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Author Topic: 5 screens slashed in 18-plex (Regal Hollywood 18, Huntvsille, AL) Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-13-2008 10:24 AM                        At some point between 12:40 and 8:40 AM March 12 (Tuesday night / Wednesday morning), someone broke into Regal Hollywood 18 here in Huntsville and slashed 5 of the movie screens and left graffiti on a screen. The damage was estimated to be $50000, with 5 of the 18 screens cut in half. This location has 6 larger screens and 12 smaller ones, but no details were given about which ones were damaged. This is the first case of this type of vandalism I've heard of in Huntsville since I've lived here. This theatre used to be the most popular theatre in town before the Rave Valley Bend 18 opened. I'm wondering why someone would do this -- it wasn't done during operating hours, but was done as a break-in, and nothing was reported stolen. It seems screens would be a very easy target for vandalism during normal operating hours.  |  IP: Logged Geoff Jones Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 579 From: Broomfield, CO, USA Registered: Feb 2006 posted 03-13-2008 10:46 AM                        quote: Evans A Criswell It seems screens would be a very easy target for vandalism during normal operating hours. Unless they are protected by a curtain! quote: Evans A Criswell This location has 6 larger screens and 12 smaller ones, but no details were given about which ones were damaged. Heh, let's hope it was the small ones! Geoff "Nowhere Near Alabama Tuesday Night" Jones  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-13-2008 10:54 AM                        Unless they were protected by a curtain It's a shame curtains went out of style. The last theatre (unless the new Moncaco has them, which I doubt) to have curtains that covered the screen was the Regal Gateway 4 in Decatur, a very good second-run theatre that closed in May 2000. Had it not been for that theatre, I would have never seen curtains covering a movie screen.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-13-2008 11:39 AM                        We used to have a stage curtain and I want to get another. It's on my list, for sure. I always wished someone would have taken a pic of our original curtain, before the screen was enlarged. According to a newspaper description it was really nice. The larger one that covered the screen from 1953 until the mid 80s was plain & ugly, not to mention full of dirt and smoke (from when they allowed smoking in the balcony)...so it was no heartbreaker taking it down.  |  IP: Logged Ron Funderburg Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 814 From: Chickasha, Oklahoma, USA Registered: Nov 2007 posted 03-13-2008 12:45 PM                        It is shame that curtains have gone out of style but the curtains cost more than screen usually by a lot. Still if the curtain gets cut up you still have a screen to show the movie on.  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-13-2008 03:09 PM                        One local TV station was asking anyone with tips on the screen slashing crime to notify the police. I hope whoever did that gets caught and this act is not repeated at other theatres around town.  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 03-13-2008 04:38 PM                     Maybe it's because I'm cynical and often expect the worst, but I have a feeling in my gut that the slashing was done by a disgruntled employee or ex-employee. I assume the police have the names of recently fired employees and follow accordingly.  |  IP: Logged Jeremy Weigel Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1062 From: Edmond, OK, USA Registered: Mar 2007 posted 03-13-2008 10:39 PM                     We used our curtains (4 waterfall and 2 side-opening) up until this past summer. They got to be a maintenance headache. The waterfall types collected dust and were a pain in the arse to vacuum all those folds. The other pain was if they got stuck while opening or closing and it always seemed to happen at the least desirable time with a packed house. Hand cranking those things open could take 15-20 minutes. We had very few problems with the side opening ones, although just before we decided to stop using them, one of them had a runner/glide get stuck and the curtain suffered a tare about 10' long. So that one got mothballed immediately and stayed that way especially after getting a quote to replace it.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-14-2008 12:03 AM                        What kind of screens cost $10k apiece? Are they silver screens? Are they counting the lost revenue as part of the damage cost? Or was the damage estimate grossly inflated?  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 03-14-2008 12:08 AM                     Bah! Give me some dental floss and some white gaffer's tape! I'll have it looking good as new in no time! Kidding aside... I have repaired screens in a couple of locations. Both were slashed by recently fired employees. Check with your most gruntled employees and see if they can't tell you who the likely disgruntled candidates are. Offering a reward would help. The graffiti might actually turn out to be a blessing. The content might lead you to the culprit. If it says, "Joe sucks!" ("Joe" being the manager who fired them) it would sure narrow down the list of suspects. Handwriting analysis might prove to be helpful too. When I was in high school, both of these techniques were used to bust kids who spray painted the walls. One of them was actually caught red handed... LITERALLY! It was when the truant officer found red paint one one guy's fingers that he knew he had the culprit! It only took about a half hour of grilling for the kid to spill his guts and put the finger on the other two kids who were in on the prank. They all got two weeks of IN-SCHOOL suspension!  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 03-14-2008 06:12 AM                        Ah, I have seen this before. Usually, the person(s) doing it do have some idea that the damage they are doing is not only going to affect the theatre immediately, but it will take some time to get the screens replaced. When my company opened a theatre in Ashburn, VA - someone slashed the screens there. When I was in Miami, someone slashed two screens at an 18 plex I was at. Hopefully, Regal had some kind of camera system in the building and got someone on video running around the building. Yes, it's very expensive damage that was done. Someone should be doing some serious jail time for this vandalism.  |  IP: Logged Evans A Criswell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1579 From: Huntsville, AL, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 03-14-2008 04:13 PM                        About the damage estimate -- the cost to the theatre would be the five screens (cost would depend on which auditoriums, plus the lost revenue). One news source said the theatre planned to have the screens replaced Saturday (tomorrow), so that would mean they're losing a Friday night showing (one of the busiest nights) on 5 screens. By switching out their 5 least-popular movies, they can minimize the income damage. If the larger auditoriums were damaged, it would affect the theatre much more greatly since one showing of a popular movie might have to be in 2 smaller ones to handle the same number of customers.  |  IP: Logged Brad Allen Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 688 From: Evansville, IN, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 03-14-2008 10:49 PM                     Tomorrow? Who keeps spare screens laying around?  |  IP: Logged James Westbrook Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1133 From: Lubbock, Texas, Usa Registered: Mar 2006 posted 03-14-2008 10:57 PM                     Even in an "emergency" situation, those screens would take quite a bit of time to get there. This is not a Fed-Ex item. They may be using used screens - some chains keep old screens in some of their buildings, maybe for incidents like this -not exactly the same size that got slashed but sizeable enough to hang in their place until new, proper screens can be ordered. They should thank their lucky stars this didn't happen in late May or June, when the financial impact would be more pronounced.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 03-15-2008 06:53 AM                        Just another reason for "standardization-within-a-circuit" on auditorium design. Reordering/shipping new screens would be simply: 2 "A" and 3 "B" sized screens. Storage at a central location would be reasonable for 25 or 30 screens. Alas, that would require forethought! (Could be repaired in 24 hours.) Louis  |  IP: Logged

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