Al, It’s good to see you’re still on here, however, Loews Astor Plaza came back with no matches. Also, I think I know your sensibilities well enough to suggest you agree with the idea that the original posting should be acknowledged by the website. There has to be a better way to cross reference changing names in the age of lightning fast computers.
Thank you, David Schneider. I tried to get this website to change it back to the original heading “Astor Cinema” started by me several years ago. There was no response to my emails regarding the lack of integrity in changing the name of my posting to the New Theatre.
During the late 80s the smallish James Agee Room (Bleecker #2) had a 3 tier 35mm platter. The 16mm shared the Bleecker #1 booth with the two 35mm machines/changeovers/6000 ft. reels, etc The larger Bleecker #1 had the best 16mm throw I have ever seen, an utterly perfect image. Eraserhead traumatized the potheads! We had patrons who called up just to find out the film gauge. If it was 16mm they showed up no matter what the title.
To: Edward
I never said anything about New Yorkers and cinephiles. I said “most folks”. Here is some perspective:
Drugstore Cowboy was the first bonafide hit at the Angelika. We sold out every show, day and night, in our two biggest auditoriums. If you stood in the lobby of the Angelika on one of those days, you could think there is a lot of money to be made with those kinds of movies and art cinemas are cash cows. Where was Drugstore Cowboy ranked in total box office for 1989? Answer: Not even in the top 100. (4 sequels in the top ten.) Batman was #1. Holy Mass Marketing! Twenty years later,
Batman is still #1.
If you went to a big commercial movie complex like Lincoln Square or Union Square and asked every one on line at the box, “Do you think it’s important for every big city to have an independent movie theater as well as a big multiplexes like this?” Pretty much everyone would say “O yes, of course!” How many of those folks would actually go see a movie at the Film Forum? Here is a sign:
A few years ago I managed a multiplex in Brooklyn. I wanted our staff of nice kids to have a good range of movie references. I placed a Film Forum calendar by the time clock. I told every staff person I could get them in for free because the GM at FF was an old friend of mine from Bleecker days. I told every one I would reimburse them for roundtrip subway fare for each Film Forum ticket stub they showed me. I circled in red ink movies it seemed they would find especially exciting and amusing. I reminded them the Film Forum played lots of new movies with cutting edge sensibilities they could relate to. For at least 4 months, I dutifully posted every new calendar as soon as it was available. Finally, having seen no ticket stubs, I went around the theater in between showtimes on a Saturday night and casually asked every one if they had seen any movies at FF and forgotten to get their subway fare reimbursement. The total number of staff members who seriously thought of going to the Film Forum…ZERO.
We have been talking about New York City where there is an above average number of persons who are well educated and have disposable income, yet, the Film Forum, with huge grants, huge donations, devoted patrons and excellent programming, is still in financial trouble. (Since before the current so called bad economy.)
Outside of NYC, there are major metropolitan areas and many medium size cities which have no independent cinema at all. Hundreds of worthwhile movies are relegated to the movie patron’s solitary confinement of television watching.
There are plenty of persons on this website who go see all kinds of movies in all kinds of venues, but we are terribly out numbered. One of the main reasons for this is the conflux of mass marketing, advertising, and public relations that is impossible for simpletons to resist. The mainstream endorses and anoints. Here is the ultimate example provided by a frame of reference we can all relate to regardless of our geographical location.
I would say of all the men and women in the U.S. Senate who deserved to be president Obama was near the bottom of the list. Yet, he was moved into position, he was elected, and his inauguration was treated more like a coronation. This is precisely the same kind of media saturation used by Hollywood to pummel even perceptive folks in to endorsing a movie/candidate. I am reminded of a wonderfull quote from a great American.
R. Buckminster Fuller:
“There is nothing more pathetic than the role that has to be played by the President of the United States whose power is approximately…ZERO.”
The public relations experts can create any perception for any purpose especially when there is a lot of money at stake like who controls our government and what individuals Americans are thinking about…such as Batman and Barack, not Darwin and Bakunin.
A pseudointellectual is a person who resembles an academically minded person, but is prone to superficial debates and selfish modes of argumentation. Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are excellent examples of pseudointellectuals.
Sigmund Freud is the most destructive quack in the history of medicine.
Ayn Rand’s “Objectivism” reveals a warped brand of elitism mostly appealing to insecure sophomores.
Star Wars is a masterpiece of American commercial cinema. Star Wars is one of the greatest comfort films of all time. The apolitical story of good versus evil is something we all related to, especially at a time when Hollywood seemed to have lost the ability to tell the difference.
The Ten Commandments is in the same category as Star Wars as far as commercial cinema is concerned, but there are profound differences in subtext.
Star Wars does not subjugate the general public into subscribing to an irrational belief system. You know it’s just a movie. Star Wars entertains and inspires in a genuinely egalitarian manner.
The Ten Commandments condemns the unsuspecting Judeo-Christian-Islamic mind control victim to continue bowing their heads to irrational belief systems so they can be further exploited by the same parasites who also produce loud previews, loud TV commercials, and subliminal messages in advertisements.
Granted, Star Wars, like all major commercial cinema, contains some exploitative elements. These are part and parcel of large scale distribution/dissemination. One of the most important things to remember is the timing. Post-Vietnam and Post-Watergate, Star Wars was global therapy. George Lucas is far more perceptive than Sigmund Freud could ever dream.
I am starting to wonder if TB & Ceasar are in fact Patrick Crowley & Ross Melnick.
Golly gee, it’s such a bore talking to smug pseudointellectuals.
The fine art crowd only cares about message? Really? I wonder what Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock would say about that? Or better still, Marshall McLuhan, as in the “The medium is the message.” Professor McLuhan long ago came to the heartfelt conclusion, content, i.e. message, was overrated, and the medium, motion pictures, books, television, was far more influential because of context. Granted, this is still a controversial perspective, but the proof is everywhere.
Airplanes and trains are both modes of transportation, with an identical message, but would any reasonable person call them one and the same? Content/Message: You are traveling. Context: Sky versus Ground, Hours versus Days, Pressed for Time versus Time to Spare.
Anyone who believes great art and great cinema are only about message is terribly naive. Arguably, the greatest artists of all time were first and foremost fascinated by technique and apparatus, whether it’s oil on canvas or ceramic or 16mm or digital video. The medium subjugates the message. Star Wars is a masterpiece despite its simplistic story and average acting. Star Wars is a masterpiece because George Lucas elevated the medium.
More W.C. Fields quotes:
“Last week, I went to Philadelphia, but it was closed.”
“I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.”
Persons who love movie theaters discuss sound systems, as well as film gauges, aspect ratios, and sight lines, in the same manner the fine art crowd talks about different mediums and materials. Our discourse is inspired by love of an entire system. It has nothing to do with an individual’s personal problems, and that reminds me of an infamous quote from W.C.Fields, “Better dead than Philly.”
There are many different surround sound configurations. Most have side wall speakers. A few have at least one rear wall speaker such as 3.0 if I remember correctly. Note: I think most rear wall speakers actually are side wall speakers at the rear of the auditorium. The back wall often gets pounded by sound from the behind the screen front speakers.
