quote:

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Creative Nova (3)

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quote:

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The Nova, formerly the Bunny, up on 148th?

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Yep!
 

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Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 10-07-2003, 02:28 AM:
 
I hear rumors that a vacant plot of land in Clovis, Ca has been earmarked for a new theatre, but I have not yet been able to find out anything about ownership or screen count yet. If this does indeed open it will be interesting to see what happens to the existing theatres in Clovis, as they were both built by UA back in the 80's.
 

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Posted by Jeff Klump (Member # 1870) on 10-13-2003, 04:56 PM:
 
Regal closed a 16 screen UA that was in Irving, TX. The MacArthur 16. This thing was only like 4 years old. Apparently they couldn't afford the rent. Pics of the theatre--->
www.film-tech.com/pics/macarthur/macarthur.html
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 10-13-2003, 05:30 PM:
 
MacArthur is being taken over by another chain, as discussed in this thread here.
 

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Posted by Nicholas Roznovsky (Member # 861) on 10-14-2003, 08:39 PM:
 
Apparently UA has closed down both of its locations in Denton, TX (as of yesterday). A five-screen and a four-screen located both inside and outside the local mall there. There's a sixteen-screen Rave theater down the road in Hickory Creek, but those two UA locations were the only theaters in town proper.

We were planning on opening a sub-run complex there a few months ago, but ran into problems with the building's owner concerning renovations. I can't imagine it will be too long before someone else comes in and tries to capture that market. Quite a few college students there.
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 10-17-2003, 06:52 PM:
 
Clearview Cinemas closed its Woodbridge Cinema in Woodbridge NJ a few weeks ago. This multiplex has a colorful if convoluted history.

Movie City 5 opened in the late 70's or early 80's in the back of a shopping center off Route 1 in Woodbridge. It was a sister theater to Movie City 5 in East Brunswick and Movie City 6 in north Edison. Their main competition were General Cinema twins in Menlo Park (outside the mall), Woodbridge (on Routes 1-9) and East Brunswick (at Brunswick Square Mall). GCC closed its Menlo Park twin in fall '91; its Woodbridge and East Brunswick twins soon followed.

When Cineplex Odeon opened a 12-screen at Menlo Park Mall for Xmas '91 the Movie City 5 in Woodbridge went subrun. Movie City 6 expanded to Movie City 8 around '93 or so; the Movie City 5 in East Brunswick closed around '95.

Clearview bought the Movie City theaters in Woodbridge and Edison in '98. Movie City 8 became the Edison Cinema, which it is to this day. Movie City 5 in Woodbridge became the Woodbridge Cinema and stayed subrun; it went subrun/Bollywood about 2 years ago, then subrun/arthouse/Bollywood for 6 months or so until it closed. In a strange quirk of bookings, Whale Rider played at the Woodbridge Cinema before it was picked up by the Loews New Brunswick megaplex!

Also by coincidence, the former owner of Movie City reopened the ex-GCC twin at Brunswick Square Mall and expanded it to a 5-plex. A few years ago it expanded to 13 screens, all stadium, as Mega Movies at Brunswick Square. Who's in charge of the Mega Movies booth? One of our fellow Film-Techers -- John T. Hendrickson, Jr.
 

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Posted by Bud Epps (Member # 1872) on 10-18-2003, 06:19 PM:
 
Here at Rave Motion Pictures we have opened 10 theaters in the 3 years we have been a business. We currently have 5 locations under construction and another 5 that will begin construction next year. Three of the 5 will open by the end of this year.
 

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Posted by Ron Lacheur (Member # 1126) on 10-18-2003, 06:41 PM:
 
Sad but true,

The Hillcrest Drive In, here in BC, has officially closed forever. It was the last operating Drive In in the province. I didn't believe it at first, but I drove by today and saw that they are in the process of taking down the screen.
 

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Posted by Chris Liczbinski (Member # 1957) on 10-19-2003, 12:19 AM:
 
There is supposed to be a Cinemark 14 being built in Cedar Hill, Texas- which is roughly 25minutes south of Dallas. It was be in the Art deco style and have stadium seating from what I have read. Oh, it is to open in the fall of 2004.
 

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Posted by Nathan Guerriero (Member # 1214) on 10-30-2003, 01:38 AM:
 
Watertower Mall (lower), Chicago, IL. Operated under the aegis of Plitt, Cineplex Odeon, Meridian Theatres, and then Village Entertainment. Mourn the passing of this theatre not; it was a dump.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 10-30-2003, 03:16 AM:
 
As I've stated before, Cinemark is opening an all stadium, all digital theatre in the new Coastal Grand Mall just 2.5 miles south of our 16 plex here in Myrtle Beach, SC.

Horry County has an estimated year round population of 200k. Seasonal swells nearing 1 million per week have been given by the COC in the past.

There are currently 46 screens within a 25 miles radius on the Grand Strand. Why anyone else would want to build in this area is beyond me. 22 Screens have gone dark in the last four years.

My days of exclusives and not having to split product will soon come to an end... I'll simply have to beat the competition with 'Film Done Right'.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 10-31-2003, 07:17 PM:
 
Just a quick correction to Charles Everett's post about the Movie City operation. The current Mega Movies (in the Brunswick Square Mall in East Brunswick, NJ) is under different ownership from that of the former Movie City theaters. Mega Movies is principally owned by the son of the former Movie City owner, and is a seperate corporate entity.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 10-31-2003, 08:18 PM:
 
The Clearview 59th St. East (formerly the DW Griffith, formerly the Pacific East) single screener in NYC appears closed (at least temporarily).

Edit: went by there today. It's closed. Building is for lease.

[ 11-02-2003, 05:29 PM: Message edited by: Martin Brooks ]
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 11-02-2003, 11:38 AM:
 
John T: Thanks for clarifying my earlier post.

I should add that one New Jersey theater has changed hands. The Cinema Plaza in Flemington is being sold to Steven Kalafer, a local multimillionaire who owns the Somerset Patriots baseball team. He told the local press he wanted to restore "hometown theater" ambiance and made some anti-megaplex remarks. Kalafer did say he would keep the theater's staff but didn't say whether the theater would get any upgrades (digital sound, new seats). The Cinema Plaza is a 6-plex that does OK or poorly depending on product flow.

Because the Flemington area is thin on population, people are accustomed to driving at least 20-30 minutes to see a movie. Most every time I'm at the AMC Hamilton I spot trunk decals for Flemington car dealers (where Kalafer made his millions).
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-07-2003, 01:34 PM:
 
The Screening Room cinema and restaurant located near Chinatown on Varick & Canal St. Has closed the cinema and plans to reopen, after a remodel a larger restaurant. The cinema use to book independent features.
 

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Posted by Franklin Armstrong (Member # 1448) on 11-07-2003, 03:00 PM:
 
The New Theater Near Me Is Lake Mary 12 Part Of www.amstarcinemas.com
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 11-07-2003, 05:09 PM:
 
The Screening Room was in SoHo, 3 stops north of the World Trade Center on the 1-9 subway line. The now-closed Cowboy Pictures booked that theater.
 

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Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 11-07-2003, 05:33 PM:
 
The lot of three new multiplexes has opened in Denmark during october:
CinemaxX Aarhus - just about 5 miles from me - Yak !
8 screens from 544 down to 84 seats, standard CinemaxX stuff, with fine stadium build-up, fine sound, too big screens and the picture quality following this - even a FP30E with the best optics has limits. Number of seats seems important, to be bigger than the competitian, less important the distance from raw one to screen. Even from raw 12, those handheld sceenes in the beginning of Runaway Jury wery really, really tuff.

Kino, Roskilde - new 5-plex 10 miles west of Copenhagen centre.

Panorama, Slagelse - new 4-plex, who presents itself on the web with drawings of exterior, showing neon signs "THX Cinema". Inside, no track of THX in any way.... Whoops.

Closed: Folketeatret, Aarhus (1957-2002) Originally a 777 seat single with Bauer B 14 and mag sound, from 1964 DP70, and from mid-seventies ruined in 3, later 4 mishap small screens. Situated one block from new CinemaxX and closed allready, when the germans started to build.

p.
 

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Posted by David Favel (Member # 1125) on 11-10-2003, 03:28 AM:
 
2 new screens opened in Ashburton for the 3.00am Revolutions.

Wait, they are my screens. Pics to follow
 

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Posted by Lauren Fisher (Member # 1905) on 11-10-2003, 04:30 PM:
 
Cinemark is opening a new theatre in Sherman, tx. stadium seating, i dont remember how many screens are in it, but i think about 14 or 18.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-10-2003, 04:32 PM:
 
try 12
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 11-12-2003, 04:16 PM:
 
An old theater in the Mid-Hudson Valley rises from the dead!

Here's how the Times Herald-Record of Middletown NY reported it yesterday:

quote:

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The Newburgh Cinema 10 is back with a new name, new owners and $2.5 million in upgrades.

The 10-screen complex at the corner of routes 52 and 300 will reopen Friday as Showtime Cinemas.

The 40,000-square-foot building had been empty since Hoyts closed it in September 1999. A year later, plans to house a gigantic server farm -– a warehouse packed with computer servers -– on the site fizzled.

Now, the owners of Showtime Cinemas have a long-term lease with an option to buy, and they're spending $2.5 million to renovate and equip the building. It's a massive effort that's had as many as 100 tradespeople working at once.

"It's pretty much from the shell of the building up, resurrecting it," said Dave Fedeli, one of the owners.

There are new walls, new carpets, new bathrooms. By tomorrow, the 1,600 or so plush seats – $200 apiece, installed – will be installed in stadium format. Upstairs, Big Sky projection cabinets overlooking each theater resemble computer servers more than film projectors. A series of enormous film platters – like 5-foot hubcaps, holding spools of film – enable the theater to show a movie on more than one screen at the same time.

Fedeli is betting on Newburgh's busy Route 300 corridor, where one shopping center after another has opened in recent years, to support the complex.

"I'm a pretty good site guy, so hopefully I'm right on this one too," he said.

Fedeli is a third-generation movie mogul. His grandfather ran a theater, and his father built a drive-in, which Fedeli eventually bought.

"I started working for him when I was 11. I was working the ticket booth, selling tickets. I was working the snack bar, popping popcorn and stuff like that," he said. "I've always been around it, and it's been in my blood, so to speak."

Showtime Cinemas will offer $7.50 adult tickets and $5 matinees.

The theater will employ about three-dozen people, many of them kids a few years older than Fedeli when he started out.

At the other end of the spectrum there's Joanne Seymour, an assistant manager who worked at the theater back when it was run by United Artists and later Hoyts. She'd been working at a theater in Fishkill since Newburgh Cinema closed in 1999 and jumped at the opportunity to come back to the Newburgh cinema.

"I just wanted to be on this side of the river again. I didn't care who owned it or what the job was. I just wanted to be back home," she said. "It's gonna do well. It's long overdue."

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Note how well the writer hints at what goes on in a booth. He must have written the story with us Film-Techers in mind!

If you're in the New York area, this week's Village Voice (out today) tips you off to this new-yet-old theater. Look under "Upstate" in the ad for Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
 

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Posted by Erika McCarty (Member # 2006) on 11-12-2003, 08:38 PM:
 
Haha I was reading this thread, ready to report on the new Cinemark in Sherman, but Lauren beat me to it. I find it odd they are choosing to build in Sherman, with the old 8 still up...any Dallas people have a clue about that? (FYI Sherman is a fairly small town with a tiny private college in it). It means more competition for my theater (14 screen in McKinney between Legacy and this new theater)
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 11-12-2003, 10:45 PM:
 
Erika -

It's called market protection. Even though Cinemark still has a 7 and a 5 in town, they figure if they don't put in a modern multiplex with stadium seating, someone else will ... so they're simply upgrading the town more or less. One of the two current houses will probably go subrun, while the other will close.
 

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Posted by Stephen Jones 1 (Member # 114) on 11-19-2003, 06:57 PM:
 
The Cinemark theatre in Sherman opens December 17th. The 7 will stay open and the 5 will close. Cinemark is opening quite a few theatres this coming year and next. Though it's not listed on the site, they're opening theatres as small as 8 screens in Helena, Montana and another 7 screen in Texas someplace. Of course these will all be stadium seating, digital sound, online ticketing, etc.

Cinemark's website has a list of the confirmed new theatre openings:

http://www.cinemark.com/newtheatres.asp
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 11-19-2003, 11:46 PM:
 
In Staten Island, NY, the Atrium 9 has ceased operation.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 11-28-2003, 06:38 AM:
 
The Temple Theatre, Saginaw MI reopens for cinema this evening with a showing of a new print of "White Christmas".

The theatre opened in July of 1927 as a Vaudeville, silent movie house. The original seating was 2,217. In 1950's the main floor was reseated and the total seating was 2,137. Today the seating is 1,750 with the balcony being restored American seating from 1927, the front balcony is new American deluxe seating and the main floor has only 20 and 21 inch width restored 1950s chairs.

The original Barton pipe organ #195, with all of the original pipes and parts in working order, still plays for overtures to all films and non-musical stage events. One of 12 instruments built specially for the Butterfield circuit, this is the only remaining one in original condition and without modifications.

The booth is carbon light, Cinemeccanica V-10s, changeover 35/70 and new DTS-6AD sound. Also a Zeis Favorit 16B Xenon projector with magnetic and optical sound and variable speed drive.

The entire facility was the Elf Khurafeh Shrine Temple. Now owned by SSP Associates, the facility is nearing the completion of a 7 Million dollar theatre restoration and the store fronts and Shrine rooms are being renovated.

I will post a set of photos when the project is completed.

I have worked in this facility since June of 1953 and serve as the consultant on the property for the new owners. The place is simply gorgeous!

KEN
 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 11-28-2003, 07:38 AM:
 
Revival House a cinema and cafe opened in Westerly, RI this month. It has a capacity of only 55 people and shows classic and recent movies on video or DVD (not film) ...ick.
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 11-30-2003, 12:48 PM:
 
Krikorian Premiere Theatres re-enters the San Diego market with the new Vista Metroplex 15 which opened 2 weeks ago. In addition to a spaciouse 2-level lobby, the new complex features 2 of San Diego's largest indoor movie screens at 60 ft wide. It also features a custom speaker system designed by Klipsh. All auditoriums feature Stadium Seating, High Back chairs with retractable armrests, and digital sound. Projectors, consoles, and platters are made by Christy.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 12-01-2003, 01:26 PM:
 
Krikorian Metroplex 15 in Vista CA:

NC Times Article

quote:

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Vista cinema plans arthouse films





By:PAM KRAGEN - Staff Writer

When Krikorian Premiere Theatres opens its 15-screen Metroplex Theatre in Vista on Nov. 5, it will offer something North County movie-lovers have been craving for years ---- arthouse films.

While small, older North County theaters, such as La Paloma in Encinitas and the UltraStar Flower Hill in Del Mar, have embraced arthouse films in recent years, the region's multiplexes have played it safe with mostly mainstream fare.

But Randall L. Blaum, spokesman for Redondo Beach-based Krikorian, said the new Vista Village theater will emphasize diversity. Mainstream films will show in the bulk of the Metroplex auditoriums (which range from 150 to 500 seats), but there will always be room for an arthouse film or two.

"We're committed to providing specialty films, foreign films and documentaries, as well as the major releases. We hope to engage the widest possible audience," Blaum said, adding that he hopes to establish annual festivals at the Vista theater for both foreign films and locally made independent films. "We've done this at our other theaters and they've been hugely successful. I see no reason why it won't work just as well in Vista."

Some of the films now showing at other Krikorian locations include the avian documentary "Winged Migration," the New Zealand arthouse hit "Whale Rider" and the surf film "Step Into Liquid."

One reason niche films have worked so well in Krikorian's other locations (especially Redlands and Buena Park) is that the managers try to serve the needs of the local public. For example, if Vista's large Latino community showed a desire to support Spanish-language films, they would be added to the regular mix.

Blaum is so interested in finding out what theatergoers want to see at the new Metroplex that he has set up a special e-mail account (arthousefilms@rbcww.com) that North County Times readers can use to send him their thoughts on what they'd like to see at the soon-to-open multiplex.

The upscale Metroplex theater will have 3,600 rocking chair stadium-style seats, screens up to 60 feet wide, marble-finish floors, imported Italian crystal chandeliers, specialty concessions and a "sky lounge" and birthday party room for private events. Admission will be between $9 and $9.50.

In the week before its grand opening, the Krikorian Metroplex will host a series of special events to introduce itself to the community, including a "safe trick-or-treat" night on Halloween and charity screenings with $1 concessions. The grand opening will be celebrated with a massive prize giveaway with hundreds of items ranging from $25 gift certificates to a $3,000 Klipsch home theater system to a $10,000 shopping spree at North County Ford.

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quote:

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Thursday, January 08, 2004
Dan Eaton
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS


Cinema Grill, an eight-screen cinema-restaurant and the newest tenant at the Continent, is expected to open this month.

The Cinema Grill will combine watching movies with dining.

It will open Jan. 23 or Jan. 30, depending on the progress of opening preparations, said Jim Duffy, the chain’s executive director. "We like the setting," he said.

The former Loews nine-screen theater building was remodeled and converted into Cinema Grill as part of the $1.5 million renovation.

Duffy said work included replacing seats, adding tables and counter space in eight of the theaters and turning one theater into a full-service kitchen.

Cinema Grill will show first-run movies, Duffy said. There are plans to dedicate one or two screens to art films, he said.

Ticket prices are expected to be $4.75 for matinees and $6.50 for evening shows.

The theater also will have a high-definition digital system that will be used to show sporting events and other entertainment.

Cinema Grill’s menu will include pizzas, appetizers, sandwiches, salads and desserts. It will serve microbrewed beers and offer a selection of wines, Duffy said.

Columbus City Council approved a Community Entertainment District designation for the Continent site last year, giving it 15 liquor licenses. Cinema Grill will use one of them.

Duffy, who grew up in Upper Arlington, called the Continent an ideal location for the business.

"There is an established market here," he said. "There is a dense population . . . plenty of parking."

The Atlanta-based chain operates 42 theater/restaurant combinations in 15 states in addition to 30 traditional theaters, Duffy said.

The Continent added several tenants last year: Brewstirs, All-Star Family Sports, Performance One and the Columbus Fieldhouse Fitness Center.

National Realty Services also completed renovations on 598 apartments, 88,000 square feet of first-floor office space and the 50,000-square-foot retail space once known as the French Market.

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 01-09-2004, 11:32 AM:
 
Duffy ... aren't those the people that ran EFW into the ground? I thought they were wanted by the IRS .....
 

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Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 01-09-2004, 12:13 PM:
 
Yes the Duffy's are the ones that run EFW, and its Franchises - Cinema Grill etc.

It wouldn't suprise me if they were wanted by the IRS, not to mention a few land lords.

You can virutally guarantee that no improvments will be made to this theater, beyond the lobby and seating anyways. to Anyone assocaited with EFW
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 01-09-2004, 07:34 PM:
 
Thanks for the info on this. I'll drift in there after it opens and check it out. I am very familiar with the layout of this theatre, and I attended many films there. I'll see how much they changed.

The projection ports on the 4 main screen are in the corner of the theatres, so keystoning was always a problem. Also, there was a wide open gap between the main theatres, so sound leakage was a terrible problem. This theatre always had very dirty prints. I'll see if this has changed.
 

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Posted by Scott Madsen (Member # 167) on 01-14-2004, 11:04 PM:
 
Marcus has closed a six screen discount theatre in suburban Minneapolis. (Apple Valley)

There used to be several discount theatres in the Twin Cities, now I believe there are just two or three.
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 01-14-2004, 11:53 PM:
 
Two Loews theatres in Arlington, Texas just closed: the Lincoln Square on Collins Dr. location, and the south Arlington Little. Rd. location.
 

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Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 01-15-2004, 02:26 AM:
 
Wow and I was just by both those Loews theatres a less than a Month ago!
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 01-15-2004, 10:59 PM:
 
Yeah, the closings were a bit of a surprise to everyone around here, especially the Lincoln Square one. I bet that it will be bought out and turned into a Movie Tavern like the old AMC Green Oaks was.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 01-16-2004, 02:34 PM:
 
River Point Cinema in Fox Point, WI (Milwaukee) is closing on Feb 1.

It's being replaced by an Outback Steakhouse.

Theater Information
http://www.bigscreen.com/Marquee.php?theater=RiverPoint&view=info

News Story
http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/jan04/199935.asp
 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 01-16-2004, 06:25 PM:
 
Be sure to get some photos of that Fox Point theatre before it is demolished!
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 01-20-2004, 10:23 AM:
 
It's not much to look at (a standard brick box), but I will try and take a few photos the next time I'm in that area.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-20-2004, 12:24 PM:
 
It appears that the Loews 6-plex in Natick MA. (formerly Sony, formerly USA Cinemas, formerly Sack Cinemas) finally bit the big one within the last two weeks. It was always a dump and the closure had been rumored for years.

The last time I was there (~four years ago?), the auditorium where I was seated had the center channel speaker wired out of phase from everything else. It was painful to listen to. The time before that (~1996?), every trailer before the feature was spliced out of frame. Every one!

Good riddence.

Admittedly, it was kind of a funky building, though. There's a story about how a former manager was escorted out of the building in handcuffs by the police for embezzeling funds (or something like that...I don't know the details).
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 01-22-2004, 12:23 AM:
 
Here in Puerto Rico, Caribbean Cinemas, the largest chain in PR and the caribbean, close its Humacao Cinemas (very old movie theater and very mess up) to open close by a 12-plex stadium seating with its own shopping mall; opening in holy week.
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 01-22-2004, 11:56 AM:
 
Humacao was done in the 1980's and was the first multiplex in the area ( 5 screens ). Competition, huge population increase, and the fact Caribbean Cinemas prefer to own their properties and centers made this a factor; which they had been planning for years.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 01-23-2004, 11:56 PM:
 
Hey Richard, you have any news about the renovating plans for the Fine Arts Cinemas in Santurce. In April will open a cinema&cafe in Old San Juan and will be the competition for the Fine Arts because the owner is the one that distribute the films to Caribbean Cinemas.
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 01-24-2004, 12:28 AM:
 
Fine Arts was planning to add three screens on the second floor by using the existing gym area. This may or may not go ahead. Parking is a bear in the area. So who is operating the Old San Juan project?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-24-2004, 12:52 AM:
 
I'm not too surprised to see the Loews Lincoln Square theater in Arlington, TX close. It might be worth mentioning it was one of the first theaters in the Dallas area to install SDDS (and was the first place I'd seen a show in SDDS, "Delores Claiborne"). But that was nine years ago.
 

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Posted by Peter Kerchinsky (Member # 1098) on 01-24-2004, 04:23 AM:
 
I've been informed by a relative the KOIN Center 6 in Portland, OR. closed it's doors last Thursday. The theatre was built by the Seven Gables chain here in Seattle, but was operated these past few years by Regal Cinemas.
 

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Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 01-24-2004, 10:14 PM:
 
UPDATE: I drove by the Loews Lincoln Square the other day, and its just as I thought; it is being renovated and converted into a Movie Tavern.
 

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Posted by Chris Markiewicz (Member # 1415) on 01-25-2004, 03:30 PM:
 
Keauhou 7 Cinemas in Kailua-Kona closed December 30 as Consolidated Amusements Theatres and reopened January 1st as Signature Theatres.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 01-25-2004, 11:22 PM:
 
Richrad, the Old San Juan project will be operate by Wiesner Distribution; they distribute foreing films in Puerto Rico. They planning a 3 screener; 2 normal(35mm) and 1 digital. I send you more details later. Hey, you still working with Caribbean Cinemas?
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 01-26-2004, 12:14 AM:
 
My last project with Caribbean was Las Catalinas 11 in Caguas. We are no longer involved with them after 23 years. I visit the island on other matters since my mother's side of the family is from Mayaguez, Puerto Rico and Valencia region of Spain.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 01-26-2004, 11:55 PM:
 
Next time you come to PR, contact me so we can talk and visit some theaters.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 01-27-2004, 11:50 PM:
 
Richard, why end a 23 year relationship? Do you know or seen the Roosvelt Theater in PR?
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 02-02-2004, 12:07 PM:
 
Times Square will be lossing another theatre this year when Loew's Astor Plaza Theatre closes. Viacom/MTV plans to turn the theatre into MTV studio space.
 

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Posted by Paul Linfesty (Member # 214) on 02-02-2004, 12:35 PM:
 

quote:

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Times Square will be lossing another theatre this year when Loew's Astor Plaza Theatre closes.

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Damn! Another single closes. Does this mean the Ziegfeld is probably on its way out as well?
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 02-02-2004, 02:23 PM:
 
Marcial,
I know the Roosevelt which recently bought new equipment but they can not find someone to install at their price target....they are the only true independent on the island. Regarding Caribbean Cinemas,after 23 years we trained their staff well and a former employee handles their service...it was a fun ride from their days of 36 employees to the 3000 + they have today.
 

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Posted by Dennis M Dow Jr (Member # 1970) on 02-02-2004, 07:41 PM:
 
As far as I know Clearview Cinemas is going to keep the Ziegfeld open... Have not heard any rumblings about closing it
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 02-03-2004, 10:49 PM:
 
Signature Theatres entered the San Diego county market last Friday with the grand opening of its new Escondido Stadium 16.
Although the parking in front of the theatre is a bit limmited, and may become crowded on weekends, there are a lot of spaces available to the right of the theatre, in the attached strip mall.

Once inside, guest are greated in a huge gold & blue lobby with red neons. Signature features specialty concessions (ice cream by the scoop, REAL Nachos with guacamole & sour cream, and pizza) In adition to popcorn and soda.

The lobby branches into two seperate identical hallways. The hallways are a bit narrow, and will probably get crowded on weekends. They have 2 large, 6 nicely sized, and 8 very small auditoriums. The red curtain wall covering is the same in all auditoriums. All theatres use Dolby Digital and JBL speakers and sound excellent.

I viewed The Perfect Score in theatre 4 tonight. Unfortunately, it was started way out of frame, and I had to ask to get it corrected. The print was also in poor condition, particularly about 2/3rds throgh. hopefully, with time, the projection will improve. I'm also willing to bet that the print was second hand. There's no way it could get that bad with only 2 days play.

Overall, this theatre will serve the Escondido community well.

edited to correct movie title

[ 02-04-2004, 04:39 PM: Message edited by: Mike Olpin ]
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 02-04-2004, 08:33 AM:
 
The Roosvelt is close right now for renovations. They will put the new equipment and will have two screens. I want to see that! Im working now in a new complex of Caribbean Cinemas in Canovanas.
 

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Posted by John Plasket (Member # 2201) on 02-05-2004, 12:14 PM:
 
A theater called the Premiere just opened up around here. Its lineup is impressive: everything from Monster, 21 Grams and In America to You Got Served and Barbershop 2.

I haven't been there yet, but I'm excited.

Oh, and I'm new here, so I'll probably discuss the other theaters later. I've got a couple things to rant about.

--plasket
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 02-05-2004, 04:02 PM:
 
Hey John, how many screens have the Premiere?
 

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Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 02-05-2004, 08:15 PM:
 
Anyone know who is building the 16-screen in Lincoln, Rhode Island?

Paul Goulet
 

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Posted by John Plasket (Member # 2201) on 02-05-2004, 10:46 PM:
 
Oh, er, twelve. Sorry.

--plasket
 

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Posted by Linda Welch (Member # 2088) on 02-09-2004, 11:18 PM:
 
Well, it's been almost 2 months now, but the Regal/UA Bowen 8 in Arlington closed mid-December. And despite other chains saying we were put out of business by them, the theatre was actually doing okay. Not great, but we were 18 years old, and there was a brand new 18-screen AMC .5 mile away. Stayed up for a year after AMC opened. Had a lot of customers that said they preferred not having to fight for mall parking.
 

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Posted by Chad Lindsey (Member # 2212) on 02-10-2004, 07:59 AM:
 
Well we might be seeing some new closings, I guess anything could happen with this:

"Chairman and CEO Lee Roy Mitchell owns about 92% of the company's voting stock. Cinemark is putting itself up for sale and has hired investment firms to scout out potential buyers."

Here at the little 8 screen I work at, we're starting to get a little nervous
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-10-2004, 09:33 AM:
 
did you see the memo that Lee Roy put out stating not to worry that they are just looking for ways to boost there stock levels. This can mean a lot of things not just the selling of the company. It could mean a merger or any number of things but I wouldn't jump on the selling the chain band wagon just yet.
 

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Posted by Chad Lindsey (Member # 2212) on 02-11-2004, 05:06 AM:
 
True, I suppose I should probably pay attention you seem to know a whole lot more about the company than I do! How long have you been with Cinemark? I've been here on and off for 5 years, currently an AMT at the Paris 8 (rinky dink prototype theatre--they never built another one like it!)
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 02-11-2004, 09:06 AM:
 
12 years in may. The press release sort of coverd a broad spectrum of possabilities that this investment firm will be looking at. This has happened before in previous years. But since the company has gone public with it's stocks they are looking for ways to increase the value of those stocks.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 02-12-2004, 12:27 PM:
 
AMC just closed the former GCC Hollywood Galaxy 6. Which was located one block West from the Chinese Theatre complex. It might be turned into a gym. And keep an eye on the AMC Beverly Connection 6 another former GCC house. Because of Pacific's Grove Theatre complex located nearby at the Farmer's Market in the Park La Brea area of Los Angeles.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 02-12-2004, 12:48 PM:
 
I remember the days when Paul Rayton was at the GCC Hollywood Galaxy --- fortunately, he's working his magic at the Egyptian now.
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 02-16-2004, 03:32 PM:
 
Today is the last day for our beloved movie palace The Alexandria Theatre here in San Francisco. Regal sold the property and the building. RIP


 

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Posted by Roger Katz (Member # 1625) on 02-21-2004, 10:56 PM:
 
West Haven's Forest Theatre, one of the last remaining single screen theatres in Connecticut, will close on Thursday February 26. Unfortunately the owner's failing health has made it impossible for him to continue to run the theatre. The building has been for sale for awhile, but with no offers. he believes that whoever buys it will probably demolish the theatre.

It's sad. This is a little theatre that could be successful with some renovations and if operated well.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 02-24-2004, 10:28 PM:
 
Here in Puerto Rico, Caribbean Cinemas plans to open in late 2004 an 8-plex in Dorado, PR. Also opening very soon, theaters in Las Piedras, PR and one in St. Marteen Island.
 

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Posted by Travis Hubrig (Member # 1745) on 02-26-2004, 03:42 PM:
 
Today is the last day of business for the Cine 8-12 South, located here in Minot, as they will begin very large remodel project...
Owned by Carmike Cinemas, they plan on reopening in mid-April.
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 02-26-2004, 05:19 PM:
 
It was announced in the paper yesterday that Consolidated Theaters is buiding a new 16 screen theater here in Wilmington North Carolina. This will give Carmike a run for the money. They have had the city all to themselves since UA closed up the sixplex here in town. What is the word on Consolidated as far as how they are to work for and what the company is like.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 03-04-2004, 10:09 PM:
 
Marquee Cinema 14 opens 3/5/04 in Reynoldsburg, OH (eastern central ohio). This is the first Marqee theatre in this area, facing competition from Marcus, AMC, Cinemark and a few local theatres.

I was at the preview opening tonight, and I was very impressed with the operation. The building was a Regal 14-plex built in 1999, and only open for a couple of years. The wall decorations are about all that remain from the Regal operation. New seats, new carpet and it looks like new equipment.

Taking a look around, I saw Simplex 35 projectors, QSC Amps, Dolby Digital and JBL speakers. I saw PAYCHECK (as the preview films were all second run titles), and it looked very, very good. Sound was quite good and the picture was very very bright, clear, solid and very clean. My compliments to the setup staff of this theatre...very nice work.

Opens as a first run house, but faces competition from a very well run Marcus theatre about 1 mile away.

Still waiting on the Cinema Grill to open on the North Side of town.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 03-08-2004, 11:02 PM:
 
The new Cinemark-Myrtle Beach opens 3/17/04.

We just found out today that we will, in fact, play day-date. Playing day/date will be a double edged sword for us. Every time they outgross us, we'll be called and questioned as to why...

I'm just hoping that the 'retraining' of our staff (relating to Customer Service skills), coupled with consistent presentation pays off for us in the long run....
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 03-09-2004, 07:10 PM:
 
Carmike announced today they will be tearing down the 6plex they have in town and building a 10 plex in its place. So in a matter of 3 weeks there has been announced a tolat of 20 new screens in a city of 75000. That will bring us to a total of 42 screens or 45 screens if you count the Cinema Grill and 6 more once the college decides as to what they are going to do with the closed 6 plex they bought as well as the Thalian Hall which shows art films almost every weekend. What a difference one month can make. WIlmington will certainly have a great choice of theaters. I forgot the beach also has a 4 plex that Carmike runs
 

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Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 03-10-2004, 01:34 AM:
 
I heard Century Theaters is going to build a new 16 plex in Chehalis, Wash. next to the Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 03-10-2004, 11:40 AM:
 
Some good news.

The Paramount Theater im Asbury Park NJ has been running mostly stage shows for years with an occasional film fest. More and more of these are happening this year and it's gaining popularity. Using the old 1600-seat barn for movies again!

Right now it is video projection with rented equipment brought in as needed. Not bad, but a little hard to fill that 20 X 50 screen. Sometimes set up on the orchestra level seats, other times from the lip of the balcony, but I'm happy to see the place being used for its original purpose (built in 1929, was first theater around here built with sound).

Most of the booth is there, some has been stripped but it can run again if money is available to do it, which I doubt will happen in the near future but you never know.

The Paramount was my first full-time booth after I did a couple years of relief work in all the theaters so the place means something to me. A real classic. The Paramount lives!

Garden State Film Festival website: www.gsff.org
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 03-10-2004, 04:10 PM:
 
Nice to see the old gal being put back in use, Gary. Too bad those old XL's and Ashcraft arcs are no longer running.

I worked the Paramount during the summers of 1970 and 1971. Were you there before or after that time?
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 03-11-2004, 01:08 PM:
 
John:

Yup, digital projection or not, the Blessed P'mount lives!

The Ashcrafts are there, and the old Western Electric standard bases (soundheads attached)! The XL's are gone but we did have the place running a few years ago with some E6s. The booth is 75% there I'd say, the sound rack still works (with a little more tinkering). The spots and FX machines are still there too! The "Easy Rider" standee is still there by the catwalks.

I first worked there doing relief in 1973. Tom Carroll ran it full time that summer. I got it the next summer as "my" booth and I loved every last minute there.

Still have the booth door key. Wanna go exploring sometime?
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 03-11-2004, 05:21 PM:
 
Gary:

Absolutely!! I still may have my booth key tucked away somewhere as well!

I worked with Tom during the summer of 1971. Send me an e-mail. We will have lots to talk about.
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 03-18-2004, 12:27 PM:
 
John, I have your email addy at the theater (Tony Garbini gave it to me awhile ago) so I'll give you mine here.

crawsat@juno.com

I work in Freehold a few days a week running the uplink at Freehold Raceway if you happen to be close by. Those two monster sat dishes at the track next to Chili's and Barnes & Noble, the little building between the dishes.
 

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Posted by Ryan Powers (Member # 1059) on 03-23-2004, 09:44 PM:
 
Plans were announced this past week to occupy and completely renovate the old convention center in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. The building, which sits across the street from the future new arena for the Charlotte Bobcats, will have a 10 screen theater, along with shops, theme restaurants and bars. No word yet on what theater chain is involved with these plans. The Arena and the new entertainment center will open around the same time in the fall off 2005.
 

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Posted by Chad Lindsey (Member # 2212) on 03-29-2004, 04:19 AM:
 
Anyone know anything about the Texarkana, TX area? I've heard Cinemark will have a 14 screen there soon. I dont know if they are building a new one, or expanding the current 12 screen. Anyone have any details?
 

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Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 03-29-2004, 11:25 AM:
 
The last time I was in Texarkana they only had Movies 8 open. There was a nice little combination indoor and drive-in that was closed. I remember also going to a small strip mall theater that had 3 or 4 screens that the whole mall was deserted except for a Piggly Wiggly store.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 03-29-2004, 12:57 PM:
 
Looks like the Paradise finally sold, as it's once again a second-run house (the only one in the valley). Most recently it had been a Spanish-language house. Looks like they're charging $3 for matinees and $4 for evenings. Will have to give them a try.
 

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Posted by Adam Martin (Member # 641) on 03-29-2004, 01:23 PM:
 
Cinemark is probably going to build a new Legacy/Image-style theater with stadium seating and close the Movies location. They have done that in several markets now.
 

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Posted by Chad Lindsey (Member # 2212) on 03-29-2004, 02:28 PM:
 
From what I hear Movies 12 is pretty nice, closing it would seem such a waste, maybe they'll make it a discount like they did with the Sherman 7.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 03-30-2004, 12:16 PM:
 
(Note: This is not a new build...it is a former Mid States/Loews/Sony location.)

Published: Tuesday, March 30, 2004

By Doral Chenoweth
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Robin Mauney says once you visit a Cinema Grill, you won't want to go anyplace else for dinner and a movie.

For months, she's been working with contractors, moving seats and installing a 2,500-square-foot kitchen in the former Loew's nine-screen cineplex at the Continent. And although the Cinema Grill in central Ohio has missed a couple of tentative opening dates, movie fans won't have to wait much longer.

Mauney, operations director for the Atlanta-based chain, says the Continent unit will open in mid-April, 10 months after the original opening date. It will join 40 other Cinema Grills in 18 states.

Initially, the menu will offer burgers and fries, pizza, deli sandwiches and other casual-food items. Mauney predicts movie-viewers will spend about $7.50 each, excluding beer and wine.

The movies will cost $6.50. Unlike other film-food enterprises, Cinema Grill will have servers offering table service. The Cinema Grill will have two food-preparation employees on staff on weeknights and as many as six on the weekends.

Each of the eight theaters will offer square tables and a small bar for viewers who prefer to view screens from a stool.

Mauney said evening show times starting at 6 p.m. are scheduled for the first few weeks, with matinees to come in late spring. Franchisees for the Continent cineplex, 6360 Busch Blvd., are Larry Jones and Dale Obracay. For information, call 614-430-9208.

(Note posted 5/19/04: Theatre closed after 5 weeks of operation. See Ground Level Thread "Cinema Grill Closes After 5 Weeks.)

[ 05-18-2004, 07:20 PM: Message edited by: Mark Lensenmayer ]
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 05-12-2004, 07:49 AM:
 
Tomorrow will open Cine en Ballajá, a new 3 screen theater in the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The theater have 2 stadium seating screens with capacity for 98 guest and 1 screen for digital presentations and experimental work. Will serve wine and beers and some snacks. Also will have a store with dvd's and vhs, memorabilia of the movies shown, etc. It will only show art and international movies. A good competition for the only art house owned by Caribbean Cinemas.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-18-2004, 07:22 PM:
 
An unknown group is re-opening a closed General Cinema 8-plex on the west side of Columbus as a Dollar Theater. Opening scheduled for 5/21/04. Details will be added as they become available.

This is a rather under-screened area, and it might just succeed there.
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 05-19-2004, 06:58 AM:
 
Today open a new 10-plex of Caribbean Cinemas in Las Piedras. It will open with the premier of Shrek 2. I will add more details later.
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 05-19-2004, 10:24 AM:
 
Cine Ballaja in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico also is able to run 16mm in one room. The site should look very good by Memorial Day since the much of the equipment did not arrive until 4 hours before opening day and they where able to do an interlock presentation with vise grips holding up temporary film rollers...even with those difficulties, their presentation is superior to the competion.
In addition to the 10 plex opening by Caribbean Cinemas, there will have their St. Maarten multiplex opening in two weeks. Cine Vista, also in Puerto Rico, is opening a 3 plex in a small mountain town.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 05-19-2004, 07:14 PM:
 
Marcus closed the old Apple Valley Theatre after countless two dollar shows and a lot of stories of dropped prints I heard about when I worked at the Rosemount Theatre down the street. It was the last cheap thing to do in Apple Valley, at least a good deal of people who went there didn't have any illusions about what presentation to expect out of that theater.

Starship Troopers was the best print I saw there, it had few scratched even on its last week, or so I can remember.
Wonder what specialty yuppie store will inhabit the building next?
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 07-15-2004, 12:52 PM:
 
One of the largest single screen theatres (actually, the largest) in New York City is currently running its last feature. The Loew's Astor Plaza on 44th Street will close on August 5th, leaving the Clearview Ziegfeld at the last of NYC's "palaces". Also, the Loew's State, in the basement of the Virgin Megastore, will close its four screens next year, leaving Times Square without a movie-going venue for the first time in . . .well, for the first time since anyone can remember.

Here is the article from today's New York Times;

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/15/nyregion/15astor.html?ex=1090887724&ei=1&en=01a696bc540e788e

Take down the 70-millimeter reels. Switch off the Dolby. Fade to black.

New York City will lose its largest single-screen movie theater next month, when the 1,440-seat Loews Astor Plaza in Times Square closes after a 30-year run that began with "For Pete's Sake" and will apparently end with Peter Parker ("Spider-Man 2").


In a twist on the Broadway trend of the early and mid-20th century, when playhouses and vaudeville halls were turned into movie theaters, the Astor Plaza will become a live rock concert hall after a nine-month renovation.

The new use will be "consistent with the entire Times Square entertainment idea," said Steven M. Durels, senior vice president of S. L. Green Realty Corporation, owners of 1515 Broadway, between 44th and 45th Streets, which houses the Astor Plaza, the Minskoff Theater, MTV Studios and Viacom's headquarters.

"We feel it's the best of all worlds," Mr. Durels said, particularly since the alternatives were to turn the 43,000-square-foot underground space into a garage or a theme restaurant.

But the closing of the Astor Plaza, scheduled for Aug. 5, will also cost New York one more theater whose sweeping dimensions recall something of the grandeur of the Capitol, the Rivoli, the Roxy and the Strand.

There was no mighty Wurlitzer, no gilded cherubim. But there was a glittery, disco-ball 70's sensibility to the place, perfectly fitting its role as the first-run home of thundering broad-screen epics like "Superman," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Man Who Would Be King," "Return of the Jedi" and multiples of 007: "A View to a Kill," "Licence to Kill" and "The Living Daylights."

Ruby-red pleated curtains still greet movie patrons, who have 42 rows of battleship-gray seats to choose from, with a balcony that seems to recede to the horizon, ending at Row QQ. The screen extends about 20 yards, as wide as many subway cars are long.

In a city where 1,000-seat cinemas were once a dime a dozen, Clearview Cinemas' Ziegfeld at 141 West 54th Street will be the last to make that claim, with 1,162 seats facing the same screen. "Once the Astor Plaza closes, it will be the largest one-screen auditorium in New York," said Laura Conover, a spokeswoman for Clearview.

This dismays theater buffs like William P. Huelbig, 49, of Weehawken, N.J., who works as a law library assistant in a large Manhattan firm.

Other remaining single-screen theaters, like the Paris and the Beekman, are too small to qualify as movie palaces, he said in an e-mail message. "A palace should have at least a thousand seats, and that leaves the Ziegfeld in a class by itself," Mr. Huelbig said. "It seems wrong that a city like New York should have only one theater like that."

Was the Astor Plaza too big for the multiplex era? Or too near the Loews 42nd Street E Walk? Is "Spider-Man 2" going to close the theater or will one more extravaganza flicker to life as the curtains part? Loews Cineplex would not say. In fact, it had no comment at all, said its public relations firm.

According to the landlord, Loews did explore the possibility in 1993 of dividing the auditorium into a six-screen multiplex, but the cost was too high. The company still had 17 months left on its lease at 1515 Broadway, which S. L. Green bought out.

AEG Live, a division of AEG of Los Angeles, has signed a 15-year lease, said S. L. Green executives, who did not disclose the rent. The renovation, to be designed by David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group, is expected to begin as soon as the Astor Plaza closes. The new concert hall will open next summer. Michael Roth, the vice president for communications at AEG, said it was too early to discuss the plans in any detail.

