OLYMPIA, WA — The 26th Olympia Film Festival at the historic 772-seat single-screen Capitol Theater begins Friday Nov. 6 with the unreleased-on-video 35mm feature “Nothing Lasts Forever”, starring Zach Galligan and Bill Murray. Other 35mm prints of unreleased-on-video films include Ken Russell’s “The Devils” in a rarely screened LPP print, Paul Newman’s adaptation of Ken Kesey’s “Sometimes a Great Notion”, the 1933 “Alice in Wonderland” starring Cary Grant, Gary Cooper, and W.C. Fields, and the 1932 Charles Laughton / Bela Lugosi classic “Island of Lost Souls”.

A 3-D print of Andy Warhol’s “Frankenstein” will be introduced by star Udo Kier and we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of All Freakin’ Night with an all-35mm print extravaganza featuring “Starchaser: The Legend of Orin in 3-D”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2”, “Rolling Thunder”, “Street Trash”, and “A Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2”. And much much more! Check out the festival website for more info!

The festival runs November 6-14, 2009!

PITTSBURGH, PA — The number of screens it has had over the years expanded and contracted, but for over six decades, the Cheswick Theatre has been entertaining patrons in the Alle-Kiski Valley area. The owner is reluctant to close it, but economic realities have left him no choice.

"I didn’t want to close it, but there is such a thing that when it starts costing you money, you have no other alternative.”

The closing of the four-screen Cheswick Theatre along the north side of Pittsburgh Street comes two years after its sister building, which had two screens, closed.

It’s another step toward the end of an era in the Alle-Kiski Valley in which movie lovers flocked to downtown neighborhood theaters in New Kensington, Vandergrift, Cheswick and Tarentum.

Read more at Pittsburgh Live.

DOVER, NH — The Strand triplex will be on the auction block on November 19. Built in 1919, the theater was operated by the Spinelli circuit which recently shut down all of its theaters.

Assessed at $705,300, the theater is one of two properties on a 2005 mortgage held by Rose Realty LLC in Madbury. The other property is located off Route 11 in Rochester — where Spinelli had plans for a theater in 2006 — and was the subject of a $150,000 foreclosure deed this past summer. The mortgage was in the amount of $429,500.

Spinelli has encountered other financial challenges, including lawsuits for back rent at his Barrington theater and unpaid rent at the defunct Somersworth location.

More information at Fosters.com.

The MPAA announced that they are paving the way towards bypassing theaters in the film distribution model.

In a filing today with the Federal Communications Commission, the Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) reinforced the benefits of allowing studios the option of sending movies fresh from the box office to tens of millions of American households.

“Many of us love movies, but we just can’t make it to the theater as often as we’d like.  That is especially true for parents of young children, rural Americans who live far from the multiplex and people with disabilities that keep them close to home,” MPAA Chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said. “Having the added option to enjoy movies in a more timely fashion at home would be a liberating new choice."

Read the full story at Deadline Hollywood.

I’m selling a bunch of old movie theater seats salvaged from a Masonic lodge built in the 1920s. 

I’ve uploaded photos here

They’re located in Dallas, Texas. I’m happy to ship anywhere in the U.S. if you have a shipping company that can pick them up.

Read more…

BONITA SPRINGS, FL — The Regal Stadium 12, which closed in June, will re-open in as the Prado Cinema Cafe. The twelve screens will remain; new amenities will include leather seats, a grill menu, beer and wine availability, and wait service. The Prado’s other tenants hope the theater’s re-opening will increase traffic at the distressed shopping plaza.

Four months after Regal Stadium 12 shuttered its doors in Bonita Springs, a new movie theater has announced plans for a return to the big screen in full Hollywood style, with more bells and more whistles.

Cinema Cafe is expected to open in February in The Prado at Spring Creek on U.S. 41, featuring 12 screens, leather seats, beer and wine service, a grill menu and waiter service.

“The Prado Cinema Cafe will bring a long overdue, upgraded cinema experience with value-added services to the Lee County area, but at affordable, everyday prices,” said Doug Olson, sales and leasing specialist for LandQwest Commercial, who secured the deal.

More detail in the Naples News.

CHAPEL HILL, SC — Although previously reported to be closed permanently, the Varsity Theater will be re-opening under new ownership as a $3 discount house.

Chapel Hill residents Susan and Paul Shareshian have begun working to restore the theater to its former elegance. “We want to bring back the feeling of a classic old-time movie theater and also provide a clean and fun space — with excellent service and a customer-focused staff — where local residents can enjoy a movie at a reasonable price,” says Paul Shareshian in a news release.

Read more in the News Observer.

Long time cinema treasures fan and theater manager in south jersey is working on an indie horror film with canadian comic book company arcana studios. The film is an old fashion ghost story set in an aged multiplex (every theater has a ghost story).

Pre-production is underway contact nerwallfilms1@yahoo.com for more information.

You Tube Clip

LOS ANGELES, CA — The current owner of the Los Angeles and Palace theaters has committed to renovate the Palace and Los Angeles theaters on Broadway if the city will build a new parking facility between 6th and 7th streets.

The project, which would require another $2 million in tenant relocation and $31 million in pre-development and construction costs, would result in several hundred new spaces for uses along Broadway.

While Broadway has a number of parking garages, a recent study showed that these structures are near 100% occupancy during the day. Many close at night, and several structures have recently made exclusive arrangements with residential properties.

Read more at blogdowntown.com. 

CHICAGO, IL — It looks like the cinema that was to be operated by Muvico in the Block 37 complex (now referred to as 108 North State - opposite Marshall Field’s, oops, Macy’s) is not going to be constructed. Muvico sought to renegotiate lease terms in June, but the bank involved would not agree to them and is foreclosing on the developer of the retail and transit portion of the project.

After undergoing a corporate reorganization that included shedding several of its movie houses, Muvico “informed Freed that it could not honor its lease but offered to enter into alternative arrangements,” Freed said in the filing.

Muvico renegotiated the lease, but the banks refused to approve the new terms, the filing said.

Read more in the Chicago Tribune.