Regarding DTS vs. Dolby Digital vs. SDDS. This is a fascinating and pivitol set of circumstances. SDDS is out of production but still widely available. SDDS is fading.
DTS and Dolby both have advantages. DTS does not suffer wear and tear like the between the perforations Dolby, however, Dolby is on the print. I know good folks in each camp.
I don’t understand anyone insinuating me having difficulty with persons loving a classic old cinema. I cut my managerial teeth at the Bleecker Street Cinemas. The Bleecker is still my all time favorite venue.
It seems some of you are engaging in some misguided gamesmanship. You want other folks on this site to see you as fighting the good fight for old time motion picture exhibition. You fail to realize virtually everyone on this site already loves classic forms of film exhibition. What do you think brought us to Cinema Treasures in the first place?
I am not trying to win friends. I am attempting to generate thoughtful discourse regarding the conflict between those of us who want the reality of 21st century exhibition to improve, and those of you who merely want to drown in depression and self-pity. Yes, all those great movie palaces are worth preserving. Yes, the zooplex is some sort of commerce gone wild by necessity nightmare. And most importantly, yes, this website is full of postings from guys who cannot wait to buy the latest DVD and Video Games despite lamenting the disappearance of movie theaters they spent their whole lives taking for granted.
Regarding numbers on your ticket stub, you entirely miss the point. I am talking about a worldwide economic system, Capitalist, Socialist, and Communist, capable of reducing every single one of us to a number on a quarterly report or portfolio. Of course you do not feel like a number. That would be counterproductive. The thing that matters is this, whether you are in a single screen palace or a 20 screen nightmare, the extra loud preview must penetrate your consciousness so you will remain malleable and susceptible to all manner of unreason, including and especially, ancient mythologies your parents abused you with so effectively, years later, you happily passed on the madness to your own children.
Anyone who thinks “The Ten Commandmants” is of any historical or spiritual value is well advised to check out “The Bible Unearthed” by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman. One of their conclusions, “…the exodus did not happen”
Another Archaeologist, Neils Lemche, “Archaeological data have now definately confirmed that the empire of David and Solomon never existed.”
I do not understand how any otherwise rational person would toss reason out the window for the sake of the ignorance and insanity that is all religon. Yes, you are irrational. Moses did not receive anything from god anymore than Muhammed or Buddha or George Fox or Oral Roberts or the Pimp. Don’t kid yourself. Just because there are plenty of immpressionable folks willing to nod in agreement does not mean the rest of us must also commit psychological suicide rather than face our own mortality.
Finally, I have spent most of my adolescent and adult life working in and striving to improve the quaility of the shows at a theater near you. You can fire cheapshots as often as you like, but they are meaningless. I can tell by the details in the postings who among us, like me, has physically and emotionally dedicated this precious life to the mostly wonderful world of motion picture exhibition. Do not misinterpret an observation about viciously loud previews treating humans like cattle. The point is we should all be treated as humans.
This commentary is about marketing in relation to manipulation. We are talking about Collier and Ogilvy. I am trying to discuss the invasive nature of advertising and its effects on your brain chemistry. The preview is loud so it will dominate your consciousness. Like I said before, the deer in the headlights.
You asked for one example of your family being manipulated…The Ten Commandments.
Everything we know about biblical times indicates the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition is a mythological hodge-podge of irrational beliefs. Yet there you are paying good money to be subjugated by high production values. Rest assured, months before “Moses” parted the Red Sea at a theater near you, Charlton Heston appeared in excessively loud previews featuring a pool of Jell-o blown apart by high powered fans.
You are a number. If you are having dificulty with this, please allow me to suggest some therapy. The next time you are in a movie theater, sitting in your seat waiting for the 1 in 4 extremely loud preview, take a good look at your ticket stub. Can you see the number?
When I say “prostitute” it means to devote to an unworthy cause.
The loud trailer is prostituting your mind for a desired effect, that is, going to see the movie who’s preview pummeled your brain with abnormal sound amplification so you can line up at the multiplex and plunk down your $10. for a formula picture all the while thinking you are making a choice. The same way some folks bought a certain type of bathroom tissue because they saw the goofy supermarket guy squeezing the rolls in the TV ads. Those obnoxious TV ads are notoriously effective.
Better still, lots of folks go to alternative films not because they are better, but because the patron wants to distinguish himself in our world of anonymity. You think you are too cool for Hollywood. The irony is Hollywood and Washington pyschologically sodomized your whole family tree before you were born. You are a number.
I was in South Florida when Hurricaine Wilma swept through the area. She was primarily a “wind event” resulting in thousands of uprooted trees and broken telephone poles. The devastation was shocking. The sound level was far below a rock concert and a jack hammer.
There is a profound difference between natural sounds our ears have adjusted to for thousands of years, and the artificially amplified sounds of the modern era.
I cannot understand why some of you suffer such excrutiating difficulty with the basic premise of this posting. I have decades of experience confronting the recorded loud preview problem. Practically every boob tube simpleton on Earth knows TV commercials are louder than the programs. Please tell me why it is so difficult to comprehend the fact Hollywood sends out trailers with the same indifference as TV networks. Your brain is a prostitute. You are a number.
You are not being snide, you are nitpicking. Pointing out an extra word in an informal posting written at 2:54am EST indicates you are mostly inclined to scratch rather than engage in rational discourse. If I started proofreading postings we would never move on.
I love managing movie theaters. I think the motion picture exhibition business is the greatest industry sector on Earth. I love making sure folks get a bright image, great sound, proper masking, fresh popcorn, clean bathrooms, cold soda, hot coffee, polite well imformed employees, etc. My love of cinema and cinemas is why I am so offended by Hollywood beating up patrons with previews recorded far above sound levels for features. As noted earlier, this creates unnecessary problems. If you spent fridays in a multiplex, you would experience time and again outrageously loud trailers. Many times I have fielded complaints from a wide variety of patrons, though perhaps not surprisingly, rarely is the offended patron a teenager or 20something who has already suffered significant hearing loss. We are talking about sound levels too loud by any healthy nonmasochistic standard. We are talking about trailers, directly from Hollywood, that must be tweaked every show in order protect the audience. It’s a waste of time. The recording stage sound level of each trailer should be in the same ballpark as features.
The protracted debates about sound levels on trailers at NATO conventions proves many others have been confronted by the problem.
There is no such thing as a perfect business, but if one takes pride and loves the work, one should strive for perfection.
I am management. Mind you, I don’t say that within the context of a socio-economic status symbol. I am merely responding to a preceding post. My repeated exposure to sadistically loud trailers, via work, is what inspired my commentary in the first place.
Virtually everyone in Western Society has suffered hearing loss. Most alarm clocks ring at the hearing damage threshold of 80dB. Busy streets, truck traffic, airplanes, electric saws, and poorly recorded previews are all above 80dB.
Finally, to state what should be obvious to anyone paying attention. Reduced hearing loss would make the loud previews less offensive. Hello? Some of you seem to take pride in being desensitized. Your hearing capability was sabotaged by a lifetime of headphones/ipods/video games, etc. This is precisely why you are having difficulty grasping the loud trailer issue. Your hearing is worse than mine.
