My last visit was in 2012 for the 60th anniversary of Cinerama.
Cinerama Dome (Los Angeles, USA) Celebrates Cinerama's 60th
Anniversary - YouTube [1]
CINERAMA DOME (LOS ANGELES, USA) CELEBRATES CINERAMA'S 60TH
ANNIVERSARY
On Friday, April 16, 2021, 04:45:09 AM EDT, David Kusumoto
<[email protected]> wrote:
Used to attend screenings there - required for awards consideration
in a calendar year - (which AMPAS will likely rescind permanently as
COVID hastened the death of in-person screenings - and - with the
industry letting streaming services bankroll their own productions
before 2020 regardless, bypassing exhibitors except for tent-pole
films). I wished I could've seen "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" at
the '63 world premiere of both the film and the Dome itself - which is
recounted in rich detail in Criterion's restored boxed version of the
film - complete with scratches and sound drops and all. I also saw
"Apocalypse Now" there like others in 1979 - and was struck not only
by the roadshow "reserved seating" still in place - but also by
Coppola's baffling ending at the time. I remember the movie just
ended, like BAM! - with no credit scroll at all. My last visit to the
Dome was in 2016 to see "La La Land" - and director Damien Chazelle
came out and introduced the picture. Only later did I learn that
celebrity visits and intros were "commonplace" at the Dome.
The Dome's demise became national news everywhere this week. The WSJ
finally took its turn today, putting this on its front page. (As a
public service, just in case its restrictive paywall is in place, I've
copied the text below.) - d.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hollywood-mourns-the-loss-of-its-beloved-movie-theater-11618506514
[2]
_ [2]
Hollywood Mourns the Loss of its Beloved Movie Theater - WSJ [2]
Hollywood Mourns the Loss of its Beloved Movie Theater The flagship
ArcLight Cinema on Sunset Boulevard had long served as L.A.’s
clubhouse for the city’s most ardent movie lovers, where a ...
www.wsj.com
_
__
=============
FRONT PAGE - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL - FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021
[3]
Hollywood Mourns the Loss of Its Beloved ArcLight Cinema
The flagship theater on Sunset Boulevard had long served as L.A.’s
clubhouse for the city’s most ardent movie lovers, where a ticket
might land a seat next to the same star appearing on the screen
_ [4] PHOTO BY Bing Guan/Bloomberg News
By Eric Schwartzel for the Wall Street Journal_
LOS ANGELES— Nicole DeGraaf was several episodes into the TV show
“Felicity” this week when friends grew concerned about her
well-being. “Are you OK?” several texted.
News was spreading throughout the nation’s filmmaking capital that
Hollywood’s unofficial theater chain, the ArcLight, wouldn’t be
reopening its auditoriums when the pandemic ended.
Ms. DeGraaf, a hard-core movie lover in a city full of them, was still
processing the revelation.
“It’s like someone was saying your second home is closing
forever,” said Ms. DeGraaf, a 42-year-old Los Angeles native who
lost her job as a salon manager when Covid-19 forced the shop to
close.
Similar scenes are playing out across America. As the nation
re-emerges from 14 months of shutdowns, beloved diners, music venues
and other community landmarks are informing customers that there will
be no life after the pandemic.
Few notices have rippled through Los Angeles like the announcement
Monday that the screens operated by ArcLight Cinemas would be among
them. The ArcLight, and in particular its flagship location on Sunset
Boulevard, doubled as a Kiwanis Club for cinephiles, its lobby a
celebrity-filled haven and its auditoriums marked by a quiet, almost
religious, reverence.
STILL ILLUMINATED THIS WEEK, BUT PADLOCKED.
[5]
[6]
When it opened in 2002, the ArcLight was among the first in the
nation to offer assigned seating. Earnest ushers—their own favorite
movies featured on their nametags—introduced each movie by
identifying its director and running time. Each month featured Q&A
sessions with filmmakers after the show. In the lobbies, costumes from
blockbusters like “The Avengers” were often on display, not far
from a cafe and restaurant.
Next door to the ArcLight’s flagship location is the Cinerama Dome,
an iconic single-screen orb that the chain operated and had screened
such epics as “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The 58-year-old theater could seat more than 800 moviegoers and often
dressed the part, getting covered in yellow tarp for the opening of a
new “Minions” movie.
It was displayed in Technicolor glory in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019
ode to midcentury Los Angeles, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
It, too, will close, the chain announced.
CHARLES DE LAUZIRIKA IN 1978 ON HIS FIRST TRIP TO SEE THE RE-RELEASE
OF "FANTASIA"
[7]
“Yet another L.A. temple or cathedral to movies that’s fading
away,” said Charles de Lauzirika, a filmmaker whose first visit to
the Cinerama Dome was as a young boy for a rerelease of Disney’s
“Fantasia.” Its closure is a sign of the times, he said, “and
the times have sucked.”
