The phony promises of Casino Vultures betrayed Atlantic City, increased crime and poverty, expanded opportunities for political corruption, left hopeless wreckage in its wake.
When someone like John Paxton comes along with a vision for a better future, one can only hope his visions of a better Atlantic City come to fruition.
A Dream for Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ -- Dreams without passion are useless. That's fantasy. A waste of time.
Raised in the infamous North End, a section of Atlantic City blanketed with poverty and hopelessness, riddled with drugs and violence, young John Paxton saw up-close how quickly passion dies and dreams fade away. He saw it every day, everywhere. But John had two good parents and some good luck. At Rutgers University, then as a writer and a filmmaker, his dreams did not die, they grew larger. Now John Paxton has returned to Atlantic City with a really huge dream.
"The arts are a way out," John's soft dark eyes burn with intensity, "my dream is to make a film and music festival in my hometown. This is about community, about place. It's not about money and fame. It's about making a bridge out for the kids."
The inaugural Atlantic City International Film and Music Festival was held from Wednesday to Sunday with venues at Bally's, Caesars, Harrahs, and Showboat Casinos. The number of attendees was not as large as hoped, the more than 80 films and nearly 20 musical groups varied in quality, the festival's organization made some mistakes. But this first festival was not about hitting a home. It was about laying a foundation.
"Next year," Paxton proclaimed at the Awards ceremony, "our festival will be bigger and better. This is just the beginning. The beginning to reinvigorate the arts and culture for young people who live in Atlantic City and who come to this city." Next year, Paxton went on to say, jazz will be added to the rock and hip-hop music. And later, possibly, a red carpet will be laid on the boardwalk with search lights shooting into the night sky for arriving guests. After all, this is Atlantic City.
Settings are important for film festivals. The Woodstock Film Festival utilizes the beautiful fall foliage of the Catskill Mountains, the Woods Hole Fest Film Festival offers popular Cape Cod during the summer. Both are excellent festivals enhanced by their locations. Sundance is in the snowy Rockies, which seems to only elevate the intensity of America's premier festival. Prestigious Telluride is in the summer Rockies, the gorgeous mountain scenery enhancing contemplation.
But Atlantic City is about rolling the dice and jumping into the ocean. Atlantic City has an army of homeless beggars who hit the night boardwalk. Crime is rampant in Atlantic City. The police union erected a billboard saying the resort was not safe. As for the glitter and the fun, they are locked in the mammoth self enclosed casinos. They are too often viewed as fortresses in a dangerous city, hope that is surrounded by despair. The city's reputation can be summed up two words: greed and sleaze. This heavy materialism and pervasive plight makes Atlantic City a tough setting for a film and musical festival.
Falling into two soft cavernous chairs in the Blue Martini lounge, with slot machines pinging-panging on Bally's casino floor -- a sudden a roar, probably from a craps table -- John says much of the advice he has received has been negative. He ticks off a litany of reasons why others say he should not be doing what he is doing: "This is a gaming place... people here aren't interested in cultural events... there was a film festival before and it failed... the town is downright dangerous..."
But his enthusiasm is not dampen, not in the least. And it has reasons. "Atlantic City is no longer the exclusive gambling center for the region," he points out. "There is now gambling in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware. And there is online gambling. So Atlantic City can't survive on only gambling. It needs to capture new markets, it needs new events. A film and music festival can bring more people to Atlantic City."
John envisions people in the morning going to the beach, after lunch seeing a movie at the festival, in the late afternoon hitting a casino, after dinner talking a stroll on the boardwalk and then listening to live music at the festival, and finally returning to the casino for some late night gambling. Beach and boardwalk and casino intermingled with films and music. This would highlight Atlantic City as an entertainment hub that includes more than gambling, that includes the arts, while providing a forum for independent filmmakers and musicians to showcase their talents.
Since Atlantic City has more than 30 million visitors a year -- it's the fourth-largest destination stop in the United States, after Las Vegas, New York and Orlando -- John Paxton is betting a sliver of these millions want more than gambling and beach.
Not unexpectedly, our conversation weaves back to what fires John's passion: "the youth of Atlantic City ... the neighborhood I came from... the lack of viable alternatives for the kids... the power of art." His large body inches forward, eyes narrow, intensity jumps. "This will be a festival that is a bridge to a better world."
For more than three decades, since casino gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, the impoverished residents of this seaside resort have been waiting for a better life. For the vast majority, certainly for the poor and downtrodden in the North End, a better life has not arrived. With the lingering economic recession and the increased competition from regional gambling casinos, bad has turned to worse. Dreams are dying even faster. More youth are viewing crime as the only alternative. John Paxton, however, sees another way out. That is his dream. That is his passion. It's called the Atlantic City International Film and Music Festival.
