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The latest movie theater news and updates
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July 9, 2007
Introducing myself
I will start by saying how grateful I was when I came upon this website. There are so many people out there with my same passion!
When I moved to Dallas, Texas was when I first discovered my attraction to vintage places and things. I got a job at the Inwood Theatre during the renovations in 2005 and worked there for 2.5 years. Being a part of the re-opening was a life-changing experience.
I then started to notice the character in all the old buildings in Dallas. I plan to eventually be able to purchase and renovate a movie theatre. At the age of 19, I have a lot of planning and waiting to do. I am going to work at it, starting now, until I reach my goal.
I’m brand new at this, and I know many of you have more experience than I. If anyone has any advice to give me, it would be extremely helpful as I view my goal as a huge challenge.
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Theaters of Bristol, England
There is a website with photos showing the theaters of Bristol, a port city, and its suburbs during the past century. It includes a brief history of venues covered.
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July 6, 2007
Not to be missed theaters
Opening up my e-mail yesterday, I came across a feature that Ross Melnick had contributed to on Forbes. It highlights some notable theaters still standing with almost all still doing first-run business. Don’t get too excited because most are the usual suspects.
When I go on trips, even if it’s just for the weekend, I always lookup the local theaters of note at my destination as well as on the way. With the next two months, a lot of us here in the Northern Hemisphere will be taking summer vacations and maybe coming near such a theater.
So I ask you, what one theater should have been included on this list? Forget about the fact that most of their choices were in major cities and that one was even a multiplex. What single-screen theater, anywhere in the world, is still showing first-run films and is worth the trip there to see it, even if you’re only remotely nearby (or worth a trip of its own if you’re really THAT HARDCORE! Oh yeah!)?
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Marquee tributes for DuciBella
CHICAGO, IL — As mentioned in our article the other day, famous theater designer and historian Joseph DuciBella passed away last weekend. In honor of him, some Chicago theaters are using their marquees as tributes to him.
Thanks to James A. Pierce for the pictures and the reporting.
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Majestic Crest interiors
As a photographic artist, I recently I completed a labor of love – a photo shoot of the wonderful murals and interior of the Westwood Crest Theatre, on Westwood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The owner kindly allowed me to set up in their with all the lights and blacklights. The first round of slides is at the Theatre website then click in Special Events, then on the link to Majestic Crest Pictures.
Or you can go directly to the slideshow at my site James Gordon Gallery or the web page version of the same images.
I plan to add more shots of different angle and more details of the murals. Note, these images are not for sale or distribution.
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300 mph movie theater
In South Korea, new trains have are testing KTX Cinema, an on-train high-def theater system.
Read more at Donga.com
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July 5, 2007
Record numbers of online ticket sales
Not only are more movie tickets being sold this summer but a higher percentage of those are being sold online than ever before.
Moviegoers are logging online more than ever to reserve a place in line for movie tickets, according to a study conducted by MovieTickets.com (www.movietickets.com), the world’s most powerful online movie ticketing provider. MovieTickets.com experienced an astounding 31% increase in overall online ticket sales for the first half of 2007(1) compared to the same time period in 2006, while overall box office receipts increased by nearly 3%(2).
“Clearly online movie ticketing has become an integral part of consumers' lifestyles. Planning ahead and committing to the in-theater experience has gone from a ‘want’ to a ‘need’ in many parts of the country,” said Joel Cohen Executive Vice President and General Manager MovieTickets.com. “And while e- commerce proliferation is a factor in our striking sales growth, we know that moviegoers are responding more and more to studio marketing campaigns to not only reserve their ticket for a must-see opening weekend film, but for all of their movie ticket buying.”
Maybe people are starting to treat moviegoing as more of an event than before?
Read the full story at CNN Money.
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Opening night at the Eat-O-Plex
A story looks into the current trend of building more upscale dinner/movie theaters. Claiming the theaters of Texas as a major influence, they delve into some of the problems that arise from such a setup.
It’s Friday night at the Parkway Speakeasy Theater in Oakland, California, and we’re eating dinner while watching the movie Grindhouse. Yes, that’s right, dinner. Baba ghanoush, a burger, and beer delivered right to our seats on a lumpy old couch. Our fellow movie-goers are mostly tattooed twentysomethings, and it sort of feels like we’re in a friend’s living room.
If a new trend born in Texas takes off, funky little cinema-eateries like the Parkway may become a thing of the past. Recently, a flashy new breed of combo restaurant-theaters where you can eat in your seat has emerged from the Lone Star State and may be coming soon to your hometown. These are multiscreen operations showing first-run films and offering food like that of the casual-dining restaurant chains popular throughout most of the country
For more, go to Chow.com.
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July 4, 2007
Happy July 4th!
Happy July 4th from all of us here at Cinema Treasures. Enjoy the fireworks, sunny weather and maybe catch a flick too.
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Demolition of Wyandotte Theater imminent
WYANDOTTE, MI — The long limbo of Wyandotte’s large art deco theater is about to end; unfortunately, with its destruction, as reported in Detroit’s metromode.
The Wyandotte was the first multi-screen theater built in Michigan when opened in 1936. Ironically consultants to the city reportedly claimed that the theater couldn’t be viable now without ten or more screens. It only ever had two, and couldn’t be renovated to include more than six.
While the deco styling was cool, even when I was a kid, it seemed a little sparse for the huge space in the main theater, and I was always struck more by the large Indian heads motifs, which seemed very unique.
Though the theater went through the inevitable descent through second-run films, it’s been closed for years, and weathered a couple of attempts at failed renovations that have left it gutted. Though my friends and I rode our bikes or made long summer walks to see matinees, my best and last first-run memory of the place is sitting with feet on the backs of seats, only a couple of rows back from the massive screen, watching “Stand By Me.” Even the empty and closed presence of the theater rekindled those memories. It’ll be missed.