I feel certain the use of an alias or nickname is a relevant topic for this and all other websites. Mr. Sacul’s response was good natured and appropriate for Cinema Treasures.
We should all consider the possibility using a real name lends greater substance to opinions expressed. Your real name says you stand by your perspective to the extent you are willing to be forthright about your identity. I would never trust a journalist who wrote under a pen name. I can understand a movie business insider wanting to join in on the discussion without risking his/her job, however, the use of an alias opens up this website to manipulation and subversion from many different kinds of nefarious sources. I say put your b—— on the table.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association sounds/noise above 80 decibels are potentially hazardous. Rock concerts are 110 to 120dB. There is evidence to support the conclusion some of you commenting on this posting have already suffered significant hearing loss. I am in the same boat. www.asha.org
I lost alot of auditory capability attending rock concerts and listening to music on extremely powerful home stereos in the 1978 through 1984 time period. This was one of the greatest eras in the history of rock. We had new albums like ACDC – Back in Black, Van Halen – Women and Children First/Fair Warning, Judas Priest – Hell Bent for Leather, Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell, and best of all, Pink Floyd – The Wall. I can still feel the ringing in my ears from ACDC’s For Those About To Rock tour. They had cannons on stage at the Hollywood Sportatorium!
Time and again there are persons offended by the sound levels of previews. Sound interpretation is subjective to a degree, but decibel levels are easy to verify. Many trailers are too loud.
The general tone of my commentary is fueled by hundreds of bad experiences with previews. Some patrons are shocked and horrified by the booming sound of many trailers. They think the cinema is poorly managed and abusive.
Anyone whoever managed a multiplex knows the pressure of the numbers. For example, a modest 8 screen complex puts on about 300 shows a week. Thats 5 or 6 shows a day times 8 screens times 7 days. 300 shows! 300 auditoriums to be cleaned, tickets, popcorn, bathrooms, air conditioning or heating, giddy patrons, stressed out teenage staff, print traffic, electricity, water, carpeting, posters, box office programming, soda, candy, ice, etc…
The possibility of a sadistically loud preview, especially on Friday, is extremely high. Often the trailers printed with the feature have higher volumes than the feature itself. The sound guys are simply raising the recording level of the trailer per instructions. This is a completely unnecessary problem. There is no excuse for distribution/marketing types agitating an already volatile equation.
I know for a fact there are alot of thoughtful professionals in the Studio/Distributor complex. I have known many personally and professionally. Unfortunately, there is a not insignificant number of marketing types whom are hostile toward consumers as a matter of course. They will never admit it publicly, but they want you to respond to a loud preview like a deer on the highway gazing into the headlights of an 18 wheeler. The jerks want you frozen in the headlights. They want you transfixed by the plug regardless of the damage to your ears. Most folks cannot even perceive the abuse. The parasites live for your psychological and financial submission. They bank on your desensitized brain.
On the other hand, the decent guys and gals in movie marketing want to entertain and inspire and make a fair buck. Thankfully, a cool majority still have enough humanity to do their jobs without abusing the consumer. The persons who could most effectively change the loud preview problem are the ones closest to it. I am hoping my fellow cinephiles in production and distribution will answer the call for responsible and respectable marketing. I applaud our mutual love of the one and only motion picture industry.
Best, Lorenzo
I am fairly certain popcorn was invented/discovered by Native Americans in Mexico about 8000 years ago. This conclusion is based on material from reliable sources, but no one can say for certain.
There is alot of readily accessible information about popcorn at www.cretors.com
Charles Cretors invented the popcorn machine in 1885.
A few years later a couple of Germans invented Cracker Jack.
CJ includes popcorn in the recipe.
Diacetyl in microwave popcorn is just another culprit in the perpetual parade of poisons killing humans: DDT & Flouride in our water, aspartme in diet beverages, etc. Deadly toxins continue to slowly slaughter millions so some parasite can add a digit to his/her portfolio. One has to wonder why Coke and Pepsi do not get more bad publicity for injecting aspartme into millions of unsuspecting folks. The diet soda at your local theater is likely much worse for your body than microwave popcorn.
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Ziegfeld in Manhattan (1100+ seats)
Digital Cinema Simulcast
New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies
SOLDOUT!
I know a genius of 35mm projection and installation named Roger. Likely, almost every experienced projectionist and manager in NYC has crossed paths with him one time or another. I leave off his surname to insulate him from silly persons.
Three or four years ago I suggested it would be a long time before digital could match the resolution of 35mm. At the time, Roger told me only recently he had seen a split screen at a convention, digital on one side…35mm on the other. He said one was indistinguishable from the other. He also said the attendees were allowed to inspect the side by side projectors.
Last night I called Roger to ask him a technical question regarding an installation. We got into a protracted discussion regarding Digital Cinema Projection. He made some important notations. The technology is changing at a breathless pace. The parts are sensitive and expensive. The movie business has always been volatile. These are views many of us share, but there is one overarching assertion every true cinephile must accept. Roger, a life long 35mm expert/devotee, says digital’s resolution is now obviously better.
Hialeah Cinema had three auditoriums each with over 400 seats. They eventually expanded and the venue was still in business the last time I visted Hialeah circa 2004. The transition from GCC to whomever was preordained precisely by GCC’s tendency to go for good value. For example, GCC started a real butter initiative at a time when most everyone else was gleefully jumping on the butter flavored chemical warfare stuff bandwagon.
AMC was notorious for shoebox cinemas. I was an employee at the AMC Oaks Six in Gainesville, Florida. (Go Gators! Three Major National Championships in one year!) During the time I worked for AMC, I was perpetually disenchanted by the lower quality auditoriums compared to the better designed and more spacious GCC Hialeah theaters.
I think it’s safe to say, all of us can think of both good and bad examples in every circuit. They still put aisles down the middle in lots of places. The great palaces of yesteryear may seem automatically better, but the Zeigfeld still does not have adequate bathrooms.
There are currently over 2000 digital projection screens in more than 30 countries. Here in the U.S., there are several examples, big and small, of exhibitors going for the Big D. Carmike Cinemas, the 4th largest U.S. exhib and only 5 years removed from bankruptcy, is already deep into a deal with Christie to digitize all its screens with Texas Instrument’s DLP. Carmike has a 35mm projection equipment “For Sale” posting on this website.
The Arts Alliance Media website has a counter keeping track of the digital screens already in operation in the UK. The current number is 239. www.artsalliancemedia.com
I do not like wasting time with persons unable to concede an obvious point.
Sooner than later, the motion picture exhibition business will completely “change-over” to digital projection. Problems with 35mm prints will increase because market forces determine how much attention is given to each medium. Constant technological improvements to digital delivery will make it far more cost effective than the outdated labor intensive 35mm systems. In the long run, exhibitors will greatly benefit from lower payroll and greater programming choices.
