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The latest movie theater news and updates
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September 21, 2010
Demolition of Showcase Cinemas in Toledo is imminent
TOLEDO, OH — Workers have erected fencing around the Showcase Cinemas in preparation for the theater’s destruction. The theater closed in 2005. Plans to build hotels on the site have been dropped and the property will up for sale when the theater building is razed. It was once a 70mm Cinerama house.
The former theater at 3500 Secor Rd. closed in 2005. Last Spring, several regional hotel owners expressed interest in building on the West Toledo site. Under a site plan, the current structure, built in 1964, was to be demolished to make way for a pair of hotels and a retail strip on the property. That plan was withdrawn months later.
There is more at ToledoOnTheMove.com.
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Mounties raid marijuana operation in closed cinema
GRENFELL, SASKATCHAWAN, CANADA — Law enforcement discovered and shut down a sophisticated marijuana growing enterprise in this small town’s long-closed movie theater (probably the former Windsor). Two people were arrested.
Around 416 marijuana plants and about 4.5 kilograms of harvested marijuana were found in the theater in the town of Grenfell, in the Western Canadian province of Saskatchewan.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they raided the theater on Wednesday after a man was arrested trying to enter Canada from North Dakota with a small amount of what was suspected to be hashish in his car.
Read more in Reuters.
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Old theater sound systems wanted
I am a collector of old theater sound systems, and related parts such as tubes, speakers, old amplifiers, etc. I travel all around the U.S. and will pick up and pay cash. Please call me at: 616-791-0867 or email me at: . I will be happy to pay more than fair amounts for your unused equipment.
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September 20, 2010
Cinema West to build new theater in Hesperia
HESPERIA, CA — Groundbreaking is slated for next year for a new twelve-screen cinema that will be a major addition to this city’s civic center area. To be operated by Cinema West, which currently operates most of its theaters much further north in California, the theater will feature digital projection and stadium seating. The city has approved a ten-year exclusivity agreement for the theater.
The 36,000-square-foot theater complex will be built on city-owned land just west of Civic Center Park at the southeast corner Smoketree Street and Ninth Avenue. The complex will feature state-of-the-art, digital technology with stadium-style seating.
Construction for the project will begin in 2011 with completion set for the summer of 2012, according to Steven Lantsberger, deputy director of economic development.
There is more detail in the Victorville Daily Press.
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Beach Theater closes
FORT MYERS BEACH, FL — The four-screen Beach Theater has closed due to poor attendance. Recent attempts to sell it were unsuccessful, but a buyer may now be coming forward.
Manager Nick Campo blamed the economy and a lack of good movies being released.
The theater’s attendance had dwindled to 50 or so people a day – compared to 150-200 a day at Marco Movie Theater, Campo said. Both theaters are owned by the same business partners.
The full story is in the News-Press.
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Theaters to be required to post calorie counts
NEW YORK, NY – As if the prices at the snack bar are not enough to scare you these days, the FDA is finalizing new requirements that would require chains of more than twenty theaters to post the caloric content of the food and snacks they serve.
The expansion stems from provisions in the health-care overhaul enacted in March. The government wants calorie listings posted to make it easier for consumers to select healthier options, and the restaurant industry backed the move so it could avoid a patchwork of local ordinances that are developing.
So far, the expansion of the calorie counts beyond restaurants has drawn praise from nutrition advocates but push-back from industries that say the original legislation was never intended to hit them.
There is more in the Wall Street Journal.
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September 17, 2010
Charging ahead in Lowville
LOWVILLE, NY — Two decades in and the Lowville Town Hall Theater is still owned and operated by the same hard-working family.
Mr. O'Brien purchased the theater 20 years ago from Nick and Rena Giannocous, who owned it for 33 years. Mr. O'Brien is hoping that with the temporary closure of the theaters at Salmon Run Mall to make room for an expanded operation, movie buffs will discover, or rediscover, this theater.
“Maybe we’ve got a new lease on life,” Mr. O'Brien said.
Read more in the Watertown Daily Times.
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Success at the 10th Annual Downtown Forest Hills Walking Tour
QUEENS, NY — The walking tour held two weeks ago in Forest Hills was the best-attended yet. Check out the Rego-Forest Preservation Council Blog.
The 10th Annual Downtown Forest Hills Walking Tour was held on a pleasantly sunny and warm Sunday afternoon of September 5, 2010, and was a historic record-breaker, adding a chapter in the success of previous walking tours led by Historian Jeff Gottlieb. Members of Central Queens Historical Association and Rego-Forest Preservation Council, inclusive of neighborhood residents, were in attendance. The 2 hr 45 min tour began on the corner of Austin St and Continental Ave, made its way east on Austin St to Ascan Ave, while viewing the blocks between Austin St and Queens Blvd, and turning in on Ascan Ave. On Queens Blvd, the tour headed west, pointing out historic sites along the south and north sides, and made its way to 70th Ave, and then stopped at MacDonald Park, a cornerstone of the neighborhood. Then the tour turned in on 70th Ave and proceeded west on Austin St, back to its origins at Continental Ave.
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Info booking a Chaplin short film for one night event.
Hello,
This is my first post and I’m happy to be on board.
I’m trying to put together a special night of entertainment. I’m an entertainer with plans of renting a theater. Basically I wanted to have something of a double act. The show would begin with showing something like a Chaplin short film. And then I would take the stage to perform my unique act.
So I need a little more understanding about how booking a movie works. Like a general idea of how much a booking a silent film from the 1930’s would cost for one night? Do I need a booking agent or can I do it myself? If I book the movie can I just use the DVD copy I own?
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September 16, 2010
A family’s dedication keeps the Denver area’s last drive-in going
COMMERCE CITY, CO – The 88 Drive-in is the last of its kind in the the greater Denver area, and its survival is due to the dedication of the Kochevar family that has owned it since 1976. They worry, though, that the crushing cost of converting to digital projection may be fatal to the theater’s future.
Patrons say they enjoy the 88 because it’s cheap, family-friendly entertainment.
“I think a lot of people come here looking for something they lost a long time ago,” said Kyleen Kochevar, 16, who operates the ticket booth on the thin dirt road leading to the 88. “It’s a back-to-the-future thing.”
There is more in the Denver Post.