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Author Topic: Century 21-22-23 (San Jose, CA) lease ending in 2012??? Edward Havens Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 614 From: Los Angeles, CA Registered: Mar 2008 posted 03-18-2014 03:44 PM                     Sam, the $26m figure is the rentals paid to Fox, not the gross. And just as the production budget might not include additional costs like P&A, the rentals paid to Fox by exhibitors do not include additional revenue like television sales. To me, a Flop is something like Heaven's Gate (less than $2m rentals on a $44m budget), Ross Hunter's musical remake of Lost Horizon ($3.8m rentals on a $12m budget) or The Fall of the Roman Empire ($3m rentals on a $20m budget). Movies that, at the end of their primary theatrical release, had absolutely no hope of ever making its budget back, regardless of any additional revenue stream that existed at the time or any future revenue stream that couldn't even be thought of at the time. But a movie like Hello, Dolly? That gets filed under Disappointment. Something that was expected to do better, but didn't really do all that bad. As for Cleopatra, there was always a chance for it to make its bloated budget back, if it had turned out to be the next Gone With the Wind. Something that was a universal hit and played for years and years and years. (I remember reading in a James Agee book published around 1950 that GWTW had earned over $50m in rentals in the first ten years of its release, and was still regularly being booked by cinemas to that day.) But that is the gift of looking back at something with 50+ years of hindsight. We get to see with perfect clarity things Spyros Skouras and the heads of Fox could not have seen when they sold off that part of the Fox backlot to finance the film. Again, with perfect clarity, I see it differently. I see how wonderful it is that people are willing to bet the entire farm as it were (or most of the backlot, in this case) to knock one out of the park. The movie business would be boring if everyone played it safe and only made movies that were absolutely guaranteed to be successes. We need risktakers taking risks, and wonderfully failing from time to time, to keep things interesting.  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 03-18-2014 05:35 PM                       QUOTE]The movie business would be boring if everyone played it safe and only made movies that were absolutely guaranteed to be successes.[/QUOTE] Of course there's no guarantee any movie will be successful, big or small. That is what makes it fun. There's always a surprise breakthrough possible. Hollywood does indeed try to play it safe with copycat films every time there is a new breakthrough film. The possible breakthoughs are there too waiting to be seen. So we come down to your disappointment being my flop. I probably come down more on the critical success or failure than the money as the creative accounting in Hollywood is beyond my pay grade. Probably an apocryphal tale but Lew Wasserman at Universal supposedly had a sign behind his desk, "We make the money, you find it"  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-18-2014 07:47 PM                        quote: Sam D. Chavez I believe "Towering Inferno" was a co-op of a couple of studios to split the downside risk. Right, it was Fox and Warner Bros. One of them had U.S. distribution and the other had international. That was the first co-studio release as far as I know.  |  IP: Logged William Kucharski Expert Film Handler Posts: 244 From: Louisville, Colorado, United States of America Registered: Oct 2012 posted 03-19-2014 11:58 PM                     quote: Robert E. Allen Those theatres were there when I lived there back in the 70s. They were a novelty then and I believe the novelty aspect has worn off. I personally don't see anything attractive about a humungous screen with a sound system that makes your seat rattle. I don't think they'll be missed. That's the exact reason I love those theaters and will miss them. They're among the last places in the world where you can see films in the environment they were meant to be seen in. The Winchester Domes were notable when film was shown for actually taking care of their prints; if you went to an AMC on Saturday after opening Friday, the print always looked like it had been dragged behind a car, where you could go to the Century 21 weeks after a film opened and the print would be pristine. I saw every movie I possibly could whenever I was in the area at the domes, including several I didn't care to, and it was always an experience, not just another churn-'em-through showing at the AMC 418. If these go away, the only real theaters left will be venues like the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles.  |  IP: Logged Sam D. Chavez Film God Posts: 2153 From: Martinez, CA USA Registered: Aug 2003 posted 03-20-2014 10:15 AM                       The domes were pretty well staffed by the best projectionists available. Management back then would not stand for any less and these jobs paid very well for their time and lots of hours available so one could make real money. I don't remember the exact wage but it was around $5.00/hr. Hard ticket engagements, ie., road shows were $45.00 a shift. With prep and cleanup the shift was anywhere from 3 hrs up, depending. Pretty good for "70's. The idea was you got a fresh operator less apt to make an on screen mistake. I worked "Oliver" as a roadshow and also sometimes did a school show in the morning.