The most notable thing about the Tustin Marketplace 6 is that it was the city’s first movie theater since the old two-screen Tustin Theatre covereted to a dinner theater in 1981. For nearly 10 years, Tustin residents had to leave the city to see a movie.
When the Marketplace 6 opened its doors in 1990, you can imagine the interest the theater received. I worked at a bookstore 100 feet from its box office and the theater was packed every Friday and Saturday night for the four years I was there. Most of our business came just before and immediately after the 8PM shows. It would remain the only theater in town until The Irvine Marketplace 10 opened across the street in 1999. Well, technically it was the only theater in town until the AMC Tustin 14 opened in 2007.
I saw some great shows there over the years – The Silence of the Lambs, JFK, Cape Fear, Unforgiven and The Sixth Sense to name a few. The last one I believe was The Majestic in 2001.
Great piece, Michael. I saw Empire at the Big Newport in Newport Beach, CA on Saturday, May 24, 1980. I remember getting a copy of the souvenir program at the box office before it started and fighting the urge to flip through it, as I didn’t want to reveal too much. I couldn’t resist of course and came upon a picture of Han in carbonite. I knew right then that Empire was going to be very different from Star Wars. I couldn’t wait to get into the theater to find out how this all played out. We were about an hour and a half early, however, nobody in line. We went across to a Coco’s for lunch and all through the meal I stared out the window at the theater across the street, hoping we wouldn’t get stuck at the back of the line and fighting more urges to flip through the program. We fortunately made it back with only about twenty people in front of us. I could actually hear the Imperial March from the earlier screening seeping out through the side doors as we waited.
Thirty years later Empire remains a very special movie to me. Where Star Wars opened my young eyes to the power of pure cinema, Empire really introduced me to the power of characterization and storytelling. To me, it remains as layered and complex as any Shakespearean tragedy or classic film noir. I usually screen it at least once a year and every time it’s like visiting with an old friend; I’m transported back to that Saturday in May when I was nine, when worries and responsibilities were foreign concepts and my imagination swelled with endless possibilities. Happy 30th, Empire.
It appears Warner’s Clash of the Titans reboot will screen at the Regency Lido beginning Thursday, Apr 1. And in 3D, if you can believe it. Kind of an odd film for the 72-year-old Lido which specializes in art fare. But the real kicker is the 3D presentation. Not even Regal’s flagship 1108-seat Big Newport theater down the road is equipped for 3D. One would have to think with the financial commitment a digital 3D projector requires that a shift is afoot in Lido programming. Regal appears to be taking notice. According to Fandango.com, Clash of the Titans isn’t scheduled to screen at the Big Newport, unheard of for a big-budget event film. Should be very interesting to see how this plays out over the summer.
The Woodbridge 5 celebrates its 30th anniversary this coming Saturday, Feb. 13. Festivities run from Noon to 10 pm and include auditorium pre-show programming showcasing music and noteworthy events from 1980, commemorative programs, a free movie poster raffle, lobby and auditorium contests for an assortment of movie memorabilia, movie passes, and gift cards, A $1 per ticket charity raffle for an iPod Nano, with additional prizes to be announced, $1 hot dogs, performances by locally famous “Wonder Dog”, plus, a special surprise for all guests.
Any chance we’ll get a 50th anniversary screening of Ben-Hur at the Dome this year? C'mon, Arclight, step up and give one of the truly great films in the history of cinema the anniversary party it deserves. And at least an extended weekend-long run would be nice. These one-night weekday screenings don’t help your members living in OC. You did if for the Godfather last year, you can do it for Ben-Hur.
It’s nice to see the Arclight actually giving The Godfather/The Godfather Part II a one-week run at the Dome. Too bad they couldn’t have done the same with 2001 and How the West Was Won. Even a weekend for each would have been sufficient.
Demolition has begun on this theater. I drove by today and saw just the frame left on screens I and II; a large green fence has been erected around the Plaza III and I can only assume its next, as the doors were open and it appeared they were in the proccess of gutting it. No idea what, if anything, will be going up in its place. Demo company is Ampco Construction. Sad day indeed.
Prior to its renovation in 2000, the Dome had many widescreen festivals( See Michael Coate’s comments earlier this year). Why they can’t plan new ones is anyone’s guess. I know Pacific likes to use the Dome for the week’s major releases, but committing a week or even a few weekends a year for classic screenings wouldn’t kill them. They do have 11 other screens to work with. Schedule them in mid-winter or early fall when new studio programming is light. They didn’t seem to have a problem when it was just the Dome by itself.