AEG operates the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, where the Academy Awards ceremony is held. It also developed and operates the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

To prepare 1515 Broadway for rock concerts, tests were performed at up to 120 decibels. Noise from the underground auditorium will be reduced by a suspended ceiling and layered walls. Electric power and air-conditioning will be increased. A smoke-purging system will be added, as will additional access to fire stairs.

"From a technical standpoint, this was the most complicated deal the firm ever did," said Gerard Nocera, chief operating officer of S. L. Green.

The 54-story building, also known as 1 Astor Plaza, was developed in the late 60's and early 70's by Sam Minskoff & Sons on the site of the Astor Hotel. To create a clear span for the side stages and proscenium arch of the Minskoff Theater, an enormous truss was built that carries the weight of 45 office floors overhead. That permitted the construction of another column-free space three levels below.

"Somebody said, 'Why don't we put a second theater in?'" recalled Der Scutt, who designed 1 Astor Plaza as a young architect at Kahn & Jacobs. "The structure lent itself very nicely to that. It's a big theater. It had a good rake and nice sightlines."

In 1970, the Walter Reade Organization signed on to operate the movie theater, which it called the Reade. It was supposed to open on Dec. 21, 1971, with Otto Preminger's "Such Good Friends." But the debut never occurred. Reade said the theater was inadequately isolated from subway noise and vibration. The Minskoffs and their architects dismissed the problem as having been solved. Months passed. The space stayed shut.

Finally, under the management of Loews, the renamed theater opened on June 26, 1974, with "For Pete's Sake," starring Barbra Streisand. The auditorium originally had 1,500 seats.

"Astor Plaza is known as the place to see event films," said the Cinema Treasures Web site, which is found at cinematreasures.org and includes a guide to 6,150 theaters nationwide. "Because of its large size, the Plaza still draws large opening-night crowds - crowds who really know how to enjoy a movie."

But for Mr. Huelbig, the last visit on July 3 was a poignant one, as he described it to other theater buffs on Cinema Treasures.

"I sat in the balcony to get the full effect of that huge expanse of seats in front of me," he wrote. "And when the credits were over, I stayed to watch the curtains close on the last big single-screen theater in Times Square. It was as if the curtains were closing on a part of New York movie history."
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 07-15-2004, 06:27 PM:
 
In the late 1980s to early 1990s, the Loews Astor Plaza was often booked to run big event films from Paramount, often with 70mm prints. I recall watching a rare 70mm Dolby SR mag print of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" there.

While the Astor Plaza was not my favorite theater in New York (I still preferred the Ziefeld, even if it had 300 fewer seats) it still really sucks that this place is closing.

This issue also raises the question of exhibitors in why they cannot seem to build any "palace size" rooms in any so-called "megaplex". What are they thinking?

I've been to numerous multiplex sites with 24 to 30 screens and have often come away less-than-impressed. Honestly, there is NOTHING quite like the feeling you get when walking into a quality auditorium with over 1,000 seats. It always commands a larger scale. If I were building movie theaters, particularly in key high-traffic locations, I would have at least one screen in the complex with over 1,000 seats and 70mm projection capability.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 07-15-2004, 10:26 PM:
 
"Marcus closed the old Apple Valley Theatre "

Gee, I thought that Apple Valley was supposed to just be a fictious place in a Walt Disney film where Mickey and Donald climb the beanstalk.

Mark @ CLACO
 

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Posted by Christian Volpi (Member # 2370) on 07-16-2004, 12:02 PM:
 
The company I work for, Main Street Theaters, just opened a new 3-plex in Sheldon, Ia and we have a new 14-plex opening in Sioux City, Ia in November. Sioux City is a town of 95,000 people and all they have is a run down 3-plex sub run house and an even more run down 12 plex Carmike Theatre.

[ 08-15-2004, 10:38 AM: Message edited by: Christian Volpi ]
 

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Posted by Marcial Feliciano Ramos (Member # 1989) on 07-27-2004, 12:47 PM:
 
Here in Puerto Rico, in Naranjito opened a 4 screen theater. Is independent but received i lot of help by CineVista the second movie chain of the island.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 07-27-2004, 07:25 PM:
 
Forgot to post last month..

Carmike Cinemas closed the Dunes 8. It's demise leaves a void in the discount theatre market here on the 'Grand Strand'. The old Dunes Cinema (4 screen) was razed in 1993 to make room for anupdated, then state of the art 8 plex, which soon fell to discount status in 1996 upon opening of the Broadway Cinema 16.

The theatre operated under the Dunes Cinema 8 from November 18, 1994 thru June 17th 2004.

The building now sits empty with the current owner 'flipping' the property for a projected 2mil profit.
 

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Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 08-05-2004, 12:14 AM:
 
A new Century 20 opened in West Des Moines, IA today. We are in the Metro market, but hopefully far enough away that it won't effect us that much. Have to wait and see. I would like to get in there for a tour sometime.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 08-05-2004, 08:18 AM:
 
The "Outer Circle" in Washington, DC just closed last week. Mainly known for being an Art House in the latter part of its life...it had back-to-back theatres with reasonably nice sized rooms.

Steve
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-05-2004, 09:42 AM:
 
No need really for a tour of any Century Theatre. Expect to see all Christie Booths. The sound systems might be all THX as that was the case with the last location they built here. They announced another Salt Lake City location near 7200 south and 1300 east a month or so ago, this is just a couple of miles from Larry Miller's Jordon Commons 21 screener. I never really liked Centurys snack bar setup there and the way its structured takes jobs AWAY from kids. Their architect should also get the award for ugliest theatre design. 1st graders could have done a better job!

Mark @ CLACO
 

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Posted by R. Andrew Diercks (Member # 1725) on 08-05-2004, 10:10 AM:
 
I definately agree with the snack bar set up. Terrible, it's like a hospital cafeteria. You could be second in line for popcorn and pay 16th. Lobby also seemed very dark and gloomy almost. There advertising does state all THX auditoriums as well. Still customers seem to think bigger is always better, and they are twice as big as any other theatre in the Des Moines market.

Hopefully people will realize they are treated better and have equal if not better presentation with us.
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 08-05-2004, 10:44 AM:
 
The Loew's Astor Plaza in NYC closed Sunday. It is being turned into a concert venue. Scratch another large 70MM venue (1, 400 seats) with a 65 foot screen. Leaves all of Manhattan with just one remaining large single screen theatre.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 08-05-2004, 10:50 AM:
 
The Loew's Astor Plaza Theatre closed after the last show on Sunday August 1st. They closed four days earlier than their planned closing date of August 5th.. The final film was "The Village" for three days. After the final show they removed the stage & surround speakers and projection equipment from the booth. In removing the stage speakers they tore into the screen to get them. The seats are said to going to be used to reseat another Loew's house in the city.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 08-05-2004, 11:50 AM:
 
Three new multis going in at new or existing casinos here--the Cannery, Santa Fe, and the new Redrock Station. I've always thought the Cannery would be a good location since there's nothing serving that side of the valley except for the single on Nellis AFB. The Santa Fe will give Century's location across the street a run for its money. The new Redrock Station will be competing with both Regal's Village Square and Century's Suncoast. Don't know yet who's contracted to operate these new locations. More details as they come out.

Oh yeah, Century is now leasing pads on the site of the former Redrock 11.

[ 08-05-2004, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 08-05-2004, 02:50 PM:
 

quote: R. Andrew Diercks

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Still customers seem to think bigger is always better, and they are twice as big as any other theatre in the Des Moines market

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quote: Brandon Willis

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Isn't a new Regal in the works for central Washington, DC?

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Yes. Gallery Place in Washington, D.C. will be opening before the end of the month.
 

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Posted by Mark DeLettera (Member # 125) on 08-06-2004, 08:58 AM:
 
Venitian 6 in Venice, Florida (Regal) will close on Labor Day weekend 2004 after some 20+ years. Rumors are for a multi-plex in Venice, but most likely not a Regal.


 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 08-06-2004, 12:45 PM:
 
We had a comment card get sent to my theatre by mistake that said "We hate to see the Venetian 6 close, and we hope you will relocate in Venice soon."
 

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Posted by Mark DeLettera (Member # 125) on 08-07-2004, 09:58 AM:
 

quote: Brandon Willis

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We had a comment card get sent to my theatre by mistake that said "We hate to see the Venetian 6 close, and we hope you will relocate in Venice soon."

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No wonder they're closing.... the comment cards don't even make it to the right place!!


 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 08-08-2004, 11:14 AM:
 
The former 4 plex AMC 25th Street in Easton Pennsylvania has once again closed. Most recently operated under the banner of $2.00 Movies, I understand the Landlord pulled the plug as the rent was seven months in arrears.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 08-08-2004, 02:19 PM:
 
Parmatown Cinemas will Close in August

quote:

---

MOVIES
Parmatown Cinemas will close in August
Saturday, July 31, 2004
John Petkovic
Plain Dealer Reporter

The end.

After 37 years and thousands of movies, the action is coming to a close at Parmatown Cinemas.

The five-screen theater, one of the longest-running in the area, will show its last movie on Aug. 12.

It will be replaced by a Dick's Sporting Goods, which is scheduled to open in fall 2005.

"The theater was doing well, especially of late," says Jon Forman of Cleveland Cinemas, which managed the theater since July 2002. "Mall management just made the decision to bring in Dick's Sporting Goods."

Pittsburgh-based Dick's operates more than 150 stores in the eastern half of the United States, including five in the area.

"We had been looking to replace the theater with a big box' retailer," says Chris Monaco of RMS Investment Corp., which owns and operates the mall. "It's extremely hard for an old five-screen theater to compete with these new multiplexes out there."

Twelve-plus screen theaters have become the norm over the last decade, and mall theaters have seen a steady decline. There are three multiplexes within a 15-minute drive of Parmatown.

"Mall operators prefer to use space for retail, which commands more money," says Forman. "These days, theaters tend to be close but not actually a part of a mall."

Still, Cleveland Cinemas managed to reinvigorate Parmatown Cinemas after a disastrous run as Cinema Grill. The local chain not only jettisoned Cinema Grill's dinner-theater approach, it instituted senior specials and Monday discount nights that bolstered attendance.

"Parma is a very loyal film-going market," says Forman. "People have been living there for, say, 25 years and they're willing to support their local theater."

Forman will return the favor by offering free popcorn and drinks Aug. 9-12. And he isn't excluding the possibility of returning to Parma. "We had long conversations with RMS about relocating the theater," says Forman. "Right now, it's a question mark. But there's no doubt that Parma would support another one."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jpetkovic@plaind.com, 216-999-4556

© 2004 The Plain Dealer.

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quote:

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12-screen theater coming to Parma Hts. next year
Monday, August 23, 2004
Fran Henry
Plain Dealer Reporter

Take heart, West Side film buffs. Although the five-screen Parmatown Cinemas at Parmatown Mall closed Aug. 12, a 12-screen theater is scheduled to open in late spring or early summer of 2005.

The Variety, a 35,000-square-
foot theater, will be at West 130th Street and Pearl Road in Parma Heights, site of the 34-acre Cornerstone, a $90 million entertainment and residential complex in development by Schneider Management.

Cleveland Cinemas' Jonathan Forman, who ran Parmatown Cinemas the last two years of its 37-year history, will operate the new theater.

"There will be a new theater with all the whistles and bells of a state-of-the-art theater," Forman said.

The Variety will have stadium seating, with ramps to make sections fully handicapped-accessible, and digital sound. Some theaters will be equipped to show digital film.

The Parmatown Cinemas was closed to make room for Dick's Sporting Goods, which is to open in fall 2005.

Forman also operates Shaker Square Cinemas, Tower City Cinemas, Hickory Ridge Cinemas, Chagrin Cinemas, Austintown Movie and the Cedar Lee Theatre, which has been a mecca for independent and foreign film aficionados for 28 years.

"If there's one question that's been asked regularly of me," Forman said, "it's 'When are you going to do this on the West Side?'

"The Variety isn't going to be the equivalent of the Cedar Lee, but with 12 screens we'll have the opportunity to mix up the offering to show commercial blockbusters as well as independent films."

The Cornerstone, at the site of a former Tops supermarket and USA Skates, will feature restaurants, shopping, apartments, homes, walking trails, a pedestrian-friendly main street and a central park. It will be anchored by Old Time Pottery and Claire's Folly, a 96,000-square-foot family entertainment complex, also set to open in spring 2005.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

fhenry@plaind.com, 216-999-4806

© 2004 The Plain Dealer.

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quote: Joseph Pandolfi

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I was the last projectionist to close the dowser for good at 11:52PM here in Milford. CT.

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Hope you still have a paycheck elsewhere.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 09-24-2004, 08:38 PM:
 
Columbus Continent to be Second Run

quote:

---

Continent's theater sets second run
2004-08-02 Doug Buchanan, Business First of Columbus

The owner of the defunct Cinema Grill at the Continent tried to break away from the peloton of movie theaters that rode into Columbus with a restaurant theater setup that invited patrons to combine their dinner-and-a-movie night out into a one-stop proposition.

It took less than a month for the pack to leave the Cinema Grill in its wake, forcing the owner to bail out and close the theater until someone could come up with a better idea to compete.

Now the operator of the renamed Continent Cinema tells Business First it'll be content to hang back from the field and settle for second-run movies when the theater reopens as early as Halloween.

Larry Gardner, a 25-year veteran of AMC Entertainment Inc. who's been tapped to manage the Continent Cinema, said operating a second-run, or sub-run, theater marked the "best place in the market to position" the eight-screen complex.

"It'll give us an opportunity to do a number of things, such as playing some art product, a film festival or anything else we determine we want to do," Gardner said.

One of the options under consideration is to tap into the growing popularity of showing satellite-fed sporting events on the big screens.

Focusing on second-run movies also reduces the cost of film rental, which Gardner said is a significant percentage of gross receipts at first-run theaters in the weeks after a movie's debut.

Florida-based National Entertainment Developers opened the Cinema Grill on April 8 under a management agreement with Cinema Grill Systems Inc. of Atlanta, but agreed May 6 to hand over the operations after persistent operational problems. Realty Finance Management, landlord of the Continent development in north Columbus, closed the property May 11 for renovations.

Gardner said the reworked theater will continue to serve food, but the latest plan calls for eliminating waiter-served tables.

Instead, the theater will include slightly wider seats in rows set wider apart to accommodate tray-toting guests. A revised menu remains under development, but will include pizzas as well as beer and wine.

The failure of the theater prompted the landlord in June to sue Cinema Grill Systems for $1.54 million in Franklin County Common Pleas Court on breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud accusations. Cinema Grill and its chief executive, James Duffy, have denied the allegations

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quote: Roger Katz

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The Cinema City 4 art house in Hartford, CT closed down on Thursday. It will be missed as it showed movies that could not be seen elsewhere.

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quote: Eric Hooper

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The Atmospheric STATE THEATRE in Monterey is closing on Wednesday.

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quote: William Hooper

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Oh, heck. That organ is a great opus of Tom DeLay's, too. What's expected to become of the theatre?

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Tom said the new owner's going to restore the theatre for live performances and such, and keep the organ in tact.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 09-29-2004, 09:57 AM:
 
The former Regal UC7 Theater across from the University of Central Florida has finally been put to use after sitting empty for 4 years.

Unfortunately, it's being turned into a club of some sort. I think they're going to make each auditorium a different theme or something stupid like that. "Club T. R. 3" or something it's called. The concession stand was gone last time I looked inside.

So much for me re-opening it as an arthouse

=TMP=
 

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Posted by James R. Hammonds, Jr (Member # 673) on 09-30-2004, 10:53 PM:
 
Austin based Alamo Draft House is opening a theatre on the north side of Houston sometime in the next 6 months.
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 10-06-2004, 01:58 PM:
 
A cyber cafe called "Hyperlink Cafe" opened within the past few months in a building in Richmond, VA formerly occupied by the Grace Street Cinemas a.k.a. the Biograph Theatre.
Also, a Kroger store is going up where the Ridge 7 used to be. I haven't been out on that side of town for a while, so I'm not sure of the progress. Maybe Bill Enos might know?
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 10-17-2004, 04:38 PM:
 
Not an opening, not a closing, but an update on an ownership change. Here's an article from last week's Anchorage Daily News about the challenges of running the last screen in Homer, AK.

Screen Test

quote:

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Movie house owners hope films reflect community's values

By TOM KIZZIA
Anchorage Daily News

(Published: October 10, 2004)

HOMER -- By the time a real estate sign was posted on the side of the Homer Theatre two years ago, staff members were getting worried.

Homer's only movie theater had been up for sale a year already, with no buyer in sight. Granted, the place was half a century old and getting a little rundown. Would someone grab the location on the corner of Main and Pioneer, closing the theater that had been a venue not only for Friday night movie dates but also high school graduations and Winter Carnival Queen contests? Was Homer about to join other Alaska coastal communities like Valdez and Cordova as small towns without a picture show?

Then a buyer turned up, and at first it seemed even worse.

"I was born and raised here. I don't like change," said assistant manager Abi Mann, 23. "I thought, 'What right does a lawyer from California have to buy our theater?' "

Today, Mann and most of Homer are counting their blessings.

Jamie Sutton, a San Francisco-area criminal lawyer with deep pockets, and his wife, Lynette, an interior designer who built a cabin in Homer during her formative hippie-artist days, turned out to be movie buffs who had long fantasized about running a small-town theater.

For their part, Homer's theatergoers had long fantasized about sitting in plush comfortable seats, watching offbeat surprises along with first-run hit movies, in a theater that didn't smell like a freshly disinfected locker room.

Jamie Sutton has rebuilt the Homer Theatre's lobby and replaced the sprung, duct-taped, plywood-backed seats. He fixed the faulty drainage that left standing storm water on the floor beneath the stage. He threw open the doors to community groups, sharing the gate for nonprofit fund-raisers.

Friends of the Library held an adult spelling bee on the theater's stage before the opening of the documentary "Spellbound." Long lines of costumed partyers were turned away from a sold-out midnight show of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" last Halloween. The Glacierview Baptist Church held its own Sunday showing of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which Sutton first screened in a special preview for local ministers.

"You wouldn't have seen this in a million years," Mann said, recalling the old days, as she sold popcorn during a weeklong documentary film festival in September. The documentary festival, with repeat showings of films on surfing, '60s rock, fast food and the Iraq war, was a huge financial success.

This being politically contentious Homer, not everyone was happy. One letter writer to the local papers called for a "total boycott" of the Homer Theatre after the documentary festival, objecting to the decision to show a film called "The Control Room," about the Arabic TV network Al-Jazeera's efforts to cover Iraq. The letter writer, who had not seen the movie, called its appearance an "effort to publicly discredit our country and the efforts of our military in Iraq for the purposes of electing John Kerry."

But the call for a boycott went unheeded, judging from the turnout the first night after the festival, which happened to be a benefit showing of "Benji: Off the Leash" for the new animal shelter.

"Thinking may be hard work, but it's worth the effort," said one of a half-dozen letter writers who sprang to the movie theater's defense the following week. Wrote another: "Thank you, Jamie, for taking a chance on something different."

SOME MISTAKES

Jamie and Lynette Sutton used to come to Homer in summer with their three children, now in their teens, to stay at her cabin. They met two weeks after she moved from Homer to San Francisco. "I married the cabin too," Jamie Sutton says.

While maintaining a legal practice that takes him around the country, Sutton, 61, is getting to Homer more often these days, donning jeans and a ball cap to check on construction or, last month, to see how the documentary festival went over.

A boyish smile breaks across his face when he talks about an innovation that worked -- say, Anchor Point night, with discounts for Anchor Point residents. Or the spelling bee fund-raiser.

"The cool thing was if you didn't like the word they gave you, you could buy another word for 50 bucks," he said.

The smile doesn't even disappear when asked about his biggest mistakes. Smirking at his own folly, he recalls playing "The Hulk" for a week as a single bill, twice a night, to empty theaters.

"The mistakes we make are playing really lousy movies, even if they're hyped up. The point is, they're not worthy. Now take 'Princess Diaries 2,' which we just showed. It's not my kind of movie, but it's a nice movie, a worthy movie for its audience."

Back home in Marin County, the family holds animated discussions around the dinner table over what movies to bring to Homer. As theater owners, Sutton said, he and his family get to sit in huge leather seats when they attend private screenings for newly released films at the corporate offices of Century Theaters near their home.

"How great is that?" he said.

Sutton is choosy about the movies he shows. He likes the big hits, and he throws in an "art-house-university-crowd" film only once a month or so (the theater usually runs two movies a week, with separate admissions). Sex and violence may be used to make a point, but racy teen movies that "insult the audience" leave a sour taste.

He consults closely with his staff, but refused to show "Jackass: the Movie" despite predictions that it would draw a big Homer crowd. Forced to make a tough choice for last week's film, he opted for the Cole Porter biopic "De-Lovely," which he had previewed, over the backwoods pratfalls of "Without a Paddle."

"If it's a toss-up, let's go for the higher ground," he said. Friday night's Cole Porter opening was a fund-raiser for the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra, he said.

"He definitely has his opinion," said Mann, his assistant manager. "He feels that what plays here reflects Homer."

Sutton is smart to go for diversity because it widens the audience for a small-town theater, says Bruce Goodnow of Northwest Diversified Entertainment, a Seattle-based booking agency that ships films to the Homer Theatre. A theater that just shows the teen films with the hot trailers on TV winds up getting ignored by much of the town, he says.

"Most successful small-town single-owner theaters take a lot of input from the owner's personality," says Goodnow.

GOT ITS START IN 1956

In the age of the multiplex, Homer's theater is one of the oldest continuously running movie houses in Alaska.

The theater opened the day after Christmas in 1956 with a Western that ran for two nights and the community attending for free, recalls Ray Kranich, whose parents built and ran the theater.

Until a new high school with a theater was built in the late 1980s, the movie theater with its stage below the screen was the only venue in town for big shows -- from amateur theatricals and talent shows to the Mr. Homer Contest. Kranich, who as a teenager was "everything from projectionist to janitor," says it was sometimes hard to start the movie.

"I'd look down and there'd be groups of people sitting and visiting all over the theater. It was a real center for social contact," Kranich says.

The next owners, the Belnaps, weren't quite as rigid about family fare as the Kranichs. But they are remembered for trying to edit out the worst sex scenes for the benefit of Homer's moviegoers, either with a splice machine or by momentarily placing a cap over the lens.

THE ECONOMICS

Homer is lucky to have held onto its movie house, given the economics of the business, says Marie Fletcher, who, with her husband, Skip, has spent 50 years running the Liberty Theater in Seward. Opened in 1943, the Liberty is probably Alaska's oldest continuously used movie theater. The Fletchers still run it as a mom and pop operation, at ages 68 and 75, selling tickets and popcorn and sweeping up themselves.

"It's not what you call a real profitable business," Fletcher says. Freight to Alaska for a movie can cost $200, and then the owner has to give the film distributors a share of the ticket sales -- on new releases, more than half the proceeds.

But Goodnow, the booking agent, says the economics are actually improving for towns of a certain size. The home-video revolution clearly pulled away viewers but is widely felt to have helped as well by expanding the movie-going audience. And in an industry where a four-screen multiplex is no longer considered a good investment, a small-town theater isn't likely to get new competition until the town is big enough to support a 10-plex, Goodnow said.

Sutton says ticket sales in Homer are comfortably covering wages and paying off the purchase, even buying a new $6,000 corn popper -- everything except the big capital improvements. One of his first moves was to erect a false front of honey-colored rough-cut timber outside the green metal building, adding a roof to keep rain off theatergoers' heads. His early efforts were rewarded last year with a civic beautification award from the Homer Chamber of Commerce for "most improved" building.

The crowds have grown, drawn both by the improved comfort and the variety. Even some churchgoers, who rigorously avoided all movies in the past, choose to go to an occasional film, says Glacierview Baptist pastor Rick Wise. Learning to choose wisely can strengthen people's faith, he said.

"They were very gracious," he said of the theater owners for allowing his congregation to sell tickets to a special showing of "The Passion of the Christ." They pretty much packed the theater, which seats 220, for a show held right after a Sunday service.

"There were people I'd never seen before coming to that movie," said Mann. "Every movie brings a different crowd."

As assistant manager, she sorts the crowds partly by their refreshments. The worst candy-and-soda messes turn up after the little kid movies, she said, followed by the teen movies.

For the wildlife documentary "Winged Migration," on the other hand, all they sold was "sesame sticks and bottled water," she said.

In an enduring small-town way, the pre-sorted crowds still stand around and socialize after the lights come up.

"It's this big family in there," says manager Colleen Carroll. "Sometimes it's hard to get people out for the next show."

That may not be a top priority for Sutton.

"It's a community resource because it's the only theater in town, and it ought to be a cultural resource because we're dealing with one of the most exciting elements of our culture today," Sutton says. "And we ought to do things in an inspiring way if we can find a way to do it. After all, it's the movies! Isn't that great?"

Reporter Tom Kizzia can be reached at tkizzia@adn.com or in Homer at 907-235-4244.

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Homer resident Chris Kulcheski settles down to watch "Festival Express," a documentary on the 1970 train that journeyed across Canada with the greatest rock bands of the era, including Janis Joplin, The Band and The Grateful Dead. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)


Lynette and Jamie Sutton have owned the Homer Theatre for almost two years. Besides physical improvements to the outside and inside of the building, they are beginning to offer special festivals for moviegoers -- such as the four documentaries that ran last month. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)


Projectionist Dustin Sharbono threads a movie for an afternoon showing. The poster from the movie "K-Pax" hangs over the Ballantyne projector to protect it from the sprinkler system and dust. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)


Patrons watch a showing of "Control Room," a documentary on the Arab news network Al-Jazeera. The movie generated a controversy in Homer with one newspaper letter writer saying the theater should be boycotted. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)


Working at the Homer Theatre means multitasking, as Dustin Sharbono clearly demonstrates. He's a projectionist, works concessions and acts as the theater's janitor. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)


The lobby of the Homer Theatre becomes a meeting place for local friends as theater assistant manager Abi Mann helps other customers at the concession stand. (Photo by Jim Lavrakas / Anchorage Daily News)
 

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Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 10-17-2004, 04:43 PM:
 

quote: Thomas Procyk

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Unfortunately, it's being turned into a club of some sort.

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They did the same thing to an old 6 screen theater here. UA 6, which closed a few years ago. Todd Parr used to work there. 6 clubs in one place, called Graham Central Station. What a waste.
 

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Posted by David Yauch (Member # 2754) on 10-19-2004, 03:38 AM:
 
Harkins recently opened the Brick Town 16 in Oklahoma City.

A slew of others are slated to open in within the next few years, most at 14 or 16 screens. A good portion of them are in Arizona, where Harkins dominates the market, but there are other expansions planned throughout the southwest.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 10-25-2004, 12:17 PM:
 
The King Cinema in LaCrosse, WI Closes:

After 32 years, theater's screens go dark
By STEVE CAHALAN and BETSY BLOOM / La Crosse Tribune

The article is a pretty good eulogy for a closing theater, complete with history and a photo.

While the article seems to go down the same road as every other such article (blaming the crowds for liking stadium seating and multiplexes), the photo, I think, shows a better reason for why this theater could not compete.

Some of the seats have been removed, but you can clearly see how narrow that auditorium was. At its widest in the photo, there are 10 seats across with an aisle down the middle. So what does that come to, 24-30 feet?

Here's the article:

quote:

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Richard Lepsch was manager of King Cinemas when it opened in downtown La Crosse as King Theaters in 1972.
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On Tuesday, he and other Marcus Theatres Corp. employees were removing equipment from the three-screen movie complex at 216 Seventh St. S., which showed its final films Sunday night.

They finished by taking a sledgehammer to cinderblocks in one of the large trash bins outside the building. "It's the end of a long day," said Chuck Bushek, general manager of Marcus Theatres in La Crosse.

Another bin held stacks of seats, discarded as outdated. The entire theater had been "showing its age," Lepsch said, but due to the building and its location, the theater could not be adapted to meet the public's changing tastes.

"They want the stadium seating, the big screens, big sound systems," Lepsch said. "Multiplexes are what companies are building. The singles, doubles and triples have gone by the wayside."

He acknowledged some sadness about the closing of the theater he managed from 1972 to 1983. "But it had to happen," said Lepsch, who today is a district manager for Marcus Theatres, which has operated the King Cinemas since 1983.

The Milwaukee-based company's Marcus Cinema La Crosse movie theater complex at 2032 Ward Ave. is being expanded and remodeled in time for the Christmas movie season. Its number of screens will increase to 11 from eight. Lepsch said plans are to complete that project by Thanksgiving.

Almost all of the King's 12 employees will transfer to the Ward Avenue theater, he said.
Stefany Besse, general manager of a Marcus Theater in Oakdale, MN carries a chair out of one of the theaters at the King Theaterin downtown La Crosse tuesday as a team of marcus employees worked to gut the three theater complex. The theater has been closed after more than 32 years of business. PETER THOMSON photo
The leased downtown building is owned by R&R Development, LLC, an affiliate of Cleary Management Corp., said Jerry Miller, a Cleary Management spokesman.

"We're exploring all options at this point" for the property, Miller said. "Everything from leasing the present building to the possibility of new development on the property."

The downtown movie complex had two screens when it was opened by the Brenden Corp. in 1972. A third screen was added later.

The first movie shown at the King was Disney's "The Biscuit Eater." The last was "Wimbledon," Bushek said, to a scant crowd. Marcus chose not to publicize the theater's closing in advance.

While he still has the Ward Avenue complex to manage, Bushek said he'll miss some of the King's regulars and smaller rewards. The theater often provided lesser-known films with a venue in La Crosse.

"For a lot of months, I would almost call this, ‘Academy Theater,'" Bushek said. "They appealed to that certain niche."

Some blossomed into unexpected hits. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" pulled in decent audiences at the King for almost six months, Bushek said. He and Lepsch were quick to add those types of films should find a place at the expanded Ward Avenue site.

Owners of two neighboring restaurants, the Country Kitchen and Pizza Doctors, said Tuesday they didn't expect the theater's closing to cost them much business.

"It's too bad, I used to go there when I was in high school, that was the place to go, but that's what happens when other places get bigger and better," said Larry McMahon, owner of Pizza Doctors, 624 King St.

"It used to be more steady (business), but it depends on the movie," said Earl Zumach, owner of Country Kitchen, 141 S. Seventh St. "Boy, when they got good movies going, you could see a difference."

The King was the last first-run movie venue in downtown La Crosse, Lepsch said. The Rivoli Theatre shows second-run movies and the Children's Museum of La Crosse owns the Hollywood Theatre, where it shows children's and family films.

Informed Tuesday of the theater's closure, Mayor John Medinger said he hoped the downtown could retain its remaining movie houses.

"I feel bad about it," Medinger said. "I think it's important to have a movie theater downtown ... so let's all start going to the Rivoli."

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quote: Dave Williams

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Our other two art houses are the single screen Tower Theatre built in 1926, that looks feels and smells like it has had no maintenance since then, and the broadway center cinemas, operated by the same owner as the tower, which uses seats so comfortable that your ass will never forgive you.

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Boy Dave, the above statement is really an understatement. Both the Tower and the Broadway are dumps, dives, pits, holes at best and inexcusable, especially for being located in downtown Salt Lake City. All I can assume is that they must have some deal cut with the mayor to exist as they do.

I look forword to Regency re-opening the Trolley location asap so there is a clean place to watch art product in town!!

Mark
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-19-2004, 03:32 PM:
 

quote: Lionel Brannon

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If my memory serves me correctly they use to present movies in 70mm there. They were also the first in Dallas to have SDDS. I remember seeing the "Last Action Hero" there in SDDS.

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quote: Lionel Brannon

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Good news is that Dallas (proper) is now getting more stadium seating theatres. AMC Valley View 16 opened in May of this year, the upcoming AMC North Park Mall 15 in Spring 2006 and Rave Motion Pictures has announced that they plan to build 5 theatres in 2005 in the Dallas area.

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I'm not a big fan of AMC in how they currently design their theaters. It is just flat out stupid to stuff the surround speakers up in the ceiling. Combine that with those solid Torus screens (with speakers above and below). You just wind up with an auditorium that echoes all over the place and essentially has only two effective channels of sound: one big channel in front of you and one on top of your head. That sucks much ass.

Given AMC's current theater design, I don't care if they build a 50-plex at Northpark Mall. I'm still not going to drive 200 miles to check it out. Years ago, when the glorious CGG Northpark #1-2 was open, I had no problem at all driving from Lawton to see a show there. I don't care if that theater had no stadium seating. It was a premiere-class 1100 seat auditorium, equipped for 70mm and had one of the original THX systems, personally designed by Tomlinson Holman himself. That place kicked ass. The new AMC won't be able to hold a candle to the presentation standards that existed there.
 

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Posted by Brent Neal Jones (Member # 1048) on 12-20-2004, 02:08 PM:
 
The Galaxy Drive-in Theatre. Now open, 7-days, year round. Opening with Screens 1 & 2 featuring D.T.S., FM Stereo, Speakers and a full service snack bar. Excellent prices, family driven enviroment, Admission: $6 Kids 12 and under $2 (5and below free) DOUBLE FEATURES ALL THE TIME!

Located: I-45 Exit 255, Garret T.X.
Phone: (972)-875-5505
Web: <www.galaxydriveintheatre.com>

"Come see the movies, stay for the stars!"
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 12-22-2004, 11:45 AM:
 
The former UA (now Regal) Cap City 6 Plex at the Capital City Mall in Camp Hill PA (outside of Harrisburg) closed on December 19, 2004. Built in 1974, the complex was a storefront 'shoebox special' with a line of 6 tiny auditoriums ranging from 100 to 220 seats - most with single center ailes and each with a low ceiling and tiny screen.

Dubbed by the locals "Cap Shitty", the theatre was notorious for feet stuck to syrup covered floors. It survived as long as it did only because of a product split arrangement which had guaranteed the theatre exclusive first runs for 50% of the product on its western side of the city.

It will not be missed.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 12-22-2004, 07:25 PM:
 
The Clearview Cinema's Edison Cinemas, an 8 screener in Edison NJ, will go dark after its last shows on December 30, 2004.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-22-2004, 09:41 PM:
 
After a disastrous spring opening of only 5 weeks, the Continent 8 is trying again. This is the former Mid-States premiere house (that had projectors, including 70mm, in the lobby) that is in a rundown shopping center that is trying to regroup. The management of the center was totally ripped off by the previous Cinema Grill operators, with lawsuits pending. Larry Gardner is a former AMC district manager.

Article is from Columbus Dispatch, available directly only to subscribers.

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FOOD, DRINKS GET STAR BILLING AT NEW SECOND-RUN THEATER
Published: Wednesday, December 22, 2004
By Mike Pramik

If Larry Gardner had been managing movie theaters in the days of Smell-O-Vision, no doubt he'd have wanted the aroma of pepperoni pizza piped liberally through the aisles.

Unlike legendary movie producer Mike Todd Jr., who in 1960 experimented with piping odors into movie theaters, Gardner doesn't need machines to supply the smells at the Screens at the Continent. When central Ohio's newest theater opens this week, the scent of pizza wafting through the air will be genuine.

Casual food and alcohol are two of the attractions that Gardner hopes will draw moviegoers to the eight-screen theater, which will show second-run features.

"We just have to find the type of person who likes to sit down, have a beer in a comfortable seat and doesn't necessarily have to see a movie the first week it comes out,'' said Gardner, an employee of Realty Finance Management, the Continent's management company.

The theater has a soft opening today and Thursday for Continent residents. It opens to the public on Christmas Day when showings of White Christmas will be free. The regular ticket cost is $2.75, with shows before 5 p.m. priced at $2.

That's a bit higher than some of the other second-run theaters in central Ohio. But Realty Finance managing director David Farnsworth said he thinks customers will see the value in the nearly $1 million in improvements the company has poured into the cinema since spring.

"We've got the right management team in place, and we feel we've got the right niche compared to where other movie business is in Columbus right now,'' he said.

Still, the recent past hasn't been friendly to the theater.

Cinema Grill, a dinner-and-a-movie venue, closed in May, five weeks after it opened amid complaints about bad service, a poorly planned layout and substandard sound and picture quality.

"The idea of Cinema Grill itself was not necessarily a bad idea,'' Gardner said. "It came down to the operation that was sorely lacking.''

Plenty is new this time, he said.

New glass, metal framing and signs greet customers as they approach the three centralized ticket booths at the main entrance.

Gardner rearranged the lobby to look more traditional. It includes items such as a popcorn machine and candy counter. The theater also will sell pizza made on the premises, as well as appetizers. It has a full liquor license. Gardner said it will begin by selling bottled beer and wine, and perhaps pour liquor in the future.

The eight theaters vary in size and can accommodate between 75 and 335 people. The building has been rewired and two theaters now have digital sound. One theater will be used occasionally for satellite feeds such as boxing matches and Ohio State University football games. It's at a far end of the building and eventually will have its own entrance, Gardner said.

There's even a small service window inside the hallway that leads to the theaters, which allows customers access to the refreshment counter without entering the lobby. Unlike Cinema Grill, there will be no food service inside the theaters, which Gardner said was distracting.

The new seats are spaced 44 inches from back to back, supplying plenty of leg room.

"We don't have stadium seating here but the seats are brand new, and with the expanded food service and liquor license, we expect to do very well,'' Gardner said.

The Screens will compete with Carriage Place 12 on Bethel Road, Dollar Cinema near Westland Mall and Cinema City on the East Side, Gardner said.

The changes complement the general rebirth of the Continent, which was one of central Ohio's entertainment Meccas in the 1970s.

The Coliseum nightclub and Conti's at the Continent restaurant have opened this year, and the New Rush Creek Sports Bar & Grille is slated to open in January.

Farnsworth said the Continent's 100,000 square feet of office space also has been upgraded and is 60 percent filled. He said vacancy at the property's 625 one- and two-bedroom apartments is 10 percent.

mpramik@dispatch.com

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ombine that with those solid Torus screens (with speakers above and below).

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quote: Chris Hipp

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AMC has stopped installing Torus screens for the past few years, at least since 2002.

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quote: Chris Hipp

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The newer build have no SDDS, all Dolby digital

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We saw Howl's at the cutting-edge Virgin Cinemas Roppongi Hills http://www.tohocinemas.co.jp/roppongi . Roppongi Hills is a forest of glittering glass and steel, a brand-new high-density development in a popular nightlife neighborhood. Head over early to shop before the movie, or just wander around and check out the striking modern architecture. There are plenty of restaurants in the development; we dodged the upscale sit-down establishments and instead grabbed a few sandwiches at a coffee shop so we could save room for popcorn.

The theater itself is luxurious, and probably Tokyo's most Westerner-friendly. Signs are in English, seats are stadium style, and at any given moment, the theater is usually playing several English-language movies. Basic tickets cost $18, which is typical for Tokyo. But if you can afford to pay $30 for the ticket, plus at least $20/person for dinner, I highly recommend dinner-and-a-movie at Virgin's "premiere screen." The most exclusive movie theater in Tokyo, the premier screen has its own entrance, with an Italian restaurant, an elegant bar, a lounge and even a tiny Japanese garden on the roof. After dinner, you walk up to the theater where you'll find extra-roomy seats, and waiters serving beer and wine to you and the 72 other jet-set in the cozy screening room.

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If you go to the link and click on the English "Floor Guide" box you can see some pictures of this 7-plex that takes up four floors in a highrise building. Check out the seating used for the Premiere Screen:



I really like those seats. Wonder who makes them...

[ 01-04-2005, 11:00 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 01-04-2005, 06:04 PM:
 
I saw "Friday the 13th: Part III in 3D" at a movie theater in Lake Charles (I think that was 1982; my family lived in New Orleans at the time). Can't seem to remember the name of the theater. But I still have the 3D glasses.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 01-05-2005, 01:27 PM:
 
The editors of MSN's Cityearch have published their picks for Top 10 [US] Cinemas With a Twist:

• Alamo Drafthouse Cinema; Austin, TX
• Brew & View at the Vic; Chicago, IL
• Castro Theatre; San Francisco, CA
• El Capitan; Hollywood, CA
• Grauman's Chinese Theater; Hollywood, CA
• Harvard Exit Theater; Seattle, WA
• Kennedy School Theater; Portland, OR
• Silent Movie Theater; Hollywood, CA
• Starlight Six Drive-In; Atlanta, GA
• Two Boots Pioneer Theater; New York, NY

quote: Mark Ogden

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Here in NYC, the landlord has notified Clearview Cinemas that they will not be offered a new lease for the Beekman Theatre on the Upper East Side.

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quote: Paul Mayer

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Brew & View at the Vic; Chicago, IL

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Marcus Theatres Announces UltraCinema in Brookfield, Wis.
All Stadium Seating, Digital Sound Theatre Will be Circuit's Flagship

[Photo of Westown Cinema]
Westown Cinema and its neighbor West Point Cinema are destined to be replaced by the new Brookfield UltraCinema, planned to open in early 2006.

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2005--Marcus Theatres Corporation, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), today announced plans for a completely new theatre concept - the Marcus UltraCinema, to be built in Brookfield, Wis., a Milwaukee-area suburb. Still in the planning stage, the all-stadium seating, all-digital sound theatre will feature 17 screens, including a 75-foot-wide UltraScreen(R), and a dramatic new exterior design.

"The new Brookfield UltraCinema will be the first of its kind in our circuit. This amazing new theatre will be the flagship of our circuit and showcase Marcus Theatres' signature UltraScreen and a state-of-the-art digital sound system. It will also be unlike any other theatre we've ever built. The UltraCinema is designed from the ground up to be a state-of-the-art showplace where guest amenities, picture, sound and service combine for an unmatched entertainment experience," said Bruce J. Olson, president of Marcus Theatres(R).

The new UltraCinema will be located in the Town of Brookfield at the former Schreiber Foods site on Springdale Road, just north of Bluemound Road, adjacent to Sam's Club.

"The UltraCinema will be an entertainment complex in Brookfield that, when open, will surpass and take the place of our current Westown and West Point cinemas. Easily accessible from I-94 and Bluemound Road, the UltraCinema will unite the best of both theatres, including our outstanding UltraScreen experience, into one convenient, first-class facility that can even better serve moviegoers in Brookfield, Waukesha, Milwaukee and other surrounding areas," said Olson.

"Our community is honored that Marcus Theatres has selected the Town of Brookfield as the site for its new UltraCinema. This entertainment destination will be an outstanding addition to our area and a great benefit to our citizens," said Keith Henderson, Brookfield town chairman.

"When moviegoers arrive, they will be greeted by a stunning porte-cochere canopied entrance that is not only aesthetically pleasing, but also offers shelter from inclement weather. Our planned UltraCinema will feature all of the amenities that moviegoers currently expect - stadium seating, digital sound, big curved screens - and a lot more. The UltraCinema will boast not only a new exterior look but also an interior that features our Project 2010 art deco design concept with crown moldings, murals, elegant warm woods, rich marble floors and granite counters to create an attractive, upscale environment for moviegoers. The UltraCinema will showcase the best new technologies available in the industry, including online print-at-home ticketing, an e-mail showtime service and lobby entertainment on flat-screen monitors," Olson said.

"In addition to being the largest screen in the Midwest, the UltraScreen at the Brookfield UltraCinema will also feature a new digital sound system that is among the first of its kind in North America. The system provides unparalleled sound that is crystal clear with incredible dynamic range," added Olson.

Additional amenities at the Brookfield UltraCinema will include:

* An extensive refreshment center with an expanded menu serving several different kinds of pizza, hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, coffee, cappuccino and traditional theatre candies.
* Popcorn always popped fresh.
* Icy-cold Pepsi products, quickly and conveniently available at a large self-service beverage center.
* Fully accessible facilities for disabled guests.
* Personal listening devices for moviegoers who wish to adjust their own volume.
* The newest technology in open-caption film presentations for deaf and hard-of-hearing guests.
* Plush, high-back seats with headrests and cupholders.
* Wide, comfortable seats with increased legroom for added comfort.
* Double-wide love seats for couples who wish to cuddle up during movie presentations.

Construction on the UltraCinema is scheduled to begin in spring 2005, with an opening anticipated in early 2006.

