Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
The latest movie theater news and updates
-
June 30, 2011
MoviePass Offers Unlimited Movies for $50 (Updated)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A new service called MoviePass wants to become the Netflix of theatrical moviegoing. For $50 per month, moviegoers can see any movie they want (from participating theaters) whenever and however often they like.
What’s the catch? The service, which uses your iPhone or Android to reserve tickets, is currently only available at select San Francisco theaters. (There is still a $3 upcharge for 3-D movies, though.) For more information, check out Entertainment Weekly’s profile or visit MoviePass' website. My vote? If they expand to Los Angeles, they can have my Ulysses S. Grant.
UPDATE: Studios and theaters — especially AMC — are angry, according to The Wrap. Stay tuned …
4 comments -
National Trust for Historic Preservation Recounts Fate of Boston Theaters
BOSTON, MA — The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s blog, Preservation Nation, looks back on Boston’s efforts to preserve and rejuvenate the city’s Paramount, Modern, and the former B. F. Keith Memorial (Boston Opera House) theaters.
“Distinguished in their day,” Wendy Nicholas writes, “the three Boston theaters we designated as endangered in 1995 sat shuttered and moldering in an area of downtown then known as ‘The Combat Zone,’ the city’s adult entertainment district.” Since then, all three theaters have reopened as arts and/or entertainment venues. Emerson College now operates the Paramount, while Suffolk University uses the Modern.
(Thanks to Jack Coursey for the image.)
-
June 29, 2011
Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 Opens!
LOS ANGELES, CA — Moviegoing in Baldwin Hills is back after a $10 million renovation of the former Magic Johnson Theaters. Rave has installed stadium seating and digital technology in all fifteen auditoria and fully redesigned the exterior and interior of the movie house. The new Rave Cinemas Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza 15 serves a key area of Los Angeles that has been without a neighborhood theater since 2010.
The theater reopened last night with preview screenings of “Transformers: Dark of the Moon.” For more information, check out this article in the Los Angeles Times or to check showtimes and tickets, visit the Rave Motion Pictures site.
Update: Rave has just released this statement about the theater.
-
Cinema Treasures Salutes Our Polish Cousins
Want to know more about Polish cinemas? Get out your Polish-English dictionaries and head over to KinoPortal!
(Thanks to “onnola” for the photo of the Kino Pionier.)
-
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Examines the Plight of the Area’s Independent Theaters
PITTSBURGH, PA — “The old-fashioned, single-screen neighborhood movie house seems to be undergoing a slow, but noticeable comeback” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports. After decades of single screen cinemas closing in the city and in outlying areas, the newspaper reports on the rising fortunes of the Hollywood Theater, the Denis Theatre, The Oaks Theater, as well as the Strand Theater in Zelienople.
(Thanks to macwagen for the photo of the Hollywood Theater.)
-
June 28, 2011
Village Theatre Reopens After a Decade in the Dark
CORONADO, CA — The Village Theatre finally reopened on Friday, June 24th with “Cars 2” after closing for renovations over a decade ago in 2000. According to NBC San Diego, the former single screen theater is now a triplex with 195 seats in the main theater, along with two screening rooms for 45 patrons.
Murals have been added to all three auditoria designed by the recently deceased Joseph Musil and Disney muralist Bill Anderson. The theater has been refurbished throughout and has installed a new booming Dolby six-channel Digital sound system.
-
Avon Theatre Earns National Attention for “Tree of Life” Policy
STAMFORD, CT — The Avon Theatre has garnered national attention for announcing a “no-refunds” policy for screenings of Terence Malick’s love-it-or-hate-it new film, “The Tree of Life.” After a series of heated interactions between frustrated (and sometimes angry) patrons, Adam Birnbaum, director of film programming at the Avon, posted a sign in the theater warning viewers that this was a “uniquely visionary and deeply philosophical film” that “does not follow a traditional, linear narrative approach to storytelling.”
“We wanted to be as informative and transparent as possible with patrons in the event that they weren’t aware that this wasn’t going to be traditional story,” Birnbaum told the Stamford Advocate. “We also wanted to protect our staff and preemptively defuse any future negative interactions that patrons and staff members might have.”
-
Cinema Treasures Twitter Feed / Flipboard
For breaking news about movie theater technology, openings, closings, and events, as well as additional information about the exhibition industry, make sure to subscribe to our Twitter feed.
One way to view the feed is throuugh the amazing Flipboard application for the iPad. Just make “http://twitter.com/movie_theaters/” one of your channels and it will automatically add our tweets to your Flipboard and any related images.
-
June 27, 2011
Palace Theatre Reopens for 100th Anniversary
LOS ANGELES, CA — After a $1 million restoration by the Delijani family, which also owns the Los Angeles, State, and Tower theaters, the Palace Theatre has reopened for live shows and occasional film screenings. The theater hosted three sold out screenings of “Sunset Boulevard” yesterday and delighted audiences with its refurbished and restored appearance. Programming will begin on July 28th with a “live circus-burlesque show.”
Developer Ezat Delijani, 34, shares his memories of “running around and playing” in the Los Angeles in the 1980s with the Los Angeles Times: “My dad was so thankful to this country for taking us in [after fleeing the Revolution in Iran]. These four theaters are [his] legacy.”
(Thanks to “Hollywood90038” for the terrific photo)
-
New Drive-In Planned for St. Joseph, MO
ST. JOSEPH, MO — The St. Joseph News-Press is reporting that the city will have a new drive-in theater next year. Jay Kerner, who previously owned the now closed Horseshoe Lake Drive-In, was granted conditional approval by the city council to operate a twin ozoner at 4814 S. U.S. Highway 169. Final approval is set for late summer 2011 for a 2012 opening.
The theater will be operated by Kerner but owned by Riley Cooke, who currently owns the Amusement Park Drive-In in Billings, Montana. (Cooke purchased the old equipment from the Horseshoe Lake Drive-In after it closed in 2009.)
