The United States had 116,000 shopping malls in 2017, which is a slight increase over the previous year. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke with Thomason. Whitcomb: This is a hard and fun question. I felt like I really new the people and their stories. It lost its two primary anchor stores, Kmart and J.C. Penney, in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Id recommend it, and its enjoyable. The mall is largely vacant today and mostly abandoned, yet amazingly, was still open for foot traffic as of 2018. The developer will come to do a land acquisition at the Jasper Mall in the next six weeks. I know that several malls across America are experiencing their own "Jasper" reality, but the key to a great doc is getting the audience to care about the subjects. But that property at least has been redeveloped. To add onto the mess, the shopping center itself sits in a predominately rural mountainous forest area with barely any locals due to the location's violent tornado patterns and borderline economic poverty problems. The documentary was filmed over the course of 2018 as the mall tried to rebrand and recover from the loss. It revolves around the Jasper Mall, a dying mall in Jasper, Alabama. It's seemed out of character for them to interact at that location. Cloverleaf Mall opened in 1972, but unfortunately, a new mall opened up just three years later and only 5 miles down the road. Overall the doc is really blunt and grim as it looks at a dying landscape something that many see in real life as the decline of the American mall is another change that all of us are dealing with. View all photos (30) Traveler (7) Room & Suite (9) Dining (5) Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/26/2023). The concept he had in mind, however, was different from what actually transpired. After a decade of declining occupancy and traffic, it closed in 2009. Jasper Mall had its world premiere at Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Learn more. Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb are the films co-directors. Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic, particularly with regard to health and safety. Cinematography, editing and musical score were on point. I have a better understanding of even in a mall that is at 50% capacity or whatever the capacity is at Jasper, people have businesses and have lives. In the 90s Toys R Us was a retail powerhouse then the internet happened. Note: This article may feature affiliate links, and purchases made may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. is jasper mall in alabama still open - waltzconstruction.com Seniors get their morning walks in. [4] The Jasper Mall was chosen as the site of the film because it had not been remodeled since it opened in 1981. The collection of songs by the musicians HAHA Mart, Chayse Porter and Baker Knight were easy on the ears. And nothing much has changed except we dont get DVDs in the mail anymore. I immediately started sending Brett photos of it and said, Hey, weve got to look closer at this this. Once we met the people inside and started to connect with the stories that we tell in the film, I think we knew we had to make the film. I'm honestly surprised to hear it's still open. Open now. Such examples are the amazing analogically-like footage where mostly elderly customers order funeral flowers, play dominos in an empty food court, sing contradicting gospel music and unable to connect with modern technology. ago I think it'll make a comeback, eventually. To his disappointment, the allure to developers of cheap farmland in city outskirts overcame Gruens conception of intentional city planning and downtown revitalization. My parents always visited the department stores, so I spent a lot of time in JC Penney, Palais Royal and Sears. Jasper Mall offers such straightforward Middle America vibes that anyone who's never left the big city they grew up in might find this pretty alien. Note: ClickAmericana.com features authentic historical information, and is not intended to represent current best practices on any topic, particularly with regard to health and safety, but also in terms of outdated cultural depictions and social values. For someone who grew up with their local mall being their "go to place" as a youth, this brought back both memories and sad realizations. is jasper mall in alabama still open - burntporkchops.com Truth be hold; the filmmakers only gave the viewer a few glimpses that something was a bit off about the Jasper mall. Numerous plans for redevelopment have come and gone; the latest was proposed a few months ago. fivem gun crafting location; pros and cons of lifesource water system; usta friend at court 2022 handbook Published: Jan. 17, 2023 at 1:14 PM PST JASPER, Ala. (WBRC) - On Tuesday, Jan. 17, the Jasper City Council voted unanimously to an agreement between the city and Rural King, a retail chain specializing in farm and home. A good example of this was their appearance in the food court toward the end of the film. Inside under harsh incandescent lighting, McClelland handles maintenance and other mall matters in solitude, as if he's marooned alone on another world, like in that 2009 Sam Rockwell astronaut movie, "Moon.". 