By Jeanne Bonner

For the AJC

Four years ago, Jonathan and Gayle Rej of East Atlanta decided to take a chance: They bought the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon Avenue in Atlanta for an undisclosed price and dived into turning around the ailing art deco theater.

To complement a slate of mostly independent first-run films, they introduced new events centered on classic horror flicks to draw moviegoers. The theater recently celebrated its 70th anniversary with a film festival of movies made in 1939, the year the theater was built.

Ahead of Sunday’s Academy Awards, the Plaza is screening four Oscar-nominated films: “A Single Man” (best actor nominee, Colin Firth), “The Messenger” (best supporting actor nominee, Woody Harrelson), “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (animated feature) and “Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus” (art direction and costume).

Last year the owners decided to take the theater nonprofit in the hopes of stabilizing its finances. With suburban multiplexes showing a dozen films at a time, it’s not been easy for the small, two-screen theater to compete. But for the couple, running the theater is about history and a love of film.

Jonathan Rej recently spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the challenges of running a nonprofit theater.

Q: What made you decide to become a nonprofit theater?

A: The reason we bought the place was to save it. When we bought it, it was failing. It was just losing money. It’s probably a bad business decision to buy a failing business [laughs]. I have another job — I work in television production. I don’t need it to support myself.

As a for-profit theater, it cost too much to run it. I’m hoping it will be more lucrative to be a nonprofit. We need more money to stay open. As of now, it’s really not going to last — there is no way to make it long term like this.

Q: How does the nonprofit status change the day-to-day running of the business?

A: Now we offer memberships to patrons so they can support us. We are trying to get grants. We are trying to get sponsors. We have gotten a few groups that will support a particular movie. It’s a tax write-off for them.

We are starting a venture with AM 1690. They are going to sponsor a film on March 18 [“Shane”]. They are big movie fans at the station, and they said, “There are all these films we would like to see on the big screen.” I would like to do that kind of thing more. [Pabst] — the beer maker — also sponsored a film once.

We just got a little grant from the arts council. We’d like to get some sponsors. The Fox Theatre has Coca-Cola. The Rialto [performing arts center at Georgia State University] has Delta. If a company wanted to start a series, hook up the upstairs theater, something like that could work.

Q: What sacrifices have you made to keep the theater open?

A: It’s all time. My wife works full time at the theater. She was a high school teacher. She ran the drama department at Stockbridge High School. ... And we mortgaged the house to buy the theater. We don’t even make enough money to hire a janitorial service.

Q: What made you want to buy the Plaza?

A: About five years ago, it seemed like Atlanta was changing. Lots of places were closing down, like Tortillas on Ponce, the Echo Lounge in East Atlanta, other places. I thought the things that made the city great were going away. That big shopping center [Edgewood Retail District] was being built on Moreland Avenue at the time.

I just thought what makes a city great is the uniqueness: the independent restaurants, the independent record stores. No one goes to a city and says, “Wow, they have the greatest Best Buy here!”

Then I saw the Plaza was for sale, and I said to myself, “Are you kidding me? That place is going become a Gap.”

Q: What’s one misconception about running an independent theater?

A: People think that we are doing so well because they come to a single event, and the place will be packed. Also, there’s a lack of support for more unknown films, stuff that is more obscure. We’ve booked a lot of films that weren’t playing anywhere, but there are no ads for these kinds of films, and no names attached to them so it’s hard to get people to come.

We are the oldest cinema in Atlanta. The Fox is older, but it’s not really a cinema. There used to be neighborhood theaters everywhere. Peachtree had three or four, and now they are all gone.

That’s the important thing for us: the oldest cinema in Atlanta and the last of these old neighborhood cinemas. That’s why I think it should be a theater and not a Gap store.

Upcoming events

“Maniac,” presented by Splatter Cinema. 9:30 p.m. March 9.

“Bizarro Sat Morn,” weird and rarely seen 16mm cartoons. 9:30 p.m. March 16, 3 p.m. March 20.

“Shane,” presented by AM 1690. 7:30 p.m. March 18.

1049 Ponce de Leon Ave., Atlanta. 404-873-1939, www.plazaatlanta.com .