Audience finds the ‘rich stuff’ at Monday Night Movie Club’s screening of ‘The Goonies’

The Movie Club shows nostalgic films on select Mondays at Colony Cinemas

ATASCADERO — Movie lovers and silver screen aficionados were in for a treat at Monday Night Movie Club at Colony Cinemas on Monday, July 15. This week, the packed audience participated in an interactive screening of the 1985 coming-of-age classic “The Goonies.” Atascadero News was there to join in on all the fun, which included trivia about the movie, props from and about the film, the tossing of Baby Ruths into the audience, prizes, and everyone got printouts of The Astoria Ledger as shown in the film. The cherry on top, other than the movie itself, was a presentation and in-person Q&A with local Jack Johnson, who was a set illustrator for “The Goonies.”

The movie club is run by three friends: Danny Foster, Dan Waybright, and Bryan Bergman. They love film and present it to the audience in a memorable way.

“We love classic movies, so back, I guess, in May, we started out with ‘Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.’ At

‘Phantom Menace,’ we probably had 50-ish or so people show up, which was pretty cool for a Monday night,” said Waybright about the start of the club.

For the last two films, including this one, the movie club has all but sold out the screen hosting it. In fact, the club has started becoming so popular that the theater has started opening up the front two rows of the screen so they can fit everyone. Meaning that over 200 people are rocking up to the theater for the specialty screenings.

“We encourage everyone, you know, when the bad guy comes on the screen, boo the bad guy,” added Waybright. “It’s just a lot of fun. It kind of grew out of something very grassroots. Just a few film nerds, and it’s been a lot of fun.”

Foster answered an SOS from the general manager at Colony Cinemas, Luke Phillips, when he asked for someone to step up and host the Monday Night Movie Club. Foster already had a background in hosting similar screenings back in the Galaxy Theatre days and jumped at the chance to get back into hosting screenings and getting people back into the theater.

“I have zero problems doing this. I have a lot of connections, and I want them here. I want this for the audience. I want them to enjoy it,” Foster said. “I want it to be as personal as possible. It’s like having a movie night with 200 of your friends. I can’t fit all of them into my garage, so I’m very thankful this fell into my lap. I have a bigger venue.”

So, how did Foster find out about Jack Johnson and ask him to join in on all the “Goonies” fun? It was actually local Rick Evans who contacted Foster to tell him that he had a framed picture by a local artist who had worked on the film. Foster did some snooping, and two days later, he was over at Johnson’s house and got a confirmation that Johnson would be happy to appear at the film’s screening.

“What a magnificent dude and very humble,” said Foster of Johnson.

The “Goonies” illustrator’s presentation went over parts of the set design that he helped create and also went into his work on other films like “Edward Scissorhands” and “Big Fish,” to name a few of the many.

“I got to design sets before they were built. Most of you guys think of illustrators as storyboard guys, and I do some of that, but most of it was illustrations,” stated Johnson.

The powers that be on “The Goonies” didn’t want to spend the money to build a three-quarters scale ship model, but by using Johnson’s illustration of the captain’s cabin and a few others, they were able to create a few sets for the ship, saving the production money, while also keeping the integrity of the film. Johnson also illustrated a lot of the underground scenes, the bone piano, and more. Though some of the designs changed slightly due to construction, set designers, and art directors, it was Johnson’s sketches that inspired what we saw on screen.

“I got paid very well to do what I enjoy doing and I really consider myself lucky,” added Johnson who is currently working on a book about his artistic adventures in Hollywood.

A great time was had by all as we then watched the much-loved film about a group of kids finding One-Eyed Willy’s “rich stuff,” aka treasure, and saving their family’s houses.

“This means something to me, and I want it to mean something to these people, too,” Foster said. “Whatever they take from it, as long as it’s not like, ‘I watched a movie about some kids getting some treasure.’ I want them to feel like they’re in the adventure or behind the scenes with Jack [Johnson] or having fun with us. It’s like an all-encompassing experience.”

The Monday Night Movie Club will be back on Monday, Aug. 5, with a screening of “Dirty Dancing.” Local choreographer and dancer Doriana Sanchez, who appeared in the movie, will also be in attendance. Tickets are $8, and more information can be found at atascadero.themovieexperience.com closer to the screening date.

Featured Image: (From left) Monday Night Movie Club Host Danny Foster, “The Goonies” illustrator Jack Johnson, and co-host Bryan Bergman are shown at a special screening of the movie at Colony Cinemas. Photo by Rick Evans