Comments from muviebuf

Showing 126 - 150 of 207 comments

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Roxy Theatre on Mar 28, 2011 at 2:14 am

An interesting photo of the Roxy Northampton when it was originally called The Lyric can be found here:

[url]http://cgi.ebay.com/MC-Call-Photo-Northampton-Borough-PA-Lyric-Theater-/250792224789?pt=Art_Photo_Images&hash=item3a6461a815[/url]

Also note that the Roxy’s marquee was feature in the opening title credit sequence of the 1992 “School Ties” which featured Brendon Frazier and Matt Damon. As the car drives by you can see the title “Rebel Without A Cause” listed on the marquee.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about AMC headquarters may be moving on Mar 9, 2011 at 8:38 pm

And I guess AMC needs all the tax breaks it can get having recently over loaded with executive and management personnel.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about AMC headquarters may be moving on Mar 9, 2011 at 8:34 pm

In this country the whole concept of credits for job creation has been perverted. What we have created is a massive shell game.

While there is nothing wrong with tax credits for the creation of new jobs or positions which did not previously exist (or even to retain jobs that might go overseas), what happens in most cases (such as here with AMC) is that you are not creating any NEW jobs but rather just emptying one office tower to fill another one with the same employees down the road (or across the state line) in another jurisdiction. Corporations play one community against another in a bidding war – with the losers being the taxpayers in the communities whose leaders have bargained away the local tax revenues so these leaders can get re-elected by claiming they have “created jobs” or “saved jobs” as the case may be.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about $1.5 million in grants to aid conversion of Colonnade Theater into playhouse on Feb 28, 2011 at 4:55 pm

I am certain that the state help provided by Sue Helm was a reward for her supporters in the Millsburg area which helped her just squeek by challenger Gene Stilip last November. If I remember correctly it looked like Stilip was going to win until last minute late returns came in from the Millsburg area northern party of Dauphin County.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about $1.5 million in grants to aid conversion of Colonnade Theater into playhouse on Feb 23, 2011 at 4:21 pm

I am not sure how this one passes the smell test.

Pennsylvania is facing a multi billion dollar budget deficit for the fiscal year ending June 2011 and an even bigger one for the year beginning July 01, 2100 caused in large part due to large increases in legislator and teacher pensions. Governor Corbett will be laying off hundreds of state workers.

Dauphin County is facing a major fiscal crises due to Commissioner Jeff Haste’s having signed the county as guarantor on the City of Harrisburg’s failed incinerator retrofit project such that that the county is on the hook for over 100 million dollars of the City of Harrisburg’s debt. Since the City of Harrisburg is bankrupt the taxes of everyone in Dauphin County will go up to pay for that one. In a desperate attempt to buy votes before the May primary for his re-election attempt Haste gave the funds for the Millsburg Theatre to buy votes in the northern part of the Dauphin County.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Rochester's Chateau 14 closes suddenly on Feb 4, 2011 at 1:05 am

Sure hope the former employees get paid.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Four screen theater proposed for Mansfield on Jan 25, 2011 at 8:51 pm

Just where does Pennsylvania – currently facing a multi-billion dollar budget deficit for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 have three million dollars in grant money for a multi-plex theatre? I need to talk to my legistators.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Warner Theatre on Jan 5, 2011 at 2:32 am

When Stanley Warner closed the Warner and gave up the lease it was at that time also operating the Colonial down the street. They did not want to bother to take out the seats at the Warner, however in order to make it more difficult for someone to come and resume operations at the Warner they had a small bobcat come in and bulldoze and knock over all the seats in the auditorium so that it could not be easily reused as movie theatre. That the way business was done in those days. Gene Plank from the Embassy showed me the pictures of the bobcat plowing down the seats.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about AMC Colonial Commons 9 on Nov 29, 2010 at 6:26 pm

Mark this one closed as of November 28, 2010. It was ironically a victim of its own success.

When it opened in May 1991 the Central Pennsylvania theatre market consisted only of aging twins and older outdated theatres – most of which had poor presentations.

