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Topic: What's the latest theatre to close or open you have heard about? (part 2)
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 12-24-2011 12:06 AM
Noticed via their Facebook Page and via their website, the Boise Idaho based Reel Theatres have acquired operational permission to run and operate the former Prime 11 Cinemas in Anderson, California.
Opening day was Friday, the 23rd of December and also the location was renamed "Valley 11 Cinemas".
Plans are to eventually convert the location to full digital, but for now, two of the eleven screens will remain dark for announced digital installs, while the other nine will be 35mm film operations.
http://www.redding.com/news/2011/dec/15/new-theater-to-raise-curtain/
quote:
Shasta Outlets in Anderson will be back in the movie business by Dec. 23, when the former Prime 11 Cinemas complex reopens as Valley 11 Cinemas, the general manager of an Idaho theater company said Thursday.
The new theaters will open two months after the Prime 11 complex abruptly closed its doors Oct. 23.
Prime 11 Cinemas, which opened in May 2006, closed two weeks after Shasta Outlets property owners went to court seeking to evict the tenant and collect three months of back rent and taxes totaling slightly more than $72,000.
"We are a small, family-owned company that specializes in operating first-run movie theaters," said Clint Sanborn, general manager of Casper Management Co. of Boise.
Casper does business as The Reel Theatre at seven locations in four states.
Initially the Anderson cineplex will open with at least seven screens, one of which will offer digital projection, said Sanborn, 32, a 14-year-veteran with the management firm.
"We have ordered a silver 3-D screen, but the supplier cannot ship it in time for our Friday opening. I'll probably be installing it Christmas Eve so we can offer 3-D movies on Christmas Day," Sanborn said.
"My main technical installer is due to fly in Sunday, so it shouldn't take us too long to get the rest of the theater spaces up and running," he said.
Valley 11 Cinemas will offer first-run movies as well as some independent and foreign films, Sanborn said.
Although Sanborn said he intends to keep movie prices comparable to what Prime 11 had been charging, he said there would be a surcharge for 3-D movies.
"We're not going to come in and raise the prices, and we have already heard plenty of comments from the community that real butter on our popcorn is a high priority," Sanborn said.
Ownership of the theater complex will be retained by the Shasta Outlets' landowners, the Branagh and Patterson family trusts, with Casper Management Co. receiving a percentage of the multiplex profits as a management fee.
In Idaho, the company manages Northgate Reel and Country Club Plaza Reel, both in Boise; The Reel Theatre in Pocatello; and Nampa Reel Theatre in Nampa.
The company also manages The Reel Theatre 8 in Ontario, Ore., and Reel Theatres Richfield in Richfield, Utah.
The eventual goal, Sanborn said, is to convert all 11 screens at Valley 11 Cinemas to digital format with either hard drive commercial movie players or movies downloaded directly from major studios.
"Our Northgate and Ontario theaters are 100 percent digital," he noted, with all Reel Theatres offering the latest movies, Dolby Surround or DTS Digital Sound, wall-to-wall screens, row-to-row cup-holder seating, video arcades and concession stands.
http://www.andersonvalleypost.com/news/2011/dec/23/valley-11-cinemas-opens-today-shasta-outlets-ander/
quote:
Anderson’s own cineplex, Valley 11 Cinemas at the Shasta Outlets shopping center, opens today, Dec. 23, with a total of nine films. At least one film, “The Adventures of Tintin,” is showing in 3-D, according to a list of titles and show times posted in the box office window early this morning.
Included in the nine titles are five first-run films opening this week, including “We Bought a Zoo,” “Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows,” “Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and “The Adventures of Tintin.”
Films released previously include “Hugo,” “Jack and Jill,” Twilight: Breaking Dawn” and “Alvin & the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked.”
Valley 11 Cinemas will open tonight with two showings of most movies, noted Clint Sanborn, general manager of Casper Management Co. of Boise. Casper does business as The Reel Theatre and manages cineplexes at seven locations in four states
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Monte L Fullmer
Film God
Posts: 8367
From: Nampa, Idaho, USA
Registered: Nov 2004
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posted 12-24-2011 09:49 PM
Builders who built that twin ran out of money, thus it sits empty were it fell under foreclosure. They built it with the idea of digital, but never went in and researched the cost of digital presentations.
