Comments from bruceanthony

Showing 376 - 400 of 448 comments

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Fox Oakland Theater on May 4, 2004 at 7:04 pm

The Fox-Oakland had its last exclusive 1st Run With “Rosemary’s Baby” in 1968. After this it showed Porno for awhile and 2nd run at 50cents in the early 1970s. The theatre was used for a short time for concerts and the the Dickens Fair.The Fox-Oakland Auditorium is larger than the Paramount but the Paramount has the larger lobby. Both theatres have fantastic vertical blade marquee’s which are among the best in the nation. Many times theatres are renovated /restored and not much thought is given to restoring the great marquees of the 20’s,30’s,40’s and 50’s. The Wang in Boston has one of the most boring marquees today but when it was the Metropolitan is had a fantastic marquee.The Fox in Detroit has a wonderful marquee but the Fox in St Louis has a boring marquee. The fun starts on the sidewalk at some of our historic theatres. The biggest dissapointment is the loss of the great marquees in Times Square along with the theatres. I applaud the City of Chicago in putting verticals on the new Goodman, Oriental, and Palace. I hope when the Shubert is restored back to the Majestic that a beautiful marquee is restored to this theatre.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Golden Gate Theatre on May 3, 2004 at 10:54 pm

I recently saw “Mama Mia” at the Golden Gate and little work has been done on the theatre since the last time I was in it back in the 1980’s. I noticed on my ticket stub that at $3.00 restoration fee was charged. I would like to know where this money is going. Are we paying for the renovation of the Orpheum from a few years ago. None of the drinking fountains worked properly. I hope this money is going to upgrade this theatre which badly needs it. I hope a little restoration work is done in the Auditorium and the proper colors are used to accent the architecture that is there. I will think twice before forking out the money to see another show at this theatre. Please Shorentein/Nederlander relight the marquee. Its only under your watch that the marquee has not been lit. The Golden Gate has not one but two Verticals that spell out Golden Gate. Its the only large Vertical left in the Market Street Area Downtown.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Palladium Times Square on May 3, 2004 at 9:26 pm

I hope Loews Jersey is a major success maybe it might shame NYC to save the great remaining houses such as Loews Kings, Loews Paradise. It seems only LA has great single screen theatres still showing first run movies because they are industry houses.I think the megaplex should have devoted at least one screen as there flagship with posh surroundings, curtains in front of the screen, great screen and sound presentations. When a studio spends up to 200 Million on a film such “Troy” it needs to be seen on a huge screen, large auditorium or why bother to go.I remember I went to the megaplex to see a Bond film and they had it in a small auditorium and small screen so I demanded my money back and got it. People who pay $8-$10 per film should demand top theatre presentation and not put up with substandard conditions.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Fox Oakland Theater on May 3, 2004 at 3:28 pm

There was a major Fox-Oakland renovation benefit on May 1 which I found about on May 2 hosted by Mayor Jerry Brown. Hope it was a success. Plans are to place a Charter School in the building surrounding the theatre as this is a pet project of the Mayor.I saw a construction banner in front of the Fox for the first time on May 2. I hope after all these years (30) that some sort of renovation is started on the interior of the building.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Palladium Times Square on Apr 29, 2004 at 4:36 pm

Nothing will ever replace the movie palaces or duluxe houses of the past. I love to go to the movies and for good or bad we will have to live with the era of the megaplex. Not all megaplex’s are created equal. The AMC and Harkin theates megaplex’s have big curved screens and good presentaions in Arizona. Since Arizona is growing rapidly they have built auditoriums that are quite large. I always ask for the largest auditorium when a movie is playing. New features could be playing on 4 screens. The Pacific Grove is wildly popular in LA because it pays homage to the old Hollywood and it a little more upscale than the average megaplex.The large exhibitors like AMC Regal,Loews etc don’t know how to run a single screen today. Only your regional chains such as Harkins, Pacific, Mann and Landmark care about the historic theatres they still have in there trust. It always comes down to the bottom line.Since large movies open on 2000-4000 screens this has made single screens no longer viable with a few exceptions. The day the exclusive run for a motion picture ended so did the need for single screens. I just wish more creative ways could have saved many single screens by adding on additional screens like at the ArcLight in LA where they added 14 screems to the Cinerama Dome.bruce