My memories of the independent art cinema with the flickering images and the sputtering sprockets will always remain a great source of pleasure. I wish everyone great satisfaction at any kind of cinema near you. Best, Lorenzo
The transition to digital projection in Ireland has been well under way for two years. There are several articles attesting to the facts in BBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, and for example, this from PC World…
“Avica and its subsidiary Digital Cinema (Ireland)…began installing the first 25 projection booths on March 1 (2005)”
Same article:
“The 53 million price tag…was raised through venture capital investors.”
The plan, already underway, is to digitize 500+ screens at over 100 venues. You can see for yourself one company’s progress by checking out www.digitalcinema.ie/aboutus
Flash forward to more recent news, June 25, 2007.
Arts Alliance Media, the UK based largest digital provider in Europe announces it has teamed up with Universal Pictures and Twentieth
Century Fox to digitize projection in nearly 7000 movie theaters in several major countries including Espana and France. Check out the Arts Alliance website for a dose of reality.
Also, Wometco Enterprises continued to operate cinemas in to the 21st Century. For example, they did not sell the Byron Carlyle on Miami Beach until 2001 or 2002.
Hialeah Cinema, circa 1979, was owned by General Cinema Corp., one of the most well managed circuits of the day. They were already bigger than Wometco in South Florida and overall lasted into the 21st Century as well.
I agree with Ian. The sheer number of persons and their various comfort levels makes it impossible to please everyone.
Theaters are generally too cold because it’s better than too hot. Also, coldness does seem to help the concession stand even though most patrons buy stuff before they enter. (Frankly, I’ve never understood the coldness = higher per capita thing.) Overall, I think the cold auditoriums are caused by two considerations:
1) The theater saves money on electricity by running the central air 24/7 thus maximizing the efficiency of the A/C, though it results in a colder auditorium, especially during a slow early show.
2) Projection booths run hot. Almost all projection booths are ventilated and cooled by the same AC units responsible for cooling the auditoriums.
The transition to digital cinema projection will likely be along the same lines as audio cassettes to CD’s and VHS to DVD. There is a financial abuse of the consumer to one degree or another, however, fighting the inevitable big switch is not a cost effective posture. I think, as I said before, exhibitors should take responsibility for there own futures. (Recently, almost every movie theater in Ireland switched to digital projection.)
Claiming that digital only benefits distributors is irresponsible rhetoric. Digital cinema mostly benefits all the directors, writers, producers, and actors, etc., who previously would have never come close to making a motion picture resulting in a wide release. As Francis Coppola said at the Academy Awards several years ago, I am paraphrasing, “In the future the great American movie will be made some fat girl working in her back yard”, or something to that effect.
Courtesy of digital projection, exhibitors now have the opportunity to increase revenue by live broadcasts of the opera and baseball games. This can only subsidize the cost of exhibiting home grown independent cinema as well as creating cross-pollinating excitement at a theater near you.
I first worked as an usher at the Hialeah Cinema in South Florida circa 1978. I made $3.15 an hour. I remember the GM loudly complaining about how the new born VCR would kill film exhibition. I remember telling him having a kitchen in your house does not stop you from going out to a restaurant.
I think the movie business is in pretty good shape all things considered. I think we are too hard on ourselves regarding quality and technology. Sure you could lament a cheesy film at the multiplex, but a sector of the movie business has always solicited the lowest common denominator. Furthermore, it should be noted, I am sick and tired of pseudointellectuals taking cheap shots at Hollywood. Like it or not, the vast majority of cinematic masterpieces are the product of Hollywood’s above average production values. The movie business is always looking for the next great thing and easily bored with yesterday’s news. The aforementioned substandard soundtracks are a symptom reflecting a sea change.
I urge anyone who is genuinely interested in the future of the exhibition business to check out this great Cinema Treasure’s website section titled Theater News: Digital Cinema. The writing is on the wall.
First of all, thanks to everyone for your interest in the subject. Please allow me to make a few heartfelt points in general, but to no one in particular. My only goal is to be a part of the motion picture exhibition subculture so many of us love.
A) I continue to be involved in the business.
B) There are problems with prints directly from the lab and every circuit has anecdotes to confirm this point.
C) Studios/Distribs do not get 90% of the gross. Generally speaking, they get 90% over the house nut. Example: Your house nut is 10k/week and the film grosses 30k. That week the studio/distrib complex receives 18k and the exhibitor keeps 12k plus concession. Alot of theaters operate on a second run or move-over schedule in which case the venue keeps 65% of the gross for starters. The biggest economic problem for theater circuits is greed and mismanagement. In a short span, coverage in the USA jumped from 20,000 to 38,000 screens, if I remember correctly. We went from good coverage to overscreened in less than ten years. This is like the restaurant situation in Manhattan. There are too many restaurants in Manhattan so many of them shut down. The same thing happened in film exhibition. Theater circuits have cried poverty for decades but they are their own worse enemies.
C) Movie theaters will save money on digital projection because they will be synchronized with the unavoidable status quo. Yes, a digital booth is currently about 3 to 4 times more expensive to install than a platter booth. Yes, the current life expectancy for a digital booth is about 10 years compared to 30 years on the platter booth. I would love for us to stick with traditional 35mm projection, but it cannot be sustained no matter how romantic and beloved. Numbers and estimates lie. Measuring the life expectancy of a cinema’s projection booth is bad math. Technology does not care about your feelings. The public’s manipulated perspective supercedes the reality of our informed clarity. The film booth will soon go the way of the video cassette. VHS is a zombie. DVD killed VHS. Digital cinema will kill film. Indeed, the word “filmmaker” is already an anachronism.
I was the General Manager of the Bleecker during the late eighties. There are hundreds of anecdotes worth sharing. The place was special. Twenty years later I can honestly say it was the coolest job ever. Imagine being the G.M. of a legendary Greenwich Village cinema in the wake of its appearance in Desperately Seeking Susan. Suffice it to say, the Bleecker in 1986, was a parade of intelligent, sexy, trustworthy ladies…more Rosanna Arquette than Madonna, thank goodness.
My wonderful daughters are the result of my introduction to a unique woman on Christmas Eve 1988. Jennifer came to see “Wings of Desire” and in time we produced our bright lights Lillian and Sophia.
Nowadays, it’s not surprising a discount store sits at 144 Bleecker Street. Everyone pays lip service to art cinemas, but when it comes time to go to the movies, most folks mindlessy line up at the zooplex. Marketing techniques pummel even the astute into sheepish behavior.
There is much more I would love to share about the Bleecker and that includes me being the guy who launched the Angelika in 1989. (I fought against the bad sight lines!)
Until then I leave you with this:
I always tried to have a young lady record our showtimes tape because it’s more welcoming regardless of some politically correct buffoon, however, sometimes on a late thursday evening/friday morning the task befell me. Whenever this happened I began the theater’s greeting in the same manner.
“Thank you for calling the Bleecker Street Cinemas…the greatest movie theater in the world.”
Al, It’s good to see you’re still on here, however, Loews Astor Plaza came back with no matches. Also, I think I know your sensibilities well enough to suggest you agree with the idea that the original posting should be acknowledged by the website. There has to be a better way to cross reference changing names in the age of lightning fast computers.
