In looking at Ed Solero’s ad on the top of the page, I see 2 theatres in New Jersey that I actually worked at as a projectionist years ago. The Ritz in Elizabeth and the Royal in Perth Amboy, where my father also worked, and I was working the last day it was opened, July 13, 1988.
Not for long. You see moviebuff, they are just preparing you for the inevitable. When everyone else is done putting in digital, they are going to be forced to raise their prices to help offset the cost. AMC is merely getting an early jump on things, thats all.
I started work as an usher/doorman in June 1977 at the GCC Woodbridge Cinema, but after a month ended up 5 miles down the road at the Menlo Park Twin, where Star Wars was in full gear. I remember the endless lines that snaked back to the park a few hundred feet away. But the one thing that amazed me was in December, on the saturday before christmas, in its final week, as we were opening “Close Encounters” the following week, this movie sold out all 4 shows for the day, filling all 800 seats in the theatre. For me, an 18 year old, who was also learning and doing part time projection, this is something I shall never see again. Truely a great time in our industry.
Well optimist008, John Fink, and everyone else, looks like the final nail in my coffin as the remaining digital equipment was delivered yesterday to my theatre. I figure one month from now and that’s it for me. At least I’ll have the projection job at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank where we show old movies once a month. It will be interesting what does end up happening to Clearview, whether it goes as a whole, or in bits and pieces.
Hello optimist008, how are you? You probably know me better as movie534. I cant figure out how to get that to show up instead of markp. Not very computer savvy. It looks as if my theatre will be all digital in the coming weeks, so Im out of a job. 36 years as a full time projectionist gone.
To me John, and I guess Im partial, one of the best theatres they had in Jersey was the Middlebrook Galleria in Ocean Twp. It was built from the ground up, all projectors were line of sight, and the pictures were always sharp, in focus and apertures were cut perfect. Of course it helped that I was the projectionist there from shortly after it opened (it opened in late 94, I got there in early 95) until Clearview got rid of the union in 2004. I do know what your talking about regarding many of their sites. I was the screen cleaner for many years again until 2004 when they ceased doing business with me. The Middlebrook theatre, while not stadium, did not have a problem with sound bleed over. And my partner and I (he was 82 in 2004) kept that booth like a hospital ward. We never had dirt or scratches on the film. Everyone who ever saw the booth and the theatre were amazed. I met my second wife there. But as with other business, upper management always seem to keep the idiots and get rid of the people who cared. I heard from people who went to my old theatre after I left the projection had gone way down hill. They wont go anymore. They all trek up to the AMC in monmouth mall. So yes its gonna be a hard sell to get rid of this chain.
markp
commented about
Cinema 46on
May 3, 2012 at 12:18 pm
There was a story many years ago about this theatre, dont know how true it was, that when they played the first ever Sensurround movie, Earthquake, that some of the ceiling tiles actually fell out of the ceiling. I dont know if this happened, as I was only 15 at the time and heard people talking about it.
Wood theatres at one time had 6 theatres: Old Rahway (now Union County Performing Arts Center), Linden Twin (later 5), Lost Picture Show in Union, Strand in Summit, Verona Theatre and the Jersey (later Morristown Triplex). I worked at both Rahway and Linden many years ago.
mdvoskin, I am wondering, with all theatres being forced to convert to digital, will you still be able to purchase carbon rods, or will that too be a thing of the past, like 35mm is soon to be?
Only this time muviebuf, its much more expensive. At least the equipment they installed in the 50’s and 60’s lasted for all these years. This digital crap they’re putting in is outdated within a few months, and you either have to pay for upgrades, or buy new.
Just a question, but with all this talk of digital replacing film, and I know because its putting me out of a job by years end, I hear that eventually even these older movies will not be available on film, will the Jersey be getting a digital projector in due time? And another question, I love carbon arc, its what I started out on in the mid 70’s, but will rods still be available once the whole digital conversion takes place across the country?
Still waiting, still hoping this place can get into the hands of someone who can really bring it back to life. Concerts, Broadway shows, movies, opera. I know this place can do well. People said the same thing about New Brunswick and Newark, and look at the venues they now have.
