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The latest movie theater news and updates
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March 21, 2013
Popular Seattle movie theater gets big change
SEATTLE, WA — It won’t be finished until this summer, but the U-District’s Metro Cinemas is becoming part of the Sundance chain. A complete renovation is underway and the theatre will offer a new snack bar and stadium seating.
Read more in Seattle PI.
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March 20, 2013
Celebrate “Mary Pickford, Queen of the Movies” at the Portage and Music Box in Chicago
CHICAGO, IL — On April 3, the Northwest Chicago Film Society will pay tribute to Mary Pickford, the legendary silent screen star who single-handedly turned movie-acting into big business. The Film Society will present Pickford’s rarely-screened “Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall” at the Portage Theater in an imported 35mm restoration print with a special introduction from Christel Schmidt, editor of the lavish new book MARY PICKFORD: QUEEN OF THE MOVIES. Following the screening, Ms. Schmidt will participate in a discussion and sign copies of QUEEN OF THE MOVIES.
Pickford first came to prominence in films produced for the Biograph Company under the supervision of D.W. Griffith. Company policy kept the players anonymous, but audiences instantly recognized Pickford’s charisma and skill and clamored to know the identity of the beloved “Biograph Girl.” Soon striking out on her own and working with the industry’s finest talents (Cecil B. DeMille, Maurice Tourneur, Marshall Neilan), Pickford drew up the template for movie stardom and built a business empire. After Pickford’s fee became so high that no producer could afford her services, Pickford co-founded United Artists with Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks.
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Middletown’s Paramount open again for movies
MIDDLETOWN, NY — With first run movies and new digital equipment, a renaissance is in store for the Paramount Theatre. Not only that but it boasts the largest screen in Orange County. They’re currently just showing films Friday through Sunday but midweek screenings are expected soon.
Read the full story in Your News Now.
(Thanks to Ross Melnick for providing the photo.)
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March 19, 2013
“South Pacific” 55th Anniversary – The Roadshow Engagements
“South Pacific” 55th Anniversary
The Roadshow EngagementsCompiled by Michael Coate
Presented here in commemoration of the 55th anniversary of the release of South Pacific is a list of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical’s roadshow engagements in the United States and Canada, which offers an opportunity to name-drop some once-glorious movie theaters. These were shown exclusively in major cities prior to the film being given a nationwide release. The roadshow engagements included reserved seating with an advanced admission price and an average of ten scheduled showings per week. Much like a Broadway show, the roadshow presentations included an overture, intermission, entr’acte and exit music. As well, souvenir programs were sold. And, unlike the majority of the film’s general-release presentations, these roadshow engagements were presented in 70-millimeter and six-track stereophonic sound.
This article/list was created for the sake of historical record, but is also a celebration of the mostly now-closed and fondly-remembered “Cinema Treasures” in which the film played. The bookings are arranged chronologically by premiere date. Duration data, measured in weeks, has been included for selected entries. At the time, many of these engagements established a long-run record for their respective city and/or theater (and a few hold to this day).
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Looking back at the theaters of Andover
ANDOVER, MA — Bill Dalton in the Andover Townsman laments the loss of the town’s last theater, over fifty years ago. With great detail, he talks about the features of the Playhouse Theater and its many changes over the years.
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March 18, 2013
Marketplace 12 closes
NEW BRAUNFELS, TX — The Marketplace Cinema 12 closed a couple week ago. No reason was given but the Texas Cinema chain appears to want to focus on the newer Creekside Cinemas.
Read more at My San Antonio.
(Thanks to David Simpson for providing the photo.)
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Remembering drive-in movie theaters
CORBIN, KY — A piece in the Leaf Chronicle looked back on the good old days of their local drive-in. The writer discusses the excitement it created without all of today’s technologies.
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March 15, 2013
Skyline in danger of closing
CANON CITY, CO — The cinema future of Canon City is looking grim with both of its theaters in need of digital projection. Both the Creekside Cinemas and the single-screen Skyline are hoping to raise the necessary funds, possibly through a Kickstarter campaign.
Read more in the Denver Business Journal.
(Thanks to Chuck1231 for providing the photo.)
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Going to the movies has changed for the better since ‘80s
Rich Copley of the Herald-Leader argues that theaters have changed for the better in the past 30 years. While we’re not building single-screen palaces, he claims the cinema experience has vastly improved from the chopped up multiplexes of the 80’s.
How would you compare the two eras?
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March 14, 2013
Bonacio looking for movie theater operator in downtown Troy
TROY, NY — Local developer Sonny Bonacio is looking for a operator for his recently purchased Cinema Art Theater. The nearly 100-year old theater has been vacant for 7 years but the auditorium is still intact.
Read more in the Business Review.