Getting back on topic, out here on the Left Coast (where the mighty Cinerama Dome is currently running “Talladega Nights” – WTF?!?!) I am still jealous and envious of the Ziegfeld’s fall schedule. Enjoy yourselves. Pacific/Arclight managment, I hope you’re reading this!
Regarding Denny906’s comments: There are still 4 (yes, 4!) drive-ins left in the greater LA area: Mission Tiki in Montclair (they just celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday August 5 by running an old school B-movie triple feature on 2 screens!), the Vineland in City of Industry, and the Rubidoux & the Van Buren both located in Riverside.
Through the efforts of the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society (of which I am a member), as well as the aformentioned drive-ins installing a revolutionary projection system called Technalight (www.technalight.com) which brings unprecedented clarity to drive-in screens (ever dark scenes are crystal clear with this system!), the drive-in movie scene in SoCal is in the midst of a major revival!
For more information on the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society, email
I second the notion of 70mm revivals here. I saw Titanic here in 70mm – with all the masking expanded to full capacity (unlike Chinese)! Truly an epic experience!
I have no earthly idea how to get Hollywood to make better movies. The fact that folks are (foolishly) propelling crap like “Scary Movie 4” to an $80 million box office gross makes my argument a moot point anyway. On the one hand – it IS crap (and, deep down, all of you know it!). On the other hand – folks still head to the theatres to see it. Who are the studios gonna listen to: my lone voice in the wilderness calling this crap “crap” – or the accountants who count that $80 million?
I guess I should just prepare for the days where I take my grandchildren to the movie theatre and they stare at the place in the same disdain as teenagers who stare at their parent’s 8-track tapes and vinyl 45’s.
Translation: How do we get Hollywood to make better movies? We talk a lot at this website about classic theatres and the things that make them classic. Exhibit A: Good Movies. For every lover of Grauman’s Chinese, Cinerama Dome, Egyptian, Village, Loews State, Criterion, Esquire, and the countless other single screen palaces praised around here, each of us who love these palaces can recall the first (or 5th – maybe even 20th) film that they saw in those houses. Half of us can ever remember the smell of the popcorn, the decor of the auditorium, even the theatre logos that showed before each film. It’s the greatness of those films that have inspired our love for the theatres that showed them…and its why we miss those theatres so much when they’re gone.
We love the theatres because there was a time when Hollywood cared about the output delivered to those theatres. Now we live in an age of “McMovies” where 14 year old, MTV addicted, PlayStation worshpping, ADD afflicted kids are the guiding force behind the decisions made by the aforementioned MBA’s. The soul of cinema has been lost in a race for the #1 box office spot.
And the people have responded by staying home. Why pay $10.00 for a piece of junk like “Failure To Launch” and “Scary Movie 4” when you can wait 4 months to see it on your 50 inch TV for $3.99 at Blockbuster? If NBC can make “Must-See TV”, why can’t their (new) business partner Universal create a slate of “Must-See Movies” – movies we’re bound to incessantly talk about around the water cooler? That’s the BIG question!
P.S. I know I keep harping on “Scary Movie 4” but the thought that a single frame of that garbage was allowed to show on the Cinerama Dome screen shows that there is Something Wrong. And, in spite of how good BSNS looks, I don’t think that’s entirely Pacific/Arclight’s fault!
Nobody’s really addressed the issue of “product” as of yet. The lack of product is the fault of Bluetooth wearing, BMW driving MBA’s who have managed to break into the film industry. Films nowadays are created in boardrooms rather than on a written/typed page. Everything’s about speed: how FAST can we write it, how FAST can we shoot it, how FAST can we edit it & how FAST can we get it into theatres so we can get as much money as we can before a FAST getaway. X3: The Last Stand is a prime example. They stripped away the creativity that Bryan Singer created and picked a “yes-man” (Brett Ratner) to shoot the thing on a rapid production schedule to insure it got into theatres within 18 months or so.
