During this interview, the main subject was the history of the local theatres. We did talk about the rating system and some of the positives and negatives about the current theatres. Chris was also interested in how my site got started, and about the kinds of things I learned while doing the research.
One thing Chris asked me was if I could actually enjoy a movie if there was any kind of presentation defect. I showed him the review of a movie that had 24 points worth of deductions and he said "I'll bet you were miserable in that one" and I told him that the number of points deducted was related to how much a problem detracted from the enjoyment of a movie. The "scope at 1.85:1" problem was discussed, so I hope something about that gets into the article, since it might be the push that Regal needs to prioritize the fixing of that problem in Huntsville.
I took copies of grand opening ads for all the old drive-ins to the interview and left the copies with Chris. He might use them, as well as any old pictures that can be dug up of the old theatres.
As with the interview I had with the Decatur Daily about 6 weeks ago, I really don't know what will be printed. It's amazing to me that my site has been out there since February 1998 and suddenly I've had two interviews with newspapers in a 6-week period. When the article runs, I'll post it here like I did with the Decatur Daily article from a month ago.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Congratulations on the interview. If there is a site where it will be posted, let us know. And PS -- GREAT site! A few years ago my girlfriend, who hated to go to the movies with me because I would complain for two days about all the bad presentation values I was subjected to, told me, instead of complaining, why don't you write a book and rate the theatres in NYC. Well, I never got around to doing that, but I see you did the next best thing. Very cool, man. Maybe someday I will get around to doing something along the same lines.
Here's one suggestion that I would make -- you need to have some vices that are so bad....so unforgivable, that no matter how good the other aspects of the operation are, theatres that have these "statutory failure" items would immediately get an F and must be given a "not recommended under any circumstances" rating. For example, I would give an immediate F to any theatre that did not have stereo sound. In this day and age EVERYTHING is stereo --even a $99 VCR will play movies in stereo. A patron who is denied that essential ingredient in presentation should demand his money back. And I think that just as most other industries must have truth in advertising, I think a theatre that isn't playing a stereo film in stereo, should at the very least indicate that in their ads and at the BO window BEFORE the patron plunks down his $8 - $10. How a theatre can still be running movies in mono sound is beyond the pale. And how it can charge the same ticket price as a theatre that has gone ahead and installed a $15,000 6 channel stereo system is just plain deceptive and dishonest.
Oh, and here's another one -- theatres that play scope and flat all in the same 2:1 ar should also get statutory Fs.
The second suggestion is, I would be a lot more sever for any theatre that reduces image height to show scope. The whole reason for any wide screen system was to make the existing Academy aspect ratio WIDEN....the mask is supposed to OPEN, not shrink down. The image should get WIDER, not shorter! Moving the horizontal masks inward simply defeats the whole concept of wide screen. I suppose if everything else is PERFECT, I might still recommend a theatre that had "letterboxed" scope, but under most circumstances I would have to give a "not recommended" to that kind of terrible compromise. After all, if the patron wanted to see a letterboxed image, he could wait to see it on DVD.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents, and again, congrats on a great site.
Frank
"I WOULD RATHER WATCH A MOVIE IN A WELL ADJUSTED GOOD SOUNDING MONO HOUSE, THAN WATCH IT IN A BAD SOUNDING DIGITAL ONE"
I worked at a doller theatre that had a great sounding mono house. I loved the sound in it.