Marcus Theatres also has a new 12-screen theatre under construction in Saukville, Wis., that will open in March 2005, and will soon begin construction on a 14-screen theatre in Green Bay, Wis., and a 16-screen theatre in Sturtevant, Wis. The company also has announced plans for new theatres in East Troy, Wis., and Findlay, Ohio.

Marcus Theatres is the ninth largest theatre circuit in the United States and currently owns or operates 491 screens at 44 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Ohio. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, The Marcus Corporation is a leader in the lodging and entertainment industries. In addition to its Marcus Theatres division, the company's Marcus Hotels and Resorts division owns or manages 10 hotels and resorts in Wisconsin, California, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas and one vacation club in Wisconsin. For more information, visit Marcus Theatres' Web site at www.marcustheatres.com or The Marcus Corporation Web site at www.marcuscorp.com.

Certain matters discussed in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may generally be identified as such because the context of such statements will include words such as we "believe," "anticipate," "expect" or words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our future plans, objectives or goals are also forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which could cause results to differ materially from those expected, including, but not limited to, the following: (i) the availability, in terms of both quantity and audience appeal, of motion pictures for our theatre division; (ii) the effects of increasing depreciation expenses and preopening and start-up costs due to the capital intensive nature of our businesses, including the possibility that such costs may exceed our expectations; (iii) the effects of adverse economic conditions in our markets, particularly with respect to our hotels and resorts division; (iv) the effects of adverse weather conditions, particularly during the winter in the Midwest and in our other markets; (v) the effects on our occupancy and room rates from the relative industry supply of available rooms at comparable lodging facilities in our markets; (vi) the effects of competitive conditions in the markets served by us; (vii) our ability to identify properties to acquire, develop and/or manage and continuing availability of funds for such development; (viii) the adverse impact on business and consumer spending on travel, leisure and entertainment resulting from terrorist attacks in the United States, the United States' responses thereto and subsequent hostilities; and (ix) our decisions regarding the use of the proceeds received from the sale of our limited-service lodging division and other asset sales. Shareholders, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made herein are made only as of the date of this press release and we undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Source: Business Wire / Marcus Theatres Corporation

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* Additional amenities at the Brookfield UltraCinema will include:
*An extensive refreshment center with an expanded menu serving several different kinds of pizza, hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, coffee, cappuccino and traditional theatre candies.
* Popcorn always popped fresh.

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quote:

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* Icy-cold Pepsi products, quickly and conveniently available at a large self-service beverage center.

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quote:

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* Fully accessible facilities for disabled guests.

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* Personal listening devices for moviegoers who wish to adjust their own volume.

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* The newest technology in open-caption film presentations for deaf and hard-of-hearing guests.

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* Plush, high-back seats with headrests and cupholders.

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* Wide, comfortable seats with increased legroom for added comfort.
* Double-wide love seats for couples who wish to cuddle up during movie presentations

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quote: Monte L Fullmer

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the scum of REG

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geez... dont edit yourself or anything..
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 01-12-2005, 04:34 PM:
 
Lowes Cineplex has announced that the Cinema 1 (formerly the KB Cinema)- which is advertised as the second largest screen in the Washington DC area after the Uptown- will close as of January 27, 2005.
 

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Posted by Brandon Willis (Member # 2345) on 01-22-2005, 01:19 AM:
 
I have heard that the Riverdale Plaza 12 cinemas in Hampton, VA closed a couple of weeks ago and will be turned into a Cinema Cafe. It was opened by Regal in the mid 90s and sold to a local operator a couple years back.
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 01-23-2005, 10:06 AM:
 
Here in Wilmington NC Consolidated is having the grand opening of the new 16 plex they built here. I have not been home to go and check it out. I flew home from Memphis for sat and fly back outto Memphis today so there was no time for me to go and see it, but I hear it is beautiful and will certainly give the area a nother choice from Carmike. In Memphis the drive-in is still open and I have hopes of getting over there to check it out.
 

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Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 01-23-2005, 10:40 AM:
 
2 weeks ago I saw the TMI Altamonte 8 Cinema was showing Kinsey. Last week, I called the recording and, "The Altamonte 8 Cinema is no longer operated by [names of people I forgot]. The theater plans to open under new management in the near future. There are currently no movies playing."

Today, the number to the theater has been disconnected.

This was a GCC, next to the Altamonte Springs Mall. About a year ago, AMC built a 18 on the very edge of the mall, literally butting the old 8-plex. Only a small road between them. That road was the "access road" for the 8, which had its back to the main road. (the access road had a small 2x3ft sign "Theatre Entrance") I noticed recently that they have torn up this road to do some construction, so I'm unsure of how to get to the theater at all. Wonder if that coincided with the closing...

**EDIT**
So I drove over there today to check it out. Apparently you have to drive "around" the shopping center to get to it now that the access road is closed. Who the hell would build a theater facing the BACK of a shopping center?!? Apparently GCC did...



That's the front. There were 2 box offices, the one you see in front of you, and another one facing outward on the right side.



I guess the reflection in the windows of this box office tell all. The once cheery red ticket station which greeted eager patrons on their way to enjoy the show now faces a scary-looking crane. This is one customer that should be turned away.

=TMP=

[ 01-23-2005, 05:56 PM: Message edited by: Thomas Procyk ]
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 02-02-2005, 07:15 PM:
 
Well, indoor theatre fans in Detroit will be happy to learn that GM has decided to refurbish and reopen the indoor plex at the Renaissance Center (article below).

Sunday, January 9, 2005
GM to open theater at RenCen HQ
The multiscreen complex will be only the second to operate within the city.
By R.J. King / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is bringing Hollywood films back to its Renaissance Center world headquarters, making it the only cinema in downtown Detroit.
This week, GM is scheduled to announce a deal to operate a dormant four-screen movie house in the RenCen, offering cushy armchairs, digital sound and large screens. When it opens later this year, the cinema will be only the second movie theater operating in the city, joining the 10-screen Phoenix Theatres Bel-Air Centre along Eight Mile Road east of Van Dyke.
"There's no question we need more cinemas in Detroit, but having Hollywood films will help all of the restaurants at the RenCen," said Frank Taylor, co-owner of Seldom Blues, a jazz supper club at the RenCen he opened last year with former Detroit Lions star Robert Porcher and musician Alexander Zonjic. "The more dining and entertainment you can offer in Detroit, the better."
Cinema operators bypassed Detroit in recent years because of the city's declining population, limited dining options and difficulty finding available land. But since 2000, downtown Detroit has added more than two dozen restaurants, Comerica Park, Ford Field, three casinos and other entertainment offerings.
"We're making downtown Detroit an entertainment hub to complement our growing residential loft development and office projects," said George W. Jackson Jr., president and CEO of Detroit Economic Growth Corp., a nonprofit development agency. "We're also looking at adding other movie theaters."
GM closed the RenCen movie complex in the late 1990s to help make way for the $500 million renovation of the office, hotel and retail complex.
The automaker said it will select from one of two bidders to operate the theater. The suitors are Phoenix Theatres, which also operates the nine-screen West River Centre in Farmington Hills, and American Family Cinema, which runs a three-screen facility at the Livonia Mall along with drive-in theaters at the Pontiac Silverdome and Compuware Arena in Plymouth Township.
"In addition to the theaters, we're adding a glass sculpture inside our main lobby along with three retailers," said Matt Cullen, general manager of GM's economic development and enterprise services group. Branmar Furs, Scentsations and BonBon's will join more than 40 stores and restaurants at the RenCen.
You can reach R.J. King at (313) 222-2504 or rjking@detnews.com.
 

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Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 02-03-2005, 02:57 AM:
 
I am on the beautiful Island of Guam USA, one of the oldest island theatre here just closed Sunday night..."The HAFA ADAI Theatre-3"
 

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Posted by Kelly Skaggs (Member # 1780) on 02-05-2005, 03:51 AM:
 
A few weeks back National Amusements (The evil empire) closed the Showcase Eastgate in Cincinnati Ohio. From what I hear the have played with the idea for awhile, but, told the management on a Friday they will close on the Sunday night.
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 02-07-2005, 04:34 PM:
 
It's lights out for the CORONET THEATRE here in San Francisco. The last day is 02/13.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 02-20-2005, 01:24 PM:
 

quote: Eric Hooper

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It's lights out for the CORONET THEATRE here in San Francisco. The last day is 02/13.

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..many stories that I've heard about the Coronet and one of them was the grand opening that this palace had with the original "Star Wars" release, in May of 1977.

There were two sets of lines going around the block with patrons waiting to see this flik. Shows beginning at 8am and continuing through the midnight.

They played "Star Wars" in 70mm.

..another movie going dynasty taking the death knell, due to the megaplex conception.

...sad....

-Monte
 

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Posted by Timothy Ervin (Member # 733) on 02-23-2005, 02:04 PM:
 
Regal closed the Windsor Hills 10 on NW 23rd in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago.
 

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Posted by Don Cross (Member # 2980) on 02-28-2005, 03:59 PM:
 
Since the customers and retail markets tend to like places that are either in or around large shopping areas, or in suburbia...

One of the higher end theaters in the Southern West Virginia market; Marquee Cinema is operated by someone related to a person who is opening their own multiplex. Marquee has also recently opened a very impressive multiplex in the Huntington area.

The new multiplex is a completely brand new structure located in what is becoming the busiest market and area in the state; just off of route 64 in Putnam county.

Theres also another new suitor in the area. Their company is looking to locate either next to or near a new minor league ballpark in the city of Charleston.

Can anyone also verify that Lowes may also have an interest in opening two very large multiplexes in the state of WV??

There are going to be more changes occuring in the Southern West Virginia market over the course of about one year, than have occured over about the past thirty to forty years. The (in place) existing market will likely have to make some major changes to adapt to the new competition.
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 02-28-2005, 04:31 PM:
 
Post edited due to inaccurate information.
 

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Posted by Jim Ziegler (Member # 86) on 02-28-2005, 04:36 PM:
 
Mike - Marquee's owner's brother is the one building the competion in Charleston..
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 02-28-2005, 04:43 PM:
 
I can also confirm that another theatre is being built in that area, by someone associated with Marquee. One of my assistants was offered a position as GM of the upcoming location.

I forget the name of the person, but it is irrelevant anyway.
 

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Posted by Don Cross (Member # 2980) on 02-28-2005, 06:15 PM:
 
I believe the name of the new theater in Putnam will probably be an "All Star" owned/operated facility. They have a similar top shelf operation and presentation similar to that of Marquee.
I've heard nothing but good comments about them from both (Marquee) customers and other seasoned industry pros.
 

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Posted by Ryan Powers (Member # 1059) on 03-04-2005, 11:00 AM:
 
I know that Consolidated Theaters continues to expand nicely based off of news paper articles I have read. They are planning two new theaters in the Charlotte area where they are headquartered. One a five screen in the pricey upscale suburb area called Ballantyne. They will show independent films only there with high back leather seating, reservered seating available, and will sell beer, wine, and Sushi. This will open late 2005. The other in Charlotte will be a ten screen, at the base of a new 53 story uptown condo tower and enertainment/retail complex called EpiCentre. It will be located accross the street from the brand new Charlotte Arena. They also plan to sell beer and wine at this location but it seems to be set for regular films. This is scheduled to open in late 2006. While I am telling you about the Charlotte area, AMC is also planning a new 14 screen theater at the future Northlake Mall over by Lake Norman. This will open in the fall of 2005.

Finally, Consolidated Theaters signed a letter of intent to build a 14 screen in downtown Winston Salem most thought to be located in the mixed-use development called Unity Place. It will tie in with the N.C. School or the arts and School of Filmmaking.
 

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Posted by Thomas Dieter (Member # 2507) on 03-04-2005, 12:13 PM:
 
The latest theatre that I know of opening in my area here is the Picture Show theatre at the Marketplace in Altamonte Springs at the Corner of I4 and SR436. It's a second run chain, and has multiple theatres round the nation, with it's flagship theatre in Colorodo Springs, CO. The next theatre to open in this area is suppose to be another theatre company that is based out of Texas, Premiere Cinema. They are suppose to be opening in about May or so I would assume as they are going to be doing interviews in April.
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 03-10-2005, 01:02 PM:
 
from the Georgia Straight (straight.com)
Big firms drop old theatres
By charlie smith

Publish Date: 10-Mar-2005

The lights will soon go out at the Capitol 6 Theatres and at the historic Park Theatre. Nuria Bronfman, vice-president of corporate affairs for Famous Players, told the Georgia Straight that the upcoming shutdown of the Capitol 6 on Granville Mall will coincide with next month’s opening of the new Paramount Theatre complex at the corner of Burrard and Smithe streets.

“I’m not sure if it will close the same day or a couple of weeks later,” Bronfman said. “All our staff is moving over.”

Bronfman said that FP’s new Paramount Theatre will include nine screens and approximately 2,100 seats, whereas the Capitol 6 has 2,700 seats. Meanwhile, Atlantis Alliance spokesperson Jim Sherry confirmed in an e-mail to the Straight that his company will not renew its lease at the end of March at the Park Theatre at 3440 Cambie Street. The 75-year-old Park has a seating capacity of 534, making it one of the largest movie houses in Vancouver.

“As for the future of the theatre, you would be best served to speak with the manager or landlord who will advise you if a new tenant will be taking the space,” wrote Sherry, who is also president of Canadian theatrical distribution with Motion Picture Distribution LP.

Veteran Vancouver movie-house entrepreneur Leonard Schein, a former operator of the Park Theatre, told the Straight that he is in negotiations with Camy Properties to lease the site. Schein, former president and CEO of Alliance Atlantis Cinemas, said that if he strikes a deal he will show “art or specialty” films, just as he did while he was operating the theatre from 1990 to 2001. He described the building as a “wonderful neighbourhood theatre”.

Schein cited two major challenges: the cost of operating a single-screen theatre and the street disruption caused by the upcoming construction of a cut-and-cover Richmond/Airport/Vancouver Rapid Transit Pro?ject along Cambie Street. “So someone who would sign a five-year lease is somehow going to suffer through a year of getting very little business but still having all the costs for employees, the property tax, the rent, the Hydro, et cetera,” he said.

In 1990, Schein took over the theatre after Cineplex Odeon chose not to renew its lease. At various times, he has operated the Ridge, the Starlight, the Vancouver East, the Varsity, the Plaza, and the Fifth Avenue Cinemas. Alliance Atlantis bought his company in 1998, and he remained in management there until 2001.

Atlantis Alliance Cinemas, as the departing tenant, may remove its property from the Park Theatre. “It might be dark for several months if someone has to re-equip the whole theatre to reopen it,” Schein said.

Ken Charko, the independent operator of the Dunbar and Varsity theatres, told the Straight that he and Schein are the only two people in Vancouver who could successfully operate the Park Theatre as an independent movie house. Charko, second vice-president and director of the Motion Picture Theatre Association of BC, estimated that in a normal year the Park Theatre would attract more than 60,000 patrons. “The reason I’m holding off [negotiating] is strictly related to the RAV [line],” Charko said. “It would affect the business dramatically for eight months.”

Rand Chatterjee, spokesperson of the Do RAV Right Coalition, told the Straight that the Park Theatre serves as the “anchor” for retailers and restaurants in that section of Cambie Street. “It does bring a lot of foot traffic in,” Chatterjee said. “It’s quite visible.”

Chatterjee claimed that five other businesses on Cambie Street will not renew their leases because RAVCo approved cut-and-cover construction. RAVCo, a TransLink subsidiary, released a document mentioning there will be three-month periods of “no local access” followed by four to eight months of “limited local access” on Cambie Street south of 12th Avenue.

Alliance Atlantis Communications owns 51 percent of Motion Picture Distribution LP. The latter company owns 51 percent of Atlantis Alliance Cinemas. Famous Players owns 49 percent of Alliance Atlantis Cinemas, which also operates the Fifth Avenue theatre complex at 2110 Burrard.

Last October, New York–based media giant Viacom Inc. announced it wants to sell Famous Players, which has 84 theatres and 794 screens in Canada. Viacom, owner of the CBS and MTV networks, recently reported a stunning US$18-billion writedown on the value of its assets.
 

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Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 03-11-2005, 01:36 PM:
 

quote: Ron Keillor

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The lights will soon go out at the Capitol 6 Theatres and at the historic Park Theatre.

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Somebody, ANYBODY get a good camera and get a photo tour of the Capitol before its doors close.

Jason
 

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Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 04-08-2005, 02:33 AM:
 
Do either of you Ron's have any new news about the closing date of the Capitol? I'm hoping to get back over to the city on the weekend of the 15th to persuade the people there to let me take pictures, if they haven't done so already.

Cinema One HAS to be photographed for the cinematour.com archives.

Jason
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 04-08-2005, 10:13 PM:
 
Park Theatre update from today's Georgia Straight:
Park Theatre revived

By charlie smith

Publish Date: 7-Apr-2005

The former operator of the historic Park Theatre on Cambie Street has reached an agreement with the landlord for a second run. Businessman Leonard Schein told the Straight that he signed a deal with Camy Properties for a five-year lease, with an option to renew for another five years. Schein ran the Park Theatre from 1990 to 2001.

Alliance Atlantis Cinemas, which Schein previously headed, let its lease expire at the end of March. Schein said the single-screen Park Theatre will remain closed for approximately two months for extensive renovations, after which he will begin showing art films and Canadian features.

I'll watch for news about the Capitol closing. The new complex still looks like a summer opening, and I can't imagine Famous Players having no screens for any period of time in the summer peak season.
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 04-12-2005, 08:51 PM:
 
The Vancouver Courier says the Capitol closes April 15th.
long article, but we won't get a chance to get much more...
"*The End*

By Aaron Chapman-contributing writer

When the end of the film spins off in the projection room at the Capitol 6 theatre April 15, it will be the last reel ever for the theatre on its final night of operations. That last reel will also signal the end of an era in the district known for decades as Vancouver's "theatre row." But the sound of that last film rolling out of the projector will not compare to the sound that boomed up and down Granville Street 84 years ago.

On opening night of the Capitol Theatre, March 12, 1921, famous silent film star Wallace Reid, once billed as "the most popular screen idol in America," burst through a paper screen singing and dancing to great applause. With a blare of trumpets, the Capitol Theatre Orchestra presented an overture, and Mayor R. H. Gale took the stage stating what a great day it was for Vancouver's progress. Before the "photo-play" began, he hoped the evening would "provide a clean and uplifting picture." It was probably an earnest wish. The upheaval of the previous
decade with the First World War, the Spanish flu epidemic, and housing shortages was fresh in people's minds, and the evening must have made for welcome entertainment for the 2,076 Vancouverite's in attendance.
The Roaring Twenties were ready to roar.

For just 50 cents in the afternoons and 75 cents in the evening, you could have a good seat at the Capitol during the decade that saw the rise of cinema, when actors and actresses like Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Rudolf Valentino became stars.

It was an energetic time for the theatre and the young city, but little today is commonly known in Vancouver about the Capitol's early history. Most theatregoers know the theatre as an aging six-screen multiplex. Long serving as the downtown flagship theatre for Famous Players, it is closing as the chain moves its flag to its new nine-screen Paramount theatre location at the corner of Burrard and Smithe. Many people fondly remember years of watching films at the multiplex, but others also recall the Capitol's early history, when the music was live, formal
dress prevailed and theatre managers battled one another with ingenious showmanship.

The Capitol was built strictly as a movie house, but it also had plenty of extra attractions.Like other theatres downtown, the Capitol hosted vaudeville, theatre, dance contests, and especially music. Calvin Winter and his Capitolians,
an orchestra that became fixtures about a year after the opening, were musical mainstays. The "jazz age" was in full swing and between Winter's group, and the pit orchestra at the Orpheum, 43 musicians worked on that block of Granville every day.

On Oct. 18, 1928 the Capitol premiered Mother Knows Best, the first talking picture to come to Vancouver. But beyond the speech of the first "talkies" there was much to be heard, such as the warm reverb of the Wurlitzer organ, which often played accompaniment to the films.

Ron Watt, now 86 and living in Oakville, Ont., recalls those nights in the late 1920s as a youngster in Vancouver attending the Capitol with his parents. "I have unforgettable memories of Ivy Evans playing the Wurlitzer theatre organ during intermissions. When the film concluded, a spotlight would be directed to centre stage, the organ would begin
playing, and the console, with Ivy at the keyboard would arise from below the stage. She played for about half an hour, then the films would begin again. As a small boy, I sometimes enjoyed the organ even better than the films."

This was the original Capitol, a remarkably different place than most Vancouverites recognize today. The lush interior was one single theatre holding almost 2,500 seats, with rugs, brass railings and drapes of scarlet, velvet and gold.

"It really was just as nice as the Orpheum," says Vancouver theatre historian Norman Young. "It was lit nicely with reds and blues on the walls and the concourse entrance on Granville street was really beautiful."

Indeed, lauded British Columbian sculptor Charles Marega had done design work on both theatres.

Inside the Capitol, ushers with pillbox hats and bow ties worked the aisles. With the head usher in a long-tailed coat and a matron in the ladies room, the audiences, especially those in the more expensive seats, were normally attired in evening dress. Watt remembers how special a night at the cinema was. "Going to the movies was a much grander experience then because of the grand appearance of the theatre.
Now they are small Cineplex structures, but then, when you entered the theatre you felt you were entering a 'movie palace.'"

Today most theatre managers work in obscurity, as anonymous to audiences as the projectionist. But the theatre manager of yesteryear was directly in charge of the local promotion of film premieres and advertisement,and often personally greeted the buying public.

Much of the Capitol theatre's success can be attributed to theatre manager Charlie Doctor who started as manager in 1947, and for the next 20 years stood in direct competition with his friendly rival, Orpheum manager Ivan Ackery, just a few storefronts down.

A one time Capitol usher, Ackery is perhaps better remembered than Doctor as the showman of Granville, but both men spent much of their careers continually outdoing one another with one outlandish promotion after another to advertise their theatre's films. Much of the excitement that made Granville the place to be seen can be attributed to both men.

Ticket stub holders could win everything from trips to Las Vegas to fly-fishing equipment. When a western movie was premiering, female ushers were dressed as cowgirls. When it was a period drama, actors were hired to stroll the streets in similar costumes to the movie's characters, handing out handbills and stopping passersby to "come see them at the new picture playing now..."

Ackery once marched a large milk cow up and down the front of the Orpheum. Posters on either side of the cow with arrows pointing to the udders read, "There's a great show playing at the Orpheum and that's no bull!" The city later publicly fined him $15 for breaking a city ordinance that prevented any animals on city streets, but Ackery unrepentantly claimed he got about a thousand dollars worth of free advertising.

When the Capitol theatre premiered the Elvis Presley film Love me Tender in 1956, Doctor invited all Vancouver citizens with the last name "Presley" to attend the film's premiere for free. The publicity for the Love Me Tender opening hosted by radio DJ Red Robinson made for a lineup of excited teenagers that extended down the block.

In 1965, a renovation of the Capitol theatre began, its first
significant overhaul since 1930, and in many ways it signalled the death knell for the original theatre. A plan to lower maintenance costs resulted in the removal of the ornate fixtures, which had required regular bulb changes. During the renovation, the chandelier was lowered from the theatre ceiling for cleaning. It slipped from its moorings and smashed to pieces on the floor below. The costly chandelier wasn't replaced, and it was the first of a number of bad omens.

In the early 1970s, in the wake of the moon landing and"space-age" futurism, city planning and design trends tended to look to the future rather than place much value in the past, and a number of notable buildings in Vancouver were demolished. Famous Players, which owned both the Capitol and the Orpheum, decided in 1973 to carve both theatres into multiplexes. It was an economic move, and for old massive theatres not
an uncommon one in the theatre business at the time. But a public outcry among local arts groups, and private citizens, including the retired Ivan Ackery, resulted in an organized drive and a multi-million dollar campaign to "Save the Orpheum." Jack Benny even flew in to do a benefit.
The campaign worked, putting enough pressure on city council to convince it to purchase the theatre from Famous Players and refurbish it.

But Famous Players still wanted one theatre to convert. Most of the fight for a civic theatre went into the Orpheum, and no similar grassroots campaign arose to save the Capitol. No stars were flown in for benefits. Actor Wallace Reid, who opened the theatre, had died in 1923 after a scandalous morphine overdose, and Charlie Doctor's death just prior to his planned retirement in 1969 made it seem like there was no one to speak up on the Capitol's behalf.

The Capitol played host to one last big premiere on July 8, 1971 with Robert Altman's neo-western McCabe and Mrs. Miller, an early entry in Hollywood North that had been filmed outside West Vancouver and Squamish the year before. Large advertisements in local newspapers read "See Warren Beatty and Julie Christie In Person, plus 20 other stars" of the film, who were mostly local actors and walk-ons that made up the supporting cast.

The original Capitol closed inauspiciously on Nov. 30, 1974 with a double feature of horror films. It was completely demolished a year later to make way for the Capitol 6 multiplex. During the excavation for the new building, workers found a 1927 copy of the old B.C. Electric Co. "Buzzer" newsletter, an old-style light bulb and an empty Turret cigarette package with the date 1915 on the excise stamp.

The new Capitol 6 theatre, which most Vancouverites are familiar with,opened on St. Patrick's Day in 1977 with four levels of underground parking. It cost $6 million to build and was the first multiplex theatre in the Lower Mainland with more than three screens. The Lougheed Mall cinema in Burnaby was the first triple theatre.

The developers suggested saving the opulent Granville street entrance of the original theatre for the new Capitol, but their ideas did not come to fruition. Instead, long escalators cut through the concourse carrying ticket holders onto the Seymour Street side of the building to the individual theatres.

With the huge Cinema 1 housing 1,000 seats, and Cinemas 2 and 3 on the second floor holding approximately 500 each, the new Capitol had a total seating capacity of 3,000 .

Doug Smith was theatre manager for the Capitol 6 for six years before he left in 1987. "The colour scheme was as 70s as you could get-all earth tones and browns," he says from Toronto, where he now works as Famous Players vice-president of human resources. "Carpet was specially woven so that each floor had a different colour scheme. Because the concept of multiple screens in one building was new, guests were given a coloured
piece of paper with their cinema number on it that matched the carpet colour so that by following the carpet colour you would find your cinema. It sounded like a great idea but it really didn't work very well."

A few surviving remnants of the original Capitol found their way to other locations. The decorative Egyptian style smoking room benches were relocated to the Orpheum. Most remarkably, the Wurlitzer organ that had remained at the theatre since the 1920's found its way to Burnaby's Jim Tarling, who at age 20 purchased the organ with his father in 1965.
"Nobody cared about it back then," Tarling says today from the organ bench at his home. It took three months of taking the organ apart and cleaning it of decades of dust before it found its way to a specially built addition in his house. "It's big, I mean, it's like owning a yacht. I would have liked to have put it somewhere more publicly, but I'm glad I have it. It's a piece of history."

Leaving the Capitol 6 after one last show, Jay Dryden has seen more movies than he can remember at the theatre. But at 31, the grip for local film and television productions is too young to remember the original building. "I'll be sad to see it go. I hear a lot of people think the building is ugly, and they say the original was better but it's all I know."

Dryden, like a lot of younger Vancouverites, is nostalgic about the Capitol 6 closing. "The insides and the mirrors and lights on the ceiling remind me a bit of the sets of A Clockwork Orange. That 1970s era design is what I remember seeing when I was a kid when I first came to see a movie here and it's kind of a time capsule for me that way."

But time moves on for theatres. Most of the old-time movie theatre palaces are gone. In the Capitol's heyday, Granville Street was home to 10 theatres within a five-block radius, with neon and line-ups stretching down the block.

Cinemagoers leaving the Capitol closing night in 2005 will empty out into a much different Granville Street than in 1921. Its neighbours, like the Plaza, the Caprice and the Paradise, are now bars. Liquor licences now hang where movie posters used to be. In the buildings where the warm hum of the Wurlitzer organ echoed, the sound of a DJ's redundant beat plays out onto the sidewalk.

When at the Capitol 6 the film unspools its last frame, it will be more than the last picture show. As with the end of the film's credits, it will truly be the end.

posted on 04/12/2005
 

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Posted by Scott Madsen (Member # 167) on 04-25-2005, 10:30 PM:
 
In the Minneapolis area, AMC recently closed Centennial Lakes. This was a old GCC complex built in 1990. Once Megastar, now owned by AMC, built a 16 screener a few years ago near it, the writing was on the wall. I think AMC has around 75 screens here now.
 

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Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 04-27-2005, 01:51 AM:
 
Sorry about the multiple posts... no idea what happened!
 

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Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 04-27-2005, 01:51 AM:
 
There was an article in last Thursday's (I think it was Thursday) Fresno Bee that said Wallace Theaters is building a new 14 screen complex near the Save Mart Center at Fresno State University. The management of Sierra Vista Mall about 3 miles down Shaw avenue had previously announced plans to replace the existing 6 screen Regal (UA) with a new 16 screen theater. I don't know who will operate that one, as the paper said mall management was in talks with "several circuits".

Both of these theaters will undoubtedly be the death knell for the UA Towne Center 8, a 1980's UA shoebox-plex located right in the middle of these new builds. That is a theater that will not be missed!
 

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Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 04-27-2005, 01:51 AM:
 

 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 04-28-2005, 12:20 PM:
 
The Capitol, Vancouver BC closes tonight. Schedule for the new theatre not announced. I've heard there's a tour for Famous Players people tonight, but press had not yet been invited.
 

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Posted by Aaron Mehocic (Member # 15) on 05-02-2005, 03:05 PM:
 
From the Sharon Herald, Friday, April 29, 2005, Section C, Page 1. Excerpts Reprinted in the New Castle News , Saturday, April 30, 2005, Section B, Page 1.

A New Cinema, Stadium-Style
Moviegoers have pick of 12 screens
By Michael Roknick, Herald Business Editor

After showing one of his flicks to a guest, the late Hollywood mogul Samuel Goldwyn queried, "So tell me, how did you love my movie?"

John Harper and Frank Moses are also pining for their own blockbuster in the movie trade as they open the doors today to their 12-screen Shenago Valley Cinemas. Spending $5 million to renovate the former Ames store in the Hermitage Hills Plaza, the two men crafted a 2,300 stadium-style seat complex designed to draw crowds from a 30-minute driving range.

Appearing in theaters more than a decade ago, stadium seats are patterned after those found at sporting events where each row of seats is on a different level to give patrons a better view. More expensive to build, stadium seats also consume more space.

"If we had did it in the traditional way we could have doubled the number of seats we have," Moses said.

The cushy seats with cupholders also have 48 inches of legroom - above the industry's 42-inch standard. This extra expense and reduced seatinggives customers a better movie-watching experience, he relates.

Gutting the building's 55,000 square-foot interior has made the complex unrecognizable from its retailing days. Moviegoers are greeted with bright yellow walls and a long main concourse with a ceiling painted to resemble the sky. Video games line the sides of the concourse, which ends at a six-station concessions stand.

Concessions are the true treasure cheast of cinemas. A generation ago, an adage was adopted for the theater trade: "In for the show, popcorn for the dough." In other words, little money was made on ticket sales, so owners had to rely on concessions. That's mainly because movie companies suck up an average 53 percent of a theater's gross ticket reciepts. For mega-hits like the Star Wars series, the percentage is even higher.

Ticket prices at Shenago Valley Cinemas will be $5.50 for matinees and $7.75 for evening first-runs.

From the concession stand, moviegoers fan out to their respective theaters - which range in size from about 100 seats to 290. All the theaters have digital sound - half with Dolby Digital and the rest with DTS - costing and average of $50,000 in hardware per theater.

Just in case, hearing-impaired systems are available at the ticket counter. The bigger theaters have eight subwoofers behind the screen, while the smaller ones have at least two.

"It used to be you would have just one speaker behind the screen," Harper said. "Those days are long gone."

With extra-wide aisles, the theaters offer easy movement and are handicap-accessable. Curved screens reduce distortion of films shown through a single projector on a sole reel. In the past, two projectors were demanded for every theater because production companies sent out movies in multiple reels.

In addition to men's and women's restrooms, "universal" restrooms are available to aid parents with kids.

Shenango Valley Cinemas enters into a market that has long been the home of Cinema 8 Theater, an eight-screen complex owned by Carmike Cinemas and housed at nearby Hickory Towne Plaza. There won't be overlapping movies between the theaters, Harper said, as movie distributors determine where their films will be shown. He said there's room for two cinemas in the same town.

"We're trying to enlarge the market to give them a greater experience," Harper said.

Films scheduled to appear at the new cinema include "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith", Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," and independent films "Melinda and Melinda" from Woody Allen and "Millions." One goal of the Shenango Valley Cinemas is to always offer at least one art film.

No ads will be shown before any movie, but there will be up to three clips of upcoming attractions - known in the business as trailers.

Neither man is new to the trade. They own Westgate Cinemas in Union Township, Lawrence County. Harper ran the Columbia Theatre in Sharon and the Reynolds Drive-In during the 1970's.

Since that time, theaters have seen changing tastes, new technologies, and added comfort features. But the biggest attraction of entering a theater has remained constant since the silent-picture era.

"For two hours you can get carried away with a story and have a good time," Harper said.

On the Net: moviescoop.com.
Phone: 724-983-7737
 

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Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 05-07-2005, 12:45 AM:
 
The Plaza Twin theater in Port Orchard, Washington closed on April 28, 2005. What a shame that another nice little 'neighborhood' style theater has closed. It is located on the waterfront in downtown Port Orchard.
 

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Posted by Blake Zaugg (Member # 1455) on 05-09-2005, 11:21 PM:
 
Celebrity Theatres is opening a 10 plex in Broussard, LA (Just outside of Lafayette) on June 3rd. This will be the first of others to come over the next several months.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-12-2005, 08:23 PM:
 
Hollywood Studio Theatres of Coshocton, OH is reopening a Super-Saver theatre as a first run house. The theatre is in Westerville, OH, a suburb of Columbus. Theatre opens May 13.

This was a rather boring 8-plex that has been empty for a few years.

Westerville is midway between the 16 screen Marcus theatre to the northwest, and 46 screens from AMC and Cinemark to the Southeast.

Plans are to make this a family theatre with a $5 matinee and $7 evenings, approximately $1.50 lower than other first run houses.

I'm not totally sure of this, but, from looking at the newspaper ad, this theatre appears to be of the same ownership as a west side dollar theatre, based in an mid '80's version GCC.

[ 05-13-2005, 08:17 AM: Message edited by: Mark Lensenmayer ]
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-13-2005, 12:06 AM:
 
New Century Santa Fe at the Santa Fe Casino opens here tomorrow, replacing the old Century Santa Fe across US-95.
 

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Posted by Dan Bouvier (Member # 2655) on 05-13-2005, 04:47 AM:
 
Dreamplex Cinemas Sunridge
Calgary, Alberta
August 15, 2003 - May 12, 2005

I wanted to put "The cinema is truth 24 frames per second - Jean-Luc Godard" on the marquee but I wasn't allowed

Rest easy, old girl.
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 05-13-2005, 10:31 AM:
 
Hudson Street Cinemas in Hoboken NJ has been closed.
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 05-16-2005, 02:20 PM:
 
Park, Vancouver BC to re-open under former management with strong local involvement. from the press release

"The Park Theatre on Cambie Street will re-open on May 24 with a number of films and events that focus on the community. To start the opening events on May 24 there will be two FREE screenings of the ever popular film Casablanca.

"The work on The Park has proceeded very quickly," said Leonard Schein, owner of Festival Cinemas. "The new love seat style seats are being installed and we have freshened up the lobby and public areas. We are pleased that we will be able to re-open so soon and have scheduled a number of events that say thank you to the community," Schein added.
The following outlines the films and events over the first week of re-opening:

MAY 24 Casablanca (free admission) 7:00 and 9:30

May 25 Invitational Premiere Screening of Ladies of Lavender 7:00

May 26 Benefit for Vancouver Folk Festival Society
The Vancouver Folk Music Festival will present "Standing in the Shadow of Motown". "Also on the bill is "Hardwood" the story of former Harlem Globetrotter Mel Davis, now a Vancouver resident and coach of young basketball players in the city. Mel Davis will appear in person to introduce the film.
May 27 – June 2 -Ladies of Lavender

Festival Cinemas owned by Leonard Schein, has a commitment to showing art, specialty, Canadian, and high quality films as it did in the past when it operated Fifth Avenue Cinemas, the Park Theatre, Varsity Theatre, Starlight Cinema, Ridge Theatre, and the Vancouver East Cinema.

New seats, screen, projection, sound, and concession equipment have been installed in The Park. Where the theatre used to have 640 seats, it will now have 504 (meaning more leg room, better sight lines) and all seats will be "love seats" (arm rest moves up so one can cuddle with partner/date).

There is Dolby Digital Sound, new speakers, screen and the interior is being freshened up with new flooring and lights. An outside 24 hour ATM will be available for ticket purchase."
 

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Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 05-23-2005, 03:18 PM:
 
The Dinger Bros. Are currently building an 8 screen theatre in Portland Texas. Across the bay from Corpus Christi. I will see if I can go by and get some photo's since I know both Jeff and Scott personally.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 05-23-2005, 05:09 PM:
 
Note: Cinemark opened a new 8-plex in Helena, Montana, which was previously a Carmike-only town. Carmike has two ancient cinemas there, totalling 5 screens. I love the line, The (new) theater's stadium seating, digital surround-sound and other modern amenities will bring movie-viewing in Helena into the 21st century. Helena has been trying to get an anti-Carmike theatre for ten years.

New theater complex opens its doors next week for benefit, 'Star Wars III'

By JOHN HARRINGTON - IR Business Editor - 05/15/05

More than half a decade in the making, Helena's modern, stadium-style movie complex opens with the swoosh of a light saber this week, as three of eight screens at the new Cinemark Helena Theater will show the Thursday debut of Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

"We're in our sixth year of working with Cinemark, and it's been a good relationship all along," said Great Northern developer Alan Nicholson, who said he's relieved to see a project that looked dead in the water on more than one occasion finally ready to open.

Valerie Shortall, director of marketing for Plano, Tex.-based Cinemark, said the company expects to open around 15 theaters this year. The company has theaters in 32 states and 14 foreign countries. The Helena eight-plex is Cinemark's first venture in Montana and among its smallest operations - its largest offers 24 screens.

"Most of our theaters are suburban theaters," Shortall said. "Building downtown like we are in Helena is a rarity for us."

She also noted that at larger theaters, the biggest auditoriums seat 500 people or more. Here, a pair seat 257 each while the four smallest hold around 130.

The theater's stadium seating, digital surround-sound and other modern amenities will bring movie-viewing in Helena into the 21st century.

Nicholson said the opening of the theater may benefit businesses throughout central Helena.

"I think it's very important for the Great Northern, but also for the whole central business district," he said. "Everyone, at some time, will go to a movie, even people who don't come downtown. This will draw people who don't usually come here, and that's what we need to do more of."

The land the theater sits on and the building itself are owned by a Nicholson partnership called the Montana Motion Picture Associates. Cinemark and the partnership contributed to the construction costs, and Cinemark now runs the business and leases the building back from the partnership.

Intially pegged at somewhere north of $3 million, construction costs soared by nearly another million, but a city loan deferal and additional capital from both the partnership and Cinemark bridged the difference.

In addition to the "Star Wars" debut, Helena movie-goers will have their choice from among "Be Cool," "The Wedding Date," "Ice Princess," "Man of the House" and "Are We There Yet?" at Thursday's debut.

According to Shortall, Cinemark representatives work with sales people from major studios to determine which movies will be shown here, and it's likely that both the new Cinemark theater and the existing Gaslight and Circus Twin theaters will feature some of the same films.

For especially big national releases, the local theater will dedicate more than one screen to the popular film. Helenans can expect to see the biggest national releases on the day they're released: on May 27, both the animated feature "Madagascar" and a remake of the football classic "The Longest Yard" will debut here, Shortall said.

Movie prices will range from a high of $7.50 for adults on weekends to $4.25 for everybody for the first show of the day. Discounts are available for kids, seniors, matinees and shows starting before 6 p.m.

Another new feature: tickets for movies here are available online, with "Star Wars," for instance, already for sale. Buyers can purchase their tickets at home, then enter a confirmation number at a kiosk at the theater and enter without waiting in the box office line.

John Harrington can be reached at 447-4080 or john.harrington@helenair.com.

http://www.helenair.com/articles/2005/05/15/business/e01051505_01.txt
 

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Posted by Kris Brunton (Member # 432) on 05-25-2005, 07:58 PM:
 
Grand Cinema 3

Opened April 22, 2005

Triple Theater in Grand Falls New Brunswick.

All Theaters feature Digital Sound, Stadium Seating. (1 SRD, 2 DTS)

Wish I had some good pictures of the lobby and auditoriums.. one of the nicest theaters I have seen.. next time I am there I will get some better pics and send them in to the pic warehouse..

Grand Cinema 3
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-29-2005, 09:43 PM:
 
I just love stories like this! From today's Los Angeles Times:

quote:

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Teens Make Their Big-Screen Dream Come True for Town

Seven girls, dismayed by the closing of Petaluma's only cinema, help spark a downtown renewal by leading a movement to open a multiplex.

By Donna Horowitz, Special to The Times

PETALUMA, Calif. — Seven girls had a vision they wouldn't let go: They dreamed of a new movie theater downtown.

Unhappy that this Northern California town's one cinema had closed, they lobbied the City Council and met with theater owners, a developer and even Lucasfilm Ltd. executives to argue that Petaluma, population 56,000, could sustain a theater. To prove their point, they developed a business plan and an annual profit-and-loss statement.

And they did all this while in junior high.

Now, 3 1/2 years later, this picturesque Sonoma County city has a new 12-screen multiplex, the anchor tenant of a $100-million office, retail and residential redevelopment project.

The Boulevard Cinemas opened with much hoopla May 17, with the seven teens as featured guests. They arrived at the opening-night party in vintage automobiles, wearing ball gowns and posing for photos near their own gold stars embedded in the sidewalk outside the theater.

Each girl was presented with a $2,500 college savings bond from the developer, lifetime movie passes from the theater owner and plaques from the city.

"I was impressed with their persistence and their drive to see this thing through," said Matt White, owner of Basin Street Properties, which has undertaken the seven-block downtown renovation of empty car lots and old warehouses, some not occupied for 50 years.

The girls, who refer to themselves as the "Superb Seven," were hanging out one Friday night in November 2001, complaining that they had no place to see a movie since the last theater had closed earlier that year. If they wanted to see a show, they had to persuade a parent to drive them 20 minutes north to Rohnert Park.

"It was like a lightbulb going off in our heads at the same time," Taylor Norman, 16, said. "Why don't we open a movie theater?"

"The grown-ups will never do it," Elizabeth Comstock, 15, said, recalling the teens' refrain that evening.

With encouragement from Patty Norman, Taylor's mother, the seven slept over at the Normans' home every Wednesday night for two years, brainstorming and making plans for a theater, which they wanted to operate with seven screens, each named after one of them.

As part of their research, they met with owners of the Rio Theatre, a one-screen facility in the Russian River community of Monte Rio. They learned about ordering movies, splicing film, sweeping up after patrons and, most important, that the snack bar is the big moneymaker.

"They were really energetic kids," said Don Schaffert, who owns the Rio with his wife, Suzi. "They were like sponges. It was unbelievable."

The girls next sought out a vice president of finance for a large theater chain to learn more about the business. They also pored over a book on how to write business plans.

Eventually, they were ready to put numbers to paper. In their proposal, they estimated how much net earnings a Petaluma theater would take in each month, and even included photos of possible theater sites.

The teens wrote to George Lucas, asking for a meeting. Lucas didn't attend, but four of his top executives met with them in a conference room at the company's San Rafael headquarters.

"Here they were in junior high. They were in business attire. They took my breath away," said Jeanne Cole, former publicity director for Lucasfilm.

"They had their little name tags. They kind of took over," she added.

Their first request startled the movie company executives. The teens asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Although this is not something they normally do, Gordon Radley, the now-retired president of Lucasfilm, signed the agreement. Then the teens made their pitch.

"To me, it wasn't just that they prepared this and rehearsed their presentation. We then grilled them and they had answers for everything," Radley said.

But he and the others didn't know what the teens wanted because Lucas makes films, he doesn't run theaters.

It turned out, Radley recalled, that the seven wanted advice, although one of the teens piped up that maybe the company could help out financially.