Its too bad we will never see 70mm again, now that all movies (I cant call them FILMS if they are digital) are going digital. The last film I personally projected in 70mm was in 1989, “The Abyss”
Just curious, my dad worked in a Jerry Lewis Twin from 1972 thru 1985. The color scheme was Blue in Cinema 1, Red in Cinema 2. How did they do it in a 3 screen theatre? And did they use dual projection 6000' reel operation in all 3 booths?
Drove by the theatre yesterday on my way to the Count Basie Theatre. There is a “For Sale, 20+ acres” sign on the boarded up marquee. I guess thats truly the end for this theatre. Wouldnt a nice 4 screen drive-in look good over there? Just sayin.
Hi Vito. Mark P. here, or as I was known before the new CT, movie534. Hope you are well. My wife is going to be working the show again as wardrobe, and got a letter detailing the changes to the show. My guess would be they got a digital projector installed, but thats just a guess. She will find out more when she goes in on the 31st.
I’ve never been good at math, but 1172 and 1214 sure dont add up to 3327. Looking at that beautiful photo on the intro and reading the intro, a lot of seats must have been lost, presumably downstairs. I went to this theatre when I was in 2nd grade to see “Doctor Doolittle” I remember our school group was upstairs.
Actually DARCYDT, your going to find more and more problems like what you had yesterday in the future. Whereas in the past with film, a projectionist like myself (36 years) would have spare parts and be able to fix things in an hour or two. Where I work now in NJ we have 3 digitals so far and during the summer one was down for over a week. What went was called a “light engiene” and they go for mucho dollars. In my theatre it was $25,000.00 And it had to be ordered. And they said ours was already extinct, and the equipment is only 1.5 years old. This digital projection is not going to be good as the years go one. Ever changing technology and costs are going to make the AMC’s and Regals see the error of their ways.
Article in todays Star Ledger reported that the permit was issued on Monday, and hours later heavy equipment was there tearing it down. Very very sad indeed.
Hey Justin, is this you, moviebuff82? On the old site it showed your name. And now mine shows up as MarkP instead of movie534 and I dont know how to change it back
In looking at Ed Solero’s ad on the top of the page, I see 2 theatres in New Jersey that I actually worked at as a projectionist years ago. The Ritz in Elizabeth and the Royal in Perth Amboy, where my father also worked, and I was working the last day it was opened, July 13, 1988.
Not for long. You see moviebuff, they are just preparing you for the inevitable. When everyone else is done putting in digital, they are going to be forced to raise their prices to help offset the cost. AMC is merely getting an early jump on things, thats all.
I started work as an usher/doorman in June 1977 at the GCC Woodbridge Cinema, but after a month ended up 5 miles down the road at the Menlo Park Twin, where Star Wars was in full gear. I remember the endless lines that snaked back to the park a few hundred feet away. But the one thing that amazed me was in December, on the saturday before christmas, in its final week, as we were opening “Close Encounters” the following week, this movie sold out all 4 shows for the day, filling all 800 seats in the theatre. For me, an 18 year old, who was also learning and doing part time projection, this is something I shall never see again. Truely a great time in our industry.
Well optimist008, John Fink, and everyone else, looks like the final nail in my coffin as the remaining digital equipment was delivered yesterday to my theatre. I figure one month from now and that’s it for me. At least I’ll have the projection job at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank where we show old movies once a month. It will be interesting what does end up happening to Clearview, whether it goes as a whole, or in bits and pieces.
Hello optimist008, how are you? You probably know me better as movie534. I cant figure out how to get that to show up instead of markp. Not very computer savvy. It looks as if my theatre will be all digital in the coming weeks, so Im out of a job. 36 years as a full time projectionist gone.
To me John, and I guess Im partial, one of the best theatres they had in Jersey was the Middlebrook Galleria in Ocean Twp. It was built from the ground up, all projectors were line of sight, and the pictures were always sharp, in focus and apertures were cut perfect. Of course it helped that I was the projectionist there from shortly after it opened (it opened in late 94, I got there in early 95) until Clearview got rid of the union in 2004. I do know what your talking about regarding many of their sites. I was the screen cleaner for many years again until 2004 when they ceased doing business with me. The Middlebrook theatre, while not stadium, did not have a problem with sound bleed over. And my partner and I (he was 82 in 2004) kept that booth like a hospital ward. We never had dirt or scratches on the film. Everyone who ever saw the booth and the theatre were amazed. I met my second wife there. But as with other business, upper management always seem to keep the idiots and get rid of the people who cared. I heard from people who went to my old theatre after I left the projection had gone way down hill. They wont go anymore. They all trek up to the AMC in monmouth mall. So yes its gonna be a hard sell to get rid of this chain.
