Maybe the EXTERNAL shots were indeed the Nuart…but maybe the INTERNAL shots of the theatre were filmed either on a soundstage or at an AMC Theatres location (possibly one of their 3 Burbank locations).
You know…this new “Gold Class” concept may be the thing to cause the studios to recreate “Roadshow” versions of their high level titles. If they’re smart enough to make all the screens at least 60-70 feet, get 70MM projection capability, and cut a deal with the studios to offer the big ticket titles (Iron Man, Indy 4, The Dark Knight, etc.) in extended versions presented in 70MM (and issue the standard issue 35MM versions to the megaplexes, that MIGHT justify me spending $35 bucks to come here…
If the place ain’t stockpiled with 70 foot screens or larger in each auditorium, why even bother? I’m not paying $35 bucks to see Harry Potter on a screen the size of my PC monitor!
2nd most overrated theatre in the city (Pacific’s The Grove is the 1st!). How this overdecadent arthouse got Blade Runner is beyond me. Joint’s nothing more than a film snob’s paradise.
My #1 cinematic wish list item got crossed off in January when I FINALLY got to see “2001” in 70MM at the Cinerama Dome. Sound issues aside, it was truly an unforgettable experience for me!
And this article still hasn’t addressed the REAL problem: the screens at multiplexes are TOO! DAMN! SMALL! They’re spending all this money on ornate decor and lavish concession items but what’s the point of all this when you have auditoriums sporting screns the size of postage stamps? Damn near every modern day multiplex you walk into has top-masking – which gives the appearance of making 2:35 widescreen films look smaller than life instead of larger. How are these theatres and their “mini screens” gonna compete against the 50-75 inch HDTV’s that are flooding the market?
Screen size is my #1 decision making factor in choosing which theatres I see movies in. No one with any good sense and sensibility should see Indiana Jones, Iron Man or The Dark Knight at The Grove. Despite all that gushing praise for that join in this article, their one size fits all screens are PATHETIC! That goes for the gaudy Landmark AND the new construction models by AMC – in which the top AND bottom of the screen gets masked for widescreen films.
Thank God for Grauman’s Chinese & Arclight Hollywood (Dome focusing issues withstanding). At least they get the memo: BIGGER IS BETTER!
Were y'all encouraged enough by those 2001 numbers to get more 70MM titles in the Dome in the near future? I’d rather see “Patton” or “Lawrence” or “West Side Story” than “The Ruins” or “Vantage Point”!
My guess is “This Is Cinerama”. I’ll make sure to be there. I’ve already seen “HTWWW” here (see my $0.02 on that one somewhere around the middle of this page).
Went here this past Saturday night (2/2/08) for the first time in about 9 years or so for “There Will Be Blood”. Place was packed to the rafters – the owner of the joint himself was selling tickets at the BO! Showmanship is still in effect here. Sound was nice and crisp and the screen is still pretty decent.
“From what I saw, they made a fortune at the snack bar also which we all know is where the real money is made.”
Yeah…and they almost screwed themselves out of a bigger fortune because they were TOTALLY UNPREPARED for the onslaught that hit the snack bar during Intermission. I was literally at the front of the line with a long trail behind me when they abruptly announced that the register I was in was closed. We had a fit and after a crapload of haggling, they quickly assembled a new register and a new line.
The killer of all that was their explanation of why they closed the register:
LOWLY CONCESSION WORKER: We didn’t expect the snack bar to be crowded during intermission.
ME: It’s a ***king sold out show! What did you think was gonna happen?
LOWLY CONCESSION WORKER: I’m sorry. We were unprepared for this.
I concur with what JSA said…especially about that clicking noise! Also, the post-Intermission framing was off for the first 5-10 minutes but they fixed it as best they could. The bottom left & right corners weren’t keystoned properly (probably due to the screen design) but I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for you die-hard cinephiles at Cinema Treasures (and CinemaTour, too!) who examine every aspect of film presentation with a fine toothed comb.
That freakin sound system at The Vista is AMAAAAZING! Saw “Sweeney Todd” here in December and there’s a low frequency organ note as the studio logos come up that made the floor in this theatre VIBRATE. AWESOME!!!
I agree with schmadrian. It’s both their faults. Hollywood’s been making crap and theatre owners have built crappy places to show the crap in. Meanwhile, REAL theatres (cough – NATIONAL – cough) are cut, carved and turned into Banana Republics.
Too many decision makers on both ends who love MONEY more than MOVIES.
