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August 26, 2009
Movie theatre directory ads going the way of the dinosaur
For those of us who grew up getting our information about what film was playing where by reading the movie directory and display ads in the local newspaper, this source is rapidly disappearing as the big chains especially are withdrawing print advertising in favor of web-based and other electronic sources. Those who use these sources, especially those who use newspaper archives for research purposes, a source of information and nostalgia may cease to be available sooner than we may may realize.
Looking to cut costs, the theater chains are instead directing consumers to their Internet sites or third-party sites, like Fandango, Moviefone or Flixster, which offer those listings for free and make money from the fees they charge for selling advance tickets to movies. Many of those sites also feature film reviews and movie trailers.
The effort may be gaining some traction, as U.S. Internet traffic to AMC’s Web site rose 21 percent in July compared with a year ago, according to comScore Inc., while visits to Regal’s Web site were up 18 percent.
More information at Urban Citizen.
This was discussed here about a year and a half ago in this story.
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August 21, 2009
The League of Historic American Theatres presents 2009 Awards
BALTIMORE, MD — The League of Historic American Theatres, celebrating leadership among historic theatres throughout North America, presented its 2009 Outstanding Historic Theatre Award to Proctors in Schenectady, NY, and its 2009 Outstanding Individual Contribution Award, to theatre architect Killis P. Almond, San Antonio, TX, during its 33rd Annual Conference and Theatre Tour in Cleveland, OH.
League President James Boese, Vice President of the Nederlander Producing Company of America, New York, NY, John Faust, Theatre Manager, Stanley Center for the Arts, Utica, NY, Maureen Patton, Executive Director, The Grand Opera House, Galveston, TX, and Tony Rivenbark, Executive Director, Thalian Hall Center for the Performing Arts, Wilmington, NC announced the awards during the organization’s Annual Award Banquet on July 18, 2009 in the Palace Ballroom of the Wyndham Cleveland Hotel at Playhouse Square.
Presenting the Outstanding Historic Theatre Award to Philip Morris, President & CEO of Proctors, Boese acknowledged the historic theatre’s significant accomplishments, inspiring excellence in the preservation, restoration and sustainable operation of American historic theatres. John Faust, who had nominated the theatre for the award, praised Proctors as “a major success story, a stellar example of how the restoration, expansion and innovative programming of a historic theatre totally revitalize a community.”
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August 13, 2009
San Antonio Theatres: Now and Then has a new forum
We have just added a new forum with Chatbox. We have many forum catagories including Texas Theatres and theatres outside of Texas. We have a links page with links back to Cinema Treasures. We invite you to pay us a visit and join our forum. Thank you
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August 12, 2009
What will they think of next?
Just what the world needs: another “innovation” to encourage patrons to use their smartphones while watching a film.
According to this story, there is now actually a website and an iPhone application that can alert you to points in a movie where one can make a pit stop without missing anything critical in the film you are watching.
The site provides recommended opportunities to race to the restroom. It tells you when the action or romance wanes, and gives you a cue (“Baby O.J. is taken from Bruno”) for your exit.
The site tells you how long you’ve got and even summarizes what you missed. Since early July, RunPee.com is available as an iPhone app, too.
Read more at MSNBC.
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August 11, 2009
Kids need shots? Take them to the mall cinema!
LAS CRUCES, NM — Here’s a new way to attract crowds at the local cinema. TheCineport 10 Theater is being used by New Mexico Department of Public Health as a site for a series immunization clinics.
Read the story at KVIA.
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August 5, 2009
Promotion causes spike in Tuesday moviegoing
Some theaters in New Jersey are cashing in on a partnership with a local cable company that’s suddenly selling out screenings, on Tuesdays.
As a way to get people to switch to its Triple Play option of phone, cable and internet services —or keep customers from defecting to rival FiOS — Cablevision began offering a rewards card that included two free movie tickets a week. The tickets were only good at Clearview Cinemas, a Cablevision subsidiary, and valid only on Tuesdays.
Clearview officials won’t say how much attendance has increased, but on recent Tuesday nights in towns like Madison, Parsippany and Red Bank, the lines of moviegoers spilled onto the sidewalk. Popular films at theaters in some towns routinely sell out — almost unheard of before.
Read the full story in the Star-Ledger.
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August 4, 2009
Redstone sees substantial interest in theaters
Sumner Redstone claims getting rid or National Amusements may be easier than many thought.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress we are making,” Redstone, 86, said today on a conference call to discuss New York-based Viacom’s second-quarter earnings.
National Amusements has been seeking a buyer for part of its 1,500-screen theater chain since reaching agreements in February to extend the maturity of $1.46 billion in debt, which is secured on assets including CBS and Viacom shares. A sale would help Redstone meet payments due this year and in 2010, and may avoid further sales of Viacom and CBS shares.
Read the full story at Bloomberg.
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August 3, 2009
Reverand Ike of the church at Loews 175th, has died
NEW YORK, NY — Reverend Ike, who preached at the former Loews 175th movie palace has passed away. He had lived in LA since a 2007 stroke. May movie palace fans in Heaven thank him for his work preserving the Loews and his welcome to all who wished to visit.
Two years later, still dissatisfied, he moved to New York City, setting up shop in an old Harlem movie theater, the Sunset, on 125th Street, with a marquee so narrow that it forced him to shorten his name to “Rev. Ike.” There he tinkered with his act, polishing his patter, introducing radio broadcasts and taking his show on the road.
He began to refine his message to attract a more striving, stable, middle-class audience, people who wanted to hear that their hard work should be rewarded here and now. To this end, in 1969, he paid more than half a million dollars for the old Loew’s 175th Street movie theater and made it his headquarters, calling it the Palace Cathedral. In his book “On Broadway: A Journey Uptown Over Time,” David W. Dunlap, a reporter for The New York Times, described the former theater as “Byzantine-Romanesque-Indo-Hindu-Sino-Moorish-Persian-Eclectic-Rococo-Deco style.”
Read the full story in the New York Times.
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July 31, 2009
Theatre Historical Society 2009 Awards announced!
THS enjoyed a wildly successful successful conclave covering Philadelphia, Baltimore, Wilmington (DE) and various other NE Pennsylvania locations.
Our visits to the Senator Theatre in Baltimore and the Boyd in Philadelphia, in particular, generated a great deal of press coverage for those embattled theaters.
As we do every year, THS awards recognized various individuals:
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Cameron, Jackson discuss future of film
James Cameron and Peter Jackson recently expressed their views on the future of film and film exhibition as part of a panel at a recent convention in San Diego. Both are very enthusiastic about 3-D (Cameron plans to convert “Titanic” to 3-D and Jackson will convert his “Rings” trilogy to the process). However both emphasized that 3-D or advanced special effects alone will not help keep people going out to the movies if the films lack good stories and effective characterizations.
“There will be a lot more 3-D screens when they know the ‘Lord of the Rings’ films are going to be available,” Cameron said.
The movie industry needs 3-D, he said, to inspire originality and boost its bottom line. A “3-D ecosystem” could be built on big films converting to the format.
Read more here at CBS News.