Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
Theaters
-
September 30, 2009
Theater goes from part-time job to intense hobby for man
WINNER, SD — This story from the Daily Republic discusses the memories of a lifelong theater fan turned operator at the local Pix Theatre.
But an upcoming switch to digital projection that most industry professionals believe to be inevitable is an uncomfortable thought for Meister, who isn’t sure if the transition — a digital projector currently costs approximately $70,000 — will be one he can afford to make.
“It’s really scary to me,” Meister said. “It makes me wonder if I want to go and do any repairs right now or if I want to wait and see what’s coming.”
3 comments -
September 25, 2009
Woodbridge eyes Fords Theater’s past with hope for future
FORDS, NJ — The long shuttered Fords Cinema may be making a comeback as locals investigate the possibilities.
Today, the nearly 100-year-old building sits vacant and gutted — it’s seats torn out, parts of the roof caving in and paint crumbling to the floor. Its owner, Shah Associates of Woodbridge, has used the building for storage over the years and is looking to lease two store fronts on the first floor.
But now the township and Middlesex County are spending a combined $150,000 to have engineers examine the structure and create preliminary designs for a new or repaired Fords Theater — if they get permission. Officials took the first step toward that last week, giving the owners a draft agreement that would let an evaluation take place.
Read the full story in the Star-Ledger.
-
Balto Development Corp (BDC) Issues Senator Theatre RFP
BALTIMORE, MD — On behalf of the City of Baltimore, the BDC officially issued a Request For Proposals and announced a pre-proposal conference (for parties interested in submitting a proposal) today for the Senator Theatre:
Deadline for proposals is November 20, 2009 at noon.
-
September 23, 2009
Ninety-year old OK theater re-opens
ENTERPRISE, OR — Closed since late 2008, the OK Theater in Enterprise has re-opened under new ownership. (And, by coincidence, the opening attraction was “Star Trek”).
Nine months after the 90-year-old movie theater turned off its projector and closed up shop at the end of 2008, it fired up the dusty equipment under new ownership Saturday, Sept. 12, for a test run and as a benefit for the local food bank. The theater will re-open for good Friday, Sept. 18.
Approximately 225 lined up with two cans of food donation to see “Star Trek” and welcome the theater back into their lives at the benefit showing.
Read the story in the Wallowa County Chieftain.
-
Former Sack 57 in Boston to re-open as art cinema
BOSTON, MA — The Stuart Street Playhouse, a venue for live theater since 1996, will be reborn as a single screen art cinema though keeping its current name. Some Bostonians will remember it as the former Sack Cinema 57 twin-screen cinema that opened in the 1970s.
Read more at Boston.com.
-
September 16, 2009
Santa Monica wants assurance older multiplex will be closed before OK'ing new one
SANTA MONICA, CA — According to this article in the Santa Monica Daily Press, the City Council wants AMC to guarantee that it will close its existing Broadway 4 theater before it approves construction of an twelve screen cinema a block away to prevent an overabundance of theaters in the downtown area; otherwise it will entertain a rival proposal from Pacific Theaters.
In a local market filled with outdated theaters that have long fallen behind the trends of stadium seating and state-of-the-art technology, cinema giant AMC is hoping to enliven the movie-going experience.
The only thing standing in the way is whether the company can guarantee city officials that its current movie house on the Third Street Promenade just off Broadway will be put out of commission once the replacement is constructed just a block north.
Read more at the Santa Monica Daily Press.
-
September 15, 2009
Outdoor movie theater to be be built at Oxnard high school
OXNARD, CA — A California school district has entered into a partnership with a Texas-based company to build a $1.5 million dollar, 1,000 seat outdoor theater with two giant screens. During the school year, the screens will be used for educational and athletic purposes and then family-oriented films would be screened from May to October. The operation is expected to realize over $400,000 in revenue during the first year of operation from ticket and concession sales, and a million dollars a year subsequently, with profits split between the company and the school district.
The Oxnard Union High School District board Wednesday night unanimously approved plans to allow Texas-based Schlosser Constellation Inc. to build the $1.5 million outdoor theater. If state officials sign off on the project, the theater will include two high-definition, 50-foot-high, 200-foot-wide screens with “IMAX-like” quality, Camarillo High Principal Glenn Lipman said.
The theater would feature reclining seats equipped with outlets for viewers to plug in headphones for sound. It would be built between the varsity baseball field fence and the football field.
Read more in the Ventura County Star.
-
September 10, 2009
Main Street Theater changes programming mix
COLUMBIANA, OH — The Main Street Theater is changing its programming. Classic films will be shown along with live events, but first-run films will no longer be shown.
There will be no more first-run films. Instead, live performances and themed movie weekends will make up the programming. Last weekend, the 2004 film “The Phantom of the Opera” was showing at the theater. This weekend’s offering will be “The Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie” (1978), and the following weekend will bring the Bogart-Hepburn classic “Casablanca” (1942). Ticket prices for themed movie weekends are $2 for adults and $1.50 for children 10 and under.
Read more at Vindy.com.
-
September 8, 2009
Christie and Time Anateus launch China’s largest commercial D-Cinema deployment
BEIJING, CHINA — Christie, the global leader in visual solutions for entertainment, business and industry, is pleased to announce that Time Antaeus (Time Antaeus) Media Group, a Chinese digital cinema industry leader, has selected Christie as its very important partner for its digital cinema deployment in China. This marks the country’s most extensive commercial effort to install 800 Christie CP2000 series DLP Cinema projectors in select cinemas by the end of 2010. These projectors will be installed together with 800 Time Antaeus Montage CDCS2000 D-Cinema Servers.
After conducting a series of extensive evaluations on the various solutions available, Time Antaeus opted for Christie’s acclaimed CP2000 DLP Cinema projectors based on their superior image quality and reliability. With their excellent brightness, contrast, true color reproduction and product integrity, the Christie CP2000 series projectors are widely popular among theater operators and have won numerous positive reviews from the industry. In addition, Christie’s proven leadership, with a commanding 70% worldwide market share that includes more than 7,500 systems worldwide – as well as an extensive understanding of the cinema industry – also motivated Time Antaeus to select Christie as a partner.
-
Century 25 in San Jose becomes the Retro Dome
SAN JOSE, CA — The twin screen former Century 25 theater in San Jose, California has been rechristened the Retro Dome. One of the auditoriums has become a venue for live performances and and the other will be used to screen classic films.
Their enterprise kicks off Friday with “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” — a show they produced in San Francisco and later in San Jose.
Live productions will take place in one of the 40-year-old theater’s two auditoriums; in coming months, they plan to renovate the other auditorium to showcase neoclassic movies like “The Godfather” and serve concessions tied to the show or movie’s theme (cannoli, anyone?).
Read more in the San Jose Mercury News.