What's new

best movie theater in chicago? (1 Viewer)

Vickie_M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
3,208
MCCLURG WILL BE DIGITAL!!!!!!!!!
I hope this is true!
This was on Link Removed (Message Boards/General/Ticket Update No. 3)
=================
Finally, what you have all been waiting for. WE STILL HAVE NO DEFINITE INFORMATION FROM MCCLURG. However, we do know this: they will be showing AOTC in DIGITAL starting with the charity screening. There is a good possibility that there will be an announcement about ticket sales Monday afternoon, and that tickets may go on sale via phone, fandango.com (not moviefone.com) and box office at the same time.
A few more things to keep in mind: Theater management cannot confirm a midnight showing (this is a change from what was previously posted). In addition, it is possible that the theater will pre-sell tickets for the 11 am show, but open up tickets for a midnight show on Wednesday. It is not known if there is a limit as to the max number of tickets, but McClurg may impose a limit of their own.
==================
I'd like to help with the line, but won't be able to do that until late this evening. Charles, if this works out, I might be able to pick you up a ticket (need 2?).
 

Michael*K

Screenwriter
Joined
May 24, 2001
Messages
1,806
What's the correct URL for that website? I'm getting a message that it's an invalid domain.
 

Michael Ballack

Second Unit
Joined
May 30, 2000
Messages
346
Charles,

Did you find out about showtimes and tickets for Streets of Woodfield yet? When is Loew's going to get their S**T together and get tickets and shows out? I've got to see AOTC in digital that day too.
 

RenoV

Agent
Joined
Mar 7, 2002
Messages
41
Just an FYI, tickets for the DLP presentation at the Streets of Woodfield theater are now available online through fandango.com! :D
Edit: Enter "schaumburg" in the city/zip section under "when & where".
 

Vickie_M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
3,208
I just got home after being gone all day. Sorry about that bum URL. I just saw that tickets went on sale today (Monday) at 2pm. No word yet on a midnight show.

I'm so very angry at McClurg for withholding information about when tickets would go on sale. Sigh. If McClurg is still around by then (doubtful), I hope The Two Towers is handled better.
 

Charles Bober

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 5, 1999
Messages
199
As you can see above Michael, tickets went on sale for SOW. I didn't even know about it. I called yesterday and got "Sometime next week." Anyway, I found another midnight showing at the Marcus Addison and booked that last night. Then I just booked a 7pm DLP viewing at SOW. And I'm visiting my parents next weekend who live downstate IL. Their local theater is showing AOTC and both my mom and dad want to see it. So we're going midnight Saturday the 18th.
That's 3 showings this weekend alone!!!! I'm a doin' mysa part to knock Spidey off the top spot and out of the record books.
 

felix_suwarno

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
1,523
vick, what do you mean by that? so i couldnt get any ticket for the first week at all since they have sold it since yesterday??? uh oh!!!

and what about purchasing tickets online!
 

Vickie_M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
3,208
Felix, I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you. fandango.com doesn't seem to list McClurg Court, but I know tickets are on sale. I went there last night and bought tickets to the Thursday 9:30am and 3:30pm shows (taking it on faith that I *will* want to see it twice in one day).

McClurg is supposed to announce on Tuesday if they'll have a midnight show or not. They've been balking because Lucasfilm is getting all the box office from all the midnight shows. All the theater gets is the consessions.

I confirmed that McClurg IS GOING DIGITAL. They'll be installing the equipment on Monday.

Three other theaters in Chicago will be having midnight shows. According to the freebie paper New City, which I picked up yesterday and which lists shows for the coming week, the theaters are:

Village - this used to be a 2nd run "dollar" theater, with 4 screens. It was dirty, stinky and creepy, and the seats were gross, uncomfortable, torn and broken, but it didn't matter because you could see lots of movies for cheap. They also show 4 midnight movies every Friday and Saturday. The Village is now a slightly discounted 1st run theater which, last time I was there for a midnight show, STILL was dirty, stinky and creepy, and the seats are STILL gross, uncomfortable, torn and broken.

Village North - see above, though I haven't been there since they went 1st run, so they may have remodeled.

Burnaham Plaza - in the south loop, was ok, if a bit low-rent, last time I was there but I think they were going to remodel. Don't quote me.

McClurg Theater 1 is the Taj Mahal compared to these Alabama shack theaters. I'm shocked that AOTC isn't playing in some of the other really nice theaters in town.

Felix, keep trying, or just go down to McClurg and get the tickets in person.
 

