I only went to this theater once. I was with an elementary school friend and his mother and we went to see “Dr. Zhivago,” which I remember really enjoying.
But I did have one question for my friend’s mom — if the woman (Lara?) wasn’t married, then how did she have a baby?
I don’t like to let other patrons on line know that they can easily buy tickets at a kiosk because then the kiosk lines will get as long as the box office lines. I prefer to keep it my little secret. And since the kiosks also accept the moviegoer cards (AMC, Regal and Clearview) I never miss out on any points or promos.
What in the world is happening at this theater to generate 429 responses? Without me reading the thread, can someone let me know if I’ve missed anything?
This link — (which also has a photo of this house) — View link — mentions an “historic Union Square Theater” being torn down. Was that a playhouse, because I haven’t heard of it before.
This was the first porno theater I ever tried to enter — I was about 15, and the manager at the door wouldn’t let me in, saying “You don’t wanna know what goes on in here.” But I did!
Alas, it wasn’t until Cabaret opened here, decades later, that I finally passed through these hallowed portals.
I agree with the outrage. When they installed “Imax” at the AMC Empire 42nd Street, I thought they’d raise the roof or build it on one of their many balconies. But, no, they just put a slightly bigger screen in one of their original auditoriums. (#1 I think.) Same with Regal Sheepshead Bay. I peeked in one day and the movie they were showing (at a premium price) didn’t even fill the screen.
I agree. When they installed “Imax” at the AMC Empire 42nd Street, I thought they’d raise the roof or build it on one of their many balconies. But, no, they just put a slightly bigger screen in one of their original auditoriums. (#1 I think.) Same with Regal Sheepshead Bay. I peeked in one day and the movie they were showing (at a premium price) didn’t even fill the screen.
Love that DeMille shot posted above on April 17, 2009. Did it re-open in 1974 after renovations? When was it triplexed and turned into the Embassy 2-3-4?
A surge at the box office has made this spring a surprisingly happy one for the movie business. And as the big summer films arrive, Americans are expected to pile into theaters in even greater numbers.
Yet at one little cinema in Jackson Heights, Queens, the plot line is not so happy. The Eagle Theater is shut tight, its steel burglar gate pulled down and its marquee blank, battered and dark.
The cause of the theater’s untimely closing â€" like many things that happen in this bustling immigrant neighborhood â€" lies not in New York but clear on the other side of the planet.
In Mumbai, India, a seven-week-old strike by film producers has brought Bollywood, that country’s multibillion-dollar film industry, to a halt. The Eagle specializes in first-run Bollywood movies, and without a supply of new films, theaters like it around the world have had to screen old ones, dip into the pricier Hollywood and European film catalogs â€" or shut down.
“You get more frustrated when you have no say in it,†said Mohammad Asif, a Pakistani businessman who helps to manage the 500-seat Eagle, nestled in the heart of a neighborhood thick with immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and shops selling products from South Asia. “We’re not part of their problem, but we’re affected.â€
Bollywood producers began striking in early April, after the owners of India’s multiplexes rejected their demand for a larger share of the theaters’ profits. The Eagle, owned by a Pakistani business associate of Mr. Asif’s, closed soon afterward.
Mr. Asif said business had also been “pretty bad†at the movie house he owned, the Bombay Theater in Fresh Meadows, Queens. It remains open, though just barely, and is screening a recently released Punjabi film whose distribution was not affected by the dispute in Mumbai.
He and his business associate, Amjad Khawaja, bought their theaters 15 years ago, converting them from pornographic movie houses. And Mr. Asif said the Eagle would reopen as soon as the strike ended and new films were finished.
In fact, the temporary ravages of the strike, he said, are minor compared with a longer-term scourge that threatens scores of small ethnic movie houses like his across the country: film piracy.
As illegal versions of new films â€" including those from the vibrant Bollywood and Latino film industries â€" have proliferated farther and faster around the world, especially through file-sharing Web sites, box office revenue has fallen at small theaters that build their programming around new releases, industry experts say.
