Remembering Good Times at the Cinema

Currently a freshmen in college right now and joined a club where we run movies with our own Dolby Atmos theatre. Currently, we own a digital protector, but most importantly, two 35-70mm projectors and two 16mm projectors. I just learned how to run a 35mm film and do changeovers which are stressful as hell. Our parent company that provides our movie showings might (and an extra sprinkle of might) provide us Licorice Pizza in 70mm.
 
This was a theater that use to do plays in the 50s, it was sold in 1984, and the new owner turned it into a foreign film, and independent film theater, if you wanted to show your fan made film you could do it here

Tickets were a dollar… and they stayed a dollar until power rangers turbo came out, then he went to 2 dollars..

Anyway.. it was one single theater, we would ride our bikes there chain them up in the back and go watch a movie for a buck..

Couldn’t beat it.. he would then buy the movies that left the local theaters, so you could see the movie before it came out on vhs (which took a wicked long time back then, pretty she it was almost a year before Jurassic park was on vhs) you could see the flick a few times a week for a buck before it was out on vhs it was great

The theater was always packed I don’t ever remember it not being packed.. saw episode 1 there when it left the theater and he got a copy…

A bunch of great times there.. he closed down.. then his kid reopened it.. there was a huge bed bugs out break and they never recovered.. the apartments above the theater were disgusting.. it was a real dump..

The place is destroyed now, ceiling fell in from leaking pipes from the apartments..

New owner bought it, he gutted the whole place, the store front the apartments the theater.. think his plan is to have plays there..

Idk just is cool place I use to hang
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Halliwax said:
Couldn’t beat it.. he would then buy the movies that left the local theaters, so you could see the movie before it came out on vhs (which took a wicked long time back then, pretty she it was almost a year before Jurassic park was on vhs)
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When I think of movies that took forever to hit vhs, I always think of Jurassic Park. I'd say around a year at least.

Halliwax said:
The place is destroyed now, ceiling fell in from leaking pipes from the apartments..
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Speaking of ceiling falling down....
At my theater there were all the emergency exits behind all the theater screens, and the biggest theaters had big halls just past those theater doors. So if anyone showed up early, or we were still cleaning it, we would have everyone line up in that area.
Back in 2004 when the Michal Moore documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 was playing. That hallway was full of people waiting to get in. It would get hot, so someone opened the door at the end to get some air....it somehow created some weird pressure and part of the ceiling collapsed on a few people. Someone got hurt but nothing serious.
Us employees used those doors all the time to get to the parking lot, yet, 6 years after opening, that was the night it decided to happen.
 
JediMichael said:
When I think of movies that took forever to hit vhs, I always think of Jurassic Park. I'd say around a year at least.


Speaking of ceiling falling down....
At my theater there were all the emergency exits behind all the theater screens, and the biggest theaters had big halls just past those theater doors. So if anyone showed up early, or we were still cleaning it, we would have everyone line up in that area.
Back in 2004 when the Michal Moore documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11 was playing. That hallway was full of people waiting to get in. It would get hot, so someone opened the door at the end to get some air....it somehow created some weird pressure and part of the ceiling collapsed on a few people. Someone got hurt but nothing serious.
Us employees used those doors all the time to get to the parking lot, yet, 6 years after opening, that was the night it decided to happen.
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That’s insane, thankfully no lawsuit
 
Anyone ever cosplay for movie premiers? Not myself, but I went with a friend who did:
  • Wolverine for X-Men 3. Looked halfway convincing, too bad the movie wasn't worth dressing up for.
  • An Agent for Matrix Revolutions. Simple, but again, bad movie choice.
  • Batman cowl to Spider-Man 2, just to be a troll. People were really asking serious questions, like who would win between the 2 superheroes in a fight. Bizarre experience.
  • Anakin for Attack of the Clones. Looked really accurate, little Jedi braid and everything. He was playing with a lightsaber in the lobby, and got it confiscated by management, to be picked up at the end of the movie. They thought he was going to turn it on during the show, despite assurances to the contrary (he would NOT have turned that thing on). He did get it back.
  • Others for sure. Just can't recall right now.
Curious as to what others have done!
 
