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The latest movie theater news and updates
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April 8, 2009
New shipyard theater coming this summer
A once dilapidated shipyard is being transformed into commercial retail with a new theater from Patriot Cinemas.
Beautiful wasn’t the first word that came to mind when describing the shipyard site in the past.
While the waterfront bustled with as many as 26,000 workers building ships for the Navy at record-setting pace during World War II, activity on the 130-acre site on the Weymouth-Hingham line quickly declined when the war ended. For decades, all that was there were a few low-rent businesses, dilapidated warehouses, and parking for the commuter boat.
In 1996, a local company bought the site and unveiled plans for a massive residential, commercial, and retail development. Thirteen years later, the old buildings are gone, new ones have gone up, and work continues with a consortium of developers on a 1.2-million-square-foot plan.
Read more at the Boston Globe.
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April 7, 2009
Baltimore city’s “Strategy Group” decides non-profit will not work
BALTIMORE, MD — The group, formerly known as the ‘steering committee’, formed at the request of the mayor have finally made their recommendations.
The Senator could not survive as a non-profit organization without an annual government subsidy. The alternatives:
Option 1: Baltimore City purchase the theatre by foreclosing on their loan, paying off 1st Mariner and then finding a management organization to run the theatre (either via sale or long-term lease, thereby recouping some of their outlay), still as a 1st run movie house.
Option 2: Allow 1st Mariner’s foreclosure to proceed and plan to “work closely” with whomever wins the bid. However, even they admit that they’d have limited say with this option.
More on: Friends of the Senator.
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Goochland drive-in theater to open this summer
HADENSVILLE, VA — A new drive-in is coming to Goochland County.
John and Kristina Heidel last month received approval from the county to move forward with the Goochland Drive-In Theater, to be located on 10 acres in Hadensville off Interstate 64.
“It’s been a dream for a lot of years, and we just finally decided to go for it,” said John Heidel, 39, who recently sold his dry-cleaning business. “We live in Goochland and we like the rural nature and the culture here, and driving is part of rural America. We thought this would be in keeping with the character.”
Read more at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
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Actor Lou Perryman murdered
Lou Perryman, star of the late Eagle Pennell’s “The Whole Shootin' Match” and “Last Night at the Alamo”, was murdered on April 1, 2009.
“The Whole Shootin' Match” is credited as the film Robert Redford saw that gave him the inspiration for the Sundance Film Festival.
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April 6, 2009
Alamo Drafthouse interview
Eclipse Magazine has an interview with Alamo Drafthouse CEO, John Martin.
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in Austin Texas has the little theater that could. It’s become an Internationally known movie theater and a must see stop for anyone visiting town which is quickly becoming a haven for the Hollywood hipsters to hang out. This is in large part due to the folks at Ain’t It Cool News and the hot new South By SouthWest conference, that, apparently I’m not cool enough to give credentials too. But that’s another story. After a few recent bad movie going experiences here in DC, I was ready to get a movie executive on the horn and vent, who better to talk to then the CEO of the Alamo John Martin – especially since they are expanding and opening their 2nd theater, here in Virginia.
Read the interview at Eclipse Magazine.
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Fox won’t foot 3-D glasses bill
In a move that’s angering theater owners, Fox is expecting theaters to cover the cost of 3-D glasses for their 3-D films.
On Tuesday, Fox said that it wasn’t going to pay the $1-million-per-movie cost to supply theaters with 3-D glasses for the studio’s upcoming in-your-face films like this summer’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Instead, Fox wants the movie theaters to pay for them. Understandably, multiplex owners aren’t too happy about the extra cost, and many are considering revolting by only showing Ice Age 3 in 2-D, which could massively cut into the film’s box-office revenues.
Read the full story in Business Insider.
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Operator of Boardman’s Art might move
CHAMPAIGN, IL — The operations of the Boardman’s Art Theatre could be moving soon to another local venue due to rising costs.
In March, Boardman sent an e-mail to some area residents acknowledging rumors that he was looking into other locations for his movie theater. Attempts to reach Boardman, who lives in California, were unsuccessful.
Boardman’s lease at the Art Theatre expires at the end of this year, said David Kraft, who owns the building. Kraft said he would like to see the building continue to house a movie theater, but at the current rental rate, “I can barely cover my expenses,” he said. Kraft has listed the building at $1.14 million.
Read more at the News Gazette.
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April 3, 2009
Arcata Theatre returns
ARCATA, CA — The Arcata Theatre Lounge is ready to open after a five year renovation.
“I can’t believe it’s finally here, I am so amazed,” said owner Lara Cox. Rather than showing new releases and blockbusters, the theater is taking the route of showing more artistic and avant-garde films. “There is not really a venue like this in the area,” said Mike Sargent, the head of cinema booking and advertising.
“We are not here to showcase blockbusters. We are looking to show more art films, documentaries and independent films,” said Sargent.
Read the full story at the Lumberjack.
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New chapter for Majestic?
STREATOR, IL — After struggling recently, the Majestic Theatre closed its doors last weekend. With possible new owners, it could be back open soon.
Kyle Mitchell, who ran the theater with his wife, Cindy, said Monday the theater’s owner, Tim Burke, said he is bringing in new people from Pennsylvania to operate the theater and told the Mitchells to close by April 1, so the new operators will be in place before summer. Burke could not be reached for more information.
Read the full story at the Times.
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Anthony Theatre coming back
ANTHONY, KS — This article gives an update on the restoration of the Anthony Theatre.
Tired of driving an hour to watch a movie in Wichita, residents of Anthony are trying to raise $1.2 million to restore its Main Street theater.
Read more at Fox4KC.