A year and a half ago, Mr. Asif said, the Eagle welcomed about 1,000 customers a week. By this spring, before the strike, that number had fallen to about 400.
“To be perfectly honest,†he said, “the last two years have been tough. A year ago was very tough. The last six months? Tough, tough and tough.â€
“We can go dry for a month, six weeks, no big deal. But piracy. …†His voice trailed off. “The slow, poisonous effect of piracy,†he muttered.
Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, a trade organization based in Washington, said that according to a study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America, pirated films cost American movie theaters about $700 million in lost revenue in 2005. Market experts believe that the annual losses have only mounted since then.
“If you talk to the studios, they’ll tell you that keeping a film off the Internet or off the streets for a week will mean tens of millions of dollars to them,†Mr. Corcoran said.
Theaters that specialize in films from developing countries can be hurt even more by slow distribution networks. The longer a new foreign film has been in release abroad, Mr. Corcoran said, the better the chances that it will be pirated and illegally distributed in the United States.
In the South Asian community of Jackson Heights, the Eagle’s closing has left some moviegoers feeling bereft.
Seema Kapoor, 51, an Indian-American who lives in nearby Woodside and works as a saleswoman at a duty-free shop in La Guardia Airport, said she used to go to the Eagle at least once a month, with her sister, who visits frequently from Philadelphia, or a group of about 15 female co-workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
“We’d say, ‘Let’s go to do some shopping in Jackson Heights,’ and we used to make a plan to go see a movie,†Ms. Kapoor said, adding that the theater’s proximity to her house â€" within walking distance â€" made the experience that much better.
The Eagle Theater has been closed since a strike brought film production in India to a halt.
Employees at a video and music store next to the shuttered theater said their business had suffered since the Eagle closed because there was less foot traffic on the block.
Still, on a recent afternoon, customers streamed in and out of the store, which specializes in South Asian films and music. An Indian customer at the counter asked for a film called “Gumnaam: The Mystery.†The clerk pulled the DVD from a shelf and handed it to him, but the man seemed unsatisfied.
“Do you have the cheaper one?†the man asked, using code for a pirated version. The clerk demurred, yet the man asked again. The clerk, a college student from Pakistan, just shook his head.
The customer turned to this reporter and smiled somewhat sheepishly. He said he lived in both Mumbai and New York and used to see movies at the Eagle frequently. “Every movie,†he said. “For years now.â€
Asked what he did for a living, the man paused. Suddenly the woman next to him whirled around and blurted: “He’s a movie producer! His nieces are the biggest stars in India.†She pointed at the DVD in his hand and exclaimed, “That’s his!â€
He was Shubir Mukerji, managing director of Filmalaya, a Bollywood film production company. The woman was his wife, Melissa. She said she had grown tired of watching him perform his undercover investigations to see whether his film, which was released in December, had already fallen into the stream of the American street piracy market.
“He was acting,†she said. “Doing a bad job.â€
Mr. Mukerji explained that he was on an unplanned vacation in the United States because of the strike; he was supposed to have been shooting his next film in Frankfurt and London.
He was hopeful, he said, that the strike would end soon: The Bollywood producers were waiting for a reply to their latest settlement proposal. “We offered them a good deal,†he said. “We hope they’ll accept it.â€
With that, he paid $15 for an authentic DVD of “Gumnaam: The Mystery†and, with his wife and young daughter in tow, disappeared into the pedestrian bustle of Jackson Heights.
But where the hell is the Warren Harris Theater, I’d like to know.
I always wanted to go to this gem; now’s a good reason.
(As yahoo maps would say, go to Route 25, make a left, 826 miles, theater is on your right…)
I only went to this theater once. I was with an elementary school friend and his mother and we went to see “Dr. Zhivago,” which I remember really enjoying.
But I did have one question for my friend’s mom — if the woman (Lara?) wasn’t married, then how did she have a baby?
She told be I’d better ask my parents about that.
I always like seeing a classic movie here, even though I haven’t been in a while.
