Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
The latest movie theater news and updates
-
July 2, 2008
Drive-ins: An American classic reborn
An article in Time takes a look at the current state of the drive-in.
As the sun slowly set on a recent night in June, 800 cars and a crowd of viewers in lawn chairs pulled up to one of the four screens on the 25-acre green of the Mission Tiki drive-in theater in Montclair, Calif. Lovestruck teens canoodled in back seats. Parents corralled children in minivans. It was a remarkable turnout for a business, born 75 years ago, that has been teetering on the edge of extinction for the past two decades.
But tickets at the Mission Tiki have started selling again, and at $7 per adult and free entry for kids under 10, movie-goers are re-embracing the affordable luxury of a night at the drive-in. “It’s a family bargain,” says Frank Huttinger, vice president of marketing for De Anza Land & Leisure Corp., the family-owned business that operates the Mission Tiki. “It’s quality presentation. Our biggest problem is letting people know that we’re still there.”
8 comments -
New Pink Panther promo
Once again, which historic theater is used for the recently made, pre-show request to TURN OFF YOUR CELL PHONES -presently running in most Regal cinemas?
I am referring to a clip comedian Steve Martin’s arrival at a typical old Fox Theatre with a “Scouracized” box office and Terrazzo outer lobby. It’s also an interesting way to plug the latest “Pink Panther” flick. I hope THIS one will be funny!
Is it the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA?
-
July 1, 2008
Cultural Treasures: Clearfield County movie theatres
This article takes a look at some of the Cinema Treasures still left in Clearfield County, PA.
Welcome to the first article in GantDaily’s Cultural Treasures.
The GantDaily News Team is combing Clearfield County to find these places.
It’s the season of the summer blockbuster! With that in mind the News Team decided to start off with movie theatres in Clearfield County. Our county is blessed in that we have three historic movie theaters; the Rowland, the Ritz and the Super 322 Drive In.
Read in detail about all three theaters in the Gant Daily.
-
A look into Brooklyn theaters
BROOKLYN, NY — Using this website, one writer takes a closer look at the present state of Brooklyn cinema.
While Brooklynites may be familiar with their borough’s theatrical heritage, from BAM to the neighborhood multiplex, movie theaters of the past may reveal even more about our cultural roots. Brooklyn secreted a warren of intriguing movie theaters with equally interesting names.
From the days of Brooklyn’s Vitagraph Studios, Brooklynites became hooked on cinema. To document this allegiance to movies, I discovered a website, “Cinema Treasures,” which lists the history of theaters worldwide. Brooklyn stands among the most popular locations with a history of old theaters in the world. Many, if not most, of these small theaters have vanished in the dust of progress just as many images of those early movies no longer exist.
Read the full story in the Brooklyn Eagle.
-
Gardena Cinema for sale
GARDENA, CA — The Gardena Cinema is for sale. $3.5M includes property, equipment, business, and collectibles. The owner wants to retire and will carry entire note. They’re willing to discount price if owner does not have to carry note. If interested, please . Check out the website for the theater.
-
June 30, 2008
Hempstead Theater update
HEMPSTEAD, TX — The Hempstead Theater located at 740 12th Street is alive and well. The picture posted by “Lost Memories” is actually an old theater, long torn down, that was located at Austin Street and Hwy 6 in Hempstead.
The old theater was owned by Jessie Powell who rented the building to Jimmy and Dorris Needham, who operated the theater until 1979 when they built the present theater at 740 12th Street. Jessie Powell was the son-in-law of Rigby Owens who owned a chain of theaters in East Texas and Louisiana. The Needhams operated the 12th Street theater until 2008 when my wife and I Tina and David Fehrenbach purchased it on April 30th, 2008 and opened as new owners on May 1st with “Iron Man”. The theater is a one screen and has a capacity of 210. Hempstead has had an operating theater since the 1930’s I believe.
-
Monticello Broadway recollections
MONTICELLO, NY — The Broadway Theatre, which is still located in Monticello, NY but closed for 20 years meant the world to me growing up. It had been an ok theater but with a change of ownership morphed into this great light of hope in the middle of town!!! The new owner renovated the entire building turning into an old fashioned theater with a hollywood canteen that doubled as the snack bar and an old fashioned ice cream parlor right next door.
The outside of the building was painted bright pink with a checkerboard sidewalk and a great sign with the theater’s name and a tribute to old Hollywood!! The town of course gave the theater nothing but trouble insisting that they move their sign off the sidewalk and somewhere onto the building. The town finally won and in the last season the theater was opened, they moved their sign on to the theater’s roof. They stayed open till the end of the summer and never opened again.
-
Wanted: 35mm film trailers
Looking to buy 35mm film trailers of older films. Not necessarily “classics” but great movies of all kinds. I work at the Bloor Cinema and we play a lot of movies ranging from “Casablanca” to “Jurassic Park” and I would love to be able to show trailers for these films.
Currently at the top of my list is “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day” as we are doing a double bill of them this July.
You can check out our schedule at the Bloor website and if you have a trailer for something we are playing, shoot me an e-mail.
Cheers!
-
June 27, 2008
Rialto to be refurbished
LOS ANGELES, CA — A theater many thought was past the point of no return is set to open up again. The Rialto Theatre in downtown Los Angeles is getting some major investment so it can eventually reopen as a live music venue with a restaurant.
Following the fates of many historic properties affected by the ongoing Bringing Back Broadway initiative, the currently defunct Rialto Theater has found a suitor to boost its low profile on the strip.
(Thanks to teamperks for providing the photo.)
According to an announcement made yesterday, Hollywood-based Longest Marquee LLC has signed a 25-year lease on the structure with plans to spend $6 million on renovations to reopen it as a restaurant/bar/live music venue.
Read more at angelenic.
-
Watch a movie, burn some calories
SIMI VALLEY, CA — A newly renovated Gold’s Gym has “Cardio Cinema” where a room with exercise equipment has been turned into a theater.
Unlike most Workout Wednesday posts, this week’s installment refers to more of a workout location than a specific workout. This unique feature is the “Cardio Cinema”—a movie theater within a gym—and is located inside the newly renovated Gold’s Gym in Simi Valley.
The idea behind the workout is this: A dark theater is packed full of treadmills, elliptical machines and bikes, and a different film is featured every day. Due to the fact that show times wouldn’t be very convenient in a gym setting, the films are played on a loop, so people wanting to watch the entire movie can see it in its entirety if they stay long enough.
Read more at LAist.