The AFI people said tonight (as they introduced “Dr. Strangelove” – which played in one of the large Arclight auds) that they print they’ve got for “2001” is supposedly better than the one they were gonna originally show.
“EVERYONE has to get ‘approval’. Even those names you mention. Unless they’re going to self-finance.”
Nope. I live here (Hollywood). Those dudes do what they do with ZERO studio interference. All the MBA’s do is cut the check for the cost. If you think for one sec that they have to PITCH their projects, then I’ve got some beachfront property in Kansas to sell you!
Lowly writers, on the other hand, are a different bag altogether.
“Can you imagine someone trying to pitch ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ today? Or ‘Apocalypse Now’? ‘Chinatown’?”
THAT is the problem. In this day and age, EVERYTHING that generates from the big studio machine has to be pitched…unless your last name is Spielberg, Lucas, Howard, Zemeckis or Coppola. I sure would LOVE to know how J.J. Abrams snuck the new phenomenon that is “Cloverfield” under the noses of Paramount execs!
The seller won’t be hurting at all…instead, the seller has a long term plan to cut the middleman – or, as we call it, GOING TO THE MOVIES – and deliver his product straight to the buyer’s living rooms where he will make more money.
Y'all didn’t get the memo? Hollywood is run by MBA’s – not creative artists. Those dudes only care about THE BOTTOM LINE. Writers are nothing more than cattle nowadays. Darn near every “screenplay” that makes it on screen is written in board meetings. The people who actually give a damn about QUALITY are not the people who have the almighty power of the GREENLIGHT.
So…even after they settle this thing…the quaility issues will still be in effect. And, of course, if trolls like Mark Cuban have their way, there will be no more movie theatres anyway. We’ll all be watching the same crap on our ULTRA-HD, MEGA DIGITAL 145 inch TV’s!
“Atonement” wasn’t THAT bad. Sad as all get up, but definitely not “crap.”
Or consider this…
Maybe the EXTERNAL shots were indeed the Nuart…but maybe the INTERNAL shots of the theatre were filmed either on a soundstage or at an AMC Theatres location (possibly one of their 3 Burbank locations).
You know…this new “Gold Class” concept may be the thing to cause the studios to recreate “Roadshow” versions of their high level titles. If they’re smart enough to make all the screens at least 60-70 feet, get 70MM projection capability, and cut a deal with the studios to offer the big ticket titles (Iron Man, Indy 4, The Dark Knight, etc.) in extended versions presented in 70MM (and issue the standard issue 35MM versions to the megaplexes, that MIGHT justify me spending $35 bucks to come here…
If the place ain’t stockpiled with 70 foot screens or larger in each auditorium, why even bother? I’m not paying $35 bucks to see Harry Potter on a screen the size of my PC monitor!
2nd most overrated theatre in the city (Pacific’s The Grove is the 1st!). How this overdecadent arthouse got Blade Runner is beyond me. Joint’s nothing more than a film snob’s paradise.
Mark Lucas: Please note that I said GRAUMAN’S CHINESE – not the Mann Chinese 6. I KNOW the difference, friend. :o)
My #1 cinematic wish list item got crossed off in January when I FINALLY got to see “2001” in 70MM at the Cinerama Dome. Sound issues aside, it was truly an unforgettable experience for me!
And this article still hasn’t addressed the REAL problem: the screens at multiplexes are TOO! DAMN! SMALL! They’re spending all this money on ornate decor and lavish concession items but what’s the point of all this when you have auditoriums sporting screns the size of postage stamps? Damn near every modern day multiplex you walk into has top-masking – which gives the appearance of making 2:35 widescreen films look smaller than life instead of larger. How are these theatres and their “mini screens” gonna compete against the 50-75 inch HDTV’s that are flooding the market?
Screen size is my #1 decision making factor in choosing which theatres I see movies in. No one with any good sense and sensibility should see Indiana Jones, Iron Man or The Dark Knight at The Grove. Despite all that gushing praise for that join in this article, their one size fits all screens are PATHETIC! That goes for the gaudy Landmark AND the new construction models by AMC – in which the top AND bottom of the screen gets masked for widescreen films.
Thank God for Grauman’s Chinese & Arclight Hollywood (Dome focusing issues withstanding). At least they get the memo: BIGGER IS BETTER!
A BETTER question, Rizzo:
Were y'all encouraged enough by those 2001 numbers to get more 70MM titles in the Dome in the near future? I’d rather see “Patton” or “Lawrence” or “West Side Story” than “The Ruins” or “Vantage Point”!