Thank you, David Schneider. I tried to get this website to change it back to the original heading “Astor Cinema” started by me several years ago. There was no response to my emails regarding the lack of integrity in changing the name of my posting to the New Theatre.
To: Gerald
During the late 80s the smallish James Agee Room (Bleecker #2) had a 3 tier 35mm platter. The 16mm shared the Bleecker #1 booth with the two 35mm machines/changeovers/6000 ft. reels, etc The larger Bleecker #1 had the best 16mm throw I have ever seen, an utterly perfect image. Eraserhead traumatized the potheads! We had patrons who called up just to find out the film gauge. If it was 16mm they showed up no matter what the title.
To: Edward
I never said anything about New Yorkers and cinephiles. I said “most folks”. Here is some perspective:
Drugstore Cowboy was the first bonafide hit at the Angelika. We sold out every show, day and night, in our two biggest auditoriums. If you stood in the lobby of the Angelika on one of those days, you could think there is a lot of money to be made with those kinds of movies and art cinemas are cash cows. Where was Drugstore Cowboy ranked in total box office for 1989? Answer: Not even in the top 100. (4 sequels in the top ten.) Batman was #1. Holy Mass Marketing! Twenty years later,
Batman is still #1.
If you went to a big commercial movie complex like Lincoln Square or Union Square and asked every one on line at the box, “Do you think it’s important for every big city to have an independent movie theater as well as a big multiplexes like this?” Pretty much everyone would say “O yes, of course!” How many of those folks would actually go see a movie at the Film Forum? Here is a sign:
A few years ago I managed a multiplex in Brooklyn. I wanted our staff of nice kids to have a good range of movie references. I placed a Film Forum calendar by the time clock. I told every staff person I could get them in for free because the GM at FF was an old friend of mine from Bleecker days. I told every one I would reimburse them for roundtrip subway fare for each Film Forum ticket stub they showed me. I circled in red ink movies it seemed they would find especially exciting and amusing. I reminded them the Film Forum played lots of new movies with cutting edge sensibilities they could relate to. For at least 4 months, I dutifully posted every new calendar as soon as it was available. Finally, having seen no ticket stubs, I went around the theater in between showtimes on a Saturday night and casually asked every one if they had seen any movies at FF and forgotten to get their subway fare reimbursement. The total number of staff members who seriously thought of going to the Film Forum…ZERO.
We have been talking about New York City where there is an above average number of persons who are well educated and have disposable income, yet, the Film Forum, with huge grants, huge donations, devoted patrons and excellent programming, is still in financial trouble. (Since before the current so called bad economy.)
Outside of NYC, there are major metropolitan areas and many medium size cities which have no independent cinema at all. Hundreds of worthwhile movies are relegated to the movie patron’s solitary confinement of television watching.
There are plenty of persons on this website who go see all kinds of movies in all kinds of venues, but we are terribly out numbered. One of the main reasons for this is the conflux of mass marketing, advertising, and public relations that is impossible for simpletons to resist. The mainstream endorses and anoints. Here is the ultimate example provided by a frame of reference we can all relate to regardless of our geographical location.
I would say of all the men and women in the U.S. Senate who deserved to be president Obama was near the bottom of the list. Yet, he was moved into position, he was elected, and his inauguration was treated more like a coronation. This is precisely the same kind of media saturation used by Hollywood to pummel even perceptive folks in to endorsing a movie/candidate. I am reminded of a wonderfull quote from a great American.
R. Buckminster Fuller:
“There is nothing more pathetic than the role that has to be played by the President of the United States whose power is approximately…ZERO.”
The public relations experts can create any perception for any purpose especially when there is a lot of money at stake like who controls our government and what individuals Americans are thinking about…such as Batman and Barack, not Darwin and Bakunin.
A pseudointellectual is a person who resembles an academically minded person, but is prone to superficial debates and selfish modes of argumentation. Sigmund Freud and Ayn Rand are excellent examples of pseudointellectuals.
Sigmund Freud is the most destructive quack in the history of medicine.
Ayn Rand’s “Objectivism” reveals a warped brand of elitism mostly appealing to insecure sophomores.
Star Wars is a masterpiece of American commercial cinema. Star Wars is one of the greatest comfort films of all time. The apolitical story of good versus evil is something we all related to, especially at a time when Hollywood seemed to have lost the ability to tell the difference.
The Ten Commandments is in the same category as Star Wars as far as commercial cinema is concerned, but there are profound differences in subtext.
Star Wars does not subjugate the general public into subscribing to an irrational belief system. You know it’s just a movie. Star Wars entertains and inspires in a genuinely egalitarian manner.
The Ten Commandments condemns the unsuspecting Judeo-Christian-Islamic mind control victim to continue bowing their heads to irrational belief systems so they can be further exploited by the same parasites who also produce loud previews, loud TV commercials, and subliminal messages in advertisements.
Granted, Star Wars, like all major commercial cinema, contains some exploitative elements. These are part and parcel of large scale distribution/dissemination. One of the most important things to remember is the timing. Post-Vietnam and Post-Watergate, Star Wars was global therapy. George Lucas is far more perceptive than Sigmund Freud could ever dream.
I am starting to wonder if TB & Ceasar are in fact Patrick Crowley & Ross Melnick.
Yes, you are on the right track.
Golly gee, it’s such a bore talking to smug pseudointellectuals.
The fine art crowd only cares about message? Really? I wonder what Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock would say about that? Or better still, Marshall McLuhan, as in the “The medium is the message.” Professor McLuhan long ago came to the heartfelt conclusion, content, i.e. message, was overrated, and the medium, motion pictures, books, television, was far more influential because of context. Granted, this is still a controversial perspective, but the proof is everywhere.
Airplanes and trains are both modes of transportation, with an identical message, but would any reasonable person call them one and the same? Content/Message: You are traveling. Context: Sky versus Ground, Hours versus Days, Pressed for Time versus Time to Spare.
Anyone who believes great art and great cinema are only about message is terribly naive. Arguably, the greatest artists of all time were first and foremost fascinated by technique and apparatus, whether it’s oil on canvas or ceramic or 16mm or digital video. The medium subjugates the message. Star Wars is a masterpiece despite its simplistic story and average acting. Star Wars is a masterpiece because George Lucas elevated the medium.
More W.C. Fields quotes:
“Last week, I went to Philadelphia, but it was closed.”
“I once spent a year in Philadelphia, I think it was on a Sunday.”
Persons who love movie theaters discuss sound systems, as well as film gauges, aspect ratios, and sight lines, in the same manner the fine art crowd talks about different mediums and materials. Our discourse is inspired by love of an entire system. It has nothing to do with an individual’s personal problems, and that reminds me of an infamous quote from W.C.Fields, “Better dead than Philly.”
There are many different surround sound configurations. Most have side wall speakers. A few have at least one rear wall speaker such as 3.0 if I remember correctly. Note: I think most rear wall speakers actually are side wall speakers at the rear of the auditorium. The back wall often gets pounded by sound from the behind the screen front speakers.
