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The latest movie theater news and updates
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November 9, 2009
Blue Mouse Theatre 1923 opening night re-creation with Dennis James
TACOMA, WA — Years in the making, finally the “Green Goddess” returns! This is a rare opportunity not to be missed!
A Special Engagement at the Blue Mouse Theatre in Tacoma’s Historic Proctor District (one day only!)
“Green Goddess” (1923) Friday, November 13, 2009, 7:00 PM
The Blue Mouse’s opening night film accompanied live by world renowned Silent Film Organist Dennis James & Live Vaudeville Act.4 comments -
Overton Theater coming back to life
OVERTON, TX — Closed for over four decades, the Overton Theater is being restored by Loretta and John Posey. The work is expected to take nearly two years. Original materials are being used and fixtures and details recreated.
The restoration of the theater came about after the building was bought by Loretta and John Posey as one of several building restoration projects in downtown Overton.
“We bought it because we have a heart for this community, and we’ve had a business here for well over ten years,” she said. “We wanted to do dinner and a movie and have live performances with bands, plays and if the stage is big enough, ballet.”
Read more in this article with pictures from theTyler Paper.
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Iconic Chapel Hill Landmark Theatre To Reopen
CHAPEL HILL, NC — After closing this past summer, the Varsity Theatre, a historic landmark in Downtown Chapel Hill on East Franklin Street for more than 80 years is scheduled to reopen on November 9, 2009 under new management. The theatre, which in the past showcased foreign and independent films will present mainstream films as well as classic films at reduced prices.
Today, new owners will announce their plans for renovation, which include an upgraded lobby and concession area and a children’s birthday party room.
The owners declined requests for an interview until their announcement.
Former owner Bruce Stone, who operated the Varsity for nine years, said lowering prices didn’t work for him, and he doesn’t know how $3 movie tickets will work to sustain the new Varsity.
Read more of this article in the Daily Tarheel.
UPDATE: Now slated for November 29th reopening.
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November 6, 2009
Rare 35mm prints at the 26th Olympia Film Festival
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!
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Pittsburgh’s Cheswick Theater closing
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.
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Strand in Dover to be auctioned off
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.
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MPAA undercuts cinema distrubution
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.
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Vintage movie theater seats for sale
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.
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November 5, 2009
Former Stadium 12 in Bonita Springs to re-open as cafe cinema
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.