The 300 screens operated by ArcLight parent company Pacific Theaters
compose a fraction of the 41,000 operating before the pandemic, but
they loom large in the home of Hollywood. These ArcLight-branded
multiplexes were a film-geek’s paradise, also defined by what they
didn’t offer—sticky floors, bad lighting—and didn’t tolerate:
Talking or texting during the show and tardy arrivals.
“Not letting people in late, what a dream!” Ms. DeGraaf said.
There are other theaters in Los Angeles, of course, whether those
operated by major chains or boutique operators that specialize in
luxury food and special seating.
[8]
[9]
But Ms. DeGraaf’s experiences at the big chains, when she must
attend them, are characterized by “20 minutes of commercials with
the lights on,” she said, and at fancier auditoriums by a constant
flow of servers delivering appetizers and cocktails in the auditorium.
“Which is great for people who don’t care about movies,” she
said.
Pacific Theaters said in a statement: “This was not the outcome
anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential
options, the company does not have a viable way forward.”
News of its closure sent Los Angeles film fans into a citywide shiva,
with filmmakers like Rian Johnson and Barry Jenkins joining in the
commiseration. “Nooooooooooooooooooooooo,” wrote actress and
director Olivia Wilde.
On Wednesday morning, Michael Horton, a 35-year-old TV researcher and
writer, marked the sad occasion. He loaded CineStill 50 film into his
camera and drove to the Cinerama Dome, Located less than 5 miles south
of the Hollywood sign, it was where Mr. Horton saw “Men in Black”
as a child, and where he fell asleep during an 11 a.m. screening of
“Batman v Superman.”
The Dome he photographed this week, though, looked much different
than it did back then. Plywood covered the doors. The only people
outside were cleaning the sidewalk.
As he took in the scene, Mr. Horton sounded like a man older than his
35 years as he recalled the old days. “So much movie culture is
leaving Hollywood,” he said.
If the Dome, a historic landmark built out of 316 interlocking
concrete panels, doesn’t reopen, “the next time I go to L.A., will
it even feel like the same city to me?” asked Mr. Lauzirika. He now
lives in Atlanta, where movie and TV producers have flocked in search
of lucrative film-tax credits.
IN DECEMBER 2017, EVERY SCREEN BUT ONE SHOWED "THE LAST JEDI"
[10]
-----------------------------
IN JULY 2019, NICOLE DEGRAAF AND KURT MEYERS ATTENDED AN ADVANCE
SCREENING OF "ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD"
[11]
The ArcLight was one of the few places where moviegoers have a chance
at a celebrity sighting, and where stars were left largely alone. Mr.
Lauzirika saw “Back to the Future” sitting next to Thomas F.
Wilson, who played the bully Biff in the movie. Ms. DeGraaf speaks in
awe of watching Keanu Reeves whip off his motorcycle helmet at the
ArcLight bar “like it was in slow-motion.”
The ArcLight was also a gathering spot for the less celebrated in a
city that can feel atomized. “You run into people you know, you run
into people you don’t want to run into,” said Peter Avellino, a
49-year-old ArcLight devotee who writes about films on a personal
blog.
Several ArcLight locations were among the top-performing in the U.S.,
yet theaters everywhere have struggled to return. The impact appears
to be disproportionately hitting small-town locations. Last weekend,
about 55% of theaters were open, but those locations, mostly in larger
cities, represent about 92% of the nation’s box-office receipts.
Many fans are holding out hope that a deep-pocketed benefactor—or a
streaming service or major studio—will step in and keep the ArcLight
open.
Lee Trovillion, a 35-year-old facilities manager for a production
company, is cautiously optimistic. Before he moved to Los Angeles in
2008, film-school buddies who already lived there told him he would be
spending a lot of his time at the ArcLight. He keeps the ticket stubs
to every movie he has seen since he was 16, and he is heartbroken to
think that the disappointing 2019 release “Terminator: Dark Fate”
will be the last one he sees in an ArcLight auditorium.
“I still can’t think people would let that theater die,” he
said.
-------------------------
FROM: MoPo List <[email protected]> on behalf of Susan Heim
<[email protected]>
SENT: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 12:25 PM
TO: [email protected] <[email protected]>
SUBJECT: Re: Cinerama Dome to close permanently
I would have loved to see How the West Was Won. It's one of my
favorite movie. I just watched it the other day on TCM.. I have a
customer, Tom March from Canada, that is part of a HWWW group that did
a video years ago tracing all the locations that the movie was filmed
in. Showing the current location next to the original filmed location.
