Historic Theaters

The Rialto Theatre, South Pasadena, California, photographed in September 2009. Opened in 1925, this theater is now closed.

It was love at first sight when I saw The Rialto Theatre.  I was introduced to this old beauty when I visited my friend Jan in South Pasadena, California, in the 1990’s. I’ve taken many photographs of “The Rialto” since then, but may not get the chance much longer if it isn’t saved.  This venerable theater opened in 1925 but it is now closed and in danger of demolition, as are many old theaters.  A scene in Robert Altman’s movie film “The Player” was filmed in The Rialto’s back alley.  “Scream 2” also featured The Rialto.

The Rialto is beautiful even in its decay.   Like so many old theaters, it was decorated grandly.  It has a fanciful Moorish, Egyptian and baroque motif. When I wrote an article for the Kansas City Star’s magazine about Orval Hixon, who photographed vaudeville stars from 1914 to 1930, I saw photographs of many glamorous theaters that have now fallen into ruin or are gone.

In the background is The Rialto Theatre, South Pasadena, California.

In the “old days,” an evening spent in the theater was a beautiful experience beyond what was being performed on the stage or shown on the screen. Some of the first movies I saw as a child was in The Orpheum, a gorgeously decorated old theater in Wichita, Kansas, which was originally built for vaudeville shows. Like many entertainment legends, these old theaters needs more than face lifts to keep them alive.  Sometimes only the marquee sign is all that’s saved from an old theater.

Some of the theaters, such as the ones in Hawaii that I photographed, might not be grand, but they have their own charm. Farm workers and U.S. servicemen were among their clientale.

It’s bittersweet seeing these old cinema relics, whether they are grand cinema palaces or more humble screens. I’m grateful many of these historic theaters are still standing, but who knows for how long? People watch films on their computers and even on their phones these days.  When people do go to the theater they want a great sound system, recliner seats, cup holders and even 3-D screens.

Jan and I and our husbands planned to see a movie at The Rialto in the early 2000s, when the theater was still open, but when we got to the box office we were told that the projector was broken.  So we walked across the street to a video store and rented a VHS movie to watch at home. Sadly, I never saw a movie at The Rialto before it closed.

Here’s a slide show of theaters I’ve photographed in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan and Missouri.  There is information about each theater when you click on the photo.  CLICK ON ANY THUMBNAIL PHOTO TO BEGIN THE SLIDESHOW AND SEE THE PHOTOS FULL SIZED.

Click on Cinema Treasures for a guide to more than 30,000 movie theaters from around the world, including theaters that are now closed.

Click on I’m Not Ready For My Close Up to read about my brief appearance on the Big Screen in the movie “fling.”

Here’s a blog that documents grand old theaters, many sadly in advanced decay.  After the Final Curtain

About the theaters featured in slide show:

The Rialto, South Pasadena, California

Friends of The Rialto

Friends of The Rialto Facebook Page.

Sebastiani Theatre, Sonoma, California.

Michigan Theatre, Escanaba, Michigan

Gem Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri

Aloha Theatre, Kainaliu, Big Island, Hawaii

Honoka’a People’s Theater, Honoka’a, Big Island, Hawaii

Honomu Theater, Honomu, Big Island, Hawaii

Na’alehu Theatre, Na’alehu, Big Island, Hawaii

Park Theatre, Estes Park, Colorado

Screenland Crossroads Sign from old Isis Theatre, Kansas City, Missouri.

Eighty-Four Years of Best Picture Oscar Winners

Nelson Carvajal, a video essayist and digital filmmaker, has assembled brief scenes from the last 84 Best Picture Oscar winners in this video in preparation for the 85th Academy Award show on Sunday, February 24, 2013.

I’ve seen four of the nine films nominated for Best Picture. “Argo,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Life of Pi” and “Lincoln” in this year’s crop of Best Picture nominees.

How many did you know?  Click here for the answers. How many have you seen?

Here’s the list of all of this year’s nominations: 2013 Oscar Nominations

Take a Ride With Me on a San Francisco Streetcar — 1906!

