posted 12-26-2007 09:35 PM                    

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Alexandria Cinema 6 theater closing
By Tom Bonnette

Poor ticket sales are bringing about a final curtain call Thursday at the Alexandria Cinema 6 theater near the Alexandria Mall, according to theater owner Carmike Cinema.

"It is with deep regret that we are forced to make this decision. Due to declines in ticket sales, we must cease operations of the building," said Carmike spokesperson Dale Hurst.

Recent improvements at the theater, including an upgrade from reel projectors to digital ones, weren't enough to boost ticket sales at the theater, which regularly lost bids to show more profitable movies to The Grand Theatre, Alexandria's newer, larger cinema on North Mall Drive.

Hurst said he was unaware of what would happen with the building that now houses the movie theater.

The cinema's digital projectors, the only ones in Central Louisiana, will be shipped off to other theaters owned by Carmike, Hurst said. He said employees would be given the opportunity to relocate to other Carmike theaters.

The Alexandria Cinema 6, sometimes called Carmike Cinema 6, employs eight, according to manager Jessica Gaspard. She said employees found out last Tuesday that this Thursday would be the last day of operations.

Gaspard said the theater needs several improvements, including a new roof and new air conditioner.

"We needed a lot of minor improvements and a couple of major ones. Now, if anyone wants to see art films, they will have to go to Lafayette," Gaspard said, referring to the theater's history of showing smaller-budget, independent films.

Carmike's other Louisiana theater, the Carmike 10 in Lafayette, will not be affected by the Cinema 6 closing, officials said.

Rachael Ross, 36, of Many, who was at Alexandria Cinema 6 on Monday night to see "Awake," said she is sorry to see the theater close.

"I have a lot of fond memories of this place, but at the same time, out with the old and in with the new," she said.

Theater management said anyone who purchased tickets for the live Hannah Montana show that was scheduled to be shown at the theater in February could return tickets before Thursday for a refund.

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posted 01-02-2008 05:17 PM                       

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Theater offers art films in comfort
Michael Cousineau
Friday, Oct. 12, 2007
Concord

The marquee announces both the opening and an open house at the Red River Theatres. (BOB LAPREE photos/Union Leader)
Movie buffs looking for something different from the latest offering at the closest multiplex may find a new home underground. And no, they won’t need to join any secret society.

The Red River Theatres — two theaters and a screening room — open this week with an open house Wednesday and the first movie screenings Friday. The theaters are built below street level and directly across the street from the shuttered Concord Theater that featured flicks for 60 years.

One of the first day’s movie offerings — the John Wayne flick “Red River” — was the inspiration for the complex’s name.

“We’re looking to fit an art house within a more upscale environment,” Executive Director Robbi Farschman said recently from the smaller of two theaters.

Red River is part of Capital Commons, which also houses Centrix Bank and law offices at 11. S. Main St.

The theater project — seven years in the making — has raised more than $1.6 million in private donations and pledges for construction, equipment and other pre-opening expenses, which are expected to total about $1.83 million.

Its business plan will be counting on nearby workers catching a flick before they head home.

“Folks who will be getting out of work at 4:30 or 5 can come here, get a sandwich and a glass of wine and watch a movie before they go home,” Farschman said.

The theater complex — about four blocks south of the State House — plans on selling wine and beer from its concession stand. Home-made sandwiches will join popcorn and candy among the food offerings.

The seats, which rock, are set up in a stadium-tier configuration, so no one’s head should be blocking the screen. The larger of two theaters contains 166 seats, the other 109. Each also has four slots for wheelchairs.

A screening room, which can hold 48 removable chairs, will allow budding film makers who produce their movies on a cheaper DVD format to show them to family and friends.

Artwork by high school students also will hang on hallway walls.

Wednesday is the first time the public can take a peek inside during an open house that runs from 4 to 9 p.m. The official ribbon cutting is slated for 6 p.m.

Friday’s movie offerings are “Red River,” “In the Shadow of the Moon” and “Paris je t’aime.”

Farschman said film patrons can buy annual memberships, with perks such as free or discounted tickets, to help fund the theaters.

She also wants to set up educational events for the public, including a “community conversation series,” which would invite people to watch a movie then carry on a conversation about the movie’s message.

Over the past decade, the United States has seen more than a 30 percent gain in the number of movie screens, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners. There were 37,776 indoor movie screens in 2006.

Six of those screens belong to Entertainment Cinemas on Concord’s Loudon Road. The cineplex contains approximately 1,500 seats collectively, and most times, at least one screen features an art movie.

Robbi Farschman, executive director of the new Red River Theater in Concord, sits in one of the reclining seats that are arranged stadium style in one of the two screening rooms.
The chain’s owner doesn’t know yet how Red River might affect his business.

“You want to be the only guy in town if you had your way,” Bill Hanney said.

“We’re going to continue to do what we do,” Hanney said in a phone interview from Easton, Mass.

The Red River theaters should bring more people downtown, according to Jennifer Fetty, assistant manager at Foodee’s, almost directly across the street. “I think it will help a lot,” she said.

When she lived in Florida, Fetty recalled patronizing a theater that showed “films you would never have heard of” normally.

Barry Steelman, the former owner of the defunct Cinema 93 in Concord, has been envisioning this project since the turn of the millennium. His theater was evicted from its building in 1998 after 31 years.

He was one of three people that helped lay the groundwork for opening a theater downtown. Steelman had a falling out with organizers last year but will be back as one of three projectionists.

Steelman, who today runs Cinema 93 Video, said he wore too many hats while running Cinema 93 and looks forward to just showing movies.

“This is something I enjoy doing and is a very important cog in the wheel that’s going to make this theater go,” he said.

Steelman said he came up with the project’s title because he liked the 1948 “Red River” flick about a cattle drive that ends with mission accomplished. “Right at the moment, things seem to be going that way in real life,” Steelman said of the theater project.

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posted 01-08-2008 01:19 PM                    

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The Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, is selling its
-Iwerks 62' wide x 46' high Iwerks 2D screen,
-70mm linear loop projection system,
-Film handling equipment,
-7-channel digital tri-amplified audio system
-Automated show control system and
-Operator control console system.

The system was installed a year and a half ago and is in brand new condition thanks to daily maintenance that has been given to the equipment. The theater is looking to sell either the giant screen by itself or the entire package at a discounted price.

If you are interested or would like to receive a detailed product component list contact Christophe Harou at 210.863.1939

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