I was in a nostalgic mood this morning so I logged onto CinemaTreasures to once more revisit my forty years in the theatre business when I came across this page for Westwood Cinemas. Westwood will always have a special place in my heart for a childhood friend who I worked with for many years in the theatre business managed it the first dozen or so years it was open.
On this website he went by “wantsomepopcorn” but his name was Robert (Bob) Johnson. Bob was extremely articulate, interesting and had a true passion for the movie theatre business. During my four decades I had the great pleasure of working with many outstanding theatre managers but with no hesitation I tell you Bob was one of the top three managers I ever knew so it is with great sorrow I post that Bob passed away in November 2021.
Bob was the consummate showman and friend who I miss everyday.
The theatre, as well as the entire old Federal Point Shopping Center, was demolished in late 2018 and early 2019. I was there a couple of weeks ago and found new shopping center named the Commons at Federal Point Center which is anchored by a Publix grocery store and several smaller businesses.
I managed this theatre the first four years it was open. Granted it was the typical Stewart & Everett Theatre’s style and color scheme of the 80s but it was a good theatre with several nice features.
In June 1984 there was tremendous excitement about the opening of the theatre by people who lived in and near Carolina Beach but sadly the theatre struggled with low attendance from the very beginning.
The theatre closed 2010 and had become an eyesore so demolition was inevitable Perhaps it doesn’t matter to anyone else but it was a very sad day for me when I saw it was gone.
I spent forty years in the movie theatre business. I saw countless changes in the industry from carbon arc and twenty minutes reels to digital presentation. In my opinion it is a dying industry largely because of the entertainment options that are available to people at home but also because greed on the part of movie stars and theatre owners coupled with the lack of respect theatre owners show their employees particularly theatre managers.
I was in a nostalgic mood this morning so I logged onto CinemaTreasures to once more revisit my forty years in the theatre business when I came across this page for Westwood Cinemas. Westwood will always have a special place in my heart for a childhood friend who I worked with for many years in the theatre business managed it the first dozen or so years it was open. On this website he went by “wantsomepopcorn” but his name was Robert (Bob) Johnson. Bob was extremely articulate, interesting and had a true passion for the movie theatre business. During my four decades I had the great pleasure of working with many outstanding theatre managers but with no hesitation I tell you Bob was one of the top three managers I ever knew so it is with great sorrow I post that Bob passed away in November 2021. Bob was the consummate showman and friend who I miss everyday.
The theatre, as well as the entire old Federal Point Shopping Center, was demolished in late 2018 and early 2019. I was there a couple of weeks ago and found new shopping center named the Commons at Federal Point Center which is anchored by a Publix grocery store and several smaller businesses. I managed this theatre the first four years it was open. Granted it was the typical Stewart & Everett Theatre’s style and color scheme of the 80s but it was a good theatre with several nice features. In June 1984 there was tremendous excitement about the opening of the theatre by people who lived in and near Carolina Beach but sadly the theatre struggled with low attendance from the very beginning. The theatre closed 2010 and had become an eyesore so demolition was inevitable Perhaps it doesn’t matter to anyone else but it was a very sad day for me when I saw it was gone. I spent forty years in the movie theatre business. I saw countless changes in the industry from carbon arc and twenty minutes reels to digital presentation. In my opinion it is a dying industry largely because of the entertainment options that are available to people at home but also because greed on the part of movie stars and theatre owners coupled with the lack of respect theatre owners show their employees particularly theatre managers.