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The latest movie theater news and updates
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September 30, 2009
Flagship Cinemas opens theater in Mechanicsburg
MECHANICSBURG, PA — The the former AMC Hampden Center 8 cnema has been given an extensive makeover and is re-opening as the latest theater in the Flagship Cinema chain. Two of the auditoriums are premium screens, with vibrators built into leather seats that activate when explosions occur during the film being shown.
Last weekend, however, Flagship Cinemas brought movies back to the weekend routine of Hampden Township residents. Flagship Cinemas, a regionally owned movie theater company, has refurbished the former AMC Hampden Center 8 theater and opened its doors last week to moviegoers.
“We have not selected a grand opening date yet, but we obtained occupancy last Friday,” said Paul Wenger, vice president of Flagship Cinemas. “We considered it a soft opening — essentially whoever decided to drive by and see us open showed up. We’ll be officially working on a marketing campaign for this weekend.”
Read more in The Sentinel.
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Developers vie to build mutiplexes in Atascadero
ATASCADERO, CA — Currently a town with no movie theaters at all, Atasadero, CA might soon have 20 screens as developers are proposing to build two ten-screen multiplexes nearly across the street from each other.
John Roush, owner of Park Cinemas in Paso Robles, unveiled plans Tuesday for a mixed-use project of Italian Renaissance design — mimicking the architecture of the historic Rotunda building — across from the city’s Sunken Gardens on El Camino Real. The proposed project includes 40,000 square feet of shopping or restaurants and a 33,000-square-foot, 10-screen movie theater.
The project, called La Plaza Cinemas, is within walking distance of the long-touted Colony Square project and includes a three-block span from Hoover’s 101 restaurant to Traffic Way. The stretch houses a string of dated smaller buildings and includes a 1.6-acre parcel owned by the Hoff Family that housed the North County Christian Thrift Store before it was destroyed by a fire in March.
The whole story can be read in the Tribune.
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September 29, 2009
Hoff Theater to close in January
COLLEGE PARK, MD — The independent Hoff Theater located in the Stamp Student Union at the University of Maryland in College Park be be closing as a full-time cinema in January. Although subsidized by student fees, the theater is expected to turn a profit, but has been unable to do so for some time. The university has decided to turn it into a a rental facility for student and other groups. Student employees are concerned about the impending closure, and are organizing efforts to save it, in spite of competition from nearby multiplexes.
But the news saddened and shocked Hoff'‘ student employees, who learned about the expected closure of the theater as early as mid-August. They said they have been organizing efforts to increase revenue and hopefully reverse the decision, including a video competition and a “Save the Hoff” night. They are also reevaluating the movies they show and how they advertise them.
The employees, quoted anonymously because they are not authorized to speak to the press, stressed that the Hoff is a campus landmark and a safe alternative to partying and drinking.
Read more at DiamondbackOnline.
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Marcus Theaters opening deluxe multiplex in Omaha
OMAHA, NB – A high class, five-screen multiplex will open in November in the greater Omaha area. To be called the Midtown Cinema at Midtown Crossing, the amenities will include a baby grand piano in the lobby area, in-theater dining, and a cocktail lounge.
Read more in the Business Journal of Milwaukee.
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Remembering the lost theaters of Boise
BOISE, ID — In a a two-part article recently published in Sunday editions of Idaho Statesman, area historian Arthur Hart writes about the movie theaters of Boise, Idaho. Many, if not most, are long gone, some even from memory. One, however, the Egyptian, still survives.
They didn’t have multiplex movie theaters in Boise a century ago, but Boiseans had a range of choices, all of them Downtown.
In 1910 you also could choose the entertainment offered by the Dime, the Nickelodeon, or the Bijou. In a sequence that was repeated often with those pioneer theaters, the Bijou, at 921 Main, became the Woods in 1912 and the Rex in 1914. In its prime, the Bijou offered six movies a week. In January 1911, these included two comedies, “Tag Day at Silver Gulch” and “The Gardener’s Ladder,” and two dramas, “The Englishman’s Honor” and “Washed Ashore.” A film described in the ad as “industrial” was titled “Wood Carving at Brienz” and “The Home of the Seal” was listed as “educational.”