It's up for a cheap sale as a shell for someone who may want to dump cheap equipment into a place that may never get the returns out of it.
Bummer about the above note about MANN THEATRES. I was a projectionist for MANN from 1976 til they sold out in the Boise area in 1988. I had opportunities to transfer, but knew that it wouldn't be the right choice to make.
-By the mid 80's MANN was in the top ten for large circuits over 1000 screens in the country - in most of the Western States and mainly in So.CAL.
-Ted took over the ailing Nat'l Gen Corp Theatres in 1973 and was given an alloted time to clean up and build new to keep his new company. Thus, he closed down a good number of 'barns', sold off all of the former NGC locations East of the Mississippi, and began to rebuild other locations to multiscreens that were in the high market areas.
-Then, came the construction of new location to replace the 'barns' that were closed.
-Later on, was more condensing by closing or selling location in Texas, La., and some in the midwest and concentrate in the SoWest and Intermountain areas.
-Thus, this became the glory days of Mann Theatres. ... until the 'crash of 2000' which also hurt many circuits.
Yes .. "RIP" Ted Mann, Rhonda Fleming and Company. Many Golden Years to remember.
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James Westbrook
Phenomenal Film Handler
Posts: 1133
From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa
Registered: Mar 2006
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posted 01-01-2012 04:13 PM
Premiere's new theater in Lubbock, Tx.
http://lubbockonline.com/entertainment/2011-12-31/kerns-roof-being-raised-so-premiere-16-imax-can-open-may-1#.TwDZUrLNmJ4
Roof being raised so Premiere 16, with Imax, can open May 1
Workers were busy removing the roof at a portion of the South Plains Mall so that a new one, 20 feet higher, could be constructed this week.
Posted: December 31, 2011 - 8:45pm | Updated: January 1, 2012 - 12:08am
From the “required hard hat area” behind what used to be Mervyn’s at South Plains Mall, Rudy Leal — manager of the Premiere 16 multiplex under construction — peered up at a crane that towered high above the mall.
He later revealed that, at least the first time he saw it, it reminded him of when he was a youngster playing with toy trucks, an Erector Set and cranes a miniscule fraction of the size of real ones.
Since earning his position with Premiere, Leal trained at a number of areas, pitching in and helping where needed, and sometimes learning more tricks of the trade by chatting with other Premiere multiplex managers.
He has watched the births of other multiplexes and remains intrigued by the process.
“During my training in Galveston and Bryan/College Station,” said Leal, “I learned Premiere policies, as well as hands-on training with digital projection software. I also was sent to digital class in Sacramento, Calif.
“At the construction sites, I helped install digital equipment and sound equipment.”
On this particular day, Leal wanted to show me — within the covered area measuring approximately 68,000 square feet — the five-feet-deep concrete pit that serves as an anchor for the multiplex’s IMAX screen.
Workers also were busy removing the roof at that portion of the mall so that a new one, 20 feet higher, could be constructed this week.
Leal also pointed out, “The low roof in the mall comes off next week. The new one is erected and being completed this week. The inside framing of the auditoriums also will begin next week.”
That new roof also will measure 20 feet higher than the old one.
The Premiere IMAX in Lubbock will be one of the largest IMAX theaters in Texas: 80 feet wide, six stories tall, a 420 seating capacity and, unlike the Omni at the Science Spectrum, capable of showing commercial films.
(In the Omni’s favor is its awe-inspiring domed screen, placing viewers almost literally into any documentary’s land and skyscapes. The Premiere’s IMAX will be a tall, stand-alone screen.)
The Omni is not equipped to show films more than 45 minutes in length.
Construction delays have seen the opening of the Premiere 16 pushed back to May 1.
That is a Tuesday. Regardless, the multiplex will open just in time for Hollywood’s summer films.