This amazing movie of a San Francisco streetcar traveling down Market Street was filmed four days before the massive April 18, 1906 earthquake, then shipped by train to New York for processing. It’s a trip back in time to the chaotic streets of early-day San Francisco, where horse-drawn wagons shared the road with streetcars, men on horseback and pedestrians. A sightseeing streetcar passes through the scene. Newsboys cruise the streets, some seeming to pose briefly for the camera. Other boys grab onto the back of a car and run along. The crowd is mostly male, everyone wears a hat and most are well-dressed.

The area shown in the film was destroyed by the big earthquake and fire that followed. In the film, the clock tower at the end of the street at the Embarcadero Wharf still stands. The film originally was thought to have been made in 1905.  David Kiehn with the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum figured out exactly when the film was shot. Clues he used were the New York trade papers, wet streets from recent heavy rainfall, shadows indicating time of year, the weather and conditions on historical record. He even determined when the cars were registered and who owned them.

San Francisco is the favorite city of my mother-in-law and daughter. My husband went to kindergarten on the Presidio within sight of the Golden Gate Bridge, but he doesn’t have the same romantic attachment to the city as other family members do.  He did alert me to this video, though! He prefers the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, which is also earthquake-prone.

Watch the video in full screen, if you can. 
U.S. Geological Survey’s discussion of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Movie of San Francisco not long after 1906 earthquake.
Wikipedia — 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
The original version of “Trip Down Market Street” from Archive.org.

I’m Addicted to Digital

My newest addiction! My photographs are the tabby cat in the second row and the Texas waffle in the third row. After all of the "arty" photographs I've taken and submitted, I never dreamed that my two most popular photographs, featured on the RedBubble home page, would be my cat and a waffle I made for my breakfast.

Last month, I stumbled across a photographer’s blog that mentioned the RedBubble art and photography website, so I checked it out — then I signed up.  Now, I can’t stay away from it.  The amount of incredible excellent art and photography on cyberspace is mind-boggling — and from teenagers, even.  

If only we’d had digital photography and computers when I was a kid.  (We did have electric typewriters with correction tape.  And boy did I need the tape! ) All of my hard-earned darkroom skills are now archaic.  Using film, an enlarger and developing chemicals these days is like listening to your music on vinyl disks.  You have to be hard-core to do it.  I love the instant gratification as well as the ability to edit in so many ways in digital photography!  We “edited”  in the film darkroom, too, but it was limited.  And I only did black and white.   (I won’t even go into cameras.  More on that later.)

Birds are an extremely popular photography subject. You need a twist to stand out from the flock. I took this photograph of a cardinal holding on for dear life as he's buffeted in an early spring snow storm on a pear tree branch outside my kitchen window. You can't see the detail here, but the blossoms are covered with snow and the branches encrusted with ice. The poor cardinal, as brave as he is, is probably too common.

I started with Flickr, but I love RedBubble’s Aussie cheekiness.   Etsy is fun, too. (I discovered Kenna Foster on Etsy. She’s also on Flickr.  She’s on my blogroll. Check her out!)  I don’t know how many photography and art sites are online, but there must be tens of thousands of photographers and artists looking at and commenting on one another’s work, everyone from professionals to the people posting their first work.  It’s inspiring, overwhelming and humbling at the same time.

My photograph of Paddington with his mis-matched eyes has been very popular with other cat owners and lovers. Paddington is tired of me pursuing him with a camera and is going to take out a restraining order against me.

On RedBubble or Etsy, there’s a chance that someone will see one of your great photographs or artworks and decide that they can’t live without it. On Etsy, the artists themselves produce and deliver the work.  

If you order through RedBubble, RB produces and ships the art as a card, print, canvas, calendar or poster.  I suspect that much of the art sold on RB is to the artists and photographers themselves.  I bought my own photograph (below) of the View from the Sydney Tower on canvas.  Those RedBubble people know what they’re doing!

Anyone who signs up for RedBubble (It’s free) can also get a free photography website, which is very cool.  You can organize your photos into galleries.  It was incredibly simple.  You can join a huge number of specialty groups on RB, such as landscapes, sunsets and sunrises, wildlife, doors and windows, old theaters, rivers, pets, food, skies  — in fact not even the sky is the limit.   Each group has sub-sets, too.  There are groups with minimal standards, and there are groups by invitation only, and everything in between.

