movie theater Tagged Articles at Cinematical
The Exhibitionist: Heroes and Villains
Filed under: Foreign Language », Independent », Exhibition », Columns »
Week after week, I focus on the good and/or bad concerning moviegoing and the movie theatre industry. But as passionate as I am about the subjects of this column, I've never really felt strongly enough to label any one person either a hero or a villain to moviegoers. Perhaps the closest I've come to calling someone a hero was when I finally had my first experience with an Alamo Drafthouse cinema. On the other hand, I've certainly wanted to call a lot of people villains, including whoever was responsible for my worst moviegoing experience in years and whoever came up with the awful idea to produce scented pre-show ads.
So, it was by some sort of coincidence that last week actually brought news of both a remarkably heroic moviegoer and a terribly villainous theatre owner. Of course, you're welcome to disagree with me as I celebrate the former and castigate the latter. The interesting thing about these two individuals is that some of you may see my hero as a villain, and vice versa. In fact the law has deemed the former a criminal, and meanwhile tons of moviegoers in the UK are championing the actions of the latter. No wonder film exhibition is in such dire straits when there's such disagreement about how to improve the moviegoing experience.
Was Jerry Seinfeld Right -- Should We Drop Trash On Theater Floors?
Filed under: Tech Stuff », Exhibition »
One part of the Oscar telecast that made me angry was Jerry Seinfeld's routine about the deal between the moviegoer and the movie theater. He claimed that people have the right to drop their trash on the floor after being ripped off at the concession stand. A lot of other people thought the bit was funny, enough to hope the comedian would one day host the awards, but to people like me, whose career is or was in the theater industry, pushing the idea that cinemas are completely to blame for their own attendance problems just makes matters worse.Of course, the theater industry is at fault a good percentage of the time, at least as far as recognizing their place and duty in the distribution/exhibition process, and according to Techdirt, the industry may finally be waking up to the issues of demand and of the importance of the moviegoing experience. The blog features a great quote for theater owners to remember, originally stated by Marcus Loew: "We sell tickets to theaters, not movies." Some chains and indies have been conscious of the experience issue for awhile now, particularly fun theaters like the Alamo Drafthouse and theaters with special deals like AMC, but the issue of enhancing the movie-going experience has been difficult to address on a wide scale. There is some progress, though -- with the planned broadband and/or satellite distribution of digital movies to theaters, the ability to run more showings of a popular title will be easier and quicker. Theaters will just cancel a less popular movie and run the higher-demand title on its screen instead.
Da Vinci Code Brought Down -- By Chewing Gum?
Filed under: Drama », Mystery & Suspense », Tech Stuff », Exhibition », 20th Century Fox »
While people around the world are protesting and boycotting and continuing attempts to ban the controversial film The Da Vinci Code, it turns out that all they need in order to cancel its exhibition is a stick of chewing gum. That is what shut down screenings at a theater in Princeton, Kentucky last weekend, anyway. A piece of gum somehow -- presumably thrown -- got onto the take-up platter (a giant disc where the film goes after being projected) of a projector running the film and caused a big, sticky mess, halting the film's run from Saturday afternoon through Monday. Only the print of the film was damaged, and the theater was able to (and had to) run RV until they received a new print of The Da Vinci Code on Tuesday.
Although the theater is not looking to investigate the supposed act of vandalism, its owner says that if the guilty party anonymously sends a couple hundred dollars, that all will be forgiven. And he announced that from now on, the projection booth will be locked.
Vintage Image of the Day: Farewell, Coliseum
Filed under: Vintage Image of the Day »
As if New Orleans hadn't lost enough landmarks and historical buildings in the last year, the 91-year-old Coliseum Theater building burned down last Friday night. According to Cinema Treasures, the building hadn't been in use as a theater since 1976. Pre-Katrina, the building had been converted to house photography and video production companies. It also was used as a location in the movie Interview with a Vampire: it's the theater where Louis watches Tequila Sunrise. In its glory days, it was a neighborhood theater in the Coliseum Square part of town (located on Coliseum St. where it turns into Camp, if you know the area).
The above photo was taken in 2004 and quite frankly, makes the theater look more stunning and less shabby than it appeared in color. The Coliseum took a beating in the hurricane and lost its lovely facade. The building was undergoing extensive renovation before it caught fire last week, when it finally collapsed. It wasn't the landmark that the big Joy Downtown theater was (and is, although it's closed too) and wasn't a theater I have any personal memories about, but it's sad to see a once-charming neighborhood theater eradicated entirely.
[story via Stomp Tokyo; photo by mark m]
Jeremy Renner Wants To Be An Avenger
Directors We Love: Jim Jarmusch
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
Shelf Life: Fight Club_thumbnail.jpg)
Watch: Famous 'Matrix' Scene Re-Created with LEGOs
_thumbnail.jpg)