Happy belated b-day, Close Encounters. I caught CETK at the South Coast Plaza 3 when I was seven years old and it remains one of my favorite films. Got the new three-disc Ultimate Edition DVD for Xmas and recently screened all three versions. I prefer the Director’s Cut but did enjoy seeing both the Original Theatrical and Special Edition cuts again. I forgot how much of a let-down the Special Edition was at the end. It’s sad there wasn’t a theatrical re-release for the anniversary.
It’s nice to see “2001” screening at the Dome. Would it have killed Archlight and AFI to extend it for a weekend? It is the 40th anniversary afterall. They do have 12 other screens to showcase all the other crap. They seem to forget that the Dome is a palace that desrves to host a little royalty beyond one-night stays. The last “classic” to have an extended run(a weekend or more) was “Alien” in 2003. That’s five years ago. Prior to 2002 when it was just the Dome screen, at least a dozen classic films had extended runs every year.I’m talking week-long festivals that coexisted with current studio bookings. And they were always packed. In a span of one year, I saw Apocalypse Now, River Kwai and Close Encounters. You’ve never seen any of those films until you’ve seen them at the Dome. It’s sad that today’s generation can’t experience classic films on its concave screen beyond one night. I don’t know about you but given the choice of screening “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or “Lawrence of Arabia” on my 65" TV or on the Dome screen, the Dome wins every time. Archlight prides itself on being the movie lover’s choice. It would be nice if they actually showed movies we love.
Sad to say I saw only one movie there – an advance screening of Just Cause in ‘95. Let’s just say I was more impressed with the theater than the film. Wish I had made it back before the closure. I did see Zodiac and thought it looked familiar.
I have very fond memories of the Plaza III as well – Close Encounters, Superman:The Movie, Popeye, Temple of Doom to name a few. It had a nice lobby with two 180-degree ramp entrances, one on either side of the concession stand, that always made you feel like you were entering someplace special, almost regal. You always hoped the big event movies played at either the Big Newport or the Plaza III. No other theaters in OC even came close. I basically grew up in the dark there over three decades – flicks with my mom in the 70s, school buddies in the 80s and girlfriends in the 90s. Rounders was the last film I saw there shorly before its closure in ‘98. I wish
some independent would take it over, make it special again. Movie lovers would come.
The most notable thing about the Tustin Marketplace 6 is that it was the city’s first movie theater since the old two-screen Tustin Theatre covereted to a dinner theater in 1981. For nearly 10 years, Tustin residents had to leave the city to see a movie.
When the Marketplace 6 opened its doors in 1990, you can imagine the interest the theater received. I worked at a bookstore 100 feet from its box office and the theater was packed every Friday and Saturday night for the four years I was there. Most of our business came just before and immediately after the 8PM shows. It would remain the only theater in town until The Irvine Marketplace 10 opened across the street in 1999. Well, technically it was the only theater in town until the AMC Tustin 14 opened in 2007.
I saw some great shows there over the years – The Silence of the Lambs, JFK, Cape Fear, Unforgiven and The Sixth Sense to name a few. The last one I believe was The Majestic in 2001.
Great piece, Michael. I saw Empire at the Big Newport in Newport Beach, CA on Saturday, May 24, 1980. I remember getting a copy of the souvenir program at the box office before it started and fighting the urge to flip through it, as I didn’t want to reveal too much. I couldn’t resist of course and came upon a picture of Han in carbonite. I knew right then that Empire was going to be very different from Star Wars. I couldn’t wait to get into the theater to find out how this all played out. We were about an hour and a half early, however, nobody in line. We went across to a Coco’s for lunch and all through the meal I stared out the window at the theater across the street, hoping we wouldn’t get stuck at the back of the line and fighting more urges to flip through the program. We fortunately made it back with only about twenty people in front of us. I could actually hear the Imperial March from the earlier screening seeping out through the side doors as we waited.
Thirty years later Empire remains a very special movie to me. Where Star Wars opened my young eyes to the power of pure cinema, Empire really introduced me to the power of characterization and storytelling. To me, it remains as layered and complex as any Shakespearean tragedy or classic film noir. I usually screen it at least once a year and every time it’s like visiting with an old friend; I’m transported back to that Saturday in May when I was nine, when worries and responsibilities were foreign concepts and my imagination swelled with endless possibilities. Happy 30th, Empire.
Looks like Regency will kick things off at the Village with “Hot Tub Time Machine” on Thursday, Apr 1.
It appears Warner’s Clash of the Titans reboot will screen at the Regency Lido beginning Thursday, Apr 1. And in 3D, if you can believe it. Kind of an odd film for the 72-year-old Lido which specializes in art fare. But the real kicker is the 3D presentation. Not even Regal’s flagship 1108-seat Big Newport theater down the road is equipped for 3D. One would have to think with the financial commitment a digital 3D projector requires that a shift is afoot in Lido programming. Regal appears to be taking notice. According to Fandango.com, Clash of the Titans isn’t scheduled to screen at the Big Newport, unheard of for a big-budget event film. Should be very interesting to see how this plays out over the summer.
