Probably because it’s not “DEMOLISHED.” As I earlier stated on May 30, 2013 they found asbestos in the construction. The only way to deal with asbestos is by gutting the theatre to get all the gunk out and then rebuilding it afterwards.
Nothing can top it…but if the studios won’t pay for prints, what is IMAX to do? Play “Elysium” in their 15/70 screens for almost 3 months and hope to survive?
Just came back from my 2nd trip to “Gravity.” Lots of improvements. No more dumb preshow. Curtain stays closed till their announcer guy introduces the feature. Ushers all around to help patrons find their seats. Still no ticket kiosks built, though (They GOTTA make this happen! With all that randomness on Hollywood Blvd, that street level box office is not safe!).
And here’s something to make you chuckle: They’ve added a dash of showmanship by playing the legendary “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (a.k.a. the 2001 A Space Odyssey theme) as the curtains open. EPIC!
I DID NOT KNOW that Disney used both theatres for premieres! I recant my original statement!
Shucks…with the free for all going on with “Gravity” playing at Chinese & The Dome coupled with the “Thor” sequel playing at The Dome & El Cap, we just may see Episode 7 playing at theatres located across the street from one another after all!
Star Wars premiere at Chinese ain’t gonna happen. Disney owns a movie theatre directly across the street.
Regarding sound: I did not notice any rattling behind the screen when I went on Saturday 10/5 at 7:45 PM. Sound presentation was excellent – not too much bass to overpower you but not too soft, either. It all sounded just right to me.
Maybe something happened w/the sound earlier in the day on Sunday that made them adjust.
Reserved seating is in use by almost all of the major theaters in LA nowadays. I love it. A lot less hassle…no more standing in line for hours trying to get a good seat.
The ticket price here is $1 less than the ArcLight Cinerama Dome around the corner – which is not IMAX but is 3D capable. ArcLight members get $1 off their ticket which only equates to 50 cents less than Chinese.
Therein lies the issue with 15/70. As sprawling as it is to look at, it is CUMBERSOME to operate. I thought I read somewhere that the reels for any given 15/70 print weigh as much as 6,000 POUNDS for a 2 ½ movie. I saw some You Tube video when TDKR was released that showed the painstakingly long process it took to take all of its reels and prep them for play in an IMAX projector. IIRC, it was a 3 day process.
AHA! HDTV has solved the mystery. Chinese is the 3rd WIDEST…but Lincoln Square, Meteron, Rave, Citywalk are all TALLER. Way, way TALLER! Trickery with numbers. :)
RogerA: As everyone knows, segements of some IMAX feature films were shot in 15/70 – most famously “The Dark Knight” & “The Dark Knight Rises.” “Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol” & most recently “Star Trek Into Darkness” are on the list. The upcoming “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” also has some IMAX camera shot sequences. So will Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” coming in 2014. But there has never been an entire film shot in 15/70 IMAX.
Mark: Technically, we won’t see the “full length of the screen being used” till the Lasers come next year. Till then, the screen will indeed be masked on the sides. Which probably explains why the blogger who went to the WOZ premiere stated that the screen was 61 feet wide.
Lastly – to put the IMAX/LieMax argument to bed, all signs point to them abandoning 15/70 projection and those 6 story tall screens. Don’t know how far they’ll go, but don’t be surprised if word gets out that Rave and Citywalk are “temporarily closed for remodeling” next year.
OK…time for honesty. It’s not their BIGGEST screen. For some strange reason, IMAX is disowning their original 6 story tall screens. Every SoCal area member of this site knows Rave, Citywalk and Irvine Spectrum are bigger than Chinese. And our NYC area friends will cosign that Lincoln Square is bigger too.
With WOZ, Metalica & Gravity on the schedule, it looks like a given that ALL (non-Disney) IMAX will play here. They’re gonna clean house w/Hunger Games Catching Fire & The Hobbit this Thanksgiving/Christmas!
Darn shame about Disney, though. Star Wars Episode VII would be PERFECTION in here!
Forgot to mention: They did not mask in the sides for the screening. So we saw a 1:33 projection with white space to the left and to the right. The COOL thing, though: IMAX created a 1:33 sepia toned version of their countdown trailer. That was just GREAT!
First things first: my pictures STINK! I’ll retake them when I go to “Gravity.”
THE VERDICT: CHINESE THEATRE IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!
The upgrade is BREATHTAKING! Super comfortable seats, plenty of legroom between rows, top notch IMAX level sound & picture (won’t get a REAL sound test till “Gravity” as they didn’t do too much surround sound dancing with a 1939 movie).
