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The latest movie theater news and updates
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September 5, 2008
Local movie theater gets on with the shows
SLIDELL, LA — Despite the major weather issues, theaters have managed to start opening again inlcuding the Grand 16.
The shows must go on — at least at one local movie theater.
The Grand Theater in Slidell was back up and running Wednesday morning, one of first local theaters to bounce back from Hurricane Gustav, offering a diversion — and merciful air-conditioning — for local movie-goers.
Read the full story at NOLA.com.
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September 4, 2008
Taking Texas Theatre back to 1963
DALLAS, TX — After first reporting it last year, this article takes a closer look at the restoration of the Texas Theatre, sight of Lee Harvey Oswald’s arrest in 1963.
Jason Roberts was born in 1974, more than a decade after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. But as an indie pop musician who has lived in Oak Cliff for eight years, he understands the importance of preserving history, especially the Texas Theatre, where Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested.
“This almost seems like ground zero,” says Mr. Roberts, the chair-elect of the Oak Cliff Foundation, which is charged with an almost-Herculean task: restoring the theater to its condition in 1963, when Oswald was cornered near the back of the theater during a showing of the Audie Murphy movie, War Is Hell.
Read more in the Dallas Morning News.
(Thanks to Whatknot for providing the photo.)
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History of Strand Theater
AKRON, OH — Yesterday’s Akron Beacon-Journal has a long article on the history of the Strand Theatre. The theatre started out as a silent-film theatre in 1915. It lasted until the 1960’s before it was closed.
It re-opened for a short time as a repretory theater, and then as an X-rated theater. Local protests over pornography soon closed the theater. It was demolished in 1990.
The Strand advertised itself as ‘'the finest motion picture theater in Ohio’‘ when it opened Sept. 2, 1915, at 131 S. Main St. Located between Mill and Bowery streets, the downtown theater cost $225,000 to build — about $4.6 million today.
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Ritz shuts its doors
MALVERN, AR — After a 70 year run, the Ritz Theatre is closing its doors.
After 70 years of continuous operation, thousands of screenings, tons of popcorn and even more memories, the Ritz movie theater made its final curtain call Thursday night.
Its proprietors expected a packed house of about 150 for the cash-strapped cinema’s final show.
Barely half that number showed up.
The full story is at Arkansas Online(subscription rqr’d)
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September 3, 2008
60 years of Paris
NEW YORK, NY — Great piece by Joe Queenan in the New York Times which captures in his own inimitable style the spirit of the Paris. It is said that many of the Paris patrons don’t see movies anywhere else. The fact is that for 60 years and fortunately still going, the Paris has brought NY the best of French and international cinema with the odd American picture thrown in – some of Woody’s 80’s pictures. Long live the Paris!
On Sept. 13, the Paris Theater, on 58th Street just west of Fifth Avenue, will celebrate its 60th anniversary. This is a remarkable accomplishment, as the Paris does not go in much for films in which things get blown up. In a city teeming with faux vieux Irish saloons and restaurants adorned with plaques reading “A tradition since 1988,” the single-screen Paris is the real thing, a bona fide vestige of a storied past.
The Plaza Hotel, which sits directly across the street, may no longer function exclusively as a hotel — it has added condominium units — but the Paris, with its plush seats, plush carpets, microscopic lobby, scalloped balcony and policy of showing just one film a week, remains as it long has been.
Read the full story in the New York Times.
(Thanks to kramchang for providing the photo.)
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Why purchase seats directly from China?
The labor cost in China is just about 5% of the labor cost in North America. Also the raw material cost (plastic, steel and wood)is much much lower than the North America.
That is why a Chinese seat is much cheaper than a local seat made in North America.For example, a normal upholstered seat with a cupholder, steel armrest and rocker back, is about $60. With the shipment cost of approximately $10, it is $70 totally. But one similar seat in US local market can be sold at about $190.
As we know, most of the North America local suppliers get seats from Chinese factories, then resell them to an end-user to make a large profit.
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Theater equipment wanted
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September 2, 2008
Struggle to save the Harding Theatre nears its fourth year
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The Harding Theatre is one of San Francisco’s few remaining neighborhood theatres to have survived demolition. It opened in 1926 and remained in operation as a theatre until 1970. It briefly became a soft porn venue, hosted musical groups and finally served as a church for several years.
The San Francisco board of supervisors, who have a consistently dismal record on the protection of historic buildings, approved its demolition in January 2005. Since then various groups and organizations have successfully challenged all development plans that would demolish or altar the theatre.
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Theater stages Obama event
CHICAGO, IL — Presidential candidate Barack Obama loomed larger than life last night in Chicago, despite his being far away in the center of Denver’s Mile High Stadium.
In fact, he was a hit at the old thee-ay-ter in the neighborhood. More than 1,500 people gathered in the auditorium of the historic New Regal Theatre, 1645 E. 79th St., last night, Thursday, August 28, 2008, to watch Barack Obama give his acceptance speech live on the big screen. Several media outlets covered the event from the back of the main floor as the crowd cheered and rose to its feet to show enthusiasm for the individual campaign promises Obama made.
Ron and Regina Evans, the theater’s owners invited the public to watch the broadcast live and for free. Registration was required at www.mybarackobama.com
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Woodburn theater help
WOODBURN, OR — We are trying to restore a theater that has been abandoned for 10 years. The theater has lots of qualities. If anyone has any leads for us to be able to get this theater up and going, our community would be grateful.