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Cinema Lab yesterday announced the launch of their Kickstarter fundraising campaign to complete the final phase of the relaunch of the former ShowRoom Cinema Bradley Beach as The Bradley, a community-based cinematic experience featuring first-run movies. With a team of film industry leaders and New Jersey locals behind it and ambitious plans to update the single-screen cinema to include three auditoriums, event space, and more, The Bradley plans to open summer 2021 with a slate of the latest studio, independent, and blockbuster films, live performances, and community programming. 

The Bradley team includes New Jersey locals actor Patrick Wilson, producer and former BAFTA NY Chair Luke Parker Bowles and IFC Films president Arianna Bocco.

Bradley Beach Mayor Larry Fox enthusiastically expressed his support for the new cinema, saying in a Cinema Lab news release, “Main Street in Bradley Beach, and for that matter America, has taken some real hits with the pandemic. Our Main Street Task Force has already been focused on improvements, and the potential for a professional entertainment group for the theater couldn’t be better news!”

Part of the Bradley Beach community for over 100 years, the cinema first opened as the Palace Theatre in 1915, where it presented vaudeville acts before switching to film on Christmas Day 1925. The Palace, renamed the Beach Cinema in 1976, attracted generations of local and vacationing Jersey Shore moviegoers, counting Danny DeVito, Philip Roth, and Neptune City-native Jack Nicholson among some of its more illustrious guests. Current owners Michael Sodano and Nancy Sabino purchased the theater and rebranded as The ShowRoom Cinema Bradley Beach in May 2019. The last single-screen theater in full-time operation in the area, the ShowRoom was forced to close after less than a year of operation due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was placed up for sale. With the closing of the ShowRoom, Bradley Beach and the surrounding towns join dozens of other communities across both New Jersey and the U.S. without a local movie theater; with the re-imagining of the Bradley, the theater aims to close that gap while preserving a local landmark.  

Actor Patrick Wilson, a local resident and Cinema Lab partner, said of the project, “From first run films to live performances, the revamped Bradley will be leading the charge with the latest technology and a hometown feel, while providing a boutique theatrical experience for Bradley Beach and the surrounding community. Getting into this side of the business has been a passion project of mine for a long time and I’m excited that I can contribute in my own backyard. Can’t wait to see you at the movies in ‘21!”

The Bradley aims to move away from multiplex culture and return to a more community-based theatrical experience that features all the amenities of modern moviegoing. Executing this vision includes expanding the single-screen cinema to three auditoriums, a large stage for live events, elevated concessions and alcohol service, and an updated lobby lounge space, as well as working to foster strong ties with the Bradley Beach community at large. Additionally, the Bradley will provide the city with event space and hospitality for local events, fundraisers, and other functions, as well as a cinema Membership program and special events hosted specifically for the local Bradley Beach community.  

The partners and investors behind The Bradley share a dedication to the cinematic experience at the local level, with a team that includes a pedigree of film industry and business leaders with close ties to New Jersey. Bradley Beach resident and IFC Films president Arianna Bocco first partnered with the principals behind Cinema Lab: Film and Television industry veteran and former BAFTA New York Chairman Luke Parker Bowles; film marketing executive and former Studio Movie Grill CMO Brandon Jones; and Andy Childs, original member of the Soho House North American team, who act respectively as the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Operating Officer of Cinema Lab and The Bradley. The executive team is rounded out by actor Patrick Wilson and entertainment industry veteran Vincent Onorati. The launch of The Bradley is just the first step for the Cinema Lab team, who plan to re-open several other iconic New Jersey cinemas throughout 2021.

“This theater is a vital part of the history of Bradley Beach, and an essential cultural center which has been devastated by this pandemic,” said Bocco. “As a year-round resident, I could not be more thrilled to work with an amazing group of passionate film professionals to save this landmark as a movie theater for our entire community to enjoy.”

The Bradley’s Kickstarter campaign launched yesterday, with an initial fundraising goal of $50,000 and plans to engage the community with a number of exciting campaign rewards for contributors. Some of the campaign perks include exclusive theater merchandise, inclusion on The Bradley’s Advocate Wall, invites to the cinema’s Red Carpet Grand Opening, free movies for the first year of the new cinema’s operation, and much more, with donors at the higher levels receiving seat naming rights, personal on-screen acknowledgment, and naming rights for the auditoriums. All donors to the Bradley will also receive special recognition on the theater’s website. 

As they launch the Kickstarter and wind-up the fundraising process to purchase the cinema, The Bradley team has the full support of current theater owners Michael Sodano and Nancy Sabino, who said in the Cinema Lab news release, “We are encouraged that Cinema Lab’s plans reflect our vision for the theater continuing as a downtown entertainment anchor and look forward to finalizing the sale with this team of professionals.

