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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about?
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John Wilson
Film God
Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-17-2010 10:11 PM
Sydney gets a new Drive-In...
Sydney's drive-in comeback at Randwick Racecourse By Caroline Marcus From: The Sunday Telegraph April 18, 2010 12:00AM
IT'S back to the future for film-goers in Sydney, with the city about to open its first new drive-in theatre since the 1960s.
And even more of a surprise is the venue, Randwick Racecourse, where the infield car park is to be converted into a 500-car-capacity theatre.
Randwick City Council is expected to approve a development application next month for the long-term lease of the car park for three months of every year.
In their 1960s and '70s heyday there were as many as 51 drive-ins in NSW.
Only four of them are still operating, according to website drive-insdownunder.com.au - at Blacktown, Heddon Greta near Maitland, Tibooburra and Lightning Ridge.
Racecourse Drive-In Cinema founder Paul Rosenberg was nostalgic about his childhood pastime and wanted to introduce the fun family entertainment to a new generation.
"Sydney has been starved of that type of entertainment since the Matraville [drive-in] closed in the 1980s," Mr Rosenberg said.
"With the popularity of outdoor cinema, I think it's going to be huge. The drive-in is more family-oriented because kids can go in their pyjamas, which is what we all used to do."
He said ever-rising land costs had deterred others from launching such initiatives.
A glaring difference between the drive-ins of the past and the latest venture, which will run from July to September, is cost.
What vintage trends would you like to see return in 2010? Tell us below.
Attending a session in the 1960s might have set families back 40c, but today it will cost $49 per car for general admission or $69 for an "A-grade" position.
A total of 50 sessions will be held during the three-month season, including new releases and classics.
They will be shown on a 20m by 16m screen that was erected on Wednesday.
The drive-in launches on July 2 with a charity screening of Grease.
Patrons will be able to listen to the movie soundtrack through their car radios, with minimal impact on nearby residents and stabled horses.
Mr Rosenberg first approached the Australian Jockey Club in 2007, but planning was delayed due to World Youth Day.
"The racecourse sits there empty [in winter] so we're using the facilities and we're using the car park," he said. "It is getting them a little revenue stream. They're very, very excited."
He is looking into opening other sites in NSW and on the Gold Coast.
The drive-in launches on July 2 with a charity screening of Grease, complete with rollerskating waitresses and a two-hour pre-party set in a replica of the showground featured in the film's final scene.
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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009
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posted 04-24-2010 11:07 PM
You have to congratulate anyone attempting to do something like this - BUT like David, I just wonder if they have given any REAL thought to what they intend to do- good intentions aside.
A few things concern me about this proposal.
Cameron nailed it by stating the obvious. By having limits placed on the operating dates e.g winter, mean that the operators won't benefit from a drive-in's most popular seasonal experience. The warmer months are definately where it's at regards profits. Mind you, it would be funny to watch a roller-skating waitress get bogged and have need to call for extraction.
The screen size could possibly be a bit larger given the amount of cars they intend to service. Cars in the back row will be looking at a screen size no bigger than a thumnail - and this leads to the next issue.
Almost guaranteed that the projection gear will be of digital origin. This in itself isn't a real concern, but it does go to illustrate the point of how far off the mark their thinking is.
REAL Drive-ins use 35, or in rare occasions, 70mm film.
If one is trying to "recreate" an experience, then using video to try and duplicate the feel and atmosphere of a drive in will eventually fail because, even though they are the bane of projectionists the world over, it's the "atmospherics" of the image quality- the crackles in the audio- scratches on the print- that tumbleweed of hair that grows in the gate- tinny cast alloy speakers with scratchy pots, and even the odd film break or two that make going to a drive in different to that of watching a video. Who hasn't lean't on the horn button during an unplanned intermission?..and were you upset about it? Doubtful- and I'll bet the kids loved it.
And the price!
David mentioned that the Drive In is known as an affordable form of entertainment that caters in particular to the young family without a high expendable income, and if the admission price is as stated, then this venture will indeed be "temporary".
Running a drive in, or hardtop for that matter, is no way to get rich quick. One must have more than good intentions. One must have passion, a deep love of films and customer service in order to survive, let alone make profit.
I really wish the operators well, but I fear that this will become another poor attempt at trying to recreate an atmosphere that just can't be done outside a PROPER Drive In.