What’s unusual is that I can hardly see the State — but the Victoria /theaters/2945/ across the street (playing “Wilson”) is pretty clear.
Can’t remember if I was ever here…
Lost, I hope you had a good night’s sleep, because guess what — link stinks. Again.
Yes, photo posted on 7/26/09 is the one entitled “House from Stage.”
I saw it last night and it’s a beauty. Full auditorium view taken from the front/stage area.
Great photo!
I don’t like to let other patrons on line know that they can easily buy tickets at a kiosk because then the kiosk lines will get as long as the box office lines. I prefer to keep it my little secret. And since the kiosks also accept the moviegoer cards (AMC, Regal and Clearview) I never miss out on any points or promos.
One of my favorites.
Cool.
Nice shot from the Daily News.
What in the world is happening at this theater to generate 429 responses? Without me reading the thread, can someone let me know if I’ve missed anything?
This link — (which also has a photo of this house) — View link — mentions an “historic Union Square Theater” being torn down. Was that a playhouse, because I haven’t heard of it before.
It has all the charm of the Port Authority Bus Terminal; all that’s missing are announcements of departure times and gate assignments.
This was the first porno theater I ever tried to enter — I was about 15, and the manager at the door wouldn’t let me in, saying “You don’t wanna know what goes on in here.” But I did!
Alas, it wasn’t until Cabaret opened here, decades later, that I finally passed through these hallowed portals.
Craig, are you listening?
I agree with the outrage. When they installed “Imax” at the AMC Empire 42nd Street, I thought they’d raise the roof or build it on one of their many balconies. But, no, they just put a slightly bigger screen in one of their original auditoriums. (#1 I think.) Same with Regal Sheepshead Bay. I peeked in one day and the movie they were showing (at a premium price) didn’t even fill the screen.
I agree. When they installed “Imax” at the AMC Empire 42nd Street, I thought they’d raise the roof or build it on one of their many balconies. But, no, they just put a slightly bigger screen in one of their original auditoriums. (#1 I think.) Same with Regal Sheepshead Bay. I peeked in one day and the movie they were showing (at a premium price) didn’t even fill the screen.
Accidents happen. Give a brother a break.
Love that DeMille shot posted above on April 17, 2009. Did it re-open in 1974 after renovations? When was it triplexed and turned into the Embassy 2-3-4?
NY Times 5/26/09
A surge at the box office has made this spring a surprisingly happy one for the movie business. And as the big summer films arrive, Americans are expected to pile into theaters in even greater numbers.
Yet at one little cinema in Jackson Heights, Queens, the plot line is not so happy. The Eagle Theater is shut tight, its steel burglar gate pulled down and its marquee blank, battered and dark.
The cause of the theater’s untimely closing â€" like many things that happen in this bustling immigrant neighborhood â€" lies not in New York but clear on the other side of the planet.
In Mumbai, India, a seven-week-old strike by film producers has brought Bollywood, that country’s multibillion-dollar film industry, to a halt. The Eagle specializes in first-run Bollywood movies, and without a supply of new films, theaters like it around the world have had to screen old ones, dip into the pricier Hollywood and European film catalogs â€" or shut down.
“You get more frustrated when you have no say in it,†said Mohammad Asif, a Pakistani businessman who helps to manage the 500-seat Eagle, nestled in the heart of a neighborhood thick with immigrants from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh and shops selling products from South Asia. “We’re not part of their problem, but we’re affected.â€
Bollywood producers began striking in early April, after the owners of India’s multiplexes rejected their demand for a larger share of the theaters’ profits. The Eagle, owned by a Pakistani business associate of Mr. Asif’s, closed soon afterward.
Mr. Asif said business had also been “pretty bad†at the movie house he owned, the Bombay Theater in Fresh Meadows, Queens. It remains open, though just barely, and is screening a recently released Punjabi film whose distribution was not affected by the dispute in Mumbai.
He and his business associate, Amjad Khawaja, bought their theaters 15 years ago, converting them from pornographic movie houses. And Mr. Asif said the Eagle would reopen as soon as the strike ended and new films were finished.
