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October 7, 2009
Film music making steady inroads into symphony orchestra repertories
In a recent article in Variety, more and more prestigious orchestras are offering of music written for motion pictures a part of their regular season concert offerings. In addition to more concerts conducted by film composers, film music concerts are now a part of the seasons of the Cleveland, Seattle, Dallas, and Chicago symphony orchestras. Sometimes film is shown as the music is performed, but increasingly the music is performed as specially scored concert suites, moving the music beyond the traditional pops concert presentation and into the domain now dominated by the music heard in traditional music appreciation classes.
On a practical level, say many observers, movie-music programs attract new audiences and therefore much-needed revenue. “People come to these concerts who have never been to the concert hall,” says Richard Kaufman, who will conduct the Dallas Symphony in a program of Texas-themed film music (“Giant,” “The Alamo”) this weekend at Meyerson Symphony Center. “They are drawn by the (movie) titles and the program. So in a sense, it’s helping to create new concertgoers who will come back to hear the great classical works — just because of the experience of hearing a symphony orchestra play film music.”
“Live at Lincoln Center” producer John Goberman has launched a series, “A Symphonic Night at the Movies,” that showcases the music while the films are screened. He has staged “The Wizard of Oz” with live music; the “Psycho” concert is his idea, while a recent performance at the Bowl featuring clips from Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals conducted by Newman was done under his guidance.
Read the full story in Variety.
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October 6, 2009
Smaller town theaters struggle to survive in Japan
In the U.S., the story is all too familiar: a small town theater closes in the face of competition from a multiplex within driving distance away. A similar phenomenon is occurring in Japan, which led to the convening of a recent confab, where ways to preserve community theaters was the central issue. Attendees are concerned that many young Japanese will now grow up never having seen a film in a movie theater.
According to the 2008 yearbook of movie screenings published by the Japan Community Cinema Center, there were 3,176 screens—excluding adult movie theaters—in 2007, an increase of 350 over the previous survey taken in 2005.
However, 80 percent of these screens were at multiplexes, and the number of movie theaters had actually fallen by 122 to 667.
In 1993, when the nation’s first multiplex opened in Kanagawa Prefecture, there were 1,734 movie theaters.
Read the whole story in Asia One.
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September 30, 2009
Developers vie to build mutiplexes in Atascadero
ATASCADERO, CA — Currently a town with no movie theaters at all, Atasadero, CA might soon have 20 screens as developers are proposing to build two ten-screen multiplexes nearly across the street from each other.
John Roush, owner of Park Cinemas in Paso Robles, unveiled plans Tuesday for a mixed-use project of Italian Renaissance design — mimicking the architecture of the historic Rotunda building — across from the city’s Sunken Gardens on El Camino Real. The proposed project includes 40,000 square feet of shopping or restaurants and a 33,000-square-foot, 10-screen movie theater.
The project, called La Plaza Cinemas, is within walking distance of the long-touted Colony Square project and includes a three-block span from Hoover’s 101 restaurant to Traffic Way. The stretch houses a string of dated smaller buildings and includes a 1.6-acre parcel owned by the Hoff Family that housed the North County Christian Thrift Store before it was destroyed by a fire in March.
The whole story can be read in the Tribune.
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September 28, 2009
Fewer indie films being picked up for distribution
In a recent story in the Chicago Sun-Times, film critic Roger Ebert notes that in spite of often high praise from film critics at many recent festivals, many independent films are not finding distributors. Although he would prefer that film be shown in 35mm, he recognizes that digital distribution is here to stay and that independent and art film houses may have to change the way they acquire and present films if they are to stay in business. Moreover, lovers of indie films may be increasingly forced to watch films at home either by using on-demand cable services and internet delivery.
The makers of independent films don’t have to send to learn for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for them. The bottom fell out of the market. That doesn’t mean there were no other offers, but it means there were none that the sellers felt able to accept. It shows a collapse of confidence in the prospects of independent film distribution.
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Anne Thompson, who always knows what she’s talking about. In her blog Thompson on Hollywood, she leads: “The old independent market is over.” She quotes the producer Jonathan Dana: “It’s a massacre. It’s the end of funny money.”
