A Hollywood celebrity will be in the north-central Iowa community of Iowa Falls tonight to introduce the continental premiere of his latest movie at the reopening of theater that’s more than a century old. Actor Hugh Jackman, who many people know as Wolverine from the X-Men movies, will appear at the Metropolitan Theater in Iowa Falls for a special fundraiser.
Mark Hamilton is a spokesman for the historic movie house. “It will be an exciting evening,” Hamilton says, as Jackman will be bringing his wife and children, too. All funds raised will go to Ellsworth Municipal Hospital in Iowa Falls. Hamilton says the Australian actor, who’s last big hit was “Les Miserables,” is coming to Iowa as he’s the friend of a friend — and chose the fundraiser as one of the first locations where his latest work will be seen on the big screen.
The North American premiere of Jackman’s new movie, “Prisoners,” will be on one screen, while “Wolverine” will be playing on the other screen. The larger theater seats about 180 while the smaller one seats about 100. The event marks the grand re-opening of the theater, which first opened its doors as an opera house in 1899.
He says the Met fell into bankruptcy in May and a retired local attorney, John Whitesell, decided to invest in it, reopen it and upgrade from film to digital technology. Whitesell’s son is Jackman’s agent. Tickets for the event were 100-dollars each and they sold out in a matter of 35 minutes.
(Reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)