| Date | |
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| Author | DCM |
| Categories | cinemaExhibitor News |
Here is a selection of cinema stories making the news this week.
War Horse leading the charge for Event Cinema National Theatre Live will broadcast War Horse live from London’s West End to cinemas around the world on February 27, 2014. Since its first performance at the National Theatre in 2007, War Horse has become an international smash hit. The hugely inventive production features breathtaking life sized horse puppets by South Africa's acclaimed Handspring Puppet Company and is described by The Sunday Times described this compelling show as "the theatrical event of the decade."
The highly anticipated event cinema broadcast follows the success of the one-off 50th Anniversary episode of Doctor Who, The Day of the Doctor in November 2013, which took $2.3m in a single night despite being simultaneously broadcast for free on BBC1. The episode took $10m worldwide from 650 cinemas (23-25 Nov) and claimed a Guinness world record as “the world’s largest ever simulcast of a TV drama”, reaching 94 countries.
Godzilla to get Dolby Atmos mix Dolby Laboratories has announced that upcoming feature Godzilla, directed by Gareth Edwards, will be mixed and released in the Dolby Atmos cinema sound platform. The film, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, will be released in the US on May 16, 2014. Warner Bros. Pictures is handling worldwide theatrical distribution, with Toho Company handling distribution in Japan. Gareth Edwards, Director of Godzilla, said the technology would “truly bring this terrifying force of nature to life”.
The Dolby Atmos version of Godzilla will be mixed at Warner Bros. Stage 10 in Burbank, California, by Oscar-winning re-recording sound mixer Gregg Landaker. Re-recording mixer Rick Kline will work on the music mix, with Tim LeBlanc on dialogue. Sound specialist Erik Aadahl will lead the sound design and act as supervising sound editor.
“By using Dolby Atmos to place and move sounds anywhere in a movie theatre, Gareth Edwards and his team can recreate the world of Godzilla right in the auditorium, making audiences feel as if they, too, are in the middle of the on-screen action,” said Doug Darrow, svp, Cinema, Dolby Laboratories.
Introduced in April 2012, more than 450 Dolby Atmos screens have been installed or committed to in 40 countries with more than 150 exhibitors. More than 100 films from 11 different countries have been or are scheduled to be released with Dolby Atmos sound since the first film debuted in June 2012.
Restoration Plan for the Birthplace of British Cinema The restoration of the UK’s first cinema, on London’s Regent Street, has been given the go ahead by Westminster City Council.
The Regent Street Cinema, currently used as a lecture theatre within the University of Westminster, is known as the ‘Birthplace of British Cinema’ as it was used by pioneering filmmakers, the Lumière brothers, to perform their first ever moving picture show in the UK on Feb 21, 1896.
The project will see the preservation of the key architectural features of the cinema from its 1920’s heyday, combining the restored fabric with up-to-date technology. Once completed, the venue will house a 200-seat auditorium that will be open to the public.
The restored cinema’s programming will combine cutting edge and experimental work with a mix of current releases, documentary films, retrospectives and classic repertory titles.
Building work will commence this April and the opening of the cinema is expected in April 2015.
The cinema project is being backed by British film industry figures who sit on its advisory board including Working Title co-chair Tim Bevan, Senna director Asif Kapadia and Saving Mr Banks producer Paul Trijbits.