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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003
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posted 05-04-2010 01:24 PM
Moraga, CA: Rheem Theatre Closes
Rheem fans rallying, again, to save Moraga theater
quote:
MORAGA — Though the doors are shut and the neon marquee is turned off, some residents here aren't quite ready to roll credits at the Rheem Theatre.
On Thursday, the art deco theater closed indefinitely after its owners decided it could no longer remain financially viable.
Now, for the second time in less than six months, residents are scrambling to preserve what has been a community landmark since 1957.
On Monday, community leaders met with the property owner to discuss ways to save the facility.
One hurdle is figuring out who would pay to operate it.
Property owner Mike Puri said Thursday he is trying to find someone to take over the theater or, failing that, someone who can come up with a different use for the building.
Among the ideas discussed Monday was forming a nonprofit organization to support the theater, said Moraga resident Carol Haag, who's spearheading revival efforts. Such a group, she said, could be similar to the Hacienda Foundation, which supports the Hacienda de las Flores, a historic estate the town uses for offices and as a community center.
"It's important for Moraga and (the) Rheem (shopping center) to have that theater," Haag said. "It's something good to get behind and I think it's a positive for Moraga."
Town Manager Mike Segrest said a theater helps create a feeling of community.
"You have that place to go for entertainment and run into your friends and neighbors," he said.
Residents first rallied for the Rheem last November, when co-owners Jim Sheehan and Tom Peterson said revenue was so low they feared it wouldn't stay open through the holiday season.
Led by Chamber of Commerce President Edy Schwartz, the community then went to work, meeting with the owners to create new events such as matinees specifically for mothers with young children or for seniors. A local high school student rallied her peers through a Facebook group, "Don't Let Rheem Theatre Close."
The support was enough to see the theater into the new year, but ultimately the second wind didn't last. Revenues were still down, Peterson said, and it was hard to compete with the 3-D screens at nearby multiplexes.
Peterson said he and Sheehan also knew any major mechanical breakdown could put them out of business permanently. That breakdown happened April 3, when a lamp in the main projector exploded. Not willing or able to pay $10,000 to replace it, Sheehan and Peterson decided to close the Rheem.
"A lot of time theaters just run their course. This may be one of those cases," Peterson said. "We did the best we could. We hate to go. We didn't come to town to go."
Sheehan and Peterson hope their Moraga audience will be willing to drive a few miles up the road to the Orinda Theatre, which they also own. Gift certificates for the Rheem Theatre will be honored at the Orinda, Peterson said.
The final event at the theater, a big band dance, will take place April 25.
The theater's closure is a further blow to the struggling Rheem shopping center, where nearly 40 percent of storefronts are empty. Peterson said a lack of foot traffic at the center was one reason for declining revenues.
On Thursday, a handful of people trickled in to catch a matinee on the theater's final day.
Manuel Sanchez had never been to Moraga, but said he loves old movie theaters and decided to drive from San Francisco when he found out the Rheem would be closing.
Rose Bartholomew, on the other hand, first came to the Rheem 33 years ago. The Lafayette resident had brought her granddaughter and granddaughter's friend to see a movie, and learned of the theater's closure while buying tickets.
"We're going to miss it," she said. "This is a sad day."
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Jeff Arellano
Film Handler
Posts: 41
From: Monterey Park, CA
Registered: Jul 2005
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posted 05-04-2010 05:05 PM
AMC ATLANTIC TIMES SQUARE 14
THE FINAL LOEWS DESIGNED THEATRE TO OPEN SOON, Hopefully in JUNE(?) - they say May...but I doubt it.
Here are some pictures I took this weekend of the AMC ATLANTIC TIMES SQUARE 14 Theatre in Monterey Park, CA. This theatre was first designed back in 2005, when Loews originally signed to lease the project. Five Years LAter, its ready to open, soon.
One stark change from early designs is that they removed all the spotlight elements that would distinguished this as a LOEWS, but you can see where they were supposed to go.
This is the entry area, as you can see in the floorplan on the previous page, it is the main lobby area with the concession and box office. Not that they have the AMC logo up already:
Finally the theatres are situated above the parking structure entry, this would be theatre 1 on the left, and theatre 3 on the right. Two, which is a larger auditorium, is kinda inbetween the two (see the floorplan):
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