Cole said the Lucas executives, who were by then enthusiastic about the theater idea, suggested the girls come up with something to attract publicity — "something that will put you on the map."

Three weeks later, Cole got a call from the teens, who said they wanted to do a free screening of "American Graffiti" — a 1973 Lucas film with scenes shot in Petaluma.

After getting a print of the film, the teens projected it on the side of an old building downtown in October 2002, drawing a crowd of about 500 people despite the chilly air. In the meantime, Radley called several theater owners and asked them to listen to the girls' idea, and take them seriously. The teens met with one executive who operated theaters in neighboring Marin County and said he didn't believe that Petaluma could support a theater, recalled Liza Hall, 16, one of the Superb Seven.

Owners of the Petaluma Village Premium Outlets, outside downtown, approached the girls and asked for their support for a theater in the mall. But the teens stood their ground and insisted that any new theater should be downtown so it could be within walking distance, they said.

Along with a professional approach, the teens also added youthful touches to their lobbying. When White, the project's eventual developer, did not return their calls, they would send him Girl Scout cookies. He would call back the next day.

Now, six of the teens — Sarah Marcia, Noelle Bisson, Ashley Ditmer, Norman and Hall, all 16, and Comstock — not only can walk to the theater, they also work there part-time as ushers or concession-stand employees. The seventh girl, Madison Webb, 16, has moved to Sacramento with her family.

"I told them to never, ever give up on their vision because it can happen," Mayor David Glass said.

With the theater and other developments, Glass sees a new life in the struggling downtown, largely crediting the renewal to the girls' perseverance.

"We're going to thrive," Glass said. "From this point forward, it's rock 'n' roll."

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Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 05-31-2005, 04:53 AM:
 
In Villach, Austria, they are building a theater complex included in a big mall. I don't know exactly how much auditoriums it will have, probably around ten (surely THX certified ). It will open in 2007.

That would be the fourth theater in Villach (which appears to be a small city).
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 05-31-2005, 07:12 PM:
 

quote:

---

I just love stories like this! From today's Los Angeles Times:

quote:
Teens Make Their Big-Screen Dream Come True for Town

Seven girls, dismayed by the closing of Petaluma's only cinema, help spark a downtown renewal by leading a movement to open a multiplex.

By Donna Horowitz, Special to The Times

PETALUMA, Calif. — Seven girls had a vision they wouldn't let go: They dreamed of a new movie theater downtown.

Unhappy that this Northern California town's one cinema had closed, they lobbied the City Council and met with theater owners, a developer and even Lucasfilm Ltd. executives to argue that Petaluma, population 56,000, could sustain a theater. To prove their point, they developed a business plan and an annual profit-and-loss statement.

And they did all this while in junior high.

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Every time one thinks that most youth in America are basically illiterate and know nothing except the worst of popular culture and aspire to nothing except perhaps 15 minutes of fame on a reality TV show in which they are humiliated, that conventional wisdom is proven to be untrue when you read about teens like these.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 06-05-2005, 05:23 PM:
 
The Amboy Multiplex Cinemas 14 screen theater on Rt. 9 & 35 in Sayreville NJ has closed.

Here's a link to a story published in the Asbury Park Press on 6/4/05:

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005506040336

National Amusements, owner of the multiplex, chose to end operations after the building was closed due to settling of the lobby floor. No plans have been announced as to the disposition of the site.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 06-15-2005, 04:33 PM:
 
The Waverly Twin on 6th avenue in Greenwich Village in NYC, which closed about 2 1/2 years ago, will reopen on Friday as the IFC, a three-screener with 220 seats in the main theatre, 120 seats in the former balcony and 70 seats in a theatre constructed in new space.

Opening films are:
Me and You and Everyone You Know
Dont Look Back (the Dylan documentary in a new 35mm print)
Maniac
I Was Born, But....

The renovate complex includes a restaurant. There will be no screen advertising.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 06-15-2005, 06:14 PM:
 
According to several June 9 and 10 messages on CML, IATSE Local 306 is picketing IFC's new theater.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-19-2005, 06:40 PM:
 
This is just so frustrating...

quote:

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This Property is Condemned

Despite big plans and high expectations, the Huntridge Theater is not reopening

BY ANDREW KIRALY

You missed a great party in early October. Everyone was there. Mayor Goodman, of course, did the ribbon-cutting, and a veritable who's-who of politicians, entertainers and scenesters were on hand to celebrate. The Foo Fighters performed an incredible two-hour set to a packed crowd, and people mingled, ate, drank, and danced until the early hours in downtown's hottest new venue.

You missed it because this Oct. 3 party never happened. It was supposed to have been the grand reopening party for the Huntridge Theater. It was also the birthday of theater owner Eli Mizrachi, who would've marked turning 32 by unveiling an utterly transformed Huntridge Theater -- which would have been so much more than a mere theater. The 60-year old venue would also encompass a lounge, an indoor/outdoor balcony, a restaurant and bleeding-edge sound and lighting systems.

But those plans have been shelved -- maybe for good. Nearly a year after closing for renovations, the Huntridge sits dark, its trim Moderne-style tower a monument to dreams delayed. Those dreams will likely never materialize.

"The boy in me would love to open it," says Mizrachi. "The businessman in me is very, very, very hesitant about spending any money."

Because the businessman inside Mizrachi -- whose family owns a string of furniture stores across the valley, including Cima's -- has faced countless setbacks since he closed the Huntridge for remodeling after its final show, a July 31 Dimmu Borgir concert. Perhaps it's fitting that a death metal band closed the concert hall, because things are looking positively funereal for the place. Since buying the property in January 2002 for $925,000, and after trudging through the planning process, tangling with red tape and talking to contractors, Mizrachi says he's looking at a $4 million price tag for a revamp. That's thanks to a delicate historic building and contractor prices that have inflated as the valley's continued growth has pushed construction prices up.

"The price started at two million, and then all the construction boom went crazy, so nobody really had time to do it," he says. "Nobody wanted to do it because of the sheer fact that it's an old building, and it's hard to really know what you're getting into. By the time we got all the plans and we actually took it out for bidding, the price had a little bit more than doubled."

It's not that Mizrachi can't afford it; he's just skeptical of the payoff. "We can afford it, but does the risk in putting that much money into a 60-year-old building warrant it? If you're going to put four million into something, you could put four million dollars into a lot of other things that could make a lot more money than taking a risk on a 60-year-old building."

Add to that the fact that the renovated venue, as envisioned by Mizrachi, would enter an increasingly crowded market, where venues such as the House of Blues and the Joint offer similar amenities, and still others are in the works, such as an announced 1,500-seat theater in the Aladdin that will be financed and co-managed by Clear Channel, and a 2,200-capacity concert hall at the Palms.

The Huntridge Theater has been many things. In the '40s and '50s it was a first-run theater that saw everyone from Frank Sinatra to Vincent Price promoting flicks with personal appearances. In the '80s it was a Spanish-language movie house. In the '90s it was the city's premier all-ages concert venue. Today it finds itself wedged somewhere between hard economic reality, the visions of an intensely driven businessman, and a music community that's starting to question his plan.

"Eli wanted to take [the Huntridge] and turn it into a 2,000-seat theater for Mary J. Blige-level acts, and we were trying to explain the city's already got two venues like that," says former monitor engineer Jenn Neal, who worked at the theater for more than a decade. "You're in the ghetto, you're always gonna be in the ghetto, so you don't try and fill a niche that's already been overwhelmed. Back in the day we never had a dark night, filling the calendar with everything, even if it was Latino drag queen contests. The only time the Huntridge really worked was when it supported the local music scene and local community. He's a good guy, but his idea for the place is totally misdirected."

Its decade-plus run as a gritty all-ages concert hall has inspired fervent loyalties among music-scene mavens, who say the theater could live again in something like its former incarnation -- something not fancy but functional, a place where the rock roster is filled out with animation festivals, local band showcases and cultural events. Former employees, many of whom also worked under the previous owners, the nonprofit Friends of the Huntridge Theater, characterize Mizrachi as well-meaning but overambitious.

"The plans were really awesome -- a multi-level floor, a balcony, a VIP area upstairs we were gonna call 'The Boom Boom Room.' But it would be really hard to pour in millions and make it state of the art and still compete with the Joint and House of Blues," says former production manager Brad Bryan. "I thought in the back of my mind: It's never gonna happen. He was a cool guy with a cool dream, but we all kind of figured he was going to either bail completely or do it over the top, super-nice. Bail was the path he chose."

"[Mizrachi] really wanted it," says former head of security Jason Brown. "He would talk about it all the time -- who to have on opening night. He was really looking forward to it. We'd go to a show at the House of Blues, and [he'd say], 'They could be playing at the Huntridge.'"

But if the Huntridge is the victim of too grand a vision, Mizrachi counters that its old identity of rough-hewn rock palace simply won't work. Unlike its former nonprofit owners, who shored up sagging finances with $1.5 million in state grants over the years, Mizrachi's Huntridge is a private business with an $8,000-a-month mortgage to pay.

"I think I did an excellent job, and I tried to do as much as I could with it as far as putting a grade-A [sound] system in there and taking care of local bands," he says of his run of concerts that ran from November 2002 through July 2004. "That being said, we were losing money month in and month out ... the mortgage came out of my pocket.

"People have asked me, 'Let me rent it and run it my way.' I'm not saying I'm the smartest person in the world, but if you're going to do it right -- with insurance, pay your taxes, take of everything the way it should be -- I don't think there's a way of making it in there the way it is now."

Kim Garcia, Mizrachi's second-in-command, agrees. "The Huntridge cannot exist as a plug-and-play venue," she says.

And yet it likely won't exist as the shiny downtown jewel Mizrachi envisions, either -- or anything else. Despite murmurs from politicians about the city or state buying the property, Mizrachi says he wouldn't consider selling it for anything less than $12 million. Despite pressure to lease it out as-is, Mizrachi wouldn't hand over the keys to anyone but a reputable corporate promoter. And while his attitude is "never say never" about tearing the venue down, strict covenants in place by the state Historic Preservation Office prevent such a fate until at least 2017.

Where is the Huntridge: in an intermission or its final act?

"I have nothing but good thoughts about the Huntridge," says Mizrachi. "It's a magical place. I would love to say I could open this up and make a million dollars or even say it's not about the money, but unfortunately, it is. You can't do it if you're losing money. One, I can't afford to lose money. Two, I can't do something half-assed. If I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it 100 percent, and I'm going to do it where I know there's no risk involved, and right now I'm questioning the risk in spending four million.

"Where does that leave the Huntridge? Where does that leave me? In limbo, honestly."

---

quote: Jeffry L. Johnson

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IATSE Local 306 is picketing IFC's new theater.

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They had an informal picket line set-up in front of the theatre on Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday they had 8-10 picketers and a large 15' standing blow-up Rat, they handed out flyers to the passersby on the street.
 

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Posted by Franklin Armstrong (Member # 1448) on 06-20-2005, 04:11 PM:
 
So its been a while but im back

OK so the new theatre in Orlando Fl, and Altamonte Fl
Are run be Touchstar Cinemas
Sand Lake 7 Located at 835 Sand Lake Rd. Orlando Fl 32809
Sand Lake is a first run theater

Altamonte 8 Located at 303 E. Altamonte DR Altamonte Springs Fl 32701 Is a sub run theatre

 

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Posted by Jason Whyte (Member # 1433) on 06-22-2005, 10:45 AM:
 
From IMDB/Studio Briefing:

quote:

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New York's Famed Beekman Theater To Close:

The Beekman theater, regarded as one of New York's premier movie art houses since it opened in 1952 and one of the last single-screen theaters in Manhattan, will shut down next Sunday. A spokesman for Clearview Cinemas, the theater chain that operates the Beekman, told Reuters that it was being forced to close because its landlord, the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, had exercised a lease option to take back the property in order to establish an outpatient care facility there. In an interview with Reuters, Woody Allen, who featured the theater in Annie Hall, mourned its extinction. "The Beekman epitomized New York movie houses at their best," he said. "The size, the architecture, the location seemed perfect. I saw many great films there by great foreign filmmakers, and it was an honor to have my films shown there."

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Boo.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-22-2005, 12:40 PM:
 
A new drive-in, 'Amusement Park Drive-In,' will be opening in Billings Montana in the next couple of weeks. It will be a 2-screen. One screen will be operating for the first couple of months while the other screen is being finished. The equipment is salvaged from a defunct theatre in Cody, Wyoming.

Their first movies are planned to be "Be Cool" and "Monster in Law." (I think they need a new booker)
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 06-22-2005, 01:14 PM:
 
from medicinehatnews.com June 22/05
It's final curtain for drive-in
The only remaining drive-in theatre in Alberta has officially screened its final film. Landmark Cinemas announced on Tuesday Redcliff's Gemini Drive-in has been closed, permanently
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 06-24-2005, 11:29 AM:
 
Galva Autovue Drive-In Theatre, Galva, IL.. projected to open 7/1/05. If not exactly that date, it'll be darned close.

quote: Bill Gabel

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they had 8-10 picketers and a large 15' standing blow-up Rat

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Picket lines have changed!
 

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Posted by Dan Bouvier (Member # 2655) on 06-24-2005, 02:16 PM:
 

quote: Ron Keillor

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from medicinehatnews.com June 22/05
It's final curtain for drive-in
The only remaining drive-in theatre in Alberta has officially screened its final film. Landmark Cinemas announced on Tuesday Redcliff's Gemini Drive-in has been closed, permanently

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Aw man! I thought something was up since it usually opens on May long weekend. So much for drive-in road trips this summer. Ah, we had many a drunken night there in my youth.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 06-27-2005, 03:15 PM:
 
The Beekman Theatre's last day of operation was yesterday June 26th 2005.
 

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Posted by Olivia Coleman (Member # 3193) on 06-28-2005, 10:52 AM:
 
Well there's a new independent theatre just northeast of me. I'm not sure the name other than the Sister Movie House.

Our company has just opened a new 18-plex in Portland, the Bridgeport, where a good friend of mine is a projectionist. Then in August we have a grand re-opening as our expansion is suppose to be done.... We will be a 16-plex.
 

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 07-03-2005, 01:10 AM:
 
REG closed the UA Crossbay I in Ozone Park, Queens, NY on June 23. The Crossbay has been open since 1924 under various owners, but has been a UA for most of the time. 3 Screens and over 1100 seats. UA expanded from 2 to 3 screens and wanted to expand more, but the next door carpet store wouldn't budge.....so UA built the Crossbay II, a 7 screen 2 blocks away around 1989. CBI has great visibility right on Rockaway Blvd, and right off Woodhaven. CBII is more secluded on a side street....you have to know what you're looking for.

Neither was kept up too well (see below), and business dropped substantially after National Amusements built a few of their Multiplexes in the 90's. A nice neighborhood theatre but couldn't compete with a modern multiplex. No digital sound, and imagine the chairs form your middle school auditorium....yea.

(Yes this is a recent picture)



[ 07-05-2005, 03:59 PM: Message edited by: Stephen LaPadula ]
 

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Posted by Matt Hollis (Member # 2954) on 07-05-2005, 12:16 PM:
 
The Cinema 8 in Paragould, Arkansas, opens August 19th. Looks like it's going to be a nice facility.

Matt
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 07-07-2005, 04:18 PM:
 
GALVA AUTOVUE DRIVE-IN THEATRE OPENS!

Film-Techer Justin West opened his 250-car Galva Autovue Drive-In Theatre last Friday (7/1) in Illinois. In a low-key "trial-run" weekend, he played "Star Wars EP 3" on one screen only.

The official grand opening will be this weekend (7/8 - 7/10).

Justin designed and constructed the theatre to have perfect sightlines from every ramp. The pictures are bright and clear. The booth sports a Century C on one screen, a black XL on the other, and 2KW Lumexes behind both. SH-1000 reproducers feature CE red readers and feed an FM broadcast xmtr. Double-feature bills are offered on both screens, with cartoons and classic intermission trailers rounding out the evening's entertainment. Website is: GalvaAutovue.Com

Justin has worked very hard for several years, encountering incessant setbacks, to bring his dream to life. Finally, he's reached the end of the tunnel and the nation has a brand new drive-in theatre to enjoy. I find it incredible that Justin literally built most of this theatre by his own hand. His signature is on everything, and I will never cease to be amazed that he was able to install the booth and align the lamphouses with absolutely no prior experience -- not even as a projectionist -- just by speaking with me OVER THE PHONE!

Let's all attend and help Justin celebrate the culmination of a long and difficult journey! If you are in the Quad Cities or Central IL areas, drop by this weekend. The Galva Autovue is located off County Hwy 5, just north of the high school, in Galva, IL.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 07-09-2005, 04:56 PM:
 
The Eugene Register-Guard published an article in the business section this week regarding the pending demolition of the old Montgomery Ward store at Valley River Center in Eugene. The article speculates that Regal will build a new multiplex in that space, opening in Fall 2006. Regal will not confirm yet. Apparently the deal hinges on the project's architects getting a waiver from the City of Eugene to allow some extra-large signage around the mall.

No word on what Regal might do with Cinema World 8 which is located across the street from the mall. My guess is it's not viable as a subrun location. Buhbye.
 

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Posted by Adam Heath (Member # 2910) on 07-10-2005, 03:53 PM:
 
RE: Galva Drive IN

Great news, I'll check it out soon.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 07-15-2005, 01:10 AM:
 
Don't know how long ago it happened, but the UA Green Valley 8 here (in Henderson, of course) is no more. The place had been run into the ground--it was easily the worst first-run 'plex in the valley and will not be missed.

Regal is building a new 18-plex to go into the new Redrock Station casino, and Century is building another new 16-plex to go into the new Southcoast casino.

I think that gives us 245 screens in the greater Las Vegas/North Las Vegas/Henderson/Boulder City area.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 07-15-2005, 11:21 AM:
 
Mann Theatres of MN are closing their Eagan 9 Cinema, reportedly so Best Buy can build another location on the property, after razing the theater. For anyone outside the area, this will be the fourth BBY store south of the MN river, in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro. The other stores are no more than ten miles apart from this planned location.

Not that Mann's Eagan was a jewel, but having been built somewhere between 1993 & 1995, it's sad to see a newer building go.
 

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 07-15-2005, 04:02 PM:
 
Regal had a hand full of openings over the past few weeks/months most of which haven't been posted about:

Kendall Village Stadium 16, Miami, Fl. This new theatre replaces the old Kendall 9 across the street which closed last year. The 16 was planned a few years ago, but was delayed with the bankruptcy.

El Dorado Stadium 14, El Dorado Hills, Ca. This was planned by the Signature chain, and Regal had the project completed since being bought last year.

Riverstone Stadium 14, Coeur D'alene, Id. This new 14 replaced the two older theatres; the Coeur D'alene 5, and the Showboat 5, originally operated by ACTIII in the same vicinity.

Lousiana Boardwalk Stadium 14, Bossier City, La. The new 14 is part of an outdoor mall. Anyone have any idea what will happen the the older Bossier 9 in the area?

Bridgeport Village Stadium 18, Tigard, Or. This was mentioned in a earlier post. It is also part of an outdoor mall.

The Pinnacle Stadium 18, Knoxville, TN. Hometown Flagship, no expense was spared. 4000+ seats and the only DLP projector in Koxville, party rooms, ect. Regal announced yesterday that the Farragut 10 3.3 miles away would close as a result. The Farraut 10 was opened in '93.

Park Place Stadium 16, Pinellas Park, Fl. This was a re-opening of one of the R/C theatre recently bought by Regal. It was closed for a few months for upgrades and renovation, and opened in time for WotW.

Martin Village Stadium 16, Lacy/Olympia, Wa. New build which will open shortly in the vicnity of the Capitol 4 and Olympia 8, former ACT III's. I would guess at least one of the older ones woud have to close.

Now before I start a war of replies of 'Why is Regal building so much?? Didn't they learn??' at least most of the above are in an area which they already operate and are giving the local community a modern multiplex, and replacing an older one. Thats better then biulding on top of well established competition.
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 07-15-2005, 05:40 PM:
 

quote: Stephen LaPadula

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Lousiana Boardwalk Stadium 14, Bossier City, La. The new 14 is part of an outdoor mall. Anyone have any idea what will happen the the older Bossier 9 in the area?

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quote: Sam Graham

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The exhibitor for that one has not been announced, but I suspect that will be a Century.

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quote:

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Art deco style movie theater coming to Moore

By Jennifer Griswold
Norman Transcript Staff Writer

MOORE - A movie theater company new to the state of Oklahoma has announced it will build a multi-screen facility in Moore.
Bill Warren, president of Warren Theatres, LLC, made the announcement Friday morning to a standing-room-only crowd in the Moore City Council chamber.
Around 150 people snacked on popcorn and chocolate bars and drank pops as the plan for the $30-million project was unveiled.
The theater will be built on a 25-acre site, located off the west I-35 Service Road south of the post office and hospital. [NOTE: For those of you who are vaguely familiar with the area, this is just north of S. 19th St. on the west side of I-35, just north of the Wal-Mart.]
The company owns and operates three theaters in Wichita, Kan., under the Warren Theatres name. They also operate several Palace Theatres in and around Wichita and in Springfield, Mo.
A short video giving a tour of the interior of a theater was shown, touting the facility as "more than just a place to see a movie but a step back in time."
The interior has an art deco style and includes marble, granite and hand-painted murals. Theater staff are attired in uniforms with tuxedo jackets and bow ties, similar to movie employees of the '30s and '40s.
The theater will have a diner, game room, waiting room with a fireplace, and an upstairs lounge serving adult beverages. The ground floor will be more than 150,000 square feet.
The 7,000-seat complex will have 20 screens, all with waterfall curtains. The auditoriums will have stadium seating and will vary in size, from more than 700 seats in the main auditorium to around 175 seats in the smaller auditoriums.
Screens in the largest auditoriums will be more than 80 feet wide and four stories tall. The main auditorium also will have a balcony that will seat around 100 people, with at-your-seat dining and cocktail service.
Warren said ticket prices will be comparable to area theaters, $7.50 to $8. He said balcony seats will cost more, around $15. Movie-goers will be able to purchase tickets by phone, Internet and from a 24-hour ticket machine located outside the theater or at the door.
Another unique theater feature, according to Warren, is no advertising is shown on the screens.
"We are in the business to entertain you, not to sell you soap," he said.
When asked whether the theater would show independent or classic films, Warren said it was a possibility if the demand is there. He said one of his theaters in Kansas did show independent films.
Construction on the theater will begin in about five months, and it will take a year to complete, he said. Two hundred employees will be hired to staff the facility.
Moore City Manager Steve Eddy said the theater will fill a gap in the city.
"We do surveys all the time and one of the things people are always saying they are wanting is to go to a movie in Moore," he said, "the other thing is to be able to buy a two-by-four."
Councilperson Shelia Haworth said Moore residents are "starved for entertainment," and she couldn't wait for the theater to open.
Warren said he has spent more than two years deciding where to locate a theater in the Oklahoma City metro area.
"We picked Moore because we think Moore is more," he said and then joked he would be selling two-by-fours with or without butter in the concession stand.
Warren said his company's approach was to re-create the "glamour" of the movie-going experience. He hopes the theater will have "a big economic impact on Moore and will become a regional draw."

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quote: Steve Scott

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Mann Theatres of MN are closing their Eagan 9 Cinema

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quote: Robert Burtcher

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Warren Theatres is going to build a new 20-screen "Luxury" theatre in Moore, Oklahoma.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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This is very welcome news. Warren Theaters runs a couple pretty decent all-THX locations in the Wichita, KS area.

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quote:

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This news is also surprising because it seemed like THX was on the verge of disappearing from Oklahoma. Currently, there are only two THX certified screens in the state - one here in Lawton (at the Carmike 8) and another in Cordele, OK (the Washita Theater). Cordele could be the smallest town in the world with a THX theater. And that makes it all the more pathetic that many larger, much better funded theaters in bigger cities aren't using it.

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quote: Bobby Henderson

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This new 20-plex would stand to beat the tar out of the Wallace/Hollywood Spotlight 14 down I-35 in Norman.

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The Hollywood Spotlight 14 WILL have the tar beaten out of them. I'd put money on it. Last time I was in there (about a year ago), the presentation was not good at all... Sound was wonky and the picture was out of focus and projected too far on the masking. Management didn't seem to care very much about it, either, although they did adjust the focus. But anyway. :-P

For the record, I'm gonna be visiting Moore when this new Warren opens... From the way it sounds, I think it's going to set the standard for Oklahoma... Well, Oklahoma City, at least.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 08-06-2005, 12:56 PM:
 
If the Warren Theater in Moore is built as advertised it would be the best movie theater in the state -the acheivement would be further cemented if the theater is well maintained. That's usually the area where lots of new movie theaters falter.

Regarding the Penn Square Mall 10 theater, I remember when it was THX certified -and operated by General Cinemas. It was a far better place to visit when GCC operated it. The THX screen had a Dolby CP200 cinema processor, 70mm projection capability and other additions like DTS in the early 1990s. "Dick Tracy" is the only show I've seen advertised as being in 70mm there (although there could have been others). GCC started upgrading other screens in the Penn Square Mall 10. I think they put DTS on two other screens and a Dolby Digital player in one. But then the place went to Hollywood.
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 08-09-2005, 03:48 AM:
 
We still have the CP200 and it's accompanying equipment in the storeroom upstairs in Booth, and projector 10 is still a Cinemeccanica Victoria 8, capable of showing 70mm prints. As far as I am aware, however, a 70mm print has not been booked at this theatre since it was operated by General Cinemas. With some new info from coworkers, now I'm not sure why the CP200 was removed... I'll ask around at work and see if I can get a good answer.

Penn Square 10 was acquired by Dickinson Theatres of Overland Park, KS directly from General Cinemas, according to my manager. [EDIT: I misunderstood the information I was given. Penn Square 10 WAS operated by Hollywood Theatres for a period of time before Dickinson Theatres acquired it.] From what I am told, Dickinson Theatres had little interest in maintaining the THX certification because of the licensing fees.

As it stands now, our four Stadium Seating auditoriums (3, 6, 9, and 10) have DTS players and Dolby CP55 cinema processors. The rest of our houses are running on optical audio. If we ever had a Dolby Digital unit, it likely would have been installed in 10; however, as far as I am aware, we never have had a Dolby Digital unit. All projectors are Cinemeccanica Victoria 5s, except for projector 10, which is a Cinemeccanica Victoria 8.

And a word of caution... if you ever visit this theatre, do your best to stay out of houses 2, 4, and 8. 2 and 4 have noticeable (to me) distortion in the audio that I can't get any of the managers or projectionists to hear, and the audio in 8 has been running in bypass mode for longer than I have been employed here (3 months now). I wish I was a booth tech so I could fix this ...

[Edited for clarity, 8/19/2005 04:20am GMT -06:00]

[ 08-19-2005, 04:20 AM: Message edited by: Robert Burtcher ]
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 08-10-2005, 08:59 AM:
 
Rave Polaris 18 -- Opened August 5, 2005

I visited this theatre on 8/8 to see MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. With my ticket, I was given a sheet with the theatre policies concerning cell phones, etc. Nice to see this in writing. Floor staff was VERY polite and friendly. Almost every employee we came across welcomed us to the theatre, or said "thank you" when we left. Ticket taker reminded us to turn off cell phones.

Theatre was fairly small (under 150 seats) with about a 32' screen. Seats were among the most comfortable I've ever been in, and there was more than enough leg room (as a 6'3" guy, that is muchly appreciated!)

The room was a bit warm, but not uncomfortable. Slides were mostly from local businesses. The room was very quiet.

Projection was clean and clear. Print looked perfect (3rd day of run.) The sound (DTS) setup was one of the best I've ever heard. I don't rate a system by how powerful it is (the BOOM factor) but by is clarity and musicality. The sound was sweet and warm. Often, systems are set up to emphasize the lower sounds. This is especially apparent in male narrations, where the lower overtones tend to boom on a poorly setup system. Morgan Freeman's voice was exceptionally clear with no boominess. The musical instruments were especially well reproduced. Sound here beats the local THX 8-plex (which sounds very dry and clinical) and anything I've ever heard at AMC (which tends to be very boomy, especially on the Torus screens). It almost matches the original THX theatre locally that was THX when THX really meant something.

This is an excellent facillity in an excellent area. I especially liked the glass poster wall outside the main door.

I look forward to seeing something soon in one of the larger rooms. I just can't bring myself to see "DUKES OF HAZAARD."
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 08-12-2005, 03:31 AM:
 
EDWARDS CINEMAS IS BACK!!! (in a reincarnated form..)

The late Mr. James Edwards Sr. would be proud that the legacy that he started back in 1930 of a successful theatre business hasn't been completely forgotten. It has been "lifed from the ashes" so to speak and rekindled back to life.

check out....

http://www.mayacinemas.com/

also, check out....

http://www.mayacinemassalinas.com/

A new 14screener opened this weekend in Salinas, California.

Headed by the film producer Moctezuma Esparza, his new company Maya Cinemas is planning on new locations here in the States.

This new company is operated by executives from the good ol EDWARD CINEMAS days, whom left when the REG merger took over.

I've heard that their operation procedures will be like how EDWARDS was ran before.

-Monte
 

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Posted by Trevor Bailey (Member # 75) on 08-12-2005, 02:19 PM:
 
Regal Cinemas closed the South Dennis 12 in South Dennis, MA last month. All fixtures removed. There were rumors that another theater chain was going to re-open it but that has not yet happened.
 

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 08-12-2005, 02:48 PM:
 
Regarding the above about South Dennis 12.....Entertainment Cinemas of the northeast is taking it over. It was originally opened as a Entertainment Cinemas in the early 90's they sold to Hoyts, which became a part of REG who closed it, and sold it back to Entertainment Cinemas. Still with me? The theatre will be upgraded to an all stadium 10 plex and they hope to have it open by the holiday season.
 

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Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 08-12-2005, 03:00 PM:
 

quote: Stephen LaPadula

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The theatre will be upgraded to an all stadium 10 plex and they hope to have it open by the holiday season.

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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, Now that's a GOOD ONE!
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 08-14-2005, 11:15 PM:
 
Closed: GKC/Carmike Landmark 12 in Peoria IL as of 7:30pm tonight.

Also note, this is the 3rd theater that I have worked at that has closed (the second in less than 2 years) Am I bad luck or what?!!?
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 08-14-2005, 11:29 PM:
 
Allison,
Sorry to hear about your luck... any news on a possible remodel or reopening, or is this another one that bites the dust on buyout/takeover?
 

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Posted by Allison Parsons (Member # 2728) on 08-15-2005, 12:42 AM:
 
It's a goner. The lease is up and a drop in business is what (at least I think) it did it in. It was a first run theater but a year and a half ago a Rave theater moved into the city and business really started to decline then. The place had potential but no one wanted to drop anymore money into remodeling it. I will say that if the last GKC/Carmike theater I'm working at now closes, then I'm officially retiring from the movie world.
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 08-15-2005, 12:52 AM:
 
My theater will be closing on labor day (as Paul G. apparently already knew ).

Triboro Cinemas 12 in North Attleboro, MA. It was the local theater in the area that "everyone" grew up going to. It lost most of its business when a Showcase opened up down the street some years back.
 

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Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 08-15-2005, 08:52 AM:
 
Rachel,

Whether I "knew" or "didn't Know" wouldn't have made a difference any ways.(by the way, I did "know")The main reason that Tri-Boro is closing isn't because the Showcase opened down the street (it has been open for at least the last 9 years) and it isn't because people are not going to the movies like they used to, it is because the company would not spend ANY money on ANY repairs on the building. The roof is leaking, the place is basically falling to pieces.. When I was working there we knew that no money was being spent on the building..and that no money would ever be spent on the building.. we did however have a VERY strong area customer base.. and we knew that in order for the place to be kept open we had to try and keep that base of people. That's why we started having "Rocky Horror" and Bargain nights (two instead of just the one we started with)..But when people walk into a theater and see the condition of it and knowing that for a dollar or two more, they could easily go down the street to Showcase with the nice highback seats and the cupholders, they are obviously going to go there instead. The main thing that kept the local people from coming back to TBC was the cheaper then other places price..But when you go to watch a movie and you are able to see the sky from your seat or be afraid you might get hit by ceiling tiles falling down, your going to go somewhere else. Which bring me back to:

quote: Rachel Gilardi

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(as Paul G. apparently already knew ).

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Anyone going to TBC in the last 9 years, could tell that money wasn't being spent on the building, and all the Managers before me (Jim Quinn, Paul Moran, David Fuller, & myself) knew eventually the place would be doomed to close. I'm not blaming you for the closing because I know, just like all the other TBC managers before you, we all tried our best to keep it open and running, unfortnetly for you, you had to be the one there when it closed..

R.I.P TriBoro Cinemas (1967-2005)
 

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Posted by Tom Ferreira (Member # 70) on 08-18-2005, 09:51 PM:
 
Paul,
Should any of this have come as a surprise? While they were throwing money for improvements at Holiday and Opera House, nothing was spent on Triboro because they know it was for all intents and purposes inevitable that it would close eventually-and this was when I was DM four years ago. It's incredible that it made it this long.
That said, I'm sorry to see it go. I like the ambience of the place-it doesn't have that cold, modern look, more like a retro 70's feeling. Also, I know that you and Fuller put a lot of hard work, blood and sweat into that place, but I know that even then he saw the writing on the wall. I don't have a lot of good things to say about that company, but I'm willing to bet they didn't have much of a choice.
And to Rachel, you should count your blessings that you're getting this much notice that they're shutting down. When they shut Pittsfield and the Madison in Albany, nobody was given advance notice-they just sent people in to pack the place up. Good luck to you in whatever you choose to do.
 

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Posted by Mark Ogden (Member # 43) on 08-19-2005, 08:11 AM:
 
As I have mentioned before in this forum, thousands of New York movie goers are mourning the recent closing of the Beekman Theatre on Manhattan’s East Side. This was a beautifully maintained single screen cinema that opened in 1952, it was a true ‘destination” theatre for people from all five boroughs. One fan of the theatre was moved to memorialize his last, unauthorized visit to the theater in the form of a comic strip. While it may strike some as maudlin, it’s exactly the kind of sentiment that the fans of this cinema feel: click here

And here are some before and after shots of the exterior of the theatre.







Heavy sigh . . . .

[ 08-23-2005, 06:45 PM: Message edited by: Mark Ogden ]
 

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 08-19-2005, 08:49 AM:
 
Where's Eddie Adams to go?

quote:

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Mann Valley West shut down
By Brent Hopkins and Evan Pondel, Staff Writers



TARZANA - Mann Valley West rolled its last reel Thursday night, clearing the way for demolition of the theater and some nearby shops and for construction of an upscale retail development.
Bounced between owners for decades, the movie house was one of only a few remaining on Ventura Boulevard, and it bowed out with late showings of "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo" and "Skeleton Key." Mann representatives confirmed that Thursday night's shows were the last.

"I'm really saddened by the news," said Jennifer Lewis, who worked there as an usher at age 16 and now owns Body & Sol Swimwear up the block. "The Mann is where I go see all my movies. It's a Tarzana landmark."

The development company notified business owners several months ago of renovation plans to bring in an upscale grocery and other high-tone shops.

Although the theater lacked the stadium seating and ritzy digital projection of the megaplexes, local residents expressed displeasure at its closure.

"Most of the residents here in Tarzana got very upset," said Helen Itria Norman, president of the Tarzana Property Owners Association. "You get used to having something in a location, even if you don't patronize it."

She said the theater and neighboring buildings, including Shoe Pavilion, would be razed in October to make way for extensive construction. retail, restaurants and possibly condominiums will be developed in three phases.

Norman said residents have lobbied the developers to include a new theater in the construction plan.

"They're very sad about losing it, but they accept the fact that the new shopping center will be most attractive," she said. "We'll do our best to make it succeed."

Charles Greene, a North Hills resident who still made the trip down to Tarzana, mourned the loss of the theater he'd frequented for years.

"I try to get in for the cheap matinee," he said. "There's a lot of the old theaters closing down. It's sad that they're closing."

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quote: Tom Ferreira

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And to Rachel, you should count your blessings that you're getting this much notice that they're shutting down. When they shut Pittsfield and the Madison in Albany, nobody was given advance notice-they just sent people in to pack the place up.

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I never said I wasn't! I've gone through a theater closing before (and many sales), I know how this works. Close the place down, kick the employees out. It's harsh but there really isn't any other way to do it. I'll be in helping to get all the stock and whatever else they need out of the building. It's sad to see it go, that place really does have that "family theater" feeling to it, I loved it there, even for my short 9 month run. So many of my customers are sad to see it go, as you know this is where they have been coming all of their lives.

quote: Tom Ferreira

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Good luck to you in whatever you choose to do.

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Thanks, I just wish I knew what I choose to do is!
 

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Posted by Paul Goulet (Member # 297) on 08-19-2005, 11:42 AM:
 
To be completely honest.. what it comes down to is this: TRIBORO CINEMAS couldn't be run without ME..That's why they had to close... ..Just kidding..

Like I said before, NO money spent improving TBC (+) less people going to the movies (=) the closing of TRIBORO CINEMAS. To be honest the one who really kept TBC going and the one who really made everyone else's payroll look bad was David Fuller. If you don't know the guy then he is extremely hard to explain..He was the Manager before I was at TBC and although he was MANAGER, he also was the projectionist, maintained the projection equipment pretty much himself, cleaned the theatres either every night or early in the morning, would do ALL the maintenance for TBC and numerous other jobs that he would encounter. He worked 7 days a week, 24 hours a day..and that's not even exaggerating..I was his only assistant that he had, and I worked Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, he ran the other days and nights by himself, even when we had summer matinees! ..and even when I was working my shifts, he would still be there either running the equipment upstairs or doing something else. He would never accept any help in doing anything, so he ended up doing the job of 6 different people. But of course BCG loved him in that way, pay him salary to be Manager and they get to save money of the 5 other jobs that they would have had to pay someone else to do. After 6 years(? maybe more) of him doing that however, it became a burden. And although him and I never really got along (actually he had to be the WORST boss I ever had) he did do A LOT for TRIBORO CINEMAS and he needs to be credited with keeping TBC open as long as it did. Ironically, he is now a Manager at the Showcase in North Attleboro now.

quote:

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Thanks, I just wish I knew what I choose to do is!

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quote:

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Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Imax Dome Theater at the Seattle Aquarium to close

If you haven't been to the Imax Dome Theater at the Seattle Aquarium lately (or ever), Monday will be your last chance. That's right, the 26-year-old theater will close its doors on Tuesday for good.

In an announcement of the dome's imminent demise, Cinema Group, which has owned it since 1996, said renovations at the Aquarium at Pier 59 will wipe out the space that houses the theater. But you can still check out "The Eruption of Mount St. Helens" and "Ocean Oasis" (which show a total of 15 times daily from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.) before the Dome is no more.

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quote:

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Movie star

Vancouver's Cinetopia, with its fine food, wine and cushy seats, may be the nation's most luxurious, high-tech theater

Thursday, August 18, 2005

SHAWN LEVY
The Oregonian

You're reclining in a leather chair, eating slices of grilled Kobe-Wagyu beef, and watching "Star Wars: Episode III" in stunning high-definition digital projection with one of the most advanced sound systems in the world.

You're sipping a sublime glass of vintage wine in an even more comfortable leather chair and watching the quirky English film "Ladies in Lavender."

No, you have not won the lottery and turned your home into a paradise of fine food, wine and cinema.

Rather, you have discovered movie heaven.

And it's in Vancouver, USA.

Cinetopia, a combination film multiplex, gourmet restaurant, wine bar and art gallery, opened just off Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard and Interstate 205 in late July, and it is instantly the most luxurious, technologically advanced and, frankly, astounding theater in the area, the region, maybe even the country.

The complex consists of eight theaters and a restaurant, Vinotopia. In one place, you can see some of the best films playing in the market, eat some ambitious and accomplished food, sample more than 100 bottles of wine -- including the rarest of vintages -- by the glass, peruse (and perhaps buy) original works of art that hang where other theaters slap movie posters, and generally walk around slack-jawed and pinching yourself to remember that you're at the movies.

This fantasia of food, wine, art and cinema is the dream-come-true of Rudyard Coltman, a Portland attorney who has previously operated traditional movie theaters in Burns and Baker City. The 37-year-old Coltman is a film aficionado who speaks with equal zeal and knowledge about the films of Ingmar Bergman and the "Star Wars" saga, and he has long fantasized presenting the finest movies in the finest setting.

"I've grown up with a lifetime of subpar presentations," he explains. "People who appreciate film should be able to see it in the best condition. Most movie complexes have a sterile, uninspiring atmosphere. I knew there could be more."

A nearly $10 million investment

Coltman spent several years determining what it would cost to acquire land and build the theaters and restaurant to his exacting specifications. He selected Vancouver because it was underserved in both high-end dining and access to specialty films. And he demanded that his architects and equipment vendors go beyond the norm to create ideal viewing spaces.

Even though movie attendance nationwide is declining, Coltman poured nearly $10 million into the project because he sensed he could lure audiences that had given up on going to the theater.

"So many people have stopped coming to the movies, partly because the experience has become more unpleasant," he says. "We want those people to come back to the movies."

Cinetopia is a heck of a lure. The complex consists of eight auditoriums -- one of just under 300 seats, four others closer to 100 in capacity, and three "Living Room Theaters" that hold about 65 viewers each. All of them sport oversized, fully reclining leather chairs. The rise from one level to another is higher than in other multiplexes. The space between rows -- the distance that the guy behind you needs to reach to kick your seat -- is much greater, enhancing your sense of physical isolation and connection to the screen.

Only one auditorium sports a high-definition projector, but all of Cinetopia's theaters have pricey Klipsch sound systems, and the one in the big theater is, according to the company's Web site, the most sophisticated theatrical sound system on sale anywhere. In all theaters, little touches contribute to the experience: exit signs are unobtrusively placed beyond the line of sight, and the walls are doubly thick to prevent people watching the hushed "March of the Penguins" from overhearing the climactic battle of "Star Wars" just next door.

It's all swell, but the Living Rooms truly dazzle. Coltman could have stuck twice as many seats in these theaters, but he has instead spread the cozy chairs and ottomans around in such a way that you feel as if you and your companions are watching the film from a private skybox like those at the Rose Garden.

The Living Rooms aren't meant for kids: after 4 p.m., admission is restricted to those 21 and older, and tickets cost $10 during the day and $13.50 in the evening. (Ticket prices in the other theaters are $7 and $9.50.) But for the quality of presentation you get -- and, more importantly, for what you don't get (blotchy images, scratchy sound, noise, kids. . . .) -- it's a fair price.

Coltman is determined to find films that are worthy of the display cases he's created: As of press time, Cinetopia is showing a number of the best small films in release (including "Hustle and Flow," "March of the Penguins," and "Howl's Moving Castle"), plus "Star Wars" to show off the high-definition technology and advanced sound system. He makes clear that "we don't want to be pigeonholed as an art house," and he's willing to stand up to the region's movie powerhouse, Regal Cinemas of Knoxville, Tenn., to get prints of the best films, no matter how big or small they may be.

More than a movie

Equally important to the film experience at Cinetopia is the food. At the concession stand, along with the expected Goobers and Red Vines, Cinetopia offers gourmet pizzas made in-house, popcorn with homemade flavored butters (garlic, almond, four-cheese), and a rotating selection of hot dishes: lasagna, chili, sweet-and-sour pork and so on. All of this food can be taken into any of the auditoriums on specially designed trays that snap into the cup holders in the oversized arm rests.

In the restaurant, which is as posh and professional as anything in downtown Portland, chef Alan Lake serves a menu of small plates with high quality ingredients and great variety: sashimi, short ribs, a lamb burger, wild mushroom strudel, carpaccio, Dungeness crab, traditional tapas. Again, you can order this food to eat in the theaters, or you can dine indoors -- on an outdoor patio, around a fireplace or in a private room.

If for nothing else, Cinetopia would be worth visiting just for the wines. Coltman has invested in an Italian Enomatic serving system that makes it possible for more than 100 bottles to be opened and remain fresh for up to three months, allowing customers to order in single-ounce increments. Want to try that legendary Opus One, Leonetti or Mondavi Reserve? An ounce may run as much as $16.50, but you can have a taste from that $200 bottle that might otherwise elude you. For less-expensive wines, a full glass can cost as little as $6.

