Paramus Picture Show
65 Route 4 West,
Paramus,
NJ
07652
65 Route 4 West,
Paramus,
NJ
07652
9 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 60 comments
Notable for having the smallest Marquee I’d ever seen; most memorably listing the Brook Shields vehicle “Endlslove”
Was Cinema 35 named for the 35mm projector that this theater used?
Can we add Jerry Lewis Cinema to the list of previous names?
No, since the theatre opened with the name Cinema 35. While it was intended to be a Jerry Lewis Cinema, the company went bust before it was opened, hence the name change.
I was the original Frank N Furter and cast director of the Seduction Production, which was the Rocky Horror show at Cinema 35 starting in 1992. We few founding members followed that print of RHPS from a little theater next to the big Shoprite in Oakland, where we met on it’s first night there. We had a trunk full of costumes I’d borrowed from a former Columbia in the Full Body Cast (Boston), and I’d started doing the Rocky thing at 8th St Playhouse when I was 14 so had a good start. I have amazing memories of those times, I used to walk the admissions line in my costume and chat and flirt and fool around – and the shows were always nuts, we knew the film but we didn’t always stick to it, we blew it up all the time! I remember once we had the film just stop all of a sudden, all the house lights came up and we had a fake police “bust” that ended with a strip tease! The venue held 320 people, we sold out 300 tickets often, and kept the first couple of rows for cast use. “No sex in the fire exits, but we’ll see YOU in the parking lot after the show!” Cinema 35 was an awesome place for Rocky madness, they let get away with EVERYTHING, it was mayhem, a REAL Rocky scene, so sexy! The place was trashed by the end of every party – and it really was a party, way more than the stupid movie!!! I moved away from the area in ‘93 and turned over the cast to the cast members, have no idea really what happened after that or where anyone ended up. Anyone who was a part of this and remembers is welcome to contact me, esp if you have pictures or articles, I haven’t got any!!! Lotsa Love!!! …addam…
addambombb(at)gmail(dot)com www.djaddambombb.com
ive been to a vh store, the one in secaucus in the area that used to be the harmon cove quad.
The theater has been converted into a Van Heusen/G.H. Bass & Co. clothing and shoe store. I was there last night. The store seemed surprisingly small to me, given the size of the space they had to work with.
what is the theater right now? I used to go there back when it was a third run theater, they showed James and the Giant Peach and during the movie they stopeed it for a brief intermission in which me and my classmates from junior high (Mrs. Volpe-Densen’s reading class) went to get snacks or the restroom, Once that was over, we went back in, and then before the credits rolled, the movie stopped. It was a good experience that I would never forget. I even saw the infamous Rocky Horror lips poster, even though I haven’t seen much of that movie.
The thing that I always found bizarre was the way the seats were arranged. Each row about 20 seats between the aisles, but on the other side of the aisle theer were only two seats together. It was like watching a movie on an airplane
Oh boy…this takes me back. I used to go to this threatre 4 out of the 5 years Rocky Horror played there. It was so much fun! And the theatre was one of a kind. I miss hanging out there, the people who hung out there, and watch Rocky Horror there. When Rocky move to Teaneck, it just wasn’t the same. Anyone who used to go there from the Rocky crowd from ‘92-'96, email me! ~Kris
Was the best single screen theatre in the area, and how I miss the blue and white decor!!! I remember my parents taking me to see E.T. there when I was 4 years old. The last movie, “21 Grams,” I saw there was right before they changed the venue over to a strictly “Music Only” theatre. Now it is completely gutted and unrecognizible as a theatre as the 35 Plaza is undergoing a expansion and face lift, and the theate is going to become, what else in Paramus…more retail…like we really need it.
History of the independent ownership referenced in the title description:
The Record (Bergen County, NJ), July 3, 1996 pB1
A CINEMATIC REVIVAL; HOLLYWOOD AND CEDAR LANE; SECOND-RUN MOVIE HOUSE GETS FACE LIFT. (BUSINESS) L. Coleman-Lochner.
By L. COLEMAN-LOCHNER, Staff Writer
(Frank) Manis and his wife, Lynn, also own the second-run Cinema 35 in Paramus through their Hudson Amusements organization. ….
Can we add Jerry Lewis Cinema to the list of previous names?
Great article, TC and disheartening as well. I don’t think I need to elaborate why….
The Daily Targum (Rutgers University) – 12/10/04
By John Soltes
The Last Picture Show
Trying to find an independent movie house that plays art and foreign films is difficult in today’s world of giga-plexes. Trying to find an independent music hall where only fringe artists from the past and present perform is even more difficult. However, the ultimate rarity is finding a joint that has both independent films and music acts. Such a place existed, but unfortunately it will close its doors this coming weekend. However, that won’t stop us from looking back at the impact and legacy of the Paramus Picture Show, located in the 35 Plaza on Route 4 in Paramus, New Jersey.
“It’s been in existence since 1973, the various incarnations have been a Jerry Lewis cinema, second-run movie house for a time, then it turned into an art house since the mid to late 90s,” said Paul Casson, co-owner of the PPS.
Casson owns the movie theater-turned-concert hall with his wife Elizabeth Sauer and family members Jennifer Sauer and Rennie Pincus. Although these two couples have only owned the PPS since Nov. 2001, the most extensive changes have taken place under their ownership.
After acquiring the movie house in Nov. 2001, the owners kept it strictly to independent film, housing such fan favorites as Spellbound and The Triplets of Belleville. Then, in Oct. 2003, the PPS started offering both films and live musical acts for a few months. Finally, on Jan. 2, 2004, the PPS went “exclusively with music,” according to Casson. The actual facilities of the PPS are still reminiscent of its movie-theater past. There is still a box office and concession stand, and music-goers still sit in the old movie theater’s seats (all 300 of them).
