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The latest movie theater news and updates
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July 31, 2006
Wyoming Valley Mall Theater closes suddenly
WILKES-BARRE, PA — The theaters at the Wyoming Valley Mall abruptly closed on Friday:
The curtain has apparently closed on the Great Escape Theatres at the Wyoming Valley Mall.
A locked steel gate enclosed the darkened lobby to the multiscreen theater complex inside the mall Friday afternoon and no one answered the phone. Three bags of garbage, a cardboard box and a trash can had been placed in the hall outside the theaters' entrance.
Visit the Times Leader Article for the full story.
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Rodgers and Hammerstein Film - Original screening info?
I’m wanting to research the original London ‘theatrical’ screenings of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals. I know that they were treated very much like theatrical events with limited screenings, reserved seating and programs etc. before they went on general release.
If anyone has information on venues, dates, number of screenings, etc. or any suggestions for places where I might find more information, I would be very grateful to hear from you.
Thanks.
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World premiere of “Preserve Me a Seat”
GRAND ISLAND, NE — A restored theater success story called the Grand Theatre in Grand Island, Nebraska was the setting for the world premiere of the documentary, “Preserve Me a Seat” on Wednesday, July 26, 2006. An audience of 150 filled the lovingly restored deco theater in downtown Grand Island to watch the 118 minute film.
A lively panel discussion occurred after the film with board members of the Grand, the film-makers and real estate developer, Paul Warshauer from Chicago. Although it is billed as a preservation film, it is really the story of three failed attempts to restore old theatres in Omaha, Boston, and Lombard, IL.
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July 28, 2006
250 Excellent Quality Masonic Theater Seats for Sale
Our charity, the Norwich Community Cinema Foundation, Inc., formed to bring a new not-for-profit arts cinema to downtown Norwich, CT was granted salvage rights to the 800 theater seats and other wonderful architectural elements within the former, once-grand, Masonic Temple of Norwich.
The temple and theater are being torn down to restore a sacred royal Mohegan Indian burial ground that was disturbed to build the temple—thereby righting a past wrong.
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TCM Big-Screen Showings of, “Casablanca”
Turner Classic Movies is sponsoring free big-screen showings of “Casablanca” in the following cities: Seattle, Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Virginia Beach. Click on link for more information.
Please visit the following link, TCM Casablanca Showings for more information.
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Art Theatre in Long Beach Changing Hands
LONG BEACH, CA — After decades under the same ownership, the Art Theatre in Long Beach is being sold, but will remain a cinema:
The venerable Art Theatre isn’t going anywhere, but its owner has decided to retire.
After 33 years running the independent theater on Fourth Street near Cherry Avenue, Howard Linn said he has decided it’s time to let someone else take the reins.
For the full story, visit the Gazette article.
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July 27, 2006
Houston Theaters in Danger
HOUSTON, TX — Two theaters in Houston are in danger of demolition!!! Weingarten Realty, has made public plans to demolish parts of the River Oaks shopping center, including the the 1939 River Oaks Theater, to make room for new retail and a high-rise residential building.
Houston has notoriously weak preservation laws. If Weingarten is successful, it could also demolish the Art Deco-style Alabama Theater center at Shepherd and Alabama, which now houses a Bookstop and other retail stores.
These buildings are fine examples of Art Deco design and are among a handful of such buildings in the city. The River Oaks center could begin as early as 2007, based on what tenants have been notified.
Please sign the following Petition to save these theaters.
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AMC Broadens Scope to Independent Films
In order to draw audiences away from smaller independent theaters and from home theaters, AMC has started an initiative to split its programming in some theaters between mainstream and indy flicks:
Plush stadium seats. Surround sound. Miles of movie screen. Multiplexes might seem to have it all — as long as you’re willing to watch flicks about pirates or comic book heroes.
But fans of independent film, accustomed to seeking out their favorites at art houses or on DVD, are getting a bigger welcome at mainstream movie theaters these days — led by AMC Theatres, the company that invented the two-screen multiplex in 1963 and the 24-screen “megaplex” in 1995.
For the full story, visit the Journal News article.
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Detroit & Flint Theaters – anyone remember these?
Here are a few I knew in the 40’s & 50’s that I didn’t find on the Michigan list.
In Detroit:
1)The Cinema, a small art house on a side street across Woodward from The Fox. “Red Shoes” played there for a year.
2)The Art. I believe it was near Eastwood Park and the one time I passed it, around 1948, it was playing “Wiener Melodien,” a musical in German.
3)The Harper, a neighborhood house on the avenue of the same name
4)The Paradise. I only knew this one as a church but it must have been a theater. It was on Woodward on the same side and within a few blocks of The Fox. -
July 26, 2006
Evanston Theater to become Condos
EVANSTON, IL — According to this article in the Chicago Tribune, the once grand Evanston Theater will follow many others in greater Chicago area into oblivion:
It debuted with a hit comedy back in the day when a Saturday matinee started with a Porky Pig cartoon and children lined the sidewalk to pay 75 cents for a movie and a bag of popcorn.
Almost half a century later, Evanston Theaters is a dank and musty place filled with cobwebs and torn movie screens. High-rise condominiums threaten to replace the theater’s high ceilings and plush curtains.
For the full story, visit the Chicago Tribune Article.