THE SCREEN: NOWHERE CLOSE to “LieMax” status, but not the 6 story monsters we know and love…and it doesn’t need to be. As we’ve (ARGUED) discussed previously, 2:35 IMAX is projected dead center on the 6 story screens. If they actually masked the image on the top and bottom, you’d end up with the size of the new screen running at Chinese. And I have no complaints at all. Neither should anyone else. Just be happy that there are now 2 MASSIVE screens to choose from (AGAIN!) in Hollywood!
Gripes:
The ushers still need to be trained on helping folks find their seats. I saw 3 separate incidents in my row where folks had the wrong seats. The 1st one got handled by the ushers…but the 2nd & 3rd patrons had to resolve themselves – and the 3rd one happened AS THE LIGHTS WERE DIMMING!
So…I walk into this epic, renovated auditorium to be greeted by A FULLY OPEN IMAX SCREEN running some goofy preshow featuring Cheetos commercials and the $2.00 teen band of the week! UGH! A screen like this needs to be properly unveiled at the beginning of the attraction – old school style! In this joint and on this screen, a PRESHOW is a NO-NO!
THE MOVIE: Absolutely the best 3D upconversion ever seen. Not a single flaw in the picture. The darn movie looked like it was SHOT in 3D. Even 1930’s era Leo The Lion got the 3D treatment (I couldn’t stop grinning when I saw that – and the audience ERUPTED in applause as he roared!)
THE BOTTOM LINE: The fear about our beloved theatre can come to an end. This theatre is alive, kicking, and ready to move forward into the 21st century! Congratulations to all involved!
The story of the asbestos:
http://www.laobserved.com/biz/2013/05/delay_in_opening_wes.php
Probably because it’s not “DEMOLISHED.” As I earlier stated on May 30, 2013 they found asbestos in the construction. The only way to deal with asbestos is by gutting the theatre to get all the gunk out and then rebuilding it afterwards.
Nothing can top it…but if the studios won’t pay for prints, what is IMAX to do? Play “Elysium” in their 15/70 screens for almost 3 months and hope to survive?
If you think I’m joking…
http://www.cinemark.com/theatre-detail.aspx?node_id=83827#10/25/2013
Just came back from my 2nd trip to “Gravity.” Lots of improvements. No more dumb preshow. Curtain stays closed till their announcer guy introduces the feature. Ushers all around to help patrons find their seats. Still no ticket kiosks built, though (They GOTTA make this happen! With all that randomness on Hollywood Blvd, that street level box office is not safe!).
And here’s something to make you chuckle: They’ve added a dash of showmanship by playing the legendary “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” (a.k.a. the 2001 A Space Odyssey theme) as the curtains open. EPIC!
Just as I figured.
Ken: I think they’re claiming the 99W in Newberg as their D/I according to articles I’ve read.
2 on this “list”: Video rental stores per capita. WTF????
Um…“scope” and “widescreen” are the same thing. :)
I DID NOT KNOW that Disney used both theatres for premieres! I recant my original statement!
Shucks…with the free for all going on with “Gravity” playing at Chinese & The Dome coupled with the “Thor” sequel playing at The Dome & El Cap, we just may see Episode 7 playing at theatres located across the street from one another after all!
Laser’s coming in 2014.
Star Wars premiere at Chinese ain’t gonna happen. Disney owns a movie theatre directly across the street.
Regarding sound: I did not notice any rattling behind the screen when I went on Saturday 10/5 at 7:45 PM. Sound presentation was excellent – not too much bass to overpower you but not too soft, either. It all sounded just right to me.
Maybe something happened w/the sound earlier in the day on Sunday that made them adjust.
Reserved seating is in use by almost all of the major theaters in LA nowadays. I love it. A lot less hassle…no more standing in line for hours trying to get a good seat.
The ticket price here is $1 less than the ArcLight Cinerama Dome around the corner – which is not IMAX but is 3D capable. ArcLight members get $1 off their ticket which only equates to 50 cents less than Chinese.
Ditto for Chinese’s competitors around the corner…
So (ahem)…just found out that GRAVITY is also playing in the Cinerama Dome. Yup. The same movie at Chinese and the Dome. Absolutely insane.
Oh well…IMAX trumps Dome all day every day in my book!
Shout out to CT member BRADE48 for first posting the info.
WHAT! THE! BLANK?!?! That’s just INSANE!