quote:
Here's one suggestion that I would make -- you need to have some vices that are so bad....so unforgivable, that no matter how good the other aspects of the operation are, theatres that have these "statutory failure" items would immediately get an F and must be given a "not recommended under any circumstances" rating. For example, I would give an immediate F to any theatre that did not have stereo sound. In this day and age EVERYTHING is stereo
One such vice that everyone here is sick of hearing about that currently guarantees a maximum "C" rating if everything else is perfect is showing scope at 1.85:1 in many auditoriums. Since few theatres can achieve much better than a "-2.5" rating (A-), these theatres end up with a "D" or "F" rating. As I said earlier, I hope this gets mentioned in the article. When asked, "What are your feelings about the current theatres", I replied "It is sad that Huntsville has only one theatre, the Carmike 10, that can show the entire movie image for all movies in all its auditoriums." I also told the interviewer that I wished the Times would investigate the problem and publicize it more, since it may be the push that Regal needs to fix it. I don't think Regal would ever fix the problem just because of my WWW site unless more people noticed the problem and complained. A posting from months ago indicated to me that my complaints caused Regal to probably "resent everything I say". Well, I'm not planning on stopping complaints on this matter, but I'll be the first to praise Regal when the problem is fixed. I'll stop complaining if (1) I get notification that the problem will be fixed, or (2) I notice that the problem is being fixed or has been fixed, especially after this October 17, 1999 clip in the Huntsville Times referencing the fixing of the problem, that never happened:
Theatre companies seem to tell the press very little nowadays. When the Decatur Daily tried to get information out of Carmike concerning the dilapidated condition of Decatur's Carmike 8, the reporter got very little. Basically, the answer was "We don't comment on ...". Channel 48 got the same thing when they questioned Regal about the many car break-ins at Hollywood 18 in Huntsville. The media needs to turn up the heat a bit and do more stories on theatre problems. The whole "We won't give you any information or talk to you" attitude is going to drive the theatre industry farther into trouble. Let's just wait and see what happens when the press get fed up and print and air more negative stories about problems and more customers opt to wait for the DVD as many are already doing (unfortunately).
I don't do facility deductions for lack of digital sound or lack of stereo sound, since I've heard some mono presentations that sounded better than some stereo presentations. Some auditoriums in my area have such severe problems with their stereo sound systems that they are basically just distorted mono. It is common for analog stereo movies to play with no surround output or with a mono-ish mix which seems to come from all auditorium speakers equally. The second case is much worse and I do deduct harshly for it sometimes.
Out of the friends I have, I'm one of the few who enjoys going to theatres, and I'm saddened by the current state of things. I mentioned the general lack of showmanship in the interview, and mentioned that there is only one theatre, the Regal River Oaks Cinema 8 in Decatur, that really puts the proper effort into keeping the presentation quality top notch, with Carmike 10 coming in close behind it. All others have unacceptable problems from either sloppy projection, unadjustable screens, or both.
I've still not received any information about when the story would run. With the Decatur Daily article, there was about a week delay. Such a story is not time-sensitive, so it will get bumped until there is space for it. The text of the last article, from the Decatur Daily, which I was interviewed for, can be read under the thread "Newspaper article about problematic theatre" under the Film Handler's forum (from December 6, 2001).
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
quote:
When the Decatur Daily tried to get information out of Carmike concerning the dilapidated condition of Decatur's Carmike 8, the reporter got very little. Basically, the answer was "We don't comment on ...".
That seems to be Carmike's policy all over. They have had the same district manager in Billings MT for at least 7 years and I can't EVER remember seeing him quoted in the press...not even when they were about to open a new 10-screen plex.
I had hoped for the longest time that the people on this forum knew the difference between having good presentation, and having certain types of seats or sound. There is a difference.
You are incorrect. The UA Barcode system can be adapted to not show on the screen. It is on this site somewhere (I cant remember right now) but involves a very simple operation of turning the reader sideways and trimmimg the barcode stickers. Very Simple.
ps: I would rather watch a color movie in black and white with sharp focus, and a bright big screen than watch it in color out of focus on a small dim screen given that choice wouldnt you?
quote:
Mike, to be fair, some newspapers have reporters that will twist words all out of context either through ineptitude or by intent.
That's true. Many things in the Decatur Daily article were taken out of context. For example:
quote:
But Carmike's smaller crowds are indicative of the theatre's shortcomings. according to a computer scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
I never said that the attendance numbers were an indication of the theatre's problems.
quote:
"I think a lot of people would rather drive to Huntsville to see movies shown properly," he said.
