The latest movie theater news and updates

  • August 18, 2004

    CineArts at Sequoia Ceiling Collapses on Audience

    MILL VALLEY, CA — On August 16th, a thirty square foot section of the ceiling of the CineArts at Sequoia theater collapsed onto the audience, injuring at least 27.

    The CineArts at Sequoia opened in 1929, was twinned in the 1970s and underwent an $800,000 overhaul in 1999. For many years this theater was known at the Sequoia Twin.

    Read more in this report from the Marin Independent Journal.

  • August 17, 2004

    Cascade Theatre Reopens to Public

    REDDING, CA — The restored Cascade Theatre reopened to the public on August 14, 2004.

    The $5.5 million restoration took five years and was helped by 1,500 donations, private and public, including a donation from Clint Eastwood who attended school in Redding.

    These articles are from a special Record-Searchlight supplement about the reopening of the Cascade Theatre:

    Community donors play starring role
    Renovated theater puts fresh face on downtown
    Now showing
    Performance series, local acts fill Cascade playbill
    Restored to glory, Cascade never looked so good
    TOAST OF THE TOWN
    THE SHOW MUST GO ON

  • August 16, 2004

    United Artists Theater Spawns Graffiti Debate

    DETROIT, MI — For years now, there has been graffiti in the windows of the former United Artists Theater here in Detroit, and it has spawned a debate between historians, preservationists, and the art community. Is graffiti urban blight or is it art?

    Now, the issue has spread to the media, as seen in this article from the Detroit Free Press.

    The graffiti has been on the building since the late 1990s, when owner Mike Illitch left the building and theater open for months — an opportunity seized by vandals and graffiti artists.

  • Movie Theater Manager Needed

    ALBANY, NY — Cinema Treasures user ‘ifemorena’ asks…

    I am looking for a movie theater manager with at least three years experience in running a movie theater. I am looking for someone preferably based in Albany and its surrounding areas. Manager should be familiar with how to run a multi-screen theater. Interested candidates may send their resumes to: .

  • August 13, 2004

    Devon Theater To Become Performing Arts Center

    PHILADELPHIA, PA — The Devon Theater will be restored and renovated into a 500-seat performing arts center, according to an article in the Northeast Times.

    The newspaper reports that the Mayfair Community Development Corporation will reopen the renamed Devon Theater of Performing Arts to “showcase a wide range of entertainment – live theater, opera, orchestra and ballet performances, children’s shows, dance and music recitals, comedy cabarets, holiday plays – and even an occasional movie.”

  • Old Theaters

    PITTSBURGH, PA — Does anyone out there remember the Fairgrounds Drive-In Outside of South Park in Pittsburgh.? I also would like to know how many of us got the chance to work one of the old theaters with what seemed like 900 steps going up to the booth?

    God, do I miss those theaters. I remember the Stanley in Pittsburgh, Pa. was like going on a mountain climbing crusade, same with the Warner. Oh how the ushers hated us, when they had to carry film up to us. I would gladly do it again.

  • Monterey’s State Theatre Being Sold

    MONTEREY, CA — The 1926 Golden State Theatre is in the process of being sold. The new owner, who is from the Los Angeles area where he has owned a recording studio, expects to own the theater sometime in mid-to late September 2004.

    Immediate plans call for the balcony triplexing (added in 1976) to be removed, allowing the auditorium to return to one space. New seats on the main floor, and possible some in the balcony will take place as well.

  • August 12, 2004

    National Amusements Signs Theater Deal With IMAX

    IMAX Corporation and National Amusements have announced an agreement to install as many as 18 IMAX® theater systems over the next several years.

    According to the press release from PRNewswire-FirstCall, “the deal signals an important milestone for IMAX in the implementation of its commercial theatre growth strategy.”

    The proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-Mastering) technology brings major Hollywood event films, such as this summer’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” and “Spider-Man,” to the giant screen. The new IMAX MPX® design allows to add an IMAX theater to a new or existing multiplex in a more cost effective and timely manner.

  • Odeon Manchester Set to Close on Sept 2

    MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — The final credits will roll at Manchester’s famous Odeon Cinema next month.

    The historic 74-year-old Oxford Street picture house, which began life as the Paramount Theatre, has been unable to compete with modern cinema complexes, and a recent review determined the seven-screen cinema is no longer “commercially viable”.

    As a spokesman for the Odeon put it: “We can confirm the closure of the cinema on Oxford Street, which will officially shut its doors for the last time on Thursday, September 2. Until that time, the cinema will remain open for business as usual.

    For more information, read this report from the Manchester Online.

  • August 11, 2004

    Cinema Latino for NYC’s Clearview Broadway & 62nd

    NEW YORK, NY — On Monday, Clearview Cinemas announced via PRNewswire that on Friday, August 27 its 300-seat theatre at 62nd and Broadway will reopen as Cinema Latino — the only all Latino movie house in Manhattan.

    The single-screen will exclusively show first run Latin American, Spanish and Portuguese films with English subtitles imported from 20 different countries.