The latest movie theater news and updates

  • September 22, 2009

    Del Oro Theater shows classic films to raise funds for murals

    GRASS VALLEY, CA — The Del Oro Theater is currently running a series of classic films to raise funds to complete the creation of wall murals reflecting the town’s mining history. The theater was built in 1940.

    Getz said he is confident the money will be raised to complete the project, which has been in the works since the design was unveiled in March 2007.

    In the last week, the mural’s artist, John Pugh, has added another strip of the painting. Pugh has been working in bursts and during the night to get the project done, but there is no estimated date of completion, Getz said.

    Read more in in The Union and at the theater’s website.

  • “Grandfather” of Salt Lake City film exhibition dies at 77

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Regarded as Salt Lake’s champion of classic Hollywood films and at one time the operator of a number of the city’s theaters, Arthur Charles Proctor has passed. He is remembered in this article from the Deseret News.

    “Art was the city’s single greatest influence for the preservation of classic movies from what we now call the Golden Age — the 1930s, ‘40s and '50s,” said Chris Hicks, former Deseret News movie critic and entertainment editor.

    “Unlike most film buffs, he didn’t just talk about old movies — he showed them on the big screen in his theaters week after week for years. Then, when VHS movies came on the scene, Art opened a video store and rented those same golden oldies. I’m sure he had the largest collection of classic films in the state, and he loved to share them. His contribution to the local movie scene really can’t be measured.”

  • September 21, 2009

    Remembering Cinerama (Part 41: Hartford)

    REMEMBERING CINERAMA
    Part 41: Hartford

    The following is Part Forty-One 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

    And now…Part 41: Cinerama Presentations in Hartford, Connecticut!

  • Watsontown theater closing

    WATSONTOWN, PA — After one last benefit showing for the local library, the nearly sixty-year-old Watson Theater will be closed. The current owners that a buyer can be found who will re-open the movie house.

    Watstontown’s theatre has been around for more than a half-century.

    The has not shown a film in nearly a month. Its windows are empty, usually filled with posters for upcoming flicks.

    All this spells the end for the long-time theatre, according to its owners, who cite personal reasons for closing the community’s only movie house.

    Read more at WNEP.

  • New season of “Science on Screen” at Coolidge

    BROOKLINE, MA — The Coolidge Corner Theatre kicks off a brand-new season of its popular Science on Screen series on Monday, Sep. 21 at 7 pm with a presentation of the Boston-based medical thriller “Coma” and a pre-screening talk by special guest Robin Cook, MD, author of the best-selling novel of the same name.

    Something is not quite right at Boston Memorial Hospital. When her best friend falls into a coma after a routine operation, surgical resident Susan Wheeler (Geneviève Bujold) does some digging, and discovers that many other patients, all young and relatively healthy, have met the same fate. She digs deeper, but her obsession with finding answers only antagonizes her superiors and alienates her ambitious boyfriend, Dr. Mark Bellows (Michael Douglas), who is reluctant to believe her suspicions of foul play. The tension builds as Dr. Wheeler’s investigation leads her to a mysterious facility where she witnesses comatose bodies suspended on wires in a computer-controlled environment —– and uncovers a chilling link to the black-market trade in human organs.

    Before the film, Dr. Cook will discuss some of the medical and ethical issues portrayed in “Coma” and how those issues still resonate today. Widely credited as the master of the medical thriller, Dr. Cook continues to dominate the category he helped create. Since the publication of “Coma” in 1977, he has successfully combined medical fact with fiction to produce a succession of 27 New York Times bestsellers that have been translated into 40 languages. In addition to “Coma”, numerous feature films, television movies, and mini-series have been made from his work.

  • US 23 DI opens Nightmare Castle on September 25

    FLINT, MI — To top off a successful season for the US 23 Drive-in Theatre under its new management, they will open the Nightmare Castle on Friday, September 25. Details can be found at http://www.nightmarecastle.com. The drive-in is now open weekends only. They will have their final Customer Appreciation Weekend on Friday and Saturday, September 18 and 19 when admission will be $5.00. For the Nightmare Castle shows, admission will be $15 for adults and $10 for children 11 and under which includes the movie show and the Nightmare Castle attraction. The final Nightmare Castle show will be on Halloween night after which the drive-in will close for the season.

  • September 18, 2009

    Detroit to get new art house/revival venue

    DETROIT, MI — Detroit, which has lost almost all of its movie theaters within the city limits, is about to get a new art house. To be called the Burton Theater, it will be housed in the restored auditorium of the former Burton Elementary School at Cass and Peterboro.

    The Burton Theatre is set to open in the Burton Elementary building on Cass at Peterboro on Oct. 3.

    The movie house will screen new, independent films, LBGT, foreign, and cult.

    The four partners behind the project — David Allen, Jeff Else, Nate Faustyn and Matt Kelson — saw the scarcity of movie theaters in Detroit, plus they had a 35mm projector. When developer Joel Landy purchased Burton Elementary, they discovered that he wanted a movie theater in the building. It was a perfect match.

    Read more at Model D.

  • 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival announces call for entries!

    NEWPORT BEACH, CA — Celebrating its 11th year, the Newport Beach Film Festival is open for submissions. Take advantage of our Early Bird Deadline and save.

    The 2010 Newport Beach Film Festival will spotlight over 350 films from around the world, including feature length narrative, documentary, short, animated and student films that will compete for a series of Jury, Festival Honors and Audience Awards. The 2010 NBFF will host red carpet Opening and Closing Night Gala Celebrations, International Spotlight events, an Action Sports Film Series, an Environmental Film Series, a Family Film Series, a Collegiate Showcase, a Youth Film Showcase and a free Seminar Series.

    The Festival runs from April 22nd to April 29th, 2010.

    Newport Beach Film Festival
    April 22 —– 29, 2010

    NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS.
    SUBMIT NOW AND SAVE!

    www.NewportBeachFilmFest.com

  • 3 platters for sale

    2 BARCO PLATTERS EACH WITH MAKEUP TABLE
    1 CHRISTIE PLATTER WITH MAKEUP TABLE
    VERY GOOD CONDITION

    $2,500 FOR ALL 3 OR $1,00 EACH

    CHARLESTON SC

  • September 17, 2009

    Midwest’s B&B theatres selects Christie DLP Cinema projectors for its newest locations

    CYPRESS, CA — Christie, the world leader in digital cinema projection, announced that it has been selected by B&B Theatres to supply all the DLP Cinema projectors for the circuit’s two newest 10-screen multiplexes in Wildwood and Ozark, Missouri. The multiplexes, scheduled for completion in the spring of 2010, will be equipped with Christie CP2000-ZX digital cinema projectors with Christie Brilliant 3D, which allows 3D content to be projected in full 2K resolution utilizing 1.2" DMD chips from Texas Instruments (TI) (NYSE: TXN).

    The 29th largest theatre company in the U.S., B&B Theatres operates a chain of more than 179 screens in 30 locations throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. It is recognized by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) as one of the oldest family-owned circuits in the Midwest. B&B started 2009 with no digital projectors, but has already digitized half of its circuit with at least one Christie digital cinema projector per complex. It is committed to installing additional Christie projectors in all of its theatres within the next year, according to B&B’s president and owner, Bob Bagby.

    Kansas-based Sonic Equipment Company, a service, consulting, remodeling and new construction company for motion picture exhibitors, is responsible for B&B’s conversion efforts. Sonic is also a certified reseller of Christie’s digital projectors and currently services more than 400 screens in eight states. Christie is a major partner in Sonic’s highly successful digital roll-out strategy.