Regarding DTS vs. Dolby Digital vs. SDDS. This is a fascinating and pivitol set of circumstances. SDDS is out of production but still widely available. SDDS is fading.
DTS and Dolby both have advantages. DTS does not suffer wear and tear like the between the perforations Dolby, however, Dolby is on the print. I know good folks in each camp.
I don’t understand anyone insinuating me having difficulty with persons loving a classic old cinema. I cut my managerial teeth at the Bleecker Street Cinemas. The Bleecker is still my all time favorite venue.
It seems some of you are engaging in some misguided gamesmanship. You want other folks on this site to see you as fighting the good fight for old time motion picture exhibition. You fail to realize virtually everyone on this site already loves classic forms of film exhibition. What do you think brought us to Cinema Treasures in the first place?
I am not trying to win friends. I am attempting to generate thoughtful discourse regarding the conflict between those of us who want the reality of 21st century exhibition to improve, and those of you who merely want to drown in depression and self-pity. Yes, all those great movie palaces are worth preserving. Yes, the zooplex is some sort of commerce gone wild by necessity nightmare. And most importantly, yes, this website is full of postings from guys who cannot wait to buy the latest DVD and Video Games despite lamenting the disappearance of movie theaters they spent their whole lives taking for granted.
Regarding numbers on your ticket stub, you entirely miss the point. I am talking about a worldwide economic system, Capitalist, Socialist, and Communist, capable of reducing every single one of us to a number on a quarterly report or portfolio. Of course you do not feel like a number. That would be counterproductive. The thing that matters is this, whether you are in a single screen palace or a 20 screen nightmare, the extra loud preview must penetrate your consciousness so you will remain malleable and susceptible to all manner of unreason, including and especially, ancient mythologies your parents abused you with so effectively, years later, you happily passed on the madness to your own children.
Anyone who thinks “The Ten Commandmants” is of any historical or spiritual value is well advised to check out “The Bible Unearthed” by Israel Finkelstein and Neil Silberman. One of their conclusions, “…the exodus did not happen”
Another Archaeologist, Neils Lemche, “Archaeological data have now definately confirmed that the empire of David and Solomon never existed.”
I do not understand how any otherwise rational person would toss reason out the window for the sake of the ignorance and insanity that is all religon. Yes, you are irrational. Moses did not receive anything from god anymore than Muhammed or Buddha or George Fox or Oral Roberts or the Pimp. Don’t kid yourself. Just because there are plenty of immpressionable folks willing to nod in agreement does not mean the rest of us must also commit psychological suicide rather than face our own mortality.
Finally, I have spent most of my adolescent and adult life working in and striving to improve the quaility of the shows at a theater near you. You can fire cheapshots as often as you like, but they are meaningless. I can tell by the details in the postings who among us, like me, has physically and emotionally dedicated this precious life to the mostly wonderful world of motion picture exhibition. Do not misinterpret an observation about viciously loud previews treating humans like cattle. The point is we should all be treated as humans.
“Loud previews disturb patrons, hurt exhibitors”
This commentary is about marketing in relation to manipulation. We are talking about Collier and Ogilvy. I am trying to discuss the invasive nature of advertising and its effects on your brain chemistry. The preview is loud so it will dominate your consciousness. Like I said before, the deer in the headlights.
You asked for one example of your family being manipulated…The Ten Commandments.
Everything we know about biblical times indicates the Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition is a mythological hodge-podge of irrational beliefs. Yet there you are paying good money to be subjugated by high production values. Rest assured, months before “Moses” parted the Red Sea at a theater near you, Charlton Heston appeared in excessively loud previews featuring a pool of Jell-o blown apart by high powered fans.
You are a number. If you are having dificulty with this, please allow me to suggest some therapy. The next time you are in a movie theater, sitting in your seat waiting for the 1 in 4 extremely loud preview, take a good look at your ticket stub. Can you see the number?
When I say “prostitute” it means to devote to an unworthy cause.
The loud trailer is prostituting your mind for a desired effect, that is, going to see the movie who’s preview pummeled your brain with abnormal sound amplification so you can line up at the multiplex and plunk down your $10. for a formula picture all the while thinking you are making a choice. The same way some folks bought a certain type of bathroom tissue because they saw the goofy supermarket guy squeezing the rolls in the TV ads. Those obnoxious TV ads are notoriously effective.
Better still, lots of folks go to alternative films not because they are better, but because the patron wants to distinguish himself in our world of anonymity. You think you are too cool for Hollywood. The irony is Hollywood and Washington pyschologically sodomized your whole family tree before you were born. You are a number.
I was in South Florida when Hurricaine Wilma swept through the area. She was primarily a “wind event” resulting in thousands of uprooted trees and broken telephone poles. The devastation was shocking. The sound level was far below a rock concert and a jack hammer.
There is a profound difference between natural sounds our ears have adjusted to for thousands of years, and the artificially amplified sounds of the modern era.
I cannot understand why some of you suffer such excrutiating difficulty with the basic premise of this posting. I have decades of experience confronting the recorded loud preview problem. Practically every boob tube simpleton on Earth knows TV commercials are louder than the programs. Please tell me why it is so difficult to comprehend the fact Hollywood sends out trailers with the same indifference as TV networks. Your brain is a prostitute. You are a number.
You are not being snide, you are nitpicking. Pointing out an extra word in an informal posting written at 2:54am EST indicates you are mostly inclined to scratch rather than engage in rational discourse. If I started proofreading postings we would never move on.
I love managing movie theaters. I think the motion picture exhibition business is the greatest industry sector on Earth. I love making sure folks get a bright image, great sound, proper masking, fresh popcorn, clean bathrooms, cold soda, hot coffee, polite well imformed employees, etc. My love of cinema and cinemas is why I am so offended by Hollywood beating up patrons with previews recorded far above sound levels for features. As noted earlier, this creates unnecessary problems. If you spent fridays in a multiplex, you would experience time and again outrageously loud trailers. Many times I have fielded complaints from a wide variety of patrons, though perhaps not surprisingly, rarely is the offended patron a teenager or 20something who has already suffered significant hearing loss. We are talking about sound levels too loud by any healthy nonmasochistic standard. We are talking about trailers, directly from Hollywood, that must be tweaked every show in order protect the audience. It’s a waste of time. The recording stage sound level of each trailer should be in the same ballpark as features.
The protracted debates about sound levels on trailers at NATO conventions proves many others have been confronted by the problem.
There is no such thing as a perfect business, but if one takes pride and loves the work, one should strive for perfection.
I am management. Mind you, I don’t say that within the context of a socio-economic status symbol. I am merely responding to a preceding post. My repeated exposure to sadistically loud trailers, via work, is what inspired my commentary in the first place.
Virtually everyone in Western Society has suffered hearing loss. Most alarm clocks ring at the hearing damage threshold of 80dB. Busy streets, truck traffic, airplanes, electric saws, and poorly recorded previews are all above 80dB.
Finally, to state what should be obvious to anyone paying attention. Reduced hearing loss would make the loud previews less offensive. Hello? Some of you seem to take pride in being desensitized. Your hearing capability was sabotaged by a lifetime of headphones/ipods/video games, etc. This is precisely why you are having difficulty grasping the loud trailer issue. Your hearing is worse than mine.
