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The latest movie theater news and updates
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September 12, 2008
Refurbished Warfield to open Saturday
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — After a brief stint out of commission for renovations, the Warfield Theatre is reopening tomorrow with George Lopez as the headliner.
San Francisco’s baroque Warfield Theatre, a 1922 vaudeville and movie house that became a prime venue for Louis Armstrong, Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead and countless other performers, was looking a little shabby when it closed in May after the lease changed hands. But the Market Street rock palace has a fresh glow after a four-month renovation that spruced up the ornate interior and installed permanent new lighting and sound systems.
Run for 30 years by Bill Graham Presents, then Live Nation, the Warfield, which reopens Saturday night with a show by comedian George Lopez, is now managed by Goldenvoice, a wing of the giant Anschutz Entertainment Group (billionaire Chairman Philip Anschutz owns the San Francisco Examiner). Among the changes: The mixing console has been moved downstairs from the front of the balcony, making space for 30 more prime reserved seats, the lobby walls were painted a deep blue to match the new carpets and the brass chandeliers got a polish.
Read the full story in the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Art Deco San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — There’s a new book out about the work of architect Timothy Pflueger, “Art Deco San Francisco”, by Therese Poletti and Tom Paiva.
The Castro Theatre, the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Headquarters, 450 Sutter Medico-Dental Building—-these masterpieces of San Francisco’s Art Deco heritage are the work of one man: Timothy Pflueger. An immigrant’s son with only a high-school education, Pflueger began practicing architecture after San Francisco’s 1906 earthquake. While his contemporaries looked to Beaux-Arts traditions to rebuild the city, he brought exotic Mayan, Asian, and Egyptian forms to buildings ranging from simple cocktail lounges to the city’s first skyscrapers.
Pflueger was one of the city’s most prolific architects during his 40-year career. He designed two major downtown skyscrapers, two stock exchanges, several neighborhood theaters, movie palaces for four smaller cities (including the beloved Paramount in Oakland), some of the city’s biggest schools, and at least 50 homes. His works include the San Francisco Stock Exchange, the ever-popular Top of the Mark, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and the San Francisco World’s Fair. It is a testament to his talent that many of his buildings still stand and many have been named landmarks.
Read more at the Princeton Architectural Press.
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Wilderness Theater opens a second screen
WILDWOOD, GA — The Wilderness theater in Wildwood, GA has opened a second screen as of this year and is now operating year round.Both screens show a double feature on Friday and Saturday with a single movie shown Sunday evening.
You can check them out at their official website.
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September 11, 2008
Project Ghostlight premiere
NEW YORK, NY — “Project Ghostlight” named “Official Selection” at the New York Television Festival
“Project Ghostlight”, a new tv pilot featuring the haunted history of the Boston University Theatre is premiering this week at the NY Television Festival at New World Stages in Manhattan on SUN 9/14 and WED 9/17.
Tickets are FREE at the door (limited) or can be reserved for a small online fee at
http://www.projectghostlight.com -
La Grange Theatre’s co-owners seek village funding
LA GRANGE, IL — With work continuing on the La Grange Theatre, the owners ask for local help.
Over the years, however, the historic theater lost much of its original charm. The walls were stripped of their decorative touches, the original marquee was taken down, and the Renaissance-style facade began to crumble.
Now the owners, hoping to restore some of the old theater’s pizazz, are asking the village for help.
“We will never be able to restore its original look. But the community still recognizes the theater as an asset,” said co-owner David Rizner, 43, of Downers Grove.
Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune
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Future of Springfield in doubt
SPRINGFIELD, VT — The Springfield Theater managed to survive a recent fire but the damage may prove too costly to repair.
The Springfield Theater, located in downtown Springfield, Vt., was damaged by a fire that nearly destroyed an apartment building next door.
About 100 fire fighters from 20 nearby towns helped put out the July 8 blaze.
Herb Wisch, who co-owns the Ellis Block with his wife, Daryl, said he wants to rebuild. But that may not be possible if the project becomes too expensive.
Read more at WPTZ.
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September 10, 2008
Village Roadshow to bring theater luxury up another notch
AUSTIN, TX — Incorporating many amenities already present in newer theaters across the United States like reserved seating, fancier food and alcohol, Village Roadshow plans to open new theaters in major markets with ticket prices as high as $35. The first two open in Seattle and Chicago next month.
“We’re redefining our business as a hospitality business,” said Robert Kirby, chairman of the entertainment conglomerate, which produces films and already has a line of Gold Class theaters operating Down Under as well as in Singapore and Greece.
Kirby said Gold Class was designed a decade ago to enable regular folks to enjoy movies the way Hollywood studio bigwigs do, in plush screening rooms with first-class catering.
“We can all get from A to B,” Kirby said, “but people like to drive a BMW. You can stay at a motel or enjoy the luxury of a Four Seasons Hotel.”
Will the market bear this type of theater chain?
Read more in the Austin American-Statesman.
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Latest Boyd proposal linked to hotel development
PHILADELPHIA, PA — A local developer says he has a deal in place to buy the Boyd Theatre and plans to make it the centerpiece of a $95 million hotel and entertainment complex. Hal Wheeler of ARCWheeler expects to close the deal with current owner Live Nation by November 25, and intends to build a 30-story, 250-room hotel to the west of the theater.
Live Nation would book live entertainment into the theater about 60 nights a year, leaving it available for other events the rest of the time. Broadway-type plays would not be part of the plan, as the hotel would be built on land that was to be the site of a stage house for the Boyd under a previous proposal.
Wheeler’s development proposal, like Live Nation’s earlier plan to turn the Boyd into a Broadway roadhouse, would restore the theater to its original art deco glamour. But the project’s scope is far more ambitious, and aims to transform the 1900 block of Chestnut Street from a retail backwater into a Center City nightlife destination.
Read the full story in the Philadelphia Inquirer .
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Safford Theatre preservation party raises $1,000+
SAFFORD, AZ — To raise funds to save the Safford Theatre, residents planned a block party that proved to be quite successful.
Susan Duros, the committee vice president, said the event raised more than $1,000, and people are still donating.
The block party was planned as the first of an annual event. Duros said approximately 100 people came throughout the night.
Souvenir mugs, booklets and bricks could be purchased at the event and afterward at businesses on main street.
Read the full story in the Eastern Arizona Courier.
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September 9, 2008
Remembering Cinerama
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part I: New York CityWith this week’s DVD and Blu-ray release of the Cinerama classic “How The West Was Won,” as well as last weekend’s screenings of “How The West Was Won” and “2001: A Space Odyssey” at the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, I thought this would be a great time to take another look at Cinerama for those who experienced it when it was new and for those who know it only as history.
The following is part of what I envision as an ongoing/semi-regular series of retrospective postings on the Cinerama process (and other multi-panel copycat formats such as Cinemiracle and Kinopanorama) which enables a reminder of the many great movie palaces in which these memorable events took place. Part I features a film-by-film breakdown for the city in which it all began: New York! Future postings will focus on other markets, enabling the reader to compare how Cinerama was handled in different regions of the country. For example, the duration of an engagement, the sequence in which the films were released, and the manner in which they promoted varied by market, and some readers may find this information of interest.
Enjoy the flashback!