I like to photograph oddball things, such as this van parked at Bondi Beach in Sydney. I think the driver is trying to contact the mother ship.

Featured photographs and art usually are exceptional, awe-inspiring, off-beat, fresh or eye-popping or else tug at your heart-strings (or else the person who selected it just took the next artwork that came along…..)

I know many of you out there are photographers.  What is your favorite photography website?  What are your favorite subjects. What do you do with all of your photographs? Do you print many?  Why do you take photographs?  I wanna know!  If you want to see a RedBubble website, here’s mine.  I’m still working on it.  My favorite gallery is “Fun Stuff”.  Catherine Sherman Photography.

RedBubble.      Flickr.   Etsy.  Beholden to Nature – Kenna Foster Photography.

Thanks to my daughter for saving the RedBubble screen shot for me.

I thought my photograph of this view from the Sydney Tower was spectacular, but the number of spectacular photographs in cyberspace seems to be infinite!

The Birds

Two Kea parrots conspire on the rooftop of The Hermitage Hotel at Aoraki Mount Cook in New Zealand. The Kea is thought to be one of the smartest birds in the world and is the only alpine parrot.

IMAGINE THIS SCENE:  A man and a woman are watching “Country Calendar” on the television in their house on a lonely sheep station near Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand.  The woman gets up from the couch to get some tea.  She hears a fainting tapping on the front door.

“John,”  she calls out, a little alarmed.  “There’s someone here.” 

She peers through the door’s sidelight window and sees a bloody hand smearing the glass.  “Oh, my God, John.”

"This isn't as tasty as that roasted red pepper, pine nut and lamb panini with honey mustard dressing that I stole from those stupid tourists the other day."

John rushes to the front hall.  “What is it?” 

“A man.  He’s hurt.  He needs help.”

John looks through the window.  “Jill don’t open the door.”   He gets a cricket bat from a closet.  He motions to his wife to get back as he opens the door. 

The stranger struggles to stand on the porch.  “They took it,” he snuffles miserably.  He weakly lifts his arm.  His shirt cuff  is shredded. 

“What did they take?”

“My Rolex,” he cries, collapsing on the porch. “My wife.  Oh, my God, my wife.  They took her jewelry. Her gold earrings.  She’ll die without those.  We didn’t have insurance.”

“Who did this?”  John walks out onto the porch to help the man to his feet.

"I know there's some food in there. You watch the kitchen door whilst I distract the cook."

“They’re coming. Don’t let them in.”  The stranger puts his hands over his head, whimpering.  “I saved for months for that watch. It was so cooool. Now it’s gone…….It isn’t right.  They don’t even need to tell time.”

An eerie sound pierces the air.   “Keaaah!  Keaaah!”  Seemingly out of nowhere, a flock of green birds swoops in, a flash of red under their wings as they dive toward the open door.

“John, John!”  Jill yells, terrified.  John starts flailing at the birds. 

A few birds swoop toward Jill.  She barely gets the door closed in time.  The birds flap at the window for a few moments, and then they disappear.  John and Jill help the stranger to a chair.  “It’s too late,” the stranger says.  “You can’t escape them. They won’t stop until they get it all.” 

“You’re safe now,” Jill soothes, heading toward the kitchen.  “I’ll get some tea.”

The two men hear a noise, something rustling.  Wings.  Screeching.  They hear Jill scream, “Oh, my God, the kitchen window is open!”

A guide talks about Kea parrots at the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand.

“Cut,” the director calls out.  The actors are relieved. Those Kea really play their parts well.  (It’s all acting, folks!  Keas do like shiny objects, though.)

The birds retreat to their perches, where they get the star treatment they deserve — plenty of mango, figs and even spoonsful of honey.

Wouldn’t this be a great scene for the remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s movie “The Birds” ? A new version of “The Birds” is in the works and scheduled  for release in 2011, maybe in 3-D, with Naomi Watts and George Clooney.  The Kea parrots of New Zealand would be the perfect birds to star with A-listers in the dramatically beautiful country of New Zealand.   Super producer Michael Bay, are you listening! 

A flock of these cheeky, brilliant, mischievous and curious parrots could almost take over the world, if they wanted to.  They work well in teams to solve puzzles.  (See videos below.)  

