You can own a piece of Hollywood history for a mere. . . USD $31 million!
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the El Capitan Theatre, located in the heart of Hollywood, has been put up for sale by its owner, CUNA Mutual Group. The building in which the theatre resides also contains six-stories of office space filled with entertainment industry tenants, including the studio for late night talks show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live”. The theatre sits across Hollywood Boulevard from Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and just down the street from the Egyptian Theatre.
Built in 1926 as a live theatre venue, the El Capitan has seen the entire gamut of Hollywood history. From the first motion pictures with sound to the world premiere of “Citizen Kane” to the decline of Hollywood into filth and squalor, to its recent rise again as one of the hottest parts of Los Angeles. Through it all the El Capitan never stopped functioning as a theatre accept during renovations. In 1991, Walt Disney Company and Pacific Theaters spent $6 million restoring the venue to the way famed theatre designer G. Albert Lansburg had intended back in the 1920s and returned the outdoor lighting and architectural features to their original state.
Unfortunately, the restored El Capitan was open long when in 1994 the theatre suffered sever damage during the Northridge earthquake. The building’s frame came close to being condemned and the theatre’s renovated interior was ruined by flooding when sprinkler systems malfunctioned. Read More »
Popularity: 32% [?]
When it comes to virtual print fees all the talk lately has been about which studios have signed with Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, however there are other integrators signing distributors to VPF deals. For instance, AccessIT announced on Wednesday that they had reached a ten year VPF agreement with Overture Films to show the indie distributors films in digital cinema equipped theatres that were a part of the the integrator’s Phase 1 rollout.
The two companies are far from strangers, as Overture already uses AccessIT’s distribution software and satellite delivery services. As well, the mini-major had been distributing its films through AccessIT’s digital cinema network on a per film basis, including such titles as “Mad Money”, “Henry Pool Is Here”, “Sunshine Cleaning” and the indie hit “The Visitor”. Overture, which was founded in 2006 by former studio execs Chris McGurk and Danny Rosett, only began releasing films this year.
Releasing films through a digital cinema network outside of a VPF agreement can often be costly because integrators usually charge a premium VPF to distributors without an ongoing deal. Read More »
Popularity: 32% [?]
If you are one of the 330,000 residents of Manukau city in New Zealand then beginning on September 13th you’ll have a brand new movie theatre to see the latest and greatest films in. SkyCity Cinemas is opening a flagship multiplex at the Westfield Manukau City on Saturday featuring ten screens and a combined 1,932 seats.
Eight of the screens will be reserved for traditional theatres complete with digital sound and extra-wide stadium seating that will provide plenty of leg room. The two remaining screens have been transformed into SkyCity’s premium auditoriums, Cinema Deluxe. They will seat 78 and 62 patrons respectively in reclining leather chairs. Despite what may appear to be limited seating capacity, the VIP screens are full sized theatres with the same screen size, throw and digital sound as featured in the multiplex’s other auditoriums. The largest screen in the complex will seat 364.
SkyCity Cinemas Manukau will also host a full bar in hopes of coaxing some extra New Zealand Dollars out of adult moviegoers before and after shows, as well as an interactive gaming arcade. Read More »
Popularity: 37% [?]
And then there were four. Four studios that is. Or so says the Wall Street Journal which broke a story today reporting that Universal Pictures and Walt Disney Company have reached a virtual print fee deal with Digital Cinema Implementation Partners, the joint venture formed by North American exhibitors Regal Entertainment, Cinemark and AMC Entertainment to finance, install and maintain digital cinema equipment in their theatres. The three chains, which represent a combined screen count of around 15,000, would like to start rolling out digital cinema as soon as the fourth quarter of this year, in time for the flood of 3D movies studios have slated for release next year.
Previously, DCIP had reached a VPF deal with Twentieth Century Fox, though the studio has never confirmed the news. The signing of four studios is a crucial milestone which DCIP must cross in order to secure the USD $1 billion in financing the company has lined up from J.P. Morgan Chase to pay for all the expensive digital cinema equipment required to outfit theatres. The Wall Street Journal had reported that Paramount Pictures had also signed a VPF agreement with DCIP, which had been rumored in the press but never officially announced. Indeed, by the end of the day Variety had taken the air out of the Wall Street Journal’s big scoop by confirming that Paramount Pictures had not yet signed with DCIP. Read More »
Popularity: 60% [?]
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Dan Fellman,
Michael Karagosian,
Paramount Pictures,
Regal Entertainment,
Scott Sherr,
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The marquee outside the now closed Atco Multiplex Cinemas
The Boston Globe is reporting that National Amusements is closing two of its theatres in Massachusetts. The Showcase Cinemas Lawrence 1-6 which opened in 1965 and employed 30 people, was shut down on Monday. The Circle Cinemas in Brookline, which employed a staff of 21, will hold it’s final screenings on September 7th.
Of the two theatres the Circle Cinemas was by far the more historic venue. It originally opened in 1946 as a single screen theatre called the Circle Theater, though was also known as the Cleveland Circle. In 1976, the Cinema was divided in half and given the name Circle Cinemas. The theatre developed into one of the best in Boston and in its heyday played most of the major releases. The theatre booked mostly Paramount films, which is no surprise since National Amusements is owned by Sumner Redstone, the owner of Viacom, the parent organization of both Paramount Pictures and CBS. (Editorial Addendum: Redstone did not purchase Paramount Pictures until 1993). One such film was “Love Story” which played at the Circle Theatre for over a year six months starting in 1970.
Toward the end of its run the two theatres inside Circle Cinemas had been divided into seven awkward spaces. Patrons often faulted the venue for having small theatres with tiny screens. Read More »
Popularity: 30% [?]
![Village Roadshow chairman, Robert G. Kirby [Lawrence K. Ho/LA Times]](http://celluloidjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/robertgkirby.jpg "Robet G. Kirby")
Village Roadshow chairman, Robert G. Kirby (Lawrence K. Ho/LA Times)
Back in March of this year, Australian exhibitor Village Roadshow Ltd. announced plans to bring their Gold Class luxury cinemas concept to the United States. Already a huge hit in Australia, Village Roadshow teamed up with television producer Norman Lear’s Act III Communications and investment firm Lambert Entertainment in a USD $200 million venture that has plans to open 50 theaters in the U.S. over a five year period. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times shed some light on what moviegoers can expect from Village Roadshow’s high-end cinemas.
Specifically, they can look forward to the price of admission - up to USD $35 per ticket.
Turns out Village Roadshow’s Gold Class Cinemas, which is based in Burbank, California, will be opening three theaters in the Los Angeles area by December of 2009. It should come as no surprise that these theatres will be built in affluent areas such as One Colorado in Pasadena, Triangle Square in Costa Mesa and at the Guasti Winery in Ontario. Read More »
Popularity: 50% [?]
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