Hollywood has lost its ability to create using fresh and new ideas. Why else would remakes & sequels take up the majority of release schedules. You can create a theatre with a 95 foot screen and 50,000 watts of digital sound it it with a dining menu that serves Filet Mignon and Lobster Tails along with its popcorn. But if they’re showing crap like “Scary Movie 4”, “The Omen”, and “Poseidon” on screen, what’s the point of having all those bells & whistles?
It’s BOTH the overpriced & uncomfortable theatre experience ALONG WITH subpar product that’s to blame for these “woes”.
I don’t want to see CRAP at the Cinerama Dome or Grauman’s Chinese (one weekend earlier this year, the main attraction at the Dome was Scary Movie 4. WTF?!?!)! Nor do I want to see future classics in cramped shoebox auditoriums on 35-40 foot screens with top/bottom masking and surround sound that sounds like a friggin tin can!
That is exactly why I pick and choose where I see any given movie. Living in Orange County, I’ve got a tremendous amount of options. Certain movies require certain theatres. “The Break-Up” – definitely the multiplex. “Superman Returns” – definitely IMAX or Grauman’s Chinese (worth the 45 minute drive!) or Regal/Edwards Big Newport or the LARGEST AUDTIORIUM with a 60 foot (or higher) screen at a 20 screen multiplex. “Scary Movie 4” (and other CRAP like it!) – either the drive-in or one of these crappy shoeboxes.
A question for those actually in the film exhibition BSNS: Would it be too much of a task for newer theatres if they built WIDER auditoriums with screens so SMALLER than 50 feet? I’ve seen it done (Arclight Cinemas; in addition, there are a few Edwards [pre-Regal takeover] houses where all of the auditoriums are wide. I don’t think I saw a screen smaller than 50 feet). At least, no matter how crappy the movie, at least it’ll be presented in the best presentation and the biggest screens possible.
A bigger question: How hard would it be to get the teenagers who work at theatres after school committed to a theatre’s vision of having the best presentation possible (Arclight’s another example)? Or should I wait for the sky to fall and pigs to fly?
To paraphrase this ad campaign, it doesn’t matter what Wal-Mart, Best Buy or any electronics store sells. Untill they make a 60 Foot TV that costs $1000, I know where I’ll be spending my Friday and Saturday nights!
I just found out that my mom and her siblings used to attend this theatre regularly when they were younger. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never been here. And I certainly don’t remember this theatre being open in the mid-1980s (when I last lived in St. Louis)
I only made it to the pre-split main auditorium at Avco Center once for a matinee show of “Sleeping With The Enemy” in 1991. That was a HUGE auditorium and I remember the THX trailer being loud and booming. Later on, after the split, I saw a (PATHETIC!) 70MM presentation of Vertigo in about 1997 or so. To say that some “mojo” was missing would be the understatement of the century! I haven’t been back since.
I don’t know if they played the old theme or not. I live in Orange County, CA and won’t be back to visit St. Louis again until next month. If they play the old theme again, I’ll be sure to let everybody know.
And…of all those drive-ins listed in the “Palm Springs Weekend” ad, the Vineland is the last man standing!
This is an old article from 2004 (or so).
Getting back on topic, out here on the Left Coast (where the mighty Cinerama Dome is currently running “Talladega Nights” – WTF?!?!) I am still jealous and envious of the Ziegfeld’s fall schedule. Enjoy yourselves. Pacific/Arclight managment, I hope you’re reading this!
Hey Meheuck: The new Regal Downtown LA multiplex (across from Staples Center) will be here in 2007-08.
Regarding Denny906’s comments: There are still 4 (yes, 4!) drive-ins left in the greater LA area: Mission Tiki in Montclair (they just celebrated their 50th anniversary on Saturday August 5 by running an old school B-movie triple feature on 2 screens!), the Vineland in City of Industry, and the Rubidoux & the Van Buren both located in Riverside.