This sounds like a press release, I know: perfect theaters, wonderful food, a dizzying selection of wines, art on the walls. But there is nothing like this anywhere in the Portland area or, as far as I know, the world.

I have been in executive screening rooms on every back lot in Hollywood. I have seen movies at George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch and in the poshest multiplexes in New York, London, Paris, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

And I am here to tell you this: Cinetopia is the most amazing movie theater I have ever seen.

Shawn Levy: (503) 221-8332; shawnlevy@news.oregonian.com

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 09-07-2005, 12:00 AM:
 
We've got a NEW DRIVE-IN in the Vancouver area, with the opening of the Twilight Drive-in in Langley September 1st.
Pictures at http://members.shaw.ca/twilightdrivein/photos.html
 

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Posted by Mike Spaeth (Member # 524) on 09-09-2005, 08:42 PM:
 
Hot off the press - Press Release from my company.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT: Joseph Paletta, CEO Spotlight Theatres or
Mike Spaeth, Area Supervisor Spotlight Theatres
PHONE: (404) 943-0181
FAX: (404) 943-0183

SPOTLIGHT THEATRES ANNOUNCES SHANNON STADIUM 16 CINEMAS TO
OPEN IN UNION CITY, GEORGIA

Atlanta, Georgia – Joseph Paletta III, CEO Spotlight Theatres, Inc announced today a new 16-screen megaplex theatre, scheduled to open in Fall 2006. The theatre is located in Union City, Georgia, at Interstate I-85 and Jonesboro Rd. “Spotlight Theatres has a strong commitment to the Georgia market and is excited to be a part of Union City” said Paletta. “With existing area locations we know patrons of Spotlight Theatres will enjoy stadium seating, on-line ticketing and various amenities the theatre will offer.”

The new 16-screen theatre will feature over 3200 high back seats with wide spacing between rows for extra legroom and 18-inch stadium risers for unobstructed viewing. All auditoriums will house high-gain wall-to-wall curved screen and the latest digital audio and projection equipment producing the best quality sight and sound for an enhanced movie-going experience. Patrons of Spotlight Theatres will enjoy amenities like on-line ticketing, will-call, expanded concession menu, guaranteed seating and the Spotlight Rewards program (www.SpotlightRewards.com) where customers earn free movie tickets and free concession items.

Lee Najjar, owner of Shannon Mall adds, "We are very pleased to welcome Spotlight Theatres to Union City. This beautiful new theater complex will help to complete our vision of creating Shannon Mall as the "family destination of choice" for Union City and the entire region."
 

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Posted by Michael Brown (Member # 890) on 09-10-2005, 04:33 PM:
 

Odeon Barnsley - last day of operation will be next Saturday. (17th Sept)

When I was at college I lived a 5 minute walk away, but I never sat foot in the place. I'm going to catch a train down on Friday to see 'Green Street'.
 

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Posted by Mark Hajducki (Member # 1732) on 09-10-2005, 05:34 PM:
 
New Victoria (Odeon) Clerk St Edinburgh



After a 3 week revival for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (showing second run films in screen 1) this cinema has now closed again (possibly for good). Without the curtains and full star and statue compliment it had lost some of the ambiance that it had when open as a first run cinema.

Its future is still in doubt with plans for demolition.

Further Information
 

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Posted by Dan Harris (Member # 1759) on 09-10-2005, 06:14 PM:
 

quote: Michael Brown

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Odeon Barnsley - last day of operation will be next Saturday. (17th Sept)

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I worked there for six months. Lovely 2-screen traditional cinema, was given a £100,000 overhaul back in 2001, but sadly business has continued to drop due to competition from multi's in Meadowhall and Wakefield.

Screen 1 is the old circle and seats approx 400 with a 33' screen. Screen 2 downstairs seats around 480 (used to be 650, but new seats were put in with about a meter legroom!) and has a 40' screen with Dolby Digital. The original proscenium is still intact, although the twinkle lights no longer work.

Technical operation is flawless, the Chief Tech has been there for years. The tech team there have done several major upgrades themselves, such as enlarging screens, and 'box 1 has 2 Christe AW3R's - one either side of the Vic 9 to cater for the films they run. They rescued the second from Odeon Leeds when it was stripped out and got it up and running themselves. The Vic 8 down in screen 2 is dual guage 35/70 capable.

This is box 1, the original "top box" (taken 2003):



Michael in the picture you posted you can see the Rank logos on the panels above and below the vertical Odeon sign - they still have one of them somewhere!

The site has apparently been sold to a property developer. A shame.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 10-01-2005, 11:43 AM:
 
GKC's (now Carmike's) former Landmark Cinemas has a new tennant:
(from the 9/29/05 issue of the Peoria Journal Star)

Big screen, hometown feel

Nova Cinemas offers lower ticket prices, lower concession prices and family films

Thursday, September 29, 2005

By Steve Tarter

of the Journal Star

PEORIA - Peoria's newest theater is one of its oldest.
On Oct. 21 the Nova Cinemas will open at Landmark Recreation Center, 3225 N. Dries Lane, former site of Landmark Cinemas.

The remodeled 12-screen complex will open a little more than two months after Landmark closed. Carmike Cinemas of Columbus, Ga., closed the theater in August.

Heading the effort to bring the theaters back on line is Vern Reynolds, owner of the Reynolds Theater Group, which owns and operates theaters in Morton, Chillicothe, Elmwood and Canton.

"Landmark wanted an operator with a hometown feel," said Reynolds, who's been part of the central Illinois movie scene since 1979 when he purchased the Palace Theatre in Elmwood.

Partnering with Reynolds on the Nova project is Buck Kolkmeyer, president of Nova Cinetech Inc., a movie group operating 117 screens in nine states. It's based in Sandwich, west of Chicago.

"Buck's expertise covers a wider area and I know the local scene, so it's a good combination," said Reynolds of the partnership.

The reopening of the theater side of the Landmark Recreation Center is good news for Doug Holmes, the center's vice president and general manager.

"We're ecstatic. We thought it would take six months to a year to reopen the theater, but Vern and Buck put this thing together and it just took off," he said.

Holmes said Landmark would benefit from the new approach being taken by the Nova team.

"They're offering great service with lower ticket prices and lower concession prices plus they're pushing for family films," said Holmes.

Ticket prices at the Nova theaters will be $6 for adults and $4 for matinees, children and senior citizens. A small soft drink and popcorn can be purchased for $1.50 with a movie admission purchase, said Reynolds.

Prices at other movie theaters in Peoria range from $7.50 to $8.10 for adults and from $5.50 to $6.35 for matinees. For children, the prices range from $5.50 to $6.10.

"We're taking out the ticket booth and going to one-stop ticketing like we do in Morton," he said. After entering the remodeled lobby, customers will buy their tickets at the concession stand, said Reynolds.

While two of the 12 theaters are being overhauled, the complex has needed only minor repairs, he said. "I was surprised at what good condition (the theater) was in," said Reynolds.

The lobby and hallways have been repainted and projection systems are being beefed up where needed, said Reynolds. "Stadium seating will remain throughout and every room will project picture and sound digitally," he said.

Nova will book first-run films as the Landmark had done, while paying special attention to films that attract families, said Reynolds, estimating the theater would use 25 to 30 part-time employees.

The complex offers a total of 2,800 seats and faces a challenge given the number of theater screens already operating in the Peoria area, said Reynolds.

The city's other theaters offer a total of 32 screens. Willow Knolls Cinema, which opened in 1991, has 14 screens and the Rave Theater at Grand Prairie, which opened last year, has 18.

The family-friendly concept appeals to Holmes, who feels it will become a niche audience for the Nova. "The Nova people have a lot of new and different marketing ideas to help promote family business that people will be hearing about," he said.

Holmes said the theater would also benefit from its location - apart from the other theaters in North Peoria. "We've received a lot of phone calls from people who said they wanted to see the theater back open because they didn't want to drive north, especially with the rise in gas prices," he said.

Holmes said security would patrol Landmark parking areas when the theater reopens.
 

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Posted by Kevin Wale (Member # 1851) on 10-01-2005, 06:20 PM:
 
I've been busy at the theatre I'm listing getting it reopened... thus I haven't posted in forever. In fact, I haven't read forever. lol

Suburban Cinemas sold the Northridge Cinema 8 to Mitchell Theatres after being closed for a few days. Six weeks later we opened on September 2nd... a rough time of year to open a theatre to be sure. LOL

Also, the theatre in Boise City Oklahoma an hour west of us just reopened after being closed for several years after Suburban Cinemas closed it. It's a small twin in a very small town and I don't see it working unless they got a tremendous lease and there was equipment left in the building from the last owners. They shouldn't need a large staff however which should help a lot. The big thing though is utilities. The energy prices and that old building... YIKES.

Southgate 4 in Liberal Kansas 40 miles northeast of us was just sold and had it's grand opening a week before we did.
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 10-07-2005, 11:44 AM:
 
Vanvouver, B.C. International Film Centre is HQ's the the film festival and includes a 175 seat theatre. It is now in operaton, the official opening comes next January. I caught a 35mm showing of BONJOUR TRISTESSE there a couple of days ago and was very impressed with the design.
Booth specs and link:
Seats: Quinette "St. Omer"

Projection Equipment:
Kinoton FP 30 D projectors
Super Cinelux 40 mm lenses
Christie S9 Video Projector
Christie LX65 Video Projector
Mini-DV & DV-Cam & HDV Player/Recorder
Sony DSC-1024HD Scan Converter & Digital Scaler

Sound Equipment:
Dolby CP-650 Cinema Sound Processor w/ Surround EX

Http://www.vifc.org/
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 10-09-2005, 12:35 AM:
 
Updated info on Landmark Cinemas (Peoria, IL) from the NovaCinemas website:

3225 North Dries Lane
Peoria, Illinois
We are excited to be opening in your community! We will be open on Friday, October 21, 2005! To apply for employment please go to the home page and you will see a tab for Employment on the left hand side and apply online! Gift Certificates available.

$1.50 small POP & small POPCORN All the time, every time! Please note advertised showtimes include pre-show advertainment. No courtesy passes will be honored for the first two weeks of a movie.

Movie Hotline: (309)-682-6356
Email: linda@novacinemas.com
Sound: DTS
Specials:
See your message on the big screen! FOR DIGITAL SCREEN ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES AT NOVA Cinemas - PLEASE CONTACT LINDA AT 815-786-6577 X 210 OR EMAIL AT linda@novacinemas.com or annen@novacinemas.com

Admission:

Adult: $6.00
Children: $4.00
Matinee (shows starting before 6:00 p.m.): $4.00
 

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Posted by Matt Kerekes (Member # 2777) on 10-09-2005, 08:26 PM:
 
Cobb Theatres is opening 2 new locations in Florida in November. One is a 16 screen theatre in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. The other is an 18 screen theatre in Lakeland, FL. The first is set to open Nov. 11th, the second Nov. 23rd. Pictures at www.cobbtheatres.com
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 10-11-2005, 10:08 AM:
 
This coming weekend (Oct 14 -16th) is the final weekend for the Columbia Drive-In in Columbia Pennsylvania. It is to be torn down for a condo/retail strip mall project. The final night on Sunday October 16th admission is free.

This will leave Central Pennsylvania with only one other drive in -the Haars Drive In in Dillsburg Pennslvania - which was been sold to Giant Food Stores and is currently on a limited term leaseback to the Haar family for a couple of more years only.
 

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Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 10-11-2005, 10:58 PM:
 
Celebration! Cinema South, Gaines Township, MI

Article from today's Grand Rapids Press:

quote:

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New theaters give high-tech view to moviegoers

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

By Mary Radigan
The Grand Rapids Press

GAINES TOWNSHIP -- John Loeks is counting on some strong films to draw people back to the movies this year, especially to his new Celebration Cinema South.

The 16-screen megaplex and its tall beacon entrance opens Friday evening at 1506 Eastport Drive SE, on the northwest corner of Kalamazoo Avenue SE and M-6. The cinemas offer the first digital movie projectors in West Michigan.

Next month, the film "Chicken Little" will be shown in 3-D on a unique silver screen in one theater, while highly anticipated films such as "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," local author Chris VanAllsburg's "Zathura" and a remake of "King Kong" are expected to fill seats.

"It was a poor summer for the movie industry because the films just weren't appealing," Loeks said.

Loeks also owns Celebration Cinema North and IMAX on the East Beltline in Grand Rapids and the Studio 28 movie complex on 28th Street SW in Wyoming. He recently opened a 15-screen megaplex in Portage and plans on renovations at the aging Studio 28 complex.

"Even though there are a lot of screens out there, I'm quite optimistic about the coming months because the movies coming out are stronger than they were at this time last year," Loeks said. "The product is good."

The Gaines Township theater is patterned after the best features found at the East Beltline Celebration Cinema and his theater complex in Lansing, Loeks said.

The large lobby is highlighted by glass and neon lights, and the concession stand is located straight across the back of the building.

The lobby has a bridge across the middle, so projection rooms on each side of the building can be reached easily. In addition to a box office, the theater has automated ticket purchase machines.

Each theater is crowned by its own neon display over the entry, which leads to a wall-to-wall giant screen, stadium-style rocking chair seats and high-tech digital sound projected from geometric panels along the walls.

The building also has two rooms on the second floor for private-party rentals, and the lobby is available for other uses, "when business is slow," Loeks said. With a look toward the future, the theater was built to allow for additional screens to be added to the 13-acre property, he added.

The theater is managed by Betsy Artz, who served as general manager at Studio 28 for four years.

Working with about 100 employees, the theater will be open for matinees and evening shows, seven days a week.

"We're very excited about the new Celebration Cinema South," Loeks said. "It's time to have a movie theater on the Southeast Side of Grand Rapids."

© 2005 Grand Rapids Press. Used with permission
Copyright 2005 Michigan Live. All Rights Reserved.

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quote:

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...and high-tech digital sound projected from geometric panels along the walls.

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 10-12-2005, 02:48 PM:
 
The UA Travis/Staten Island 14 closed on Monday. This was one of the only UA's that was really busy. It started as a 10 and expanded to 14 with the high volume of business during the 80's and 90's (I know what your thinking....UA actually put $$ into a theatre?) Regal built their modern Forest Ave Stadium 16 not too far away in 2001 and basically took all the business. I'm actually surprised Regal kept the 14 open this long after the REG merge.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 10-13-2005, 03:16 PM:
 
Here's an interesting article on the Lawford theatre in Havana, ILL (from the Peoria Journal Star):

Havana theater in flux

Advertisement



Saturday, September 10, 2005

BY BRENDA BOWEN

OF THE JOURNAL STAR

HAVANA - Re-opening the closed Lawford Theater is in question, with the building's managers and former employees at odds over workers getting paid.
Mike Novelli and Paul Warshauer, co-owners of Wheaton-based Grande Venues Inc., leased the Havana theater in June and opened in late July, showing recently released movies.

Novelli and Warshauer hired local employees to sell tickets and concessions at the theater. The men closed a week ago when a projector bulb blew out during a show. Warshauer said the projector housing needed replaced, so the men decided to close for renovations and planned to re-open by Thanksgiving.

But theater employees say they have been released permanently from their jobs and still haven't received their last paychecks.

"They can't even pay their employees," said Mike Kolves, the Lawford's former assistant manager. "They were paying themselves, and they can't pay us?"

Another former employee, who asked not to be named, said she had to bring her own calculator and vacuum cleaner to the job to add ticket sales and clean up after shows.

"None of that was ever appreciated," she said. "There was nothing in there to work with ... I even took my own Scotch tape there."

The worker said she and another former co-worker are looking into ways to get the last paycheck owed to them.

"It's not much money, it's just the principle of the thing," said the other former employee, who also asked not to be named. "They more or less wanted us to donate our time."

Novelli said Friday he and Warshauer are investigating theft by employees at the Lawford.

"There is an investigation going on into some wrongdoing," he said. "We know one of them stole from us."

The investigation is "internal," not being handled by police, Novelli said.

Warshauer said he and Novelli have contacted police about their suspicions. "We've locked (the former employees) out, that should tell you something," he said.

In November 2003, he was at odds with Bartonville officials over his plans to rehab a Peoria State Hospital into a "boutique hotel." Warshauer asked the village to invest in a $190,000 feasibility study into the concept with no commitment on his end to move forward on the proposed $6 million project.

Village trustees said they were leery of using taxpayer funds for the project under the terms proposed.

That same month, the Chicago Revenue Department issued a cease and desist order on the Portage Park Theater, owned by Warshauer on the city's Northwest side.

When the men came to Havana, they asked city officials for a $15,000 loan to renovate the Lawford but were turned down because Mayor Dale Roberts said they didn't have collateral.

Roberts said Friday that Novelli and Warshauer owe the city money for the theater's water service but declined to say how much.

"They have a water bill that is unpaid," he said. "We shut the water off. We were going to shut it off anyway, but they called and asked us to before the cutoff date."

Novelli said re-opening the Lawford by Thanksgiving is still a goal for him, but it may not happen.

"We've got a lot of issues," he said. "It's not a solid thing."
 

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Posted by Lee Michael Breese (Member # 3056) on 10-15-2005, 05:00 PM:
 
From what I am hearing the Carmike theatre down the street from my theatre is not in good shape. Over the summer the stoped having Daily Matinees. I guess they stoped using there Slideshow adds to save on Electricity. Just cuting corners to save a penny here and a penny there. And just a couple of weeks ago they droped there prices down to $5 for adults.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 11-04-2005, 09:14 AM:
 
Drexel Gateway opens 11/4/05 near the Ohio State University campus. This theatre is operated by Jeff and Kathy Frank, who operate 3 other facillities in the Columbus OH area (3-screen Drexel, 1-screen Drexel Grandview and 8-screen Arena Grand.

The new theatre is officially an 8-screen theatre, but one of the rooms has no permanent seats, a retractable screen and a video projector. Chairs can be moved in and out as needed. So, I guess you could call this a 7.1 screen theatre.

The theatre will play a mix of "art" and conventional film. It is located about 2 miles from a 24-screen AMC theatre.

Parking is in a garage close to the theater, and will be $1.00.

Columbus Dispatch Article

quote:

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Flexible ’plex
New campus theater fits trend of mixing highbrow with commercial fare
Friday, November 04, 2005
Frank Gabrenya

When the Drexel Gateway opens today near Ohio State University, it won’t be just another multiplex. But don’t expect a stuffy art house, either.

It’s something in between, and it illustrates the increasingly blurry line between mainstream and art cinema.

The eight-screen theater will show the same sort of independent, foreign-language and documentary fare as the three-screen Drexel in Bexley and single-screen Drexel Grandview. It will also seek out comedies and other Hollywood fare that appeal to college students.

‘‘It’s going to be constantly moving back and forth," said Jeff Frank, who with his wife, Kathy, manages the three Drexel theaters and Downtown’s Arena Grand.

The theater will open with Capote (an indie film), Shopgirl (a romance playing nationally on a mix of specialty and mainstream screens) and Jarhead (a war film playing mostly on commercial screens in other markets).

‘‘Our overall mission is to allow art films to have longer runs and to bring some that have not played here in the past," Frank said.

Columbus gets more art films than it has in the past but continues to miss some that win critical acclaim. Of the 2004 Academy Award nominees, two foreign-language films (Sweden’s As It Is in Heaven and South Africa’s Yesterday) and a documentary (Twist of Faith) did not play in Columbus.

Terry Foegler — president of Campus Partners, which built and owns the theater — sees the Gateway drawing from several audiences.

"We believe with the independent and art-film product, we have the flexibility to appeal to a broad array of segments, both within the university community and the urban neighborhoods in and around that area."

A consultant from Boston recommended a commercial theater that shows art films, Foegler said, because it represented an unmet demand in the area.

"He said there is a lot of product that doesn’t make it to Columbus because of the number of screens available."

No one knows how many of the nation’s roughly 37,000 movie screens are "art" or "specialty" houses such as the Drexels.

"It’s hard to pin down statistically," said Jim Kozak, editor in chief of In Focus, the publication of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

"A screen can convert from a mainstream film to an art film in an hour," he said. "The harder thing to get around is defining what an indie or a specialty film is.

"Most would agree that a foreign-language film would qualify, but you get into situations such as: Was Pulp Fiction an independent film? Some will say, ‘Definitely.’ Others will say, ‘No; it had John Travolta and Bruce Willis in it.’ "

A film in the gray area between mainstream and specialty features is Good Night, and Good Luck, directed by and starring a major performer, George Clooney. Shot in black and white, it’s about a political subject, McCarthyism, that happened 50 years ago. It opened simultaneously at the Lennox, Easton and Drexel theaters.

While documentaries are usually art-house fare, Michael Moore’s well-publicized Fahrenheit 9/11 opened at five mainstream multiplexes, as well as the Drexel, in June 2004.

Landmark Theatres, a national chain with 208 screens in 57 locations (none in Ohio), specializes in art films. Its Web site defines the programming as "first-run independent and foreign films, restored classics and nontraditional studio fare."

The site lists sample titles — Garden State, The Pianist, Bowling for Columbine, The Blair Witch Project — all of which played on Drexel screens.

Landmark and Gateway also illustrate the upscaling of arthouse theaters. Once restricted to vintage flat-floor neighborhood theaters, specialty cinemas are now multiscreen with high-tech projection and sound, stadium seating and unusual concession items.

Landmark opened multiplexes throughout the ’90s, including the nine-screen Kendall Square Cinema in Cambridge, Mass., the largest specialty multiplex in the country.

The Cedar Lee theater in Cleveland, a longtime center for art films, expanded to six screens. Several others, including the Shaker Square and Chagrin cinemas, mix "specialty films" with Hollywood fare.

Gateway adds screens capable of showing specialty films, but a mix of fare is still critical to the plan.

"We’re going to be able to take more chances on films," Frank said. "By showing more commercial as well as independent films, we’re hoping to interest more people who want to see commercial films to come and take a chance on independent films."

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 11-07-2005, 05:20 PM:
 
The Western Fair IMAX Theatre in London, Ontario has finally announced a closing date - November 30.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 11-11-2005, 03:05 AM:
 
Boise Idaho will be welcoming in a new 9 screener in the downtown area in a new complex built close to the capitol building. This 9 screen will be operated by REG through the EDWARDS name. This will be the third REG/EDWARDS complex in this western part of the state. Place will be called "Downtown Boise Stadium 9".

Quite impressive to say the least.

-Monte

[ 11-17-2005, 04:35 AM: Message edited by: Monte L Fullmer ]
 

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Posted by Rachel Gilardi (Member # 1016) on 11-11-2005, 06:51 PM:
 
A couple weeks ago (1 or 2) Patriot Cinemas in Salem, MA closed...
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 12-07-2005, 07:49 AM:
 
Marquee Cinemas closed their 14-screen theatre in Reynoldsburg (Columbus) Ohio on Saturday, December 3, 2005. It had been opened since March, 2004. This was housed in a 1999 Regal site that was open for only 2 years. (Not a very successful site, so it seems!). The company had hoped to attract food franchises to vacant areas of the building, but was not successful.

Newspaper listing ads are still running in the Columbus newspaper.
 

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 12-07-2005, 10:53 AM:
 
The Sprint IMAX Theater at the Kansas City Zoo is scheduled to close today. This is the second closing of a 2D IMAX theater from the mid-90's within the past seven days (Western Fair IMAX in London, Ontario closed Nov. 30) On the bright side, two MPX theaters opened at CG CVJ cineplexes in South Korea on Dec. 1.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 12-11-2005, 12:16 PM:
 
Centrum Theater in Coventry Village in Cleveland Heights, Ohio
formerly Madstone Centrum
formerly Landmark Centrum
formerly Coventry Cinema
formerly Heights Art Theater
formerly Heights Theater

Centrum listing at Cinematreasure.org

The first floor main screen has opened as a sports pub. The upstairs screen (originally the balcony) will open as a comedy club next month. Both locations plan on using the film projection equipment for occasional screenings.

Coventry Geppettos Johnny Malloy's
Johnny Malloy's
Ground Floor Theater
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 12-11-2005, 08:42 PM:
 
The Linden 3 in Caldwell Idaho, is closing its doors on January 8th after being open for 25 yrs.

As of yet, there will be no cinemas in Caldwell, a population of almost 30,000 for the time being. But things could change with the advanced growth in this area-with the construction of a new freeway exit/overpass being built near this city.
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 12-14-2005, 02:18 PM:
 
Just found out Regal is closing the UA GALAXY in San Francisco. Thur 12/15 is the last day.
 

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 12-14-2005, 03:45 PM:
 
Hi Eric:

Sad to hear about the Galaxy. I have always enjoyed having a meal at Tommy's Joynt and catching a movie after.

Mike
 

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Posted by Joseph L. Kleiman (Member # 3097) on 12-14-2005, 03:46 PM:
 
That sucks! The Galaxy's only three blocks from where I live. Hopefully they won't follow with the Metro.
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 12-15-2005, 06:45 PM:
 
For the right price, they will.

It's already a booking disaster as it is.
 

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Posted by Don Furr (Member # 1469) on 12-15-2005, 07:33 PM:
 
Malco Theaters out of Memphis closed an old triplex in the McRaes Mall...Columbus Ms.....last Thursday night. Of course they built a new 8 screen stadium across the street and 2 blocks down.

BTW, are there any Malco folks on this forum?

Don
 

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 12-16-2005, 04:22 PM:
 
Hi Eric: Others:

If UA was smart they would move the seats from the Galaxy over to the Stonestown Twin.

Mike
 

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Posted by Ryan Navaroli (Member # 3477) on 12-17-2005, 02:43 PM:
 
We opened an 11 screen theatre in Athens Ohio on 11/4/2005. Doing very well so far, waiting for college students to come back from winter break though.

edit: its called the Athena Grand, named after our quaint 3 screen theatre called the Athena... its bigger so its grander oooooh
 

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Posted by Eric Hooper (Member # 1730) on 12-18-2005, 01:14 AM:
 

quote: Mike Croaro

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If UA was smart they would move the seats from the Galaxy over to the Stonestown Twin.

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Actually, I find the seats at the Stonestown Twin quite comfortable. They just don't face the screen is all.
 

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Posted by Dieter Depypere (Member # 3184) on 12-18-2005, 01:45 PM:
 
In Spittal/Drau (Austria) they are building a big mall with a cinema in it. It will be from the "Cineplexx" chain (which happens to have the majority of cinemas here in AUT). It will have 4 screens and a total of 540 seats. It will be opened in April 2006 and I will be projectionist there (at the weekends).
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 12-22-2005, 08:30 PM:
 
Century opened their new 16 today at the South Coast casino, the latest of the Coast neighborhood casino properties. This one is at 9705 Las Vegas Blvd. So. - way way south. It will be the first large casino most people will see driving in from SoCal on I-15. And a very striking golden building it is, even the windows are coated with gold foil. There's also a 64-lane bowling center on site as well as a large equestrian exhibition center opening next month. Coast hopes to attract a mix of locals and tourists with this new place.

Stations Casinos will have a new Regal multiplex opening at Redrock Station in April. And the Cannery Casino has a new multiplex in the works. Stations is planning another large casino property to be called Aliente Station in the extreme north part of the valley, scheduled to open in 2007. It too will have a 'plex.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 12-22-2005, 08:39 PM:
 
Do Vegas movie theaters have gaming devices in the lobby? Just wondering.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 12-22-2005, 10:09 PM:
 
Come to think of it, I don't think a single one does.

Of course one only has to step but a few yards past the boxoffice to be on the casino floor at most of these places. And with the casino as landlord I'm sure the theatre has to sign a non-compete for gaming.

Even in the few remaining standalone places I imagine even a restricted gaming license (limit of six machines, similar to what every 7-11 in town has) would be hard to obtain. Movie theatres are seen as kid and teen magnets and thus I assume they wouldn't readily be approved for any kind of gaming license.
 

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Posted by Gregory Brannon (Member # 405) on 12-29-2005, 01:54 PM:
 
The Marquee Marketplace 14 in Irving, TX (Dallas area) closed in early December. This is the second time that this theatre has closed. This theatre originally opened in September 1999 as the United Artist Marketplace 14. It closed in June 2003 after United Artist was brought out by Regal Cinemas.

It reopened in February 2004 when Marquee Cinemas brought the theatre. They installed new seats and all new sound system. However the theatre has now closed again. It's in a bad location which is probably one of the reasons that it has struggled. Along with inconsistent quality of presentation and most notably fierce competition from AMC Grand 24 (the original stadium seating multiplex in the USA) and the AMC 30 Grapevine Mills.

As for openings, AMC has opened their first free standing theatre in the Dallas area since 1998. The AMC Firewheel 18 in Garland opened December 14th. The interior of the theatre is very similar to the AMC Valley View Mall 16 which opened May 2004. AMC is also scheduled to open a 15 screen theatre at North Park Mall in April 2006. This theatre is said to have the two largest screens in Texas. I don't know if that means that it will eclipse the two 78 ft screens at the United Artists Galaxy 9 in Dallas.

Cinemark just opened a 12 screen theatre in Rockwall, Texas (outside of Dallas) in October and they are scheduled to open 2 more in the Dallas area in 2006 with the opening of Cinemark 16 in Allen, Texas (very close to their well performing discounted priced first run theatre) the Movies 14 in McKinney, Texas and the company's top revenue grossing theatre Cinemark Legacy in Plano. The new Cinemark 16 in Allen is scheduled to open in May 2006 and Cinemark is also building a 15 screen stadium seating theatre to the Vista Ridge Mall in Lewisville. This mall already has an exsisting Cinemark Movies 12. It's scheduled to be open by August 2006. My assumption is that this theatre will either close and become more retail space or become a dollar theatre. However Cinemark currently owns an 8 screen dollar theatre across from the mall.
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 12-29-2005, 07:34 PM:
 

quote: Gregory Brannon

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AMC is also scheduled to open a 15 screen theatre at North Park Mall in April 2006. This theatre is said to have the two largest screens in Texas.

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Well, I'm not holding my breath for this new AMC site to even hold a candle to the previous theater that stood there, the GCC Northpark 1-2.
 

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Posted by Stephen LaPadula (Member # 3050) on 01-04-2006, 01:58 PM:
 
The ultra bland UA Crossbay II, a seven plex closed on Jan 2. (The Crossbay I, a triplex, closed earlier this year--edit late last year). This theatre opened in the early 90's, and will not be missed too much according to a newspaper article. Regal is opening a new theatre at the Atlas Park development in Queens not too far away in the spring anyway. I will try to get a pic.

edit-pic below-- nice right?


[ 01-07-2006, 03:28 PM: Message edited by: Stephen LaPadula ]
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 01-07-2006, 05:38 AM:
 

quote: Stephen LaPadula

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closed earlier this year.

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quote:

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Short takes
Saturday, January 14, 2006

MOVIES

Theater opened in '04, closes in Aurora

Marquee Cinemas - a new theater with stadium seating and 10 screens - seemed an unlikely candidate for closing. But the Aurora theater shut its doors on the last day of 2005. Representatives of Marquee, a small theater chain based in based in Beckley, W.Va., did not return calls. Aurora mayor Lynn McGill speculated attendance and profits were lower than the corporation expected. The theater, in Barrington Towne Center, was built in June 2004. "It was such a surprise when it left," McGill said. "I'm an optimist, so I'm hoping someone will be in here soon." Marquee operates about 20 theaters in eight states.

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quote: Jeffry L. Johnson

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Theater opened in '04, closes in Aurora

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quote: Daniel Wright

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Also last I knew the theatre in Eastland Mall was closed as well. This one was built as a top of the line GCC theatre in 86. Horrible location though. No street level entrance. You had to go downstairs to the mall food court. The rest of the mall is pretty much dead too.

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quote:

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My movie, my theater

As the lights go out, a man remembers

Friday, January 27, 2006

By Phil Arvia
ColumnistSomewhere in my head, there is a screenplay about an usher at a movie theater during the blockbuster era of "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones."

It isn't a serious film. We're talking summer popcorn flick all the way.

It's about chasing candy girls and avoiding managers. It's about hoodwinking doormen and sneaking in your friends.

It's about trysts in the stockroom, beer in the locker room and filling an empty drinking straw box with popcorn to take your break in the back row, again, to scan for the image of R2D2 allegedly hidden in the hieroglyphics on the wall of the snake pit scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

It's about loving movies, and a movie theater, and I was supposed to write it one day, and I might still. But if that movie ever gets made, it's going to have to open somewhere besides Calumet City.

River Oaks Theatres 1 & 4 — you might know them as 9 & 10 — had its last opening Thursday, on the day they closed for good. A couple dozen people showed up to watch a manager, who is going to have to find a new job soon, hack through the lid of a copper container buried beneath a plaque on the sidewalk in front of the box office.

That time capsule was supposed to be opened on Memorial Day, 2019 — 50 years after it was placed in the ground by employees back when River Oaks Theatre opened in 1969. I promised myself long ago I'd be there when it opened, and Thursday's closing of all the remaining theaters at River Oaks — they are slated for demolition — meant I had to show a little early.

I was an usher from 1979 through 1984 at what was then known as River Oaks 1 & 4.

In July '79, those houses were playing "Rocky II" and "The Main Event" when I first donned burgundy blazer and clip-on tie as a Plitt Theaters usher. Today, they are dark, and on Thursday, there was one person I absolutely knew would be on hand to watch that copper coffin at last give up its secrets.

Pam Imes, a 53-year-old Burnham resident, was a candy girl back when I was an usher. And before. And after.

She started at River Oaks on Memorial Day 1969 — the day the time capsule was sealed — and worked there through December 1997.

"I missed it when they put it in the ground," she said of the time capsule. "I wanted to see what was in there and take one last look around before they tear the place down."

On the first score, everyone was disappointed. The box, about a foot deep and was half-filled with murky green water. There were a lot of wet newspapers at the bottom, some reel-to-reel tapes and some letters.

Charlyne Haub's son Bill wrote one of the letters when he was the co-valedictorian of Thornton Fractional South High School's class of '69.

"I remember him writing about the unrest and the students of the day," said Charlyne, now 77 and living in Highland, Ind. "When I told him they were digging it up, he said, 'Go see.'

"I did, and what did I see? A bunch of water. It's disappointing now, but this theater was quite a thing then."

It was — more than 1,100 seats in the first house, and another 900 when No. 4 was added. Put 2,000 movie seats in one building now and you'd have six screens.

Back then, you had a couple of dozen teenage boys herding the crowds — none of whom had cable and only a few of whom had VCRs — into theaters that kept the same films for weeks at a time. And you had an equal number of teenage girls serving their popcorn, and soda, and candy.

Toss in a couple of bosses only a little older and making not much more money, and you had a party. Sure, you had rules, but you also had a million ways to break them.

Maybe you started small. Maybe you replaced your company-issued clip-on with a skinny black piano key tie from Spencer's Gifts, or maybe you propped open the back door for a couple of friends. Or maybe you took a little extra time in the stock room when Mary O'Connell, the cutest Irish candy girl in the history of Dolton, made the candy list and came back to help you load it on the dolly.

The next thing you knew, you were sitting on a speaker platform behind the screen, watching "Pink Floyd: The Wall" backward while indulging in some of the things that no doubt inspired the film.

I went behind the screen Thursday and found where I'd carved my name into the sound-proofing on the back wall in 1981. I looked way up high and found the work of another usher, who on a sad December night almost 26 years ago leaned from a ladder and used a broom handle to inscribe "John W. Lennon 1940-1980" halfway up the wall behind the 85-foot screen.

Inside the theater, I walked around and remembered all the work we did while still managing to play.

The first "Star Trek" opened at Theatre No. 1 in '79, and though other movies would do better sustained business, I still remember its opening weekend as the most hectic. The next year we had "The Empire Strikes Back," and after that, "Raiders."

I still think the biggest sustained laugh I've ever heard in a movie theater came in 1982, during the second weekend of "Porky's." I still think the hottest thing I've ever seen in a theater was Cheryl, this kind of shy candy girl, sneak into the back hallway every time "Comfortably Numb" came on during "The Wall" to sing when she thought no one was watching.

I remember the popcorn I swept and the Coke canisters I lugged and the signs I changed. And the movie opening that was to be my triumphant return to this one-horse town.

Well, if the opening never happens, at least I've got the ending to my movie now:

A man finds himself on a sidewalk, watching someone bludgeon open a copper box.

And suddenly, a woman, who looks a lot like Mary O'Connell, locks eyes with our hero across an open time capsule ...

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 02-01-2006, 03:32 PM:
 
That's a really well-written piece
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 02-02-2006, 11:03 PM:
 
Loews' Fresh Pond Cinema will re-open on 2/3, now operated by Entertainment Cinemas. It closed as a Loews last week.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 02-03-2006, 01:06 PM:
 
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Tuesday, 2006 January 17
Page B2
article no longer available at cleveland.com

quote:

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Closed theater draws interest

April McClellan-Copeland
Plain Dealer Reporter

Aurora - When the Marquee Cinemas opened a 10-screen theater 18 months ago, it gave Cindi Delbrocco's teenagers and their friends a safe place to hang out on rainy days and weekends.

So when the theater closed last month, it left a void for Delbrocco's teens, who live in nearby Reminderville, as well as others who live close enough to walk to the theater.

"It was a wonderful place for them to go," Delbrocco said. "It was friendly, clean and a nice place to go see a movie. Then afterwards the kids could go across the parking lot to Starbucks. I was so excited for them, but now I'm sad to see it go."

The Marquee Cinema at Barrington Town Center had regional appeal, said Jennifer Natale, executive director of the Aurora Chamber of Commerce. Residents of Bainbridge, Hiram, Mantua, Garrretsville, Streetsboro and other Portage and Summit County cities used the theater, Natale said.

Marquee Cinemas Inc., recently closed the Aurora theater and two others operated on property owned by Developers Diversified Inc., said Scott Schroeder, vice president of marketing and communications for Developers Diversified. Marquee also closed theaters in Tiffin and Irving, Texas, he said.

Aurora Mayor Lynn McGill said ticket sales were not what Marquee Cinemas anticipated.

Area teenagers may not have to wait very long for a replacement. Several theater operators are interested in all three locations, Schroeder said.

"When we became aware that Marquee Cinemas was making a financial decision to close, we started aggressively marketing the space to other theater operators," Schroeder said, "With all of the housing in the area it had a good draw. I am confident we will get another theater."

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quote:

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The Marquee Cinema at Barrington Town Center

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quote:

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New houses coming to former drive-in
Friday, February 17, 2006
Thomas Ott
Plain Dealer Reporter

Warrensville Heights- The legions of movie-goers who once frequented the Miles Drive-In won't recognize the place in its new role.

Rysar Properties will build nearly 100 single-family houses on the site of the former theater, which Rysar bought for $900,000 in December.

Rysar's Ken Lurie said the 21-acre development, to be called Cinema Park, will pay homage to the property's past by naming model houses after famous movies and streets after movie stars. The names have not been picked.

The former drive-in is a has-been. The screen is marred by a gaping hole. Corrugated metal walls are rusted and falling down.

The Miles opened in 1953 and closed six years ago, according to Web sites kept by theater devotees. It had room for 1,000 cars. Listings published in The Plain Dealer on Sept. 17, 2000, show a double feature: "Turn It Up" and "Cell."

Oldcastle, a company that produces landscape materials, later owned the property but never followed through with plans to locate there.

Lurie, 50, traveled to the Miles as a Shaker Heights teenager. City Economic Development Director Brad Sellers, who grew up in Warrensville, went there with his parents as a boy and took his own children years later.

Sellers said the theater was popular with black residents who moved from Cleveland to Warrensville Heights, starting in the 1960s, and grew to comprise nearly the entire population. He dreams of salvaging the theater's giant block-letter sign and planting it on a nearby hillside, like the universally known "Hollywood" sign in California.

"Everybody remembers going to that drive-in -- young, old," Sellers said. "It's going to be a place that serves the public again."

The houses will measure 1,500 to 2,200 square feet and sell for $160,000 to $180,000, Lurie said. Banks have agreed to lend money to buyers at reduced interest. Owners will receive property-tax breaks of up to 75 percent for as long as 15 years.

Sellers said the project will allow residents to move out of smaller older homes without leaving Warrensville. And the homes are priced below dozens of other new houses going up in the city.

The surrounding area is zoned for light industry and other business use. Lurie said he will shelter the property with features like a walkway and retention pond.

"This is going to be a nice neighborhood," he said. "It's going to fit nicely where it's at."

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 02-25-2006, 05:10 PM:
 
This post is a couple months late. I would have posted earlier, but I didn't get around to taking some photos until just a few days ago.



The Wallace Theaters Cache 8 (formerly Hollywood, United Artists, Litchfield) closed December 31, 2005. This theater originally opened in the early 1980s. Not too much had been done to upgrade it over the years. Four screens had Dolby Stereo optical and the other four were mono. One screen had a DTS system put in for Jurassic Park II, but as far as I know subwoofers were never installed. And then the darned thing broke down or something and was hardly ever used.


The place was famous for dim pictures and bad sound. And that's too bad because its auditoriums were quite a bit larger than any of the other theaters in town (I think the largest theaters had around 400 seats each).

The theater was also fairly notorious for its poorly maintained sign. Sections of the marquee by the road blew out and were never replaced. Then the rest of the marquee blew out of the cabinet. And it sat that way for more than 2 years. Finally, at some point after Wallace had taken over operations, the original marquee was removed and replaced with a much smaller lighted cabinet sign. That sign used one of the supports of the original, old sign.

This theater sits on a rather BIG lot. I think the property may still be owned by the folks who bought out United Artists. My hope is the old theater building will be torn down and replaced with a prominent retailer, such as Best Buy. Lawton doesn't have a Best Buy (the nearest ones are in Norman and Wichita Falls). Loews and Home Depot are just to the east along Cache Road from this location. So it would be an excellent location for such a retailer.
 

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Posted by Timothy Eiler (Member # 383) on 02-26-2006, 11:08 AM:
 
Found on a Website that the The Saint Peter 5 Located in St Peter Mn has closed its doors Also got a report that the marquee is blank and a closed sign on the door. It also Listed as opening soon the Maverick Four as a discount house this appears to be the closed Mall 4 theatre in Mankato Mn
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 02-27-2006, 07:22 PM:
 
Some positive activity in the Vancouver BC area: Infinity Pictures (co-producers of CAPOTE) have acquired the Golden Harvest and the next door property for offices and a screening room. And there is some work in progress at the Rio to ready it to open as a single-screen indie later this year.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 03-01-2006, 05:57 AM:
 

quote: Bob Koch

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Mark; What has happened to the Capitol? I serviced the Utah when it had two men on a shift. The Tower was non-union and a "dump" over 50 years ago. Site would`nt let me send direct email to you.

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Bob,

The Capitol is now a "live theatre" and was completely restored a long time ago. Its beautiful but no longer used for film. The Utah is still there but mothballed, having been ruined by both Plitt and then Cineplex. The Tower is still the dump it was back when you serviced theatres around this area, perhaps more of a dump than when you were here. In fact the whole Salt Lake Film Society is really a joke and run by what have to be some of the strangest people I've encountered in the entire Mountain State area. Both of their locations... Tower and Broadway(location of the old Centre Theatre) are absolute dumps. If there's an art film I want to see I refuse to attend either of the dumps and I wait for it to come out on DVD. Good luck finding a clean seat to sit in at either location...... .

Mark
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-01-2006, 01:44 PM:
 
So, Art finally sold his little Avalon on St. Street. Quite an interesting place to watch oldie films. I used to go to the Murray in Murray down the street and watch the oldies as well. Bob Swanson had that theatre, plus the Arcade (on 4th S and 9th W - one of those little neighborhood theatres and it's long gone now..and I used to work there in 1975..had XL's with 6k magazines and Peerless Magnarcs..).

Then, there was the Vista up the street from the Murray (they had E7's with Enarc lamps) then the Tower as mentioned (which also had Enarcs but with Supers in front) The Tower is another neighborhood theatre and it was quite a nice place back in the 70's running sub-runs.

