Comments from spikewriter

Showing 1 - 25 of 29 comments

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Warrens Theatre on Sep 2, 2007 at 6:49 am

Just received my DVDs of “Heroes” and have started going through the episodes (I missed a number of them when they were broadcast).

The Warner Downtown makes an appearance in the pilot as the building Peter Petrelli dives off in his dreams and at the end of the episode in his attempt to fly. You can clearly see the vertical “Diamonds” sign on the corner of the building in several shots.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Clune's Auditorium on Apr 23, 2007 at 1:50 pm

There is finally some movement on a potential building for the parking lot that’s occupied this site since the mid-80’s: a 70-story (or taller) hotel/condominium project.

View link

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Rivoli Theatre on Jan 19, 2007 at 5:39 pm

Vincent, checking the IMDB, apparently the film was thought “lost” until 1998, but was found and has since been restored, but not released. There is apparently a clip in “Broadway: The American Musical” that aired on PBS, but that appears to be the only place anything can be seen from this.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Million Dollar Theatre on Jan 19, 2007 at 5:25 pm

Ken Mc, thank you for that link to the stock scam. There’s some fascinating material there. (Gotta love the legal language of the period: “A feme sole of the age of majority…”)

It would be nice to see the Million Dollar active again. It’s in a good location, relatively speaking, especially with the new lofts that are coming in and its nearness to Grand Central Market.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Paris Theatre on Oct 20, 2006 at 3:18 am

The site of the Hitiching Post is no longer a vacant lot, but is now the plaza for the Hollywood & Vine Red Line station.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about TCL Chinese Theatre on May 11, 2006 at 10:20 pm

Posiedon at least had its premiere at the Chinese — I was down there yesterday afternoon and they were getting ready for the festivities (Hollywood Blvd. westbound closed down in front of the theatre, the sidewalk in front of the theatre itself blocked and the tackiest blue carpet I think I’ve ever seen, bored security guards). Lots of disappointed tourists who wanted to see the footprints and weren’t necessarily willing to wait in the heat to see the stars. So, instead of wandering among the footprints after a not-that-satisfactory job interview, I wandered up the “Arcade of Awards” at the Kodak and enjoyed the Intolerance-style elephants.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Yost Theatre on May 3, 2006 at 9:24 pm

For anyone in the Los Angeles area, it is possible that KTLA will be showing footage of the Yost Theatre on Friday, May 5. The morning news crew will be down there for Cinquo de Mayo and the previews show shots of the Yost with Spanish-language verbiage on the marquee.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Los Angeles Theatre on Mar 1, 2006 at 2:48 pm

I stopped by the LA Conservancy Page and noticed the following under Events:

http://laconservancy.org/events/events_main.php4

Rare Opera in a Rare Venue

Lyric Opera of Los Angeles (LOLA), a cultural partner of the Broadway Initiative, will present the nineteenth-century French operatic masterpiece “Manon Lescaut” by Daniel François-Esprit Auber from April 21-30 at the majestic Los Angeles Theatre.

With its opulent, French Baroque-inspired design, the 1931 Los Angeles Theatre is the perfect setting for French opera. In bringing this production to the Los Angeles, LOLA seeks to provide theatergoers with an unforgettable experience, while fostering the use of Broadway’s historic theaters in bringing new life and entertainment to historic downtown.

First performed in 1856, “Manon Lescaut” is the poignant tale of a young woman at the turn of nineteenth-century France who, on the way to a convent, meets a young man and runs away with him to Paris. She discovers the vagaries of power, love, lust, and debauchery in Parisian society, and through a tangle of events is arrested and shipped off to Louisiana, where she meets her destiny.

This production has not been performed in the U.S. since 1979, so this is a rare opportunity. With ticket prices so affordable, you can bring friends and family to support this unique event in this spectacular theater.

“Manon Lescaut” by Daniel François-Esprit Auber
Los Angeles Theatre
615 South Broadway, Downtown Los Angeles

Friday, April 21 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 22 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 23 2:00 p.m.
Friday, April 28 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 29 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 30 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $10-30

For tickets or more information, visit www.LyricOperaLA.org or call (800) 471-9515.

