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Author Topic: Best chains to work for. Mostly morale related. Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 12-19-2003 06:17 PM                    quote: Interestingly I service the Star of that films theatre! Bruce Willis!? Alright gotta tell us what he uses.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-19-2003 07:41 PM                     Ok, Its the Liberty theatre in Hailey,ID. Bruce literally owns a square block of Hailey plus the threatre and his ranch. There is a Night Club called the Mint, and a diner called Shorty's(where I eat breakfast every morning when I'm there). The construction(actually call it re-construction) block at the top center of the building housing the Diner and The Mint has the name B.Willis and the remodel date on it....can't remember the date exactly but I think early 90's. The booth has a pair of Christie P-35GP's mounted on Christie SLC consoles. Kelmar Deluxe automation has been adapted to do automated x-overs and they do run one hour reels there. No platter was installed. A DTS 6D feeds an Ultra Stereo Proccessor driving QSC 1400 Amps. This in turn feeds the speakers. A 35 foot wide Harkness Roll down screen hangs above the stage and is lowered from either the booth or on stage. The booth originally also had an FP-18 installed as well but its no longer there. Being in the proximity of Ketchum which has 7 screens and the Sun Vallry resort with theor single screen booking films into Hailey just 11 miles to the south of Sun Valley is a bit of a problem sometimes. This theatre actually does more live theatre than it runs film. I think it runs film about 20 weeks out of the year. The rest of the time its live. Bruce has been in quite a few of the plays and such. The Live Theatre Production Companys name is "Company Of Fools". BTW: Demi signs the checks for all the service work we do there and all of Bruces new films open there. The folks that manage the theatre also manage the live part and are very nice to work with. Here is a link tot he Cinema Treasures listing with a photo. http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2757/ Mark @ CLACO  |  IP: Logged Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 12-21-2003 11:42 AM                    Friends...don't let friends...install Christies? Hehehe...j/k. Re: Sun Valley: That reminds me that time we watched Sun Valley Serenade on TV while on some out of town installation job and puzzling about about the black ice in the skating scenes. I think we concluded it may have been black under the ice but mostly it was a reflection of the backdrop caused by a very thin layer of liquid water on top of the ice (could see the ripplies behind the skaters) which made it reflect like a mirror. Seems to me a thread about best chains to work for and morale ought to merge with the thread about the in-theatre staff orgy awhile back.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-21-2003 12:58 PM                     Actually the P35 really does put out a very decent picture. As long as it has the single blade shutter conversion with the hardened steel pulleys....well, I've converted all but Bruces projectors out here in the Mountain States. Of course we make ALOT of money keeping all those Christie P35's out here running the very dry air out here calls for very frequent bearing replacement. Even rubber sealed bearings last only for about a year or a little longer. The projectionist at one Christie location made an interesting observation to me the other day....he said...before you guys were servicing these we had to shout in the booth to be heard over the racket of the machines when all the theatres were running....now, finally, I can sit and read a book and hear myself think..... As for the black ice in Sun Valley Serenade.... It is indeed a thin layer of water over what ever ice was there. That part was done on a sound stage under very controled conditions. Sun Valley actually owns the negative, and rights to the film and you ought to see the 35mm print being run. WOW! It really looks great...more like what high quality B&W dailies would look like since their print is directly from the nitrate neg. The water over the ice is quite noticable in the 35mm version. Perhaps this film was made before Zamboni invented his ice finishing machine. As for the actual resort...except for the main lodge it looks nothing like it was in the film. Its an entire small village in its own right now. There is a fishing pond stocked with huge trout...catch and release only though. They have their own post office and Zip code. Many really nice stores and reataurants. The outdoor swimming pool is still there pretty much as it was but the ice rink is now a huge indoor affair. The whole place is covered with huge pine trees and is not visible from the road like it was in the wide shots in the film. The resort still employs much but not all out of country help in all areas which makes for a nice touch. SOme end up staying in the states and some go back home. Sadly, the steam train has been long gone, but the right of way and many of the bridges still exist. The right of way is now a path for skiing,walking, or whatever and exists fomr Ketchum to several miles south of Hailey, probably about 18 miles