To learn more about The Bradley and donate to the Kickstarter campaign, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thebradley/the-bradley-cinema .

About the Team

Arianna Bocco

Arianna Bocco is a native of New Jersey, having grown up in Freehold and currently residing in Bradley Beach.  She has worked in the film business for over 25 years and is currently president of IFC Films. Established in 2000 and based in New York City, IFC Films is a leading U.S. distributor of independent film and is owned and operated by AMC Networks Inc.

Andy Childs

Andrew Childs started his career at Soho House in 2001 after finishing college with a Hons in Business Economics. As a senior management accountant in London he became chartered and oversaw the financial running of multiple sites both in London, including Soho House, Greek St and Electric House, Notting Hill, as well as the hotel in Babington, Somerset. In 2009 he moved to the US after being promoted to financial controller of Soho House New York, and then shortly after to the role as CFO of North America, financially overseeing Soho House Miami, Soho House LA, Cecconi’s LA, Soho House Toronto and Soho House Chicago with a combined revenue of $150m with over 1,500 employees in total, and was heavily involved in the successful refinancing of Soho House, Miami and investment strategy for new growth sites.

In 2014 he moved to Momofuku, working closely with David Chang, as head of group finance, simplifying the overall structure of the group and strategy for new growth areas, such as the Fuku brand. In this period, he was able to examine the financial impact of new types of hospitality structures, such as no tipping with new restaurants in New York and DC.

Brandon Jones

Brandon Jones is the President and CMO of FILMFROG Marketing, the only agency dedicated to movie theater exhibitors functioning as a fractional CMO, Marketing as a Service and supplemental marketing department for independent, small and mid-sized exhibitors. FILMFROG manages marketing for more than 400 screens across the US. Jones spent more than 7.5 years with Studio Movie Grill, the pioneer of in-theatre dining, as the Head of Marketing and Director of Sales. Studio Movie Grill has 34 locations and more than 350 screens.

Jones was the CMO for CINESTATE and FANGORIA (a production and media company based in Dallas), Director of Operations and Marketing for Nova Cinemas (a Chicago-based exhibitor with over 130 screens in 9 states), and Manager of Film Marketing for Blockbuster from 2004 – 2005. Jones is a Board Member of Dallas Film and CMO of the Dallas International Film Festival. He also served as a Board Member of the Dallas Producers Association.

Vincent Onorati

Vincenzo Onorati is an entertainment industry veteran with a lifelong passion for movies. Most recently, he ran marketing for a cable TV distributor working with major Hollywood studios. He currently works in advertising and is also co-owner of two successful independent, community-focused bookstores in Brooklyn and Jersey City called WORD. He lives in Upper Montclair with his wife and 3 children, a stone’s throw from the Bellevue Theater.

Luke Parker Bowles

Luke Parker Bowles is President at Story Mining & Supply Co., a California-based production company committed to acquiring, developing, financing and producing multi-platform premium content through unique access to quality material. He also serves as CEO of Scoundrel Films – a New York-based digital video production company with clients including TED, UPS, UBS, Logitech, British Airways, Transferwise and many others. 

Parker Bowles previously served as Executive Vice President of Production for Open Road Integrated Media. Parker Bowles has developed and managed a diverse slate of films for both major studios and independent film companies where he was involved in the development of hit films such as Chris and Paul Weitz’s About a Boy, Beeban Kidron’s Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and Richard Curtis’s Love Actually. Parker Bowles until recently served as Chairman of BAFTA in New York and is a Director and Founder of the Queen Elizabeth II Garden in New York and The Montclair Film Festival. 

Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson is a critically acclaimed actor whose numerous credits have earned him multiple Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Wilson’s illustrious career in theatre, film and television spans more than two decades, and has earned him rave reviews in Hollywood blockbusters, independent cinema, on and off Broadway.

His credits include the blockbuster hit Aquaman, 3 films in The Conjuring universe, Insidious 1 & 2, Little Children, The Commuter, The Founder, Bone Tomahawk, Stretch, The Switch, The A-Team Watchmen, Lakeview Terrace, Hard Candy and many more. On TV, Wilson has starred in HBO’s Angels in America, Girls, A Gifted Man, and in FX’s second season of Fargo, garnering multiple award nominations for his career-defining role as Vietnam veteran Lou Solverson. Wilson has more than 50 film and television credits to his name. Wilson is a producer and screenwriter and serves as an Advisory Board Member of the Montclair Film Festival.

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