A lot of it out in Convict Lake and Lone Pine. Here is the youtube
video of that film he made. It's a wonderful watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73draiaEIMg [12]
[12]
"How the West Was Won". Locations: Then and Now [13]
"How the West Was Won". Locations: Then and Now. Photographed by Tom
March. Edited by Dave Strohmaier. Produced 2007.
www.youtube.com
Sue
-------------------------
FROM: Rudy Franchi <[email protected]>
SENT: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 6:59 PM
TO: Susan Heim <[email protected]>
CC: [email protected] <[email protected]>
SUBJECT: Re: [MOPO] Cinerama Dome to close permanently
Great post Sue. When I heard the news I tweeted the following:
Mega Bummer.The Dome was my favorite place to watch movies.Few years
ago saw How The West Was Won in three strip true Cinerama&a new perfet
print of The Searchers.
--------- After the HWWW screening the audience was invited up to the
projection room. Only a few of us took advantage of the invitation and
the visit was a real treat. We got to talk to the projectionists as
they went over their clean machines and I got to see the 4th
"projector" in the booth: the large unique device that ran the sound
on its own dedicated track. The God Of Cinema ( who lives in Hollywood
) will save this iconic movie palace dedicated to the technique of
showing films. rudy
On Wed, Apr 14, 2021 at 7:33 AM Susan Heim <[email protected]>
wrote:
When I was a kid growing up in the 1960's, going to the Dome to see a
movie was an event. You got dressed up and you behaved yourself,
unlike the local theater where you could get up and smack your brother
or your friend in the head when they were talking too loud!! It was a
treat and it cost a bit more than going to your local neighborhood
theater. We never got concessions because the cost of getting into the
theater pretty much tapped your parents out. Since we were a large
family, we mostly went to drive -in's where the entrance fee was by
the carload and there was always a playground up front, under the
screen, that you could play on until the movie started. I miss the
drive - in's too!! By the time my children were born, the drive - in's
were pretty much closed all over Los Angeles and surrounding areas. It
was such a great venue for a family outing or for date night!!
While I moved out of Los Angeles 5 years ago, I still go down every
year to see friends and family (with the exception of last summer
because of Covid). I would pass the Dome as I traveled down Vine
Street to my daughter apartment, never imagining one day it would be
closed and possibly gone forever. I do hope some corporate entity
comes in and buys it and does something wonderful with it. It would be
a great place to not only show new films, but old films and perhaps a
film history museum and learning facility.
Sue
Hollywood Poster Frames
HollywoodPosters.com
(800) 463-2994
-------------------------
FROM: MoPo List <[email protected]> on behalf of Alan Adler
<[email protected]>
SENT: Wednesday, April 14, 2021 2:18 PM
TO: [email protected] <[email protected]>
SUBJECT: Re: [MOPO] Cinerama Dome to close permanently
I remember how thrilled I was to see APOCALYPSE NOW at the Dome. I
knew it was going to be the best venue I could possibly see the film.
The thing about the Dome for me was that everything was so memorable
when seen there. It was the modern movie palace - one of the last
temples to the old gods.
Alan
On Apr 14, 2021, at 6:03 AM, Roland Lataille
<[email protected]> wrote:
Petition Launched To Help Save Hollywood’s Cinerama Dome (msn.com)
[14]
On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, 10:19:17 PM EDT, Toochis r
<[email protected]> wrote:
It’s terrible. Don’t understand why they didn’t get Covid19
help. So many worse businesses got $.
On Tue, Apr 13, 2021 at 6:57 PM Christopher Quarles
<[email protected]> wrote:
Very sad!
On Tue, Apr 13, 2021 at 9:40 PM Susan Heim <[email protected]>
wrote:
Sad news from Hollywood. Due to pandemic losses, Pacific and ArcLight
theaters, which includes the iconic Cinerama Dome on Sunset Blvd. will
close permanently. Having grown up in Los Angeles, we arrived in July
of 1963. The Dome opened in November, 1963 with the premiere of It's a
Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. We lived closeby and went down to see all
the hoopla.....I saw so many movies there growing up and more
recently, the American Film Institute would have a yearly event where
they show about 10 or 12 movies and had people associated with the
movie in attendance discussing it. With so many movies to choose from,
the last time, I opted for Spartacus and Kirk Douglas was in
attendance and was wonderful. I took my then teenage daughter as it
was one of her favorite movies too from growing up with her movie
crazy Mom......I'm so sad to hear of it.....
Sue
Hollywood Poster Frames
HollywoodPosters.com [15]
(800) 463-2994
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Links:
------
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRAcv8tpHhk
[2]
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hollywood-mourns-the-loss-of-its-beloved-movie-theater-11618506514
[3] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2130/z320RH.jpg
[4] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img924/1895/MtCaS1.jpg
[5] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6789/QdQjzY.jpg
[6] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/74/Oi5iet.jpg
[7] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/6531/UURMAo.jpg
[8] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/24/V3NX8F.jpg
[9] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/5782/3bu2fJ.jpg
[10] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2350/UnPe0s.jpg
[11] https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/2151/7lXxvs.jpg
[12]
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