Michael*K

Screenwriter
Joined
May 24, 2001
Messages
1,806
Here's the deal. McClurg IS having a midnight show and tickets are available online. Whether there are any left, I have no idea. Click here to find out.
Tickets for Thursday's performances are also on sale. Click here to access those or use the pull-down for other dates.
As for me, I found all this out AFTER I bought tickets today for a midnight showing down here in the south 'burbs. :angry: It was actually the third theater of choice because my first two selections were sold out. Strangely enough, I found out later that a co-worker is going to the same showtime at the same theater (Marcus Chicago Heights) I didn't even know she was a Star Wars fan. :laugh:
 

Vickie_M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
3,208
Thanks Michael, so much for the ticket seller's "tip"! :D I'm off to go buy (hopefully) midnight tickets now.
Meanwhile, my husband just sent me this link:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...italcinema_dc_1
Chicago's not mentioned in here, but since Boeing is now based in Chicago, it looks as if McClurg Court will be their Chicago showcase. Wheee!
==============
Boeing Puts Digital Movie Systems in 23 Theaters
Thu May 9, 3:17 AM ET
By Bob Tourtellotte
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It falls far short of "Star Wars" creator George Lucas' hopes, but the Force -- the force behind digital cinema, that is -- is still with them.
The Boeing Co.'s Boeing Digital Cinema unit on Thursday, one week ahead of the widely anticipated debut of movie "Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," said it expects to have 23 digital cinema systems running in theaters around the country by May 16, giving the high-tech method of distributing and showing movies a much-needed lift.
Frank Stirling, executive director of Boeing Digital Systems said he expects to have as many as 40 systems in theaters by the summer's end and possibly 100 by year's end.
The 23 all-digital theaters are in cities ranging from Seattle to Boston and Wichita, Kansas, Stirling said.
The number is far short of the some 2,000 Lucas hoped for three years ago when "Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace" debuted in theaters loaded with digital effects.
"Attack of the Clones" was made digitally, which holds the promise of sharper pictures and better special effects for audiences each time a movie is played.
But Digital Cinema, which is a system for distributing and projecting movies in an all-digital format, has been slow to take hold with theater owners due to cost and technology issues. Hollywood's studios, too, are concerned about digital pirates who could steal perfect copies of movies from satellite uplinks, the Internet or DVDs, thereby reducing film profits.
Boeing Digital Cinema, however, believes it has many of those problems worked out and since early March it has been contracting with theater owners and Hollywood's studios at a rapid rate to deploy systems, Stirling said.
"At first, there was great interest and no commitment until (this year's) ShoWest, when ("Clones" producer) Rick McCallum showed his package of "Star Wars" content. Then something very interesting happened. The next day, theater owners began calling us, and we began negotiating," said Stirling.
PIRATE-PROOF?
ShoWest is the movie theater owners largest convention of the year, where vendors sell everything from popcorn to projectors to theater owners. In recent years, much of ShoWest has centered on the anticipated rollout of digital cinema.
Theater owners, however, largely rejected the idea because they didn't want to pay the estimated cost of one system, which is as high as $150,000 for an advanced projector, computer servers and satellite dishes or high-speed wiring.
Owners went on a spending spree in the 1990s to upgrade theaters, which led to many bankruptcies in 1999 and 2000. But by 2001, the industry had returned to moderate health.
Stirling declined to give pricing details on a Boeing system because each owner has different specifications.
He said, however, that some Hollywood studios -- he did not name names -- have agreed to pay a digital distribution fee to Boeing to help offset installation costs.
That helped solve one major issue of theater owners who argued the studios should foot the entire bill because they gained the most by the reduced cost of distributing films.
Still, digital cinema does offer owners the not-yet-proven opportunity of using empty theaters for alternative events like showing rock concerts, sporting matches or corporate meetings.
Stirling said Boeing's contract often calls for revenue sharing if owners are able to boost sales with its system.
He added that the history of Boeing's various units in operating satellites and in processing highly encrypted data for the government as a defense contractor helped convince the studios that Boeing could thwart digital movie pirates.
Boeing Digital Cinema hopes to be among the first to tap into a market that Stirling said could be valued from the hundreds of millions to the billions of dollars in years ahead.
Nobody really knows the eventual size of the market, but what everyone seems to agree on is that digital cinema is the wave of the future for making and showing movies.
Boeing faces competition from a joint venture of wireless phone maker Qualcomm Inc. and Technicolor, as well as from photography giant Eastman Kodak Co.
===========
 

Vickie_M

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Dec 31, 2001
Messages
3,208
Alright! I have my midnight show at McClurg Court tickets! I tried to exchange my other tickets (hey, it never hurts to ask) but they wouldn't do it. So now I'll be seeing AOTC at midnight, 9:30am and 3:30pm. Too bad none of them will count for the weekend (Fri-Sun) total.

Felix, did you get yours?
 

felix_suwarno

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
1,523
uh, guys?

what to do next? i bought 2 adult tickets for next saturday, 12:30 pm. so, just bring my credit card and ask them to give me the ticket? is that all?
 

felix_suwarno

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 2, 2001
Messages
1,523
bump!!!

i really have bought a few tickets. i went to mcclurg today but it was too early, it was closed! i am not familiar with this stuff, so i am kinda afraid that the system might go wrong. has anyone had bad experience before? can i really go to mcclurg on the "x" day, show my credit card and everything would go smoothly?
 

Michael*K

Screenwriter
Joined
May 24, 2001
Messages
1,806
Yes. You can go and buy advance tickets at any time the box office is open...usually 30-60 minutes before the day's first showtime. If you don't want to go all the way back to buy the tickets at the box office (I thought you said you lived up near Marine Drive) and don't mind paying an extra buck, you can just buy the tickets online at fandango.com.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Forum statistics

Threads
356,815
Messages
5,123,804
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top