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The latest movie theater news and updates
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August 3, 2007
Author Seeks Info RE: 1977 theater operation
I am currently working on a young adult novel set in the summer of 1977. The book is not under contract, but an editor at a major publishing house has asked me to submit the manuscript directly to her upon completion. Problem is I’m having trouble finishing the project due to my complete ignorance of movie theater management in 1977. I bought the book Cinema Treasures (which I enjoyed), but it didn’t really provide the kind of information I need. Help?!?!
My teenage protagonist is part of a group of misfits working at a beautiful but decaying historic theater located in a small town in Ohio. I’m trying to capture the magical “lost era” ambiance of one of these theaters….especially in 1977 when everything was….well, so 70’s! The theater is not just a setting for my story. It’s really one of my characters. As such, the daily operations, maintenance nightmares, financial troubles and the protagonist’s efforts to save the theater from being “twinned” (or, worse, sold to a sleazy investor with plans to show porno movies) are all central to my plot (as is the only movie they show for most of the summer - Star Wars).
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Metro Theatre wall sconce for sale
ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA – I attended an auction in the 70’s of the contents of this Art Deco gem, designed by Thomas W. Lamb and built for MGM circa 1939. I purchased an original Art Deco wall sconce. Sadly the theatre has been demolished recently.
I have just moved house,and am selling the sconce. Please let me know if you are interested, and I can send pics.
Cheers,
Ken
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No more nickels at AMC
Just when you thought large movie chains had squeezed every last dime from you, apparently they can get a few more cents out of you.
Reader Anthony says he paid for his movie ticket with “$8 and some change.” The transaction resulted in AMC owing Anthony a nickel.
But AMC doesn’t carry nickels. They told Anthony that if he wanted his nickel he’d have to go get it from the “Guest Services” desk. So he did. But instead of a nickel, he got attitude.
Has anyone heard of other businesses doing this? Read the full story at the Consumerist.
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August 2, 2007
Made in Chicago
Hello Fellow CT'ers. This is member Paul F.
And his friend, member Catherine DiM.
We were having a discussion recently on favorite films set in Chicago. We know that many of the CT faithful live in the Chicagoland Area. We’d like to conduct an informal poll. What is your favorite movie made in and set in Chicago. We came up with the following criteria:
1) It must be filmed primarily in and set in Chicago.
2) It cannot be set here, but filmed elsewhere such as Chicago (The musical) or My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Catherine DiM “I find this practice distasteful. Winnipeg is NOT Chicago."
3) It cannot be filmed here but set elsewhere such as Light of Day, Batman Begins, Payback, or Stranger Than Fiction.
4) It cannot be The Blues Brothers (too obvious) -
The Hollywood Recycling Machine
I recently turned 40 and I have to say that nothing had lately caused me to feel my age until Hollywood began remaking so many movies that I grew up with during the 1970’s. So many of them (POSEIDON, THE LONGEST YARD, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, etc., etc., etc.), and not one of them can claim to have marked any kind of significant place in our movie-culture or made any phenomenal killing at the box office.
Mind you, I don’t condemn remakes entirely. Some are great (THE FLY, DRACULA, KING KONG, INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS), but some…well, let me just say one name to you all…Gus Van Sant! I don’t think I’ll ever, ever forgive him for remaking Hitchcock’s masterpiece, PSYCHO. And now, in recent months, I learned of more remakes to come, including HALLOWEEN, THE INVASION, THE THING and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK.
The point is – when the hell is it going to stop?? When does enough become enough?? Has Hollywood completely run out of new and original material to put on the screen? How are intelligent scripts (there must be a few left out there) ever going to be given a fair chance if all we keep seeing on the screen is recycled material? When is some Hollywood big shot who makes the green-light decision going to finally say, “No. It’s been done already.”
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Momence Theatre renovation begins
MOMENCE, IL — This small bordertown on the Kankakee River has a stage and screen that have been silent for over 30 years. The Moemence Theatre Friends was founded in November of 2005. To date they have raised $100,000.00.
In July of ‘06, the purchase was completed of the building which consists of a theatre, apartment and two retail stores.
In addition to the fundraising, they have brought shows into town as well as film festivals with events being held in other spaces in the community.
Want to know more? Call 815-549-4175
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WANTED: Cash paid for old audio equipment
WANTED: Cash paid for old amplifiers, speakers, horns, single drivers or pairs, Altec A7, A4, A5 515, 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.
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Test Screening questions
So what is it like holding or attending a test screening?
How are theaters chosen? Are they conducted by market research companies for the filmmakers?Heard many are held at National Amusements Edgewater, NJ complex. What theaters in NYC or Westchester County have ever hosted them???
How are audience members recruited?
Thanks
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August 1, 2007
Lakehurst comes down
WAUKEGAN, IL — As reported earlier in the year, the Lakehurst Cinema, former largest multiplex in the country is currently being demolished.
Like a prisoner on Death Row with connections to the governor’s mansion, Lakehurst Cinema survived quite a few threats to its existence over the last decade.
But the Grim Reaper, in the form of demolition equipment, finally arrived this week.
The 12-screen multiplex, once touted as the largest of its kind in North America, started coming down in chunks Wednesday, and crews worked through a broken water main to continue taking down the structure Thursday.
You can read the full story at Suburban Chicago News.
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Rooftop Films in NYC
All around New York City, Rooftop Films is projecting movies in some original locations.
Literally, in the case of Rooftop Films. Moviegoers climbed several flights of stairs, weaving their way through the Old American Can Factory, a former industrial complex near the Gowanus Canal that now houses artists' studios, to see “Crossing the Line.” Rooftop Films also shows movies on the lawn of the Automotive High School in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and in various locations around Manhattan.
Held regularly since 1997, when it began on an East Village apartment roof, and organized like a festival, Rooftop has become a destination for independent shorts, documentaries and features, the kind that might one day win honors at Sundance or Cannes. Rooftop receives 2,500 submissions annually from all over the world, said Mark Elijah Rosenberg, the co-founder and artistic director, and aims for unusual programs, like one showcasing filmmakers' home movies. Tonight it is showing shorts from an independent animation festival at Automotive High School; an afterparty with an open bar follows. Take that, Bryant Park.
You can read the full story at the New York Times.