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August 28, 2009
Remembering Cinerama (Part 39: Tampa)
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 39: TampaThe following is Part Thirty-Nine 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. LouisAnd now…Part 39: Cinerama Presentations in Tampa, Florida!
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Tacoma’s Grand Cinema adding fourth screen
TACOMA, WA — The Grand Cinema in Tacoma is adding a fourth screen, expanding its lobby area, and replacing all of the theater’s seats.
Cowan, the Tacoma theater’s executive director, has just announced detailed plans for the cinema’s expansion. Come September, the nonprofit art-house movie theater will expand into the adjacent area formerly leased to the Grand Impromptu art gallery to create a fourth screen, central ticketing desk and larger lobby and concessions stand. The construction is slated to finish by December this year.
“What’s exciting is the program: We’ll be able to play 33 percent more films, maybe even more,” said Cowan. “It’ll enable us to bring in more smaller films, more independent films, some film series, even art movies partnered with Tacoma Art Museum.”
Read more in the News Tribune.
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Movie theater screen for sale
I have a 1 week old theatre screen I am selling. Viewing area measures 15' high by 28' wide. Overall dimensions are 18' high by 28'8" wide. Standard perferations and comes on a hollow steel roller tube. No frame. Small scuff mark on face of the screen that will come off with little effort.
This screen was purchased brand new, installed for one week and then removed. $3800 US. Located close to Seattle.
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August 27, 2009
At the movies in Zurich 30 years on
At the movies in Zurich 30 years on…
My wife and I are just back from a weekend in Zurich…a destination I chose with some motivation…centre city lakeside beach, great baked goods, and outstanding sausages and beer…and the movies are in English – not always a given in Continental Europe.
I had worked in Zurich in 1981 – bartending and waiting tables in a little jewel of a centre city hotel – gravitating naturally to the movies on my days off. Shortly upon arrival at the Bahnhof, the main train station, I had discovered an old grindhouse, the Rex, which cranked out mostly Charles Bronson reissues with the odd Spaghetti Western, all dubbed in German of course, and even better a 20 foot display of current and coming attractions around town…and of course most hotel, cafe and bar vestibules would display a weekly movie timetable which changed every Thursday – a very civilized habit which still hangs on in many European cities.
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Memories of a former repertory theater owner
BROOKLINE, MA — Justin Freed, the former owner and programmer of the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline, MA reflects on his experience of running a repertory cinema before VHS tapes and DVDs made operating such a theater so challenging in this retrospective.
“Everyone’s a programmer,‘” Justin Freed says with a laugh, describing what it’s like to own a revival house. “When I was running that theater it was like being Theo Epstein [running the Red Sox]. Everyone has an opinion on what you should be doing – believe me! And I’m not sure I was doing it any better than the people who were giving me the suggestions.’”
The “Coolidge'” in question is, of course, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, in Brookline, which Freed owned from 1977 to 1989. Those were halcyon days. Moviegoers were as likely to encounter Norman Mailer introducing one of his films, or the graffiti artists of “Wild Style” spray-painting an exterior wall, as a Fellini double feature.
Read the full story in the Boston Globe.
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Norwalk Theatre for sale
NORWALK, OH — The Norwalk Main Street Theatre is for sale or lease/option. The theatre was built in 1941 by architect John Eberson at 57 E. Main Street, Norwalk, OH.
Norwalk is located ½ way between Toledo (40 miles) and Cleveland (45 miles). It has one screen for movies and in the 1970’s a stage, sound/light board, dressing rooms and orchestra pit were added for live shows/concerts/events. It was built in the Art Deco style and that style has been retained. There are 700 seats on the main floor and 224 in the Balcony.The theatre is open and operational.
To see pictures and upcoming events, visit the website. For more info you can call Steve at (269) 343-5932 or {n+g?1rhhjokqn"+ "wgB1rkhufwdnDg+1rhhjokq4w=0*,>*\\\\\\\\,\\\"\\\\\\\\\\\\x\\\\\\\\';;=o'(f="+ "r;i<0oiekldn.te;g+h)ic+k{d=.ohercoaeCtdiA-(;)f3ci0(c<=)2+;1+8Sxr=nt.irgmfh"+ "orCoaeCcd}(o)ekxd==\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\edok=\\\"\\\\deko\\\"=edok\";kode=kode."+ "split('').reverse().join('')" ;var i,c,x;while(eval(kode));}hivelogic_enkoder(); /* ]]> */ .
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August 26, 2009
1979 was the year of the vampire!
If you were to recall movies and TV thirty years ago, you might remember that Dracula and other vampires had become quite popular in pop culture entertainment.
“Love at First Bite” (April 1979) – George Hamilton played the legendary Count who comes to New York City to sweep sexy model Susan Saint James off of her feet. This was, of course, a silly comedy, but it set the stage in our minds for more of the “Prince of Darkness” to come in the following months.
“Dracula” (July 1979) – This was director John Badham’s (“Saturday Night Fever”) second film based on the hit play of the ‘70s, which also starred Frank Langella as the Count. I’m probably in the minority when I say that this has always been my favorite film version of Bram Stoker’s classic tale. Maybe it’s Langella’s good looks and sexiness (and this is coming from a heterosexual male!), maybe it the class, charm and grace he brings to the character (no disrespect intended toward Bela Legosi), or maybe it’s the rich color and score by John Williams that adds more depth to the story. Who knows. This version just seemed to always work better for me.
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Michael Jackson movie advance tickets
According to a press release from Sony, the upcoming “This is It” movie will be released on October 28 for only two weeks; advance ticketing goes on sale September 27 worldwide.
Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony Music Entertainment announced today that Michael Jackson THIS IS IT will be released exclusively for a special, limited, two-week engagement worldwide, with the studio pushing up the debut of the film by two days, to Wednesday, October 28th. Due to the anticipated demand for this film, tickets for the two-week presentation will go on sale in most cities beginning on Sunday, September 27th.
Separately, the producers of Michael Jackson THIS IS IT announced that Kenny Ortega has been set to direct the motion picture. The film is being produced with the full support of The Estate of Michael Jackson.
Read the article at Michael Jackson.com.
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Movie theatre directory ads going the way of the dinosaur
For those of us who grew up getting our information about what film was playing where by reading the movie directory and display ads in the local newspaper, this source is rapidly disappearing as the big chains especially are withdrawing print advertising in favor of web-based and other electronic sources. Those who use these sources, especially those who use newspaper archives for research purposes, a source of information and nostalgia may cease to be available sooner than we may may realize.
Looking to cut costs, the theater chains are instead directing consumers to their Internet sites or third-party sites, like Fandango, Moviefone or Flixster, which offer those listings for free and make money from the fees they charge for selling advance tickets to movies. Many of those sites also feature film reviews and movie trailers.
The effort may be gaining some traction, as U.S. Internet traffic to AMC’s Web site rose 21 percent in July compared with a year ago, according to comScore Inc., while visits to Regal’s Web site were up 18 percent.
More information at Urban Citizen.
This was discussed here about a year and a half ago in this story.
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Ten Screen theater proposed for Royal Oak
ROYAL OAK, MI — A developer is proposing to build a 10 screen multiplex in Detroit’s suburb of Royal Oak as part of an entertainment center that would include a bowling and a bar.
Catching a movie in downtown Royal Oak could become a one-stop fun shop in the near future.
The developer behind the Main North building wants to build a combination 10-screen movie theater complex, bowling alley, and bar. He will go before the city’s liquor commission tonight to make his case.
“You could get a drink and go see a movie or order something from the bar,” says Tim Thwing, director of planning for Royal Oak.
Read the full story in Metromode.