PM on December 4, 2008

That is really cool. I hope your face feels better (I wouldn't mind having a Harrison Ford-esque scar either.)

I created a sandwich called the John Schyler that is in the finals to win "Best Sandwich" in the best of 2008 in Columbia, MO awards. I'm pretty stoked, but I probably won't win...
posted by schyler523 at 7:24 PM on December 4, 2008

Cool! The new Moxie is right across the street from where I work (I suggest many lunches at Grad School, Dan--I eat there several times a week).

My brother (whom you might know, bjork24, as he owns the vintage clothes store near your old theater)

Your brother owns Vintage Vice? I've had a drink with him at the Outland! Oh, and bought some Western shirts from him!
posted by sourwookie at 7:48 PM on December 4, 2008

I just got a little queasy reading about the hole in his face. ugh.

Otherwise... congrats on the next phase of your business.
posted by FlamingBore at 10:43 PM on December 4, 2008

I bit all the way through my lip when I was 7 or 8 years old. I still have a bitchin' scar from it.
posted by empath at 11:01 PM on December 4, 2008