Read the whole article in the Chicago Sun Times.
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September 25, 2009
Michael Moore on film exhibition
His films excite controversy, but many would agree with him when he talks about the fact that, unlike other forms of art, filmmmakers can rarely control the quality of presentation and exhibition of their works. He also mentions his major role in the restoration of the State Theater in Traverse City, Michigan, and how the users of cellular devices during film showings are treated at his theater.
Read more at the Boston Herald.
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September 17, 2009
Midwest’s B&B theatres selects Christie DLP Cinema projectors for its newest locations
CYPRESS, CA — Christie, the world leader in digital cinema projection, announced that it has been selected by B&B Theatres to supply all the DLP Cinema projectors for the circuit’s two newest 10-screen multiplexes in Wildwood and Ozark, Missouri. The multiplexes, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2010, will be equipped with Christie CP2000-ZX digital cinema projectors with Christie Brilliant 3D, which allows 3D content to be projected in full 2K resolution utilizing 1.2" DMD chips from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN).
The 29th largest theatre company in the U.S., B&B Theatres operates a chain of more than 179 screens in 30 locations throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It is recognized by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) as one of the oldest family-owned circuits in the Midwest. B&B started 2009 with no digital projectors, but has already digitized half of its circuit with at least one Christie digital cinema projector per complex. It is committed to installing additional Christie projectors in all of its theatres within the next year, according to B&B’s president and owner, Bob Bagby.
Kansas-based Sonic Equipment Company, a service, consulting, remodeling and new construction company for motion picture exhibitors, is responsible for B&B’s conversion efforts. Sonic is also a certified reseller of Christie’s digital projectors and currently services more than 400 screens in eight states. Christie is a major partner in Sonic’s highly successful digital roll-out strategy.
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September 14, 2009
Forget those expensive computer drives; just hook up the PlayStation!
According to this article, a theater in Japan is showing an animated film using a PS3 connected to a video projector instead of the projector’s hard drive.
In the theatre, folks claim to have seen things like messages to charge the USB controller pop up on the screen.
According to one site, the Blu-ray version of the film is being screened, but Wired Vision confirmed this with the film’s distributor and Sony subsidiary Aniplex that a data file of the movie is running off of a PS3. The film is in full HD, and there is apparently no noticeable difference between it playing from the PS3’s hard drive and a digital projector hard drive.
Read more at Kotaku.
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September 10, 2009
Studios might use YouTube to sell movies
Possibly throwing a wrench into the traditional distribution model, there is talk of studios working with YouTube to provide movies once they’re on DVD.
Google Inc.’s YouTube is in talks with several major studios — including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. and Lionsgate — about streaming movies when the DVDs become available in rental stores and kiosks, according to sources familiar with the situation.
The move represents a bold gambit for the entertainment giants, which have been cautious in embracing the Internet out of fear it would disrupt relationships with major retailers and undercut lucrative DVD sales.
Read the full story in the Los Angeles Times.
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September 9, 2009
Theatre Historical Society of America launches Facebook Page
The Theatre Historical Society of America, the USA’s leading organization for recording, preserving, and promoting the rich architectural, cultural and social history of America’s theatres, recently launched a new Facebook Page. We invite you to check it out, become a fan, and let us know your ideas for what else to do with our web presence.
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September 8, 2009
The re-invention of the movie theater
Not all of us will agree that the changes are for the better, but an article by Martha Irvine of the Associated Press highlights the efforts of the movie theater industry to survive and thrive in the face of competition posed by the ever-increasing array of home-based entertainment. IMAX, 3-D, changes in available concessions, even theater and lobby design are are all efforts to attract the contemporary younger audience.
“Sometimes, it’s nice to have a wider screen, but I don’t think I gain that much by going to a movie theater anymore,” the 20-year-old student says. “Now, it’s more about convenience.”
Or as 26-year-old Michael Brody puts it: “I watch movies the way many people listen to music — anytime, anywhere, any way.” A freelance writer in New York who blogs about film, he used to go to the movie theater every week. Now he’s there once or twice a month, partly to save money and also because he doesn’t think most movies are worth the effort.
Read more here from Google News.