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2002 seems the Big Year for serious movie lovers to wait for. In that year, the new Kodak Theatre in Hollywood will become home to the Academy Awards, Steven Spielberg's classic
"E.T.. The Extra Terrestrial" is due to return to theatres in an enhanced version with added scenes and special effects, and Disney's
"Beauty and the Beast" is planned to hit IMAX screens, complete with a brand new musical number.
Dave Strohmaier has spent the last few weeks assembling new segments of "The Cinerama Adventure" documentary and refining existing segments. The project is now temporarily on hold while Dave is working on a film with director John Landis. Dave has also been consulting with others involved in possible upcoming Cinerama developments. It is expected the documentary will be completed and a distributor involved in time for the 50th Anniversary of Cinerama in 2002.
Work is progressing on Hollywood's Cinerama Dome Entertainment Center, which is also due to be completed in 2002. Currently the Dome's lobby is serving as construction office headquarters while building has begun on the added theatres and the parking structure behind the Dome. No interior work is being done on the Dome until the rest of the complex is built: then interiors of all theatres are expected to be finished around at the same time. 2002 may also be the year that the Seattle International Film Festival again unveils the widely-preferred deep curved screen of the Seattle Cinerama Theatre for another classic three-strip Cinerama showcase. Plans are being discussed but no details have been announced.
By the time Cinerama resurfaces in Seattle and Hollywood, not only should we see
"The Cinerama Adventure" completed, there is a strong chance we will be able to enjoy brand-new 3-strip prints of Cinerama classics. Pacific Theatres has revived its Cinerama Inc. division and is preparing to create a new 3-strip print of
"This is Cinerama". A new 3-strip Cinerama screening room is being built by Crest National film lab in Hollywood to properly test these new print reels. Additional Cinerama prints of
"How the West Was Won", "The Wonderful World of the Brothers
Grimm", and possibly another Cinerama feature, are in the planning stages for presentation in 2002. One hopes that successful exhibition of these new prints could lead to other titles eventually being restored. Cinerama enthusiasts are especially hoping for
"Seven Wonders of the World" and "Cinerama Holiday".
Considering how all this seemed too much to hope for a couple years ago, the fact that we are on the verge of seeing ANY new Cinerama prints in properly equipped theatres is nothing short of a miracle. And 2002 seems like the year we could see it all happen.
"The Cinerama Adventure" has been featured in a detailed article in the April issue of VANITY FAIR magazine. While the last remaining copies of this fascinating "Hollywood Issue" of Vanity Fair are quickly disappearing from newsstands, excerpts of the article can be read on our website.
www.cineramaadventure.com. Finally, those who saw the work-in-progress preview of "The Cinerama Adventure" last June in Seattle can now post their comments on the
Internet Movie Database. See you in 2002!
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Further in 70mm reading:
The
Cinerama Adventure
Internet link:
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