A Dream for Atlantic City
Atlantic City, NJ -- Dreams without passion are useless. That's fantasy. A waste of time.
Raised in the infamous North End, a section of Atlantic City blanketed with poverty and hopelessness, riddled with drugs and violence, young John Paxton saw up-close how quickly passion dies and dreams fade away. He saw it every day, everywhere. But John had two good parents and some good luck. At Rutgers University, then as a writer and a filmmaker, his dreams did not die, they grew larger. Now John Paxton has returned to Atlantic City with a really huge dream.
"The arts are a way out," John's soft dark eyes burn with intensity, "my dream is to make a film and music festival in my hometown. This is about community, about place. It's not about money and fame. It's about making a bridge out for the kids."
The inaugural Atlantic City International Film and Music Festival was held from Wednesday to Sunday with venues at Bally's, Caesars, Harrahs, and Showboat Casinos. The number of attendees was not as large as hoped, the more than 80 films and nearly 20 musical groups varied in quality, the festival's organization made some mistakes. But this first festival was not about hitting a home. It was about laying a foundation.
"Next year," Paxton proclaimed at the Awards ceremony, "our festival will be bigger and better. This is just the beginning. The beginning to reinvigorate the arts and culture for young people who live in Atlantic City and who come to this city." Next year, Paxton went on to say, jazz will be added to the rock and hip-hop music. And later, possibly, a red carpet will be laid on the boardwalk with search lights shooting into the night sky for arriving guests. After all, this is Atlantic City.
Settings are important for film festivals. The Woodstock Film Festival utilizes the beautiful fall foliage of the Catskill Mountains, the Woods Hole Fest Film Festival offers popular Cape Cod during the summer. Both are excellent festivals enhanced by their locations. Sundance is in the snowy Rockies, which seems to only elevate the intensity of America's premier festival. Prestigious Telluride is in the summer Rockies, the gorgeous mountain scenery enhancing contemplation.
But Atlantic City is about rolling the dice and jumping into the ocean. Atlantic City has an army of homeless beggars who hit the night boardwalk. Crime is rampant in Atlantic City. The police union erected a billboard saying the resort was not safe. As for the glitter and the fun, they are locked in the mammoth self enclosed casinos. They are too often viewed as fortresses in a dangerous city, hope that is surrounded by despair. The city's reputation can be summed up two words: greed and sleaze. This heavy materialism and pervasive plight makes Atlantic City a tough setting for a film and musical festival.
Falling into two soft cavernous chairs in the Blue Martini lounge, with slot machines pinging-panging on Bally's casino floor -- a sudden a roar, probably from a craps table -- John says much of the advice he has received has been negative. He ticks off a litany of reasons why others say he should not be doing what he is doing: "This is a gaming place... people here aren't interested in cultural events... there was a film festival before and it failed... the town is downright dangerous..."
But his enthusiasm is not dampen, not in the least. And it has reasons. "Atlantic City is no longer the exclusive gambling center for the region," he points out. "There is now gambling in Philadelphia, New York, Delaware. And there is online gambling. So Atlantic City can't survive on only gambling. It needs to capture new markets, it needs new events. A film and music festival can bring more people to Atlantic City."
John envisions people in the morning going to the beach, after lunch seeing a movie at the festival, in the late afternoon hitting a casino, after dinner talking a stroll on the boardwalk and then listening to live music at the festival, and finally returning to the casino for some late night gambling. Beach and boardwalk and casino intermingled with films and music. This would highlight Atlantic City as an entertainment hub that includes more than gambling, that includes the arts, while providing a forum for independent filmmakers and musicians to showcase their talents.
Since Atlantic City has more than 30 million visitors a year -- it's the fourth-largest destination stop in the United States, after Las Vegas, New York and Orlando -- John Paxton is betting a sliver of these millions want more than gambling and beach.
Not unexpectedly, our conversation weaves back to what fires John's passion: "the youth of Atlantic City ... the neighborhood I came from... the lack of viable alternatives for the kids... the power of art." His large body inches forward, eyes narrow, intensity jumps. "This will be a festival that is a bridge to a better world."
For more than three decades, since casino gambling was legalized in Atlantic City, the impoverished residents of this seaside resort have been waiting for a better life. For the vast majority, certainly for the poor and downtrodden in the North End, a better life has not arrived. With the lingering economic recession and the increased competition from regional gambling casinos, bad has turned to worse. Dreams are dying even faster. More youth are viewing crime as the only alternative. John Paxton, however, sees another way out. That is his dream. That is his passion. It's called the Atlantic City International Film and Music Festival.
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