When the Utah was open, it was a BIG palace that was split in two as a "piggyback" twin. Both booths had the V-18 setup and the lower floor was wired for "Sensurround" where "Earthquake", "Midway", "Rollercoaster" had their premieres there for SLC.

..then the Capitol....what a palace! Big main floor and a double balcony. Booth was up above the second balcony and a 210 ft throw to the screen that was only about 16x34 in size. Machinery were the XL with Ashcrafts. Machinery were on on a 2ft high tilted platform with the base jacks also cranked fully downward to get that 27 degree downward throw. The screen was slightly tilted back to help with the keystone for the drastic downward throw angle. Projectionists used a closed TV circuit to watch to make changeovers due to the extremely small screen, which was the size of a postage stamp when looking out the changeover port in the booth. Outside of the building had a huge Marquee and an archway that would span completely over the street with the wording "CAPITOL" emblazed on it. This used to be a Fox Intermountain theatre and having archways over the streets were a common thing for them to do. That archway is now down at Trolley Square over the main entrance.

Now, the place is the home for Ballet West after the restoration.

Another palace in SLC was the Centre. Opened in 1939. Big house with a huge main floor and balcony. Before demolition that entire block that the theatre was located, booth had Bauer U2's with Strong Futura II's, and a 35mm platter setup on the side for 35mm presentations.

Then, our beloved Villa: www.villatheatre.com We can thank Carmike for closing that grand palace down as they did with the Cottonwood Mall and the Creekside Plaza theatres.

-Monte
 

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Posted by Bob Koch (Member # 1062) on 03-01-2006, 02:07 PM:
 
Monte; Centre opened in 1938 with "Spawn of the North"; Geo Raft& Henry Fonda, with an RCA PG 118 sound system. No I wasnt there but damn near.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 03-01-2006, 07:02 PM:
 
Thx for the correction. Really couldn't remember if it was '38, or '39, thus opted for the latter.

But with the mentioning, it was '38 due to it opened a year before the war in Europe and the opening of the NYC World's Fair.

Then, there were the "domes" in Ogden and in SLC. the CineDome 70 in Ogden. A huge dumbell shaped twin with 800 seat circular shaped houses on each end of the 'bar span'. Lobby had large crytal chandeliers and minuature waterfalls. a theatre organ situated in the middle of the lobby with the organist entertaining the customers during intermissions or the first showings of the day.

Each auditorium was set up for 35/70mm projection. One side, I remember, was playing "Ryan's Daughter" in 70mm, where the other side was playing a standard 35mm movie (and talk about the complete difference in presentations with each film format..just like night and day on how the 70mm had such a much clearer picture than the normal 35mm showing-which was in flat). Unfortunately, I can't remember what the machinery was, but it was a xenon booth. Been only there once is why my memory on this place is a bit sketchy.

Then, there were the Century 21 and 22 on the corner of 33rd and State. Another set of "domes" but only 35houses using Cine V-18 setups. Then the one dome was split to house a twin, which ruined this place completely in as well as dbl splitting the other dome for three more houses. Now, the Century 16 sits on this same spot.

-Monte
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 03-02-2006, 10:23 PM:
 
RIP Pacific Grossmont Trolley 8

Pacific closed it's Grossmont Trolley 8 theatre complex Feb 27th last week. Built in the mid-late 1980s, it was billed as THE place to see movies in San Diego. The two largest houses featured THX sound and retractable curtains. All 8 screens were equipped with Dolby Stereo. The theatre was built along a section of trolley tracks in La Mesa, and had good access to a nearby stop. Located at the corner of the Lobby was the Trolley Stop Cafe. In the early 90s, pacific expanded another 3 plex up the street to a 7 plex, and then to a 10 plex with stadium seating only a few years after that. This caused attendance to slip rapidly at the trolley. Toward the end of its run, It became considered by most to be dirty, uncomfortable, and generally rundown. Pacific closed the trolley stop cafe, and converted it into a concession stand to replace the main island style stand. Finally, they consolidated operations between it and the complex up the street, splitting staff and prints between them.

Personally, this theatre has quite a bit of sentiment in it for me. It was where, at age 13, I saw Toy Story and decided that I wanted to get into animation. It was also the last remaining complex that I used to Frequent when I was younger. I'll miss that place.

In the coming months, it will be bulldozed to make way for condominiums.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 03-02-2006, 10:28 PM:
 

quote: Mike Olpin

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RIP Pacific Grossmont Trolley 8

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Used to drive by on Fletcher Parkway on the way to visit relatives in El Cajon.
 

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Posted by John Plasket (Member # 2201) on 03-03-2006, 01:27 AM:
 
GoggleWorks, Reading, PA.

An old manufacturing plant (for goggles) has been turned into an art center incorporating galleries, classrooms, offices, and a one-screen theater.

Now showing: Capote.
Coming soon: Bird and Ray (probably in honor of the upcoming annual Berks Jazz Fest).

I visited the place briefly, but I didn't see the show (yet), so I don't know what the specifics are. I'd say they have at least film (not sure if it's 16 or 35), and seeing as though it's an art facility, I'd say they have video (for film festivals and the like... now that'd be fun).

More info when I get it. It'll be interesting to see whether they get a print of Bird (from '88) or if they just run the DVD.
 

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Posted by John Eickhof (Member # 323) on 03-03-2006, 10:16 AM:
 
Sadly, last nite was the close for Twin Falls Idaho's own 2 screen art theatre & video rental. The Lamphouse Theatre closed it's doors last night exactly six years from the day it opened! Owner Dave Woodhead announced that the decline of movie goers, the higher terms from the distributors and the severe decline in VHS & DVD rentals has resulted in the operation coming to an end. He also noted that if he had not owned the building and was paying monthly rent, the business would have closed years ago! check out www.lamphousetheatre.com Now I have to find another place to store about 8 of my vintage projectors that used to adorn his lobby!!!
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 03-03-2006, 05:08 PM:
 
Took some pictures of the Trolley 8 today.





[ 03-03-2006, 06:36 PM: Message edited by: Mike Olpin ]
 

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Posted by Cory Isemann (Member # 2517) on 03-03-2006, 08:02 PM:
 
Doesn't look all that old.. any history on that one Mike?
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 03-04-2006, 04:29 AM:
 
yep - see post on page 26.
I think it was built in 88 or 89, but I'm not certain
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 03-04-2006, 03:51 PM:
 
Talked with the landlord today -
Looks like it is not going to be demolished. The condos are going to be built in what was the parking lot for the theatre. The theatre itself will most likely be converted to retail.

Also, it opened Jun 20th of 1991.

I shot almost 200 pictures of it between today and yesterday, including some interiors!
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 03-06-2006, 07:14 PM:
 
Mike, I would like to see the pictures. I havent been to that theatre in ages.

Also, any word on the AMC they are supposed to build in Santee?

Also, driving past the old Edwards Temple City 4 / Regency 4 today, it has closed. Its going to be torn down soon for a shopping center. I dont know when it closed.

[ 03-06-2006, 09:54 PM: Message edited by: Jeff Arellano ]
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 03-12-2006, 03:56 AM:
 
Langley, B.C. Willowbrook is now permanently closed.
 

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Posted by Bob Healey (Member # 1003) on 03-14-2006, 10:18 PM:
 
The Showcase Cinemas in Milford, CT closed 3/9, it was replaced with a Cinema De Lux setup that opened 3/10.
 

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Posted by Jesse Stanley (Member # 943) on 03-18-2006, 10:20 AM:
 
Bargain Box Office reopened the closed Cinema 6 in Chillicothe Ohio yesterday showing sub run movies.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Tiffany (Member # 3643) on 03-18-2006, 05:49 PM:
 
Regal just opened a new theatre in Kissimmee, FL. Its in a new plaza is called "The Loop". I went yesterday and they were giving out free small drinks and medium popcorns for every ticket. There are 2 other Regal cinemas in the Orlando area that I just recently gave up on going to (Winter Park Village, Oveido Marketplace) primarily because the lights shine on the screen throughout the show(red screen=bad). But, this one is nice. 16 screens, no lights on the screen, clean and pretty, film in frame and focus - just a little apeture plate shadow on top and right side of the screen and some dirt after a splice, not too bad. I only went to the one movie (V for Vendetta - scope) so I'm not sure if they have fixed width screens like all the other theatres around here do(I hope not).
 

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Posted by Carl Martin (Member # 1146) on 03-19-2006, 11:54 PM:
 
at the end of the month the act 1 & 2 in berkeley closes. it'll be the 3rd casualty in the last 5 years. why am i still living here?
 

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 03-20-2006, 11:00 AM:
 
Hi Carl:

Too bad about the Act 1/2 Theatre. Why? How are the art films in berkeley doing overall? Has the Emeryville run of the art films hurt berkeley?

Mike
 

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Posted by Nelson Brann (Member # 3687) on 03-20-2006, 11:41 AM:
 
So is there money to be made in an independent theater? Or is it all about the MEGA-plex?

Nelson
 

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Posted by Jesse Stanley (Member # 943) on 03-23-2006, 03:48 PM:
 
Independents are making some money but their not getting rich by any means.
 

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Posted by Robert Burtcher (Member # 3227) on 03-23-2006, 04:00 PM:
 

quote: http://www.okctower.com/about.asp

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Tower Theater in OKC City Being Renovated

February 27, 2006

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK —The Uptown Development Group, LLC has purchased 24,000 square feet of historical property on NW 23rd Street including the landmark Tower Theater. The property, on the original Route 66, is nestled between the historically preserved neighborhoods of Heritage Hills, Jefferson Park and the Paseo Arts District. The group plans on renovating the property under the guidance of Oklahoma Historical Society and the National Parks Service, into a thriving arts and entertainment destination. The property, built in 1926, includes 8000 square feet of retail space on NW 23rd, 8000 ft of office space, 50,000 ft of parking and the 8000 ft theater which was built in 1937.

The Uptown Development Group LLC

The Uptown Development Group's mission is to restore a portion of historic NW 23rd, a blighted urban area with 40 years of decline, in to a thriving entertainment and retail district. Restoring and renting the historic theater, retail spaces and offices will anchor the NW 23rd corridor, providing a catalyst for future growth in the area.

Tower Theater History

The Tower Theatre, built in 1937, originally was a 1500 seat, ornate auditorium had a complete working stage, pipe organ, and billowing, scarlet waterfall stage curtains. It was also one of the first suburban theaters in Oklahoma City and one of the largest suburban theaters in the region. In the early sixties the theatre was given a deluxe renovation---70mm, rocking chair seats, very plush and very comfortable. Roadshow attractions were the staple with "Sound of Music" running at the Tower on a reserved seat basis for almost two years. "The Sand Pebbles" and "Cleopatra" also played at the Tower during those roadshow- reserved seat days.

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quote: Carmike Cinemas Press Release

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Carmike Cinemas’ Announces Plans to Build New 8-Screen,
All Stadium Seating Theatre In Ardmore, OK

Columbus, Georgia – (NASDAQ: CKEC) Carmike Cinemas, Inc. and Burk Collins & Co., Ltd. announced today its plans to build a new 8-screen, state-of-the-art stadium seating theatre at the Ardmore Commons Development at the Northeast corner of 12th Avenue SW and Rockford Road in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Amenities for the new 8-screen theatre will include state-of-the-art stadium seating, high back plush luxury seating with retractable armrests equipped with cupholders, wall-to-wall screens, digital sound and advance ticketing at the box office and on-line via www.fandango.com. Stadium seating is the premiere seating choice for moviegoers; in which patrons are offered unobstructed sight lines to view the screen. The lobby area will be spacious offering Coca-Cola® products, popcorn and other traditional movie-going fare.

Carmike Cinemas, Inc. is a premiere motion picture exhibitor in the United States with 307 theatre locations and 2,469 screens in 37 states, as of September 30, 2005. Carmike’s focus for its theatre locations is small to mid-sized communities across the United States. More than 80% of its theatres are located in communities with populations of fewer than 100,000. Carmike Cinemas, Inc.’s Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the ticker symbol “CKEC”. For more information visit Carmike Cinemas’ website, www.carmike.com. Burk Collins & Co. Ltd. is a Texas based development company with offices in Hurst, Texas and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For more information, please visit burkcollinscompany.com.

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-03-2006, 03:10 PM:
 


That Carmike press release doesn't even mention Digital Cinema, much less say all the screens will have Digital Cinema capability. Yet it specifically mentions digital sound, and the concessions offerings. If they were installing 100% Digital Cinema screens, wouldn't that be the lead story?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-03-2006, 05:35 PM:
 
Well, I'm speculating on the digital projection aspect.

Carmike intends to convert all, or nearly all, of their 2400+ screens to digital projection by October 31, 2007. This new theater in Ardmore hasn't even had ground broken yet, so there's little chance it will even be open before Spring 2007. At that point, it wouldn't make much sense to open a new theater with 35mm equipment installed only if that gear is going to be removed a few months later at the latest. It would make more sense to simply put in all DLP gear to simplify the situation.

It would also seem logical that Carmike would install digital projection systems in their newer, better theaters ahead of older sites that will need more work.
 

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Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 04-04-2006, 01:10 PM:
 
Press releases about "agreements" for thousands of screens in a year or two need to be taken with a grain of salt. The market will decide how fast Digital Cinema is fully implemented, and even who will do the "implementing". "Speculating on the digital cinema aspect" simply feeds the rumor mill.
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 04-04-2006, 07:19 PM:
 
you know I did a bunch of looking around on Carmikes web site. It has the big ad announcing the coming soon of DLP and even has little logos to go next to the movie that is playing it in this format. However, I have looked a tone of the theatres on that site and I have yet to find a theatre using that logo next to a movie title. Wasn't all that fluff supposed to start back in January. Does anyone out there know of a location that Carmike has converted?
 

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Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 04-04-2006, 08:28 PM:
 

quote: Darryl Spicer

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However, I have looked a tone of the theatres on that site and I have yet to find a theatre using that logo next to a movie title.

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quote: John Pytlak

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Press releases about "agreements" for thousands of screens in a year or two need to be taken with a grain of salt.

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quote:

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Cinema Park-Adiso: Little Italy weighs saving an old theater against adding much-needed parking

Articles / News & Opinion
Posted by Webmaster on Apr 04, 2006 - 10:30 PM
By Michael Gill

Sheldon Wigod began his turn with the Mayfield Theater in 1976. Back then the professor and entrepreneur could sell out 500 seats by showing classics like American in Paris, Singing in the Rain and Charlie Chaplin movies. For 10 years, the movie house was the heartbeat of Little Italy. People parked in a lot up the hill, where new housing now stands.

But in the '80s, Wigod says, VCRs and cable TV "basically killed revival houses all over the country." The Mayfield went on the ropes. Wigod played more avant-garde films to draw crowds, but one night in 1986 — after a screening of "some sort of Israeli gay movie, or something" — he closed the doors for good.

In the 20 years since then, galleries, restaurants, coffee shops and bakeries have made the neighborhood buzz with commerce. So when the Little Italy Redevelopment Corp. began a master-planning process in 2003, planners thought it made sense to replace the aging movie house — built in 1923 and recognized by the Cleveland Landmarks Commission — with something decidedly less romantic: an elaborate parking deck. Architect Paul Volpe, who consulted with the CDC on the master plan, suggests retail on the first floor with a ramp behind it, housing on the second floor with parking and another ramp, and a third level completely devoted to cars. They'd save the marquee and portions of the facade, if possible.

But property owners say no one asked them what they thought.

"No one contacted me about that plan," says Terry Tarantino, who owns the theater building. "No one sat down with me to tell me what it's about."

Tarantino opened his restaurant La Dolce Vita 17 years ago. With neighborhood charm and opera singers to serenade weekend dinner customers, he built it into a landmark of his own. He has ideas about the future of the historic theater, too, and how it fits with the rest of the neighborhood. And it doesn't include parking.

"Let's pretend someone offered me a ridiculous amount of money to make it into parking," he says. "I still wouldn't want to do it. It's not about the money."

No one denies that the neighborhood could use more parking, but the difference of opinion over how to get it points to profoundly different perspectives on the economic development of neighborhoods.



FRANK MILLS, WHOSE COMPANY Urban Paradoxes consults with neighborhood groups about development plans, met with a group of Little Italy business and property owners a year ago. He says the parking deck proposal has become a catch-all for general dissatisfaction with the level of community input that informed the master plan.

"In a larger sense," he says, "the people just don't feel like their voices were heard."

Two surveys — one from the CDC, the other by a neighborhood business owner — seem to bear that out. Survey results provided by Little Italy Redevelopment Corp. with a copy of the master plan indicate that of 62 respondents, 19 agreed with the planning principles presented at a meeting, 19 more did not, and 14 left the question blank. Asked if there was any part of the plan they strongly agreed or disagreed with, just four respondents said they agreed with what is vaguely called the "Mayfield Theater development."

Four others strongly disagreed.

Selena Corbo says her family — owners of Corbo's Bakery, the now for-sale Club Corbo and other properties on the strip — also was not contacted about the master plan, even though it incorporates part of their property in the parking deck proposal.

Early in the planning process, business owner Carmen Magri was frustrated by what she saw as a lack of neighborhood involvement. She began to conduct her own survey. Using the county recorder's office, she identified 342 property owners and sent them surveys about the future of Little Italy. Nearly 120 responded, and only 23 percent "felt that the Redevelopment Corp. was doing a good job." More than one-third thought the CDC should be "restructured."

Several attempts to contact representatives of the CDC during the last week went unanswered.

Winefred Weizer, a doctoral student in urban planning at Cleveland State University, prepared a report from Magri's results. She was cautious to note that the survey didn't include renters, and that the results were from a self-selecting group of voluntary responders, but concludes that strong response from property owners indicates that the plan shouldn't be finalized without further study. Referring specifically to the parking proposal, she says the trick is to address the problem "without destroying the very attributes that brought people" to the neighborhood in the first place.

Magri's frustration with the level of community involvement in the plan has motivated her to organize. Starting last year with a Web site that promotes neighborhood businesses, she's gathered contacts, has about 80 members, and has hired consultants to conduct an independent community dialog about the future. Now she's in the process of incorporating as a non-profit organization. Her group, Heart of Little Italy, is about to grow into a kind of grassroots neighborhood business association — an entity that could act on behalf of member businesses by hiring consultants, developing plans and channeling money. It would inevitably compete with the CDC for neighborhood hearts, minds and even money.

Mills, of Urban Paradoxes, wonders if the money that would be invested in parking couldn't be better used for a more progressive solution, like moving and improving the nearby East 120th rapid transit station. Instead of courting automobile traffic, the neighborhood could capitalize on pedestrians, encourage transit use and bicycling, and keep the charm intact.

REGARDLESS OF WHETHER or how the neighborhood's parking issues are addressed, the challenge remains to find a viable use for the long-vacant theater. Tarantino says he's been cleaning up the inside and is considering other uses, including a wine bar.
Magri suggests that it could be adapted for use as a bank branch. She says it would also serve the neighborhood well if the marquee and fa�ade were spruced up, "so it's not an embarrassment to the neighborhood. If they can find a use for it, so much the better. Of course we could use more parking. But don't demolish a neighborhood icon to get it."

Brian Jones, a painter with a background in marketing and the owner of Festivo Gallery, has just been elected director of the Murray Hill Arts Association, which plans the art walks. His studio on Murray Hill Road, just a few doors from Mayfield, is cheerful with color and unapologetic recasts of Picasso, Matisse and Klimt. For the entire time he's been doing business here, the theater has been a dark spot on the strip. He wonders why it couldn't be converted into a murder-mystery dinner theater or some other creative re-use.

Then he looks away pensively. "But then I wonder if anyone would really miss it if it were gone."


This article is from The Cleveland Free Times
http://www.freetimes.com/

The URL for this story is:
Long Link

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ON RESTAURANTS
Movie Tavern considering Columbus
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Barnet D . Wolf
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

A new version of dinner and a movie may be on its way to central Ohio.

Movie Tavern, based in Dallas, is considering whether to convert Cinemark’s 12-screen Market at Mill Run and 10-screen Westpointe into the first Movie Taverns north of the Mason-Dixon line.

The small chain combines first-run movies with a casual dining menu. The food, which is cooked on site, ranges from upscale burgers and homemade pizzas to fried catfish and key lime cheesecake. Wine, beer and mixed drinks also are available.

Jeffrey P. Benson, president and chief executive of Movie Tavern, said he hopes a deal can be worked out, but said there are some stumbling blocks.

Documents filed with the state show that Movie Tavern wants the Division of Liquor Control to allow the company to take over the liquor license of South Beach, a Northeast Side business that Movie Tavern tentatively agreed to buy.

The liquor-license filing lists Benson and another Movie Tavern investor, Lee Roy Mitchell, who also is chairman and CEO of Cinemark, based in the Dallas suburb of Plano.

Cinemark is the nation’s fourth-largest motion-picture exhibitor. Internationally, it has 3,329 screens in 308 theaters in 33 states, Canada and throughout Latin and South America.In central Ohio, it has four theaters with 50 screens.

There are four Movie Taverns in the Dallas area, one in Houston, with others under development in Williamsburg, Va., and Lexington, Ky.

Movie Tavern’s modus operandi is to spend up to $2 million on a theater’s renovations, including turning one auditorium into a commercial kitchen, installing stadium seating, adding a bar and lounge and upgrading the lobby.

In many ways, the theater operates like a restaurant.

There is extra space between rows so each seat has a custom table and wait staff can move easily. Waiters clad in black can be summoned by the push of a button at the seats.

One of the two local theaters might be an express unit, in which people order food at a counter and pick it up, similar to a Panera or Baja Fresh.

The number of first-run cinema-restaurants has grown in recent years to more than 40 locations, according to the National Association of Theater Owners.

All movie houses offer food, from popcorn to nachos. Some local theaters offer a more extensive menu, including pizza and subs, and quite a few of them sell beer or wine. Some even deliver food to your seat.

But cinemas that offer newly released movies and an array of menu items cooked there and served at seats are rarer.

So far, the niche hasn’t done well here. The last attempt was Cinema Grill at the Continent, which lasted only five weeks. Before that, Cinema ’n Drafthouse on E. Broad Street crashed, and three Flickers restaurant-cinemas fizzled.

Benson says that won’t be the case with Movie Tavern.

"This is an upscale experience that works," he said. "We’ve shown that."

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-16-2006, 01:31 AM:
 
The latest theatre here in San Diego that closed down is the Pacific Theatres Grossmont Trolley 8. It was a great theatre to work at, especially as a projectionist. The layout was easy with the booth shaped like a capital "T". The theatre had been there since 1990, but, with the concept of stadium style seating and the Grossmont Center Stadium 10 just up the hill, business slowly dropped to the point of it's eventual early closure. Currently, the building is up for sale, as far as what I have heard.

A note: Pacific Theatres sold all of the projection equipment to a company that buys/refurbishes/sells used projection equipment. I shall miss the Trolley 8. I certainly have fond memories of that theatre.
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 04-16-2006, 04:35 AM:
 
Hey, Chad, check out the pictures I took on page 27 shortly after it closed. I also compiled a few of the pictures I took into a photo album .

Some of these pictures are heartbreaking.
 

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-16-2006, 10:29 AM:
 
Thanks for the link, Mike. Man, it sure does bring back memories. Plus, it is heartbreaking. I have pictures that I took on a particular night that I worked in the Projection Booth, mainly, close-ups of the Projectors, Soundracks and Platter Systems. I have yet to submit them to the Film-Tech website. I'll probably do it sometime this week.

Anyway, even until this day, I'm still sad about the theatre closure, even though I work at the Grossmont Center Stadium 10 as a projectionist.

When it was open, the Grossmont Center 10 and the Trolley 8 were combined together as one unit where all of us employess would work both theatres. It was neat to work one shift at the Grossmont Center 10 and several shifts at the Trolley 8.

Oh well, things like this happen. But, thanks again for the link. It truly was awesome to have had the privilage of working at the Trolley 8.
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 04-18-2006, 11:28 PM:
 
wow mike, those are sad pics. I would hate to see what my old theatre will be like when it closes......which I would think could happen in the next few years....

PROGRESS REPORT:
Construction is soon starting on the AMC Loews Atlantic Times Square 12 in Monterey Park, CA. Loews signed on the lease, and i wonder how AMC is going to build this one.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-30-2006, 10:33 PM:
 
Update on the Galaxy Cannery, opening here next Friday. 14 screens, seven of which are 2k DLP supplied by Christie/AIX. They claim this theater has the most DLP projectors of any theater west of the Mississippi. Reserved seating for MI:3 opening on five screens.

So, that brings us to:

Brenden - 14 including an IMAX
Century - 101
Crown - 11
Galaxy - 14
Luxor - 1 IMAX
Regal - 100
UA - 18

Indies - 8

That's a total of 267 screens in the valley including a two-screen indie in Boulder City. The other six indie screens are second-run.

[ 05-01-2006, 04:52 PM: Message edited by: Paul Mayer ]
 

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 04-30-2006, 11:03 PM:
 
Wow, that's impressive. Man, I'd like to see that booth.
 

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Posted by Tristan Lane (Member # 1169) on 05-01-2006, 03:58 PM:
 
Cinetopia 8 in Vancouver, WA now has 8 DLP screens. They also have 35MM projectors in each screen.

Edit: Just read a press release on RJG.com regarding the Cannery 14. It looks like they will be adding 7 more projectors to make it 100% digital.

Link to article

Article Text:

quote:

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Galaxy Theatres will bring 14 digital projectors to the Cannery Casino & Hotel in North Las Vegas, seven more than originally planned, making it the theater with the most digital projectors west of the Mississippi, according to the company.

The all-digital theater will open May 6, officials said, and Galaxy is selling reserve seating for Mission Impossible III and other summer movies, officials said. Tickets are available starting Friday at the theater or at www.galaxytheatres.com.

"Galaxy Cannery Theatres is opening more than its doors, it's opening Nevada's eyes to the new age of digital theater," said Rafe Cohen, president/COO of Galaxy.

Galaxy is a private company, operating theaters in Austin, Texas; Monroe and Tacoma, Wash; Porterville, Riverbank and Tulare, Calif.; and plans one in Las Vegas.

A year from now, Galaxy plans to open a 10-screen theater at Casino Fandango in Carson City.

The $10 million project will connect to the west side of the casino via a pedestrian bridge over Curry Street, officials said.

At 41,000 square feet, it will feature a digital projector along with all digital sound, wall-to-wall screens and "rocker" seats.

"We use our theaters as community centers during the off-hours," Cohen said during the announcement of the Carson City theater. "We look forward to not only showing films but hosting business meetings, social events, and film festivals. With our digital projection system, we can even capture HDTV signals to show the latest television or sports programming on the big screen."

Galaxy officials said it will be the first digital theater in Northern Nevada, which film experts see as a novelty.

Las Vegas TV Partners

Officials of Las Vegas TV Partners, owners of KTUD-TV, Channel 25 and Cox Cable Channel 14 in Las Vegas, have announced that the company has purchased CMX Century Productions, a production and post-production facility in Las Vegas, for an undisclosed amount.

Las Vegas TV Partners, a joint venture between The Greenspun Corp. and Catalyst Investors of New York, sought to acquire CMX Century Productions from Chicago businessman Demetrius Brown, when its sale was announced in 2005.

Because of CMX Century production's resources and talent pool, Las Vegas TV Partners recognized this as an opportunity to strengthen its growing media conglomerate and capabilities, Las Vegas TV Partners said.

As part of a new re-branding campaign, CMX Productions will get a new name, Sun Media Productions. Sun Media Productions will continue to cater to advertising agencies, television shows and local business clients.

Harrah's Entertainment

Harrah's Entertainment Inc. was named one of Fortune magazine's "100 Top MBA Employers," an annual poll of Master's of Business Administration students from the nation's top business schools.

Harrah's was ranked No. 40 in its inaugural appearance on the poll, conducted by global research and communications firm Universum Communications. It was the highest-ranked gaming and lodging company in the survey.

"We are honored to be recognized as the gaming industry's MBA employer of choice by the group whose opinions count the most -- business students themselves," said Gary Loveman, chairman, CEO and president of Harrah's Entertainment. "Our reputation as an innovator begins with recruiting, developing and retaining talented managers and executives, and MBAs are a crucial part of that mix. By actively seeking out the nation's best and brightest MBAs, we strengthen the pool of future general managers and senior executives who will continue our company's growth story in the years to come."

The annual feature is based on a survey of nearly 5,000 MBA students from the nation's top 43 business schools by Universum. Each respondent is asked to select the five companies or organizations they would most like to work for out of a list of 179 potential employers; rankings are determined by the percentage of respondents placing a company in the top five.

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[ 05-02-2006, 01:40 PM: Message edited by: Tristan Lane ]
 

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Posted by Ron Keillor (Member # 1790) on 05-02-2006, 12:54 AM:
 
The restored Rio Theatre in Vancouver will re-open this Friday with MI III as its first film. All new seats, screen and sound system, the projector is an elderly Ballentyne that does produce a rock solid image. The location is a high traffic area now, with good transit connections to the 'burbs so there is good potential for the house. The original opened April 7, 1938 with a lot more seats that it has now (over 700, I think, my reference book has disappeared) now seats 450. Three rows at the back went when the lobby was expanded, and 6 or 7 rows at the front when an open stage was built. The new seats are probably much wider than the 1938 ones. The main floor features a reverse curve: i.e. it slopes up at the front. There is a 75 seat balcony.
 

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Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 05-02-2006, 07:20 PM:
 
Las Vegas was overscreened when the Crown Neonopolis 14 opened (originally it was 14 now they cut 3 screens to make it an 11).

Geez man - I would have to say that Las Vegas is the most overscreened city in the United States. Most of those companies (Regal, Century, Crown, and now Galaxy) are not losing money because they get a sweet deal with the Casino/Property Owners!

BTW - Regal and UA are the same company.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-02-2006, 09:14 PM:
 
Yeah yeah, I know I know, same company, yada yada.

But since they still badge them separately I listed them separately. Wonder if or when they will all come under one brand name.

267 screens for 2,000,000 people. Hmmm. Does seem a little high doesn't it? But 250,000 additional people have moved here since you left us Dennis. Honestly don't know why they come here. But they do. In droves. Maybe they'll quit coming after the national hi-level nuke waste dump opens in a few years.

I'm sure the circuits just love the casino assistance they get here.
 

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Posted by Don Sneed (Member # 955) on 05-05-2006, 06:36 PM:
 
I did the Install at the Cannery-Galaxy-14 theatre in LV....(14) Christie CineX-35 proj, AW-3 platters, 3Q automations, Dolby CP-650, Crown Amps, JBL 3632, 4632T, 5674T, & 4642C, 8330A, & 8340 speakers.... The large house has Dolby CP-650, Odyssey Monitor(3) JBL-5674T (tri-amp), (4) JBL-4642 subs, (22) JBL-8340 surrounds & (6) JBL-29AV front fill speakers with (3) Stereo DBX-260 crossover-limiter & Equalizer for speaker processing for the 5674 stage spks & front fills...Total amplifiers (14), Total sound power--- 26,400 audio watts (On screen #16 only)...The sound is auhsome !!! You feel the bass in any seat in the theatre....In Your Chest..it is good !!! All Screens Has Christie CP2000 Digital Proj, server, DA-21 Autonmation (like the CA-21 but for Digital)...Opening day (today).... (7)-D-Cinema prints (3) MI, RV, ??? & (7) 35mm film print...This is the first all D-Cinema I have seen to be install....all screens has both Digital & 35mm proj...pretty theatre with the Cannery Casino-Hotel theme...(4-proj. booths)....
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 05-06-2006, 10:14 AM:
 
Yesterday May 5th saw the opening of Frank Theatres (NJ) brand new 10 Plex in Gettysburg PA. This follows the opening of a local developers brand new 8 Plex about three weeks ago. These two plexs are all of about 3 miles apart.

Gettysburg recently saw the revival of its old historic downtown theatre by Gettysburg College into a performing arts center (at a reported 18 million dollar price tag) along with an addition of two screens for art movies.

This means the sleepy little town of Gettysburg went from an old three screener to 20 new screens in a few months. This building boom appears to have been driven by the hope that the Pennsylvania legistlature would approve a slots parlour adjacent to the Gettysburg battlefield with a boost to local tourism. Opposition from civil war enthusiasts and gambling opponents to the proposed casino has proven loud and forceful and it begins to look like the proposed casino may now not be built.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-07-2006, 11:59 PM:
 
I think that legally UA and Regal are separate companies, they file separate FEC filings for each company. I'm sure it's one of those deals where the UA entity pays REG to manage their theatres.

Though I could be mistaken, this belief is just the result of long boring Saturday nights googling theatre chain names.
 

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Posted by Shane Cooper (Member # 2510) on 05-08-2006, 02:18 PM:
 
Rave Motion Pictures opened the Valley Bend 18-screen theater in Huntsville, AL on May 5th. 4,100 seats over 90,000 square feet. It is located on Four Mile Post Road Behind Valley Bend at Jones Farm.

This theater opened with 9 Christie Digital projectors.
 

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Posted by Evans A Criswell (Member # 381) on 05-08-2006, 04:05 PM:
 
Yes, and I haven't been to the new Rave Valley Bend 18 yet. What is the resolution of the digital projectors they use?

The Regal Hollywood 18 went to all $5 shows a few weeks ago because of the opening of the new theatre nearby. What is very interesting is it seems that the Regal Hollywood 18 and the rave Valley Bend 18, although not far from each other, are not splitting product like Carmike 10 and Regal Madison Square 12 do. People have the choice of going to the new theatre or going to Hollywood 18 and seeing the movie for $5.
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 05-19-2006, 07:31 AM:
 
2 of the local Cinemark theatres ( 1-10 screen and 1-12 screen) have apparently moved over to the STARPLEX brand. From all appearances, this is a spin-off from the Cinemark group.

Todays newspaper lists these theatres as both Cinemark and Starplex locations. There is even a slight difference in showtimes to make it even more confusing.

These locations are early 90's builds without stadium seating. One was the premiere THX site in town (when that meant something) and had the first DTS installation for Jurassic Park. Since then, neither has had any significant upgrades. The 12-plex still has a majority of screens without digital sound. In their current state, they would be my last choice to attend in Central Ohio.

The Starplex page is very entertaining. Check this sentence about sound systems:

quote:

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Even our theaters without digital sound are equipped with Ultra*Stereo Surround Sound, a sound experience so intense, you won't know it's not digital!

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You can find the Sound description page here, and the Stadium Seating description here.
 

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 05-25-2006, 08:27 AM:
 
Just heard last week that basicly all the rep/art cinemas in Toronto are closing all at once. The Royal, the Revue (the oldest still running cinema in Toronto from 1912), and the Kingsway are going for sure by the end of June. The Paridise and the Fox are also closing soon. That just leaves the Bloor. Gordon Mcleod must know these theaters as he posted pictures for most of them in the gallery. This really sucks for T.O. and a sad day for indy cinema. I've been to most of these theatres and they are great neighbor hood single screen houses. The Reps are dying!!!
 

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 05-25-2006, 09:07 AM:
 
Toronto is too big and vibrant a city for this to last. It may be a case of the theatres being run down and ill-managed. Someone will wake up and start running a very nice Art-Plex. But Toronto may be in for a bit of an independent cinema drought. All markets have their up moments and their down moments. Sounds like an excellent business opportunity to me.
 

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 05-25-2006, 09:15 AM:
 
Ill-Managed... Probably. All those theatres are in pretty good condition though, with new seats, new silver screens, and good sound setups. You would really have to have the big bucks to take one over though.. The Royal (450 seats) is selling for 2.7 million and the taxes are $30,000 CND a year. I have a feeling it will be come a night club or bar rather then a theatre.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 05-25-2006, 01:00 PM:
 
AMC seems to have stalled on their Bridges of St. Paul 12-plex & have posted a sign at the Rosedale mall, Roseville, MN, announcing a new multiplex in the old Mervyn's store. Directly across the street is Regal/UA's Pavillions at Crossroads, the only surviving UA vestige to bear their name. With all I've heard about quality there, Pavillion's days will be very numbered once AMC bows. AMC will likely close Har Mar too, which will be a fraction of sadness for the 1-3 portion of St. Paul's first multiplex. The Roseville dollar theater should still do well, seeing as people flock to real butter around here. See Riverview.
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 05-25-2006, 08:09 PM:
 
Im still working on quality there.
 

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Posted by Paul Gordon (Member # 3320) on 05-29-2006, 03:43 PM:
 
Cinema 379 in Peterborough Ontario just closed. It was a small art 100 seat art theatre that did movies and live music. Its been a bad spring in Ontraio for rep/art theatres. The Paradise in Toronto is also closing in the next month. It is another of the festival chain rep/art theatres in T.O.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 05-29-2006, 06:23 PM:
 
Some definitive talk about the future of Landmark's Lagoon suggests that the Minneapolis 5-plex arthouse will be razed along with the entire block this fall to make way for a new condo-retail-entertainment development, ostensibly including a new theatre. This will free up at least five art/indie picture contracts that were previously held for the entire city by Landmark.

We at St. Anthony Main are quite excited by this prospect. It's been soooo long since a run of arthouse pictures has played in this, a very arthouse-appropriate neighborhood! Plus, another new Lagoon cinema...
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 05-29-2006, 10:06 PM:
 

quote: Mark Lensenmayer

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2 of the local Cinemark theatres (1-10 screen and 1-12 screen) have apparently moved over to the STARPLEX brand. From all appearances, this is a spin-off from the Cinemark group.

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quote: Sam Graham

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It's actually a chain founded by Lee Roy Mitchell's brother. They merged with Interstate last year.

They appear to have taken over a number of older Cinemarks recently, including Omaha's Stockyards 8, Lexington's Movies 8, and Denver's Movies 6. I imagine they're just taking over existing leases Cinemark held.

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That is correct. The one in Lexington was the Man O War movies 8. The picture I have for my member picture was taken in the booth for Man O War about 6 or 7 years ago. I think I need to update that picture
 

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Posted by John-Layton Jenkins (Member # 2080) on 06-12-2006, 02:15 PM:
 
MacArthur in Irving, Tx is reopening under Hollywood Theatres. I've been a projectionist/projection manager there with UA/Regal & Marquee, who couldn't/wouldn't pay the rent and were kicked out, and now this is the third time giving it a go. With luck, it'll be good.

We're still going to have all of our brand new Strong equipment & all auditoriums blasting in Dobly Digital w/ CP650's. Best equipment I've ever worked with, and the lowest would have to be Lakepointe/Galaxy (I'm sure Brad can vouch for the shittiness of Galaxy).

So, if anyone is in the area, look us up.
 

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Posted by Gregory Brannon (Member # 405) on 06-12-2006, 04:58 PM:
 
John,
I saw an article in the Dallas Morning News yesterday that the theatre was reopening on June 23rd for Click as a Hollywood Theatre.

I'm glad to see it re-open because it give more options. People has suspected that it struggled because of it's location being at the back of the huge shopping area and because AMC Grand, Cinemark 17 IMAX, Tinsletown, AMC Grapevine Mills and now Harkins Southlake being near. However I always felt that there was enough population and good demographics to support the theatre. The $1.00 popcorn and drinks should help bring in traffic opening weekend with Superman to follow 3 days later.

I liked it originally when it was a UA because it was one of two theatres in Dallas that had Dolby Digital EX and all 3 sound formats but then the quality of the presentation went way down and that's why I stop going. Then when Marquee opened it they replaced the seats, projectors and sound system and the whole package was quite good but as you said I guess they didn't do well enough business to pay rent.

Here's hoping that 3rd time is the charm.
 

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Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 06-12-2006, 09:04 PM:
 

quote: Sam Graham

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It's actually a chain founded by Lee Roy Mitchell's brother. They merged with Interstate last year.

They appear to have taken over a number of older Cinemarks recently, including Omaha's Stockyards 8, Lexington's Movies 8, and Denver's Movies 6. I imagine they're just taking over existing leases Cinemark held.

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quote: Christopher Crouch

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Interstate was the discount branch of Cinemark

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quote: Gregory Brannon

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John,
I saw an article in the Dallas Morning News yesterday that the theatre was reopening on June 23rd for Click as a Hollywood Theatre.

I'm glad to see it re-open because it give more options. People has suspected that it struggled because of it's location being at the back of the huge shopping area and because AMC Grand, Cinemark 17 IMAX, Tinsletown, AMC Grapevine Mills and now Harkins Southlake being near. However I always felt that there was enough population and good demographics to support the theatre. The $1.00 popcorn and drinks should help bring in traffic opening weekend with Superman to follow 3 days later.

I liked it originally when it was a UA because it was one of two theatres in Dallas that had Dolby Digital EX and all 3 sound formats but then the quality of the presentation went way down and that's why I stop going. Then when Marquee opened it they replaced the seats, projectors and sound system and the whole package was quite good but as you said I guess they didn't do well enough business to pay rent.

Here's hoping that 3rd time is the charm.

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Yeah, we did some insane business when we were UA. I'm guessing it was because everyone was used to coming there and it showed since they kept paying the outrageous prices they charged. After it closed, everyone just went to Grapevine and Web Chapel and that became them norm for them then.

Marquee never did any business. Only on the big movies like Episode 3 did anyone come (and we only sold out the two largest screens for the midnight show, pathetic). That's why Maruqee tanked... plus they never gave us enough money to do anything. They believed we could run that theatre on $87.50 in payroll a day .

Yeah, so, Hollywood seems to have their shit together, but only time will tell. It's going to be hell for this opening. 16 prints to build then break down one night, next day is 16 more build then break down, and finally ~16 for public release. What have I gotten myself into?
 

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Posted by Gregory Brannon (Member # 405) on 06-13-2006, 03:21 PM:
 
Yeah I can imagine that it'll be hell with 10 days to opening. I noticed that the Marquee Cinemas sign is still on the complex. I don't know how much work remains to be done inside and the Hollywood Theatres website hasn't been updated to announce this new theatre even though the ad in the Dallas Morning News says to go to the chain's website for employment opportunities.

Hopefully, Hollywood will do a good job marketing the theatre. Like I said before I think it's in a area with good demographics but it'll be a challenge to get people to know where it is since it's located near the back of the shopping zone; plus the competition is pretty fierce in the area now especially with Cinemark Tinsletown Grapevine lowering their prices to compete with Harkins Southlake up the freeway.
 

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Posted by John-Layton Jenkins (Member # 2080) on 06-14-2006, 09:49 AM:
 
I don't think we have to really worry about Harkins that much. I mean, would you drive 20+ miles out of the way to watch the same movie? I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I know how to run the booth there and I can guarentee no problems caused on my part. We've been training a kid that's never even seen a projector through the port glass before, so that should be fun.
I'm finally starting today, so I gotta get up there with the tech they brought in and go over the stuff that was messing up when we closed down, train that kid, and clean up and stuff.

Picture this, Marquee took all the clear lead when they left, so Andy, my friend who was a projectionist there way back in the day, was training him to thread and frame with the green band .

The sign is coming off this week from what I've heard. We're supposed to have this really nice marquee from what I'm told, like, it's gonna wrap around instead of being just flat.

The theatre is basically ready to go. After the tech fixes the little problems we'll be ready to open. Still have to train the staff, but how hard is it to fill a bag of popcorn and a drink? Well, sometimes its really hard, but I won't go there.
 

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Posted by Gregory Brannon (Member # 405) on 06-14-2006, 10:34 AM:
 
from John:

quote: John-Layton Jenkins

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The sign is coming off this week from what I've heard. We're supposed to have this really nice marquee from what I'm told, like, it's gonna wrap around instead of being just flat.

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Sounds good, I wish they could have re-painted the theatre. I've always hated that maroom/gold color scheme but that's just me being petty.

I'm looking forward to the reopening and supporting the theatre
 

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Posted by John-Layton Jenkins (Member # 2080) on 06-14-2006, 11:00 AM:
 
I'm with you 10,000%. The colors are hideous and the carpet needs to go too. If they repaint the outside, the inside has to be done too, so I doubt that'll happen.

Also, there's strong talk of gutting the concession stand and putting up another. The higher ups apparently hate the layout and want something more convenient. They want to get away from the two large poppers and go with 3 smaller ones lined up at the left, middle, and right in the front.