This was part of something I said when we were talking about the Decatur theatres only, and when we were comparing the run down Carmike 8 with the excellent Regal River Oaks Cinema 8. I said that if a movie was not playing at Regal River Oaks, then they'd rather go to Huntsville. That's quite a different meaning that the way the newspaper quoted me. From the article, it looked like I was bashing both Decatur theatres, which is not the case. The Regal River Oaks 8 is the one that I rate the highest out of both Huntsville and Decatur. When I read this, I called the manager of Regal River Oaks and explained how the interview went in comparison to what was printed, so he would know that I said nothing but positive things about his theatre which did not come through well in the article.
quote:
Criswell puts much of the blame for Carmike's problems on what he says is the company's policy of moving its managers from theatre to theatre.
I mentioned the movement of managers, but I did not say that it was the main cause of the problems.
It is easy to see that articles can change the meanings of things said in many ways. I hope the Huntsville Times article will be a more accurate representation of what I said in the interview with them.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
Could you write your own articles, and send them out as press releases?
quote:
Evans, those are good examples of the type of problems that happen when consenting to be interviewed. Until the web, journalists pretty much had free rein over how the news was presented, and attempting to get a misquote corrected often resulted in a spiral of negative publicity. The problem still exists, but a well worded correction on a website sometimes might limit the damage.Could you write your own articles, and send them out as press releases?
One thing about my WWW site is if I feel that I am misquoted or misrepresented, all I have to do is clarify it with a "news" item on my site. Although I felt slightly misrepresented by the Decatur Daily article, I did not mention it on my site since any user of my site would see the ratings and data, which would clarify things, since the data would speak for itself.
I've thought about writing my own editorials or articles to place on my site, but before I do so, I feel that I need to have information in there above and beyond what is in the rest of my site. For example, writing about the "scope at 1.85:1" problems seems pointless since I already have it mentioned in the ratings table, the description files for the two theatres affected, and have a whole page just for showing how much image is lost in that case. My site already makes that point, so the only purpose of an editorial would be to attempt to persuade people to write letters or refuse to attend afftected movies here locally.
I've tried to be very careful to just present facts and not let too many opinions creep into the site. I try to just "let the data speak for itself", since all the data alkready speaks my opinions. I can't think of a single instance where the data I've collected does not represent my opinion of a theatre. I decided back in 1997 when I started the ratings, to let the data drive my opinions rather than my opinions driving the data.
I just wonder what kinds of twists will be on my words in the Huntsville Times article. And just think, if these types of distortions occur in little articles about theatres, just think of what happens to all the other articles printed! It shows how much "filtering" takes place on the news before we ever hear it. I believe it is possible to put a postive or negative spin on nearly anything, and massage text to prove nearly any point one wants to make.
It seems to be the opinion of some at this site that most of the small town or neighborhood theatres that are left, and there aren't many, don't deserve to continue. I know virually every one of those theatres in my state, and most of them don't have stereo sound. Some are in remote communities that are far removed from competition and there closure would force the local people to drive extreme distances to see movies, or would discourage them from going to theatres at all and therefore create more video renters. Others sit beneath the shadows of numerous megaplexes in urban areas and struggle to survive having to wait until those plexes have rung every last dollar from the patrons willing to shell out up to $8.00 for a movie. 99% of the time these small town or neighborhood theatres are owned by people that operate them not for a living, but on the side either as a hobby, or to save a small communities only theatre, or just for the love of the business. They do something else full time for 40 hours a week to make a living, but dedicate themselves to making that theatre survive, often never putting a penny from it in there own pockets. Lets see you guys do that! With no extra money other then to pay the basic operational bills, there is nothing left for improvements to the building or it's equipment. Thus such niceties as stereo sound are out of the question. Many of these people keep there theatres cleaner, operate them more professionally, and care alot more about their patrons then any of the big plexes around them. Those old theatres often have superb acoustics which make mono sound sound better then stereo does in many of the new boxes. Of course no amount of good acoustaics can produce the special effects of surround, but it's not missing, it just comes from the front. Another factor to consider is that these old theatres are for the most part patronized by older film goers, not the kids, or the young yuppies that are more interested in peer preasure or status then quality or aesthetics. I know from my personal experience that many of my patrons complain about the loud and irratating sound that they get at the megaplex.
