The latest movie theater news and updates

  • December 17, 2014

    “Now that’s a Hollywood romance! Couple shock friends by inviting them to the cinema… and then getting MARRIED in front of the big screen” From Birmingham, UK.

    A romantic couple stunned their friends and family by inviting them to a made-up movie premiere at a cinema – which turned out to be their wedding day.

    Darren Yates, 40, told 100 of their guests that he had a cameo role in a Hollywood blockbuster called Match Made In Heaven, only for the attendees to arrive at the cinema to find it was the couple’s wedding ceremony.

    The groom and his fiancee Katherine Yates, 34, were so determined to fool their friends and family they even designed fake posters and a voiceover trailer for the fictional film and posted VIP tickets for the screening.

    Read the entire article online at the [dailymail.co.uk.}(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2875850/Couple-surprise-friends-family-inviting-film-cinema-getting-MARRIED.html).

  • “Man buys porn theater in an attempt to save historic Birmingham community” From Birmingham, AL.

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    Two years ago, Vince Amaro moved his antique business into a red-brick building in East Lake that had been in his family since the 1960s, despite the fact that its neighbor across the street was a porn theater.

    Amaro spruced up the outside. He hung a handsome sign with scalloped corners. Employees stacked steamer trunks in front of display windows and lined the walls with old writing desks and a massive hunter’s cabinet. Recently, the staff added a Christmas tree draped with candy canes and plastic poinsettias.

    But no matter the holiday, or the inventory, there was one thing about those window displays Amaro couldn’t change.

    The view on the other side of the plate glass always included a string of adult-oriented businesses: The Cinema Blue, with its weathered marquee, Pleasure Books and its badly buckled sign and a third shop, Birmingham Adult Books.

    Read the entire article at al.com.

  • December 15, 2014

    “The Commodore Theatre Celebrates 25 years of Business” From Portsmouth, VA.

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    The Commodore Theatre will celebrate 25 years to the day that it re-opened as the restored Commodore Theatre with a new vision of first-run movies and fine dining, the first such cinema-eatery in the country.

    The Commodore Theatre was recently named one of the “10 greatest dine-in theaters in America” in a Motion Picture Association of America publication (2014) and one of America’s 7 Best Movie Theaters of Food Lovers,“ in a 2013 issue of Bon Appetit Magazine.

    Read the entire article at Hamptonroads.com.

  • “Inside the Total Transformation at Downtown’s Regent Theater” From Los Angeles, CA.

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    When the Regent Theater reopened early last month on Main Street in the Historic Core, completely revamped and ready for business as a live music venue, it was a big deal for the area: the Regent is the last historic movie palace left on Main Street; the Merced over by Olvera Street is the only other old theater left on Main at all. (The Merced was a live theater; it’s scheduled to become a city TV station by 2017.) Despite having hosted occasional special events in recent years, renovation photos of the Regent’s interior, provided by New Theme, the firm that oversaw the adaptive reuse project, show just how much the place was crumbling and underscore the impressive improvements made to the 100-year-old building. Now that it’s fixed up, the Regent is run by the same guy who operates Echo Park’s The Echo, and has a hip bar and restaurant inside, plus a fancy new sound system for its live acts.

    Read the entire article online at la.curbed.com.

  • “For film lovers! Ikea surprises moviegoers by replacing every seat in Russian cinema with double beds” From Russia.

    The comfort of reclining chairs, bean bags, pillows and couches that sometimes enhance the cinematic experience have been one-upped in Russia, where an entire movie theatre has been filled with beds.

    While sites such as the Electric Cinema in London’s Notting Hill have a front row devoted to beds, one screening room in the Kinostar De Lux Playhouse was gutted of all of its seats with 17 double beds brought in.

    The project has been dubbed ‘Wake Up Love’ in line with a campaign by Swedish furniture chain Ikea, which provided the beds.

    The film lovers' experience at a multiplex a shopping centre in Khimki, north of Moscow, doesn’t just include the bed on which to watch a latest release, but on entry they’re given slippers.

    Read the entire article online at dailymail.co.uk.

  • December 11, 2014

    More News and Notes from around the Web!

    There’s always more to read about the movie-going experience out on the internet, so here are some additional links:

    “Movie Theaters Lure Customers with Luxe Amenities” From Reston, VA.

    “Marcus Theatres announces cinema upgrades, continuing its multi-million dollar investment” From Illinois & Wisconsin.

    “Jurassic World Could Usher In New Era Of Cinema” From Forbes.com.

    “Allen Theaters cancels 8-screen movie complex in Carlsbad” From Carlsbad, NM.

    “Cinemark Holdings Sets New 1-Year High at $36.63 (CNK)” From Tickerreporter.com.

  • “New Sign Installed for the Former Cameo Theatre” From Orlando, FL.

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    The 1940 Cameo Theatre building, 1013 E. Colonial Drive, has been outfitted with a rooftop bulb style sign, similar to the one that was there when the theatre was open. The present owner, Jorge Boone, petitioned the Orlando City Council for financial help with restoring a bit of history, and the elected officials approved it. The Cameo is currently home to SNAP!, a photography gallery. The film house opened in November, 1940, and was closed in the late 1940s. It was remodeled in the early 1950s, and was home for IBM offices for several years. Over a period of time, it has been occupied by many businesses.

    Click through on this post to see additional images.

  • “ The Most Romantic Kisses in Cinema” From the NYTimes.

    In this year’s Great Performers issue, A.O. Scott writes that kissing in movies ‘‘established a glamorous iconography and an elegant choreography for an experience that, in real life, is frequently sloppy, clumsy and less than perfectly graceful.’’ Here, a few of the most romantic kisses on film, from young love to foiled love.

    Check out the entire infographic at NYTimes.com.

  • “Long-simmering rivalry keeps Bala Theatre screens dark” From Bala Cynwyd, PA.

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    In a twist that has Lower Merion on the edge of its seat, the historic Bala Theatre has been closed – not for lack of money or customers, but because of a bitter personal feud.

    The two men at the center of the controversy both say they love the 1926 movie house and want to see it succeed – but they loathe each other, and have come to an impasse over who is responsible for repairs and upgrades.

    The landlords “were hostile from the minute we took over,” said Gregory Wax, who bought the Bala Theatre lease in 2013.

    “I call him Wacko, even though I know what his name is,” said Isaak Sotolidis, who owns the theater, a neighboring pizza shop, and several other storefronts on the block…

    Read the entire article at philly.com.

  • “Dolby looks to kill the IMAX giant with new ultra-bright laser projection”

    Dolby has been to the top of the mountain and laid eyes on the future of visual technology, and that future begins with three simple words: high dynamic range.

    Everyone knows IMAX is the big name in cinema for those seeking a transcendent theater experience, offering over 830 theaters worldwide, with massive, visually stunning screens that aim to make it worth leaving the comfort of your home theater to brave the crowds. However, while Dolby may be best known for its indelible mark on the world of sound, the company’s latest large-format theater projection technology aims to put the name IMAX in your rear view mirror…

    Read the entire article at digitaltrends.com.