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Openings
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October 30, 2008
Theater reopens on Halloween
DOTHAN, AL — The Carmike 12, formerly the Circle West Cinema, will be reopening on Halloween night with all-new seating and all-digital projection.
The 12-screen theater holds more than 2,000 people. All seats have been replaced with high back chairs with retractable arm rests and the ticket line has been moved inside with two box offices and four lines of patrons.
Carmike executives say they are prepared to attract large crowds.
Read more at WTVY News 4.
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October 28, 2008
Carbondale’s Varsity Theater reopens
CARBONDALE, IL — The Varsity Theater reopened Friday, October 24th, as the Varsity Center for the Arts, after showing its last movie in May of 2003. Kerosotes Theatres donated the theater to the city in Febuary of this year. The city then gave it to the Stage Company, which had been without a home since the demolition of their old theater two years before. After a long campaign of clean-up and renovation, the group performed their first play Friday, “The Star-Spangled Girl”, by Neil Simon.
The reopening of the theater is just the beginning of a long campaign planned by the Stage Company. The group plans to renovate the main theater as their primary performance space and reopen the old balcony for movies. They also wish to restore the exterior as close as possible to its original state.
You can read more about the reopening in The Southern Illinoisan. If you hurry, there is also a video on their site about the theater.
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October 27, 2008
Grant may brighten future of Lamp Theater
IRWIN, PA — With local organizations chipping in, the Lamp Theater may have a comeback soon.
Soon, however, folks may take seriously a hand-painted sign on the marquee that proclaims: “The Lamp will shine brightly again.”
Financial support from the S&T Bancorp Charitable Foundation last week has raised hopes that the restoration of the Lamp Theater will be put on the fast track.
Read more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
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October 22, 2008
Iraqi movie theaters reopen
BAGHDAD, IRAQ — Due to increased security in Baghdad, four movie theaters have re-opened after a ban of 18 years.
In a blog posting on MSNBC’s Website, an Iraqi citizen who works for NBC describes what going to the movies is like in Baghdad.
Most of the American movies being shown are from the 1980s, before foreign imports were banned in 1990. Admission is about $2.50.
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October 17, 2008
New theater may revitalize mall
CHEHALIS, WA — The 10-screen Midway Cinema opened last weekend, selling about 600 tickets in its first six hours of operation.
The Lewis County Mall is hoping the theater will revitalize business and bring in new tenants to fill several vacant storefronts.
Built inside a former Rite Aid Pharmacy, the theater features all digital projection and surround sound in auditoriums ranging in size from 80 to 203 stadium-style seats.
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Delayed cinema opening deals major blow to town
EASTLEIGH, UK — The delayed opening of a new multiplex and shopping mall in this town outside of Southampton has dealt a major blow to local shop owners who had endured months of road reconstruction in preparation for the new leisure center.
Instead of opening this Christmas, the nine-screen Vue Cinema will now be delayed until Easter. Bad weather and construction problems are to blame.
Eastleigh had been hoping the new mall would bring business to the town which has been lagging behind its neighbor Southampton.
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October 14, 2008
Chicago’s Morse Theater reopens as music club
CHICAGO, IL — The historic Morse Theatre has undergone a complete renovation and opened October 9th as a music hall, restaurant and broadcast studio.
The theater was originially built in 1912 as a 600-seat nickelodeon and a vaudeville house. In the 1930s it was converted into a neighborhood movie theater, but from the 1950s until 1977 it was used as a synagogue. Several stores occupied the building after that until the current owners bought it in 2005 to restore it as a theater.
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October 13, 2008
Cinema to be replaced by Medical Center
MERIDEN, CT — The city has approved plans to knock down its only cinema to make way for a medical center.
Holiday Cinemas took over the operation of the closed Hoyts Meridien 10 in 2002. The theater is still open, but the developer wants to begin construction as soon as possible.
The mayor has said he is disappointed about losing the theater but there’s the possibility a new theater could be built at the Westfield Meriden mall or a restaurant/theater concept could be developed somewhere else in the city.
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October 10, 2008
Reel Cinema gets reprieve
PLYMOUTH, UK — On the day it was to close, the historic Reel Cinema got a reprieve. The owner wanted to build a 10-screen multiplex on the site. A retired theater operator negotiated a deal to manage the theater, saving it from the wrecking ball.
The 70-year-old art deco Reel is the last survivor of Plymouth’s golden age of movies. In adition to films, the Beatles and other acts played there in the 1960’s. In 1977, it was divided into three auditoriums and a bingo hall.
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October 9, 2008
New Drive-In to open
MONETA, VA — You hear of drive-in movie theaters closing all the time, but here’s a story of one that’s opening.
Bob Craig, 59, has been interested in drive-ins ever since his father use to operate the projectors at the former Riverside Drive-in in Southeast Roanoke.
Three years ago, he dreamed of creating his own drive-in. This summer he built a 26x60-foot movie screen and had it hoisted in place with a crane. He bought old FedEx kiosks and a diner on eBay to use as ticket booths and for food service.