The staggering boxoffice success of the Colonial Commons over the next five years sparked a multiplex building frenzy such that between 1997 and 2007 the Central Pennsylvania market became so vastly overscreened that no one was making any money.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Happy 55th, Todd-AO & "Oklahoma!" on Oct 13, 2010 at 10:42 pm

The 70MM Todd-AO version of “Oklahoma” was the opening attraction at the Shoppingtown in Syracuse NY when the theatre debuted I believe in late 1957.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about AMC plans to file $450 million IPO this year on Aug 20, 2010 at 3:53 pm

The first time that AMC went public it sold a lot of its shares to its employees and their retirement plans. AMC then wanted to take itself private and tried to squeeze its shareholders. The whole mess resulted in a myriad of class action lawsuits.

Be afraid. Those that don’t learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Cinema North on Jul 1, 2010 at 2:14 am

The Cinema North opened in December 1965 with “Do Not Disturb” with Doris Day and Rod Taylor.

It is a true testament to how cheap the Slotnicks were that they built this nice nearly 800 shopping center theatre and then put old time used E-7 projection equipment in it.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about "Jaws"... Happy 35th! on Jun 18, 2010 at 11:01 pm

The movie that I remember as being the first really wide release with TV ad blockbuster was the Godfather in March of 1972.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about "Jaws"... Happy 35th! on Jun 18, 2010 at 11:01 pm

The movie that I remember as being the first really wide release with TV ad blockbuster was the Godfather in March of 1972.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Theater reuse project on Apr 27, 2010 at 4:10 pm

You might want to look at and perhaps contact the Lakeview Cinema in Galeton Pennsylvania which is a multi function facility and movie theatre converted from a Baptist Church

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Haar's Drive-In on Apr 25, 2010 at 10:23 pm

Looks like they have decided to put some money into the placeZ:

[url]http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/04/haars_drive-in_near_dillsburg.html[/url]

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Harrisburg Drive-In on Mar 6, 2010 at 12:03 am

Actually in this case the land was never sold for development of a shopping center. Instead the owners of the drive-in developed the shopping center themselves and I believe those fellows still own and manage that shopping center today.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Fox North Theatre on Mar 4, 2010 at 5:28 pm

If I recall correctly the original manager of the Fox was Paul Angstadt who later became mayor of Reading.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Fox North Theatre on Mar 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm

If I recall correctly the chief projectionist at the Fox was Red Gift. The Fox Theatre was built and operated by Fox Theatres of Reading PA.

At that time Fox Theatres of Reading was a weak sister in the Reading market. The Reading market was considered by the distributors at that time to be part of the Philadelphia territory and thus Fox was competing for product with the Colonial (Stanley Warner), the Embassy (Fabian), the Astor (William Goldman) and later the Eric (Sameric). All of these major chains had a large presence in Philadelphia and product was often split and pictures were often ‘blocked booked’ based upon a chain’s control of what was happening in Philadelphia. Shince Fox Theatres of Reading did not have any venues in Philadelphia they often struggled to get pictures for the Fox in Reading despite being a premium 70MM house.

I remember at one time the Fox was reduced to playing Deep Throat in 1972 for lack of product. Although the Fox did play Star Wars for over a year, it was then unable to secure “Empire Strikes Back” which played across the street on one side of the Eric bowling alley twin in mono sound while the 70MM Fox played some third rate piece of junk in 35mm. According to what we were told at the time Empire had been block booked into all of the Sameric theatres in the Philadelphia territory which is why the Fox could not get Empire.

Despite being a premiere 70MM house the

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about State Theatre on Feb 20, 2010 at 4:25 pm

The last time I was there several years ago one of the small sculpted marble wall decorations in the form of a fountain from the State Theatre was mounted on the entrance wall of the PA Rural Electric Building which now sits on the site.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Dillsburg Theatre on Feb 11, 2010 at 2:44 pm

There was also an separate indoor auditorium (not part of the Drive-in) as part of the Haars complex off the Siddonsburg Road. It has movable wooden chairs and still exists today.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Southeast's Georgia Theaters select Christie's DLP Cinema Projectors on Dec 18, 2009 at 5:18 pm

They blast fax/email these press releases to just about anyone having anything to do with the Cinema.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Christie's DLP Cinema notches another customer win on Dec 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm

More free advertising (spam) in the guise of press release.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Christie's DLP Cinema notches another customer win on Dec 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm

More free advertising (spam) in the guise of press release.

muviebuf
muviebuf commented about Happy 50th, "Sleeping Beauty" on Nov 3, 2009 at 9:33 pm

At the Eckel in Syracuse NY they took out the Baker (center) Cinerama projector and installed a set of 70MM projectors which came from a theatre in Buffalo NY just for Sleeping Beauty.