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Topic: Theatre Names

Scott Norwood
Film God

Posts: 8146
From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas)
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-15-2000 06:02 AM

I agree that many theatres have really boring names. [company name] [city or shopping mall name] [# of screens] is just way too common as a naming formula.

On the other hand, I've worked in to places that were built in the 1930s that have generic-sounding names as well: the Williamsburg Theatre is a theatre in Williamsburg, Va.; the Cape Cinema is a cinema on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Boring, I suppose, but at least people reading the newspaper ads would know where the places were...

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 08-15-2000 08:51 AM

The worst? INTERCHANGE 30. A new AMC 30 named for the freeway exit nearby in Toronto.
My favorites? The "Carib & Casbar" DI in Quesnel BC, "Auto Ski" DI (???) in Ottawa,
numerous "Do" Drive-In's, and the "Dependable" Drive-In somewhere in PA (still open). Stupid DI names? Oh yes, the "Sunrise", forget where.

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Jason Burroughs
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 654
From: Allen, TX
Registered: Jun 99

posted 08-15-2000 11:09 AM

Cinemark has had some VERY unoriginal theatre names. Movies 6, Movies 10 etc, Then they got into the Hollywood naming theme, Then cam Tinseltown, but here are a few that top the list of bad names,
Cinemark 17
The Tulsa - By Cinemark

I like their theatres and I like the company, but they could have done better with the naming

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 08-15-2000 12:44 PM

"The Tulsa". haha, pretty funny!

Wonder when they will open "The Theater"?

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 08-15-2000 07:08 PM

Yeah - they've got this "original" name thing going on w/ their flagships - "The Legacy" in Plano - "The Palace" in Kansas City - "The Tulsa" in Tulsa. I don't know how well the theater is doing, but the IMAX is doing over 1 million admissions/year on their one 200-seat auditorium (of course, it doesn't hurt when you can fit 13 showtimes/day)

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George Roher
Master Film Handler

Posts: 266
From: Washington DC
Registered: Jul 99

posted 08-15-2000 10:18 PM

We actually have a theatre here named "The Cinema". It's been owned by multiple companies, but it's always been called "The Cinema". It's a single screen.

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Richard C. Wolfe
Master Film Handler

Posts: 250
From: Northampton, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 08-15-2000 10:59 PM

Dustin:

We've done this curtain thing in here before, I'd hate to repete it all again.

It's summed up in just one word...the one word that best discribes our very reason for doing that which we do...."Showmanship".

Showmanship: "having a flair for dramatic or visual effectiveness"

There is a great deal of difference between just projecting a film on a screen... and performing theatrical showmanship in such a way as to blend lighting, sound, and curtains in such a manner as to stimulate the senses in a way that makes the theatre going experience more pleasing and exciting.

Allow me to quote Arthur Mayer in "Merely Colossal" back in 1955. "The major difference between a de luxe and and other movie show consists of closing the curtains after the feature film, re-opening them for the shorts, closing them again and re-opening them for the news."

This was the standard when movies were King!

I would guess that you are too young to have experienced that. If only you, and everyone else under 40 knew what you missed, you would never be satisfied with what you have today.

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 08-16-2000 06:03 PM

Richard, I'm just under 30, but agree with you. I about cried when last winter, I was alone overnight at some training, and stumbled upon a beautifully restored neighborhood house called the O'Brien in Renfrew Ontario. Saw the Green Mile. Wonderful green with gold leaf and gold velvet curtain. Everthing was right, curtain opens national anthem - trailers curtains close - open again for feature - house lights dimmed (but of course never off) for the feature. This is how it still was in rural Ontario as a kid. And now, just white painted walls and deafening sound.
I weep! At least some of the outdoors are still around.

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Tim Reed
Better Projection Pays

Posts: 5246
From: Northampton, PA
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 08-20-2000 09:09 PM

quote:
Such as Vali-Hi in St. Paul, MN. Does "Hi" have significance?

Highway?

quote:
downright STUPID names...

SSSSsssssssss!

------------------
Better Projection Pays!

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Gracia L. Babbidge
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 709
From: Bowdoin, Maine
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 08-29-2000 07:49 AM

*ponders*

Most names of cinemas in Maine consist of [Company Name] {City / Town / Mall / Shopping Complex} (number of screens)....

*yawn* A definite lack of creativity!

Though, there are a few around that don't fall into that 'formula'. Such as:
~The Movies On Exchange Street (still not original, but it is out of the formula)
~Keystone Theatre Cafe
~Evningstar Cinema
~The Nickelodeon
...I can't think of any others off the top of my head that are still running! Used to be one called The Movie Mill, which had beautiful presentation, and another called Chunky's, which had comfy, oversized seating options (think along the lines of a sofa or loveseat)...

~GLB

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Michael Pace
Film Handler

Posts: 64
From: Dalby, Queensland, Australia
Registered: Aug 2000

posted 09-02-2000 08:45 AM

With reference to the naming of cimemas, one of the cinemas I worked at in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea was WARDS CINEMA.

It was named after the landing strip that was used in WW2 for aircraft activities against the Japanese invasion of the Pacific Islands areas. On the adjacent Skyline Drive-in site were remains of aircraft engines and at one time an un-exploded projectile was taken away by the army for detonation. The army officer turned white when he was told that the projectile had been tossed around for several days before they were informed of its existance.

Remains of the actual runway were still visible well into the eighties when I was still in PNG.

Michael.

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Scott D. Neff
Theatre Dork

Posts: 919
From: San Francisco, CA
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 09-26-2000 06:31 AM

Could somebody please give me the key to decipher how Dickinson named all their theatres? I think those are some of the most unoriginal theatre names ever.

One of our on-going complaints to the owner of Cinema West was that he simply named the new theatres after the town they were in... COMPLETELY unoriginal.

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Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000

posted 09-26-2000 01:04 PM

They have this fetish with "Glen" - the founder's name was Glen Dickinson. Their original flagship was the "Glenwood." They later built the "Southglen 12," the "Westglen 12 (then 18)," the "Eastglen 16", and are in the process of building the "Northglen." Rumor has it they want to change the name of the "Great Mall 16" to the "Southglen 16" (they closed the original Southglen), so they can have their "dream" or whatever of a "Glen" in every direction.

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99

posted 09-27-2000 12:25 AM

Maybe things haven't changed much.
It used to be that there was about a 90% chance of any particular theater in a US city was named

Paramount
Majestic
Lyric
or
Roxy

and there were smaller, more briefly fashionable names like Family Theatre or Electric Theatre.

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Franklin Armstrong
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 106
From: Orlando, FL, USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 01-28-2003 01:14 AM

Mine Is SANDLAKE 7 CINEMAS we are on sandlake road

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