worth. The resort just completed a year and a half long replacement of all outdoor sidewalks and they are now heated so no snow removal is required.....cost.... a mere 7 million bucks. Its been owned by the same family that owns Sinclair Oil since the late 70's, the price paid back then for the entire operation was only about 8 million! Mark  |  IP: Logged Jeff Taylor Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 601 From: Chatham, NJ/East Hampton, NY Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-22-2003 08:30 AM                     Interesting background, Mark. As a Glenn Miller nut I had to have a print of the film, but all I've been able to find so far is an ex-TV 16mm NTA print with, surprisingly, somewhat indifferent sound quality. It's an original, but somehow the VD track is less than crisp. Good film except for some of the "over the top" bits with Uncle Miltie and Joan Davis.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-22-2003 08:44 AM                     Gee, you're lucky that you've got that print. Since they own the neg and the rights its about impossible to find any film related stuff on it. It can be purchased on DVD though at the store there in Sun Valley. That might be a better route to go than running the 16mm. The 16mm print up there also sounds somewhat muffled and its not the projector. The 35mm sounds great. BTW: I wonder if "Orchestra Wives", another Glenn MIller film...with no less than Jackie Gleason as a vacuum cleaner toting musician is available in any format? I seem to remember it was also a pretty interesting film. Mark  |  IP: Logged Jeff Taylor Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 601 From: Chatham, NJ/East Hampton, NY Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-22-2003 10:16 AM                     Mark: Actually, I have Orchestra Wives on 16mm also, and personally like it better than Sun Valley. In addition to the amusing cat fights between the "orchestra wives", it has some of what I consider better music including "At Last", "Kalamazoo", "Bugle Call Rag", and a real wartime flag raiser called "People Like You and Me" with Betty Hutton, Tex, and the Modernaires which opens the film. OW also has more interaction between the actual band members, although they do use George Montgomery, Ann Rutherford, and Lynn Bari for most of the dramatic stuff. This is another old NTA print, but for whatever reason the sound is great. I got both from an old doctor in Oklahoma who had them listed in Big Reel as a "best offer" deal for the pair (including Sun Valley). After nearly 2 hours on the phone I got them both for $150 and wouldn't part with them for any rational price!  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-22-2003 09:38 PM                     WOW! Thats a good deal Jeff!! Wish I at least had O.W. on DVD. I think that was Jackie Gleasons first film role. Somehow I can't resist the music on those films either. The Big Bands were really great. That musical number in "Stormy Weather" with Cab Calloway directing his orchestra and the Nicholas Brothers dancing on top of the piano and such, almost taking off one musicians head in the process..... Now that is definately one number that no one today could ever pull off again. Makes any Astaire or Kelly number look like childs play by comparison. Mark  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 12-22-2003 10:31 PM                        Why hasn't anyone said anything good about Madstone yet?  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 12-23-2003 07:42 PM                     Well, I don't do any work for them and judging by the platters they use I'm not sure really HOW qualified their one stop shopping technical folk are either. However their theatres furnishings are very nice indeed and the concessions selections are awesome. They reopened a closed down Cineplex 4 screener here last summer called Trolly Square. VERY nice place to see a film as long as there are no brain wraps.... On another note they pretty much run all Art stuff there and the other local Art Cinemas seem to be keeping all the good stuff for themselves. The pisser is the other independently run Art locations in SLC really suck big time...actually they are worse than suck! Not sure if I should post what ever that word is on this forum. Doesn't Madstone have any booking power? Mark  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-23-2003 10:31 PM                       Hey, I LOVE swing music! And Tex Beneke was too cool! Kids today, they have no idea! K-A-L-A-M-A-Z-O-Oh-what-a-gal!  |  IP: Logged Jeff Taylor Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 601 From: Chatham, NJ/East Hampton, NY Registered: Apr 2000 posted 12-24-2003 08:05 AM                     Tim: what really makes it is those Nicholas brothers running up the walls in their tail coats and then dropping 20' to the floor into a split. OUCHHHHHHHHHH! It's a wonder either of them had kids.  |  IP: Logged Tim Reed Better Projection Pays Posts: 5246 From: Northampton, PA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 12-24-2003 11:29 AM                       Ooh, yes! I've seen that! Amazing. Now, THAT was entertainment! I can think of nothing today that compares.  |  IP: Logged

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