Missoula’s Roxy Theater is getting an upgrade this week and will begin showing digital films for the first time. Roxy Press Coordinator Becca Sayre said the upgrade is the result of a lot of fundraising and a big grant from the state of Montana.

"We applied for a grant and were granted $50,000 from the state of Montana through a Tourism Infrastructure Investment Program," Sayre said. "That is basically a program that the state uses to encourage people to come to Montana, to visit different areas in Montana if they already live here, investing in our tourism industry, and they selected the Roxy among a couple other Missoula places as well."

The Roxy will put the digital projector to work for the first time with “Birdman,” a film in the running for best picture at the Oscars, but which most Missoulians never saw.

"We really were looking at titles that hadn't come through Missoula because that's one thing that Missoula is such a great town, but sometimes we just get left off these lists," Sayre said. "You know, we don't have enough screens that will show all these films and 'Birdman' is definitely looking like a front-runner for the Oscar and it's just a shame until we are available to show it, no one in town could see it."

Screenings of “Birdman” will begin this Friday, February 20.

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