![\"Ralph](\"https:\/\/sandiegodowntownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/At-a-recent-Monday-evening-Film-Forum-DeLauro-screened-the-comedy-drama-Hello-I-Must-Be-Going..jpg\")
<\/a>When the lights dim and the first scene of a film begins at the Central Library\u2019s Film Forum, Ralph DeLauro feels most alive. DeLauro, beloved by film buffs all around San Diego, has presented films at libraries and Mission Hills\u2019 outdoor film series \u201cCinema Under the Stars\u201d for decades. It\u2019s not a way of life for him; it is his life.<\/p>\n
DeLauro\u2019s first gig as film programmer sprouted in the early \u201880s in San Diego\u2019s old Greenwich Village West, an artist colony in today\u2019s Gaslamp District. He lived in a building there that still stands today, now named the Historic Lincoln Hotel.<\/p>\n
While there were musicians, writers, painters, stained-glass artists and other creative types, no one was involved with film. Since that was DeLauro\u2019s passion, he decided to start showing films on the rooftop of the building.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of the guys helped me build a screen out of plywood and painted it white. Someone else gave me an old 16mm projector and I borrowed the films from the library,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After about a year of screening films on the rooftop, DeLauro walked into the old Central Library Downtown and asked if he could start film screenings at the Library.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately, [San Diego Librarian] Lois Hyman, bless her heart, said \u2018Yes\u2019 and that jump-started the Central Library screenings,\u201d DeLauro said.<\/p>\n
Film enthusiasts from as far away as Los Angeles have come to film screenings presented by DeLauro. Sometimes they walk out of a film, for whatever reason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that they do keep coming back even after walking out of a movie one time shows how strong for them the attraction is for film,\u201d said DeLauro, who also teaches film classes through OASIS, an educational, social organization geared toward the elderly.<\/p>\n
DeLauro has many favorite films, but the one film that he says truly opened his eyes was \u201c2001: A Space Odyssey.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a film that touched me on a spiritual, intellectual, emotional and technical level,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Watching the changes in technique and technicality over the past decades, DeLauro appreciates the fact that more creative, talented people now have the ability to act in as well as produce movies.<\/p>\n
The downside of this, however, is that film has become \u201cdisposable entertainment,\u201d DeLauro said. \u201cLike pop music \u2014 here today, gone in two weeks. \u201c<\/p>\n
Just within the last few years, DeLauro has also been screening films at other branch libraries as an independent contractor. As for “Cinema Under the Stars,” DeLauro had been screening films at a bookstore called the Better World Galleria in Mission Hills. The owners of the Better World introduced him to Doug Yeagley, owner of Tops Salon, who wanted to create something in the patio behind his salon. They transformed the area into an outdoor movie theater, opening it in May of 1991.<\/p>\n
DeLauro\u2019s wife Carol enthusiastically helped transform her husband\u2019s hobby into a true career.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I first met Ralph on September 1st, 1982, he didn’t own anything. Not even a sleeping bag!\u201d She said, laughing. \u201cHe spent his money going to the movies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to give thanks to Carol, my wife, for her aid and assistance, for backing all my projects and putting up with the madness and craziness of the film exhibition world,\u201d DeLauro responded with a smile.<\/p>\n
On a recent Monday evening at the new Central Library, DeLauro aired the comedy-drama \u201cHello, I Must Be Going,\u201d starring Blythe Danner and Melanie Lynskey. DeLauro arrived couple of hours before the screening to set up the lights and sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m still working to get the kinks out of the system,\u201d DeLauro said.<\/p>\n
At 6:15 p.m., he opened the door to the people waiting just outside. Between 45 and 60 people chose a seat in the new, grand auditorium. DeLauro said that the same amount of people showed up at the old downtown library.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn reality, the films that I screen appeal to a smaller niche,\u201d DeLauro said. \u201cThese are not just entertainment-value movies for the popular masses. These films have a stimulating point of departure, often leaving the view with more questions than answers.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeLauro dimmed the lights in the Central Library auditorium and let the magic of the film begin.<\/p>\n
For upcoming film screening information at the library, go to facebook.com\/FreeLibraryMovies<\/a>. To get a calendar update for \u201cCinema Under the Stars,\u201d go to topspresents.com<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How Ralph DeLauro created Central Library\u2019s Film Forum and Cinema Under the Stars Cynthia Robertson | Downtown News<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":236673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"The man behind the screen","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11549,11547,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-features","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}