In fact, the temporary ravages of the strike, he said, are minor compared with a longer-term scourge that threatens scores of small ethnic movie houses like his across the country: film piracy.
As illegal versions of new films â€" including those from the vibrant Bollywood and Latino film industries â€" have proliferated farther and faster around the world, especially through file-sharing Web sites, box office revenue has fallen at small theaters that build their programming around new releases, industry experts say.
A year and a half ago, Mr. Asif said, the Eagle welcomed about 1,000 customers a week. By this spring, before the strike, that number had fallen to about 400.
“To be perfectly honest,†he said, “the last two years have been tough. A year ago was very tough. The last six months? Tough, tough and tough.â€
“We can go dry for a month, six weeks, no big deal. But piracy. …†His voice trailed off. “The slow, poisonous effect of piracy,†he muttered.
Patrick Corcoran, a spokesman for the National Association of Theater Owners, a trade organization based in Washington, said that according to a study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America, pirated films cost American movie theaters about $700 million in lost revenue in 2005. Market experts believe that the annual losses have only mounted since then.
“If you talk to the studios, they’ll tell you that keeping a film off the Internet or off the streets for a week will mean tens of millions of dollars to them,†Mr. Corcoran said.
Theaters that specialize in films from developing countries can be hurt even more by slow distribution networks. The longer a new foreign film has been in release abroad, Mr. Corcoran said, the better the chances that it will be pirated and illegally distributed in the United States.
In the South Asian community of Jackson Heights, the Eagle’s closing has left some moviegoers feeling bereft.
Seema Kapoor, 51, an Indian-American who lives in nearby Woodside and works as a saleswoman at a duty-free shop in La Guardia Airport, said she used to go to the Eagle at least once a month, with her sister, who visits frequently from Philadelphia, or a group of about 15 female co-workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
“We’d say, ‘Let’s go to do some shopping in Jackson Heights,’ and we used to make a plan to go see a movie,†Ms. Kapoor said, adding that the theater’s proximity to her house â€" within walking distance â€" made the experience that much better.
The Eagle Theater has been closed since a strike brought film production in India to a halt.
Employees at a video and music store next to the shuttered theater said their business had suffered since the Eagle closed because there was less foot traffic on the block.
Still, on a recent afternoon, customers streamed in and out of the store, which specializes in South Asian films and music. An Indian customer at the counter asked for a film called “Gumnaam: The Mystery.†The clerk pulled the DVD from a shelf and handed it to him, but the man seemed unsatisfied.
“Do you have the cheaper one?†the man asked, using code for a pirated version. The clerk demurred, yet the man asked again. The clerk, a college student from Pakistan, just shook his head.
The customer turned to this reporter and smiled somewhat sheepishly. He said he lived in both Mumbai and New York and used to see movies at the Eagle frequently. “Every movie,†he said. “For years now.â€
Asked what he did for a living, the man paused. Suddenly the woman next to him whirled around and blurted: “He’s a movie producer! His nieces are the biggest stars in India.†She pointed at the DVD in his hand and exclaimed, “That’s his!â€
He was Shubir Mukerji, managing director of Filmalaya, a Bollywood film production company. The woman was his wife, Melissa. She said she had grown tired of watching him perform his undercover investigations to see whether his film, which was released in December, had already fallen into the stream of the American street piracy market.
“He was acting,†she said. “Doing a bad job.â€
Mr. Mukerji explained that he was on an unplanned vacation in the United States because of the strike; he was supposed to have been shooting his next film in Frankfurt and London.
He was hopeful, he said, that the strike would end soon: The Bollywood producers were waiting for a reply to their latest settlement proposal. “We offered them a good deal,†he said. “We hope they’ll accept it.â€
With that, he paid $15 for an authentic DVD of “Gumnaam: The Mystery†and, with his wife and young daughter in tow, disappeared into the pedestrian bustle of Jackson Heights.
Did you at least get to look at Fannie Brice’s shoe while you were there?