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The latest movie theater news and updates
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July 13, 2007
TRANSFORMERS at the Orpheum!
LOS ANGELES, CA — Seen it yet? The last big battle between good and evil takes place in downtown L.A. on Broadway…in the classic theatre district! The Orpheum, Rialto and several others will never be the same.
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July 12, 2007
Academy Theater book release
INGLEWOOD, CA — The official release date of the highly anticipated coffee table book, “The Incredible History of The Academy Theater”, will be released on November 9, 2007. The invitation only and VIP book signing and reception will be held in the lobby of the Academy.
BEM Books, the publishers, have launched this official website as the official “pre-order” website for this incredible piece of history.
The book will retail for $49.95, however, if you order online between July 11, 2007 and August 1, 2007 you can purchase the book for only $40, plus shipping and handling. This will guarantee you admission to the VIP book signing and reception. To order your copy, log in to the site. Your order is guaranteed and your information secured. For questions call Mr. Thomas at 310-357-5462
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AMC vs. Clearview in Morris County
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, NJ — Here’s a link to a story that I read in the Daily Record about the tough movie theater competition between two chains in Morris County, AMC Entertainment and Clearview. It’s a well written article by a young 30-ish guy, Matt Manochio, and I told him why I chose AMC over Clearview due to its close proximity to my hometown in Rockaway, where the chain returned to its roots after a five year absence.
He included some of the people’s opinion about Clearview (which owns most of the theaters in the coutny) and AMC (which owns only two, one of which used to be a Loews/Sony) and put it into today’s article, which is on the front page.
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July 11, 2007
Garden Theatre signs theatre company
WINTER GARDEN, FL — The Garden Theatre proudly welcomes
Jester Theater as a programming partner for the 2008 season and into the future. The critically acclaimed professional theatre company will produce all of its shows to Garden Theatre audiences, and is set to perform two shows in the inaugural season and three to four shows each year in the following seasons.Founded in August 2004, by husband and wife team Jay and Diana Hopkins, Jester Theater Company is an all-comedy group that has been producing full-length family-friendly comedies to sold-out crowds in downtown Orlando and, most recently, Germany. Their top quality original works and world premieres make this an ideal match for the Garden Theatre to open its inaugural programming schedule. The Garden Theatre is proud to announce its first live theatrical run, “The Musical of Musicals: The Musical!" playing February 1-17, 2008.
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City aims to oust Capitol trustee
WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA — The city of Windsor, embroiled in a dispute with bankruptcy trustee Stephen Funtig, is seeking his removal as trustee of the closed Capitol Theatre. The city also wishes to remove former city clerk Tom Lynd as one of the creditors directing Funtig claiming conflict of interest.
The theatre closed last March and the city is accusing Funtig of failing to negotiate an agreement on the theatre’s fate in a timely fashion.
It is the latest salvo fired in the ongoing saga of the bankrupt theatre which has has remained closed since March, mired in a dispute over its debts and its fate.
City authorities maintain $1.8 million loaned to the theatre in the mid-1990s gives the city rights to the building following the recent bankruptcy.
More details are available from the Windsor Star.
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July 10, 2007
Changing face of L.A. moviegoing
The changing face of moviegoing in Los Angeles is profiled in this L.A. Times article including how difficult it is for single screen Crest in Westwood to continue to book movies and how appreciated the new Landmark is.
Some guys daydream about playing center field for the Dodgers. Others wish they had as much luck with women as Antonio Villaraigosa. But when I’m in my car, trapped in the Westside’s endless rush hour traffic, all I can fantasize about is how good life would be if there were more great movie theaters on my side of town.
There have been many nights when I could fly and see a movie in San Francisco faster than plowing through the Westside’s snarled traffic to where the ArcLight sits in the distant reaches of Hollywood.
Luckily, I now have two beloved neighborhood theaters: the sleek new 12-screen Landmark complex alongside the Westside Pavilion and the handsome old Westwood Crest Theater, a 1940-era movie house on Westwood Boulevard. As different as they may appear on the surface, they are fascinating examples of the brave new world of high-quality movie exhibition, a world full of movies aimed at — gasp — people who aren’t dying to see “Transformers.”
A slide show has wonderful photos including beautiful interior photos of the Crest, Los Angeles and Orpheum.
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A night at the Parkway
CHICAGO, IL — Scott Marks shares some memories of his days working at the Parkway Theatre.
The Parkway was a grind house in the purest sense of the term. Located at Clark & Diversey in Chicago, the theatre never took an intermission break going from Feature 1 to trailers to Feature 2 to trailers, etc.
For years, the Parkway wallowed in Grade Z material, but late in 1979, the Landmark chain purchased the joint and turned it into a revival house. I managed the place for a couple years in the early 80s, just before home video made its debut.
Read the full post along with an image of a schedule from the theatre on Empulsion Compulsion.
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Port Theatre up for absolute auction August 2nd
PORT ST. JOE, FL — A historic Florida movie theatre is going up for Auction August 2nd at 11:00 am EDT, selling Absolute!
The wonderful Port Theatre located in Port St. Joe opened in 1938 and showed its last film in 1967. For the past 12 years, it has been an auction hall. The brick and steel building was designed with incredible acoustics! It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June of 2003.
Current owners have not accepted any federal funds for restoration so opportunity is wide open for a new buyer and there are no restrictions on use related to its historic designation.
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July 9, 2007
TRON…Happy 25th!
“It all happens inside a computer.”
On July 9, 1982, twenty-five years ago today, Walt Disney’s TRON was released on 1,091 theatre screens in the United States and Canada. The groundbreaking film, starring Jeff Bridges and directed by Steven Lisberger, cost nearly $20 million to produce (a huge sum in its day) and grossed, according to most accounts, a mere $30 million domestically.
A visual and aural delight, TRON was nominated for two Academy Awards: Sound and Costume Design. But, more amazing than the film’s amazing visual effects is trying to figure out why the film was not nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar!
Of note to the film’s history is that it was photographed in Super Panavision 70, reviving the process that had been popular with the 1960s roadshows but had been dormant for a decade. But despite the large-format origination, Disney struck only about 40 high-quality 70-millimeter prints for domestic distribution. A list of the venues in which the 70mm version was booked is provided below, and what some may find a surprise is the number of theatres in major markets denied an opportunity to showcase TRON in the best presentation manner available at the time. (Some theatres in cities absent from the list of initial 70mm bookings did, however, screen a 70mm print in the fall of 1982 or spring of 1983 when Disney re-issued the film with the hope it might find an audience during a less-crowded moviegoing season.)
So…is TRON a good movie? After 25 years I still can’t decide! But one thing is certain: the film was ahead of its time due to the innovative use of computer graphics, and its influence can be observed in countless movies, television programs and video games. I think anyone working in the film, computer and video-game industries owes a debt of gratitude to TRON and its talented production crew.
Anyone have any TRON memories they care to share?
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Bethesda Theatre returns as playhouse
BETHESDA, MD — The Bethesda Theatre is opening again, this time as a showplace for small-scale plays.
In the ever-expanding constellation of new spaces for plays and musicals in and around Washington, a landmark art deco movie palace on Wisconsin Avenue will open this fall as a home for audience-friendly, small-scale plays and musicals.
Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, whose president is Robert Nederlander Jr., has a long-term contract to manage the Bethesda space, owned by the Bethesda Cultural Alliance, a new, nonprofit arts group. Nederlander’s idea is to make the Bethesda site the first of a circuit of smaller theaters across the country to which musical revues, comedies and jukebox shows could tour.
Read the full story at the Washington Post.