22 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY NOVEMBER 6-12, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com Once all the necessary paperwork is cleared, however, it comes down to a subjective question. “Would you want to have a beer with this person?” Gianfrancesco says. “What’s going to drive someone to go out, to buy a ticket? It has to do with the magnetism of the person in the room. “We’ve been lucky to tour with William Shatner for several years,” she continues. “At 94 years old, he’s still doing a great show.” A 2019 Boca Magazine review of a John Cusack performance following a showing of Stand By Me in Boca Raton, Florida illustrates the potential hazards. The author does not mention a moderator, but does complain about audience members monopolizing the microphone or asking questions of narrow interest. Cusack was also cited for an apparent lack of interest in topics he’s addressed many times over. According to Lisciani, Rainn Wilson from the television series The Office seeks to disarm the crowd by announcing, “Here are the answers to the 10 mostasked questions.” “A lot of the questions are the same,” Shatner agrees. Like food writers who challenge themselves to find a new way to describe the flavor of a mushroom or an avocado, he will push himself to tell the same story with a fresh edge. “I try to make it interesting”—for himself as well as for the fans. Time is a critical factor for Lisciani. He targets films with a run time around 90 minutes. This gives the artist an hour to interact with the audience. Anything more, he believes, would make for a long evening. Otherwise, there are few guidelines to success. “It’s hard to pinpoint what works and what doesn’t,” Lisciani says. “It’s a lot of trying.” What is now styled as Napoleon Dynamite Live! began in 2018 as a celebration of the film’s 15th anniversary. The actors have since turned the static Q&A format into traveling theater. They play original music, toss out trivia questions and prizes, add a little improv comedy and—when the layout of the theater allows—perform random stunts. At a stop in Butte, Montana a few weeks before their appearance in Monterey, Heder plowed a bicycle down the auditorium’s stairway. The troupe have been on the road for six years. Ten years ago, nostalgia tours tended to lack showmanship. A lot of trying led to an understanding of the audience. People come to see more than a movie. Depending upon the film and the actor, the evening may include slide shows or short videos. Standing Ovations Live offers a trivia contest audience members can play from their phones, with answers posted real time on the big screen. “We always want to add something new,” Lisciani says. “But the overarching concept is still the same.” Labor Day weekend has historically been a big day for movie theaters. The newly-released horror film Weapons topped $13 million over the four-day span. Second in domestic box office receipts was the Steven Spielberg classic Jaws, raking in almost $10 million. The 20th anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith hauled in $25.5 million on its opening weekend, behind only Sinners. Such figures put Los Angeles Times writer Cerys Davies in a speculative mood. “It’s almost as if movie studios, filmgoers and theater owners alike are pining for a time when the movie business, now struggling more than five years after the Covid-19 pandemic, was the center of popular culture in the U.S.,” she wrote. According to the data services firm Statista, moviegoing peaked in 2002, when some 1.5 billion tickets were sold. By 2024, that number had fallen to 760 million. A report by Nash Information services found that movie theater visits fell sharply—by twothirds—between 2019 and 2023. “There’s a tsunami of change in Hollywood,” Shatner observes, adding that Hollywood continues to struggle against the pull of electronic platforms. As a result, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, Hollywood lost 42,000 film industry jobs in the years 2022-2024 alone. The apparent decline of Hollywood and the growing market for cinematic retro-releases has made nostalgia tours attractive to both studios and actors. Twenty years ago, Shatner could never have imagined the popularity of the events. As an actor, he says, “You would be making new films.” Pining for the past. A bit of necessity. Both are factors in the growth of film tours. But there is perhaps a more significant driving force. “Covid was once seen as a catalyst speeding the demise of the movie theater as a business model,” observed culture writer Abe Beame in a column in The Ringer. “But it now appears that the pandemic may have served as another kind of catalyst, one that has motivated a niche audience of passionate moviegoers to seek out more in-person theater experiences.” Mills Entertainment, Standing Ovations Live and other companies have turned classic movies into experiences—entertaining, educational and interactive. “It’s interesting how it worked out,” Mills Entertainment’s Gianfrancesco says. “This is really resonating. Everyone sees the opportunity.” Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with William Shatner 7:30pm Saturday, Nov. 15. Golden State Theatre, 417 Alvarado St., Monterey. $53-$103. (831) 6491070, goldenstatetheatre.com. Bridges at home on stage in Monterey. “I want to see Monterey one more time before I die,” says William Shatner with a chuckle. Pictured here at a show in Austin, Texas he appears with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan at Golden State on Nov. 15. Napoleon Dynamite Live is a show, with music, activities and more. Efren Ramirez, Jon Heder and Jon Gries entertain a crowd. COURTESY OF MILLS ENTERTAINMENT COURTESY OF THE WELL CREATIVE AGENCY COURTESY OF NAPOLEON DYNAMITE LIVE
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