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Royal, Revue, Kingsway Cinemas

From the Star:

Revue named heritage site; theatre still closing next week
Jun. 23, 2006. 01:00 AM
VANESSA LU
CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF

The heritage attributes of the Revue Theatre on Roncesvalles Ave. — the oldest cinema in the city — must be protected, says the Toronto Preservation Board.

While the board yesterday approved listing the property on the city's heritage properties plus designation under the Ontario Heritage Act, the theatre, built in 1911, is still scheduled to close next week, with a final showing of Lawrence of Arabia on Friday.

Chris McQuillan, who inherited the Revue with his siblings when his father died, said they couldn't operate the cinema for financial reasons.

However, community members who are rallying to save the theatre — perhaps by getting another operator — fear the property could still be sold. They see a heritage designation as a good first step to keeping a local cinema.

If a property is designated heritage it can be difficult to sell because of restrictions.

Preservation board chair Robert Saunders warned that the heritage designation applies only to the building, and has no effect on its operations.

The board also voted to protect the Kingsway Theatre on Bloor St. W. for its heritage value.

Councillor Peter Milczyn (Ward 5, Etobicoke-Lakeshore) said he was pleased with the move.

"It's a local landmark as a venue as well as a building," he said. "It has some nice art deco features."

The heritage designation will protect the façade as well as the theatre marquee even if becomes a coffee shop or bookstore someday, said Milczyn.

AoD
 
Wasn't Camera closed recently?
Click to expand...
It was just down-scaled. My point was that perhaps The Revue is a better location for Egoyan's project.
 
It's probably too big - the screening room at Camera was tiny - smaller than the cinemas at the Carleton. I wonder too if the Revue has a digital projector?
 
It has just been reported that the Royal on College St. has been sold to the same owners as the Regent on Mt. Pleasant. There is therefore some hope that the Royal will be revived. I am afraid that the Revue is probably toast as a movie theatre; too bad, as it is the oldest surviving theatre in the city.

Edit: Go see a movie tomorrow night! I will be at the Revue to see Lawrence of Arabia.
 
I can never remember - is the Regent the one with the great sound system, where Egoyan edits his movies, or is that the Mt. Pleasant?
 
It has just been reported that the Royal on College St. has been sold to the same owners as the Regent on Mt. Pleasant. There is therefore some hope that the Royal will be revived.
Click to expand...

Article in today's NOW about it:

Royal revival
Lights back on at College Street rep
By SCOTT MACDONALD
When news broke several weeks ago that four of Toronto's Festival Cinemas movie houses would be closing down on June 30, the situation looked most hopeless for the Royal on College Street.

While the three other theatres – the Revue, the Kingsway and the Paradise – were simply slated to go dark, the Royal was immediately put up for sale by the owners, presumably because it occupied the most valuable plot of real estate.

Rumours abounded that the historic 1930s-era theatre would be turned into a nightclub or, worse, torn down for condos. But as it turns out, the sale of the Royal will almost certainly prove to be its saving.

Though the deal isn't official until July 5, the Royal, NOW has learned, has been purchased by a scrappy young company called Theatre D Digital, which also owns the art deco Regent Theatre on Mount Pleasant.

When Theatre D bought the Regent in 2002, they restored the 1920s-era theatre and began operating it during the day as a high-end digital post-production studio. (Directors like Atom Egoyan and Patricia Rozema have edited their films there.)

Meanwhile, in the evenings, they continued to screen films in the theatre. This ingenious business model has apparently proved lucrative for Theatre D, and co-founder Dan Peel says they plan to repeat it at the Royal.

"Our plans are to restore the building back to its 1930s glory," he says.

Furthermore, the restoration won't stop with just the building itself: when Peel and his two partners, John Hazen and Carlos Herrera, begin outfitting the theatre with their state-of-the-art post-production equipment, they'll also be bringing in what Peel refers to as "the absolute best" in digital projection and 5.1 THX surround sound.

"The projector I'm talking about is beyond what's been seen yet in North America," he says excitedly.

The only question now is what kind of theatre the Royal will be. It could probably carry on as it has for the past few years, screening mostly second-run Hollywood and independent films, but why bother? Wouldn't a better approach be to turn the Royal into a dedicated screening space for first-run art-house films?

In New York there are several independently run movie houses that continuously program decidedly non-mainstream fair.