If these operators had the money, most would love to put in stereo sound as well as other improvements. But when you have to decide whether to fix the roof, replace the boiler, replace leaking plumbing or repair the seats, not to mention that if they somehow came into some money they would be required to come up to ADA standards before anything else, what are they to do? Your suggestion is... GIVE UP and JUST CLOSE. Aferall that would send more patrons to the megaplex to watch scratched prints in bland auditoriums after being herded by uncaring staff.
Thank god there are people like Sean that see and understand how important those small theatres are to our industry and to many movie patrons as well. We live in a time where many people truly and falsely believe in the "me first" way of thinking. That what I want is the only thing that is important, and the hell with everyone else. If you like digital stereo sound... fine. Not every one does. Don't condemn a place to others because it doesn't satisfy you. What you don't like may not be important to them. By telling others that a place deserves to be given the lowest of all ratings based on your standards is unfair. Rate it for yourself, but keep your mouth shut and let others make up their own minds for themselves. Your badmouthing based on your standards might keep others from going and enjoying a great theatrical experience that would be very acceptable to their standards. Let them decide for themselves.
If I go into a place that is run down in several catagories (cleanliness, candy stand, projection) I don't care if it's the neighborhood theater run by someone who professes to love the business. It should close. Such a place lowers the public opinion of good theaters.
If a theater doesn't have digital or stereo, they may be open to some competition comming in a taking over their area. That's the chance they take.
I do agree with Evans (and others) the projecting 2:1 is unacceptable. It's not so bad running 1.85, but cuts off too much on scope - I'm not getting to see what I paid for; the movie.
If I went to a theater that had mono, and projected 2:1, I'd better get fillet minion for $3 and sit in leather reclining chairs if they want me to be a satisfied patron.
Do a search in the Film Handler's Forum for the search words "speaking of failsafes". That thread shows the UA barcode modification.
Adam Fraser www.pinestheatre.com
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site
quote:[Front page of Entertainment section: At top of page are pictures of the fronts of the Martin, Carmike 10, and Center theatres. At the bottom middle is a large picture of the front of the Lyric Theatre. The article occupies most of the front page of that section]
[Headline: in large letters]
The big picture
Computer scientist tracks down Huntsville's movie memories and organizes them on a Web site
By CHRIS WELCH
Times Entertainment Writer
chrisw@htimes.comIf you're a long-time Huntsvillian, how about reliving your youth via the silver screen?
Some older residents might remember visits to the Grand Theatre on Jefferson Street in the early 1910s or 1920s or seeing Huntsville's first movie with sound - ''My Man'' - at the Lyric in 1929 at the Lyric Theatre on Washington Street.
Wonder how many saw ''Cross My Heart'' at the Center Theater, located on 2313 Triana Blvd., when it opened on Oct. 6, 1947?How about the premiere of Huntsville's first drive-in? Were you there on June 16, 1949 when ''The Senator Was Indiscreet'' played at the opening of the Whitesburg Drive-In? It sat where the Publix shopping center and Ruby Tuesday's are currently located at the corner of Whitesburg Drive and Carl T. Jones and charged - get this - 40 cents for adults and 10 cents for children over 5. If you were a kid, you loved the merry-go-round and other playground equipment there.
Others might remember Huntsville's first ''twin theaters'' opening on Christmas Day of 1970 on University Drive - where Papa Lovetti's restaurant is now located - and watching ''Love Story'' or ''The Owl and the Pussycat'' in the ''Blue'' and ''Gold'' theaters.
Whether it was your first movie, your very first date, the days you used R.C. Cola bottlecaps for admission, or piling your buddies into the car and watching scary movies all night at Woody's Drive-In, there's something wonderfully nostalgic about trips to Huntsville's theaters. And thanks to Evans Criswell, a computer scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, you can revisit those memories via the Internet.
