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Industry
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June 17, 2009
Outdoor movies
Popping up all over the country is showing movies in parks, swim clubs and yes backyards. Such is On Location Cinema. They will bring in a complete screen package (projector, audio system and screen) set it up show the movie, break down. They even have a Drive-in theater package with old D-I speakers and FM sound. I guess the drive-ins are still bringing them in. rg
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June 16, 2009
Motion Picture Heritage seeks community partners
Motion Picture Heritage Corporation is committed to working with community centric theaters to bring them to their full potential. Our goal is to revitalize, rehabilitate and operate classic motion picture venues in conjunction with community activists.
We also distribute commercially viable, mass market film content.
Please contact if interested.
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June 12, 2009
A new twist on outdoor theaters
According to the this article from the Associated Press, a loose network of dedicated motion picture exhibitors is springing up, showing movies outdoors in unusual places. Though the equipment is sometimes rather primitive, these enthusiasts are attempting to recreate the drive-in experience.
Think the only way to see a big-screen movie is while slurping a 64-oz. soft drink, eating a $5 candy bar and shushing the wannabe film critic behind you?
That’s not the case anymore, thanks to people like John Young, creator of the West Chester Guerilla Drive-In and part of a loosely knit network of celluloid renegades resurrecting the drive-in for a new age.
“Nowadays, you push a button and a movie appears,” he said. “There’s fun in the inconvenience of having to get off the couch and go somewhere you might not be familiar with, maybe getting rained on, maybe being cold. It makes it an adventure.”
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Imax fans try out enhanced theater experiences at North American theaters
To compete with Imax, some cinema chains are rolling out their own large-format options.
The steady stream of Hollywood films flowing through Imax theaters, combined with the development of a digital projection system, have resulted in a dramatic expansion of Imax’s commercial theater network in the last year. With many of the best locations off-limits due to exclusivity agreements between Imax and customers, some cinema chains have come up with their own large-format-style auditoriums.
Read more in the Wall Street Journal(reg rqr’d).
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June 11, 2009
Protests as Saudi film is shown in Riyadh
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — After 30 years, people in Saudi Arabia have a chance to go to see a movie.
A few religious hardliners have tried to turn movie-goers away, or to disrupt the performances.
No women were allowed into the performance, which followed similar initiatives in other Saudi cities with more liberal Islamic traditions.
Read more in the BBC News.
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Delay of next ‘Potter’ pic dings Imax
Some are a bit concerned that due to a scheduling conflict, the next Harry Potter won’t be in wide release in Imax until two weeks after the general release.
Shares of Imax dropped 4% on Monday to $7.31 after a Wall Street analyst said the delay “should negatively impact Imax boxoffice results.”
“Prince” opens wide July 14. Although it opens on two Imax screens that day — one in New York and one in Los Angeles — it won’t get the wide Imax treatment until July 29.
Read more in the Hollywood Reporter.
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June 10, 2009
English cinema building history book - North Tyneside
Well-known cinema historian Frank Manders has just had his “Cinemas of North Tyneside” published in the Mercia Cinemas Histories series. Covering Wallsend, Howdon, and Willington Quay : North Shields and Tynemouth : Whitley Bay and Monkseaton : Forest Hall : The Colliery Villages : and with a post-script on Wallsend’s Silverlink Odeon, the well-illustrated and indexed book retails at £ 12.95. ISBN-13 : 978-0-946406-4. Available through bookshops or direct from Mercia Sales: 23 Thrice Fold, Cote Farm, Thackley, Bradford, BD10 8WW (enquiries : ) Cheques for £ 12 95p + £ 1 20 p+p (total £ 14.15) should be made payable to Mercia Cinema Society.
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June 3, 2009
Vassar Theatre voted Mid-Michigan’s Best Movie Theatre
VASSAR, MI — In a poll conducted by the local NBC affiliate, the Vassar Theatre was voted “Mid-Michigan’s Best Movie Theatre”.
The theatre, which opened in 1937, finished first in a field of seven mid-Michigan theatres that received 2,240 total votes. The Vassar Theatre was the only classic single-screen theatre competing against newer multiplexes including a twenty-screen IMAX. The Vassar Theatre also received 189 reviews, more than any other business in 63 categories. All but one review was accompanied by the highest-possible five-star rating. Numerous accolades were also bestowed on the theatre’s popcorn, one user proclaiming it the “best popcorn in the world.”
Many comments praised the staff and owner Tim O'Brien’s skillful renovation of the classic art deco theatre. O'Brien invested 13 years and over $500,000 into the project. The Vassar Theatre combines the notalgic look and feel of art deco theatres with the modern quality of professional 35mm film projection and Dolby Digital sound.
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June 2, 2009
National Amusements UK for sale
The three major cinema chains in the UK have submitted first round bids for National Amusement’s Showcase Cinemas.
The three leading cinema chains in the UK – Odeon, Cineworld and Vue – which control almost three-quarters of the market, have all submitted first round bids for some of the 21 UK cinemas put up for sale by Sumner Redstone, the US media magnate.
An outright purchase by any one of the cinema operators would face thorny UK competition issues but the chains are hoping they can parcel up the assets between them.
Read the full story in the Financial Times.(reg rqr’d)
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June 1, 2009
Theater advertisers may consider deal
Consolidation in the theater advertising field could raise antitrust issues.
Two firms, National CineMedia (NCMI) and Screenvision, control the 20 minutes or so before showtime at the vast majority of theaters. But they soon may try to merge, which would raise the curtain on a debate about concentration of power in one of the few resilient media businesses in this miserable economy.
“I’m not sure that (a combination) is possible from an antitrust perspective,” says Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett. “It would affect some advertisers, studios and independent theater chains that like to play those two (companies) against each other.”
Read the full story in USA Today.