Yes, that is indeed 70MM film.
There was a story many years ago about this theatre, dont know how true it was, that when they played the first ever Sensurround movie, Earthquake, that some of the ceiling tiles actually fell out of the ceiling. I dont know if this happened, as I was only 15 at the time and heard people talking about it.
Wood theatres at one time had 6 theatres: Old Rahway (now Union County Performing Arts Center), Linden Twin (later 5), Lost Picture Show in Union, Strand in Summit, Verona Theatre and the Jersey (later Morristown Triplex). I worked at both Rahway and Linden many years ago.
mdvoskin, I am wondering, with all theatres being forced to convert to digital, will you still be able to purchase carbon rods, or will that too be a thing of the past, like 35mm is soon to be?
Oh how you hit the nail on the head moviebuff82. Give that man a cigar.
Only this time muviebuf, its much more expensive. At least the equipment they installed in the 50’s and 60’s lasted for all these years. This digital crap they’re putting in is outdated within a few months, and you either have to pay for upgrades, or buy new.
Just a question, but with all this talk of digital replacing film, and I know because its putting me out of a job by years end, I hear that eventually even these older movies will not be available on film, will the Jersey be getting a digital projector in due time? And another question, I love carbon arc, its what I started out on in the mid 70’s, but will rods still be available once the whole digital conversion takes place across the country?
Still waiting, still hoping this place can get into the hands of someone who can really bring it back to life. Concerts, Broadway shows, movies, opera. I know this place can do well. People said the same thing about New Brunswick and Newark, and look at the venues they now have.
Its too bad we will never see 70mm again, now that all movies (I cant call them FILMS if they are digital) are going digital. The last film I personally projected in 70mm was in 1989, “The Abyss”
Just curious, my dad worked in a Jerry Lewis Twin from 1972 thru 1985. The color scheme was Blue in Cinema 1, Red in Cinema 2. How did they do it in a 3 screen theatre? And did they use dual projection 6000' reel operation in all 3 booths?
Drove by the theatre yesterday on my way to the Count Basie Theatre. There is a “For Sale, 20+ acres” sign on the boarded up marquee. I guess thats truly the end for this theatre. Wouldnt a nice 4 screen drive-in look good over there? Just sayin.
Hi Vito. Mark P. here, or as I was known before the new CT, movie534. Hope you are well. My wife is going to be working the show again as wardrobe, and got a letter detailing the changes to the show. My guess would be they got a digital projector installed, but thats just a guess. She will find out more when she goes in on the 31st.
I’ve never been good at math, but 1172 and 1214 sure dont add up to 3327. Looking at that beautiful photo on the intro and reading the intro, a lot of seats must have been lost, presumably downstairs. I went to this theatre when I was in 2nd grade to see “Doctor Doolittle” I remember our school group was upstairs.
Actually DARCYDT, your going to find more and more problems like what you had yesterday in the future. Whereas in the past with film, a projectionist like myself (36 years) would have spare parts and be able to fix things in an hour or two. Where I work now in NJ we have 3 digitals so far and during the summer one was down for over a week. What went was called a “light engiene” and they go for mucho dollars. In my theatre it was $25,000.00 And it had to be ordered. And they said ours was already extinct, and the equipment is only 1.5 years old. This digital projection is not going to be good as the years go one. Ever changing technology and costs are going to make the AMC’s and Regals see the error of their ways.
Article in todays Star Ledger reported that the permit was issued on Monday, and hours later heavy equipment was there tearing it down. Very very sad indeed.
True Mike Rogers. But I dont think there were that many around yet in 1977. LOL.
Hey Justin, is this you, moviebuff82? On the old site it showed your name. And now mine shows up as MarkP instead of movie534 and I dont know how to change it back
Isnt there always something shady in these deals???
Im sorry my above comment was supposed to be directed towards LuisV. This is why one should never do these things when half asleep. Sorry.