RModin said:
Anyone ever cosplay for movie premiers? Not myself, but I went with a friend who did:
  • Wolverine for X-Men 3. Looked halfway convincing, too bad the movie wasn't worth dressing up for.
  • An Agent for Matrix Revolutions. Simple, but again, bad movie choice.
  • Batman cowl to Spider-Man 2, just to be a troll. People were really asking serious questions, like who would win between the 2 superheroes in a fight. Bizarre experience.
  • Anakin for Attack of the Clones. Looked really accurate, little Jedi braid and everything. He was playing with a lightsaber in the lobby, and got it confiscated by management, to be picked up at the end of the movie. They thought he was going to turn it on during the show, despite assurances to the contrary (he would NOT have turned that thing on). He did get it back.
  • Others for sure. Just can't recall right now.
Curious as to what others have done!
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Every time I go to the theater I cosplay as a cycling Star Wars nerd

All jokes aside I never have, was thinking about going to afterlife in my GB jump suit.. but bailed

I do dress up every year for Halloween though
 
No offense to cosplay people, but I always thought dressing up for ordinary, everyday things outside of Halloween is a bit embarrassing. If it's not required fancy dress, I won't do it. I'll put on a shirt or some small article if it's some special event to me, but that's it. Recent memories were of when I wore a replica f/x production crew shirt that was sold here some years back to the Star Wars concert event (ANH with live orchestra--some people showed up in full PT and Disney sequel regalia and it confused me), and--because it coincided with the holiday--went to see the 2018 Halloween in my H1 coveralls.

I did do a fun bit for 3 months leading up to the premiere of Joker, where I went and did this awful corporate set at some comedy shows (and throwing out stale Pop-Tarts into the crowd) dressed up as Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, pimping the entire movie and being as obnoxious about it as I possibly could. I didn't care for the movie but I did this just so I could do this prank on my friends where I made it seem like I got arrested attending the film's release.
 
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PoopaPapaPalps said:
No offense to cosplay people, but I always thought dressing up for ordinary, everyday things outside of Halloween is a bit a embarrassing. If it's not required fancy dress, I won't do it. I'll put on a shirt or some small article if it's some special event to me, but that's it. Recent memories were of when I wore a replica f/x production crew shirt that was sold here some years back to the Star Wars concert event (ANH with live orchestra--some people showed up in full PT and Disney sequel regalia and it confused me), and--because it coincided with the holiday--went to see the 2018 Halloween in my H1 coveralls.

I did do a fun bit for 3 months leading up to the premiere of Joker, where I went and did this awful corporate set at some comedy shows (and throwing out stale Pop-Tarts into the crowd) dressed up as Joaquin Phoenix's Joker, pimping the entire movie and being as obnoxious about it as I possibly could. I didn't care for the movie but I did this just so I could do this prank on my friends where I made it seem like I got arrested attending the film's release showing up in costume because of all the ridiculous hysteria surrounding it.
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I’d pay to see this
 
harrisonp said:
“cosplay is cringe” “I did this insane elaborate Joker thing” is really ironic :lol:
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:lol: That was all part of the point. The image, the hysteria, the selling of it and the ultimate nonsense of it all. I don't know if people got it wholly but it was fun doing it to see them not get it.
 
RModin said:
Or even checking for movie times in the newspaper. If you accidentally referenced Thursdays paper on a Friday, you could have showed up and been completely wrong as to the showtime. Many times did I show up for a 4:15 movie, only for it to have been switched since yesterday to something like 5:35. Go home or kill a bunch of time around the theater?
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This used to happen on a regular basis to us..
Luckily our local was right next door to the ABC Cinema now both long gone..