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Rivoli Theatre on Apr 29, 2004 at 3:58 pm

I saw a second run of The Sting at the Rivoli in 1974. It was NYC top roadshow house with reserved seating. The last successful roadshow picture Fiddler on The Roof played the Rivoli in the early 1970’s. United Artists destroyed the Rivoli just like they did with the Egyptian in Hollywood but the Egyptian survived despite UA. If the Rivoli had a stage house it would have survived as a broadway house because there became a huge demand on Broadway for a theatre this size to house the large musicals. I would venture to say The Rivoli was one of the top ten theatres in the country to the movie studios for most of its history. It was a prestige industry house and its seating capacity was perfect for the big event films of the 1950’s through the early 1970’s.

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about California Theatre on Apr 29, 2004 at 3:33 pm

I recently saw The Sound of Music sing a long at the California. I liked what landmark did with the theatre. The California was a Fox West Coast/National General Theatres house for many years. I saw the Odd Couple here back in 1967 when it was still a single screen. The California boasts the largest screen in Berkeley but it is much smaller than the screen that use to be in this theatre. It would be nice if Landmark would restore the lighting in the ceilings and the curtain in front of the screen. The staff at this theatre loves working there and we had a long discussion of its history and when it was a single screen.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Ziegfeld Theatre on Apr 27, 2004 at 12:26 pm

I think the Ziegfeld will be around for awhile. The studios use it for all the major premieres and is the only one with the capacity for such premieres unless they start using Radio City again.There are plenty of big summer popcorn movies coming to keep the Ziegfeld open. I think New Yorkers should support Loews Jersey when they show films because here is a true movie palace.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland on Apr 25, 2004 at 5:28 pm

Warren could you list the 20 largest theatres in the U.S I also would be interested in seating compared to the size to the actual theatre. In recent years many theatres have been renovated or restored and there seating capacity reduced. If I am correct I think the top ten with theatres still standing would be 1 Radio City 2 Detroit Fox 3 St. Louis Fox 4 Atlanta Fox 5 Chicago Uptown 6 Boston Wang 7 Jersey Stanley 8 Kansas City Midland 9 Chicago Chicago 10 Pittsburg Stanley. But I could be wrong. I do know the four largest theatres West of the Mississippi would be 1. Oakland Paramount 2. Fox- Oakland 3. Seattle Paramount 4. Portland Portland. Only the Fox- Oakland hasn’t been renovated or restored.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Uptown Theatre on Apr 24, 2004 at 5:27 pm

Ron I really like your listing of movies 1958-1981. It tells a lot about the specific theatre. Its a little easier picking the theatres that were the deluxe roadshow reserved seat houses such as the Uptown. Each large city had at least four or more of these theatres. New York City had the following, Criterion, Rivoli, Loews State,Warner Cinerama(Strand),Loews Capitol. The Roxy and Radio City were in a class by themselves and the Paramount.The Demille was also a roadshow house for a time and the Palace. The studios preferred theatres that sat 1500 and would reduce capacities of theatres such as the Loews Capitol in NY and the Pantagees in Hollywood to achieve this goal. The last successful reserved seat roadshow engagement was United Artists “Fiddler on The Roof” released in the early 1970’s.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on Apr 24, 2004 at 1:03 am