And when Leal and I began discussing possible summer blockbusters, the first movie he mentioned was the final film in the Batman trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Instead of it being shown only at Premiere and Cinemark’s wide screen theaters with great sound, he is certain that Premiere will show the same movie on its IMAX.
Batman fans will go ga-ga.
Premiere also is using a relatively new 7.1 surround sound system, which differs from the usual 5.1 by giving two speakers in the rear of the theater their own channels.
Leal appeared ecstatic that all of the plumbing for the multiplex had been completed. When I visited, only outside walls were standing. But Larry Delaney, Premiere’s chief technical adviser, reminded me that what I was seeing would look substantially different at every later visit.
Things are happening quickly, and Delaney’s only frustration is with the snow and cold weather that rarely arrive at his Houston home.
During my walk-through, it was impossible not to notice a pair of escalators and a single elevator — not a usual visual at theaters, and a reminder that Premiere will offer more than just the movies, popcorn and soda.
In fact, there are areas within this two-story multiplex that will attract a variety of guests.
For example, I expected lounges in the lobby area and on the mezzanine to serve dinner items such as pizza, burgers and sandwiches, and alcohol once permits are obtained. I assumed that seating was limited to those either arriving early before their movie, or perhaps those not ready to leave once their movie ends.
In truth, lounges are open to the general public, even if they are not seeing a movie that day. Leal explained, “Maybe dad doesn’t feel like shopping anymore. Or a family just gets hungry.”
There is another difference some viewers may appreciate. At present, many moviegoers make a point of arriving early to purchase tickets, and then return before their movie starts to deal with potentially long concession lines.
Premiere will, like present theaters, sell tickets via a box office and kiosks.
However, concession workers also can sell movie tickets at Premiere. Thus, there is the option of buying one’s movie tickets and treats all at once.
There will be two theater entrances: one inside the mall, and outside “across from Home Depot,” said Leal. Each entrance opens to a hallway leading patrons to the lobby.
Nor will it matter where a moviegoer has parked his vehicle.
South Plains Mall officials have agreed to keep all mall entrances unlocked until the day’s final feature ends at Premiere 16, said Leal. He explained, “If someone enters the mall next to Barnes and Noble, they can walk back and exit the way they came in.”
The crew working on the Premiere theater eventually will grow to as many as 125, said Delaney. These are primarily local jobs.
Delaney said, “I’d say 99 percent of those workers will be local. We are using local contractors; we’ll use their workers.”
The May 1 opening undoubtedly also will see Premiere hiring approximately 100 people, most of them part time, who will be trained to work concessions, or in the box office and as ushers.
Leal will begin accepting those applications in late March or early April.
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Mike Rivest
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 185
From: Montréal QC Canada
Registered: Nov 2009
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posted 01-02-2012 04:12 PM
MANN THEATRES IS NOW HISTORY IN CALIFORNIA:
What was once the mighty Fox chain in California is no more.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_19628163
after more than a decade in operation.
The eight-screen movie theater, located at The Promenade at Westlake, is being replaced with an upscale movie house chain.
According to Karina Cook, assistant manager at Mann Theatre, the theater sold a steady stream of tickets on its last day.
But the mood was somber among the dozens of Mann employees.
"Everyone is going to get laid off," said Cook, who has worked for Mann Theatres for six years. "I have no idea what I am going to do."
Mann Westlake opened in 1996, the year "The English Patient" won the Academy Award for best picture.
At the time, news reports touted the Mann's state-of-the-art seating, digital stereo, giant screens and computerized advance ticketing.
In May, the theater will re-open as a Cinepolis theater. The Mexico-based cinema chain is the fourth-largest cinema-house operator in the world.
The company offers theaters with a full bar and restaurant; leather recliners; personal call buttons; and reserved seating. Additionally, waiters are on call to deliver beverages and dining options to moviegoers.
Paul Kurzawa, chief operating officer of Caruso Affiliated, owner of The Promenade, called Cin polis a `best in class' operator.
"Cinepolis is revolutionizing the moviegoing experience and setting a new industry standard," Kurzawa said in a statement.
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