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 03-27-2014 03:49 AM                     Made the trip down to see my last movie at the 22 today. Cried through most of it at the thought of it being dark next week. There's really no reason to get rid of these theaters unless they start building new ones with screens as big as these. Must have been nice to have had FIVE of them at one time.  |  IP: Logged Sean Weitzel Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 619 From: Vacaville, CA (1790 miles west of Rockwall) Registered: Dec 1999 posted 03-29-2014 01:15 AM                     To preserve for posterity. I hope to get better photos of it Sunday.  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-29-2014 09:43 AM                     "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is an ideal final show since I believe it's the record-holder for longest-running (general-release, non-roadshow) movie in the history of the Century Dome complex.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 03-29-2014 09:46 PM                     I heard that was the last movie to play there for more than a year. Show has already sold out the 950-seat theater! Hopefully that'll count for something!  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-29-2014 10:14 PM                     I should clarify that "Raiders," played over a year if you count movement within the complex. I think "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," "Beverly Hills Cop," and "Back to the Future," all released after "Raiders," might've pushed a year, too. I'll add those to my "Need to Research" list. The only other post-roadshow-era title I know for sure that ran a year-plus at the Century Dome complex was the original "Star Wars." Anyway, if I did the math right, "Raiders" ran a total of 81 weeks, which breaks down to 25 weeks at the Century 21 followed by a 56-week move-over to the Century 25. Also, during its first few weeks of release it played concurrently at Century 21 & 23. A pretty amazing run, if you ask me.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 03-31-2014 05:31 PM                     "Raiders" sold out the 950 seat theater (and one of the online quotes on-screen before the movie was from me!), attendance for the last shows at the Century 22 was pretty dismal however. Word is that the new leaseholders don't want to have theaters there anymore, even if that's what everyone else in the world wants.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 06-11-2014 05:57 AM                     Theaters are still standing though screens, seats and equipment were removed. Some good news- tonight the San Jose city council granted the Century 21 historical status, which will at least make it harder to tear down. (Would post a link but I forget what the rules are for that and too lazy to look them up right now.)  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 청주시, 경북도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 06-11-2014 06:01 PM                     quote: Jesse Skeen attendance for the last shows at the Century 22 was pretty dismal however. Word is that the new leaseholders don't want to have theaters there anymore, even if that's what everyone else in the world wants. Though, in their defense, one doesn't make money off something people would like to stick around that they don't go to.  |  IP: Logged Jesse Skeen Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1517 From: Sacramento, CA Registered: Aug 2000 posted 06-11-2014 08:55 PM                     True, but I think being run poorly in their last years likely had a lot to do with lack of business. The last films they were running all had the tail ends chopped off AND labeled with masking tape, and let run out rather than properly having the automation end the show. The bulb in 22's big theater was ridiculously dim as well- if the theater hadn't been closing that week I would have asked for my money back and probably not gone back if they had continued to run it that way. These could still be incredible theaters in the right hands, and tearing them down would be a huge loss. At last night's city council meeting I made a point that these theaters should be saved not for what they were, but what they still can be in the future. Most of the others spoke about their past experiences there however (Star Wars, etc) without any thought of current movies being shown.  |  IP: Logged Scott Jentsch Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1061 From: New Berlin, WI, USA Registered: Apr 2003 posted 06-13-2014 09:38 AM                        That's a good point, Jesse. When a theater is facing closure, the nostalgic arguments come out in force. While not insignificant, such emotional arguments don't hold much weight when faced with the cold hard reality of having a viable business/operation. What really matters is that people with the control can see where it can go from here. The past doesn't matter much to someone who has to pay the bills on the place. The good part about that nostalgia is that it can be used as a marketing tool. People with fond memories of a place will be more willing to support it.  |  IP: Logged

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