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Curtain may fall on classic movie house dream
posted by
Michael Zoldessy
on
September 21, 2012 at 9:45 am
WESTWOOD, NJ — The revival house hinted at two months ago may not come to fruition in Westwood after all. Supposedly holding it up is a legal threat from the Westwood Theater which is arguing that the new theatre would go against zoning regulations.
Read more in the Record.
Comments (3)
I just read the article and, sad to say, this man is dreaming. No matter where he tries to open this theatre he will learn that nobody will come out to see “old films” 4 nights a week. Plus, where is he going to get prints of them? Sure you can run a DVD of something but it will look just like what it is; a blown up DVD presentation that will look pixilated and blocky. If a pro operation like the Lafayette in Suffern has problems getting decent prints, how is this guy going to manage it? Run it in 16mm? I’m sure this man’s heart is in the right place but if he goes through with it, he’s gonna lose his shirt.
16mm prints are disappearing too; the non-profits and schools that used to run them now get licenses to show DVDs.
It sounds like Mr. Walsh wants to try something similar to what used to be the Rosebud Theatre in Ridgewood. It was a tiny little place with about 30 seats that ran 16mm prints. But that was 25+ years ago when the studios were not as vigilant as today. If he plans to run a DVD or BluRay, you have to clear it with the studios first. The price of a one time showing for a film can go anywhere from $400. and up. And forget about anything fron Disney. They are EXTREMELY tight with their film rentals and if they find out something of theirs is being shown illegally, their lawyers will shut him down and sue him within 24 hrs. If Mr. Walsh is reading this, I really do wish you would reconsider your plan because it’s a money-losing proposition. You WILL lose your shirt in the end.