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The latest movie theater news and updates
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February 20, 2008
Century’s Queens Theatre, Queens Village. NY
Hi All,
I just found this web site. It was great reading about people that I worked with during my
years in the theatre biz. I worked for Century Theatres from January 1952 until 1969, as Ass’t. Mgr. and also as manager of many Century Theatres. I was Ass’t. mgr. at the Queens Theatre in 1957-58. I was made manager in 1962 at the Park Theatre in New Hyde Park. Also managed the Floral Theatre in Floral Park, and the Community Theatre in Queens Village. I am now living in Ocala, Florida.It would be great to hear from anyone from that time I lived in NY.
Artie Ringfield…
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February 19, 2008
Small town theatre has indy success
PORT ORCHARD, WA — After years of struggling, the Orchard Theater has been the buzz of town lately by showing more independently-minded first-run flicks.
It isn’t the kind of place you’d expect to find a specialty movie theater.
It’s a small town with a population of around 8,000. Its a bit off the beaten track on the eastern shore of central Kitsap County. And it’s decidedly blue-collar. Median income is listed at $38,500 according to the city-data.com Web site.
Yet right there on Port Orchard’s busy main drag, Bay Street, the newly renamed twin-screen theater, The Orchard, has since mid-December been showing such films as “Into the Wild,” “The Savages,” “Lars and the Real Girl,” “The Kite Runner” and “There Will Be Blood.”
Read more in the News Tribune.
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Art Deco Fair and Woking Wurlitzer
Woking Art Deco Fairs at Woking Leisure Centre – home to the 1937 Woking Wurlitzer restored by ATOS. Find interesting cimematic memorabilia at the fairs on 24/03/2008, 05/05/2008, 06/07/2008, 25/08/2008, 26/10/2008. Visit http://www.artdecofairs.co.uk/wokingleisurecentrefair.html for further information.
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Curtain raised on lost picture palaces
LONDON, ENGLAND — This article in This is Local London delves into the history of some near-forgotten cinemas.
Another Gaumont cinema, in Rosehill, still stands as a bingo club in Bishopsford Road.
The building, designed by Harry Weston, was a shrine to modernism with its vertical windows and geometric patterns.
Circle motifs in the foyer resembled aircraft roundels and those on the wall recalled a ship’s portholes.
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February 18, 2008
Photos online of downtown Los Angeles theaters
In conjunction with the project to restore downtown Los Angeles theaters on Broadway, the Los Angeles Conservancy has put together an online photo gallery.
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Threats to future of Philadelphia’s Boyd and Royal theaters
PHILADELPHIA, PA — The dire threats to the future of Philadelphia’s Boyd Theatre and the Royal Theatre on South Street are featured in this article in the Philadelphia Citypaper.
The Boyd on the 1900 block of Chestnut is again up for sale, according to its owner, Live Nation. (The 2,400-seat theater is the city’s sole remaining movie palace and has been closed since 2002.) And over on the 1500 block of South Street, the Royal Theater also faces an uncertain future, say its owners, Universal Companies. (Closed since 1970, the theater was once the city’s pre-eminent theatrical, movie and music venue for African-Americans.)
Live Nation spokesman John Vlautin acknowledged the Boyd “is currently on the market,” but declined comment on potential deals. “We are keeping all of our options open,” he says. That worries Howard Haas, a Center City attorney who founded Friends of the Boyd when the building’s demolition looked imminent in 2002. The group drew attention to its potential loss and steered it toward Live Nation (then the entertainment division of Clear Channel) in 2005.
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Will pay top money for old theatre sound equipment
WANTED: Cash paid for old amplifiers, speakers, horns, single drivers or pairs, Altec A7, A4, A5 515, 555 594 4181 4194 field Coil Speakers and drivers, Large Horns, pressure units, microphones, audio valves, tubes, crossovers, Altec, Klangfilm, RCA, jbl, Western Electric and Westrex, 124, 147, 1086A, 1086B, 515 drivers, TA Speakers, 91A, 10a, 9a 41,42,43 and all d spec units 618a, b, c transformers. All spare transformers, also McIntosh, Marantz, JBL or any other interesting equipment.
Condition is not important can be rusty and not working or missing parts. Cash paid on time of pick up, call 773-339-9035 or email.
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February 15, 2008
The Eighth Wonder of the World turns 75!
March 2, 1933 was a milestone date in movie history! That was the day that the legendary RKO motion picture, KING KONG, made its New York City premiere at Radio City Music Hall and it’s sister theater, The Roxy. It was a giant box office succes, despite being released in the midst of the Great Depression, when money for movies, even at 10 cents a ticket, was scarce. Over the past 75 years, King Kong has become one of the most, if not the most, iconic movie figure in history.
Now, while I cannot claim to be any kind of King Kong expert or geek/freak, here are some fun facts you may find interesting about this film:
- The story for King Kong was influence by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Lost World”
- Willis O'Brien’s ground-breaking stop-motion animation would later influence Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park”
- It is ranked at #41 of the AFI’s list of best American Films.
- For subsequent theatrical re-releases throughout the 20th Century, the film featured several edits enforced by the Hays Office, in accordance with stiffer decency rules. These scenes included Kong peeling the clothes off of Ann Darrow and dropping a New York woman to her death from her apartment window.
- It was sold to television in 1956 and was the premiere TV airing for the WOR-TV Channel 9 “Million Dollar Movie”. It was aired many times inside of one week for repeated viewings.
- It was remade by John Guillermin in 1976 and Peter Jackson in 2005.
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Teens lose their bid to save Quo Vadis
WESTLAND, MI — Don Gurka and Zachery Gizicki led a charge to save the Quo Vadis Entertainment Center. Exploring all avenues to save the theatre, the teenagers put up quite a fight.
When they look at the old Quo Vadis movie theater in Westland, teenagers Don Gurka and Zachery Gizicki don’t see a dilapidated old building that needs demolishing to make room for progress.
They circulated petitions at school and at Westland Shopping Center, collecting more than 200 signatures from supporters.
They formed the Quo Vadis Preservation Foundation and started a Web site, www.savetheqv.org, that drew thousands of hits from people near and far away.
Read the full story in Hometown Life.
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Curtains for Brisbane Regent?
BIRSBANE, QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA — Following ongoing rumours about the fate of the Brisbane Regent, it was announced in Wedne'sday’s Courier Mail.
The Regent (1593) will close, retaining the heritage listed grand lobby and foyer which will then become the back entrance to a new office tower.
In the late 70’s…..the Save The Regent campaign fought hard to preserve the entire theatre, often referred to as one of Australia’s finest. After closing in 1978, the main auditorium was converted to four new cinemas with one containing saved plasterwork/ornaments and features from the original theatre).