The longtime leader of Tucson's nonprofit Loft Cinema is stepping aside — kind of

The longtime leader of a nonprofit, independent Tucson movie theater is stepping aside — kind of.

Peggy Johnson has been the executive director of the Loft Cinema since 2002. The locally-owned theater hired a new head recently, and after 24 years, Johnson will be transitioning to executive director emeritus over the next few months.

The Loft specializes in independent and foreign films and documentaries, but also shows new releases and hosts special events. It’s been around since 1972.

Peggy Johnson spoke with The Show about her time leading the Loft Cinema and what she plans to do next and what got her interested in working there and being in charge of it in the first place.

Full conversation

PEGGY JOHNSON: Well, it was — we saw the for-sale sign go up under the marquee, and a few of us who were really, you know, passionate about the Loft, felt that it was an important part of Tucson’s cultural personality. And if it went away at that point, we would have had nothing but corporate chain multiplexes basically. And that just didn’t seem like it was a good idea for Tucson.

We’d been really spoiled by having the Loft for so long and we felt like it was a really important part of the reason we lived in Tucson, so we really wanted to maintain that presence. I mean, it had been here 30 years at that point, and we felt like it was important.

My husband and I even talked about maybe moving if we weren’t able to figure out a way to save the Loft because living — like I said, living in a city with just chain theaters that show the big Hollywood stuff just wasn’t going to, you know, be enough of a — we didn’t want that. So, the fact that we were able to save it really meant a lot to a lot of people, and meant a lot to me personally because I like film, and I didn’t want to just have the big blockbuster stuff available to me, so.

MARK BRODIE: Well, so given how personal this is to you, what have these last nearly two and a half decades been like, going to work there and running this operation every day?

PEGGY JOHNSON: It’s been such an honor, such a privilege — and so hard. So, you know, the — it’s been it’s been incredible. I’ve learned so much, and it’s been just a really an honor. The main communication I get from patrons is just gratitude. People are just so thankful ... and grateful that the Loft is there, and I just it’s just daily.

MARK BRODIE: And so, what led to your decision to hang it up?

PEGGY JOHNSON: Well, I’m tired, and we just went through a two-year construction project that really was grueling and took a lot out of me. And I think as that project went on, it became obvious that it was time for somebody else to take the reins. I’m tired. I mean, I’ve been doing this a long time, and before my 24-year career here, I had a 24-year career in public broadcasting in Tucson. So, you know, I’ve worked every day for 50 years, and I’m ready to work less hard.

MARK BRODIE: Sure, but it sounds like you’re not necessarily stepping away entirely, what will you still be doing at the Loft?

PEGGY JOHNSON: Well, my title will be executive director emeritus, and I’m going to be involved with programming, involved with the film festival. I belong to a an international group, the International Confederation of Art Houses, which represents about 5,000 screens in 28 countries. And I’m the first American that’s ever been on their board. They were founded in 1955 to try to keep, you know, make sure that the art houses in in Europe primarily continued to exist so that they weren’t just dominated by Hollywood, you know, films, which is a global problem.

And so, I’ve been on that board for a long time and I’m vice president, so I’ll be doing that work. I’ll be also, you know, going to international festivals, hopefully taking some of our patrons with me on occasion to other festivals, and working on our festival. And then, I’ll still be doing some I’m sure some fundraising and advocating for the Loft. And the main thing I’m going to do is be at the Loft watching movies more often.

MARK BRODIE: Well, I have to say, and please forgive me, it sounds like you are now getting to do all the fun stuff without maybe the not-so-fun stuff.

PEGGY JOHNSON: That’s the key, that’s the key. Yes. ... I don’t want to manage people and worry about budgets, but I want to do the fun stuff and really interacting with patrons, that’s my No. 1 favorite thing to do, so.

MARK BRODIE: Sure. I’m curious about how you have seen these last few years — especially at a sort of a specialty independent, you know, art house a movie theater — in terms of like all the challenges with people wanting to watch movies on their living room couches, or you know, some of the big blockbusters where you know, they want to maybe go to the multiplex kind of thing. Like, what what has it looked like for you guys?

PEGGY JOHNSON: You know, it’s been really interesting since 2002. We’ve seen every single film was on film. And then in 2012, no film was on film, and that was a big change. A lot of art houses didn’t make that transition because it was so expensive. And then, you know, there’s been streaming and COVID and now, you know, as you said, a lot of people are opting to stay home and watch films on streaming.

But they’re not going to watch "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" on 70mm at home, and a lot of people want to see something like, you know, "The Backrooms," for example, they want to see that on the big screen. Because it’s an immersive kind of experience.

I think people during COVID really kind of stayed home more than they wanted to, and now they realize they need to get out and do something. And I think going to the movies is something that people just enjoy, being in a dark room with strangers and friends. And, you know, when you laugh at a movie in your living room, it’s great, but when you hear like 200 other people laughing at the same thing, it’s just a a different kind of joyful experience, or or being afraid, or you know, we saw "Close Encounters" with a completely sold out 370 people. And it was ... it was just fun, you know, it’s just you can’t replicate the communal experience at home. And, you know, I think people have always wanted to be — it’s a human need, you know, to be in a social situation, to be in a community of people sharing an experience. And I think the film is a very affordable democratic way to get that need met.

MARK BRODIE: What is the market like these days for foreign films, independent films, especially in Tucson?

PEGGY JOHNSON: I think it’s good. I mean, we we do well. I have to admit that you know, having a film festival, is really important because sometimes the foreign films and the documentaries don’t get major releases, and so we end up not being able to show as many of those as we used to.

Since COVID, the landscape has changed with what’s available to us. So we like for instance, we open "Disclosure Day." The idea, you know, before COVID, that we would open open a Steven Spielberg film would have just been a joke. There was no way the distributor would give us that film, and now, you know, we’re opening it.

And it’s ... so the availability, we’ve got more available to us, so it makes it harder for us to fit some of the smaller films in, but we do do it and we we make it a priority. Sometimes it’s just one screening, or sometimes it’s one screening a day for a week. So it just, you know, it’s become a challenge. But people our audiences still really respond well to foreign films and docs, so, you know, we do we do well with them.

MARK BRODIE: All right, that is Peggy Johnson, soon to be the executive director emeritus at the Loft Cinema in Tucson. Peggy, thanks so much and congratulations on your kind of quasi-retirement.

PEGGY JOHNSON: Thank you, Mark. I appreciate it.