How Stacy Spikes, Co-Founder of MoviePass, Spends His Day at the Theater
Stacy Spikes grew up at the movies. When he was a child in Houston, his mother would give him and his brother $5 each, drop them off at the theater — the manager knew them by name — and come back hours later. 'She'd probably be arrested today,' he said. 'It was a different time.'
But that time at the movies was formative for Mr. Spikes, 56, who in 1997 founded Urbanworld Film Festival, a five-day festival in New York that showcases Black and multicultural films. In 2011, he co-founded MoviePass, a subscription-based ticketing service, which he later sold and then bought back in 2021.
'Seeing Disney films and being dropped off at the theater, that was a form of escape for us, but it was like our babysitter,' Mr. Spikes said. 'I saw 'Blade Runner' when I was 13 years old and I knew I was going to work in this area.'
The movie industry has evolved in recent years, but Mr. Spikes remains a film buff. Recently, he saw 'Sinners' three times in three different types of theaters.
'I knew it had great music so I saw it the first time in Dolby Atmos, which focuses on the sound,' he said. 'The second screening, I saw it in IMAX, and now you're really focused on the picture and that part of the experience.'
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