“We had greater autonomy with what we did with music,” Casson said about why they chose to make this dramatic shift. Since making the transition to music, the PPS has been able to book some major acts in the independent music world. From the David Bromberg Band to Dave Mason to Nils Lofgren, there were many nights when you couldn’t find an open seat among the packed crowd.
“I remember going to some of these shows while I was a teenager on Long Island or coming into the city and seeing David Bromberg,” said Casson, “then, when I was able to actually put on David Bromberg three nights in a row in February. … It was a dream come true.”
However, the transformational ride was not always smooth sailing for this mere music venue on buzzing Route 4 in Bergen County, New Jersey. Economics eventually caught up with the four owners, who still look at their accomplishments as a success. “I’ve been getting a lot of calls since we put this out to the general public that we’re closing down,” Casson said, “the majority of the people that are calling me are the blues fans. … They’re asking what I can do [to save the PPS]”.
However, the 35 Plaza where the PPS is housed, is undergoing an expansion and façade makeover, and thus, rent is skyrocketing. However, Casson said, “It was never about the money, it was about the love.”
One of the best memories Casson said he will have from the entire experience is how the community embraced the PPS and even wholeheartedly contributed to its success. From Tower Records to the Ramada Inn, “you can’t say enough about the community,” Casson said.
With the adage, “All good things must come to an end,” in mind, the PPS will officially close its doors Monday Dec. 13. However, before the spotlights go out for the last time, Jen Chapin, Dean Friedman, Peter Karp and others will perform a concert for World Hunger Year Dec. 11. Tickets are still available for $20 and can be purchased online at www.paramuspictureshow.com
In addition, Paul, Elizabeth, Jennifer and Rennie all hope to be back on the independent music scene soon enough, in some incarnation. Therefore, if you wish to follow the travails of the PPS as it embarks on a location change, visit the aforementioned Web site to join its mailing list.
Film, not movies. Music, not mainstream. These were the qualities PPS based its existence on. Even though its time has been cut short, the PPS owners will end a bumpy year on a high note knowing they stuck to their principles. Casson sums up their run at the PPS saying, “We will be forever grateful to have had this experience.”
And now the Cinema 35 is completely gone….
The Record (Bergen County, NJ), Oct 26, 1996 pY3
‘ROCKY HORROR’ CHANGES TOWNS; AFTER FIVE YEARS OF RICE SHOWERS IN PARAMUS, THE TIME WARP MOVES TO TEANECK.
Full Text: COPYRIGHT 1996 Bergen Record Corp.
By EMILY WAX, Staff Writer
For more than five years, scores of teenagers and twentysomethings did the time warp at midnight showings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at Cinema 35 in Paramus.
Starting tonight, the action moves to the Teaneck 3 Theatre on Cedar Lane. Opening-night festivities begin at 10:30. …….
As long as I have lived in northern NJ, there was no marquee on Route 4 showing what was playing here. There was a marquee showing that there was a theater, just not what was playing. This did not make much sense but Paramus has some very strict ordinances with regards to the signage. Probably the owners had to choose between showing the name of the theater or what was showing but not both.
When this was Cinema 35 I remember a small marquee on the road.
Absolutely right! There was no way that you could find this theatre by yourself while trying to negotiate the heavy traffic on Route 4.
rhett: I agree with you completely. I only saw one film there and while it was not horrible, it stuck in my mind enough that I did not want to go back there. There’s a theater in Washington Township that’s in better shape and shows somewhat of the same “art” programs.
I think if the place had been just a little nicer with better sound (where the HELL was the speaker? Behind the screen? That’s what it sounded like to me…) it would’ve done better. The location certainly wasn’t what held it back.
One other thing that I think really held this theater down. They didn’t have any kind of marquee on the sign on Route 4 telling you what was playing there. I thought this was really dumb. What is it, some kind of absurd Paramus zoning law? I’d drive by it and crane my next quickly to see what was playing there but because the theater was in the back and the sign faced east, it was nearly impossible (not to mention dangerous) to look for it. Very stupid. I know it might not have been the theater’s fault but that didn’t help.
Sorry to learn of the closing. Saw Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage there.
The reason I believe the Paramus picture show never took off was because of the theater itself. It had the same old seating from when it opened. The lighting was drab and dank and very dark which gave the place a seedy feel. Sometimes, the heating or AC wouldn’t work…The screen was a good size for a smaller theater but it was dirty and the projection was extrememly poor. I saw The Pianist there, couldn’t see a thing. The soind was 1 channel mono, they never updated with Dolby.
A
Although it was the only place to see Art/Foreign films, …who went to see them??? Yes, there were some good houses but they could’ve used the theater for more…Example: Wouldn’t it have been great if they showed a Classic film series there just as The Lafayette does, I BET it would have been great…but the owners didn’t put anything in to the theater, advertising or programming….Overall, it was a nice theater…with a little update and upkeep it could have been used for alot more…So, the wrecking ball got another one…another victory for multiplexes, bad movies and teen audiences.
Status needs to be updated to closed.
The theater closed, with a concert benefiting World Hunger Year, on December 12, 2004.
Don’t know for a fact but I think this place is either going or gone. The large strip mall where this is/was(?) located is going through what looks like a MAJOR renovation. From what I have seen from Route 4, the corner area where the Paramus Picture Show was looks gutted.
Why an art house could not survive in Bergen country is beyond me. You have an affluent, educated populace (mostly) with a close proximity to NYC. You would think one would do very well in Bergen.