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The latest movie theater news and updates
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November 25, 2003
Photo Exhibition Marks Odeon’s 300th Film Premiere
LONDON, UK — To mark the 300th film premiere held at the famed Odeon Theatre Leicester Square, the cinema, according to a report on Ananova.com, is exhibiting many never-before seen photographs of celebrities attending premieres over the decades at the Odeon.
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Southern California Cameos
The following Southern California theaters have made cameos in motion pictures and television over the years….
Arcade Theatre (Los Angeles)
• Opening NightBelasco Theatre (Los Angeles)
• Swordfish
• Fast Lane (Fox TV)*Mayan Theatre (Los Angeles)
• Save the Tiger -
November 24, 2003
Pleasant Hill Officials Say Dome Is Out With The Old
PLEASANT HILL, CA — Plans for a new retail/entertainment complex may mean the end of Pleasant Hill’s beloved dome theater. Now operated as an art house under Century Theatres' CineArts banner, the dome opened in 1967 and is a treasured local landmark. As Contra Costa Times reporter Corey Lyons reports, Century plans to replace the classic dome with a new “two-story theater with six screens, an escalator and lobbies that offer expansive views of the area.”
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Chicago: Three Centuries of Theaters
CHICAGO, IL — More than 30 historic Chicago theatre buildings are featured in “Chicago: Three Centuries of Theatres,” an ongoing interpretive display of vintage photographs in the Richard J. Daley Center pedway gallery, 55 W. Washington St., Chicago.
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Ambler Theater Helps Revitalize Town
AMBLER, PA — The Philadelphia Inquirer has this report on the now-thriving Ambler Theater:
“With a $2 million makeover, including restoration of its Moorish terra-cotta facade, the 75-year-old theater reopened in February as a two-screen first-run movie house. A $1 million renovation is under way to accommodate a third screen.
The Ambler Theater now draws 1,500 moviegoers a week. Its success has been a fillip for the renovation of at least a dozen properties around it, from a stationery store, an art gallery, and a fitness center to a discount outlet that soon will metamorphose into an Irish pub."
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Detroit Twin Seen in American Splendor
The Detroit Twin in Lakewood, Ohio appears in the recent film American Splendor. It is the theater where Harvey Pekar goes with his nerdy friend to see Revenge of the Nerds. There is a good exterior shot of the theater. More info is available on Lakewood Buzz.
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November 21, 2003
Today’s Newsreel
Loews founder Laurence Tisch remembered, a nonprofit group celebrates its purchase of the Chas III, and cleanup begins at the Ritz Theater — all in today’s newsreel.
- Tisch is fondly recalled
- Loews Executives Facing Some Difficult Choices
- Lights camera action at the new-look Grosvenor
- 2 theaters, 2 stories
- Cinema restoration moving along nicely
- Former UI building to house 5-screen arts cinema
- Singapore reels in digital cinema
- Nonprofit closes deal for community theater
- Facade is all that remains
- HMS Rose on the big screen
- Cleaning up the Ritz
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November 20, 2003
AMC and Loews Cineplex in Merger Talks
AMC Entertainment, whose theaters account for about 12 percent of domestic theater revenue — more than any other chain — is in talks to merge with Loews Cineplex Entertainment, which accounts for 4.6 percent of the market, published reports said today (Wednesday). Spokespersons for each chain declined to comment on the reports. A merger of the companies would face intense regulatory scrutiny inasmuch as the two chains currently closely compete in many large markets and in some cases have theater complexes situated in close proximity to one another.
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More AMC/Loews Coverage
Here’s a roundup of reports about a possible merger of the country’s most successful mega-circuits:
Variety: AMC, Loews eyeing major screen team (sub. required)
“AMC Entertainment and Loews Cineplex are in talks about a merger with a goal of striking a preliminary agreement by year’s end. agreement by year’s end. A combo of AMC and Loews — the No. 1 and No. 5 U.S. exhibs — would create a mega-circuit of more than 5,600 screens.”The Hollywood Reporter: Double feature: AMC, Loews talk
“Details about the structure of a possible AMC-Loews union are still murky, in part because Loews' parent company, Toronto-based Onex Corp., and AMC’s majority investor, Apollo Management Lp., have no immediate plans to liquidate their respective stakes in the theater chains, sources said. What is clear is that AMC chief executive Peter Brown would head up the combined entity, though plans for the rest of the two management teams remain uncertain.”AMC: AMC Entertainment Inc. Confirms Preliminary Discussions
“AMC Entertainment Inc. (AMEX:AEN), one of the world’s leading theatrical exhibition companies, confirmed today that it is engaged in preliminary discussions with Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corporation about a possible business combination.”National Post (from Canada): Onex in talks with AMC to create movie colossus
“The announcement of talks between the two comes shortly after it was revealed that the initial public offering of Onex’s Canadian movie theatre business will likely raise less money than originally expected. The Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund now is selling 17.5 million units at $10 each, raising about $175-million. That’s down from $235-million in the original prospectus. The trust’s yield also was boosted by about one percentage point.” -
Pioneering Theatre Historian Remembered
Brother Andrew Corsini Fowler, 87, a native Chicagoan who helped found Theatre Historical Society of America in 1969 with Time-Life Editor Ben Hall, of New York, died recently while in convalescent care in Notre Dame, Indiana.