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September 9, 2009
Remembering Cinerama (Part 40: Calgary)
REMEMBERING CINERAMA
Part 40: CalgaryThe following is Part Forty in a series of retrospectives on Cinerama, the legendary motion picture process that kicked off the widescreen revolution. The series focuses on providing a market-by-market historical record of when and where Cinerama and its multi-panel clones were exhibited. The easy-to-reference articles serve to provide nostalgia to those who experienced the Cinerama presentations when they were new and to highlight the movie palaces in which the memorable screenings took place.
Part 1: New York City
Part 2: Chicago
Part 3: San Francisco
Part 4: Houston
Part 5: Washington, DC
Part 6: Los Angeles
Part 7: Atlanta
Part 8: San Diego
Part 9: Dallas
Part 10: Oklahoma City
Part 11: Syracuse
Part 12: Toronto
Part 13: Columbus
Part 14: Montreal
Part 15: Northern New Jersey
Part 16: Charlotte
Part 17: Vancouver
Part 18: Salt Lake City
Part 19: Boston
Part 20: Philadelphia
Part 21: Fresno
Part 22: Detroit
Part 23: Minneapolis
Part 24: Albuquerque
Part 25: El Paso
Part 26: Des Moines
Part 27: Miami
Part 28: Orange County
Part 29: Pittsburgh
Part 30: Baltimore
Part 31: Long Island
Part 32: Kansas City
Part 33: Milwaukee
Part 34: Nanuet/Rockland County
Part 35: Denver
Part 36: Worcester
Part 37: Toledo
Part 38: St. Louis
Part 39: TampaAnd now…Part 40: Cinerama Presentations in Calgary, Alberta!
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September 8, 2009
The re-invention of the movie theater
Not all of us will agree that the changes are for the better, but an article by Martha Irvine of the Associated Press highlights the efforts of the movie theater industry to survive and thrive in the face of competition posed by the ever-increasing array of home-based entertainment. IMAX, 3-D, changes in available concessions, even theater and lobby design are are all efforts to attract the contemporary younger audience.
“Sometimes, it’s nice to have a wider screen, but I don’t think I gain that much by going to a movie theater anymore,” the 20-year-old student says. “Now, it’s more about convenience.”
Or as 26-year-old Michael Brody puts it: “I watch movies the way many people listen to music — anytime, anywhere, any way.” A freelance writer in New York who blogs about film, he used to go to the movie theater every week. Now he’s there once or twice a month, partly to save money and also because he doesn’t think most movies are worth the effort.
Read more here from Google News.
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Christie and Time Anateus launch China’s largest commercial D-Cinema deployment
BEIJING, CHINA — Christie, the global leader in visual solutions for entertainment, business and industry, is pleased to announce that Time Antaeus (Time Antaeus) Media Group, a Chinese digital cinema industry leader, has selected Christie as its very important partner for its digital cinema deployment in China. This marks the country’s most extensive commercial effort to install 800 Christie CP2000 series DLP Cinema projectors in select cinemas by the end of 2010. These projectors will be installed together with 800 Time Antaeus Montage CDCS2000 D-Cinema Servers.
After conducting a series of extensive evaluations on the various solutions available, Time Antaeus opted for Christie’s acclaimed CP2000 DLP Cinema projectors based on their superior image quality and reliability. With their excellent brightness, contrast, true color reproduction and product integrity, the Christie CP2000 series projectors are widely popular among theater operators and have won numerous positive reviews from the industry. In addition, Christie’s proven leadership, with a commanding 70% worldwide market share that includes more than 7,500 systems worldwide – as well as an extensive understanding of the cinema industry – also motivated Time Antaeus to select Christie as a partner.
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Century 25 in San Jose becomes the Retro Dome
SAN JOSE, CA — The twin screen former Century 25 theater in San Jose, California has been rechristened the Retro Dome. One of the auditoriums has become a venue for live performances and and the other will be used to screen classic films.
Their enterprise kicks off Friday with “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” — a show they produced in San Francisco and later in San Jose.
Live productions will take place in one of the 40-year-old theater’s two auditoriums; in coming months, they plan to renovate the other auditorium to showcase neoclassic movies like “The Godfather” and serve concessions tied to the show or movie’s theme (cannoli, anyone?).
Read more in the San Jose Mercury News.
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September 4, 2009
Proctor’s rally today
TROY, NY — I heard on the news this morning that there is a rally today at the Proctor’s Theatre to protest the proposed conversion of this theatre into office and retail space. They are going to use a government grant to destroy a beautiful theater which is listed on the National Register of Historic Buildings. I am headed over there now.
Gregg
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Historic Park Theatre hosts its 4th Annual Film Festival
ESTES PARK, CO — The 4th Annual Estes Park Film Festival will take place September 17-20 at the Historic Park Theatre in downtown Estes Park, Colorado. Built in 1913, the Park Theatre is the oldest operating movie theatre west of the Mississippi and is on the national register of historic places. Filmmakers from all over the world will travel to Estes Park to showcase their latest independent feature-length films, documentaries, and short films in one of Colorado’s historic cinematic landmarks.
For a complete schedule of film screenings, parties, and panel discussions visit the official website or call 970-231-2580.
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City shutters Columbus Theatre for code violations
PROVIDENCE, RI — The Columbus Theatre was shut down suddenly by the City of Providence on Tuesday, August 25 due to code violations uncovered by a deputy fire marshal. The inspection was triggered by a complaint from a parent of a contestant in a beauty pageant held at the theater the preceding weekend. Other businesses in the building have been allowed to remain open.
Among the violations cited were a fire suppression system that does not meet the current code, electrical deficiencies, storage of paint cans and “other items” in the basement, at least one broken door, and missing exterior decorative tiles. The theater is still waiting for the full list of violations. The cost of the fire suppression system alone is estimated at more than $100,000. As a result of the closure, at least four events, including two film festivals, have been forced to find alternate venues.
For the complete story, read The Providence Journal, 8/28/09.
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Smadar possibly to be owned by movie-goers
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL — The Smadar Theater in Jerusalem’s German Colony neighborhood is going to be closed. Will it end up as yet another luxury building site?
Last week hundreds of devoted movie-goers offered to buy the place, each one will pay $1000 per share, and keep Smadar opened. Their hope is that city council will declare Smadar a site for preservation.Thousands already signed a petition.
“There is a huge response because people don’t want to lose the fabric of their identity, which is their pride and an important part of daily life. People don’t want this to be taken away from them in favor of economic real estate initiatives. They want a share in designing the place they live in, and I believe this is wonderful.”
Read more at Ynet.
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Dickinson Theatres “Fall Back Movie Specials”
$5.00 Tickets Monday-Thursday
~ All Seats ~ All Shows ~ All Day ~
3D Presentation Extra$5.00 Combo Monday-Thursday
Medium Popcorn and Medium Soft Drink
Including free refillsTuesdays are “BYOB"
Bring your own bowl for
Free Popcorn with Unlimited RefillsDickinson is running this special for all of their Kansas City area theaters.
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September 3, 2009
Complete 35MM package for sale
We are selling a complete 35MM package, everything except the screen. The asking price is $12,000.00 delivered to your door.
- Kelmar FM-35 Component Engineering Failsafe
- Century Projector C
- ST-500 5 Tier platter system with Makeup Table
- Century Sound Head R5
- Sony DFP-D2000 Digital/Analog processor
- Sony DFR-D2000 Digital/Analog film reader
- Kelmar electric automated changeover
- Xetron 1000 Lamphouse with power supply