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The latest movie theater news and updates
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December 22, 2006
Theatre Organ for sale
We have a theatre organ for sale. It was manufactured in 1986 and is an ADC4600; $40,000.00 new; white and gold; new card reader installed two years ago. It’s in very good condition and was recently played for an opening at a concert. Asking $8,500.00. Must be picked up – no delivery available. Located in Northeast Ohio. Serious inquiries only will receive pictures upon request. email me at .
Thanks
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December 21, 2006
Is Rivoli Pendleton’s Missing Link? by Tom Hebert
Prologue
Let’s be clear, you and I: Generally I don’t divulge to anyone that I majored in theatre arts, Linfield College, McMinnville, Oregon. Surely not in a newspaper. But several years ago I began to admit to this heresy to other corporate and government managers. To my surprise, with a coming-out-of-the-closet air of relief, several confessed, “Me too!” So there’s a sort of brotherhood of fallen-away drama majors out there who have made it in business or government because they learned the essentials of good management in theatre, that most entrepreneurial, demanding, and accountable of managerial arenas.
Anyway, all that goes to explain why the other day I found myself clearing decades of debris from a dilapidated old theatre stage in downtown Pendleton.
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Boothbay peninsula theater in danger
BOOTHBAY HARBOR, ME — A committee met this past week to discuss the future of the Harbor Theatre. If a resolution is not reached, the theater could close at the end of the year.
About 90 movie lovers gathered at The Harbor Theatre last Wednesday night. Not to see a movie, but to show their support and to find out what could be done to keep the peninsula’s only movie theater open.
Bob Devine opened the meeting by introducing Jason Sheckley, owner of The Harbor Theatre, and the members of the new Friends of The Harbor Theatre group. The Friends group formed to explore options for keeping The Harbor Theatre open after Sheckley announced that the theater would have to close on December 31. Members include Bob Devine, Tad Bartlett, Peggy Powis, Howie Barter, Tom Tavenner, Larry Brown, Buzz Morley and Paula Arsenault.
For more, go to the Boothbay Register.
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December 20, 2006
Movie Manners courtesy of Cinema Sightlines
Since movie manners have been brought up a lot lately in a number of pieces on this site, I thought it would be good to visit one of the pioneering voices on this subject, Cinema Sightlines. TJ Edwards wrote an article on it over 10 years ago which has since been imitated but never duplicated. Here is the opening:
Going out to movies has become a rare event for many of us. Is it because of high prices, lackluster theatres, bad presentation, or bad movies? Yes, all of the above … but not entirely. What most of us like least about viewing movies in public is … the public! How often have you had an expensive visit to the movies ruined by the inconsiderate behavior of others? Has your “Cinema Paradiso” become “Cinema Masochismo?”
It happens nearly every time I go the movies. After paying at least $10 to sit in a lackluster cinebox, plus another $11 for cold popcorn and warm soda, I try to enjoy a long-anticipated film. I have arrived early to find a good seat. Inevitably, just as the film begins, someone will come in with big hair, a big head, or a big mouth, who’ll bypass numerous empty seats to park directly in front of me. If the theatre has stadium seating, they will sit directly behind me with their feet on the back of my seat.
To read the full article, go to Cinema Sightlines. Soon, there will be even more information on Cinema Sightlines chronicling the moviegoing experience so keep your eyes out!
Feel free to give your thoughts on any other movie manners not discussed, if you’ve had similar experiences, or how we should deal with offenders?
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Virginia Drive-ins
FREDERICKSBURG, VA — This piece delves into the history of drive-ins in Fredericksburg while also looking at the theater history as a whole.
It was April 23, 1951, when the first drive-in picture show debuted in Fredericksburg.
The feature attraction was director John Ford’s majestic big-budget Western “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon,” starring John Wayne, with Joanne Dru and John Agar. The Free Lance-Star advertised “Pitts Drive-in Theatre—a Carfull for a Dollar-Plus Tax—Shine or Shower—Route 1—Four Mile Fork.” There were two shows nightly at 7:15 and 9:15. The flick was billed as “Drama that’s Raw Violent Real.”
The last remnants of the Fredericksburg Drive-in, which closed in 1990, were bulldozed away this summer to make way for offices and retail use.
To read more, go to the Free-Lance Star
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December 19, 2006
Vancouver, BC - The Heart Of The World
VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA — Built in 1913, the theater formerly known as the Alcazar, the York, then the New York, and most recently a Bollywood outlet called theRaja, went up for sale. We’re now trying to buy it, completely refurbish it, and turn it into a multi-disciplinary venue for anything you could use a theater for.
We plan on showing films, hosting music concerts, live plays, and are even in talks with Vancouver schools so their film students can show their work in a theater setting. We also hope to screen films from festivals like Sundance and Cannes, so these budding directors can get their films seen by as many people as possible.
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Anchorage’s 4th Avenue Theatre saved
ANCHORAGE, AK — Thanks to a creative four-part funding agreement reached this week, Anchorage’s 1947 treasure, the 4th Avenue Theatre has been taken off the chopping block.
The deal, involving the Rasmuson Foundation, the Wells Fargo Community Development Corp., the building’s owner Robert Gottstein, and the City of Anchorage, will create a new corporation to purchase the theater, and bring $1.75 million in renovation funding. The theater will be used as an extension of the Egan Convention Center, overseen by the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau.
To read more on this story, go to theAnchorage Daily News.
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Cinerama Ad-Cleveland, Ohio
I thought this might be interesting to Cinerama fans.
This is an ad from the first Cinerama showing in Cleveland, Ohio at the Palace Theatre.
For more information, contact me: .
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December 18, 2006
Home of the original Carolina Barn Dance (aired in 40’s/50’s) needs help
SPRUCE PINE, NC — A Famous History – A Promising Future
The Carolina Theatre, a cultural event center in downtown Spruce Pine, was built in 1937 during the heyday of the Silver Screen. Now The Carolina Theatre Preservation Association, Inc. (a 501©(3) corp) hosts a plethora of entertainment and fundraising events for classic country enthusiasts and historical buffs in efforts to restore this theatre to its historic roots.
The grand, neon-decorated marquee(now a little worse for wear) survives and juts out prominently over the city sidewalk. Countless banners were hung from it, hawking the movies and live entertainment of the era: The Frontier Badman starring Lon Chaney; Gone with the Wind; all the Sing Cowboy films; and, of course the famous Saturday morning cartoons such as Buck Rogers and The Gang.
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Paramount Times Square question
Can anyone tell me what band was playing at the Paramount in Times Square on 12/07/1941?
Also, what movie was playing?
Thanks,