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Topic: 3 year old THX multiplex pulls out!!!

Rory Burke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 181
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 12-08-2000 04:11 PM

WOW...unbelievable!!!! The all THX complex at the University of California in Riverside california has seen its day I'm afraid. Yesterdays 2:45 pm last showing of The Grinch, at the CinemaStar Luxury theater's University Village site was followed by a three hour dismantling of all the theater's projection equipment, sound Racks and seats for fear that their unwilling to renegotiate landlord would shut the doors and freeze all contents in the building. The official reasoning of the bail out was parking problems and lease negotiations but we all know they are in the same boat as the rest of the industry. No Money!!!!!
"Just cut the wires..all of them!!!" a quote from the hectic 3 hour event as they were frantically cutting all wire connections while the Riverside Police dept. was anxiously waiting the order to enforce the locking of the front doors. The building is now dead. Pics to follow soon!!!

Rory

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David Kilderry
Master Film Handler

Posts: 355
From: Melbourne Australia
Registered: Sep 1999

posted 12-08-2000 06:33 PM

Rory,

It is always sad news when a theatre closes, especially when one so new as this in Riverside.

Maybe the university students will drive down the road and re-discover the Rubidoux drive-in. Even without the neon, that main screen tower is still one of the best left standing.

David

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Rory Burke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 181
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 12-08-2000 06:47 PM

You right about the drive in and with all the film-tech info found in this page I have to say the luminace levels have increased by 6 foot lsmberts by pulling the window assemly out during shows. About the Cinemstar, it is sad...they had the three best screens in Southern California with the exception of their *8 screen at their multiplex in Perris California. Three of the screens they lost were also used by the university for classes during three quaters of the year so everyone loses. This theater was twice voted by the Press Enterprise newspaper as the best theater in the County. Although it was part of a multiplex chain this theater was a symbol of pride for all the City/University/county official because the theater came in and was instrumental in cleaning up the city. Anyways, another one bites the dust.

Rory

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

posted 12-09-2000 01:42 AM

Wow, I don't think I've ever heard of quite such a situation to get equipment out of a building before. It's ashamed no one contacted a video documentary director, as that could've been a very interesting short documentary show.

I'm assuming they did remove everything they possibly could beforehand and just run mono with one amp that last performance or two? They could've even gone so far as to take the 3rd platter decks and loading tables out of the building as well. How much preparation was there?

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Rory Burke
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 181
From: Burbank, CA, USA
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 12-09-2000 10:09 AM

Well I went ot visit the site and it is a mess. Mind you this was a new site as far a multiplexes go. CP-500's 3417's QSC MX series amps and EV speakers, Strong Simplex prjectors and christie platters all gone.
As it turns out noone new about the trailer park dismantling <hehe> I call it that because of the way things were done. All the screens were ripped to shreds, the curtain and masking motors were damaged with metal rods. All rigging cables were cut. Speakers were punched through, holes kicked in the walls, acoudtic tiles ripped off the walls or shredded....This is worse than I originally thought. The Landlord told me that Cinemastar went out of their way damage anything and everything they could get their hands on. The place was such a mess I almost cried seeing the disarray myself. WOW......Tey sure did a number on that place. I guess we know now to what extremes anybody will go for a buck or for lack of giving someone a buck.

Rory

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Jonathan M. Crist
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 531
From: Hershey, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000

posted 12-09-2000 02:01 PM

This business has a long history of theatre operators being afraid if they return a venue to a landlord in operating condition that it will be leased to a competitor and operated against them. I remember one time watching while a former operator upon closing ran a small bulldozer into the auditoriums to tear up the seats just so that it could not be used again easily as a theatre.

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Randy Stankey
Film God

Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99

posted 12-09-2000 02:15 PM

Been there... Done that...

Except we used a welding torch to cut the seats out instead of bulldozing them. Although that would have been more "efficient".

The projectors and stuff were all "recycled" within the company so it was all removed pretty carefully. Wires were cut instead of disconnecting them but they weren't just ripped out either.

The screens were too old to be reused so they were cut from their frames. You wouldn't want to use them anyway. They were pretty icky-looking. It would be better (and probably cheaper) to get new ones.