Keas are clownishly adorable and pose no real threat to humans.  Fortunately, Keas are more likely to run off with your sandwich, snatch a gold earring or rip the rubber edging from your car.  There are so few Keas now — 1,000 to 5,000 — they are in serious danger of disappearing altogether.  They’d have to be replicated by computer generated images to produce enough Kea parrots to create a menancing flock.  There were tens of thousands of them as recently as forty years ago. They were named Kea by the Maori for the “Keaa!” cries they make.

A sign at The Hermitage Hotel at Aoraki Mount Cook in New Zealand warns people not to leave their food unattended or a Kea will steal it.

Their numbers have fallen drastically for a number of reasons, including a bounty that was once placed on them because they do take a bite out of livestock now and then.  They also killed by poison set out to kill possums.  Keas, now protected, are an endangered bird on the South Island of New Zealand, the only place in the world where they naturally occur.  They live in the harsh conditions of the New Zealand Alps, eating a wide range of food from fruit and seeds to other birds and carrion.

Here a Kea flies near Aoraki Mount Cook in New Zealand. Kea parrots are only found in the wild on the south island of New Zealand at higher altitudes.

New Zealand’s spectacular scenery, already featured in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, would be a perfect location for this new version of “The Birds”.  Naomi Watts is rumored to be in “talks” to take the role originally played by Tippi Hedren in the Alfred Hitchcock version of the Daphne Du Maurier short story, originally set in Cornwall. Watts has already starred in King Kong in New Zealand under LOTR director Peter Jackson, so she’s familiar with the terrain. And who wouldn’t want to visit New Zealand again?

 

• Kea Conservation Trust, information about the Kea Parrot.
• About the Kea parrot.
• On a related topic, Kiwibloke talks about the Kakapo parrot, the world’s only flightless parrot.

The third video is one I took at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in Christchurch, New Zealand.

I’m Not Ready For My Close-up

It’s a good thing I didn’t blink, or I would have missed my four-second big screen debut in the independent film, “fling*,” which is making the rounds of film festivals around the country.  This past weekend it was introduced to Kansas City, where it was filmed.

We invited some friends to see it with us at the Screenland Theater.  All I knew about it was that it involved twenty-somethings entangled in relationships. We’d forgotten how complicated that can get…(trailer video is at the bottom.)

My big screen debut!

There were about 500 extras, who didn’t get much, if any, screen time.  That’s why we’re called extras.  Now I pay special attention to the people in the background in movies.  When Rhett and Scarlett are emoting in “Gone With The Wind,” for example, I’m checking out the people loitering behind them.

You know you’re going to see this film, so watch for me at about 1 hour and 45 minutes into it (but don’t keep checking your watch!)  When you see a shot of the store “Hemline,” get ready or you might miss me.  I’m wearing a pale green jacket and carrying a striped straw handbag. You can only see my back.

Director John Stewart Muller is from Kansas City, so he was happy to return to his hometown to shoot the tale of modern mixed up relationships at area locations such as Crown Center, the Crossroads Art District, the Country Club Plaza and the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum.   He wrote the screenplay with producer Laura Boersma.  The two own Steele Films, based in Los Angeles.

Brandon Routh and Courtney Ford find Kansas City very romantic. They were a real-life couple when filming the movie and are now married.

My movie career started in May 2007 with an ad in the Kansas City Star looking for extras to donate their time for the movie that was then called, “Lie to Me.”   Hundreds volunteered, including a guy who flew his airplane from Colorado so he could appear in a scene or two.  I think he got also four seconds, but at least you could see his face.

I grabbed my son Matt just home from college to join me for the two scenes in the clothing boutique, “Hemline,” on the Country Club Plaza shopping center.

Most of the two dozen extras in my scenes were in their 20s.  Many had acting aspirations.  Others, like me, were just curious about the process.  We had plenty of time to get to know one another as we waited around.  Joe was heading off to film school in a few months.  Apple Miller had already been an extra in some locally filmed movies, including an earlier scene in “fling,” and was hoping to get more film work.  Natalie W. had been a part of several earlier “fling*” scenes, and the crew was happy to see her again.  Lisa, another extra, had tagged along with a friend.  She got a plum spot next to some of the secondary players.

