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The latest movie theater news and updates
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June 25, 2009
“Radical Civility” for movie manners
John Kelly of the Washington Post details some of his thoughts on approaching the issue of dealing with bad movie theater behavior.
We hold this truth to be self-evident: People ought to be able to go to the movies without being disturbed by the behavior of others. Increasingly, that behavior includes texting during the film. The bright light of the screen is distracting, taking us out of our reverie. It ought not happen. We are determined to address it.
We start from the assumption that most movie texters are clueless, not evil. They just haven’t thought about what they’re doing.
12 comments -
June 24, 2009
Due to Boyd Theatre, Philadelphia passes law to protect public interiors
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The movement to save Philadelphia’s last premiere movie palace, the Boyd Theatrea has led Philadelphia to pass a law to protect landmark public interiors!
City Council yesterday approved two measures that could boldly affect the way the city looks, by establishing a vision for waterfront development and protecting historic buildings' interiors.
The bills, which would create a 100-foot setback along seven miles of Delaware River waterfront and allow interiors to be designated as historic, passed by overwhelming margins, and Mayor Nutter has indicated he would sign them into law.
Read the full story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Hidden gem: American Movie Palace Museum
ELMHURST, IL — My Suburban Blogs looks at the Theatre Historical Society of America’s American Movie Palace Museum.
The 40-year-old society that collects information on theater architecture oversees the American Movie Palace Museum and the American Theatre Architecture Archives on the second floor of the York Theatre in downtown Elmhurst.
Konrad Schiecke, a society member since 1991, has used the archives to write two books: “Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois, 1883-1960” and “Historic Movie Theatres of Wisconsin: Nineteenth Century Opera Houses through 1950s Playhouses, Town by Town.”
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Adaptive reuse of historic movie theaters
Hi,
I am completing a study of the adaptive reuse of historic movie theaters and churches. Many movie theaters are used as live performance space or event space, but I was wondering if anyone could direct me to some adaptive reuse projects that are unusual or more creative uses of the space.
Thanks,
Sarah -
June 23, 2009
Mansfield theater continues revival
MANSFIELD, TX — In the Fort Worth Business Press, they tell the story of the nearly 100 year old Farr Best Theater and how the different owners over the years have kept this legend going.
Rhonda Meadows — and family members — are well on their way to breathing new life into one of Mansfield’s oldest businesses, the 92-year-old Farr Best Theater.
When a block of downtown Main Street in Mansfield was wiped out by fire in the early 1900s, one of the buildings that sprung up in the way of replacement represented the most modern mode of mass communication available to mankind.
Or at least it did in 1917 when the Farr Best movie theater came into being. Originally the Farr Best offered silent movies and “B” level vaudeville comedians, with a little Friday night bingo thrown in for good measure. When the talkies came along, so did Tom and Jerry cartoons, news reels outlining the tribulations and triumphs of war in the Pacific, Saturday matinees for the kids with Roy Rogers and thrilling 13-chapter serials in which in the final minutes of each segment the hero always appeared hopelessly doomed, only to somehow miraculously survive the next Saturday.
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It’s curtains for one Fayetteville movie theater
FAYETEVILLE, AR — A once popular mall cinema, the Malco Mall Twin, is closing its doors after thirty years.
The screens of Malco’s Mall Twin Cinema in the Northwest Arkansas Mall have fallen dark for the last time.
Some say the theater that’s full of their movie memories marks the end of an era. The movie’s entrance used to be a main thoroughfare for the Northwest Arkansas Mall, busting with people buying movie tickets and hot popcorn at the mall twin cinema. Now, there’s no chance of catch a flick there anymore; the long-running cinema rolled closing credits for the last time this week. Mall Twin Cinema fans like Darin Bell can’t believe the cinema’s seats have already been ripped out. “We were kids, so we all sat right in the front, and I think there’s a piece of my bubble gum that I probably left from 30 years ago, too, ha!”
Read the full story at KFSM.
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More digital projectors, coming to a theater near you
This piece in the New York Times discusses the differences between 2K and 4K digital projection.
Movie theaters throughout the world are shedding their old film projectors and installing digital versions. Digital cinema offers pristine, scratch-free, rock-solid images and super-sharp pictures.
In the fight for digital cinema product share, Sony has made 4K resolution its signature difference between it and Texas Instruments, its rival in the field. According to Sony, 4K, with four times as many pixels on the screen compared with T.I.’s 2K technology, offers a far sharper image, which will draw consumers back to the movies.
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June 22, 2009
El Cerrito, Parkway theaters may reopen soon
OAKLAND, CA — After reporting that the Parkway Theatre might reopen, the Cerrito Theatre looks to possibly open as well, after a brief moment in the dark.
The Cerrito Theater in El Cerrito and its former sister theater, the Parkway in Oakland, will both likely reopen within the next few weeks, this time as competitors instead of siblings.
The Cerrito and Parkway both closed this spring, when the owner, family-run Speakeasy in Oakland, ran into financial troubles. The Cerrito’s new operator is expected to be Rialto Cinemas, which runs the Elmwood theater in Berkeley and the Lakeside in Santa Rosa. An Midwestern investors' group called Motion Picture Heritage is negotiating to buy the Parkway.
Read the full story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
(Thanks to lslphoto for providing the photo.)
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Historic Georgia Theatre burns down
ATHENS, GA — The Georgia Theatre in Athens, which has long served as one of the main large music venues in the renowned Athens music scene, was hit by a major fire around 6 a.m. Friday morning, knocking out power for much of the downtown.
According to reports, the building dates to the late 19th century, when it was built as the south’s first YMCA. It had been heavily remodeled to serve as a theatre, perhaps in the 1940s, judging from its Moderne facade and largely unremarkable interior. The theater had served as a crucial venue for notable Athens acts such as the B-52s, R.E.M, Widespread Panic, and countless others since the 1970s.
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Rare poster for sale
Hello,
We found a great old film poster from the Crescent Theater in Pontiac, Illinois. Anyone interested in this rare item?
See it here:
Rare Gracie Allen Murder Case – Movie Window Card 1939
Crescent Theater-Pontiac, Illinois-S.S. Van Dine
eBay LinkAzio Media: Rare Books * Vinyl Ephemera *
9107553322