My fiance is actually the promitions manager and she's pretty good at this stuff. So, she is gonna start bringing in businesses and putting our name out there. The GM and she are both on the chambers of commerce for Irving, so that's yet another place for them to pull in people. I think we're going to do it right this time, finally. UA had it going good, until the landlord got tired of not being paid.
 

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Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 06-15-2006, 06:46 PM:
 
June 15, 2006

"Biz Buzz; Atascadero will lose 6 screens, get 10
© 2006 The Tribune, San Luis Obispo, California

Atascadero residents will soon have to drive out of town to see a movie when Atascadero Century Cinemas closes its doors June 29.

Movie-goers shouldn’t be too disappointed. The six-screen theater off El Camino Real will be demolished but will return as a 10-screen, state-of-the-art multiplex as part of the Colony Square retail development.

The Colony Square development is expected to take about a year and a half to complete and will cost an estimated $35 million. Most businesses have already vacated the center to prepare for the demolition of the buildings before construction can begin.

John Roush, owner of Century Cinemas in Atascadero and the Park Cinemas in Paso Robles, says he has been working to build a new theater in Atascadero for more than five years.

The multiplex will have stadium seating, a large snack bar and the latest in sound technology, he said.

Some of the 25 employees who work at the Atascadero theater will move to the Paso Robles location during construction.

"Management will move over, and if any other employees want to move up there, we’ll try and accommodate them," he said.

Roush bought the two-screen theater in 1977 with partners Jim and Mary Lou Jannopulous. In 1982, he bought the couple out and later added four screens.

— Dawn Rapp"

Original story here: The Tribune story

Ron Yost
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 06-19-2006, 01:23 PM:
 
Showcase Cinemas Cross Pointe in Centerville, Ohio Closes

Dayton Daily News article

quote:

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CENTERVILLE — Sunday marks the last picture show for Showcase Cinemas Cross Pointe. The 12-screen movie theater at 6751 Loop Road will close after 18 years following that night's late shows.

Showcase Cross Pointe will be replaced by the new Cinema de Lux 14 at The Greene scheduled to open in August in Beavercreek. "All employees have been offered positions," said Wanda Whitson, director of corporate communications for National Amusements.

Showcase Cross Pointe opened on Nov. 11, 1988. Ads for the theater boasted 12 luxurious cinemas, acres of free lighted parking and "exclusive rocking chair loungers."

Cinema de Lux will have 14 screens, stadium seating and Dolby Digital Surround EX sound. It also offers two "Director's Hall" theaters with leather rocking recliners, reserved seating and express concessions, plus a full-service restaurant.

National Amusements' district office will relocate to Cinema de Lux from Showcase Cross Pointe. The company plans to market the Centerville property for lease as another use.

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quote: Jeff Arellano

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I drove through Buffalo, NY this past week and noticed that the former GCC Walden Galleria has become the former AMC Walden Galleria. When did this occur? Regal Cinemas took over the theatre.

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Mergers
AMC To Acquire General Cinema
Lisa DiCarlo, Forbes.com, 12.06.01, 5:50 PM ET

NEW YORK - AMC Entertainment is expected to announce, possibly as early as next week, that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire the assets of General Cinema, according to a person familiar with the situation. (AMC officially announced the purchase Friday morning)

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 06-21-2006, 10:39 PM:
 
No no no........

AMC closed the theatre recently. Thats what I was saying. Its now the Regal Walden Galleria. You can still see the outline of AMC on the walls of the theatre.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 06-22-2006, 02:29 PM:
 
Highway 21 Drive In Theatre; Beaufort SC has added a screen for a total of 2. Screen is "portable" having been built on 4 shipping containers. Sound is FM only.

2500 watt Super Lumex/Century/Schneider lens/IREM rectifier. Sound is Kelmar LED/Smart MOD2dit/Ashly compressor/Ramsey transmitter/antenna. AW3 platter.
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 06-22-2006, 03:42 PM:
 
Containers are becoming so cheap since it is becoming more expensive to ship back to Asia...empty...then it is to build new ones We have used containers for temporary screens since they are dirt cheap to rent....
 

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Posted by Michael Coate (Member # 757) on 06-26-2006, 12:49 AM:
 
Riverside Press-Enterprise article on a new Harkins complex in Moreno Valley, CA.

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Region Gets New Cinema Chain

Harkins Theatres is opening a 16-screen complex today at the Moreno Valley Mall

10:07 PM PDT on Thursday, June 22, 2006

By JONATHAN SHIKES
The Press-Enterprise

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harkins Theatres has 26 locations with 326 screens in five states.

The company employs 2,150 people, including 100 in Moreno Valley.

A long-awaited, 16-screen movie theater complex opens today at the Moreno Valley Mall, but the first person in line was determined decades ago.

Like his father before him, Dan Harkins buys the first ticket at every new theater his company builds. It's a tradition that has kept him busy recently.

Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harkins Theatres is in the midst of an expansion that has moved the family-owned chain outside Arizona for the first time. In the past two years, it has opened theaters in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado and now California.

"We are looking to states west of the Mississippi (River) and mostly contiguous to Arizona, and in communities that are underserved," said Harkins, company president and chief executive. "Moreno Valley is the most underserved community in the Inland Empire."

Harkins Moreno Valley 16 features high-back rocking seats, wall-to-wall screens, a digital sound system, phone and Internet ticketing, and a snack bar with hot foods like cheese sticks and french fries in addition to traditional fare. It also has a child-care center, where theater-bound parents can drop off kids, ages 3-to-8, for $6.

"They have a lot of amenities not associated with their competitors," said mall General Manager Jim Fuson. "They are going to dominate this particular area."

There are two other theaters in Moreno Valley, both owned by Vista-based UltraStar Cinemas, which operates 102 screens at 13 sites in Southern California.

The 77,000-square-foot Harkins theater, which is attached to the mall, is expected to draw at least 1.5 million people in the next year, he added.

Damon Rubio, vice president of operations for UltraStar, said competition hurts both companies because they will have to take turns showing new movies.

To prevent one of its theaters from becoming a "discount house," Rubio said UltraStar has been experimenting with art films or other independent features. The company is also unusual because all its screens use digital projection.

On Sept. 1, Harkins plans to buy the first ticket at his second California theater, in Chino Hills. He also hopes to build a movie house in Indio in the near future. Over the next three years, the company plans an additional 12 theaters in the western U.S.

"They are one of the fastest-growing cinema companies in the United States," said Jim Kozak, spokesman for the National Association of Theatre Owners.

In June 2005, Harkins ranked 18th on the list of movie houses in the country with 278 screens, Kozak said. They would be 15th on that list today, and moving up.

The company pales next to giants such as Regal Entertainment Group, with 6,264 screens; AMC, with 3,308 and Carmike Cinemas, with 2,450

But its history, traditions and unusual features make it stand out, Harkins said, and helped it survive industry turmoil in 2000 and early 2001, when five major theater chains filed for bankruptcy. "That was a banner year for us," he said.

Founded in 1933 by Dan's father, Red Harkins, the company made a name for itself in the 1960s and '70s Arizona with the Cine Capri, an 800-seat theater. Over the years, it expanded around Phoenix and eventually throughout Arizona.

Although he has received buyout offers, Harkins said he wouldn't know what to do without the business.

"My dream is to own and operate the best motion-picture theaters anyone could operate, and I already do that," he said.

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quote: Don Sneed

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DTS-XD10P processor

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quote: Don Sneed

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Rave motion pictures-15 in Baton Rouge opening July-21... (10) Christie Digital & (5) 35mm proj., All digital house has DTS-XD10P processor, Crown XS-900 amps, JBL spks...all 35mm houses has same sound system with a DTS-XD-10 player...this is the 2nd Rave theatre in Baton Rouge LA.

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Dang! I know the guy who runs the first Baton Rouge theatre for Rave. I should give him a call.....
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 07-13-2006, 11:42 AM:
 
Baronet Theatre, 4th Ave & Kingsley St in Asbury Park NJ, slated to open on Friday, July 21, 2006.

Opened in 1913 as the Ocean Theatre, was the "Disney" house for Walter Reade for years, went indie for a few years, and was closed by the early 1980s, with a half-hearted attempt to reopen in 1989 or so.

New operator plans to try it for 90 days and see what happens; sub-run, festivals, some stage shows. This area is in danger of eminent domain takeover (those familiar with Asbury Park and Long Branch NJ will understand).

Got the old museum piece machines running, circa WW2 Brenkerts over mid-1930s RCA MI-1040s, tripod bases and old Ashcraft arc lamps, mono audio, doesn't look or sound too bad.

Auditorium painted, new carpet, stage opened up again, lots of work done to the place.

Wish us luck, or break a leg, or whatever.
 

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Posted by Kenneth Wuepper (Member # 1174) on 07-20-2006, 06:12 PM:
 
Birch Run, MI opens new "Ozoner"
Could this link be any longer?
Saginaw News reported today, Thursday, July 20, 2006

Ken J. Decker will bring back the drive in movie theater to Saginaw County. The last drive in was the Twilite in Saginaw which closed in 1993. (Preservationists have restored both sides of the old Neon marquee and have them in their places of business.)

Located beside the diner and near the second busiest exit from the entire length of I-75, the new drive in will feature car hop waitresses. The new plywood screen, erected by a local contractor, is 20 by 40 feet. The sound is by FM Radio transmission. The article does not state the method of projection.

You can see the project and schedule at the theater web page

http://www.kens-diner.com

Same first name, no relation
KEN

[ 07-26-2006, 12:04 AM: Message edited by: Adam Martin ]
 

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 2038) on 07-25-2006, 01:32 PM:
 
There's a website for the Baronet in Asbury Park now. Not a lot on it, but the site is posted.

www.asburybaronet.com
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 08-28-2006, 06:22 PM:
 
Apparently, AMC is starting construction of a new theatre in Glendora, California. Its to be a 12-screen theatre located in the Diamond Ridge Center, located at the 210-57 interchange off Lone Hill Ave and Gladstone st, next to an existing center.

This theatre will be in direct competition with the Edwards La Verne 12 and with the AMC Covina 30, both just a few miles away.

Glendora has been without a theatre since Mann closed their six-plex in 1999, and San Dimas (across the street from the project) has been without one since the Canyon Theatre closed in the early 90's.

http://www.ci.glendora.ca.us/news/drgroundbreaking.html

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Glendora Turns out 'Big' for Diamond Ridge Ground-Breaking: 113 Persons Attend Event

(GLENDORA, Calif.) - Inclement weather stayed away, but Glendora residents, City Council members, local businesses and community leaders didn’t, as about 113 persons turned out today for the ground-breaking of the $75 million to $90 million, 29-acre, 360,000-square-foot Diamond Ride retail shopping center.

Diamond Ridge Project Director and event emcee Brian McConnell said that weather permitting, grading on the project should begin this week, with a grand opening slated for May 2007. McConnell said the project will include retail tenants 24-Hour Fitness, Pet Smart, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Old Navy, Tilly’s, Lane Bryant, Staples, Beverages & More, Chili’s and other sit-down restaurants – with an AMC 12-screen theater also being a potential major attraction at the shopping center..

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YORK BEACH, Maine --For 78 years, no summer was complete for locals, seasonal residents and visitors alike without taking in a movie at the York Beach Cinema. Like tasting that first Goldenrod kiss of the season, it was tradition.

But in a few short weeks, as August gives way to September, this beach stalwart will be closing its doors for good. Soon, it will be torn down to make way for a function hall for the neighboring Union Bluff Hotel, which owns it.

It will be a sad day for Troy Williams, the 19-year-old manager of the cinema, who learned the trade from longtime manager Bill Davies, known as the "mayor of York Beach," who died of cancer last year.

"I'd come in an hour early every day, and we used to sit on the curb and talk," Williams said. "He knew a lot of the history and he'd tell me about the place."

The "place," more than 150 years old, was first a horse barn and then an ice house before it was converted to an opera house around the turn of the 20th century. In 1928, it became a movie theater and has remained open summer in and summer out ever since.

After the history lesson, Williams would learn the quirky, sometimes unexpected twists and turns of running a movie house with camera equipment used for silent films, in a cavernous auditorium that doubles as a storage area for the Union Bluff, with a concession stand that sells popcorn made in an aging machine of another era and a men's room that has no sink.

As old as the cinema may be, the movies have always been first runs. The new "Pirates of the Caribbean" showed earlier this past week, as did "Monster House." Williams says it's getting tougher and tougher to get these releases, though, because the movie industry is not interested in supplying films to small, seasonal houses like the York Beach Cinema. They simply are not cost effective.

"They're trying to put us out of business, and they're succeeding," he said. Chain theaters offer a new release for three or four weeks. York Beach Cinema shows one film for two or three days because it's all that the market will bear.

"If there had to be a time for it to close, now is the time," Williams said.

And then there's the always interesting situation of showing films on projectors intended more for Rudolph Valentino than Johnny Depp.

Most chain movie houses still get movies in individual reels, but then splice them into one giant and seamless reel for showing. No such thing at the York Beach Cinema. The two Peerless Magnarc projectors hold one reel each, and the projectionist must time the end of one with the beginning of the other seamlessly.

Light is generated from the touching of two carbon rods, which illuminate the camera's mirrored interior. The rods, now available at only one supplier in Miami, are replaced regularly during the showing of the film. Change them too late, and the screen goes blank. The projectionists must also oil the sprockets continuously during the movie.

"If I see a perfect show, that's awesome," he said. "People don't expect glitches, but they don't understand what's going on in the projection room."

The projectors are already spoken for, Williams said, and although he's not sure who is getting them, "they'd be perfect for some movie industry guy." Most everything else -- the signs, the seats, the popcorn machine, the concession stand -- is going on sale in September.

Williams said customers have told him they're upset this institution is closing.

"A lot of people have been coming here since they were kids," he said.

He can understand their feelings.

"I love this place," he said. "There's a lot of magic here. People actually clap at the end of movies. Where else does that happen anymore?"

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EDWARDSVILLE — Like many films, the Gateway Cinema’s run has come to a close.

After a final showing Monday night, the six-screen movie theater closed because it was unable to compete with the new Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 and Cinemark in Moosic, said manager Dan Jones and assistant manager and projectionist George Bobbey.

The Gateway Cinema has been a landmark on the West Side for the last 41 years. For the last two weeks, the cinema has been showing discount movies for $1.50, but Jones said business still has been “awful.”

“Cinemark took a major portion of our business when they came in, and then when they added 14 screens three miles away, that was the final nail in the coffin,” Jones said. “There are not enough movies to go around and not enough customers to go around.”

Two full-time and six part-time workers at the cinema will lose their jobs. Jones plans to retire after 46 years in the movie business. His career began with the Comerford movie chain.

On Tuesday, Jones and Bobbey watched as stacks of popcorn boxes, cups, other concessions and janitorial supplies were moved out of the cinema. The items will be transported to another cinema in Lewistown, Jones said.

Jones answered continual phone calls Tuesday from people, unaware of the closure, inquiring about movie times. Bobbey took apart movies Monday night and prepared them for shipment Tuesday.

“A lot of people would have liked to see us stay,” Bobbey said. “The movies we did get weren’t the greatest. If you don’t have the movies people want, they don’t come out.”

The Gateway also had trouble competing with digital projectors, state-of-the-art sound systems and stadium-style seating offered at Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 and Cinemark.

“That (stadium seating) is a good asset, but it depends on how you weigh it. The kids like it, but the seniors don’t want to climb,” Bobbey said.

Bobbey worked as the projectionist at the Gateway Cinema for the last seven years, taking a job there after the Churchill Cinema in Hazleton closed. He doesn’t know what he is going to do next, but he said he would “take it day by day, one step at a time.”

As items were moved out of the Gateway Cinema, 19-year-old Bridget Flynn of Larksville stood outside on Route 11 holding a giant sign that read “Save the Gateway.” Passing motorists honked. She asked people to sign a petition to keep the Gateway Cinema open.

“I’ve been going here since I was little,” Flynn said. “I saw my first movie here and my mom saw her first movie here. It’s much cheaper. People say there are more comfortable seats at the other movie theaters, but I pay for the movie, not the chair.”

Diane Luzny, manager of Grotto Pizza in the Gateway Shopping Center, also was saddened by the closing. Grotto worked with the Gateway Cinema to offer a movie deal that allowed customers to buy a large pie, two drinks and two movie passes for $17.95.

“It’s going to affect our business a great deal,” Luzny said. “Families and children would go to a movie and come to the Grotto.”

Tony DeCosmo, marketing manager for Grotto Pizza, said it is a shame the cinema closed at a time when new businesses have been opening nearby. The new movie theater is good for Wilkes-Barre’s progress, but the Gateway Cinema has been the “heart of West Side for so long,” he said.

Java’s Brewin’ Coffee Shop is scheduled to open in the Gateway Shopping Center before September and a doctors’ office and surgery center is expected in January.

Joe Amato, who owns the building housing the Gateway Cinema as well as the entire Gateway Shopping Center, said he plans to build a strip mall behind the former cinema. The building might be torn down, Amato said. He does not believe another movie theater will locate to the site of the now closed cinema.

While the $31 million Wilkes-Barre Movies 14 cinema received public funding, the Gateway Cinema did not. Amato said it would be “cost-prohibitive” to put a new movie theater in Edwardsville, especially with the added competition.

“It’s a sad day,” Amato said.

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EAST HARTFORD -- Suffering from fewer moviegoers, Showcase Cinema, a town fixture and eyecatcher along I-84 for more than 30 years, will close Sept. 4 after its last showing.

Company officials were preparing a press release about the theater after employees said they were told Tuesday about the closing.

"It wasn't a huge surprise but everyone was pretty sure it was going to stay around for a while," said Chris Devaux, an employee who has worked at the 14-screen theater since 1997.

Robert Moch, theater manager, said he could not comment and was told to refer all inquiries to Dedham, Mass.-based National Amusements Inc., the owner of Showcase Cinemas.

"The word is out there," said Devaux. "Employees have been telling customers as they buy tickets, but I guess the company wants to make a big announcement."

Mayor Melody A. Currey said company officials have not notified the town about the closing or returned phone calls to her.

"I think obviously it was decision they made a while ago and they're moving on," she said. "I'm disappointed they chose not to upgrade the site. The last time was 1995. It's a great location with great visibility."

Devaux said he and about 30 of his colleagues who work at the theater said they were told they would be offered jobs at other Showcase theaters.

National Amusements operates 133 movie screens in 11 theaters, including the East Hartford location, in Connecticut.

The East Hartford theater opened in 1973 with four screens and was expanded in 1995.

In 1998, Showcase Cinemas built a 16-screen theater at Buckland Hills in Manchester just a few miles from its newly-renovated 14-screen complex in East Hartford. Company officials said there was plenty of business to support both theaters.

Currey blamed the popularity of DVDs for the demise of the town theater.

"Bottom line is every time you drive by there's few cars," Currey said.

"I know it's never good news to have a business close but with Cabela's coming to Rentschler Field and all the other development going on in town, this is a good time to market the theater," Currey said. "We've gotten lots of inquiries from companies wanting to locate in town."

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After 78 years, the York Beach Cinema will close its doors tonight.

"I had some kids in town offering to chain themselves to the place in protest," said the cinema's 19-year-old manager, Troy Williams. "But I figured it was better to exit by inviting everybody back for one last show."

He's hoping the theater will be filled to the brim tonight for "Pirates of the Caribbean II: Dead Man's Chest," the house's final showing.

The closing of the movie house is, for many locals, the passing of an era when restaurants and dance halls dotted the shoreline of this coastal community and talkies were just starting to make movie houses the standard of American entertainment.

Marjorie Donnellan, who calls herself "the oldest timer in York Beach" at age 85, has been summering in a cottage there since she was a child. She was just 7 years old when the theater showed its first flick, in 1928.

Donnellan couldn't remember the title, but a ticket, she recalled, cost just 10 cents. "This was quite a place, you know," she said. "It was very nice inside. It was really very nice just up until the last few years."

Since its opening, the theater has shown all of the new films each summer, though the ticket price has risen to $7.

The large wooden building that houses the theater dates to the 1850s. Before becoming a cinema, it was a horse barn, an ice house and an opera house. When Don and John Holland bought the building in 1913, they installed driftwood flooring, built a stage and installed wood and wrought-iron seats that can still be found in the balcony.

Since then, the floor has been covered with concrete, the balcony has been closed and ownership has passed through various families. The Union Bluff Hotel, next door, bought the building in 1998. It plans to knock down the theater in October to make way for a large function hall.

The building's significant historical artifacts include two 1927 Peerless Magnar C film projectors and Western Electric sound projectors in the projection room.

"There's only a handful of theaters in the entire country that use these projectors," said Williams, adding that the trend in mainstream theaters is toward running everything digitally.

"In other theaters, the projectionist actually gets to watch the movie," he said. "But here, he's got to keep the flame going, grease the machines, change the reels and make sure the rods don't burn out."

The projectionists ­ Chris Kruse, 19, and Lewis Chevalier, 22 ­ learned the trade from former theater manager and legendary local sage Bill Davies, who died of cancer last year. At tonight's showing of "Pirates," which plays on nine reels, "they're going to be working their butts off," Williams said.

Williams said he has fielded requests from as far away as Ohio for the projectors. "I'm sure there's going to be a bidding war," he said.

Several locals have expressed interest in buying movie house memorabilia. Williams plans to hold an invitation-only auction later this month. Those interested in receiving invitations should leave their names with him at the door tonight.

Richard Donnellan, 48, said he probably will bid on some of the old chairs. "It was the highlight of the whole beach," he said, remembering when he and his brothers and friends would make a night out of a soda, candy and a movie. "I saw 'Planet of the Apes' there, 'The Dirty Dozen' and all those war movies. Š What are the kids going to do now when it's bad weather out?"

"They had all the top movies," said Pat St. Aubin, who took her children and her grandchildren to the theater. "The kids, someone would go in and pay, and open the back door to sneak their friends in."

These days, Williams said, the children are missing. "Unless their parents bring them, kids are mostly playing Xbox or at the big houses, where the picture never gets fuzzy and the screen never blacks out," he said. "But others come not so much for the movies, but for the experience."

Donnellan said he and his brothers will be there tonight, despite the fact that they have seen "Pirates" three times.

"It's the last big place in town, other than the Wild Kingdom," he said, referring to the zoo and amusement park that came to York Beach in the 1960s. "If that goes, then the mystique of York Beach will be gone."

Williams admitted that tearing down the theater is probably a smart business decision. But for the last night ­ and for a reduced rate of $3 a ticket ­ Williams hopes to fill the house.

"People want to be here for the last show, to reminisce," he said. "This place will really be missed."

Staff Writer Karoun Demirjian can be contacted at 791-6368 or at: kdemirjian@pressherald.com

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 09-02-2006, 01:04 PM:
 
Westfield has announced that it is starting construction of a new wing at their Plaza Bonita location in National City, near San Diego (where is Mike!). The location will be on the site of a long closed Montgomery Wards store. It is to be a 14 plex.

I find it odd that they are building one literally between their monstrous Palm Promenade 24, and not all that far from Mission Valley 20/Fashion Valley 18.

Jeez, that's a long link

[ 09-02-2006, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: Adam Martin ]
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 09-02-2006, 10:08 PM:
 
New Regal 15-screen under construction in Eugene.




 

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Posted by Tom Hayes (Member # 3932) on 09-04-2006, 03:48 AM:
 
The Vogue in Chula Vista, Ca closed in July:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060722-9999-6m22cvvogue.html
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 09-08-2006, 11:12 AM:
 
Lighthouse Cinemas in Pacific Grove, CA Closes on Sept. 7
Monterey County Herald

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Movie theater's curtain call
Lighthouse Cinemas can't draw crowds
By ANDRE BRISCOE
Herald Staff Writer

An inability to draw first-run Hollywood movies and low attendance numbers is forcing Lighthouse Cinemas in Pacific Grove to shut its doors.

A theater representative said the last movies will be shown at the four-screen theater Sept. 7.

"We wanted to do everything possible to keep the theater up and running, but for all its quaintness and charm we simply couldn't get the kind of movies needed to keep it operating," said David Corwin, president of Metropolitan Theatres Corps., which has operated the Lighthouse for the past two years.

The modern, newly built Century Cinemas at Del Monte Center gets most of the first-run Hollywood films shown on the Monterey Peninsula, he said, and Lighthouse has not been able to compete.

Metropolitan operates 22 theaters in the United States. The previous operator at Lighthouse, Resort Theater of America, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in October 2000.

Plans for the building at 525 Lighthouse Ave. are up in the air, according to Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce President Moe Ammar. But he said several groups have indicated interest.

Property owner Robert Enea, managing partner of St. Michael Investments LP, has been looking at options for the building since last Christmas, according to Pacific Grove Community Development Director Jon Biggs.

"Right now he has submitted plans to use the building as mixed use, residential and commercial," Biggs said. "With the closure we're looking at proceeding quickly. Within the next month." The proposal to build the theater in downtown Pacific Grove was a bellwether controversy in the city during the mid-1980s. Some residents and city officials said they believed the theater would increase crime in Pacific Grove, while others said the cinema would provide a needed entertainment option for the city.

Former councilman Dan Gasperson, who voted in favor of the theater at the time, said most people in the community fought to get it. He said he was shocked to find out it would be closing.

"There was a period in time when some thought there would be rapes and drunken brawls in the street because of the theater," Gasperson said. "Some on the Council thought it was too big, but the four screens was the minimum to make it profitable. I think that every community needs a hometown theater. I hope someone would want to take it over."

The theater's fate was sealed once Del Monte theaters opened, Ammar said. At one time between 4,000 and 5,000 people would pass their time every weekend at the theater.

"It's impossible to compete with Del Monte," Ammar said. "We knew when Del Monte opened that it would just be a matter of time."

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Multiplexes gobble up small houses

September 8, 2006

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Movie theaters by the numbers

A few hours before the screens darkened for good, Arnold Reed stood bewildered.

"What do you mean they're closing?" Reed, 61, of Detroit said Monday outside his favorite movie theater, the Beacon East in Harper Woods. "Why would they do that?"

The Showcase Cinemas Dearborn also closed on Labor Day, the most recent victims of megaplexes sprouting up in the suburbs and drawing crowds with dozens of screens, digital sound, first-run movies and plush stadium seating.

Both theaters were operated by National Amusement, a Massachusetts-based chain that has closed seven movie houses in metro Detroit in the past four years. All told, the metro Detroit area has lost more than 100 movie theaters since the late 1980s.

The shift to megaplexes means more expensive tickets, larger crowds, longer drives for urbanites and the demise of classic movie theaters. But it also means more movie choices and show times, comfortable seating and state-of-the-art sound and pictures.

"You don't feel crowded here," Sharon Merriweather, 58, of Troy said after watching "Barnyard" with her granddaughter at the 30-screen AMC Forum in Sterling Heights. "The seats are bigger and cushier. And you have a lot of variety."

The drawn-out demise of classic movie theaters inspired Gary Ritzenthaler to launch www.waterwinterwonderland.com, a Web site devoted to preserving old movie theaters in Michigan.

"Multiplexes are built like giant warehouses; they have no ambience or charm," said Ritzenthaler of Commerce Township. "You are going to wait in long lines, and you aren't going to get the classic movie-going experience."

The battle for box office bucks has endangered the Shores Theatre, a 70-year-old movie house with two screens in downtown St. Clair Shores. Owner Bruce Ferguson said his theater's survival depends on adding more screens, an expansion that city officials have shelved indefinitely.

It's difficult for smaller movie houses like the Shores Theatre -- which charges $5 and $7 a ticket -- to compete because studios require first-run films to be shown up to six consecutive weeks. A larger theater can absorb longer showings while still offering other options.

"Movie companies want you to hold a movie for a long time, even if it bombs, so it can really hurt a small theater," said Dave Tolfree, general manager of the Shores Theatre. "It's really hard to compete with 15, 20 screens."

Even theaters with up to eight screens are falling victim to the spiffier megaplexes. Since 2000, at least 11 multiplexes have closed in metro Detroit.

At least two megaplexes are planned for Macomb County suburbs -- Shelby Township and Clinton Township -- by next year, and developers in Oakland County are hoping to build large theaters in Rochester and Bloomfield Hills.

The demise of smaller, low-profit cinemas and the rise of megaplexes mirror a national trend. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of movie theaters in the United States fell from 7,151 to 5,713, while the number of screens rose from 26,995 to 37,092 during the same period, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners.

MJR Theaters, an Oak Park-based company, has adapted to survive, dumping its small, discount theaters for megaplexes beginning in 1995. Since then, MJR has opened six first-run theaters with a combined 102 screens, digital sound, spacious lobbies and stadium seating. It plans to operate a 14-screen theater by October 2007 at the high-end, mixed-use Partridge Creek development in Clinton Township.

"We've tremendously upgraded the theater-going experience," owner Mike Mihalich said. "There's nothing like seeing 'King Kong' or 'Pirates of the Caribbean' on a 55-foot screen. It's special."

So how can small theaters compete?

The Penn Theatre in Plymouth, a 65-year-old movie house, reopens today after three years with the help of a nonprofit group that raised money for renovations.

Some movie houses, like the Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township and Main Art Theatre in Royal Oak, play independent and offbeat films that aren't likely to appear at megaplexes.

Other theaters take on new lives, turning into churches, offices and stores. After closing in 1999, the 60-year-old Berkley Theatre was converted into a drugstore with its marquee preserved.

Now a popular dance club and music venue, the 80-year-old State Theatre in Detroit used to seat 2,200 people. The Royal Oak Theater and Emerald Theater in Mt. Clemens also were turned into music venues.

Such moves don't always work out. The Roseville Theatre reopened in 2003, showing films some of the time but also doubling as a dance club and music venue. It closed less than three years later, and the bulk of the building is used as a church.

"I'd be shocked if there were 20 family-owned theaters in downtowns in Michigan," said Ritzenthaler. "It's sad."

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Dickinson Theatres to build Yukon, Oklahoma’s Most Extravagant Movie Theatre Complex Developed by Ken McGee with WEP Land Holdings

Overland Park, Kans. – Thursday, August 31, 2006 – Dickinson Theatres, Inc., based in Overland Park, Kansas, announced today the building of Yukon, Oklahoma’s most luxurious movie theatre complex.

The new cinema will be located in the West End Pointe Lifestyle Center at the intersection of I-40 & Garth Brooks Blvd in Yukon.

The architectural plans include rich colors, elegant furnishings in a fun and exciting environment. The spacing between seats will provide generous leg room. The all stadium seated auditoriums will feature large wall to wall screens. Also included will be digital projection, the latest technology in theatre exhibition. The last performance of these digital showings are as pristine as the first, no scratches throughout all presentations. These will be some of the first screens with digital projection in Oklahoma and the Midwest.

“Our vision is to build a beautiful theatre that services our guests with quality presentations, above-exemplary service in a fun and comfortable environment,” says John Hartley, president and CEO of Dickinson Theatres. “We’ve taken input and concepts from our patrons for the last several years and applied them to the new theatre in the West End Pointe Center. From the parking lot to the lobby and auditoriums, we plan on building a theatre that becomes more to the patron than just movie-viewing; it’ll be a one of a kind movie-going experience…where fun meets the magic of movies.”

The West End Pointe Cinemas – envisioned and concepted by Dickinson Theatres, Inc., is expected to open by summer 2007.

Comment by Ken McGee, Developer:

“We are truly excited to have Dickinson Theatres join us in our new Lifestyle Center development. Already joining the West End Pointe development with Lowe’s, Kohl’s and Staples, this theatre will be the first building block for the next phase of the development emphasizing a great combination of entertainment, restaurants and retail shopping. The West End Pointe Cinemas will help us create a great family environment for ‘the place to be’ in not only Yukon, Mustang and the western part of Oklahoma City, but several western communities in the State of Oklahoma.”

Dickinson Theatres, one of the nations largest privately owned, operates 36 movie theatres throughout the United States with theatres in Kansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas. Dickinson Theatres is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas and employs 1100 staff members, including 22 full-time corporate office employees.

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quote: Dickinson Theatres Press Release

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Dickinson Theatres to build Yukon, Oklahoma’s Most Extravagant Movie Theatre Complex Developed by Ken McGee with WEP Land Holdings....These will be some of the first screens with digital projection in Oklahoma and the Midwest.

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quote: Bill Gabel

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The single screen Metro Theatre in San Francisco will close on Saturday September 23rd.. The owner of the building has bought out Regal's lease and plans on demolishing the building and replacing it with condos.

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SICK SICK SICK. Just plain SICK!
 

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Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 09-19-2006, 09:06 PM:
 
quote: Bill Gabel

"The single screen Metro Theatre in San Francisco will close on Saturday September 23rd.. The owner of the building has bought out Regal's lease and plans on demolishing the building and replacing it with condos."

I have only one thing to say:
 

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 09-19-2006, 11:16 PM:
 
I've been busy of late and haven't kept up with this thread...

Wow. What a shock to learn that the Vougue has closed. Outstanding popcorn and the last theatre in my area that made use of curtains. I've spent several full days there watching all three movies. For a second run they had EXCELENT presentation. Picture was always bright and sharp. DTS sounded excelent in that room. I'll miss 'em.

It's too bad about the Metro up in SF. I'll be up there next week and will miss the closure by only a few days.

quote: Jeff Arellano

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I find it odd that they are building one literally between their monstrous Palm Promenade 24, and not all that far from Mission Valley 20/Fashion Valley 18.

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Not really. Palm is nearly 10 minutes up the highway, and I'm not sure how your calculating distance to Mission Valley/Fasion Valley. They're really far out from there. This theatre will best serve the Sweetwater and Bonita areas which have been hurting for a new theatre since the old Pacific Sweetwater closed. In fact, I think my theatre might take a (small) hit on attendance since we are currently the closest for the south Jamacha area.
 

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Posted by Jason Setzer (Member # 3949) on 09-21-2006, 05:37 PM:
 
Sunrise Cinemas in Tampa , fl closed 2 weeks ago.
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 09-23-2006, 02:25 PM:
 
And dont forget Mike about the AMC Otay Village 12 opening soon in Chula Vista....off teh 125 and Olympiad.
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 09-24-2006, 11:36 AM:
 
Construction has commenced on the Great Escapes 14 plex at the rear of the Harrisburg (PA)East Mall. This is the former location of an AMC 5 plex which closed in the early 90's because it was getting robbed so often. The Harrisburg East Mall is within walking distance of Hall Manor - one of the worst housing projects in the Harrisburg area and the scene of a drug related shooting almost every week.

Not to be outdone, the developers of the new High Pointe Commons Shopping Center (which is just around the corner from the Harrisburg East Mall) on September 15th received township approval for construction of their own 16 plex theatres and vowed to start construction immediately. In public commentary the township commissioners stated that they were approving the High Pointe application because it met the township requirements but they really saw no need for yet another theatre complex especially with the Great Escapes having started construction already. The commissioners stated they would have liked to see a grocery store go in at the High Pointe Commons, but the owner of High Pointe stated they could not get any grocery chains interested in the location.

Proving that supermarket owners are smarter than theatre operators.
 

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Posted by Jacob A. Velleman (Member # 2533) on 09-24-2006, 11:42 AM:
 
Nice!
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 09-27-2006, 04:42 PM:
 
Laemmle's Fairfax 3 Theatre in Los Angeles, Park La Brea area of the city has closed. Before Laemmle it was a Cineplex house and was originally a Fox West Coast house once upon a time.
 

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Posted by Bob Plummer (Member # 3874) on 10-01-2006, 06:21 AM:
 
It doesn't look like this was mentioned, but Seattle's Meridian 16 (Cineplex Odeon theatre that was aquired by Loews Cineplex) closed a few weeks ago for one day, and opened that friday as a Regal. The reason being, that it was sold off to appease anti-trust laws, since there is an AMC not 3 blocks away in downtown Seattle, and the ownership of both would have made for an 87 percent market share.

The winner in the AMC/Loews Merger? Regal, by aquiring most of the 10 theaters in competitive markets that were required to be sold by AMC without even having to spend a dime on building the theater itself. :-P
 

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Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 10-01-2006, 10:19 AM:
 
In the Lehigh Valley construction is nearly completed on a RAVE 20 plex south of Allentown (PA). It is about 2 miles from the Regal (formerly Hoyts) Saucon Valley 10 plex which itself is only a few years old.

In South Bethlehem Township construction is slated to commence on a new Muvico 18 plex on Route 33 just 3 miles south of the current Regal Northampton Crossing 16 which is also on Route 33.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 10-05-2006, 08:33 PM:
 
The former Laemmle Fairfax 3 Cinemas reopened today. The theatre was picked-up by Regency Movie chain. They operate around 12 complexes around the Southern California area and the Trolley Square in Salt Lake City and Tamarac Square in Denver, CO. The operators are two former Local-150 projectionists.

The Fairfax will now be a $3.00 house.
 

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Posted by Jeffry L. Johnson (Member # 453) on 10-18-2006, 11:26 AM:
 
Former Memphis Drive-In site sold

quote:

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Former Memphis Drive-In site sold
American Greetings buys 20-acre property
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Janet H. Cho
Plain Dealer Reporter

American Greetings Corp. plans to turn the site of the former Memphis Drive-In into recreational green space for its employees.

The Brooklyn-based greeting card manufacturer said Tuesday that its Custom Holdings Inc. subsidiary bought the 20-acre property just north of its world headquarters for $3 million.

American Greetings said it plans to raze the movie screens and other aging structures on the site and "create a landscaped area, possibly with walking paths, to expand and enhance its corporate campus," according to a written statement.

"Our company's leadership is committed to make it a world-class environment for our employees" as well as a major draw for the talented people the company recruits from around the nation, said spokeswoman Laurie Henrichsen. "The green space will be a really nice addition to our corporate campus."

An as-yet-unnamed third party will develop master plans for the drive-in property, which is surrounded by land that American Greetings already owns. The company does not anticipate having final plans for the site for at least a year.

It also does not expect to expand its headquarters building onto the property.

"This purchase makes a statement that we intend to stay in Cleveland for years to come," Chief Executive Zev Weiss said in a written statement.

The Cuyahoga County auditor's office estimated the value of the property and building at $1.6 million, but Henrichsen said its fair value was $3 million. The company does not know if there were other bidders for the site.

The Memphis Drive-In, Cuyahoga County's last drive-in movie theater, closed Oct. 1 after more than 52 years.

Russell Wintner, who managed the site and was one of six partners who owned it, said "it was not an easy decision" to sell.

"The outpouring of sentiment from the community in favor of the drive-in was overwhelming. We got tons of e-mails and letters expressing sadness and sharing memories. My grandfather and his partners ended up creating a small Cleveland landmark which is now gone. It makes me proud of their accomplishment and sad to see it go. But things change, and life moves on.

"The price they offered for the land was very attractive, and the partnership was, in some cases, in its third generation," he said. "It was time.

Wintner's family still owns the 54-year-old Memphis Kiddie Park across the street, which was not part of the transaction.

American Greetings said it had offered to buy the property several times over the decades, but Wintner said it was never put up for sale. "It was an entirely unsolicited offer that came out of the blue in early summer," he said.

Henrichsen said the purchase is part of the company's overall effort to update its headquarters, which employs 2,000 people. The company cafeteria just reopened after a three-month renovation with new furniture, fireplaces and informal seating areas.

The company is also remodeling its corporate gift shop, installing a town-center-like gathering area and opening a Starbucks coffee shop inside the building this fall.

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quote:

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The Big Picture movie theater to close

Low attendance led to shaky finances, owners say

By Maureen Wallenfang
Post-Crescent staff writer

APPLETON — The Big Picture Theater of Adventure and Discovery will fade to black after its last screening Oct. 15.

The large format movie theater at 215 E. Washington St. will run its previously scheduled foreign film and a regular slate of movies through next week, but then will close.

Co-owners Jim and Michelle Bork made the announcement in an exclusive interview this afternoon with The Post-Crescent. The paper chose to not post the story on its Web site until late Friday to give the couple time to tell their staff of 13 employees.

The theater’s closure was because of finances, Jim Bork said.

“It’s basically not enough attendance to make it financially viable,” said Bork, who is president of Big Picture Concepts, the theater’s operating company. “We have no more resources to keep it going.”

He said they will file papers shortly to put the company into receivership and the building will be put up for sale.

“It was a dream of mine, and we had the opportunity to make that work for 18 months,” Bork said. “We think we’ve brought something valuable to the community. Our hope is that somehow in the future it will continue to be a resource to the community. But at this point, we need to let go of that dream.”

Founding partners Chuck and Donna Barnum still have an ownership interest, but previously gave up all management responsibilities.

The theater opened to the public March 19, 2005, and cost $5.1 million. At the outset, the top price was $8.50 for an adult ticket. It was later reduced to $7.50.

In an August Post-Crescent interview, Bork said attendance was less than half of the 200,000 to 250,000 they needed annually to meet financial obligations. If it had operated at 35 to 40 percent of capacity, it could cover costs.

By August, however, the theater was $4 million in debt. That included $1.6 million owed to the city of Appleton. The theater had made one partial payment of $74,724.46 on that debt. In its developer’s agreement, it was responsible for 14 annual installments of $118,400.

Today, Bork said those figures were accurate. He said they had not made any additional payments to the city since August, but the city had not foreclosed on the property.

A number of options could have bailed out the theater, including finding new investors or securing nonprofit status that would have allowed it to qualify for grants.

But none panned out.

“Not enough has happened for one of those options to be viable,” Bork said. “The money ran out before we could get any of those options in place.”

Moviegoers, meanwhile, were sad to hear the news.

“It was a good experience and we both wanted to go back,” said Hilbert resident Fred Smith, who attended last month’s Star Trek convention with his wife, Caroline, at The Big Picture.

It was their first visit to the large screen theater. “We saw the ‘The Wrath of Khan’ on the big screen and it was larger than life. The sound was a whole lot better than watching it on TV. It was an exciting experience.”

“That’s the way to see a film like that. It was fantastic,” said his daughter Shandra Smith, who lives in Appleton. “You see so much more detail.”

The local Wildwood Film Festival held its fifth annual event at The Big Picture in April.

“It’s a wonderful facility that was obviously underutilized,” said Tom Thorne, one of the festival’s three founders who had expected to hold the 2007 festival again at The Big Picture.

“Looking forward, we’ll find another facility in Appleton. The show will go on.”

Peter Hensler, the city’s economic development director, also expressed disappointment.

“It’s really a shame to have this not succeed,” he said. “We were all so optimistic about it at the outset.”

Hensler said the city made the investment in the property a decade ago, well before the theater was proposed, when it purchased the downtown land and relocated the industrial printer housed on the site.

After several developers’ proposals fell through for the location, the theater proposal came along.

“Our agreement was to allow them to acquire property that we owned. We deeded the land to the theater in exchange for a tax guarantee on the value of the property,” Hensler said.

“The next step for the city is to discuss with council members any action that may be appropriate, from our perspective, to best protect our interests.”

This afternoon, Bork defended his plan to go ahead with the announcement of the foreign film series, which ran on the front of the Post-Crescent’s Local & State section today, by saying they had been hopeful of a better outcome up until the last moment.

“We continued to want to have a solution,” he said, struggling to keep his strong emotions in check. “We needed to keep looking ahead and planning for the future. There’s never an ideal time to cut it off.”

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Posted by Christopher Crouch (Member # 3784) on 10-27-2006, 12:52 PM:
 
Picture Show Entertainment reopened the Mainplace 6 (former AMC and Captain Blood Family Theatre) as a subrun on 10/25. The Santa Ana, CA. theatre had been closed since Blood's eviction this past Spring.
 

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Posted by David Buckley (Member # 2600) on 10-27-2006, 02:26 PM:
 
Not a typical cinema, but the Back to the Future ride at Universal Florida is half closed already, and will be fully closed very soon. Thats a pair of OmniMax gone, and apparently Universal Hollywood BTTF is scheduled to close early 2007.

Very sad.
 

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Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 10-29-2006, 11:49 PM:
 
Cinemark opened the Round Rock 14 in Round Rock Texas last weekend. There is also a 14 screen being built in Georgetown TX to be opened by Schulman later this year early next year.
 

