Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Wallace Theatres is now Hollywood Theatres in Honolulu

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Posted by Claude S. Ayakawa (Member # 1401) on 06-30-2007, 02:07 AM:

The last remaining theatres in Honolulu operated by Wallace Theatres has changed over to Hollywood Theatres. I have never heard of Hollywood Theatre and was wondering what kind of theatres they operate. Before Regal's Dole Cannery and Pacific's Ward Centre opened, Wallace's Restaurant Row Theatres was packing them in despite the fact that they were crummy with terrible projection and sound. With the coming of Regal's and Pacific's theatres in the metropolitan Honolulu area, the Restaurant Row had become a Dollar house with $1.50 hot dogs.

-Claude

Posted by Dominic Espinosa (Member # 2122) on 06-30-2007, 09:50 AM:

The entire chain went to shit a long time ago and the Wallace/Hollywood merger has been going on for the last 4 or 5 years.
Hollywood is mostly from the south-east and has a reputation for being an absolute hole.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 06-30-2007, 10:09 AM:

You're not going to see any difference in existing plexes, and the new ones aren't anything special either. It's the same people who have been operating as Wallace for the past five-ten years or so.

Portland-based Wallace Theatres is largely run today by the old Act III management team (they're even based in Act III's old offices). They purchased Hollywood several years ago and have been running both brands. Their newer plexes usually take on the Hollywood brand, so maybe they're evolving the entire company that way. Perhaps Scott Wallace isn't involved anymore, thus the name change?

As for their multiplexes, their newest buildings are improvements over what either chain did before. They have pretty cool exteriors with huge "now showing" posters, but the interiors use a lot of watered down Act III trademarks (lots of neon in the snack bar, same sconces...albeit not as many of them). They're really into the color blue these days for some reason. It's similar, but just not as nice.

I posted a picture of the Topeka plex a couple of years ago here, but I'm too lazy to go find it again.

The new buildings' presentation is about on par with a Cinemark or Regal. Nothing like the Act III days, sadly. Who knows how they'll be after a few years wear. Hollywood has better seats, though.

[ 06-30-2007, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: Sam Graham ]

Posted by Tristan Lane (Member # 1169) on 06-30-2007, 11:54 AM:

quote: Sam Graham
Hollywood has better seats, though. Nothing like the Act III days, sadly.

Are you referring to the seats of Act III??

If I had one complaint about that chain, or the way they built their theaters, it would have to be their choice of seats. I found them incredibly uncomfortable. Regal has been slowing ditching them for high-back rockers and are a huge improvement.

Seats aside, I don't know if I could find much wrong in any other areas. Act III was known for their quality construction, and presentation.

WPH Architecture is the firm that designed most (if not all) Act III builds, and they are still designing theaters. I could classify their design as "Industrial Modern" with a lot of exposed steel and masonry. Split face and ground face CMU was used extensively in the construction of most buildings, with a lot of glass panels and tubular steel railings. A lot of sites were/are built with a portion of the projection booth open to the common areas below.

This Link for WPH has examples of some of their work.

The Northwest is full of these theaters.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-30-2007, 02:25 PM:

The Hollywood/Wallace chain has been a pretty chintzy operation in my part of the country. They ran the old Cache 8 theater into the ground here in Lawton.

They have the Spotlight 14 in Norman, OK. I visited the theater when it opened in 1997 and was pretty unimpressed. I'm fairly certain when Warren Theaters opens its new 20-plex just a few miles north on I-35 in Moore that will be the end of the Spotlight 14. The Moore 20 is currently under construction and could be finished by the end of 2007, but it could even be spring of 2008 before it opens due to all the bad weather we have been getting.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 06-30-2007, 04:24 PM:

quote: Tristan Lane
Are you referring to the seats of Act III??

No no no, that was bad editing on my part, which I've fixed.

Oh...here's the Hollywood Topeka pic I mentioned before, which is typical of new Hollywood builds...

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 06-30-2007, 07:28 PM:

The corner arrangement on the building is strange. It makes it look more like an electronics store than a movie theater. Is the lobby just in that corner area?

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 06-30-2007, 08:36 PM:

Yep. Lobby, snack bar, arcade are all in the corner. They take up the space basically to the first orange pillar in either direction. The auditorium corridor goes down the middle of the building.

Here's an extremely crude example of the layout as I recall it (it's been a couple of years). Bathrooms (not depicted) are near the lobby under some stadium tiers.

Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 06-30-2007, 10:17 PM:

quote: Tristan Lane
I could classify their design as "Industrial Modern" with a lot of exposed steel and masonry. Split face and ground face CMU was used extensively in the construction of most buildings, with a lot of glass panels and tubular steel railings. A lot of sites were/are built with a portion of the projection booth open to the common areas below.

That describes Act III's 1995 remodel of Cinema World 8 here in Eugene pretty well. Very industrial-modern, part of the booth open to the lobby, etc. I liked the seats too except the rows were spaced too closely together. Not high-backed (and not stadium-style seating) but very comfortable. Anywho that theater closed in March.