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The latest movie theater news and updates
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April 2, 2007
Fire At Historic Haltom Theater
HALTOM CITY, TX – Around 9:00 PM on Wednesday, March 28th a fire started at Haltom Theater. By 9:30, the Haltom City Fire Department had put the fire out. Arson is suspected and most likely the cause of the fire due to a broken glass door at the side of the theater and papers (that were in boxes earlier that day) piled up and tossed around the second floor office space of the theater, directly above the Birdville Historical Museum.
Due to the fast-acting and careful efforts of the Haltom City Fire Department, only minor water damage was sustained by a handful of items. “It could have been a lot worse,” said many members of the Birdville Historical Society & Haltom Theater Arts Committee. Concerned citizens showed up during the evening on Wednesday and some, including the fire department, stayed into the early hours of the morning moving and securing the museum items and gathering up the Haltom City Photo Contest entries that are now scheduled to be displayed at the Haltom City Library from April 2 - 17.
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Village Art Theatre closes
CHICAGO, IL — “Thats all folks, Theater Closed”
That’s what the marquee read on the Village Art Theatre. And so closes one of Chicagoland’s oldest surviving cinemas. It began operation in 1916 as the Germania, later changing its name to the Parkside. It was also known as the Gold Coast, the Globe and most recently alternated between being called Village and Village Art. Up until the 1990s, it remained a single screen and was well known for showing off-beat fare, second run fare, and midnight movies. In the 1990s, it was carved up into 4 screens, perhaps to better compete with the nearby Piper’s Alley, and losing much of its character in the process.
In the late 1990s, Village Entertainment incorporated and started taking over other cinemas, beginning with the Village North, then many theatres which were a part of the ill-fated Meridian chain, and most recently the Lincoln Village and the North Riverside. Village’s finances and business practices were questionable, however, and no sooner would Village Entertainment take over a place, it would close several others. Since 2006, Village Entertainment closed the Golf Glen, the Pemberton, the Lakehurst, the Belvedere and a few others.
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Theater Technician Needed
Theater Technician needed for installation.
We are re-opening the State Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska and are in need of a technician to help install some older projection equipment. Equipment is arriving on March 29th, and we would like to have a technician there sometime in the first week or two of April. Please call David at 402-475-8198 or (cell) 415-531-7925, or write an email at .
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March 30, 2007
The age of the aficionado
I held out on buying a DVD player for the first five years of its existence. After all those years of investing in VHS, it was really annoying having to replace all that material. Like a fool, I thought, “how could it be that much better?”
Five years ago, I finally caved in and got one. My bank account hasn’t been the same since. I didn’t just replace those favorites I had on video, I went all out. Like so many people I’ve seen, I became obsessed with cultivating the ultimate DVD collection. I had to possess key examples of every era, of every genre. I wanted to people to come into my apartment, spot it and say, “wow, that guy knows movies!”
My intentions weren’t purely egotistical though, I swear. What really got me with DVDs was the presentation. I’d always appreciated it when videos would have extra content. When I sunk my teeth into my first special edition DVD, I was in heaven. It’s these bonus features that made me look at DVDs not just in terms of the main film but as more of an encyclopedia on the subject. In this sense, I truly felt like I was building a library.
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500+ Digital 3-D Engagements For Disney’s “Meet The Robinsons”
On March 30, Disney will be releasing their latest animated movie, “Meet The Robinsons,” in more than 500 U.S. & Canadian theatres equipped for 3-D Digital Cinema presentation. (The movie is also being released in 2-D Digital Cinema and, of course, 35mm.)
D-Cinema systems (with 3-D capability) have been installed in hundreds of theaters over the last few weeks allowing “Meet The Robinsons” to be seen in over four times the number of venues as did Disney’s previous 3-D release, last fall’s re-issue of “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Here is a link to FromScriptToDVD.com’s list of theatres that will be showing “Meet The Robinsons” in digital 3-D.
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Do you remember seeing Return of the Jedi in the theater in ‘83?
I used to always get in the argument that, culturally-speaking, the release of “Jedi” was significant. I want to do a limited run (50 - 100) ‘zine of recollections from people who saw Jedi back in 1983, in the theater.
If anyone likes the idea, wants to submit a thing, has a question, email me at .
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Preserve Me a Seat To Show in Springfield, Missouri, Friday Night
For any cinematreasures readers living in the Springfield, Missouri area, I wanted to let you know that this coming Friday night, March 30th, “Preserve Me a Seat” will be shown at the historic Gillioz Theatre as a fundraiser. Showtime is at 7:00 p.m. For more information, please visit The Gillioz’s website.
For more information about “Preserve Me a Seat,” or to purchase a dvd copy of the film, please visit Apartment 101 Films.
Thanks,
Jim -
March 29, 2007
Schlock around the clock
QUEENS, NY — In the spirit of the upcoming film from Tarantino/Rodriguez, Lou Lumenick takes a look into New York City’s last remaining grindhouse, the Fair Theatre.
If you want to sample Times Square moviegoing in all of its raffish glory from the 1970s and early 1980s, you don’t need a time machine – just take the M60 bus out to East Elmhurst, Queens, and be prepared to watch your back.
On a shabby stretch of Astoria Boulevard near La Guardia Airport, the Fair Theatre is the city’s last grindhouse – a successor to the tradition of the crumbling, grimy showplaces that used to line both sides of 42nd Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue.
But to experience an actual grindhouse requires a trip to the 70-year-old Fair Theatre – named in anticipation of the 1939-40 World’s Fair in nearby Flushing Meadows – which sits in the middle of a blocklong two-story building between 90th and 91st streets.
Read the full story at the NY Post and you’ll also see his reference to our page for this theater as providing inspiration for this piece.
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A sister of San Clemente’s Miramar Theater shines bright
Newport Beach Film Festival
April 19th – 29thRed carpet opening night film screening & gala
International spotlight & events
Over 350 films from around the world
Seminars, family film series, collegiate showcase, & youth film showcase
Largest entertainment event in Orange County
Over 300 films from 30 countries will be screened
Well attended by distribution & industry executive
35,000+ Attendance
World-class beach resortNot only are the Newport Beach Lido Theater & the San Clemente Beach Miramar both single screen theaters!
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Former Odeon Hartlepool to be finally demolished?
HARTLEPOOL, ENGLAND — More than 25 years after this cinema showed its last film, the final curtain may come down on the Odeon. Apart from a brief spell as Joe Pools / Caesars Palace, the Odeon has remained out of use, slowly decaying.
Now a report, commissioned by Hartlepool Borough Council has stated that there is no feasible re-use for the building or retention of its listed facade. The council is now looking at redevelopment of the site possibly for housing. A selection of photos showing the Odeon ‘then and now’ can be seen here.
If demolition goes ahead, it will leave only 1 original cinema building in the town, the former essoldo, located only a few minutes walk away. This is currently in use as Carlton Bingo.
(Thanks to James for providing the photo.)