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Posted by Kara Tillotson (Member # 3899) on 11-01-2006, 03:50 PM:
 
Page Manor Cinema in Riverside Ohio:
Owner Blames Employee Thefts For Theater’s Closing

POSTED: 9:45 am EST October 31, 2006
UPDATED: 9:49 am EST October 31, 2006

RIVERSIDE, Ohio -- The owner of a suburban Dayton movie theater said he has shut the place down because of rampant stealing by employees.

Joe Kinney describes the thefts as "off the hook" at Page Manor Cinema in Riverside, so he closed the second-run theater on Saturday after more than two years in business.

He said that over the past two years, he had to fire more than 30 employees who made off with money, as well as a pinball machine.

Kinney was the latest to operate the Page Manor, which originally opened in 1967.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 11-03-2006, 07:14 PM:
 
Today's Eugene Register-Guard ran this story about the construction of Regal Valley River Stadium 15 in Eugene.

Construction close-up
By Joe Mosley
The Register-Guard
Published: Friday, November 3, 2006

Actress Lauren Bacall once said imagination "is the highest kite one can fly."

She should tie a string to the massive construction project that in three months will turn into the new Regal Cinemas Valley River Center Stadium 15.

It's hard to see how the 85,000-square-foot mass of concrete, steel, electrical cables, sound insulation and drywall could become the glitzy, state-of-the-art multiplex scheduled to open by mid-February.

But mall and construction company officials say a work force that averages 90 workers per day - almost exclusively local - has the project right on schedule.

"The general contractor has to have building `substantially completed' by Jan. 23," says Don Foster, Valley River Center's general manager. "But that's not the end point - then other people (from Regal) come in to do the screens and the projectors.

"So February is still the month that's mentioned (for opening)."

The theater complex, while not a traditional retail anchor, is expected to boost foot traffic at Valley River and draw customers who may not otherwise be attracted to the mall.

Leading a small group of visitors through the work site this week, project superintendent Dave Quivey, of Portland's Howard S. Wright Construction Co., pointed out where stainless steel handrails and tile flooring will highlight the lobby and concessions area, and where projection rooms will fill 14,400 square feet of space on the second-level mezzanine.

Joel Freeman, project manager for Howard S. Wright, says the most difficult aspect of theater construction is coordinating the work. In each auditorium, for example, drywall and acoustic tile ceilings must be completed before work begins on steel seating risers - which take up the space where scaffolding and other heavy equipment are used in the earlier phases.

"That's sequencing - it's a very complicated scheduling project," says Freeman, whose company recently built a Regal theater in downtown Portland. The firm also built the new Kohl's department store at Springfield's Gateway Mall.

The various crews on the Valley River project are working beside and around one another beginning as early as 4 a.m. daily, following complex wiring diagrams, framing 6-inch steel studs to create the interior walls and then filling them with insulation and covering each side with three overlapping layers of drywall to prevent sound seepage.

Front walls in each of the project's 13 standard theaters and two high-definition, 424-seat auditoriums are being painted black to prevent any light interference with the fabric screens that will cover them.

Concrete has been poured at various elevations - at ground level, on raised steel platforms and even on foam - to create floors, ramps and stairways.

"It's probably the most extraordinary concrete job I've ever seen, and I've been doing this 30 years," says Quivey, the project superintendent.

One of the last pieces of the project will be removal of a 20-foot-high concrete wall that still separates the multiplex from the mall's interior. An entrance with theater marquees will be built where shoppers once entered the old Montgomery Ward department store, on the opposite side of the mall from Copeland's Sports.

The 98,234-square-foot Montgomery Ward building - which had been largely vacant since the department store chain filed for bankruptcy in 2001 - was demolished a year ago to make room for the theater project.

The new Regal multiplex will have stadium seating, rocking recliner seats with cup holders that retract to form two-person love seats, and digital surround-sound systems. There will be a total of about 3,100 seats in its 15 theaters.

It will compete most directly with rival Cinemark's two theater complexes at Springfield's Gateway Mall: Cinemark 17, which shows first-run movies; and Movies 12, which plays second-run films.

Regal's Cinema World 8, across Valley River Way from the main mall, will close when the new multiplex opens.

Valley River, which owns the Cinema World 8 building, already is seeking a new tenant. Officials have said the building either will be remodeled or torn down to suit other retail or restaurant uses.

Regal is the nation's largest theater chain with 542 theaters in 40 states. Cinemark operates a total of 399 theaters in 37 states and 14 other countries.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 11-06-2006, 10:26 PM:
 
Catching up on some NYC closings (and one opening):
The Beekman closed in June of 2005. The nearby New York One and Two has been renamed the Beekman One and Two.

Looks like the Loews State 4 has closed. I don't have that confirmed with 100% accuracy, but the theater is no longer listed on Loews website and I've seen no advertising. There were rumors for some time that Loews was looking to get out of the lease or to sublease. That space is only good for limited kinds of operations because you have to walk through a Virgin Records store to get to the lobby. (This is not, of course, the original Loews State, but a quad built in its place when the original building was torn down and the Bertelsmann building replaced it.)

The New Metro Twin, which had reopened in Dec of 04 has closed and has been gutted.

The Fortway Fiveplex in Brooklyn was gutted in June of '05.

In Queens, NY, the Cross Bay I (3 screens) closed in June of 05 and the Cross Bay II (7 screens) closed in January of '06.

The Regal Atlas Park opened in Queens in May of '06.

And while it still says Loews on the giant marquee, the Loews E-Walk has been sold to Regal. When AMC bought Loews, they were forced to sell this theater because the AMC Empire 25 is directly across the street.

By my count, that brings Manhattan down to 216 screens at 34 venues (not counting special venues like museums and educational institutions.) The other four boroughs combined have 252 screens at 32 venues. My guess is that at least six more Manhattan venues and five more venues in the other four boroughs will close within the next two years. There's no new construction planned that I know of, although if I were a chain, I'd put a theater into Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Hip, young crowd, tons of new apartment condos going up and no theater anywhere nearby.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 11-07-2006, 01:04 PM:
 
When I was in NYC in April, the Loews State was closed.
 

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Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 11-07-2006, 02:01 PM:
 
Scott, Martin just reposted some old info that was posted before in this thread.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 11-07-2006, 03:42 PM:
 
Ah Gotcha.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 11-08-2006, 07:27 PM:
 
The historic Rialto Theatre in Deer Lodge, MT burned to the ground last weekend. The cause has not been made official yet, but according to a friend of mine who has a theatre in a neighboring town, an employee went in to turn on the popcorn warmer in the afternoon, but turned on the popcorn kettle by mistake and then left the building.

They have a website with pictures, both before and after the fire: Click here
The best news is they are hoping to rebuild and are accepting donations through the site.

Here's a news article about it:
LINK
Cause still sought in Rialto fire

By Vera Haffey of The Montana Standard - 11/07/2006

DEER LODGE — Officials continue to investigate what caused a Saturday fire that destroyed the historic Rialto Theater, and those results could be available in a week or two.
Steve Owens, president of Rialto Community Theater Inc., said the volunteer board that oversees theater operations won’t speculate on how the fire started. Instead, they’ll wait for the conclusion of an investigation by the state fire marshal.

After that, a community meeting will be held to discuss the investigation’s outcome and talk about the future of the town’s beloved cultural center. It was the only auditorium in Powell County.

Owens and other exhausted trustees spent Monday answering phones and arranging insurance inspections when they would have been preparing for that night’s scheduled performance of the Missoula Repertoire Theater.

“It’s a very emotional thing,” board member Ron Mjelde said Monday. “We’ve had calls coming in all day from all across the United States. It meant a lot to people.” What’s left of the burned building is the façade and ticket area in the front of the structure and some of the stage in the rear.

“There’s nothing but air between the front wall and the back wall,” Owens said, adding that he hopes to incorporate anything intact into a new structure. “We really hope to save the façade, it is part of the historic streetscape of Main Street,” he added.

About six backdrops are also still intact.

“They’re smoke-damaged, but they’re not wet,” Owens said.

Donations are trickling in to salvage what remains of the 85-year old theater, home to the Rotary Amateur Show for 46 years, and stage for school plays, concerts and theater groups. Talk of community fund-raisers is in the air, but a clear plan likely won’t gel until residents gather to brainstorm.

“It’s just so early yet to make any of those decisions,” Owens said.

Since the community group took over the theater in 1995, some $400,000 in restoration work had been completed through donations and volunteer efforts. New bathrooms, carpeting and a new boiler and stage lighting system were part of that, plus improvements to the marquee.

A new sound system was also in the works.

Listed the National Register of Historic Places, the Rialto “movie palace” was built in 1921 by Jens Hansen Sr., in a Beaux-Arts style designed by Butte architects Arnold and Van House. The theater was operated by family members until 1995, when it was sold to the local nonprofit organization that operated it with an all-volunteer workforce, according to the theater’s Web site.

The fire was reported Saturday around 5:50 p.m. after people reported seeing smoke coming from the roof. Firemen from Deer Lodge plus volunteers from Garrison and Racetrack, who arrived within four minutes, fought the fire. The fire was still smoldering Monday afternoon.

Donations for the rebuilding of the Rialto may be sent to: Rialto Community Theater, P.O. Box 874, Deer Lodge, MT 59722.

On the Web For updates about the fire investigation, photographs and information about theater history and reconstruction, visit www.deerlodgerialto.com.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 11-10-2006, 10:46 AM:
 
The Princess Theatre in LeRoy, Illinois has closed and is now for sale (owners are asking $275k). You can check out pix and details at: www.kraftproperties.net/leroy
 

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Posted by Mitchell Dvoskin (Member # 751) on 12-06-2006, 07:49 AM:
 
AMC Rockaway 16 has opened in at the Rockaway Square Mall in Rockaway NJ. This new construction replaces the former Rockaway 12 (actually 2 seperate 6plex's) at the mall that closed several years ago.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 12-07-2006, 12:02 AM:
 
That didn't take long: the Princess Theatre in LeRoy, IL has reopened. Not sure if it sold or if the owners just decided to reopen. Either way, here is the small-town hardtop's new web address: http://www.princessleroy.com/


 

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Posted by Gregory Brannon (Member # 405) on 12-08-2006, 04:49 PM:
 
There's a company called O & S Holding that specialize in building retail centers.

http://www.osholdings.com/future_developments_links.asp

They are building three new town centers in Huntsville, Alabama, Juliet, IL (outside of Chicago) and McKinney, TX (north of Dallas). You probably know have seen these new hybrid retail centers that mimics small downtowns of yesterday or Europeon villages. Well the owners of this company had decided to create their own movie theatres catered to fit these three new town centers. They wanted to create upscale luxury theatres reminiscent of luxury hotels. They are calling it Monaco Pictures. Check out their website.

http://www.monacopicturesusa.com/1.htm

The first town center that they are building in Huntsville, AL opens Fall 2007 and the McKinney, TX town center opens Summer 2008.

Considering that I live 3 miles away I'm looking forward to this new concept in theatres. However we will suffer from theatre overload in this area. Currently there's a Cinemark McKinney Movies 14 that does great business because it's an old non-stadium theatre that shows first run movies at $4 matinee and $6 evening which is cheap considering in the Dallas area prices are $8.50 average at all times of the day.

There's also a new Cinemark Allen 16 which is 3 miles west of the planned Monaco Pictures Theatre. This theatre opened in May of this year and it does okay business but it compared to other theatres in this area opens at 4:00 in the evening because it just wasn't doing good business during the day. I think this theatre will suffer when Monaco opens because even though it's a stadium seating theatre, it's just another cookie cutter new builds that Cinemark does and I personally hate them. Eight miles down the freeway from the planned Monaco Pictures Theatre is the Cinemark Legacy 24 which is one of the highest grossing theatres in Dallas and in the US. This one is nice and probably one of the last great Cinemark designs before they went cookie cutter. BUT WAIT, there are two more planned theatres in this general area just 2 miles north of the Cinemark Legacy, a planned 9 screen theatre is expected to be apart of the Watters Creek Town Center development (opens fall 2007). Then just 5 more miles up north of the Watters Creek development is the planned Village at Fairview town center (opens Fall 2008)that develpment will also have a movie theatre. This development is just 3 miles south of the Monaco Pictures Theatres at the McKinney development.

So if you live up in this area you will have tons of movie choices within the next 2 years. But I'm glad for the competition because Cinemark is running the Dallas area followed closely by AMC and I go to the theatres for more than just a movie. I go to escape and experience the grandeur of the old theatres. So I'm glad that Monaco mission is to bring that back to the industry that has grown stale.
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 12-12-2006, 09:24 PM:
 
The State Theatre in State College, PA officially reopens this Thursday, 12/14/06. There website is here. The theatre was originally built in 1938 for RCA films. It was twined much later (I believe the 1980's) by Cinemette. Carmike closed the theatre in 2001 due to their bankruptcy. Now back to a single screen theatre/concent venue, they open with Mike Reid, a Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and former Penn State All-American. As far as film, independent and classic films are in the line-up. An article from the local Paper can be found at http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/breaking_news/16214146.htm and is posted below. I believe Film-Tech's own Steve Guttag is mentioned in the article. The theatre has two Kinoton FP30 E projectors for changeover operations. More technical specification for the theatre can be found here.

quote:

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State Theatre readies for grand opening

By Chris Rosenblum
crosenbl@centredaily.com

STATE COLLEGE -- Some evening soon, violins and horns will sweeten the air within the State Theatre.

But a symphony on this day? Try a cacophony instead.

Inside the lobby, drills whined and hammers clanked. A Shop-Vac whooshed from somewhere unseen. Chatter among workers competed with the drawl of a country singer on the radio.

Mike Negra, State Theatre's executive director, probably registered little of it. In the hectic preparations before the State College theater's grand opening on Thursday, he either had a cell phone pressed to his ear or was engrossed in conversation, attending to enough last-minute headaches to drain a jumbo Advil bottle.

Once, though, Negra stopped to listen. Music boomed from stage speakers, just a routine check, but the sound heralded a new era like a squad of trumpeters.

"That was as excited as I have been in this theater, to hear music being played in here and to get an idea of the audio," Negra said. "It was becoming a real theater."

After almost a decade of fundraising and building, it's almost there. Today and Monday, private concerts for staff and volunteers who led the transformation of a faded movie palace into a community arts center will take place -- dress rehearsals for singer Mike Reid's inaugural performance Thursday.

But the curtain can't open unless it's raised. Nobody can sit back in unbolted seats. Plumbing, paint, outlets, carpets, door handles, soda coolers -- everything came together in a whirlwind as the clock ticked down to showtime.

"It's crazy," said Susan Shedd, theater operations manager. "It's going well, but it's crazy."

Monday

To open your doors to the community, you first need to have doors. Mike Stout was ready at the lobby entrance to the theater, but he had to wait.

"They have to put on a coat of polyurethane before I can put them on," he said.

Stout and others at Poole Anderson Construction, the main builders, have been pressing the entire fall, ever since the grand opening was set. William Leiby, the site supervisor, paused for a second and surveyed the theater. The walls were painted in "graham cracker" yellow, but teal seat cushions rested neatly but unattached against their frames. Handcarts and boxes cluttered aisles lined with cardboard.

Beneath the balcony, wires curled from fixtures along the wall.

"We're waiting on the arrival of speakers," Leiby said.

Meanwhile, Ed O'Brien, a Maryland-based theater technician, hunched over an open panel in the film projector, hooking up wires for the 4,000-watt lamp.

"These are state-of-the-art projectors," he said. "They spared no expense."

Far below, the expert behind many of the theater's features sat at a folding table on the plywood-covered stage. Reviewing plans and other paperwork, Ken Graham, a theatrical consultant who has toured with the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and other rock legends, said it's always a rush before opening night.

"I've seen it worse," he said.

Tuesday

The lobby doors in place, Stout turned his attention to the brass handles.

"I'm working on it," he said.

So were stagehands aligning a towering red scaffold to begin a two-day job of erecting the teal curtain, the "main rag" in theater parlance. Also waiting in plastic bags on stage were the "scrim," the translucent screen before the movie screen, as well as secondary curtains for the wings.

With piercing screeches, two workers drilled metal beams, trying to align their holes. Doug Maxfield had a quieter time among the seats placing caps on exposed bolts.

"So people sitting down don't get their clothes snagged," he said.

But after five caps a seat, plus the dozens of number tags he had placed on cushions, Maxfield looked as though he was ready for quitting time.

"I'm worn out," he said. "My knees are killing me."

Wednesday

The teal curtain hung majestically, each half's almost 300 pounds hoisted up with a fair amount of sweat.

"Once we got past that first curtain, everything was smooth sailing," said Mike Fischer, an installer from Pittsburgh.

Below stage, in a dressing room still adorned with dropcloths, Nick Doroschenk, a local cabinet installer, showed a visitor his handiwork, a row of small wooden storage cubicles and a wardrobe. It had been a busy day. Earlier, he finished the cabinets and counter in a small catering kitchen, though gaping holes remained for appliances arriving the next day.

Doroschenk also had built the portable cashier's counter for the concession area, but as he left for home, it rested on its side in the lobby, redolent with fresh stain. Nearby, the missing wall speakers waited under an Art Deco chandelier still sheathed in clear plastic.

Thursday

The curtains were up. The movie screen was down.

"Woodstock," minus the sound, had played earlier as a test. Now, as technicians in the projection booth fine-tuned settings, a black-and-white test screen flickered, all checkered squares and cryptic numbers.

Paul Wagner wasn't paying attention. Hidden in the balcony, he soldered jacks into one of the 21 intercom outlets scattered throughout the theater for production staff to communicate through headphones.

"Tomorrow, we'll be testing them to make sure everything works properly," he said.

Back in the lobby, a delivery man wheeled in cases of soda, even though tools, paint cans, a filing cabinet and assorted debris filled the concession area and the coolers, unplugged, were warm.

"I didn't know they were coming today," Shedd said, directing the stacks next to the coolers. "That's a surprise."

Friday

As the speaker emitted a steady thump, like a house-music beat, Steve Guttag held aloft a small box at the end of a pole.

"Right side balcony, all in phase," he muttered into a walkie-talkie to his partner upstairs.

Repeating the process, he moved throughout the theater, making sure the speakers were synchronized. Three days were left to wrap it all up, three days for all the drills, caulking guns, extension cords and Mountain Dew bottles to disappear.

Progress showed in the concession area, now clear save for empty black shelves and the coolers, humming but still empty. The lobby also looked closer to completion, the wall speakers finally mounted, the cover off the chandelier.

Workers knelt and brushed the last coats of stain on the concession counters. Johnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It" came on the radio, and one painter looked up and briefly smiled.

Then he got back to work.

Chris Rosenblum can be reached at 231-4620.

© 2006 Centre Daily Times and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.centredaily.com

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Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 12-14-2006, 02:42 AM:
 
A new theater is scheduled to open tomorrow in Clovis, Ca:

http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=4850385

State of the Art Theater Coming to Sierra Vista By Dale Yurong
12/13/2006 -

The battle ground for your entertainment dollar now moves to Clovis, which is all set to stage a movie premiere. From the industry-revered Kinoton projectors to the Klipsch Audio System, Corey Tocchini figured his movie house had to stand out from the rest. He says, "There's nothing on the west coast equipped like this . . .this is our flagship. 56,000 square feet. Its the largest theater we own."

With construction work not quite finished, the Criterion Cinemas 16 remains a coming attraction, but it is scheduled to open on Friday. Among the offerings here are a party room for gatherings and two high-definition screens.
Crews will create asphalt paths to lead customers past construction areas. The theater represents phase one of a massive expansion project at Sierra Vista Mall.

In a few months Chipotle, Jamba Juice and Maggie Moos Ice Cream will be the first businesses to open here. At least two more restaurants and several retailers are still being courted.

Greg Newman, Sierra Vista Mall, says, "We wanted to have some available space so when these retailers come into the area they can actually the buildings now."

The new theater marks a new beginning for the mall and the end of the older United Artists Theater, which is now closing.

Sierra Vista also plans to create a park area complete with a stage just outside of the theater.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-19-2006, 09:28 PM:
 
The STATE THEATRE in State College, PA has reopened!

The theater has been completely renovated and updated. It will now be a mixed venue featuring both performing arts as well as cinema.

It had limited performances starting on December 10th and will begin its first film series this Friday 12/22/2006 with The Bells of St. Mary's.

The projection equipment is top notch. Kinoton FP30E projectors. Panastereo CSP1200 sound processor with Dolby Digital.

The State theatre also supports video with a 2K (Non-Dincema) projector.

For more information see their web site:

http://www.thestatetheatre.org/
 

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Posted by Jarryd Beard (Member # 2543) on 12-20-2006, 11:27 AM:
 
Hey Steve, look back two posts. The article I posted does mention your name.
 

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Posted by Steve Guttag (Member # 268) on 12-20-2006, 12:34 PM:
 
Ayup...I know that article...Oddly, the "spared no expense" quote was attributed to the doors, not the projectors. The doors were very strudy and deisgned to stop soundtransfer yet look period.

The projectors, though FP30Es are great value in what they do but are neither top of the line nor the bottom. About the only extra on them, other than the fact they are "E" series projectors are the fact they do 12-30fps with a 3-digit readout of actual speed. For those not in the know, when a Kinoton E projector drops below 20fps, their shutters/intermittent go into a 3-wing mode so there is no flicker, even at slow speeds. Other than that, they are "Cinema" projectors.

I will say they are damn fine cinema projectors in that their picture steadiness is only matched by other Kinoton E projectors.

The system came out really well and despite the live acoustics and the speakers being flown in the stage house, the dialog was very good sounding and the surrounds (all 14 channels) came out real well too. The Stage speakers are JBL PD5322/95, JBL ASB6218 subs, EV EVI-28 for side surrounds, JBL 8330A rear surrounds for the main area, Control 28 under the balcony, Control 29AV in the balcony. The DSP processing was by a set of RANE RPM26Z (four of them).

The screen is pretty cool too. It is a Stewart Electriscreen model C Custom. It has a real cool top masking built into the screen box that unrolls real tight to the screen for minimal shadow (which is essential since the projection down angle is about 14-degrees). As with all Stewart screens, they just make a good image look that much better. There is just a certain "pop" that come to an image projected on a Stewart.
 

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Posted by John Joseph Fink (Member # 3619) on 12-23-2006, 08:51 PM:
 
The Cineplaza 13 which closed last January moved its Indian programing across town to Star Plex's Columbia Park 12 (they run the bottom 6 screens, StarPlex runs the theaters on the third floor - which show second run movies for $2) in North Bergen, NJ. Columbia Park may also be closing soon, as reported today by the Bergen Record:

NORTH BERGEN -- Vijay Shah has already pulled a rabbit from his hat once to save his beloved Indian movie theater, the epicenter of Bollywood fandom for New Jersey's and New York's large Indian community. He's not sure he'll be able to do it again.

The future of Shah's multiplex, located in an underground parking garage just off Route 495, has been cast in doubt after the building's owner gained approvals this week to tear down the theater and replace it with a 29-story residential and commercial tower.

Shah has already been through a relocation scramble, when the theater's old home, just a few miles north on Tonnelle Avenue, was shut down in January. Now the news of another possible closure has thrown him into a tailspin.

"This [theater] is like the lifeblood of Indian entertainment," Shah said of his seven-screen movie house, the CinePlaza, which is part of a 12-screen multiplex in the Columbia Park shopping center. "This is a home to us."

The owners of the property, Brooklyn-based Forest City Ratner Companies, took a step toward redevelopment Wednesday when the North Bergen council approved rezoning the property. The new zoning would permit a 25-story residential tower with up to 350 units, and a four-story commercial and retail base. Other existing tenants in the shopping center, including a ShopRite and Bally's gym, would be untouched by the project, planning studies show. The center was built about seven years ago. Township officials said the developers have not given any timeline for when a formal application may be filed.

In the theater, Shah has built a unique cultural niche where he screens about 60 first-run Indian films a year, including eight or 10 blockbusters that sell as many as 15,000 tickets per run. The theater is the largest Indian theatre on the East coast, with a capacity of about 1,300 seats.

The closing of the theater would be a blow to locals such as Amar Shah, who said he goes to the CinePlaza with his wife and friends about every six weeks. Shah, an electrical engineer from Paramus who is unrelated to Vijay Shah, said he enjoys mainstream American films as well, but said the Columbia Park theater is the best place for him to take in historical and traditional dramas that he says keep him connected to India, from where he emigrated 35 years ago.

"It's the only good place we can see Indian movies," Shah said, citing the theater's cleanliness and stadium-style seating. "The stories we see in the movies really apply to us sometimes. We can follow the culture at the same time."

CinePlaza patrons can choose from concession stands that sell popcorn, samosa pastries and Indian ice cream called kulfi. Most of the films are in Hindi with English subtitles, though some regional Indian films are also screened in Tamil and Telugu.

Forest City representatives could not be reached by phone or e-mail , but township officials said the developers stated the theater was the only part of the shopping center that was unprofitable. The township's rezoning ordinance also cites that claim as part of the justification for the rezoning.

Vijay Shah said he thought the property's financial troubles were over. He shares the multiplex with Starplex Cinemas, a Dallas company that manages the complex and uses the other screens to show second-run American films for $2 a ticket. Shah said Starplex officials told him the theater has been in the black since October, largely because audiences brought in by the Indian theater have fattened concession sales and cut down on nuisance crimes that used to plague the building.

Still, Shah says he has always known that his lease is subject to only a 30-day termination clause, and he says he has begun a half-hearted search for a new home. But he said theaters are hard to come by. He said larger chains will sometimes rent out individual screens in profit-sharing agreements, but there's nothing like having a theater of his own.

"It's a very risky proposition. That's why you don't see so many of these," Shah said.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 12-26-2006, 04:11 PM:
 
Awww, I had hopes to reopen that place!

The Times Picayune:
Friday, December 22, 2006
New movie megaplex opens today in Slidell

Southern Theatres' The Grand Theatre -- Slidell will open today at 1950 Gause Blvd. West, site of the former Tiger Drive-In.

The megaplex has 16 auditoriums with stadium seating, high-backed rocking chairs and wall-to-wall screens. The theater is Slidell's first to feature all stadium seating.

Among the theater's debut features are "Night at the Museum," "We Are Marshall," "Rocky Balboa" and "Eragon."

Though not available at press time, the theater's informational phone number and Web site are expected to be operational today. Call (985) 641-0149, or visit www.thegrandtheatre.com.

Southern Theatres got its start with the Grand of the East, which opened in eastern New Orleans in December 2002 and was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. It is not expected ever to reopen. The chain now manages 10 megaplexes from North Carolina to Texas, with a concentration of theaters in Louisiana and Mississippi. The chain's 11th theater is expected to open in January.
 

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Posted by Steve Scott (Member # 630) on 12-27-2006, 04:35 PM:
 
Muller Family Theatres, my old company, have opened an 18-plex w/ IMAX in Rogers, MN

 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 12-30-2006, 09:57 PM:
 
The IMAX Discovery Theatre iin Myrtle Beach, SC has gone dark...

Supposedly, it will be remodeled and reopened sometime prior to the summer season of 2007... by another company..

This particular location is a single screen..
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 01-01-2007, 10:05 PM:
 
The Henrico Theatre in the Richmond Va. suburb of Highland Springs has been closed for several years. Opened in 1938 this modest art deco house of around 600 has been bought by the county to be preserved to some extent. The exterior looks very good, cleaned, painted and the neon sign restored, a new roof was the first improvment done. A friend and I were called a couple weeks ago by the general contractor to ddismantle the projection equipment for storage. After the exterior, the inside was a shock. Gutted to the brick walls, even the concrete floor is gone. What formerly was a stage in name only is now becomming a working stage, the lobby is moving 35 feet into the auditorium and the booth overhang is being extended 35 feet. Balcony seating which did not exist before is being created. When finished it will seat 367. Photos were made of the very deteriorated plaster work before it was removed and it is to be recreated. It is to be a "multi-function facility",
whatever that means.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 01-02-2007, 05:56 AM:
 
Bill--that's very good news, if only because I'm rather fond of the building's (art deco?) design. Here's a picture that I took in 2001:



Any news on the nearby Ashland theatre? It, too, has a great exterior (see below). I have no idea what the interior is like, however.



In keeping with the thread topic, I should also add that (as has been rumored for quite a while), the Assembly Square cinema in Somerville, MA. (Sack->Loews->AMC) will likely close before the end of January, when its current lease expires.
 

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Posted by Justin West (Member # 920) on 01-04-2007, 07:55 PM:
 
Bloomington Illinois theatre closes: On 1/3/07 Castle Theater owner Ben Slotky confirmed that his venue had closed, though a church will continue to offer Sunday service there. He refused to say if the theater, located at 209 E. Washington St., would be put up for sale or...if he planned to reopen it in the future, or if he would continue with previously announced plans for a downtown restaurant called "Your Mother’s," although plans for the restaurant had been put on temporary hold for financial reasons.
Bank lenders claimed they had not foreclosed on the Castle nor taken over ownership. Slotky reportedly will continue his development of the Castle’s upper floors into condominiums. Slotky co-owns that space with downtown developer Fred Wollrab. Wollrab, who owns many downtown buildings, predicted this week that someone would purchase and operate the Castle if Slotky sells or if the bank forecloses, because the theater is in such good shape.
The downtown Castle had closed in 1988 but reopened in 2003 after a $1.5 million renovation. The City of Bloomington gave the Castle at least $315,000 in grants to help Slotky with renovations.
 

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Posted by Bill Enos (Member # 440) on 01-04-2007, 08:18 PM:
 
The Ashland Theatre is now owned by A. D. Whittaker a general contractor. He did a lot of general improvements, replaced the heat and A.C. systems, upgraded the electrical and plumbing, lighting, etc. The theatre is available for rental and is for sale. I've heard the asking price is considerably nmor than the property is worth, I don't know the number though.
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 01-13-2007, 07:12 PM:
 
Franklin Cinemas, Franklin TN closed last week. This is a twin marketed to adults in an upscale ritzy community. Beer license. Front of theatre had seating typical of a cocktail lounge. (Equipment: Centurys, Potts platter, Xetron lamp, Dolby w/da20, qsc & Ashly) Louis
 

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Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 01-18-2007, 08:57 AM:
 
Not an opening or closing, but a change in management & expansion.

The Arena Grand Theatre in Downtown Columbus, next to the Blue Jacket's Hockey Arena, will be operated beginning in February by Columbus Hospitality, a company that manages 4 other properties in the Arena area. They claim that the current on-site management will stay in place, but no comment was made about who would be booking the site.

It has been managed by the Drexel Group, a small but successful chain of local theatres. The Grand showed a mix of current releases and "art" pictures, showing mostly current films.

3 additional screens will be added, with a 60 seat room replacing a Ben & Jerry's, and 2 48-seat theatres in an adjacent building.

The Arena Grand is an All-THX 8-plex, with 2 large theatres that included reserved seating, and 1 very small room of around 50.

This is not my preferred theatre in the area. The rooms are very wide and shallow, with some very poor sight angles. One of my worst film experiences ever was seeing RETURN OF THE KING from a front row seat 8' from the screen. I have never been more uncomfortable in a theatre. Had we not been with friends, we would have left. I also find the sound very dry and somewhat unpleasant.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 01-18-2007, 02:23 PM:
 
Pittsburgh, PA: Northway cinema to go dark after Sunday -- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

quote:

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Northway Mall 8, a multiplex on McKnight Road in Ross, at the recently renamed Shoppes at Northway, will close at the end of business on Sunday.

"The decision to close the theater, operated by National Amusements, was made because the company had reached the end of its lease contract date, and the landlord made the decision to develop more retail space in the area currently occupied by the cinema," according to a statement by Wanda Whitson, director of corporate media for the theater circuit.

Management at the Shoppes at Northway could not be reached early Tuesday evening.

The theaters have been operated since Dec. 9, 1988, by National Amusements Inc., which also goes by the name Showcase Cinemas and is based in Dedham, Mass.

The complex opened in the early 1980s as a late-run bargain house, owned and operated by a Texas-based corporation. It picked up movies after they had played first-run at the more luxurious Showcase Cinemas North.

After National Amusements purchased the site, it continued operating it as a bargain house.

In 2001 it began booking first-run pictures into Northway Mall 8, sometimes having it share the biggest commercial releases with Showcase North and sometimes giving it wide-release pictures that were bypassing Showcase North, such as the current "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Arthur and the Invisibles."

Northway Mall 8 had done particularly well recently with the programing -- one at a time -- of Indian movies such as "Guru," "Bhagam Bhag" and "Dhoom 2" that were marketed only in the Indian-American community.

Whitson says all 34 cinema employees have been offered jobs at Showcase North.

"Patrons ... may use movie passes, gift cards and prestige tickets" at Showcase North.

National Amusements also previously owned and operated Showcase Cinemas East in Wilkins. It opened as a high-grossing quad June 30, 1976, and closed as a tenplex Sept. 12, 2004, crushed by competition from AMC -- then Loews -- Waterfront and Destinta North Versailles.

Besides the 11-screen Showcase North in McCandless, National Amusements operates the 12-screen Showcase West in Robinson.

-- Ed Blank

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Marcus Theatres Corp. said Tuesday that the last day of operation for its Westown Cinema in Waukesha will be Feb. 11.

Milwaukee-based Marcus (NYSE: MCS) is replacing the movie theater, along with the West Point Cinema in Brookfield, with the new Marcus Majestic Cinema in the town of Brookfield.

Westown first opened in 1983 and was the site of the company's first super-large-screen UltraScreen eight years ago. The Westown Cinema was purchased by the Oppidan Investment Co. for $8.9 million. The Minnetonka, Minn., developer will raze the theatre to make way for a Gander Mountain store.

The Marcus Majestic Cinema will be the company's new flagship theater located on Springdale Road, adjacent to Sam's Club. The new theater will be an entertainment destination featuring traditional theaters, two UltraScreens, cafes, a multipurpose venue designed for various forms of entertainment and a cocktail lounge. The theater is scheduled to open in spring 2007.

For now, the West Point Cinema at Barker and Bluemound roads in Brookfield will continue to operate.

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quote: Dennis Benjamin

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fortunately we have air cars

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quote:

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The Wildwood Capitol Cinemas in Pewaukee, Wisconsin will be showing its last movies on Sunday, February 25, 2007.

The theater has been sold to a developer in Brookfield, which plans to renovate the 32,896 sq. ft. theater into two retail spaces and construct two additional multi-tenant retail and restaurant buildings.

Capitol Cinemas opened on June 23, 1995 with 12 screens, which were later reduced to 11.

Click the Read link for a short news story on the closure and the developer's plans for the location.

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quote:

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Capitol Cinemas opened on June 23, 2005 with 12 screens, which were later reduced to 11.

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Go get photos of Encinitas!!!

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quote: Darryl Spicer

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Opened in 1995 not 2005 according to the articles

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Doh! That's what I get for letting my fingers get ahead of my brain. I fixed the linked article and modified the above post. Sorry about that.
 

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Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 02-22-2007, 12:22 PM:
 
Call the shopping center manager and ask them because you want to take photos for a class project you're working on. They'll tell you.
 

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Posted by Mark Strube (Member # 4190) on 02-27-2007, 03:10 PM:
 
I was kind of sad to see the Capitol Cinemas go, I rather enjoyed their "Maxiscreen" with the SDDS sound. It easily beat any UltraScreen I've seen as far as clarity is concerned, and they weren't shy about having the volume at very high levels. (I'm sure that could've been unpleasant for people used to the local Marcus theatres which don't seem to realize that they have volume control, but I loved it.)
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-02-2007, 01:00 PM:
 
Regal opens new 15-plex in Eugene Monday March 5th (online story includes photo of an auditorium but it might make you register - Bastards!)

New multiplex ready for its close-up
By Mark Baker
The Register-Guard
Published: Friday, March 2, 2007

It's not the largest movie theater multiplex in Lane County, but Regal Cinemas believes it will be the best.

And it's certainly the most palatial. The brand-new, state-of-the-art theater at Valley River Center not only has 15 screens, it's got that new car smell and 3,100 plush, high-back rocking seats to go with it.

Not to mention the adjustable armrests that quickly flip back to make a seat for two.

Three straight days of $1 popcorn, to go along with $1 tickets and $1 sodas starting Monday, probably will take care of that new-construction odor of fresh plastics, coatings and glues during a weeklong grand opening for Regal Cinemas Valley River Center Stadium 15, Eugene's first new movie theater in decades.

It's a name that probably won't fit in a crossroad puzzle - and it might take moviegoers awhile to figure out what to call the place for short. But the name fits just fine with the multiplex's general manager, who moved more than halfway across the country late last year to run it.

"We're all pretty excited about this," General Manager James Rodriguez says during a tour of the multiplex. The complex replaces Regal's eight-screen Cinema World, which opened as a fourplex in the mid-1970s on nearby Valley River Way and sees its last day Sunday.

Rodriguez says the new theater's unique decor and the spaciousness of its lobby stand out among other Regal Entertainment Group multiplexes he has managed in Oklahoma and Texas.

"I've never seen one like this," he says.

Grand opening activities run for five days starting Monday with three days of $1 movies. That's followed by an invitation-only grand opening on Thursday and the public grand opening a week from today. [Dave Wants To Know: Where's my invitation??!! ]

To celebrate, Regal 15 will give a free small popcorn and soft drink with every ticket purchased March 9-18.

"Obviously, we're very excited for this to open," says Chad Browning, the marketing manager in Knoxville, Tenn., for Regal, the nation's largest movie theater chain with 6,403 screens in 539 locations in 39 states. "With the large auditoriums and things of that nature, we think it will do very well."

Cinemark USA Inc. of Plano, Texas, owns the largest theater complex in Lane County, operating 17- and 12-screen theaters at Gateway Mall in Springfield. Regal will be offering similar - albeit newer - bells and whistles in Eugene that have become the standard in the industry.

Regal's 73,000-square-foot multiplex on the old Montgomery Ward site at Valley River Center has two 424-seat auditoriums. The other 13 theater rooms - each with 54-foot screens - hold between 138 and 228 moviegoers.

Each room also has stadium seating, tiered so that even the Cat in the Hat clone in front of you can't block your view. There's also a party room for birthdays and other occasions, available for rent just off the lobby.

Regal 15 has the latest in high definition projection and digital surround-sound systems, and one of the 228-seat rooms will have digital projection. It will be Regal's fourth-largest multiplex in Oregon, behind an 18-screen theater in Tigard and 16-screen theaters in Portland and Bend.

The new Valley River theater greets you with that spacious, colorful lobby. The floor rises and squeaks with newness as you make your way to the blinking neon lights that say "Concessions."

Workers are still putting the finishing touches on the multiplex this week. The sound of Mike and Ike and other candies could be heard hitting the bottoms of metal bins; a couple of gentlemen in brown from United Parcel Service tried to find where to park some huge boxes; and the film "Tristan + Isolde" played on one of the screens as the fine-tuning process continued.

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(SNIP: I had to exclude the rest of the story because the forum script rejects the entire post when I include the remainder of the text in this copy and paste)
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 03-02-2007, 02:21 PM:
 
Ooooh, high-definition projection!
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-02-2007, 04:42 PM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

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Regal 15 has the latest in high definition projection and digital surround-sound systems, and one of the 228-seat rooms will have digital projection.

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So they're implying Film = High Definition. Finally, someone in the industry speaks the truth!
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 03-03-2007, 11:26 AM:
 
After a delay of about 4+ years, construction has FINALLY BEGAN on the Krikorian Pico Rivera 15. Walls are up already and this theatre could open by December.
 

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Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 03-04-2007, 01:03 PM:
 
That really sucks that AMC Wiegand Plaza 8 Theatres in Encinitas closed down. When I lived in Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe and La Costa areas, I always went to that theatre. Those were the good old days. For those of you who don't know, when the theatre was originally built, it was a 6 screen complex and two more screens were added in the 1990's.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 03-07-2007, 07:11 PM:
 
OK so I'm a movie theatre dork, and the new Regal 15 just opened here and they're doing $1 movies for 3 preview days before the grand opening and I couldn't resist checking it out, sneaked out of work for about an hour this afternoon. Where's the dork smiley?

Now bear with me while I nitpick some things and compliment them on other things and make a few general observations. I'm probably most skilled at the nitpicking though.

The digital movie schedule board above the box office is hard to read. It can't accommodate the full text of long movie titles. Mylars with logos and pictures are better.

I bought a ticket to "The Prestige". House #12. Picked out a seat pretty far toward the back.

Comfy seats, plenty of legroom. Armrests have lots of padding.

Noticed right away that the door to the auditorium SLAMS. SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! SLAM!

Got there early enough to see most of FirstLook or whatever they call the digital preshow. It looked WAY better than crosstown rival Cinemark's digital preshow. Much brighter and clearer.

The last part of the preshow sternly warns the audience no fewer than 4 times to silence cellphones. Yay.

Movie starts (no trailers). Immediately had trouble understanding the dialog. Had to really pay close attention. Everything else sounded right, but dialog was just a little too low. Walked down the stairs to the entry-level aisle that crosses the auditorium and the dialog sounded fine. Don't know what that means.

The right edge of the picture was very fuzzy. Other than that the image quality was very good. Print looked almost new except for some flecks of dirt.

The screen has top masking that closed for scope after the preshow. The 54-foot screen measured 30 feet when I counted the ceiling tiles. (The local newspaper giddily reported that all the screens are 54 feet).

After about 10 minutes I leave #12. There are two Regal suits standing in the hall near the door. Probably here from the home office. I overhear them talking about the effectiveness of different carpet sweepers (I am not making this up, they were discussing carpet sweepers). "You know, the Doreck SLAM! Model 5000 sweeper SLAM! has an angled head SLAM! that makes it quite maneuverable SLAM! but I still prefer the good old Frampton Model 123-C sweeper because SLAM! it does a better job at picking up SLAM unpopped kernels." SLAM! They are oblivious. SLAM!

The surround speakers are Klipsch. Does that mean all the speakers are probably Klipsch?
 

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Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 03-08-2007, 02:23 AM:
 

quote: David Stambaugh

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The digital movie schedule board above the box office is hard to read. It can't accommodate the full text of long movie titles. Mylars with logos and pictures are better.

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quote: David Stambaugh

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Got there early enough to see most of FirstLook or whatever they call the digital preshow. It looked WAY better than crosstown rival Cinemark's digital preshow. Much brighter and clearer.

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quote: David Stambaugh

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Movie starts (no trailers). Immediately had trouble understanding the dialog. Had to really pay close attention. Everything else sounded right, but dialog was just a little too low. Walked down the stairs to the entry-level aisle that crosses the auditorium and the dialog sounded fine. Don't know what that means.

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quote: David Stambaugh

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The right edge of the picture was very fuzzy. Other than that the image quality was very good. Print looked almost new except for some flecks of dirt.

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quote: David Stambaugh

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The screen has top masking that closed for scope after the preshow. The 54-foot screen measured 30 feet when I counted the ceiling tiles. (The local newspaper giddily reported that all the screens are 54 feet).

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That's a load of Not all screen sizes are the same.
 

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 03-08-2007, 07:48 AM:
 
In a shocking turn of events

The Carmike Lake Walden Cinema 8 is now closed down. Reasons unknown. I know that they are gutting the theatre. Rumor has it that the Cobb Lakeside 18, which is a far superior theatre, took the business from them.

I haven't heard anything else about it
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 03-10-2007, 07:48 PM:
 
As the digital era ramps up.. you will see most all Carmikes under 10 screens closing.. or being sold off.

Trust me.
 

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Posted by Jeff Arellano (Member # 3249) on 03-14-2007, 05:21 PM:
 
Construction is in full swing at the AMC-Loews Universal 19 in Universal City, CA.

Its going stadium seating, digital sound and digital projectors apparently in a couple auditoriums. Its getting gutted.

I saw 300 there yesterday, only theatres 8 - 13 are open (plus the IMAX and upstairs theatres), only one concession stand, and both balcony theatres are closed. Its a good thing AMC is doing this before the 20th anniversary of the theatre this year. Also gone is the Cineplex blue paint outside, its now AMC Orange/Red and the west box office is history.
 

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Posted by Scott Jentsch (Member # 1681) on 03-16-2007, 07:46 AM:
 
Regal New River Valley Mall Movies 11 in Christiansburg, VA Closes
The Roanoke Times