Slog
News & ArtsWednesday, November 24, 2010
News / Film Neptune Theater to Close?
Posted by Lindy West on Wed, Nov 24, 2010 at 11:24 AM
- Landmark
I am on the case. More when I know more.
2
That would be a shame. They ought to renovate it if they haven't since I moved away (that almost-flat floor and old seats really are horribly out of date), but I suspect it's more than they want to invest.
4
Argh. Landmark's also demolished that house on their property next to the Gables. It's owned by a Mark Cuban-controlled holding company - wonder if they're bleeding money.
Thanks for getting and staying on top of it. That sounded dirty.
Thanks for getting and staying on top of it. That sounded dirty.
9
1) The blog entry Paul links to says "A guy who works [at Uptown] ... told me that wasn’t likely since they are closing the beloved Neptune!" So one little comment that a guy (who works for a different company) said translates to "word is circulating"? And that blog entry's title is a definitive "Seattle Landmark Neptune Theater Closing" - which is also misleading.
2) The inability of URLs to include punctuation can distort things. i.e. Paul's slog entry is a decent "Neptune Theater to Close?" but it then becomes /neptune-theater-to-close.
10
This is sad, but it also isn't entirely surprising to me, IMO.
I always thought it was weird that there were 4 different Landmark theaters all withing a few blocks of each other:
The Varsity on the ave,
The Neptune right around the corner,
The Metro a block away
and the Seven Gables 5 blocks up the street.
And then there's the Guild 45th that's not too far away either.
But another question, didn't they just equip the Neptune with a D-Cinema projector so they could do 3-D? I know they've been showing all the 3-D movies there...
With the exception of Cinerama, I pretty much exclusively go to Landmark theaters because of their superior popcorn and superior choice of independent movies. I hope they're not struggling, or if they are that it isn't happening here in Seattle.
I always thought it was weird that there were 4 different Landmark theaters all withing a few blocks of each other:
The Varsity on the ave,
The Neptune right around the corner,
The Metro a block away
and the Seven Gables 5 blocks up the street.
And then there's the Guild 45th that's not too far away either.
But another question, didn't they just equip the Neptune with a D-Cinema projector so they could do 3-D? I know they've been showing all the 3-D movies there...
With the exception of Cinerama, I pretty much exclusively go to Landmark theaters because of their superior popcorn and superior choice of independent movies. I hope they're not struggling, or if they are that it isn't happening here in Seattle.
11
If the Neptune is torn down, PLEASE don't demolish the overhead marquee sign. Move it to West Seatle's Admiral Theater building, which was designed by the same architect back in the 1940s and has needed a marquee restoration ever since its original was removed in the 1970s.
12
If the Neptune is torn down, PLEASE don't demolish the overhead marquee sign. Move it to West Seatle's Admiral Theater building, which was designed by the same architect back in the 1940s and has needed a marquee restoration ever since its original was removed in the 1970s.
13
Netflix (at least for me and I suspect a few others) has just about killed the movie theater. It seems that only 3-D and other cutting edge visual technology can save it.
17
After the Cinerama, the Neptune is my 2nd favorite cinema in the city. What's too bad for both of them is I rarely ever see first run movies in the cinema.
20
Seems a little weird that Ruth would be acting like it was a big secret... the general Landmark population have known for over a week.
...and I'm sure you geniuses have noticed that there are other businesses in that building besides the movie theatre. Landmark doesn't have any more power to tear it down than you have power to tear down your apartment building when you move out.
...and I'm sure you geniuses have noticed that there are other businesses in that building besides the movie theatre. Landmark doesn't have any more power to tear it down than you have power to tear down your apartment building when you move out.
21
the neptune should remain forever open dammit..if only because it used to be a landmark theater and programmed some of the most adventurous billings in town back in the days. two full weeks of wim wenders , all 16 hours of berlin alexanderplatz,, and a marathon all day and half the night of the entirety of john waters.
*sigh*
*sigh*
22
What is going to happen to the other businesses in that building? Or the people living in the apartments?
24
Guys, calm down. Landmark doesn't own the building. All that's happening is that they are moving out, and some other company is moving in.
25
Personally I'm most terrified that eventually Scarecrow Video will end up closing. Between Netflix mail/streaming, Redbox (soon to include streaming), Hulu, iTunes, etc, it doesn't look good for many of these venues. However I'm not surprised that the theaters which are currently closing are located in "parking hell" areas.
26
Landmark Theatres do not own the building in which the Neptune operates; they lease it. If Landmark falls out, the owner would be able to lease the theater space to another vendor/operator.
27
You know what is killing theaters for me? The shocking amount of movies being made that I don't want to see. I never thought I'd see the day.
29
It's ironic (and sadly telling) that this discussion is happening only a couple of weeks after the Fox TV show "Glee" did their own Rocky Horror Picture Show episode.
30
Breaks my heart to see people commenting about how much they'd miss a particular movie theatre were it to close, only to immediately thereafter cop to the fact that they do most of their movie-watching at home via NetFlix or some similar service. Yes, seeing a film in the theatre is expensive but it's also an experience you won't find at home no matter how sophisticated your "home theatre" system may be. Worse yet: if you're unwilling to throw down $7-10 every now and again to see something on the big screen, the big screen WILL eventually go bye-bye. Use it or lose it, folks.
31
I'm the blogger who originally wrote that story. I'm now told that the Neptune may have a buyer: http://amydezellar.com/2010/11/26/stg-to…
I guess we'll see.
I guess we'll see.
32
@Amy... that article makes the causality sound like the STG is buying the Neptune because Landmark is moving out, but it is actually the other way around. Landmark never owned the building, and the STG made an aggressive enough bid on the building that the owners decided to sell it to them over renewing Landmark's lease. So in short, STG isn't saving the Neptune, it is kicking the theater out.
33
Really sorry to hear that. One of the things I love most about Seattle is all the small theatres with character.
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