Criswell, who moved here from Cherokee County in 1988, actually started his Web site - www.hsvmovies.com - in 1998 as a way to rate the presentation quality of the movies he saw at Huntsville's theaters. He had attended a local theater and thought the presentation of the movie was less than desirable, so he decided to learn more about the technical side of projecting movies.
At the same time, he also researched the background of Huntsville's theaters, combing through years of The Huntsville Times in microfilm archives at the Huntsville Public Library. He learned much about the history of theaters, many of which have been gone from Huntsville's landscape for some time, and has put everything from old pictures to old advertisements for the theaters on his Web site.
''Out of curiosity, I just wanted to know a little about the history,'' Criswell said. ''When I investigated, it just turned out to be so easy.''
He learned:
The Grand Theatre existed by the early 1920s and could have been there as early as 1910, Criswell said. The Grand and the Lyric, purchased by Charles A. Crute and Acklin Ragland in 1912, were Huntsville's only the- aters for years.
The Lyric burned twice, in December of 1930 and again Jan. 8, 1982. The theater had closed on Dec. 31, 1978.
The Princess Theater existed by 1943 and closed in 1964. It was located at 202 W. Holmes Ave. and later the address changed to 209 Church St. and 210 Church St.
The Parkway Drive-In on North Memorial Parkway opened May 5, 1955 and was advertised as ''the world's largest screen and drive-in cafeteria'' with 660 car spaces. The screen was advertised as five stories high and the drive-in had a fireworks display on opening night.
The Whitesburg Drive-In closed in 1979. The screen was burned in 1980 because the owner preferred that to letting it fall apart over time.
The Tony Theater opened on Washington Street across from the Lyric on May 26, 1960, advertising that it had Alabama's largest indoor screen. It changed to the Martin in 1962 and went out of business in 1982. It is currently a nightclub.
The Alabama Theater at The Mall opened with ''My Fair Lady'' in 1966, giving free orchids to all the ladies attending. The theater's last day was in 1985 and in 1986 it became the ''Alabama Pitcher Show,'' where movies were shown and alcoholic beverages and food were sold. It closed for good in 1988 and was located where the Costco and Home Depot at The Fountain shopping center are now.
The Madison Theater opened in 1967 in the old Parkway Shopping Center, where the new Parkway Place is being built. It featured a 70-foot screen, and when it closed in 1986 Criswell says it was the ''death of the big screen'' in Huntsville.
While researching the theaters, Criswell also learned a great deal about Huntsville.
''I was glancing at the headlines and learned a lot about the history of Huntsville,'' said Criswell. ''I saw when the Russel Erskine Hotel opened, when the Parkway was built, the first use of radar detectors and when Highway 72 opened, things like that.''
His ultimate goal is to improve the quality of the presentation in local theaters, so he grades each movie he visits using a detailed formula and puts them on the Web site. Some of the screen problems would be noticeable to the average person, but he also admits ''some of the stuff bothers me more as a math and science person.''
The bottom line?
He's had fun putting the Web site together and it should stir a memory or two in many Huntsvillians.
It's so strange... last night on A&E (I think), there was a story about Huntsville and a murder that took place back in 1992. It was a two-hour show and a good deal of time was spend describing Huntsville and the atmosphere around here (mixture of high-tech and southern charm). The Mullins restaurant was mentioned. I eat there with a group of people from work quite frequently. The TV show said that it was the place where a lot of gossip and information was exchanged and that many politicians went there. It was the first I'd heard about that. I thought it was just a popular local restaurant with home-style cooking. Yesterday afternoon, I got a telephone call from a gentleman in his 60s that gave me some details about a few of the old theatres he remembered going to, and he said that a bunch of people were sitting around in Mullins talking about the article earlier that day. Many elderly people eat there, so they're the audience that would have been most interested in the article.
That article caused by Web site to get hit 292 times yesterday (main page count), on a Sunday! In the past, I don't think there have been many Fridays or Saturdays where the site got over 100 hits. I'll have to generate some stats on that to see if my suspicions are correct.
I thought the writer did a good job on the article. Everything printed in the article seemed correct and nothing I said in the interview or wrote on my WWW site was quoted out of context in any way.
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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site