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September 28, 2009
Fewer indie films being picked up for distribution
In a recent story in the Chicago Sun-Times, film critic Roger Ebert notes that in spite of often high praise from film critics at many recent festivals, many independent films are not finding distributors. Although he would prefer that film be shown in 35mm, he recognizes that digital distribution is here to stay and that independent and art film houses may have to change the way they acquire and present films if they are to stay in business. Moreover, lovers of indie films may be increasingly forced to watch films at home either by using on-demand cable services and internet delivery.
The makers of independent films don’t have to send to learn for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for them. The bottom fell out of the market. That doesn’t mean there were no other offers, but it means there were none that the sellers felt able to accept. It shows a collapse of confidence in the prospects of independent film distribution.
Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Anne Thompson, who always knows what she’s talking about. In her blog Thompson on Hollywood, she leads: “The old independent market is over.” She quotes the producer Jonathan Dana: “It’s a massacre. It’s the end of funny money.”
Read the whole article in the Chicago Sun Times.
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Columbus area couple take up challenge of running a single screener
COLUMBUS, OH — The oldest theater in Franklin County, Ohio will be reopening in stages soon. Formerly the Drexel Grandview in Columbus, Ohio, now to be simply the Grandview, co-owners Jennifer Stancel and her husband David Nedrow will be seeking to show films films that typically do not play in towns such as Columbus. The theater will feature actual 35mm projection.
Regular programming — a mix of “classic, international and independent films,” according to Nedrow — is set to begin Nov. 6.
The theater will be “75 percent” finished when the 1920s movie house opens to the public Friday. Nedrow and Stancel are billing the weekend as a “last chance, first chance” event — the last chance to see some original decorations uncovered by construction and the first chance to see changes that have already been made, including new bathrooms and a rebuilt concession stand.
Read the whole story in the Columbus Dispatch.
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Port Richey’s former Cinema Grill@Embassy 6 re-opens as bargain cinema
PORT RICHEY, FL — Chanel Casteel and Jason Dover have re-opened the former Cinema Grill@Embassy 6 as a bargain movie multiplex, rechristening it the Cinema 6.
Just like many a character that has filled its screens, the theater in the Embassy Crossing shopping center, on U.S. 19 just north of Embassy Boulevard, is back for a sequel. Its new proprietors have spiffed up the place, and it will soon have a new name.
“We’re changing the name to Cinema 6; it won’t have any association with Cinema Grill,” said Chanel Casteel, who along with Jason Dover, reopened the movie house Aug. 22.
Read more at the Suncoast News.
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September 25, 2009
Free L.A. theater tours tomorrow
LOS ANGELES, CA —Saturday, 9/26, – Free Tours of the Million Dollar and Morosco (Club 740) Theatres
Broadway Theatre History Review
Program begins at 11 am, Million Dollar Theatre (3rd & Broadway)The Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation (www.lahtf.org) celebrates the first year of our popular All About… theatre docu-tours on Saturday, September 26, 11am, at the Million Dollar Theatre at 3rd & Broadway. Admission is free and the public is invited.
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Woodbridge eyes Fords Theater’s past with hope for future
FORDS, NJ — The long shuttered Fords Cinema may be making a comeback as locals investigate the possibilities.
Today, the nearly 100-year-old building sits vacant and gutted — it’s seats torn out, parts of the roof caving in and paint crumbling to the floor. Its owner, Shah Associates of Woodbridge, has used the building for storage over the years and is looking to lease two store fronts on the first floor.
But now the township and Middlesex County are spending a combined $150,000 to have engineers examine the structure and create preliminary designs for a new or repaired Fords Theater — if they get permission. Officials took the first step toward that last week, giving the owners a draft agreement that would let an evaluation take place.
Read the full story in the Star-Ledger.