I met Apple Miller, left, on the set of “fling,” where we were both extras. She actually knew what she was doing. She didn’t even mind waiting for hours. She already had an agent and had appeared in some movies. Here she is talking to Jean Liebau, agent and owner of Talent Unlimited, a full service talent agency in Kansas City.

Our “call” that night was 6 p.m.  We waited in a nearby vacant store, its bare walls a dingy lavender.  We sat on a row of folding chairs, where the wardrobe crew inspected us to make sure we looked stylish enough.  Some people brought spare outfits. One of the assistants asked my son to follow him, and they both disappeared.  Soon Matt returned, wearing a plain white shirt.  Why the switch? He shrugged.  His black shirt with thin white stripes was certainly more appealing, I thought, but what did I know?

Assistant Director Jim Whitworth gave us the rundown on what it took to be a good extra:  Don’t look at the camera, stay out of the way and take off your shoes so you don’t make noise.

This is harder than it sounds, especially the “don’t look at the camera” part.

Whitworth warned us several times not to take photographs or talk to the “talent.” One wrong move, and out we’d go!

“I don’t even know who’s in this movie,” Lisa mumbled, expressing what many of were already thinking.  Most of us didn’t know anything about the cast or the plot.

“Superman is in the movie,” Apple said.

“Who?”

“Brandon Routh of ‘Superman Returns’.”

Director John Stewart Muller and Producer Laura Boersma

“Ah…..”

You can’t have fans fawning over the stars when they’re supposed to be focused on their work.

Three hours passed in what Joe called “lavender hell.”

“If something doesn’t happen soon, I think we should form a union,” Joe suggested.

Finally, we were called into “Hemline.”  Crew members handed out glasses of real wine and plates of real appetizers for this scene of an opening reception at a new boutique.

An assistant handed me a glass of wine.

“You look like a red wine drinker,” he said.

Hmmmmmm.  Was this typecasting?

Most of the action in the first of the two scenes took place in front of the boutique, while the extras pretended to shop inside.  We’d be background through the windows.  Some of the extras actually did shop.

We went through our paces several times.  Some maneuvered to get closer to the window, where they might be filmed through the glass.

After that scene was wrapped, half of the extras jumped ship when they discovered the next scene wouldn’t be filmed until after a midnight meal.  Those of us who remained got sub sandwiches, which we took outside to eat standing on the sidewalk in the hot, muggy night.

A mass of equipment was set up in front of “Hemline,” so cars of people drove by slowly to see what was happening.  “Are you extras?” someone shouted.

“Yeah,” Joe said.  “Looks glamorous, doesn’t it?”

We saw the cast and crew eating at a long candle-lit table inside the vacant store.

After the midnight “lunch,” Whitworth counted noses.  “Is this all I have left?”

My son Matt and I were extras in two scenes filmed in Hemline boutique on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City in the movie, “fling*.”

By 1 a.m., we were back in “Hemline.” We were handed more wine and plates of food for us to carry, none of which seemed appealing at this point, not that we were supposed to consume anything.  Even with the desertions, there were enough people to make the boutique seem crowded, especially since all of the main actors had joined us.  They looked a lot fresher than we did.  I saw then why my son had to change his shirt.  Brandon Routh wore a black shirt with thin white stripes.

The noisy air conditioner was turned off.  The atmosphere was hot and thick.  The extras practiced a route through the racks. No one wanted to be the one who spilled wine or food on the clothing.  Problems — dropped hangers, missed lines, a car honking outside, a boom in the shot — ruined the first three takes. The fourth seemed flawless.  We looked at the director.  By this time it was almost 2:30 a.m.”That was awesome,” Muller said.  Before we had a chance to rejoice, he said. “Let’s do it again.”We sagged a little.

“I need your ‘A’ game,” Whitworth barked. “We need high energy.  Pretend this is 7 p.m., not 2:30 a.m.”

We regrouped.  The makeup and hair crew dabbed and patted again. This time a few frizzled, frazzled extras got some attention. One hair technician smoothed the flyaway hair on my forehead.

Whitworth called everyone to order.  “Background!  Action!”  The cameraman carrying the heavy film camera on his shoulder marched through the boutique.

