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Theaters
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February 18, 2008
Photos online of downtown Los Angeles theaters
In conjunction with the project to restore downtown Los Angeles theaters on Broadway, the Los Angeles Conservancy has put together an online photo gallery.
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February 15, 2008
“Flashlight” vigil held to note anniversary of Lebowsky fire
OWOSSO, MI — The Owosso Community Players, owners of the Joseph H. Lebowsky Center, held a “flashlight” vigil Wednesday night to note the 1st anniversary of the fire which destroyed their home. Because of that, the members decided that a candlelight vigil would be inappropriate. So members of the OCP and the general public brought flashlights to shine beams of light on the surviving walls of the scarred theater.
Construction to enclose the theater again is expected to begin in April or May and it’s believed that the OCP can stage shows again at the old Capitol Theatre in five years.
News stories about the anniversary and vigil can be found in the:
Argus Press at Article #1 and Article #2
as well as the Flint Journal and Flint Journal #2.
There are also news stories which include video from WJRT and WLNS. -
February 14, 2008
Carthay Circle statue stolen
LOS ANGELES, CA — The bronze statue of a miner located across the street from the former Carthay Circle Theatre has been stolen, possibly for scrap. This was one of the last remnants of the once glorious square where the movie palace stood.
When neighbors in the Carthay Circle community heard the news, they feared it had been stolen for scrap, like so much copper wire and plumbing around the region, as prices for metal have soared.
“I think someone stole him to have him melted down,” said Judy Moore, president of the Carthay Circle Neighborhood Assn. “I don’t want to see him as rain gutters. It just breaks my heart. He was part of neighborhood history.”
Los Angeles police are investigating the theft and others, and they suspect the miner was indeed taken for scrap. Nationwide, bronze, brass and copper artworks are vanishing into scrap yards, destined for the foundry furnace.
Read more in the L.A. Times.
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February 8, 2008
Local residents save Oaks Theater
OAKMONT, PA — This story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review highlights some Pennsylvania theater success stories along with some history of moviegoing in the area.
When an opportunity to buy the movie theater she used to frequent as a child came up six years ago, Meg Burkardt and two friends jumped at the chance.
Burkardt, Cyndi Yount and Marc Serrao, all of Penn Hills, bought the Oaks Theater in Oakmont with one goal in mind: preserving a dying breed.
“This is definitely a labor of love,” Burkardt said.
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February 7, 2008
Tribune Family Theatre to become community-owned
TRIBUNE, KS — The Tribune Family Theatre in Greeley County, Kansas, was recently awarded a Small Communities Improvement Program grant, and the theater itself is no longer for sale to individual parties. They are now working on plans to make some renovations and decide on a community-owned theater model. They have been researching other community-owned theaters in nearby communities.
If you would like to participate in these new changes, please contact the Greeley County Community Development Office at 620-376-2548. Thank you!
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February 4, 2008
“Milk” Filming Benefits the Castro
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Filming of Gus Van Sant’s upcoming biopic, Milk, has recently begun on location around San Francisco, including in the Castro neighborhood, which the film’s production team has transformed parts of to appear as they did in the early 70s. The film is about the first openly gay elected official in America, Harvey Milk, called “The Mayor of Castro Street”, who was assasinated along with Mayor George Moscone by Dan White in 1978. Van Sant has shot at locations connected to Milk including his camera shop on Castro Street (now a gift shop), City Hall, and the historic Castro Theatre.
The production, partnering with a local business association and the Castro Theatre’s owners, gathered funds to repair the neon on the marquee and also repaint the facade of the theater. Location manager Jonathan Shedd said, “There’s very few chances in our business where we can have a chance to make a postive change. But it’s nice to know that when we leave here, we’re going to leave something that’s had a lasting impact”.
The film stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk and Josh Brolin as Dan White. Also starring in Milk are Emile Hirsch, James Franco, and Victor Garber.
For more information, see the article in the Hollywood Reporter.
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January 31, 2008
New auditorium at Kew Gardens Cinemas
KEW GARDENS, NY — The Kew Gardens Cinemas added a new cinema where a dry cleaners used to operate in the same building, but not in the theatre space. It feels like it’s always been there. It has dolby digital, stadium seating, and is one of the nicest in the complex.
It’s on the first floor. They also changed the outside facade to close in the old storefront with new neon and vintage poster cases from the old Metro theatre on the Upper west side. The cases are from the early 1930’s. The theatre just keeps getting better.
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January 29, 2008
Live Nation Confirms Sale of Theaters
Howard Haas is reporting that “as anticipated” Live Nation has confirmed the sale of theaters, leases, and their “Broadway Across America” project to Key Brand Entertainment, a company controlled by theater producer John Gore of London.
The eight theaters included in the transaction are located in Minneapolis, Boston (except for the Boston Opera House), Baltimore, and Toronto. Live Nation has retained the Warner Theatre in Washington DC, New York City’s Hilton Theatre, and its ownership of the closed Boyd Theatre in Philadelphia.
For more information, read Key Entertainment’s press release, or this New York Times article.
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January 28, 2008
Majestic Crest opposes landmarking
LOS ANGELES, CA — The Majestic Crest Theatre was the subject of a discussion at the Westwood Holmby Homeowners Association meeting last week.
Apparently, the Association sent a letter to the City Cultural Heritage Association inquiring on the landmark status of the building. The owner of the theatre, Robert Bucksbaum, is very opposed to pursuing the landmark route because it would eliminate the possibility of him ever being able to sell it and force him to close it in a matter of the months.
As reported here last year, the owner was looking for a new owner to sell the theatre to under the condition that it would be leased back to him for cinema usage. That never materialized because no prospective buyer was on board 100% in maintaining it as a neighborhood theater with all that goes along with it.
Ever since Bucksbaum purchased the theatre five years ago, he’s poured millions of dollars into it to make it an absolute palace in addition to being one of the last independently owned and operated first run single screen theaters in all of Los Angeles. Take a look at the great page on it on Cinema Sightlines to see what I mean if you haven’t had the pleasure of taking in a film there.
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January 25, 2008
Alban Theater bought by city
ST. ALBANS, WV — To revitalize the town, the city has purchased the former Alban Theater.
St. Albans took a large step toward revitalizing the former Olde Main Plaza Tuesday night when it approved the purchase of a former movie theater by the St. Albans Regional Development Authority.
The building, currently the home of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was known as the Alban Theater as recently as the 1980s. The authority will purchase the building for $180,000 in a deal scheduled to close by the end of the month.
Plans for the facility include restoring the facade to its original appearance and turning it into both a working theater and meeting space, to be called the St. Albans Arts and Conference Center.
For more, go to the Charleston Gazette.