This pic was taken after they both closed.

Good times had in both

I saw Jaws, King Kong, Moonraker here with my nan..she shrieked at the Neds Head in Jaws!
Later under my own steam I saw Saturn Five, ESB, Black Hole, Gremlins, Evil Dead Jaws3D and a slew of others which I still have those old turnstyle stubs..
The Casino on otherside had a shop that sold merch linked to Jaws so I got a mug pendant and keyring which I still have..
 

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When me and my coworkers at blockbuster got a midnight showing of ep3, that was really the first time I was introduced to cosplay

Going to Boston comic con since the beginning of time, even back then no one dressed up.. actually I remember them letting you in for free if you wore a Halloween costume.. anyway!!

The revenge of the sith midnight show there had to be 30 people dressed up..

The theater was totally lit, waiting for everyone to find their seats and counting down to midnight

A very heavy set Jedi got up on stage and with his lightsaber acted like a conductor, and was saying

1 and a 2 and a 1,2,3 “r2 d2… c3poooooo” trying to get the theater to sing along with him..

Someone yelled “sit down Jabba the Hutt” the man jumped down and ran out crying… the theater was laughing and all I could think of was how terrible that was..

My friends and I couldn’t believe it, and we don’t think he ever came back.. I mean he was very very large.. we would have not missed his return..

I felt so bad for him, not only being embarrassed like that.. but missing the first screening..

Was not cool at all..

But that was the first night I was actually introduced to real home made costumes.. every con I went to at this time worn Walmart Halloween costumes just so they didn’t have to pay to get in..

Think is was 5/10 bucks back then.. nothing serious at all.. no lines to get in.. no need to buy tickets online.. never was crowded..

Funny to think where it all came from
 
Heres myself and a coworker who waited for 8 hours to see Episode III. (My other friends didn't dress up......those losers)
Her saber was a toy where mine was a paper towel roll I painted.
Management let me wear that while working during that weekend as long as I had a nametag on. I didn't keep the facepaint while working.

lensflare.jpg
 
I've been loving this thread but haven't had a chance to reply to it. Been super busy since Christmas. To the original topic...yes I keep all my ticket stubs too. I've been doing so since I was a kid. It's a nice memento. It was a huge bummer when my local Edwards after covid started using the standard white thermal paper (they were slowly trending toward it regardless). They also stopped selling out of the ticket booth for some reason. You now buy tickets at the concession stand. I use the kiosk anyway so it doesn't really matter but a couple of months ago the kiosks went down and I had to wait in line for a while. Didn't help that I get to the theater a few minutes before showtime knowing there's never a wait at the kiosk. I don't do online purchasing precisely because I don't get a physical receipt I can keep. There's a Cinemark a little further away that I'll go to sometimes that still has traditional ticket stubs that emerge from a slot dispenser in the ticket booth counter. Nicer IMAX too which is part of the reason I'll drive the extra miles to get there.

I love going to the movies. I mostly watch older classics that are being re-screened though. I rarely go to watch a newer movie. The nice part is the crowds for older movies are usually smaller, older, and quieter than your average new release which is great for me because I don't want to handle big crowds anymore. I totally get the turnoff of someone munching popcorn in your ear or talking or my "favorite"; cheering. But, nothing beats watching a movie on the big screen. A friend of mine has a decked out home theater setup and it still, for me, isn't close to a big theater. Part of it is technical and part of it is just having that escape from the world for two hours. When I'm at home, I can't seem to focus on a movie the way I can in a theater. I watched the first Matrix two weeks ago when they were showing it in IMAX. I've seen that movie numerous times before but it felt like I watched it for the first time.

Popcorn and soda seem to taste better in a theater too. Here's a question for you, JediMichael . There's the main concessions stand in the lobby and then there's sometimes an auxiliary one(s) located further in closer to the theaters. I can't recall ever seeing an auxiliary one open. How frequently were they used while you were working?
 

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