If you love opera and are in the LA area, it’s a great price. My only hesitation is that I’ve see “Manon Lescaut” and it’s not one of my favorites.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Reseda Theatre on Feb 6, 2006 at 9:11 pm

There was an article in Sunday’s Daily News yesterday:

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_3476484

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Muse Theatre on Jan 20, 2006 at 12:50 am

Unless it’s been re-developed in the last decade, this spot along with the Rosslyn was the site of the Los Angeles Rapid Transit District headquarters (prior to it becoming the MTA). It was a horrible bunker of a building, with virtually no windows that led to something of a seige mentality among the employees. Yeah, I spent close to a decade working in this crappy box.

There is absolutely no sign whatsoever that there was ever a theatre or two on the sight.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Landmark Pasadena 7 on Oct 24, 2005 at 9:45 pm

One of the nicest things about the Laemmle Playhouse 7 is that it’s next door to Vroman’s Books, a marvelous store that’s a long-time part of the Pasadena community. They carry not only the usual run of books, but also the esoteric, unique and expensive. When I lived out at that end of the universe, I used to frequent them, especially for their cinema section.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about New Amsterdam Theatre on Oct 3, 2005 at 9:36 pm

Bway – “While I think Disney did a fantastic job on the theater in general, the one thing they should have done differently is restoring the exterior to the original appearance rather than the 1930’s look it has now.”

I personally would have preferred the Art Nouveau tower of Ziegfeld’s regime that predated the Art Moderne tower, but I believe the retention of the current tower was dictated not by Disney, but by the preservation board.

The New Amsterdam is definitely on my list of favorite theatres, though I will confess more for its Ziegfeld connection than as a movie house. Ironically, the only glimpses I’ve been able to have of it in real life were in the late 70s as a grind house and in the 80s when it was shuttered. I have not yet had a chance to get to New York and see it in its restored glory.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Mann Tarzana West Valley 9 on Aug 25, 2005 at 5:22 pm

I live in the area and I only found out last Sunday afternoon that it was closed when coming back from a meeting. It was rather a shock because in addition to working locally, I used to work across the street, so it was a familiar site and I’d sometimes go there to catch a film after work. That was almost two years ago.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Galleria Cinema IV on Jul 10, 2005 at 4:41 pm

I’m not certain when the first two screens were built — I believe it was in the early ‘70s along with the rest of the mall. In the spring of 1977, it was the theater at which Star Wars was shown, playing there for well over a year (I saw it first at the second feature of the second day, as well as the one-year anniversary in May of 1978). The mall featured a skating rink on the lowest level of the mall, with the theater located at one end. During a very hot summer, it was actually rather pleasant to wait in line with the cold wafting off the ice. There was no “food court” as such in the mall, but several of the restaurants actually started take-out menus designed for eating while seated on the floor of the mall as the line snaked around the ice rink and back again.

In late 1977/early 1978, the mall expanded with a new wing that connected to a new hotel (there was already one at the other end of the mall), shopping and office space. They were open by May of 1978 because my senior prom was held in the new hotel (ironically, my junior high prom was held in the other hotel in the complex) and we wandered around the new section, which wasn’t particularly populated at that point. The cinemas themselves opened that summer, I believe, with Star Wars moving over to the two new screens.

I didn’t see that many movies in the III & IV because I moved from Houston within two years, but they were very nice, with a fairly small lobby but nice auditorium. As an added bonus, the theatres were tucked into a corner of the mall that just happened to be directly by an entrance to one of the parking gararges. There was also a very expensive chocolate store directly across from the box office.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Majestic Theatre on Jun 4, 2005 at 7:08 pm

Patsy — it is sad, because I never got to see a film at the old theaters that she loved going to when she was younger. By the time time I was interested in the theaters themselves, they were either closed or had become places women just didn’t go. But she loved the State and the Majestic, so it was important to her get a piece of that part of her childhood when the opportunity presented itself. The frogs were either given as gifts to people who appreciated where the fabric had come from (and she kept the largest for herself) or sold as part of a special fundraiser for a local theater group. People paid good money to get a piece of the State. I still have the one she made me, which occupies one arm of my couch.