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The mall is a 350,000 square feet and was originally developed by the Simmons family along with developer George Ewing from Georgia. Bradford Thomason: All of our films are inspired by something nostalgic from our childhood, and usually we try to take a look behind the curtain of that nostalgia, so to speak, to see how these things have impacted individuals or continue to impact individuals in the present day. Unfortunately, at that point the total number of malls didnt simply plateau, and building rates didnt merely decline. You can rate this movie to give feedback. The traditional mall is a dying world and this documentary captures one example of this. A still from the "Jasper Mall" documentary film. Theres a lot of elderly people there. Make friends with people on the coasts. That would be Victor Gruen, the architect who conceived and planned the first climate-controlled indoor mall in the US. According to Jasper Mall's website, the facility still houses around 20 business ranging from chains like Belk department stores to local ventures such as Robin's Next florist. As a result of having your ticket verified for this movie, you grant us access to the email address associated with your Rotten Tomatoes account against another Fandango ticket purchase. It's surprising more riveting than watching highly staged moments where people ruin shots by staring straight at the camera as they talk to other people. Nail Galaxy. The various causes of the mall's decline emerge throughout the documentary. I found myself wanting to know a little more about things. HBCUs are riding a wave of popularity not seen in decades. However, without more information it is difficult to provide a definitive answer. Shortly after our premiere COVID-19 happened, and we decided that the best plan of action would be to release the film digitally as we were already talking to distributors who were eager to release it. WBHMs Andrew Yeager spoke with Thomason. ago That first photo brought me back in time to the mid 80's. That was exactly what malls looked like when I was a tiny, new person. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on eight reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. It had an aesthetic that we both loved and it reminded us of the malls of our youth. is jasper mall in alabama still open - internetdominators.com Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by WordPress, The Unsettling Reality Of Fitting Room Cameras In Malls, The Daraz Mall: A Popular Shopping Destination In The Heart Of The City, Different Ways To Get To Ontario Mills Mall, Yorkdale Shopping Centre: Torontos Premier Retail Destination, Is Your Shop In A Mall Profitable? One man, if he were alive to see the demise of mall properties, possibly would have seen this coming. One such example is the filmmaker's request in telling a teen couple's story about the struggles of starting an interracial relationship in the deep south. How is the ongoing pandemic affecting indie films and documentaries, as far as getting them out there, distribution, building buzz, etc.? If malls eventually go extinct what do you think we'll be missing? Documentaries like "Jasper Mall" are why I initially started getting into watching docs. The movie Jasper Mall is not yet available for review, and no reviews have appeared for it. [12], On January 24, 2020, Jasper Mall, a documentary feature film billed as "a year in the life of a dying shopping mall, its patrons, and its tenants" premiered at Slamdance Film Festival.[13]. Jasper Mall is a time capsule for the future, where one day we will look back and say "remember when we used to go to the mall?" The Jasper Mall is still open and ready to serve shoppers in the area. Maybe the movie should have focus on that, rather than wasting film footage on the manager/security guard's Mike McClelland romanticizing his past job as a Tiger King type zookeeper. On November 12, 2021, Dunham's Sports opened in the former JCPenney anchor location on the east end of the mall, acquiring the entire JCPenney space. Is Jasper Mall Still Open | Denver Mart But we can still revel in the nostalgia! This film nailed this phenomenon.& man I'd hire that security man.what a good dependable worker! It's so low key, so go-with-the-flow, so "real time" feeling that it manages a dreamlike quality. There are great stories here. A very nice and integer documentary about a dying mall and the people to whom this mall means something in their lives, in one way or another. We want to show that behind every corner in every city, state, there are quiet, simple and relatable stories. Lowest Rate Guarantee! The mall also has a food court with a variety of options, as well as a movie theater. "He truly cares and takes pride in the work he does there.". The epitome of a slice-of-life documentary! But with the rise of online shopping, many indoor malls have suffered. What will ever become of it? I turned it on depressed, after trying another "failed development" documentary too impressed with its own travelogue production values. It hadnt been remodeled since it opened. Jasper Mall | Reel South Now that you know, have fun looking around! Leaves you thinking about your mall days! If you have an opportunity for Southern creatives and want tobe included in our newsletter write us at dirt@reelsouth.org. It certainly made me wistful for the shopping malls of my youth. Currently there is one anchor store, Belk, and about ten smaller stores. Equal parts nostalgic comfort and dystopian apathy, A nostalgic, heartwarming, and equally heart-breaking documentary. A documentary playing at the Sidewalk Film Festival later this month looks at one dying mall here in Alabama. Jasper Mall is a 2020 American documentary film directed by Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb. Grim and true look at a dying business of the American mall. Watch on PBS. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Great film, it's a must watch. We would also go with no plan. Fewer young people want to work in trade jobs than ever before, and thats left a hole in the job market. But LA and NY do still have a lot of resources in production and post production. 200 The Mall Way, Jasper, AL 35504-7515 Visit hotel website 1 (800) 566-0916 Write a review Check In / / Check Out / / Guests Hotel direct offer! The mall is viewed as being notorious passe than modern. The only thing left at the Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles, IL is the Von Maur department store and a movie theater. Now when I visit with my wife as an older adult it's eerily quiet but still mostly open.