SV Chat: Meet the man who programs those wild movies at Alamo Drafthouse
"It’s a strange thing to turn a passion into a full-time job ... " says Jake Isgar, film programmer for Alamo Drafthouse theaters in San Francisco, Los Angeles and other locations.
Jake Isgar is onstage at the Alamo Drafthouse New Mission theater in San Francisco trying to convince a full house that the 1988 B (minus) film “Primal Rage” is well worth their time.
It’s not a hard sell for these horror fans, who have come to trust Isgar’s tastes when it comes to booking the weekly Terror Tuesday film series — during which “Primal Rage,” “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Part 2,” “Evil Dead” and other great gore flicks have shown in recent months — as well as other programming at the popular movie house.
Since 2022, Isgar has held the film programmer gig for the theater chain, which also boasts a location in Los Angeles. (The chain is reportedly exploring sale opportunities.) In that position, he helps to oversee nationwide repertory and indie bookings. Yet, his involvement with Alamo extends much further back, having started out as a volunteer there and then venturing through a number of paid positions before moving into national marketing. He moved from Austin, Texas, (where Alamo is headquartered) to the Bay Area in 2019.
Recently we had the chance to chat with Isgar about his love for film and his programming work at Alamo (drafthouse.com).
Q: How did you first get interested in movies?
A: I think a crucial element of my movie journey came from living in Florida and needing air conditioning. My folks and extended family were always interested in catching the newest release or checking out video stores, and I was lucky enough at a very young age — 5, I think? — to have a TV and VCR in my room.
Q: What were some of the movies that really made a big impression on you at an early age? And why did they make such an impression?
A: Any late ‘80s/early ‘90s cable staple is burned into my brain. A few that come to mind — “Last Action Hero,” “Ghostbusters,” “Big Trouble in Little China.” But that double-tape release of “Jaws” with the feature-length making-of documentary — that was the first time I got a sense of the people behind the curtain and broader show business.
Q: Where did you go to college and what did you study?
A: I went to Florida State University, hoping to get into their film school. It didn’t happen, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I ended up working in live sports production and booking movies at the on-campus movie theater on top of my double communications and humanities major.
Q: How did you end up working for Alamo?
A: I was extremely lucky to fall into the Student Life Cinema program at Florida State. It was there that I got a crash course in theatrical exhibition — the venue was staffed and creatively managed solely by a student committee with a great degree of autonomy. To understand it better, I thought I should not only watch more movies — again, air conditioning — but also learn about the field and practice itself.
After graduating in 2013, Austin felt like the right place to relocate, given its rich film culture and opportunities. During my first month there, I volunteered for Alamo’s annual genre festival, Fantastic Fest, and got accepted to the Austin Film Society’s internship program. From there, I was either working server shifts at Alamo, helping with events and trailer cutting for AFS, or attending screenings at both. It was a dream come true.
Q: What’s kept you at the company all these years?
A: Alamo has a very unique place within the exhibition ecosystem. We play a strong mix of new releases from major studios and independents. We also maintain a robust repertory program across all of our locations. For me, it’s the opportunity to take chances on independent work and wild ideas on a larger scale. People actually show up for these things, too. I think it’s a very unique position to maintain broad social spaces like cinemas and it’s one I want to make the most of.
Q: What are your main responsibilities in your current position?
A: My boss always says that we’re the Butts-in-Seats Department. My part in that is helping chart our Alternative Content strategy — basically, anything that isn’t a major first-run release. That amounts to booking and scheduling at a few dozen venues, contributing to marketing campaigns, and collaborating with our operations teams. I manage our Fantastic Fest Presents screening series nationwide and focus on our focused repertory programming for larger metro markets.
Q: What does a common day look like for you?
A: Most of my coworkers are in Austin, so every day feels like I’m two hours behind. After being shot out of that cannon, the bulk of my day is spent managing Alamo’s very packed calendar, fielding inquiries from distributors or potential partners, catching screeners, keeping up with the industry, and any creative problem-solving that comes out of the sheer amount of events we put on. It’s a lot of administrative work.
Q: You mean you don’t just get to sit around and watch a bunch of movies and tell your bosses that you are working?
A: Man, if only it were that easy. It’s a strange thing to turn a passion into a full-time job, mostly because there’s always an uneasy tension between the rigors of any job and wanting to have an opinion about art. Our job is to watch and evaluate commercial cinema and best match it to an audience. It flips a switch in your brain that’s tough to turn off.
