Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
The latest movie theater news and updates
-
January 8, 2010
Remembering Cinerama (Part 46: Seattle)
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 46: SeattleThe following is Part Forty-Six in a series of retrospectives on Cinerama, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. The easy-to-reference articles serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to highlight the movie palaces in which the memorable screenings took place.
Part 1: New York City
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, DC
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte
Part 17: Vancouver
Part 18: Salt Lake City
Part 19: Boston
Part 20: Philadelphia
Part 21: Fresno
Part 22: Detroit
Part 23: Minneapolis
Part 24: Albuquerque
Part 25: El Paso
Part 26: Des Moines
Part 27: Miami
Part 28: Orange County
Part 29: Pittsburgh
Part 30: Baltimore
Part 31: Long Island
Part 32: Kansas City
Part 33: Milwaukee
Part 34: Nanuet/Rockland County
Part 35: Denver
Part 36: Worcester
Part 37: Toledo
Part 38: St. Louis
Part 39: Tampa
Part 40: Calgary
Part 41: Hartford
Part 42: Albany
Part 43: New Haven
Part 44: Sacramento
Part 45: Las VegasAnd now…Part 46a: Cinerama Presentations in Seattle, Washington!
9 comments -
Paris theater gutted by fire
PARIS, AR – The recently renovated Main Street Cinema was destroyed by a blaze on Jan 2. A previous theater in the town succumbed to the same fate in 2005.
Fire officials said the cause of the blaze is under investigation and that no one was inside when the fire broke out.
“It gave the families some place to take their kids to see movies and have something to do on the weekends,” said area resident Kathy Caughman.
Orange flames glowed from inside the theater as several fire departments worked to prevent the fire from spreading.
More detail with video at 4029tv.com
-
Senate Theatre closes
DETROIT, MI — The Senate Theatre is now closed. The Detroit Theatre Organ Society could no longer afford to operate the theatre and has ended organ concerts at the Senate. The building is now for sale. The DTOS is looking for a new home for the Mighty Wurlitzer that was moved to the Senate from the Fisher Theatre 45 years ago. A sad story indeed.
-
Avatar crosses $1 billion worldwide…fastest to reach milestone!!!
According to an article in the LA Times, most of the take of Avatar’s $1 billion and counting box office worldwide has been from IMAX and Digital 3-D showings of the movie, about 75%.
One of the riskiest movies of all times is now officially one of the most successful at the box office.
When “Avatar” opened, its solid but far from stellar results left 20th Century Fox uncertain about whether the $430 million that it and two financing partners had invested to produce and market the 3-D film would pay off.
Less than three weeks later, there’s no doubt. Director James Cameron’s science-fiction epic on Sunday became only the fifth movie in history to gross more than $1 billion worldwide and, by far, was the fastest to do so.
-
For Sale: Surround Speakers, Platter System and Projector
For Sale: (All items in almost new condition!)
10: 8330A JBL THX Certified Surround Speakers (Built in 2008)
1: Strong-Ballantyne AP3, 3 tier 35MM platter system with makeup table, feed plates, center rings.
1: Century 35MM – SA-TA Projector (Automated Turret and Aperture Plates), with R3 Sound Head built with Component Engineering RSTR-2000 Reverse Scan Reader. Great Condition.
All items ready to ship.
Email for prices:
-
January 7, 2010
Staten Island Paramount to reopen as banquet and live performance center
STATEN ISLAND, NY – Closed for over a quarter century, the Paramount Theater will reopen as a banquet hall, restaurant, and live performance venue. Originally opened in 1930, this Rapp & Rapp theater closed in the late 1980s after housing a nightclub.
The venue will serve as a catering hall, restaurant and performance center, with bands, comics and plays potentially appearing on stage, said Hsiu Sung (David) Yang, who is opening the Paramount with partners Charley Zerrilli and Peter Lisi as part of SI Paramount Inc.
“It’s going to revitalize the neighborhood by bringing in some good acts,” said Lisi.
Read more inSI Live.
-
Four manufacturers of 3-D glasses vying for supremacy
NEW YORK, NY — As the number of screens equipped for 3-D expands and as the number of 3-D productions also increases, the vendors of the special glasses needed to see the dimensional effects are in a contest for market share. A recent article in the New York Times discusses the issue and compares the products of the four companies competing for adoption by film producers and theater owners.
The battle over what glasses patrons wear is a big deal because exhibitors are convinced that 3-D, while seeming like a gimmick now, will lure movie lovers away from their crisp high-definition widescreen TVs at home and back to the theater. But Maria Costeira, the chief executive of XpanD, believes the sky’s the limit: “Eventually, we’ll see 3-D movies on airplanes as well.”
The fight over the glasses may well intensify because TV makers are now pushing 3-D TVs for the home as a way to increase their sales of more expensive sets.
Despite the marketing effort, when it comes down to choosing a 3-D system, many exhibitors are making a decision based on one factor: Do they want to be in the cleaning as well as the movie business?
More here in the New York Times.
-
New theaters coming to Simpsonville, SC and Warner Robins, GA
SIMPSONVILLE, SC — Great Escape Theatres is planing a March opening of its new 14-screen multiplex in this Upstate city. One of the auditoriums will be for IMAX presentations, and the complex will include a cocktail lounge.
A new movie theater is opening in the Upstate this spring. It will have the only Imax screen between Charlotte and Atlanta.
Great Escape is under construction on South Street in Simpsonville just off interstate 385 in between Fairview and West Georgia roads. “We expect folks to drive over from that famous Woodruff road area, drive over to the movies,” said Simpsonville mayor Dennis Waldrop.
The theater will also have a lounge that serves meals and drinks, not just popcorn.
Read more at WYFF.
-
January 6, 2010
Happy 30th anniversary, “Empire Strikes Back”!!!
30 years ago this year, George Lucas and 20th Century Fox once again joined forces to release “The Empire Strikes Back”, the sequel to the smash hit “Star Wars”. This time, Lucas was in control of his destiny, since he controlled the profits from the movie’s release after the first one provided much needed cash to Fox. The film was at the time one of the largest 70mm releases ever and provided moviegoers with a surprising cliffhanger that was resolved three years later with “Return of the Jedi”, which chronologically is the last “Star Wars” film in the canon.
-
Fire-damaged Springfield Theater to become triplex
SPRINGFIELD, VT — In 2007, it was the site of the premiere of “The Simpsons Movie;” in 2008, an arsonist torched it. But now the Springfield Theater will be reborn as a modern triplex with nine apartments in the Ellis Block, the building that contains the theater.
But it’ll be another year before anyone can take in a movie downtown.
The theater and the rooming house above it, collectively known as the Ellis Block, remain boarded up.
Bill Morlock is executive director of the Springfield Housing Authority, the group that’s spearheading the project locally.
Read more at Vermont Public Radio’s website.