I feel certain the use of an alias or nickname is a relevant topic for this and all other websites. Mr. Sacul’s response was good natured and appropriate for Cinema Treasures.
We should all consider the possibility using a real name lends greater substance to opinions expressed. Your real name says you stand by your perspective to the extent you are willing to be forthright about your identity. I would never trust a journalist who wrote under a pen name. I can understand a movie business insider wanting to join in on the discussion without risking his/her job, however, the use of an alias opens up this website to manipulation and subversion from many different kinds of nefarious sources. I say put your b—— on the table.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association sounds/noise above 80 decibels are potentially hazardous. Rock concerts are 110 to 120dB. There is evidence to support the conclusion some of you commenting on this posting have already suffered significant hearing loss. I am in the same boat. www.asha.org
I lost alot of auditory capability attending rock concerts and listening to music on extremely powerful home stereos in the 1978 through 1984 time period. This was one of the greatest eras in the history of rock. We had new albums like ACDC – Back in Black, Van Halen – Women and Children First/Fair Warning, Judas Priest – Hell Bent for Leather, Black Sabbath – Heaven and Hell, and best of all, Pink Floyd – The Wall. I can still feel the ringing in my ears from ACDC’s For Those About To Rock tour. They had cannons on stage at the Hollywood Sportatorium!
Time and again there are persons offended by the sound levels of previews. Sound interpretation is subjective to a degree, but decibel levels are easy to verify. Many trailers are too loud.
Just wondering…
Kram Sacul = Mark Lucas
???
The general tone of my commentary is fueled by hundreds of bad experiences with previews. Some patrons are shocked and horrified by the booming sound of many trailers. They think the cinema is poorly managed and abusive.
Anyone whoever managed a multiplex knows the pressure of the numbers. For example, a modest 8 screen complex puts on about 300 shows a week. Thats 5 or 6 shows a day times 8 screens times 7 days. 300 shows! 300 auditoriums to be cleaned, tickets, popcorn, bathrooms, air conditioning or heating, giddy patrons, stressed out teenage staff, print traffic, electricity, water, carpeting, posters, box office programming, soda, candy, ice, etc…
The possibility of a sadistically loud preview, especially on Friday, is extremely high. Often the trailers printed with the feature have higher volumes than the feature itself. The sound guys are simply raising the recording level of the trailer per instructions. This is a completely unnecessary problem. There is no excuse for distribution/marketing types agitating an already volatile equation.
I know for a fact there are alot of thoughtful professionals in the Studio/Distributor complex. I have known many personally and professionally. Unfortunately, there is a not insignificant number of marketing types whom are hostile toward consumers as a matter of course. They will never admit it publicly, but they want you to respond to a loud preview like a deer on the highway gazing into the headlights of an 18 wheeler. The jerks want you frozen in the headlights. They want you transfixed by the plug regardless of the damage to your ears. Most folks cannot even perceive the abuse. The parasites live for your psychological and financial submission. They bank on your desensitized brain.
On the other hand, the decent guys and gals in movie marketing want to entertain and inspire and make a fair buck. Thankfully, a cool majority still have enough humanity to do their jobs without abusing the consumer. The persons who could most effectively change the loud preview problem are the ones closest to it. I am hoping my fellow cinephiles in production and distribution will answer the call for responsible and respectable marketing. I applaud our mutual love of the one and only motion picture industry.
Best, Lorenzo
I am fairly certain popcorn was invented/discovered by Native Americans in Mexico about 8000 years ago. This conclusion is based on material from reliable sources, but no one can say for certain.
There is alot of readily accessible information about popcorn at www.cretors.com
Charles Cretors invented the popcorn machine in 1885.
A few years later a couple of Germans invented Cracker Jack.
CJ includes popcorn in the recipe.
Diacetyl in microwave popcorn is just another culprit in the perpetual parade of poisons killing humans: DDT & Flouride in our water, aspartme in diet beverages, etc. Deadly toxins continue to slowly slaughter millions so some parasite can add a digit to his/her portfolio. One has to wonder why Coke and Pepsi do not get more bad publicity for injecting aspartme into millions of unsuspecting folks. The diet soda at your local theater is likely much worse for your body than microwave popcorn.
An early report on the destructive effects of Diacetyl is at
www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-03-11-popcorn-study-x.htm
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
Ziegfeld in Manhattan (1100+ seats)
Digital Cinema Simulcast
New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies
SOLDOUT!
I know a genius of 35mm projection and installation named Roger. Likely, almost every experienced projectionist and manager in NYC has crossed paths with him one time or another. I leave off his surname to insulate him from silly persons.
Three or four years ago I suggested it would be a long time before digital could match the resolution of 35mm. At the time, Roger told me only recently he had seen a split screen at a convention, digital on one side…35mm on the other. He said one was indistinguishable from the other. He also said the attendees were allowed to inspect the side by side projectors.
Last night I called Roger to ask him a technical question regarding an installation. We got into a protracted discussion regarding Digital Cinema Projection. He made some important notations. The technology is changing at a breathless pace. The parts are sensitive and expensive. The movie business has always been volatile. These are views many of us share, but there is one overarching assertion every true cinephile must accept. Roger, a life long 35mm expert/devotee, says digital’s resolution is now obviously better.
Hialeah Cinema had three auditoriums each with over 400 seats. They eventually expanded and the venue was still in business the last time I visted Hialeah circa 2004. The transition from GCC to whomever was preordained precisely by GCC’s tendency to go for good value. For example, GCC started a real butter initiative at a time when most everyone else was gleefully jumping on the butter flavored chemical warfare stuff bandwagon.
AMC was notorious for shoebox cinemas. I was an employee at the AMC Oaks Six in Gainesville, Florida. (Go Gators! Three Major National Championships in one year!) During the time I worked for AMC, I was perpetually disenchanted by the lower quality auditoriums compared to the better designed and more spacious GCC Hialeah theaters.
I think it’s safe to say, all of us can think of both good and bad examples in every circuit. They still put aisles down the middle in lots of places. The great palaces of yesteryear may seem automatically better, but the Zeigfeld still does not have adequate bathrooms.
There are currently over 2000 digital projection screens in more than 30 countries. Here in the U.S., there are several examples, big and small, of exhibitors going for the Big D. Carmike Cinemas, the 4th largest U.S. exhib and only 5 years removed from bankruptcy, is already deep into a deal with Christie to digitize all its screens with Texas Instrument’s DLP. Carmike has a 35mm projection equipment “For Sale” posting on this website.
The Arts Alliance Media website has a counter keeping track of the digital screens already in operation in the UK. The current number is 239. www.artsalliancemedia.com
I do not like wasting time with persons unable to concede an obvious point.
Sooner than later, the motion picture exhibition business will completely “change-over” to digital projection. Problems with 35mm prints will increase because market forces determine how much attention is given to each medium. Constant technological improvements to digital delivery will make it far more cost effective than the outdated labor intensive 35mm systems. In the long run, exhibitors will greatly benefit from lower payroll and greater programming choices.