The scene played out.  We waited for the verdict.

Lovers at Crown Center.

“That’s a wrap,” Muller said.

Joy!  Relief!  The cast and crew immediately began discussing plans for the next day’s shoot while the extras stood in the store, feeling like…..extras.  Matt and I chased down his own shirt in the wardrobe trailer and then we headed home.

Now, having seen my two scenes in the finished movie, I have to laugh at how the scene appears on the screen. Let’s just say we didn’t have to worry about dropped hangers or flubbed lines….

Was I surprised that the finished product turned out much differently from what I expected?  Or that the extras did a lot of work that never appeared. Not really.  In the summer of 1999, friends Jacki, Nancy and Karissa and my daughter Laura and I stumbled onto a scene being filmed for Sandra Bullock’s movie, “28 Days.”  An intersection in the Soho part of Manhattan was blocked off for the shoot.  Many extras — both pedestrians and bicyclists — repeatedly went through their paces for several takes, as Bullock walked up some stairs from a subway and around the corner to a newspaper stand.  After we had shopped for an hour, we saw that the extras were still hard at work.  That scene never made the final cut of the movie.

These extras walked this street in New York City in 1999 for a couple of hours for a scene in Sandra Bullock’s movie, “28 Days.” I never saw this scene in the movie. Maybe it made the director’s cut.

The dvd of “fling*” will be available in the spring.  You can be sure plenty of the extras will be going through the movie slooooooowly to see whether they can catch a glimpse of themselves.

To learn more go to fling* movie. For additional information, click on w  www.imdb.com Search for “fling,” and then click on “Lie to Me (2008)”

I got this email after the Kansas City opening.  (The big party was past my bedtime……) John Stewart Muller sent a message to the members of Fling – The Movie.

——————–
Subject: Additional “Fling” Screenings in K.C.

Just wanted to give you an update on the opening weekend of “Fling” in KC.  The film did great and we all had such a blast!!  Thanks so much to everyone who made it out!!  The movie sold out on both Friday and Saturday night and did strong for the rest of the showings all weekend.  We had amazing after parties at The Czar Bar with Dylan Trees, Dri, and The Republic Tigers
performing.  It was a great weekend!

Because of how well the film performed, Screenland Theater is holding it for another week!  Help us spread the word to anyone in KC who missed it because they have one more chance to see it on the big screen!  There were people who even drove in from St. Louis just to see the movie!

If you go to the theater, don’t forget to check out the concrete handprints and signatures for “Fling”!

Also, check out the great reviews the film has been receiving.  Bob Butler of the KC Star gave the film three out of four stars and compared it to “Bob & Carol, Ted & Alice” and “sex, lies, and videotape”.  Everyone also loves how KC looks on film!

Next stop after this is the Bahamas Film Festival!  We’re also still trying to look into more theatrical runs before the DVD release in May.

We’re very excited about all of this and appreciate everyone’s help in spreading the word!  Let us know if you have any questions or concerns about anything!  Hope this finds you well and thanks again!!

Sincerely,

John and Laura
Steele Films
——————–

More Mamma Mia!

Movie critic Robert Butler is excited about his assignment -- review the new sing along version of the movie "Mamma Mia!" My daughter and I hid out in the back, where we wouldn't make a spectacle of ourselves..

Robert Butler, The Kansas City Star’s movie critic, was a little dubious of the idea of a sing along version of “Mamma Mia!” when he showed up for the preview.  He’d already seen the “regular” version.  He’s warmed a lot of theater seats in his many years as a movie critic, so he has a right to be cynical. 

I mostly showed up because my daughter offered me a free ticket to go with her. When your kids start to pay for things, you go!   When I got there, I thought:  “What the heck, tiaras, boas?”  But it was fun!  And I clapped. I couldn’t help myself.

Here’s what Butler had to say about the evening. (Hint: he loved it.) Better click fast, because the Kansas City Star’s online files have a short “free” life. Mamma Mia! Here I go again. How can I resist you?  Here’s my blog post on Mamma Mia!  Yes, I just posted it a couple of days ago, but I’m making it easy for you.

Waiting in line for the sing along version of Mamma Mia! None of these people are me. I was at the back of the line.