[HowarkRoark]

Oh man, Diamond Schmitt are some of the worst residential architects in the city these days. Hopefully this isn't another clunker.

I just went to Google Images to see what Diamond Schmitt has done and the bulidings look nice.

What do your buildings look like?

 

[isaidso]

Multiplexes were the McDonaldsization of the movie theatre experience. Cheap, generic, repeatable, predictable. Part of me is glad they're dying, and hopes for a return of the "theatre" being put back into movie theatres, with more focus on the experience. That will come at a price though.

The invention of the term 'movie theatre' is cringey and pretentious though. 'Theatre' refers to live performance (South Pacific, Phantom of the Opera), not film. The term 'movie theatre'' was a marketing ploy by that industry to make cinema seem more high end. It's like calling your car a 'road yacht'. The term 'movie theatre' has become ubiquitous but it's a misnomer.

The term is 'cinema' deriving from the French word 'cinématographe' to mean 'moving picture'. Over time, cinema came to also mean the process of film making and the place in which they are shown. It's why the Oscars call it cinema.

So there was never any 'theatre' in cinema to begin with.

 

[daptive]

Multiplexes were the McDonaldsization of the movie theatre experience. Cheap, generic, repeatable, predictable. Part of me is glad they're dying, and hopes for a return of the "theatre" being put back into movie theatres, with more focus on the experience. That will come at a price though.

Obviously we need also to get past the endless copy and paste superhero movies, and start drawing back a wider audience.

Multiplexes are one place where I want bigger and better, the only reason I’d watch a movie in theatres is because I want the best picture and the best sound. The current Scotiabank Theatre has one of the top IMAX projection systems in the country and once it’s downsized it won’t be the same experience.

 

[Northern Light]

The invention of the term 'movie theatre' is cringey and pretentious though. 'Theatre' refers to live performance (South Pacific, Phantom of the Opera), not film. The term 'movie theatre'' was a marketing ploy by that industry to make cinema seem more high end. It's like calling your car a 'road yacht'. The term 'movie theatre' has become ubiquitous but it's a misnomer.

The term is 'cinema' deriving from the French word 'cinématographe' to mean 'moving picture'. Over time, cinema came to also mean the process of film making and the place in which they are shown. It's why the Oscars call it cinema.

So there was never any 'theatre' in cinema to begin with.

This is not correct.

Movies began playing in the same 'theatres' where plays, musicals and operas were held, simply adding the screen and the projector.

Most movie theatres, accordingly had full stages and backstages.

Think of the former Uptown Theatre at Yonge/Bloor, the Balmuto side of which had two very small screens tucked behind the main three, which were were known as 'The Backstage" Because they were, they were in the former backstage area of the theatre.

Movie theatre made the distinction between a theatre playing vaudeville or the like and one playing movies.

Purpose-built movie theatres would only arrive later.

 

[Northern Light]

Multiplexes were the McDonaldsization of the movie theatre experience. Cheap, generic, repeatable, predictable. Part of me is glad they're dying, and hopes for a return of the "theatre" being put back into movie theatres, with more focus on the experience. That will come at a price though.

Obviously we need also to get past the endless copy and paste superhero movies, and start drawing back a wider audience.

I broadly agree; though, I don't think multi-screen complexes deserve the drubbing you give them here.

The Cumberland as a 4-screen arthouse worked well.

Increased number of screens actually made room for more niche product for a time; than would likely have been seen where theatres were more numerous, but generally only one screen each and therefore more reliant on proven box office draws.

The move from 3-8 screen venues to the 9-30 screen venues did represent a more marked deterioration in the movie going experience both from a venue perspective, but also cinematic diversity.

This is because this shift also really saw the introduction of multiple showtimes and screens for the same movie, at the same venue. So that a 14-screen Paramount/SB cinema instead of having 14 different movies playing, might have only 7, with the latest Fast and Furious getting 4 screens, and Barbie getting 3, and Oppenheimer on 2, before finally getting distinct movies on the rest.

It would generally be challenging to go back to the single-screen concept, as the cost of one manager on duty at every venue, plus one usher, one concession worker, and one box worker minimum sets a much higher base cost of operations.

It doesn't help matters that the business model around theatrical release films these days favours short releases, on saturated screen numbers vs a more slow burn approach.

For example, for those trying to figure out what I'm meaning, Today's model (distributors take 30-40% ticket sales, exhibitors get the rest, plus concession) tends to result in movies being in release for 4-7 weeks then gone and off to TV.

Where in a previous era, a movie would not show up on TV until at least 2 years had passed from its theatrical release date; and cinemas sometimes kept a hit movie (ie. 2001 A Space Odyssey) in release for more than a year!

 

[Northern Light]

Multiplexes are one place where I want bigger and better, the only reason I’d watch a movie in theatres is because I want the best picture and the best sound. The current Scotiabank Theatre has one of the top IMAX projection systems in the country and once it’s downsized it won’t be the same experience.

If one is going to see the latest Bond film, I totally get that take; but if you're going to see a quieter film that's not stunt or landscape driven, less so.

Sure, I prefer the clean sightlines of stadium style seating, but I don't think requires 10 screens under one roof, nor does it require and IMAX sized screen.

Also, some of the older raked-floor venues, where re-done with fewer seats and more leg room actually have pretty decent sightlines.

 

[AlbertC]

Doesn't specifically pertain to this project only, but RioCan have paused starting any new construction on projects they have in their pipeline for the foreseeable future:

RioCan REIT pauses new construction starts amid high interest rates

TORONTO - High interest rates and rising costs have pushed RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust to put a halt to starting any major new construction projects.

www.thestar.com

High interest rates and rising costs have pushed RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust to put a halt to starting any major new construction projects.

The company is pushing on with existing builds, but the timing isn't right to put shovels in the ground on any new ambitious projects, said chief executive Jonathan Gitlin in an interview.

"We've made a decision that in the short term, starting construction isn't the most effective use of our shareholders' money."

Given high interest rates, and the variable debt that comes with a lot of construction financing, he said it makes more sense to pay down RioCan's debt, which stands at about $7.3 billion.

"It becomes quite accretive, and quite productive, immediately."

The shift means RioCan will continue building the 1.7 million square feet of space under construction, but a further 1.5 million square feet of "shovel ready" projects will have to wait until market conditions improve. The company will also continue to push projects through the development and permitting stages.

RioCan will likely have to wait until they get more clarity from the Bank of Canada on its rate trajectory before moving on those projects, said Gitlin.

"As inflation does begin to settle and there's more adherence to the target level of inflation, I think that will allow the Bank of Canada to give more clarity. And from that clarity, we will be able to take more logical prognostications on how our projects are going to turn out."