Really, it’s her stories about taking the bus into downtown Houston to see films at the old theaters that first piqued my interest in more than the films herself.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Town Theatre on Jun 4, 2005 at 7:54 am

What’s scary to realize is that when I worked downtown (4th and Main), I used to each lunch at that McDonald’s sometimes — and never realized what had been there in the past.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Majestic Theatre on Jun 4, 2005 at 5:46 am

The “Grand Drape” would, I believe, be the curtain that hung in front of the screen and was raised before the show started. The fabric would have likely been a heavy velvet that was a certified dust catcher — the drapes from the Loew’s State in Houston certainly were when my mother purchased a chunk of them just before the theater was demolished. I came home from school and there was this itchy…pile of green velvet in one corner of the living room that Mom proceeded to use to make stuffed frogs from. The cats loved it.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Topanga Theatre on May 17, 2005 at 6:01 am

I remember seeing a number of films at the Topanga when my husband and I were dating — “Stargate” and “Much Ado About Nothing” being among them. That was in the early 90’s after it’d become a triplex, though the husband, being a local boy, can remember going to the theatre when it was just a single screen.

It looks like they are going to be building something on the site of the miniature golf course; the land has been cleared and graded.

I remember when the talk was that Pacific would build a multiplex there, which I was actually looking forward to. The decision to build the AMC Promenade 16 suprised a lot of locals because as far as anyone knew, the mall management was looking for another anchor store to replace the Saks (or was it Lord & Taylor?) that had vacated following severe damage from the 1994 Nortridge earthquake. Ironically, of the theatres in the area that helped bring about the end of the Topanga, only the AMC Promenade and the Fallbrook multiplex now remain.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Bijou Theatre on Mar 22, 2005 at 1:22 am

Benjamin: one of the live shows to appear there was indeed “Mummenschanz,” which I saw there over Thanksgiving 1977. What I remember of the theater is that it felt extremely intimate, and also had a faded beauty that I associate with most of the theaters I saw on that trip (except the Alvin — then running the hit “Annie”, it was kept in top condition).

It wasn’t that paint was peeling or anything of that nature; it all just looked somewhat as if people didn’t really care for it any more and were letting it slowly fade away.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Alabama Theatre on Mar 9, 2005 at 12:28 am

eadkins: You’re talking about the tower out in front of the shopping center, right? In the latter days of the Alabama as a theater, a large truck ran into the smaller marquee, severely damaging it. As the theater was running down, they just removed it and never bothered to replace it. That happened in the late 70s, before I moved out of town, though I don’t remember the exact date.

Patsy: According to my mother, who still patronizes the Alabama regularly, they use the marquee to announce books and events. During “Read a Banned Book Week”, they apparently list banned books they suggest people should read.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Alabama Theatre on Mar 8, 2005 at 8:23 pm

This was one of the theaters I enjoyed attending as a child and I was very pleasantly surprised when on a return trip to Houston my mother insisted on taking me down there. I think the way they went with the flow of the building enhances the experience and while it would have been nice if the Alabama had been able to remain a theater, I much prefer this to having it simply torn down.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Yale Theater on Mar 3, 2005 at 1:04 am

There is an entry on the Bellaire (/theaters/9910/). It’s not a tremendous amount of information, just what I could remember and scrounge on the web, since I haven’t lived in Houston for a quarter of a century.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Theatre at the Ace Hotel on Feb 22, 2005 at 10:16 pm

It will be interesting to see what happens — Dr. Scott’s church has a large and active congregation (I happen to know someone who’s a member) and I doubt they will suddenly vanish overnight.

That part of Broadway is very interesting because it’s sitting at the very edge of the garment/fabric district. There really are large number of small businesses in the area, but they’re also transient in nature, opening and closing on short notice. That’s contributed to leaving the area in a somewhat run-down condition because there are economic interests who don’t necessarily want the area to be revitalized because the rents would go up.

This area, by the way, is also home to the old Examiner Building, designed by Julia Morgan, which has been shuttered since the Herald-Examiner closed in the late 80’s.

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about Classic Morecambe on Feb 21, 2005 at 1:58 pm

Ron, “DIY” stands for “Do It Yourself.”

spikewriter
spikewriter commented about GCC Santa Anita 4 on Feb 9, 2005 at 8:20 pm

The main feature I remember about the Santa Anita 4 was that if there was a major feature playing it was a pain in the butt to wait in line for tickets for to be let into the theater or to visit any of the stores directly around the cinema because the “lobby” (said long corridor) just wasn’t set up to handle crowds. When I lived in Pasadena, I wound up going to the Pacific Hastings Ranch or the Mann’s Hastings Ranch, the UA in Old Town when that opened, or the Colorado, or Esquire to see features because they were just more pleasant and easier to deal with.

I still remember trying to do some shopping Memorial Day weekend of 1983 when the Santa Anita 4 was running “Return of the Jedi” almost non-stop for that opening weekend. The word “nightmare” comes to mind.