Through the efforts of the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society (of which I am a member), as well as the aformentioned drive-ins installing a revolutionary projection system called Technalight (www.technalight.com) which brings unprecedented clarity to drive-in screens (ever dark scenes are crystal clear with this system!), the drive-in movie scene in SoCal is in the midst of a major revival!
For more information on the Southern California Drive-In Movie Society, email
AMC’s doing the same thing with their “Silent Partner” program – for MovieWatcher members only, of course!
Wow. That’s really sad. I’ve been to this theatre twice in the 80’s. It was a nice place to see a flick!
I second the notion of 70mm revivals here. I saw Titanic here in 70mm – with all the masking expanded to full capacity (unlike Chinese)! Truly an epic experience!
To answer THE question of product:
I have no earthly idea how to get Hollywood to make better movies. The fact that folks are (foolishly) propelling crap like “Scary Movie 4” to an $80 million box office gross makes my argument a moot point anyway. On the one hand – it IS crap (and, deep down, all of you know it!). On the other hand – folks still head to the theatres to see it. Who are the studios gonna listen to: my lone voice in the wilderness calling this crap “crap” – or the accountants who count that $80 million?
I guess I should just prepare for the days where I take my grandchildren to the movie theatre and they stare at the place in the same disdain as teenagers who stare at their parent’s 8-track tapes and vinyl 45’s.
“How do we get better product into the cinemas”?
Translation: How do we get Hollywood to make better movies? We talk a lot at this website about classic theatres and the things that make them classic. Exhibit A: Good Movies. For every lover of Grauman’s Chinese, Cinerama Dome, Egyptian, Village, Loews State, Criterion, Esquire, and the countless other single screen palaces praised around here, each of us who love these palaces can recall the first (or 5th – maybe even 20th) film that they saw in those houses. Half of us can ever remember the smell of the popcorn, the decor of the auditorium, even the theatre logos that showed before each film. It’s the greatness of those films that have inspired our love for the theatres that showed them…and its why we miss those theatres so much when they’re gone.
We love the theatres because there was a time when Hollywood cared about the output delivered to those theatres. Now we live in an age of “McMovies” where 14 year old, MTV addicted, PlayStation worshpping, ADD afflicted kids are the guiding force behind the decisions made by the aforementioned MBA’s. The soul of cinema has been lost in a race for the #1 box office spot.
And the people have responded by staying home. Why pay $10.00 for a piece of junk like “Failure To Launch” and “Scary Movie 4” when you can wait 4 months to see it on your 50 inch TV for $3.99 at Blockbuster? If NBC can make “Must-See TV”, why can’t their (new) business partner Universal create a slate of “Must-See Movies” – movies we’re bound to incessantly talk about around the water cooler? That’s the BIG question!
P.S. I know I keep harping on “Scary Movie 4” but the thought that a single frame of that garbage was allowed to show on the Cinerama Dome screen shows that there is Something Wrong. And, in spite of how good BSNS looks, I don’t think that’s entirely Pacific/Arclight’s fault!
Nobody’s really addressed the issue of “product” as of yet. The lack of product is the fault of Bluetooth wearing, BMW driving MBA’s who have managed to break into the film industry. Films nowadays are created in boardrooms rather than on a written/typed page. Everything’s about speed: how FAST can we write it, how FAST can we shoot it, how FAST can we edit it & how FAST can we get it into theatres so we can get as much money as we can before a FAST getaway. X3: The Last Stand is a prime example. They stripped away the creativity that Bryan Singer created and picked a “yes-man” (Brett Ratner) to shoot the thing on a rapid production schedule to insure it got into theatres within 18 months or so.
Hollywood has lost its ability to create using fresh and new ideas. Why else would remakes & sequels take up the majority of release schedules. You can create a theatre with a 95 foot screen and 50,000 watts of digital sound it it with a dining menu that serves Filet Mignon and Lobster Tails along with its popcorn. But if they’re showing crap like “Scary Movie 4”, “The Omen”, and “Poseidon” on screen, what’s the point of having all those bells & whistles?
