TCL Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
159 people
favorited this theater
Showing 676 - 700 of 1,675 comments
The Chinese seems to be doing worse than better since Mann sold it. They have not had a big release since last Summer with Harry Potter. The Reserved Seating is silly considering there is no reason to expect a sell out. It seems like the Chinese is just a tourist attraction and a venue for premieres and nothing else.
Hello To My Fellow Posters- i discovered this website a year ago and was hooked. therefore i set up a project for myself- to find grand old movie theaters or palaces to use the popular term that fit these criteria- haven’t been torn down or gutted for retail space, never became a 2nd/3rd run or grind house, never showed porn, never used as a radio or t.v. studio, wasn’t converted to a concert hall or performing arts center, and was never twined, tri-plexed or if large enough quaded but and this is a big BUT has stayed in its original state/design/condition as a 1st run movie theater since the day it opened. using this site the only two i’ve found are the Uptown in D.C. and of course Grauman’s Chinese. they can’t be the only ones in the entire country can they? do my fellow posters know of any other theaters that fit my criteria. many thanks in advance.
Grauman’s Chinese has a 90 foot screen holder. How much of that screen is exposed depends on how wide the masking is opened. Mann management did not make a practice of using the whole screen because there was a problem getting the light levels required. Take the tour of the theater and bring your own tape measure. The screen at Grauman’s is bigger than the screen at the Cinerama Dome.
They should have a least tried to grab up Phantom Menace in 2D. If Arclight has no interest in offering to their customers, the Chinese should be allowed to have it. I am surprised that the studios are letting Arclight dump so much product on The Chinese so quickly. Man on a Ledge goes to the Chinese after only 2 weeks and it looks like Universal is releasing Arclight of their engagement of Big Miracle after only 1 week. I wonder if The Chinese is eager and happy to take these films off Arclight’s hands and that’s why Arclight’s able to move them out so fast. Seems incredibly sad to see the once great and mighty Chinese picking through Arclight’s trash just to get a nibble of something.
I was hoping that Grauman’s would get Phantom Menace 3D, but tickets are now on sale at arclight hollywood. Oh well.
For the REAL history, you might look here –
http://www.angelfire.com/ri2/valleygirl/index.html
Saw “Red Tails” on 1/21. Small to medium crowd. Tech top notch as usual. Theater has NO BUSINESS being reserved seating!
Unless there have been dramatic changes with the new operator, the tour doesn’t involve any non public areas. It’s more about pointing out architectural details, trivia, and the general history of the theatre. While that may sound a bit disappointing, I found the tour enjoyable. If you go to the first tour of the day, prior to any showtimes, they also allow you to look around on your own (i.e. you are afforded some private time in the theatre, before they open for business). If a movie is playing during your tour, they spend less time in the auditorium (the guide communicates via a headset that is issued). I had heard there were plans to expand the tour’s coverage a bit; so, it may have changed since Mann.
The theatre tour has been running for years. It’s not a new thing.
Does anyone know anything about the “Graumans Chinese Theatre Tour” that the new operation has recently started up?
It’s probably not worth the $13.50 price, but I assume it likely includes normally non-public areas, and I was curious what that might be.
One odd thing is they’re scheduled frequently through the day- all during the times a film is playing. And I would think you can’t really have a tour group and its guide tramping through the auditorium while a movie is screening. Hopefully not.
The new silver screen (installed in 2010 for 3D) is 73 feet wide for scope. It is not bigger then the DOME, but it is bigger then most every other large screen in the city.
Back when they still owned it, Mann was advertising the screen as 60 feet wide. It sure ain’t 90 feet wide right now…they’d be wider than THE DOME!
In other news: looks like my final visit will be worthwhile: RED TAILS!
Chris Utley posted that the screen at the chinese was 60 feet and suggested they go with a larger screen. the current screen at the Chinese is 90 feet. There was a 120 foot screen installed at one time. the problem is getting enough light to fill a large screen. With 70mm and carbon arcs it was easy to do but with digital and xenon short arcs it isnt easy to fill a huge screen.
Actually it’s wall to wall lunatics. Freaks in costumes who are NOT employees. Rappers who scream if you don’t buy their CD’s. And the religious kooks who stalk.
It is a new era indeed. Up until recently studios craved having thier films in the Chinese. But the climate HAS changed; locals hate going there because it is wall to wall tourists. The Arclight presents a more attractive presentation and is stress free. I used to go quite often when Mann was booking it decently. Since the new owners took over I have not been.
Chris Utley is right, we are in a totally different era today than even 10 years ago when it comes to film placement by the studios. These new owners have got to be creative with the marketing of the Chinese, it can be done, but I question if they think in the terms that Chris is describing.
moviebuff82 FOR THE WIN!
Brad: In our perfect old school world, studios would book at Chinese simply because IT’S THE CHINESE THEATRE! Unfortunately, this is a completely different era. Like RobertAlex said, they’ve got to get unique with their marketing. Market the screen size! Market the (still ear-splitting) Dolby/THX combo! Market the fact that this is the theatre that first showed the original Star Wars! And get a savvy film booker who will negotiate titles that are TRULY WORTHY to be shown in THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS MOVIE THEATRE!
Crazy thinking, I know…
This theater is truly the greatest cinema treasure in the world. The famous sidewalks, the fancy exterior, and many film premieres including Star Wars. How is this theater experience compared to the AMC in Rockaway?
I am with Chris on this. They should market the Large Single Screen Experience here. I actually remember the screen advertised as being 73 feet in the LA Times when Clash of the Titans opened. They could get it to 80 feet or so I bet…and maybe get a few good films to show on it. If they get the product, market it as something unique…people will come.
Closed “MANN Theatres” has now sadly closed it’s doors. We would like to thank everyone for your patronage throughout the years. It has been our pleasure to serve your communities.
All inquiries may be sent to the link below.
Speaking of mann.. anyone visit their website lately.. sad :(
Maybe the new owners should focus of getting “A” films booked into the theatre instead. Perhaps share with Arclight as Mann did with Terminator a few years back. Instead they just want to turn the place into another Tourist Trap like the Hollywood wax museum, have “Rave” parties and hold premieres and hand/foot ceremonies so they can rub elbows with the Hollywood Elite. They really are not taking the place in the right direction. It is a movie theatre and should focus on getting people in the damn seats.
I wish Mann still opearated it.
Crazy thought: The screen inside Chinese is 60 feet…and very obviously masked from top to bottom and from the sides. Maybe the owners can expand the masking to its fullest capability and readvertise Chinese as a Large Screen Experience house? Heck…the CURRENT sound and screen blows LieMax (the digital version), ETX and all the other pretenders out of the water! Why not go all in to justify the raising of the ticket price? Then they could offer 2 out of the remaining Chinese 6 as supplemental houses.
Like I said…crazy thought. Right?
The article is not very encouraging. Did I miss the part where they are going to try to get good films booked?
KingBiscuits FOR THE WIN!