Q: How is the movie-going experience different at Alamo than other theaters?
A: Alamo is known for its in-theater dining. Our venue teams provide a lot of unseen labor to make for a killer time for guests. To me, though, our secret sauce is in our presentation — brilliantly compiled pre-shows, brief and ad-less trailer reels, and crisp image and sound. Our team cares about the total experience that goes into seeing a movie.
Q: You show mainstream Hollywood flicks. But you also show some very un-mainstream stuff — which is what draws me to Alamo. How much fun to do have booking that stuff?
A: Every day, I’m motivated by the joy of discovery. However, it also takes a lot of work to draw attention to smaller-scale cinema, especially in a for-profit environment. At a certain point, it becomes a game: How can we keep a calendar fresh while making sure everything has a chance to succeed with scheduling and marketing?
Q: Being a massive horror fan, I just love Alamo’s Terror Tuesday series. It’s so eclectic. What’s the game plan when it comes to booking this?
A: To me, the goal of a weekly series is to bring new people in for each show. We have a mix of battle-hardened cine junkies who’ve seen everything, folks who have waited for the right time to see a canonical classic, and people who just want a good show. I like to make sure there’s a balance of genres, eras, on-screen and off-screen representation, and a showcase of harder-to-see work along with new restorations and 35mm film wherever possible.
Q: Horror movie fans are a different bunch. They are passionate, opinionated and very loyal to the genre. Talk to me about the Terror Tuesday fanbase. Do you see the same folks in the audience over and over again?
A: It’s true that Tuesday nights at Alamo bring out a specific bunch. What strikes me each week is the diversity in age and gender representation. I want every person in the audience to feel welcome, but they don’t have to be comfortable — who wants that in their late-night genre cinema? The same extends to the sister series Weird Wednesday, though that ebbs and flows more with the movie each week since they vary so much.
Q: What are your five favorite horror films and why?
A: Oh man, it’s impossible to choose, but if I had to, I’d put these five horror movies at the top:
“The Thing” (1982) — John Carpenter and Kurt Russell are the GOATs.
“The Black Cat” (1934) — Lugosi and Boris Karloff are out of monster makeup and in an emotional chess match of vengeance, genocidal guilt, and necrophilia. Again, this is from 1934.
“The Exorcist” (1973) — The grab-you-by-the-collar intensity of an experimental theater production made by a docu-realist cinemaniac. No other possession movie has felt this dangerous either before or since.
“Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight” (1995) — The party horror blast of the 1990s. Killer effects and inventive direction paired with a tight script and all-time character actor ensemble.
“Phenomena” (1986) — Jennifer Connelly speaks to bugs, wrecks some mean girls, and solves crimes. Donald Pleasance also has a chimpanzee nurse. Unhinged, then the last 20 minutes blow the door clean off.
Q: Any chance I can convince you to show my favorite horror movie — the original “Black Christmas” — each and every holiday season?
A: Glad that you mentioned this. Not only will this be a yearly event, but it’s also a centerpiece of our 1974 anniversary series later this year. Hopefully, with an extra surprise or two in-store.
Q: What else is coming up on the schedule that you’re excited to have people see?
“We’ve been running a year-long capstone series called Time Capsules, where we focus on a few anniversary years from 1974 to 1999. We’ll reach 1989 this summer, which was a seminal year for pop, indie and international filmmaking. “Batman,” “Do the Right Thing,” “UHF,” “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!,” “Road House” — it’s an embarrassment of riches.
Name: Jake Isgar
City: San Francisco
Job: Film Programmer, Alamo Drafthouse
Formerly worked at: Austin Film Society, Florida State University’s Student Life Cinema
Hobbies: Basketball, record collecting, reading and watching movies
Jake Isgar 5 things:
1. Jake has two cats, Duke & Dwight, with his fiancee Natalie. “I may not be their real dad, but I’m the one who stepped up.”
2. He lived in Orlando, Florida, and Austin, Texas, before moving to San Francisco in April 2019. “Move west, they said.”
3. While he has a fondness for the Warriors, he is forever a diehard Orlando Magic fan. “You don’t see a lot of people proudly displaying Magic fandom in print, that’s for sure.”
4. He is ambidextrous. “I have zero clue why I play sports left-handed — at least it surprises everyone else for a few plays.”
5. He got COVID for the first time after seeing U2 at the Sphere in Las Vegas this past January.