Both LongIsland & Schmadrian are correct.
It’s BOTH the overpriced & uncomfortable theatre experience ALONG WITH subpar product that’s to blame for these “woes”.
I don’t want to see CRAP at the Cinerama Dome or Grauman’s Chinese (one weekend earlier this year, the main attraction at the Dome was Scary Movie 4. WTF?!?!)! Nor do I want to see future classics in cramped shoebox auditoriums on 35-40 foot screens with top/bottom masking and surround sound that sounds like a friggin tin can!
That is exactly why I pick and choose where I see any given movie. Living in Orange County, I’ve got a tremendous amount of options. Certain movies require certain theatres. “The Break-Up” – definitely the multiplex. “Superman Returns” – definitely IMAX or Grauman’s Chinese (worth the 45 minute drive!) or Regal/Edwards Big Newport or the LARGEST AUDTIORIUM with a 60 foot (or higher) screen at a 20 screen multiplex. “Scary Movie 4” (and other CRAP like it!) – either the drive-in or one of these crappy shoeboxes.
A question for those actually in the film exhibition BSNS: Would it be too much of a task for newer theatres if they built WIDER auditoriums with screens so SMALLER than 50 feet? I’ve seen it done (Arclight Cinemas; in addition, there are a few Edwards [pre-Regal takeover] houses where all of the auditoriums are wide. I don’t think I saw a screen smaller than 50 feet). At least, no matter how crappy the movie, at least it’ll be presented in the best presentation and the biggest screens possible.
A bigger question: How hard would it be to get the teenagers who work at theatres after school committed to a theatre’s vision of having the best presentation possible (Arclight’s another example)? Or should I wait for the sky to fall and pigs to fly?
To paraphrase this ad campaign, it doesn’t matter what Wal-Mart, Best Buy or any electronics store sells. Untill they make a 60 Foot TV that costs $1000, I know where I’ll be spending my Friday and Saturday nights!
RE: The Ad
Can I get a, “Hell, yeah!!!” I expect one of the US theatre chains to do a similar ad campagign ASAP.
GOOD NEWS: Showing June 7: The King & I (1:00 PM) & (grab hold of something) Lawrence of Arabia (7:00 PM – IN 70MM!)
BAD NEWS: They’re showing both of these in the Arclight wing and NOT AT THE DOME!
Dang!
Details at Arclight’s website. Here’s a tiny URL link to the actual details page: http://tinyurl.com/lbr4f
I thought I read (at Wehrenberg’s website I think) that this was the first multi-screen theatre in the St. Louis area. Is that true?
I was almost scared to open that “free pass”…considering the history of the Olympic/Rock Road. :o)
I just found out that my mom and her siblings used to attend this theatre regularly when they were younger. To the best of my knowledge, I’ve never been here. And I certainly don’t remember this theatre being open in the mid-1980s (when I last lived in St. Louis)
I just found out that my mother and her siblings used to go to this theatre every Sunday after church when they were younger. How neat!
Either Mann needs to upgrade this place or put it out of its misery.
I thought the auds here still were THX Certified. When did that change?
I only made it to the pre-split main auditorium at Avco Center once for a matinee show of “Sleeping With The Enemy” in 1991. That was a HUGE auditorium and I remember the THX trailer being loud and booming. Later on, after the split, I saw a (PATHETIC!) 70MM presentation of Vertigo in about 1997 or so. To say that some “mojo” was missing would be the understatement of the century! I haven’t been back since.
And they’re making him COVER UP the tattoos? Utterly ridiculous!
AMC. Regal. Cinemark. They’re all stupid theatre chains! Thank God for Arclight!
I don’t know if they played the old theme or not. I live in Orange County, CA and won’t be back to visit St. Louis again until next month. If they play the old theme again, I’ll be sure to let everybody know.