My guess is “This Is Cinerama”. I’ll make sure to be there. I’ve already seen “HTWWW” here (see my $0.02 on that one somewhere around the middle of this page).
Went here this past Saturday night (2/2/08) for the first time in about 9 years or so for “There Will Be Blood”. Place was packed to the rafters – the owner of the joint himself was selling tickets at the BO! Showmanship is still in effect here. Sound was nice and crisp and the screen is still pretty decent.
“That is true but they didn’t do the curtain closing/opening thing before the movie. Oh well.”
THEY DID DO THAT. That was the point of my post.
“From what I saw, they made a fortune at the snack bar also which we all know is where the real money is made.”
Yeah…and they almost screwed themselves out of a bigger fortune because they were TOTALLY UNPREPARED for the onslaught that hit the snack bar during Intermission. I was literally at the front of the line with a long trail behind me when they abruptly announced that the register I was in was closed. We had a fit and after a crapload of haggling, they quickly assembled a new register and a new line.
The killer of all that was their explanation of why they closed the register:
LOWLY CONCESSION WORKER: We didn’t expect the snack bar to be crowded during intermission.
ME: It’s a ***king sold out show! What did you think was gonna happen?
LOWLY CONCESSION WORKER: I’m sorry. We were unprepared for this.
I concur with what JSA said…especially about that clicking noise! Also, the post-Intermission framing was off for the first 5-10 minutes but they fixed it as best they could. The bottom left & right corners weren’t keystoned properly (probably due to the screen design) but I probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for you die-hard cinephiles at Cinema Treasures (and CinemaTour, too!) who examine every aspect of film presentation with a fine toothed comb.
:o)
That freakin sound system at The Vista is AMAAAAZING! Saw “Sweeney Todd” here in December and there’s a low frequency organ note as the studio logos come up that made the floor in this theatre VIBRATE. AWESOME!!!
I agree with schmadrian. It’s both their faults. Hollywood’s been making crap and theatre owners have built crappy places to show the crap in. Meanwhile, REAL theatres (cough – NATIONAL – cough) are cut, carved and turned into Banana Republics.
Too many decision makers on both ends who love MONEY more than MOVIES.
My original statement…in case you missed it:
“EVERYTHING that generates from the big studio machine has to be pitched…unless your last name is Spielberg, Lucas, Howard, Zemeckis or Coppola.”
So stupid of us…we basically make the same gosh-darned point and we’re arguing abou it! Blame it on testosterone!
The AFI people said tonight (as they introduced “Dr. Strangelove” – which played in one of the large Arclight auds) that they print they’ve got for “2001” is supposedly better than the one they were gonna originally show.
Rizzo, care to share some details?
Did I say everyone? I named specific names. Please read before flaming!
In case anyone gives a darn…The Dome’s got “RAMBO” starting 1/25/08.
“EVERYONE has to get ‘approval’. Even those names you mention. Unless they’re going to self-finance.”
Nope. I live here (Hollywood). Those dudes do what they do with ZERO studio interference. All the MBA’s do is cut the check for the cost. If you think for one sec that they have to PITCH their projects, then I’ve got some beachfront property in Kansas to sell you!
Lowly writers, on the other hand, are a different bag altogether.
“Can you imagine someone trying to pitch ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ today? Or ‘Apocalypse Now’? ‘Chinatown’?”
THAT is the problem. In this day and age, EVERYTHING that generates from the big studio machine has to be pitched…unless your last name is Spielberg, Lucas, Howard, Zemeckis or Coppola. I sure would LOVE to know how J.J. Abrams snuck the new phenomenon that is “Cloverfield” under the noses of Paramount execs!
The seller won’t be hurting at all…instead, the seller has a long term plan to cut the middleman – or, as we call it, GOING TO THE MOVIES – and deliver his product straight to the buyer’s living rooms where he will make more money.
Y'all didn’t get the memo? Hollywood is run by MBA’s – not creative artists. Those dudes only care about THE BOTTOM LINE. Writers are nothing more than cattle nowadays. Darn near every “screenplay” that makes it on screen is written in board meetings. The people who actually give a damn about QUALITY are not the people who have the almighty power of the GREENLIGHT.
So…even after they settle this thing…the quaility issues will still be in effect. And, of course, if trolls like Mark Cuban have their way, there will be no more movie theatres anyway. We’ll all be watching the same crap on our ULTRA-HD, MEGA DIGITAL 145 inch TV’s!
It was a mid afternoon show. Probably nothing more than 100 folks (if that!).