The Woodbridge 5 celebrates its 30th anniversary this coming Saturday, Feb. 13. Festivities run from Noon to 10 pm and include auditorium pre-show programming showcasing music and noteworthy events from 1980, commemorative programs, a free movie poster raffle, lobby and auditorium contests for an assortment of movie memorabilia, movie passes, and gift cards, A $1 per ticket charity raffle for an iPod Nano, with additional prizes to be announced, $1 hot dogs, performances by locally famous “Wonder Dog”, plus, a special surprise for all guests.
For more information call 949.733.3795.
Any chance we’ll get a 50th anniversary screening of Ben-Hur at the Dome this year? C'mon, Arclight, step up and give one of the truly great films in the history of cinema the anniversary party it deserves. And at least an extended weekend-long run would be nice. These one-night weekday screenings don’t help your members living in OC. You did if for the Godfather last year, you can do it for Ben-Hur.
It’s nice to see the Arclight actually giving The Godfather/The Godfather Part II a one-week run at the Dome. Too bad they couldn’t have done the same with 2001 and How the West Was Won. Even a weekend for each would have been sufficient.
Indy IV really shouldn’t be a shocker since Lucasfilm’s Revenge of the Sith bypassed the Chinese and opened at the Dome in 2005.
Demolition has begun on this theater. I drove by today and saw just the frame left on screens I and II; a large green fence has been erected around the Plaza III and I can only assume its next, as the doors were open and it appeared they were in the proccess of gutting it. No idea what, if anything, will be going up in its place. Demo company is Ampco Construction. Sad day indeed.
Prior to its renovation in 2000, the Dome had many widescreen festivals( See Michael Coate’s comments earlier this year). Why they can’t plan new ones is anyone’s guess. I know Pacific likes to use the Dome for the week’s major releases, but committing a week or even a few weekends a year for classic screenings wouldn’t kill them. They do have 11 other screens to work with. Schedule them in mid-winter or early fall when new studio programming is light. They didn’t seem to have a problem when it was just the Dome by itself.
This theater has actually been a Starplex second-run veneue for many years now.
Happy belated b-day, Close Encounters. I caught CETK at the South Coast Plaza 3 when I was seven years old and it remains one of my favorite films. Got the new three-disc Ultimate Edition DVD for Xmas and recently screened all three versions. I prefer the Director’s Cut but did enjoy seeing both the Original Theatrical and Special Edition cuts again. I forgot how much of a let-down the Special Edition was at the end. It’s sad there wasn’t a theatrical re-release for the anniversary.
It’s nice to see “2001” screening at the Dome. Would it have killed Archlight and AFI to extend it for a weekend? It is the 40th anniversary afterall. They do have 12 other screens to showcase all the other crap. They seem to forget that the Dome is a palace that desrves to host a little royalty beyond one-night stays. The last “classic” to have an extended run(a weekend or more) was “Alien” in 2003. That’s five years ago. Prior to 2002 when it was just the Dome screen, at least a dozen classic films had extended runs every year.I’m talking week-long festivals that coexisted with current studio bookings. And they were always packed. In a span of one year, I saw Apocalypse Now, River Kwai and Close Encounters. You’ve never seen any of those films until you’ve seen them at the Dome. It’s sad that today’s generation can’t experience classic films on its concave screen beyond one night. I don’t know about you but given the choice of screening “Star Wars,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark” or “Lawrence of Arabia” on my 65" TV or on the Dome screen, the Dome wins every time. Archlight prides itself on being the movie lover’s choice. It would be nice if they actually showed movies we love.
Sad to say I saw only one movie there – an advance screening of Just Cause in ‘95. Let’s just say I was more impressed with the theater than the film. Wish I had made it back before the closure. I did see Zodiac and thought it looked familiar.
I have very fond memories of the Plaza III as well – Close Encounters, Superman:The Movie, Popeye, Temple of Doom to name a few. It had a nice lobby with two 180-degree ramp entrances, one on either side of the concession stand, that always made you feel like you were entering someplace special, almost regal. You always hoped the big event movies played at either the Big Newport or the Plaza III. No other theaters in OC even came close. I basically grew up in the dark there over three decades – flicks with my mom in the 70s, school buddies in the 80s and girlfriends in the 90s. Rounders was the last film I saw there shorly before its closure in ‘98. I wish
some independent would take it over, make it special again. Movie lovers would come.