The speakers were also just too old to be reused. They were pretty much just tossed in the dumpster. (Although a couple of the magnets were knocked off and used as "memo holders".)

Now, the theatre is a record store. There wasn't any REAL danger of it being made into another movie house but I guess the motto is, "Better safe than sorry."

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Dave Bird
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 777
From: Perth, Ontario, Canada
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 12-09-2000 07:42 PM

Curious, what kind of a lease allows one to vandalize the building on the way out? What are the conditions on these types of things? It would seem to me that you'd be liable to fix it for the landlord anyway, by which time he might be just angry enough to compete with you, if he wasn't already planning it.

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John Walsh
Film God

Posts: 2490
From: Connecticut, USA, Earth, Milky Way
Registered: Oct 1999

posted 12-10-2000 12:04 AM

Dave B. asked the same question I was thinking. Usually, whether the equipment stays or goes is defined in the lease.

Besides, the statement; ".. screens were ripped to shreds, the curtain and masking motors were damaged with metal rods. All rigging cables were cut. Speakers were punched through, holes kicked in the walls, acoudtic tiles ripped off the walls or shredded..."

This doesn't sound like an; ".. unwilling to renegotiate landlord" problem to me.

Sound more like a; "We can't pay the rent.. and if we can't run the place, we'll make damn sure no one else will."

Based on this small bit of information, I'd side with the landlord. CinemaStar doesn't seem like a very reputable outfit.

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William Dickson
Film Handler

Posts: 41
From: Riverside, Ca. USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 12-15-2000 10:52 PM

As a former employee of Cinema Star in can tell you that the company was originally run by a great upper management team who was bought out I believe. (not sure of details). The former owners now are taking over Edwards theaters to build revenue for new locations. Several companies are looking at the property including Krikorian, Magic Johnson, and the company I work for which is Ultra Star, the former Cinema Star owners. As I understand University Village is preparing legal action against Cinema Star because the building and equipment was a joint venture between University Village, University Ca. Riverside, and the Riverside Redevelopment Agency. It seems like Cinema Star found a scape goat (parking) and took their toys and went home. We have several guests who say they will no longer go to any Cinema Star because of the very unbusiness like way they acted which is good for us.

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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

posted 12-16-2000 11:50 AM

I've been sitting back watching this thread. I don't want to get involved in the he said she said of what is happening and did happen, but suffice to say that there are usually two sides to a story, and in this case there are more than that. People are entitled to their opinions, but sometimes all the facts and scuttlebutt aren't commonly available.

I suspect if there was serious vandalism of the theatre, as was implied, that the waiting police would have made some immediate arrests. From what I am told, all of the damaged equipment was CStar property and couldn't be removed by the deadline.

Sometimes, when someone plans to re-open a location on the cheap, sometimes with the knowledge of the landlord, the "damage" from the previous tenant removing equipment or purposely destroying equipment owned by that tenant can be galling. On the other side of the fence, it can also be galling for the exitting tenant to know that if their equipment is not removed or destroyed, it will be used to further the finances of a competitor.

This stuff happens. Prints of classic films have regularly been destroyed to prevent piracy and minimize storage costs. The spin I'm seeing here is the equating of this lease termination to Sherman marching through Georgia. A comparison to the destruction of a fort about to fall to enemy hands seems more accurate.

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Michael Cunningham
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 186
From: Anchorage, AK
Registered: Nov 1999

posted 12-16-2000 03:47 PM

Not having all of the facts, I can't say for certain who is to blame here. But I would somewhat have to agree with Jerry's concept. If the damaged equipment belonged to the theatre company, then they have the right to do whatever they want to it. Any lease that requires the renter to abandon hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to the landlord is just stupid, as is anyone who would sign such a lease. While I am not one to advocate the destruction of projection equipment, anything that could not be removed should be disabled in some manner to prevent any competition from using your investment to compete against you. Removing intermittent movements from the projectors comes to mind as well as lenses and anything else you might be able to use elsewhere and that can be easily carried off.

-Mike

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