Oh well…IMAX trumps Dome all day every day for me. :)
The parties are in the 6 plex…not here. :)
Therein lies the issue with 15/70. As sprawling as it is to look at, it is CUMBERSOME to operate. I thought I read somewhere that the reels for any given 15/70 print weigh as much as 6,000 POUNDS for a 2 ½ movie. I saw some You Tube video when TDKR was released that showed the painstakingly long process it took to take all of its reels and prep them for play in an IMAX projector. IIRC, it was a 3 day process.
AHA! HDTV has solved the mystery. Chinese is the 3rd WIDEST…but Lincoln Square, Meteron, Rave, Citywalk are all TALLER. Way, way TALLER! Trickery with numbers. :)
RogerA: As everyone knows, segements of some IMAX feature films were shot in 15/70 – most famously “The Dark Knight” & “The Dark Knight Rises.” “Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol” & most recently “Star Trek Into Darkness” are on the list. The upcoming “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” also has some IMAX camera shot sequences. So will Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” coming in 2014. But there has never been an entire film shot in 15/70 IMAX.
Geez! Just be happy the darn theatre is still a THEATRE and not a nightclub like we thought it was gonna become!
Mark: Technically, we won’t see the “full length of the screen being used” till the Lasers come next year. Till then, the screen will indeed be masked on the sides. Which probably explains why the blogger who went to the WOZ premiere stated that the screen was 61 feet wide.
Lastly – to put the IMAX/LieMax argument to bed, all signs point to them abandoning 15/70 projection and those 6 story tall screens. Don’t know how far they’ll go, but don’t be surprised if word gets out that Rave and Citywalk are “temporarily closed for remodeling” next year.
More articles about the renovation.
A site called THE DISSOLVE: http://tinyurl.com/ok3zr2q
Curbed LA: http://tinyurl.com/nxrh6pm
OK…time for honesty. It’s not their BIGGEST screen. For some strange reason, IMAX is disowning their original 6 story tall screens. Every SoCal area member of this site knows Rave, Citywalk and Irvine Spectrum are bigger than Chinese. And our NYC area friends will cosign that Lincoln Square is bigger too.
With WOZ, Metalica & Gravity on the schedule, it looks like a given that ALL (non-Disney) IMAX will play here. They’re gonna clean house w/Hunger Games Catching Fire & The Hobbit this Thanksgiving/Christmas!
Darn shame about Disney, though. Star Wars Episode VII would be PERFECTION in here!
1:30 PM show was about 70-80% full.
Forgot to mention: They did not mask in the sides for the screening. So we saw a 1:33 projection with white space to the left and to the right. The COOL thing, though: IMAX created a 1:33 sepia toned version of their countdown trailer. That was just GREAT!
Got home from the Emerald City about an hour ago…
First things first: my pictures STINK! I’ll retake them when I go to “Gravity.”
THE VERDICT: CHINESE THEATRE IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE!
The upgrade is BREATHTAKING! Super comfortable seats, plenty of legroom between rows, top notch IMAX level sound & picture (won’t get a REAL sound test till “Gravity” as they didn’t do too much surround sound dancing with a 1939 movie).
THE SCREEN: NOWHERE CLOSE to “LieMax” status, but not the 6 story monsters we know and love…and it doesn’t need to be. As we’ve (ARGUED) discussed previously, 2:35 IMAX is projected dead center on the 6 story screens. If they actually masked the image on the top and bottom, you’d end up with the size of the new screen running at Chinese. And I have no complaints at all. Neither should anyone else. Just be happy that there are now 2 MASSIVE screens to choose from (AGAIN!) in Hollywood!
Gripes:
The ushers still need to be trained on helping folks find their seats. I saw 3 separate incidents in my row where folks had the wrong seats. The 1st one got handled by the ushers…but the 2nd & 3rd patrons had to resolve themselves – and the 3rd one happened AS THE LIGHTS WERE DIMMING!
So…I walk into this epic, renovated auditorium to be greeted by A FULLY OPEN IMAX SCREEN running some goofy preshow featuring Cheetos commercials and the $2.00 teen band of the week! UGH! A screen like this needs to be properly unveiled at the beginning of the attraction – old school style! In this joint and on this screen, a PRESHOW is a NO-NO!
THE MOVIE: Absolutely the best 3D upconversion ever seen. Not a single flaw in the picture. The darn movie looked like it was SHOT in 3D. Even 1930’s era Leo The Lion got the 3D treatment (I couldn’t stop grinning when I saw that – and the audience ERUPTED in applause as he roared!)
THE BOTTOM LINE: The fear about our beloved theatre can come to an end. This theatre is alive, kicking, and ready to move forward into the 21st century! Congratulations to all involved!