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This topic comprises 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6
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Topic: Theatre Websites.
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Jeffry L. Johnson
Jedi Master Film Handler
Posts: 809
From: Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Registered: Apr 2000
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posted 10-03-2003 10:14 PM
Back in 2001 November I posted here about Madstone Theaters reopening the Centrum Theater in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
On 2003 September 30 Madstone closed the theater.
Centrum closes, citing lack of cafe, screens and parking
10/02/03
Julie E. Washington
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Madstone Centrum Theater, which opened in 2001 to show independent films and offer innovative programming, has gone dark.
The Cleveland Heights theater screened its last movie Tuesday, said Eda Kapsis, head of marketing, branding and publicity for Madstone Theaters. She cited the lack of a lobby cafe, too few screens and not enough parking as reasons for the closing.
"All three of the elements were really big issues for us," Kapsis said by phone from Madstone's New York headquarters. Fourteen employees lost their jobs.
Having only three screens limited the number of films that could be shown. The theater also had to partner with restaurants for special programs because there was almost no seating in the lobby, Kapsis said.
Madstone Centrum was the first theater in the Madstone chain, which now includes theaters in nine cities. The other Madstone theaters have at least six screens and cafes that seat up to 40 patrons, Kapsis said.
Madstone Centrum took over the Coventry theater in December 2001 after the Centrum closed in 2000. Management promised to offer independent films and form partnerships with Cleveland's arts and cultural community.
But in early June, Madstone announced it was switching from art-house films to mainstream fare in an attempt to boost attendance. Its last offerings in cluded "The Fighting Temptations" and "Underworld."
Landlord Charles Zuchowski said he's looking for more information about the situation. He said he has no plans for the building at this time. "I'm totally in shock. I thought they were doing well," Zuchowski said. "I don't know what their plans are."
Coventry merchants already have put up with a summer of bad weather and street renovations that disrupted pedestrian and street traffic, said Steve Presser, owner of Big Fun nostalgia shop on Coventry.
"It's very frustrating. It's a shame," Presser said about Madstone's closing.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jwashington@plaind.com, 216-999-4539
© 2003 The Plain Dealer.
Film folks come up with some suggestions for saving the Centrum
10/03/03
What if you ran the just-closed Madstone Centrum theater?
That was the question put to a few members of the film community in the wake of the Madstone's closing on Tuesday. For the past several years, the theater has suffered through closings as various owners tried to come up with a winning formula for the Cleveland Heights theater.
Here are a few fresh ideas:
Louis Giannetti, professor emeritus at Case Western Reserve University and author of "Understanding Movies": Hire Cleveland Cinemas president and founder Jonathan Forman or Cleveland Cinematheque director John Ewing to run it. Forman "has a knack for taking dead places and bringing them to life," Giannetti said. Make it unique by offering films to appeal to a Coventry, hippie kind of crowd.
Filmmaker and Cleveland Institute of Art assistant professor Kasumi: Program short films, low- budget independent films and European fare. "Make it a permanent home for the Cinematheque."
Annetta Marion, co-artistic director of Independent Pictures (via e-mail): "It's not about great films (which Madstone had), it's about educating the Cleveland public that great films are worth seeing. Great films aren't just the ones the public easily hears about from the big festivals and the big PR/marketing campaigns."
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jwashington@plaind.com, 216-999-4539
© 2003 The Plain Dealer.
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Gave me some great ideas.
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