Alan Smithee

Will be meeting with KOVR news tomorrow morning for an on-camera appearance, which will likely get edited down to 2 seconds with my main points completely obliterated but it's still worth a shot. Anything to raise awareness for our theaters here- note that I completely get that these are in too bad shape to save, but the new theater they have planned is an absolute insult. If I were in charge, I'd build replicas of all the great fallen theaters from this area- 2 big domes built to modern standards, then a replica of the Alhambra, then a UA Cinema 150 (which later became the Crestview Cinema and then a live theater before being destroyed in a fire.)

Alan Smithee

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They got a few things wrong (such as saying that I ran the projectors here- I never did) but could've been a lot worse.

dek

Yeah, the original Chuck E. Cheese was also in Town and Country as well. Back then I could ride my skateboard to pretty much any arcade or movie theater I wanted to, or just hop on the bus. I'd ride the bus all the way to Sunnyvale to Aladdin's Castle, skate the wave/fish banks/libbys, then head back home. They also had a movie theater at Sunnyvale Town Center, but I rarely went there for movies. I can't believe how much freedom I actually had as a kid, I'd never let my kids do the things I did back then. Hell, I could spend half the day on the bus just going to arcades. Also forgot, I spent my birthday camped out at Century 21 in the parking lot for the premier of Batman in 1989. There were these people that had a whole generator setup. Tvs, NES, you name it. Then around 11, this car pulls up and opens the trunk to which they had about 50 laser tag setups. Played laser tag for a few hours, climbed the side of the theater and got on top of some level thing, then slept a few hours. Crazy times.

Did they tear it down, or is it still a nightclub? I haven't been that way in years as I usually just head to San Jose for a cheesesteak and head back home 90 minutes away.

Alan Smithee

http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article25126300.html

Made the local paper this week. This weekend I'll be writing my formal letter to everyone involved to ask for a better new theater than the one they have planned for the site.

DaveNinja

I signed the petition. It would be nice if they could keep one big dome and revert it back to a single screen

Alan Smithee

Thanks!

Deadman31

I wish they interviewed you in your apartment.

Alan Smithee

That'll hopefully be coming in "The Last American Media", a documentary about CED videodiscs.

wakwak007

I will go sign the petition now..

mrhan

Yeah, you can go all over Santa Clara on the bus with a 20c day pass. As for the Sunnyvale Town Center; it's trying to look like Santana Row. I didn't even recognize it when I drove by it a few weeks ago. It was the smallest AMC I ever been to back in the 80's.

Alan Smithee

Update on the Sacramento domes (the San Jose ones are STILL sitting empty right now!) The remaining ones here will likely close around January and be demolished after that. Since the large dome in that complex is still split in half, I'd honestly rather see it torn down than continue to operate that way but the new theater they want to build in its place is an absolute joke. Here are the floor plans:


The total seat count will be 1540 for 14 screens, less than what the two original domes held and less than half of even the current theater's seating capacity! I have attended all public meeting so far and told the developers that this is a very bad idea long-term and an insult to what the original theaters used to be. If anyone else in the area cares about this, there will be a final city planning commission meeting next Monday, September 14 at 5:30 PM, at 700 H Street Room 1450 in downtown Sacramento. This is where the city will likely give the final approval or denial for them to build this new theater- the more people who show up opposed to it, the more chance there is of it being denied. I'm not very optimistic of "saving" the remaining domes like others around here are, but strongly feel this new theater is a very bad idea and we deserve something closer to what those were when they were new. I'm already calling this new theater "The Mistake" and will refer to it as such if it does get built and opened.

Alan Smithee

Well, after sitting empty for five years it looks like 22's time is finally coming: https://www.nbcbayarea.com/on-air/as...owTwt_BAYBrand

I may not be able to work when it finally happens. I've been emotionally preparing myself for this since they closed but still had a bit of hope someone would step up and re-open them. I guess only Los Angeles deserves good theaters and fuck everywhere else.

My god that watermark Photobucket added is hideous. And of course the new Sacramento theater opened over 2 years ago and is a complete joke- all 14 screens are 1.85 without even any masking, so scope movies are shown letterboxed. Some auditoriums only have about 50 seats each. I went to the first showing there but that was the first and last time I will ever go there- it truly earned its name The Mistake. I've given up on theaters altogether now, when I finally move to a bigger place I'll get a projector and just pretend I'm at a real theater.

TomOpus

Screen size can't replicate the ambience of a theater, unless your living room is the size of a theater.

Why So Blu?

Rightfully so. It's L.A.

JeffTheAlpaca

There was a feature on this on NBC News Bay Area yesterday

Mabuse

Alan Smithee

I truly do not know what the industry has been thinking lately, with the half-assed recent theaters they've been opening. With retail getting hit so hard lately I don't know why there hasn't been a severe downturn at theaters either, though the reduced seating capacities are probably making them look fuller than they really are.

The only good news is Century 21 has been declared a historic building and is staying, but who knows what it will actually be used for. Recent plans showed it as a fitness center, and San Jose's mayor has said some unbelievably stupid things about turning it into an open-air ampitheatre. I wish I could have that much authority over something I knew absolutely nothing about.

mrhan

The owners should refurbish the remaining dome and incorporated it with the theatres at Santa Row. Use it regularly and for big movie premieres. I guarantee there will be more advanced ticket sales at the dome than the regular theatres across the street.

Alan Smithee

mrhan

Yeah, the old Town and Country Century was nothing special but what replaced them is shit. I hate Satan's Row; so many wannabe rich posers just milling around. I miss the old Town and Countries in both Sunnyvale and San Jose. The one in Sunnyvale had a couple of comic book stores in the 80's. Funny thing is there is still one in Palo Alto. Totally affluent area that likes to keep things old.

incomjoe

What a pity!