Comments from PeterApruzzese

Showing 326 - 350 of 685 comments

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Newton Theatre on May 16, 2008 at 8:05 pm

I don’t know, Justin. I’m not involved with the theatres on a day-to-day basis.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Newton Theatre on May 16, 2008 at 4:53 pm

It’ll be playing on Friday nights for now.

Here’s an article in yesterday’s NJ Herald about the re-opening:
View link

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Newton Theatre on May 15, 2008 at 1:57 am

Opens Friday 5/16 with Narnia: Prince Caspian on one side and Baby Mama on the other; Indiana Jones starts May 22. If the showtimes don’t hit the papers or online listings, call the info hotline at 973-300-4600.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about State Theatre on May 6, 2008 at 4:35 pm

My mistake, it was 1993 that we were at the State. It was about to be shuttered when we came to town… :)

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about State Theatre on May 6, 2008 at 4:33 pm

Hey, Bill.

We briefly ran classic films here when Nelson was involved with the place in 1991. You should have seen Spartacus, it was only 35mm but looked great!

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Newton Theatre on May 5, 2008 at 7:35 pm

The plan for now is Narnia on the 16th and Indy on the 22nd.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Lafayette Theatre on Apr 28, 2008 at 2:59 pm

Thanks for noticing, Bill. It was a great show, even if I couldn’t enjoy it much due to the late arrival of the print (getting a print 2 hours before show time is not doing my blood pressure any good…)

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Apr 23, 2008 at 4:02 pm

‘Recently Restored’ as stated in the link would mean it’s a new print, so it wouldn’t have been a dye-transfer Technicolor print. It probably looked great if they took the time to make the print the best they could. I’ve showed new prints (“Brides of Dracula” comes to mind first) that looked as good as a Technicolor print.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Lafayette Theatre on Apr 20, 2008 at 5:12 pm

Exactly! When is the next film show down at the Basie? I’ve never been there and would love to come down if it’s something showing via film. Shoot me an e-mail to “bigscreenclassics AT gmail.com” when you can.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Lafayette Theatre on Apr 20, 2008 at 4:54 pm

Rhett & Jeff –

I was able to watch the last 20 minutes or so from the top row and I could also hear the phones, more than ever. My guess is that people were waiting outside to pick up the seniors and calling them to see if the movie was still on. That’s no excuse, of course. I will mention to Nelson to please say something during the intro next week about turning off cell phones before the show. Some sort of “phones off now” ritual. :)

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Apr 17, 2008 at 5:39 pm

I’m amazed they made it through 1987 alive, look at that lineup of junk!

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Apr 16, 2008 at 2:52 pm

Interviews in 1981 with Spielberg indicated that he saw the character as a variant on Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre).

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Lafayette Theatre on Apr 13, 2008 at 7:31 pm

Hi, Gary.

I’m glad you made it out and enjoyed the show. You came on a good day as we had the special lobby poster display from the movie and you got to see the “deluxe” presentation with trailer and curtain features, as well as walk-out music after the film.

Please introduce yourself next time you come out – I’m usually in the lobby before the show.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Newton Theatre on Apr 5, 2008 at 10:30 pm

Hi, Peter –

Should be before the end of April. The guys are still cleaning up and refurbishing the place. The marquee got hit by a truck on Thursday, so that needs to be repaired as well.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:03 pm

If I’d been there, they’d have had to physically stop me from trying to do that, Bill. I nearly got thrown out of the Bergen Mall Cinema back in ‘89 when they couldn’t/wouldn’t fix the focus during a Star Trek V/ Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade double feature.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about More 3-D films coming on Apr 4, 2008 at 8:17 pm

I hope you’ll get a chance as most of them look exceptionally good if the projection is correct. I’ll be showing some again – probably next year – at the Lafayette in Suffern. I imagine there will also be a third World 3D Expo in LA at some point.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about More 3-D films coming on Apr 4, 2008 at 5:19 pm

“single”

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about More 3-D films coming on Apr 4, 2008 at 5:18 pm

Properly projected double system polarized 3-D – the way every songle one of the golden age films from the 50s were made and shown (the article linked above is hideously incorrect about the process) is not “bad”. LIM – you must not have ever seen one.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Is a free movie theater feasible? on Apr 4, 2008 at 5:15 pm

Generally, the studios do not waive exhibition rights payments even if you do not charge admission. In fact, since they also get a percentage of your box office, they will charge you more in a flat rate if you aren’t selling tickets. Whatever you do, please don’t show anything without clearing it and paying for it – the studios will never service you if they find out that you’ve done so.

Cost to obtain repertory prints can vary anywhere from $150 to $500 or more, plus shipping both ways. And you’ll have to sign a master agreement personally with every studio you want to do business with. I would suggest you contact a local film booker who can advise you better – go to www.bigscreenbiz.com for more info on bookers.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Roxy Theatre on Apr 2, 2008 at 8:29 pm

Hi, Vito – in your 4/1 post above you wrote, “In a situation where a theatre had only one curtain, when we showed a flat picture on the scope screen we would not open the curtain all the way, stopping it just after the edge of the image.”

When we first took over the Lafayette in Suffern back in 2002, there was no masking. By the time we started running classics as part of our line-up in early 2003, we still didn’t have masking so I used that exact same method with the curtain for running Academy ratio films until our new screen and masking went in a few months later. What goes around, comes around…

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about How to purchase/rent films? on Apr 2, 2008 at 4:25 pm

You have your theatre’s film booker contact the repertory divisions of the various studios. Terms and conditions for every studio vary, so you’re best off using a pro rather than trying to do it yourself. You can find bookers at www.bigscreenbiz.com .

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Radio City Music Hall on Apr 2, 2008 at 12:18 am

Bosley Crowther’s New York Times review is dated 9/25/64 (“opened at the Music Hall”)

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about $35 tickets for luxury movie theater on Mar 31, 2008 at 10:07 pm

According to the CPI calculator, a $3 movie ticket in 1975 (which would have been on the upper end for first-run, IIRC) would be $11.80 today.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about AMC Rockaway 16 on Mar 27, 2008 at 1:56 am

In the case of AMC (as with most large chains), the district office or national booking office submits showtimes to the various services that then syndicate them to Moviefone, movietickets.com, Fandango, the newspapers, etc.

PeterApruzzese
PeterApruzzese commented about Radio City Music Hall on Mar 26, 2008 at 8:23 pm

Yes, Lady Vanishes was from his Gaumont British studio days.