I have seen movies at the Chinese since the late 1960’s. I have seen movies like Hello Dolly, Whats UP Doc,Batman, Jagged Edge, Interview With a Vampire and many others. I actually sat in the two row balcony for the movie The Goodfellas before the recent renovation. The Chinese always has a superb film presentation. Isn’t it wonderful to have the curtains open and close for the presentation. During the current renovation the lobby was expanded into the back of the Auditoruim where the projection booth was and a few rows were lost. Before the renovation the Chinese sat 1500 and now it seats around 1100.The best film presentation in LA is the Chinese, El Capitan ,Cinerama Dome, Fox-Village,and National of LA’s surviving single screen theatres. These are also industry theatres that host many premieres.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Radio City Music Hall on Apr 19, 2004 at 3:08 pm

I still think if done properly the classic film series along with the Rockettes and stage show could be a big draw. Did you know that I was looking at theatre grosses and found that the Detroit Fox has out grossed the Music Hall the last few years. The Detroit Fox has better bookings and even has The Radio City spectacular during the Holidays. This tells me that the Music Hall is not being used to its full potential. The Fox in Detroit,St Louis, and Atlanta also has film in there programming mix. The Music Hall on its big Screen could show films like Titanic, Gladiator,Funny Girl, Oliver, The Longest Day, Pillow Talk, Dr. Zhivago, 2001 , Planet of The Apes, Star Wars, The King and I, Anastasia, To Catch A Thief, The Sundowners, Charade, The Sound of Music. Patton, Magnificient Men in Flying Machines, How The West Was Won, A Star is Born, Lawrence of Arabia, The Ten Commandments, Bridge on The River Kwai, The Odd Couple, Giant, El Cid, Goldfinger, Chitty, Chitty Bang Bang, No Business Like Show Business, The Bandwagon, How To Marry a Millionaire , Auntie Mame, Ivanhoe, The Time Machine, Day The Earth Stood Still, Out of Africa, Close Encounters, E.T., Its a MAd Mad World, North By Northwest, Gigi, My Fair Lady etc just to name a few. Make the presentation of these features a big Event that can’t be duplicated on TV and the Megaplex on the Music Hall Giant Screen.Note I focused on the Wide Screen Movies.I think this could be a big draw if done correctly plus the stage show.Brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Egyptian Theatre on Apr 6, 2004 at 4:53 pm

I know I most get over the fact that I am dissapointed in the renovation of the Egyptian. I have been a huge supporter in the revival of Hollywood Blvd. I first saw Hollywood Blvd in 1963 when the Blvd was lovely. I remember you could walk from The Chinese to the Pix and look at all the wonderful stores and restaurants and all the reserved seat attractions playing in the movie palaces along the Blvd. I watched the slow deterioration of the Blvd through the years. I remember a major revival of the Blvd in the 1980’s only to have the Metro Red Line tear up the street and again the street went into decline. I supported going to the Egyptian at the time when the Fashionable thing to do was go to the Westside to see movies. I am happy that finally Hollywood Blvd is turning around but it still hasn’t met critical mass yet. I think with the Egyptian and Hollywood and Highland it has helped Hollywood turn a corner on the one hand but on the other they still haven’t gotten it right yet.The Arclight development on Sunset is a first class attempt to get it right,but the auditoriums are glorified screeing rooms with the exception of the Cinerama Dome.The Big success story happened in another part of Hollywood, Pacific’s Grove. This complex actually captures the glamour of the Old Hollywood versus the glamour of the new Hollywood at the Arclight. The Grove is now one of the highest grossing Megaplex’s in the country. I think a recent success story is The Pantages Theatre on Hollywood blvd. Disney pushed the Nederlander Organization to restores the house if they wanted The Lion King. The Pantages is now the Premiere broadway house in town. My hope before I leave this earth is to have Hollywood Blvd back where it was between the 1930’s thru the early 1960’s.I hope the Egyptian in time will be brought back to a point where the theatre is as magical as the picture on the screen. I make these comments because I love the history of the area and have great effection for what once was.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Palladium Times Square on Apr 4, 2004 at 12:34 pm