My memories of the independent art cinema with the flickering images and the sputtering sprockets will always remain a great source of pleasure. I wish everyone great satisfaction at any kind of cinema near you. Best, Lorenzo
The transition to digital projection in Ireland has been well under way for two years. There are several articles attesting to the facts in BBC News, The Hollywood Reporter, and for example, this from PC World…
“Avica and its subsidiary Digital Cinema (Ireland)…began installing the first 25 projection booths on March 1 (2005)”
Same article:
“The 53 million price tag…was raised through venture capital investors.”
The plan, already underway, is to digitize 500+ screens at over 100 venues. You can see for yourself one company’s progress by checking out www.digitalcinema.ie/aboutus
Flash forward to more recent news, June 25, 2007.
Arts Alliance Media, the UK based largest digital provider in Europe announces it has teamed up with Universal Pictures and Twentieth
Century Fox to digitize projection in nearly 7000 movie theaters in several major countries including Espana and France. Check out the Arts Alliance website for a dose of reality.
Also, Wometco Enterprises continued to operate cinemas in to the 21st Century. For example, they did not sell the Byron Carlyle on Miami Beach until 2001 or 2002.
Hialeah Cinema, circa 1979, was owned by General Cinema Corp., one of the most well managed circuits of the day. They were already bigger than Wometco in South Florida and overall lasted into the 21st Century as well.
I agree with Ian. The sheer number of persons and their various comfort levels makes it impossible to please everyone.
Theaters are generally too cold because it’s better than too hot. Also, coldness does seem to help the concession stand even though most patrons buy stuff before they enter. (Frankly, I’ve never understood the coldness = higher per capita thing.) Overall, I think the cold auditoriums are caused by two considerations:
1) The theater saves money on electricity by running the central air 24/7 thus maximizing the efficiency of the A/C, though it results in a colder auditorium, especially during a slow early show.
2) Projection booths run hot. Almost all projection booths are ventilated and cooled by the same AC units responsible for cooling the auditoriums.
The transition to digital cinema projection will likely be along the same lines as audio cassettes to CD’s and VHS to DVD. There is a financial abuse of the consumer to one degree or another, however, fighting the inevitable big switch is not a cost effective posture. I think, as I said before, exhibitors should take responsibility for there own futures. (Recently, almost every movie theater in Ireland switched to digital projection.)
Claiming that digital only benefits distributors is irresponsible rhetoric. Digital cinema mostly benefits all the directors, writers, producers, and actors, etc., who previously would have never come close to making a motion picture resulting in a wide release. As Francis Coppola said at the Academy Awards several years ago, I am paraphrasing, “In the future the great American movie will be made some fat girl working in her back yard”, or something to that effect.
Courtesy of digital projection, exhibitors now have the opportunity to increase revenue by live broadcasts of the opera and baseball games. This can only subsidize the cost of exhibiting home grown independent cinema as well as creating cross-pollinating excitement at a theater near you.
I first worked as an usher at the Hialeah Cinema in South Florida circa 1978. I made $3.15 an hour. I remember the GM loudly complaining about how the new born VCR would kill film exhibition. I remember telling him having a kitchen in your house does not stop you from going out to a restaurant.
I think the movie business is in pretty good shape all things considered. I think we are too hard on ourselves regarding quality and technology. Sure you could lament a cheesy film at the multiplex, but a sector of the movie business has always solicited the lowest common denominator. Furthermore, it should be noted, I am sick and tired of pseudointellectuals taking cheap shots at Hollywood. Like it or not, the vast majority of cinematic masterpieces are the product of Hollywood’s above average production values. The movie business is always looking for the next great thing and easily bored with yesterday’s news. The aforementioned substandard soundtracks are a symptom reflecting a sea change.
I urge anyone who is genuinely interested in the future of the exhibition business to check out this great Cinema Treasure’s website section titled Theater News: Digital Cinema. The writing is on the wall.
First of all, thanks to everyone for your interest in the subject. Please allow me to make a few heartfelt points in general, but to no one in particular. My only goal is to be a part of the motion picture exhibition subculture so many of us love.
A) I continue to be involved in the business.
B) There are problems with prints directly from the lab and every circuit has anecdotes to confirm this point.
C) Studios/Distribs do not get 90% of the gross. Generally speaking, they get 90% over the house nut. Example: Your house nut is 10k/week and the film grosses 30k. That week the studio/distrib complex receives 18k and the exhibitor keeps 12k plus concession. Alot of theaters operate on a second run or move-over schedule in which case the venue keeps 65% of the gross for starters. The biggest economic problem for theater circuits is greed and mismanagement. In a short span, coverage in the USA jumped from 20,000 to 38,000 screens, if I remember correctly. We went from good coverage to overscreened in less than ten years. This is like the restaurant situation in Manhattan. There are too many restaurants in Manhattan so many of them shut down. The same thing happened in film exhibition. Theater circuits have cried poverty for decades but they are their own worse enemies.
C) Movie theaters will save money on digital projection because they will be synchronized with the unavoidable status quo. Yes, a digital booth is currently about 3 to 4 times more expensive to install than a platter booth. Yes, the current life expectancy for a digital booth is about 10 years compared to 30 years on the platter booth. I would love for us to stick with traditional 35mm projection, but it cannot be sustained no matter how romantic and beloved. Numbers and estimates lie. Measuring the life expectancy of a cinema’s projection booth is bad math. Technology does not care about your feelings. The public’s manipulated perspective supercedes the reality of our informed clarity. The film booth will soon go the way of the video cassette. VHS is a zombie. DVD killed VHS. Digital cinema will kill film. Indeed, the word “filmmaker” is already an anachronism.
I was the General Manager of the Bleecker during the late eighties. There are hundreds of anecdotes worth sharing. The place was special. Twenty years later I can honestly say it was the coolest job ever. Imagine being the G.M. of a legendary Greenwich Village cinema in the wake of its appearance in Desperately Seeking Susan. Suffice it to say, the Bleecker in 1986, was a parade of intelligent, sexy, trustworthy ladies…more Rosanna Arquette than Madonna, thank goodness.
My wonderful daughters are the result of my introduction to a unique woman on Christmas Eve 1988. Jennifer came to see “Wings of Desire” and in time we produced our bright lights Lillian and Sophia.
Nowadays, it’s not surprising a discount store sits at 144 Bleecker Street. Everyone pays lip service to art cinemas, but when it comes time to go to the movies, most folks mindlessy line up at the zooplex. Marketing techniques pummel even the astute into sheepish behavior.
There is much more I would love to share about the Bleecker and that includes me being the guy who launched the Angelika in 1989. (I fought against the bad sight lines!)
Until then I leave you with this:
I always tried to have a young lady record our showtimes tape because it’s more welcoming regardless of some politically correct buffoon, however, sometimes on a late thursday evening/friday morning the task befell me. Whenever this happened I began the theater’s greeting in the same manner.
“Thank you for calling the Bleecker Street Cinemas…the greatest movie theater in the world.”