The trick is to find some way of underwriting the programming. New York's Film Forum, for example, operates as a not-for-profit, soliciting 25 per cent of its operating funds from public and private sources.

This isn't New York, of course, but it's hard to believe we can't support at least one or two cinemas on this model. In any case, the underwriting will already be taken care of at the Royal in the form of the post-production business, so isn't this the perfect time to try an ambitious cinematic lineup?

Peel says he and his partners have yet to determine what kind of films they will screen, but they will definitely be working with distributors to see if they can get access to more first-run art-house films "I hope the programming will be different," he says. "I hope it will be better."

To this end, he's begun soliciting advice from nearby video store clerks, in hopes of getting a better sense of what the neighbourhood will support. "Ultimately, we're going to rely on the community to [determine] programming," says Peel, "because they're the ones who are going to support it."

news@nowtoronto.com
NOW | JUNE 29 - JULY 5, 2006 | VOL. 25 NO. 44
 
This is excellent news!
A first-run Indie theatre with state-of-the-art sound and picture... finally, I can kiss Carlton, and its cramped, big-screen-TV screening rooms off, and see Godard et al where they were meant to be seen (and the how would be MUCH improved)!

I would recommend that the people involved in saving the Revue contact Heritage Toronto - there might be a common interest there that could facilitate their efforts.
 
I made it to the Kingsway last night - my nabe - for the fourth last screening there. Friends with Money played to a much larger than normal audience. The nostalgia has definitely kicked in here, and there is talk of the theatre being saved: a documentary filmmaker met cinema goers at the box office last night to get impressions from us all, and he passed on the word that plans were being hatched to revive the place. So there may be some good news for the west end too.

And that's great news about the Royal.

42
 
I'm back from the final showing at the Revue, Lawrence of Arabia. It featured good acting by Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, among others, and spectacular scenes, shot in the days before special effects. Before the movie started, the manager stood at the front and gave a short speech thanking the patrons and the staff. Tomorrow the Revue will go dark for the first time since it was built in 1911.

A group of about 15 people calling themselves "Save the Revue" were outside the theatre before the show, handing out flyers and selling T-shirts to raise money. Several of them were dressed up as Charlie Chaplin, with the black suit, little black bowler hat, and small mustache (painted on).

www.savetherevue.com

I wish them all the luck in the world, but it will be a challenge to save it as an operating theatre.

I think we are now down to just four of these original neighbourhood theatres: the Mt. Pleasant, the Regent, the Bloor, and the Fox. I for one, will continue to patronize them. I like them much better than the big "plex" locations, even though they show movies a little later than the big boys. There aren't many movies that I feel I have to see the weekend they come out.
 
From the Star:

Adieu to Revue? Not if cinema's fans can help it
`Lawrence' rides one last time
But theatre awaits its white knight
Jul. 1, 2006. 01:00 AM
ROBYN DOOLITTLE
STAFF REPORTER

Dozens of protestors bedecked in bowler hats and black ties marched to the Revue Cinema ticket line last night, in a last-ditch effort to save the historic cinema.

But moviegoers like Rob Pearson, 45, and son Ron, 16, came to say goodbye. "We're marking the end of an era. My son and I have been coming here for about six years. It's very sad ... I can't see how they'll ever bring it back," Pearson said.

Construction began in 1911, and the Revue theatre opened its doors in the spring of 1912, at 400 Roncesvalles Ave. It was one of the last neighbourhood theatres left in Canada.

Over its 95-year existence, it has changed hands as many as seven times, said former manager Keith Denning, 37. The Revue began showing silent movies two years before Charlie Chaplin became a star. In the 1940s, children used to be able to buy a ticket and a glass of milk — a treat during wartime rationing — for a nickel.

Since then, it's been a German-language theatre, art-film hot spot, Hollywood blockbuster theatre, and sanctuary for classic-movie lovers seeking their old favourites on the big screen.

Fifteen minutes after tickets began selling for last night's final showing — Lawrence of Arabia — the Revue had reached its capacity of 245. The line was still meandering around the corner to Howard Park Ave.

But for Susan Flanagan, the fight to save the Revue is anything but hopeless.

"My daughter saw her first movie here as a toddler. We moved to this area because of this theatre," she said, while 4-year-old Sophie posed for a photo with three Chaplin look-alikes dressed to pay tribute to the era when the Revue was born. "When I was walking home a month ago and saw the sign that it was closing, I knew I had to do something."