In response to above comment. The Worldwide Cinemas as reported by Variety is to become legitimate stages.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Pacific 1-2-3 on Mar 6, 2004 at 8:18 pm

The Pacific could become a premiere house for the studios because of its capacity. Due to zoning and other problems Westwood will be hosting fewer premieres and the Pacific could become a glamorous screen again to host these events in Hollywood. Currently only the Cinerama Dome, El Capitan and Chinese host these events in Hollywood.The Pacific is the only unrestored major film palace in Hollywood.Maybe the redeveopment agency would help fund it to help revitalize this part of Hollywood Blvd.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony on Feb 28, 2004 at 11:42 pm

A great shot of the marquee can be seen at the Premiere of “The Longest Day”. Its to bad Radio City and The Beacon aren’t used for NYC movie Premieres. Only LA and London seem to have the huge premieres anymore. I know they use the Ziegfeld in NYC but its not the same.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Warner Beverly Hills Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 11:36 pm

The last film I saw in this beautiful theatre was “The Mirror Cracked” with Elizabeth Taylor,Rock Husdon,Kim Novak and Angela Landsbary. It was showing 2nd run features at the time. As the film
industry changed in the 1970’s and the roadwhow prestige pictures were now out of favor I always had the feeling that Beverly Hills no longer saw these theatres as desirable. Mann theatres made the mistake of booking The Exorcist and movies like Woodstock in exclusive runs which brought at times unruly crowds into Beverly Hills and the city was not going to put up with this.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Parkside Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:56 pm

The Warfield was a Loews house for many years before it became a Fox house. My sisters dance teacher performed at the Loews Warfield during the 1940’s. The last film I attended at the Fox-Parkside was the reserved seat engagement of “The Blue Max”. I always thought it was odd that the Parkside presented road show films when most of these films were presented Downtown or at the Coronet or Alexandria on Geary.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Paramount Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:45 pm

It would be nice to see some photos of the Paramount. I used to got to the movies on Market St at the UA, Orpheum,Fox-Warfield,St Francis,Golden Gate,Esquire,and Fox but was never inside the Paramount.I remember before it was demolished Phyllis Diller was on a morning show walking through the Paramount with a TV crew. I would love to see both auditorium and pictures of the marquee.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Oakland Drive-In on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:33 pm

The Oakland and the Stadium DI played a number of major films during the 1960’s. In fact it had a day-n-date exlcusive run with the downtown Oakland Roxie of “Whos Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”,after it had played a few weeks. Both of these DI were my favorite DI to see a film.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Oakland Drive-In on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:33 pm

The Oakland and the Stadium DI played a number of major films during the 1960’s. In fact it had a day-n-date exlcusive run with the downtown Oakland Roxie of “Whos Afraid of Virginia Wolf?”,after it had played a few weeks. Both of these DI were my favorite DI to see a film.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about New Fruitvale Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:27 pm

The New Fruitvale in its later years was operated by United Artists. It reminded me of the Del Mar in San Leandro and the Lorenzo in San Lorenzo. The last film I saw here was a Joan Crawford B film called “I know who You Are and I Saw What You Did”.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Neptune Theater on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:22 pm

I saw one of the last films to play the Neptune “Snow White and the three Stooges when I was a child. This film was also one of the last films to be shot on the 20th Century-Fox backlot before it was developed into Century City.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Fox Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 10:02 pm

The Fox had a wonderful neon marquee.To bad Philly let it get away. I remember when the Godfather played the Fox, Variety reported the theatre was selling out and had the largest gross in the entire state of Pennsylvania.brucec

bruceanthony
bruceanthony commented about Fox Orpheum Theatre on Feb 28, 2004 at 9:58 pm

This theatre was closed in the 1950’s. I saw a picture of the inside before they tore it down in the 1960’s. It was boarded up for many years. If you were on Franklin behind the theatre you could still see the Fox West Coast logo painted on the theatre wall.brucec