Coming Attractions at the Cinerama – Including New Management
As you’ve recently heard, the Seattle Cinerama Theatre is now closed for a multimillion dollar renovation. Breathe easy, though… it’s scheduled to reopen in November.
Philanthropist and Seattle native son Paul Allen’s plans are to bring this beloved 808-seat landmark into the 21st century. This will include a new feature film screen, state-of-the-art digital sound, and 3-D viewing abilities. Plans are also in the works to do interior and exterior refurbishing. While all of this is big news, of course, we find the more intriguing part to be an upcoming change of leadership. Management company AMC Entertainment, Inc. has been replaced with a new management agreement under Greg Wood, owner and operator of the Roseway Theater in Portland.
Wood was raised in Los Angeles, the grandson of a film editor and son of a director of Sony’s engineering department. After graduating from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, he decided to stay and keep up the family tradition in the Northwest instead. The first movie venue he operated was the Liberty, a vintage movie theater in Camas, on the Washington side of the Columbia River across from Portland. But while he enjoyed great success at the Liberty, Wood desired to have his own theater. The Roseway became available in early 2008.
Wood restored the Roseway’s original art-deco decor and invested in state-of-the-art projection and sound equipment. While most theaters would have been butchered into smaller screens, Wood kept the 500-seat auditorium intact, with 330 seats set up for maximum legroom. The upgrades made it easy for him to book major films from “Batman” to “Up” to “Avatar”. And, for those of you who enjoy great cuisine, the Roseway is reported to have some of the best movie popcorn in town.
He should work well with Allen, who grew up attending Seattle Cinerama movies. When rumors in the late 90’s arose that the Cinerama might be turned into a rock-climbing club– or even a parking lot– he bought the venue. A full interior/exterior renovation began in June 1998, and the Cinerama reopened in full glory and to much applause in April 1999.
The Seattle Cinerama Theatre is one of only three movie theaters in the world still capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films. We’ll keep you posted on the reopening.