Flanagan began talking with neighbours and other community members. Soon a committee of about 50 people was racing against time to save the theatre. They persuaded Councillor Sylvia Watson to join, and won a small victory when they got it named a heritage site.

Their goal is to operate the theatre as a community-run, not-for-profit business, but the group faces the near-hopeless task of finding at least $40,000 a month to meet operating costs.

Kate McQuillan, who owns the Revue with her two brothers, had planned to attend the final show, but decided in the end to give the seat up to a fan who came to say goodbye.

"I was raised in the theatre industry. I have real mixed emotions here. It's such a part of our lives, but on the other hand there have (been financial) problems," she said.

"This is part of the community. But there isn't a knight on a white horse that's going to save it. We need people to know that if they want the Revue to stay open, they'd better start coming to watch movies."

AoD
 
It has just been reported that the Royal on College St. has been sold to the same owners as the Regent on Mt. Pleasant. There is therefore some hope that the Royal will be revived.
Click to expand...

Oh man, I am so excited, this is great news. It would be a dream to see the Kingsway, Paradise, Fox and Revue picked up also.

I cross my fingers and hope. Toronto cannot afford to lose any more neighbourhood cinemas, there are so few of them left.
 
From the Globe:

Landmark cinema gets a new life
Famous College Street site to be a theatre by night, modern production studio by day

HAYLEY MICK

After months of theatre closings and speculation that repertory cinemas in Toronto are doomed, some good news for a change: The Royal Theatre, a College Street landmark, has been sold for $2.2-million to a company set on keeping the projector running -- with a modern twist.

The buyer is Theatre D Digital, a Toronto-based postproduction film company that plans to restore the theatre's rickety red velvet seats and ornate moulding to their original charm. It will be used as a state-of-the-art production studio by day and movie theatre by night.

The cinema has been closed to moviegoers since June 30. Renovations are under way and a notice taped to the ticket box window reads: Soon the lights will be back on brighter than ever!

Theatre D co-founder Dan Peel confirmed the purchase and said the plan is to make it look as good as in "1939 when it opened." He and partner John Hazen declined to comment further, saying they'd rather wait until renovations are complete in September.

The purchase and renovation plan gives hope to fans of the independent movie house after a series of announcements indicated the number of repertory cinemas in Toronto would soon be reduced by almost half.

In May, the McQuillan family, who owned three of five theatres in the Festival Cinema Group, announced that the Revue, Kingsway and Royal would close by June 30.

Two weeks later, Jerry Szczur, citing financial woes, said he was selling the Paradise and he was looking for someone to lease the Fox.

Problems for the independent theatres seem almost insurmountable: high taxes, declining ticket sales, the monster popularity of the multiplex. Even more crippling was the rapid transfer of films to DVD -- second-run movie houses capitalize on that gap to attract audiences.

"I think it just goes to show you that you have to do something a little more innovative with the space to make it work," said Kate McQuillan, whose father, Peter, opened the Royal in 1939.

Her family parted with the Royal for a half-million less than their $2.7-million asking price. They're now looking for someone to lease the Revue and keep it running.

Meantime, Theatre D appears to have found a way to make the theatres work. In 2002, the company began operating another independent, the Regent, on Mount Pleasant Road near Eglinton Avenue.

The Regent, built in 1927, was revamped and modern film-editing suites added. Films such as Where the Truth Lies and Being Julia, starring Annette Bening, were edited there.

The concept allows filmmakers to walk out of their booths on the second floor into the main cinema and see what their edits look like on a big screen, the owners told The Globe and Mail last year.

On the other hand, locals appreciate being able to walk down the street and watch a cheap, second-run flick.

Lately, ticket sales have been "fair," says the owner of the Regent, Peter Sorok, who has 45 years experience running independent theatres.

"It's a tough business. . . . If we were a first-run movie house, we wouldn't need to do what we're doing."

AoD
 
Thank you for posting this.

Streaming video, on a large theatre screen? It's new, to me at least, but sounds promising. It will be good to see something at the Kingsway again, in any case. It's been dark since 2006, and I had pretty well given up hope that it would reopen. I wish these people lots of luck, and if they start presenting good programs, I will be there.
 
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