Time for a few quickies.<\/span><\/p>\n 1.<\/a> The Hollywood Reporter<\/a><\/i> says shooting on Amazing Grace<\/a><\/i>, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney as 19th century abolitionists William Wilberforce and John Newton, has begun. And it looks like the supporting cast will be decent, at least:<\/p>\n As ever, here\u2019s hoping the movie does the true story justice.<\/p>\n 2.<\/a> The revival of Festival Cinemas<\/a> continues apace. The Vancouver Sun<\/a><\/i> reports that the Ridge Theatre<\/a> as we know it is coming to an end, but Festival may semi-save the day:<\/p>\n The Ridge repertory cinema in Kitsilano is set to end operation on Christmas Eve, but negotiations continue that may see it reopen the next day as a first-run theatre under new management.<\/p>\n Both outgoing general manager J Bradford and potential operator Leonard Schein cite onerous hikes in municipal property taxes, 16 per cent this year alone, as a key reason for the change. . . .<\/p>\n Schein said Tuesday he has nothing but sympathy for Bradford and her group, as well as others caught in Vancouver\u2019s tax squeeze. With business taxes pegged at six times the residential mill rate, the residential housing boom is fuelling a boost in business taxes that Schein describes as \u201coutrageously high, and it\u2019s affecting a number of art galleries and cultural groups, as well as small businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Schein hopes to sign an agreement with Sonjan Enterprises that will see the Ridge re-open with the same mix of current arthouse and mainstream movies that his Festival Cinemas provides at the Fifth Avenue and Park cinemas. . . .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Sigh, so many memories. I remember seeing a double-bill of Alice<\/a><\/i> (1990) and Edward Scissorhands<\/a><\/i> (1990) there with Trent in the early days of the Hoy House, when the Ridge had some sort of opening ceremony (I can\u2019t recall if it had recently become a repertory theatre, or if it was simply under new management). The Ridge was also the first theatre to post one of my reviews in their display case outside; the film in question was The Sum of Us<\/a><\/i> (1994), an Australian indie starring a then-virtually-unknown Russell Crowe as a gay man who gets along just great with his nosy father, played by Jack Thompson. The Ridge has also been home to the various animation festivals that have come through town \u2014 it was there that I discovered Wallace & Gromit<\/a> sometime in the early 1990s \u2014 plus it has long been one of the mainstays of the Vancouver International Film Festival<\/a>, although these days it\u2019s the only theatre linked to the festival that isn\u2019t downtown.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the Ridge almost came into the Festival Cinemas fold \u2014 or into the Alliance-Atlantis fold, I forget if it was before or after the buy-out \u2014 a few years ago, but the deal was called off when the Ridge\u2019s manager at that time died in a car accident on the Burrard Street Bridge, possibly as a result of a heart attack.<\/p>\n UPDATE: You can download the Ridge\u2019s last program as a PDF file here<\/a>. Looks like the last few weeks will be heavy on the classics, music-oriented films and\/or documentaries.<\/p>\n I have also just received a press release announcing that Festival Cinemas is<\/i> taking over the lease on Christmas Day:<\/p>\n Festival Cinemas will open the Ridge Theatre on Christmas Day with Mrs. Henderson Presents<\/i>, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. Tom [Lightburn, Festival vice-president] added that, \u201call of the existing seats will be replaced before its re-opening. Further upgrades will be made to the Ridge in the next few months to enhance the movie going experience.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Glory be! Those seats have needed replacement for years<\/i>. I guess some people will be working overtime on Christmas Eve, then!<\/p>\n 3.<\/a> The National Post<\/a><\/i> reports that churchgoers are now theatregoers, too, at least where The Meeting House<\/a> is concerned:<\/p>\n The crowd of urbanites, most of them in their 20s and 30s, files in to the theatre and takes their seats among the rows of chairs with headrests and cup holders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s Sunday morning and church is about to begin.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s got the pews beat,\u201d says seminary student Dick Black, as he settles into a plush seat inside the Paramount Theatre in the Entertainment District, where Toronto\u2019s newest church is now holding Sunday service.<\/p>\n A movie megaplex may not be the typical place for preaching the teachings of Jesus Christ, but The Meeting House is not your typical religious organization.<\/p>\n Billed as \u201cchurch for people who aren\u2019t into church,\u201d The Meeting House launched in 1986 in Oakville, and it now has sites in Hamilton, Brampton and, as of this fall, Toronto. Congregants at each site \u2014 all spaces rented from Famous Players and Silver City movie theatres \u2014 are witness to the same sermon each Sunday, recorded onto DVD a week earlier in Oakville, where pastor Bruxy Cavey preaches to a live audience.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s totally weird,\u201d admits Cavey of going to church at the movies. \u201cIt\u2019s very kind of 1984 sci-fi-ish.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Hmmm, this is how they promote<\/i> what they\u2019re doing? Doesn\u2019t sound very church-ish to me. And no, I don\u2019t say that just because I go to a church where we stand, not sit, through the services. I wonder how they handle communion or baptisms at this church; it\u2019s not like you can receive or perform them from a movie screen. Or is that the sort of thing that people would bother to do in the first place at a \u201cchurch for people who aren\u2019t into church\u201d?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Time for a few quickies. 1. The Hollywood Reporter says shooting on Amazing Grace, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Albert Finney as 19th century abolitionists William Wilberforce and John Newton, has begun. And it looks like the supporting cast will be decent, at least: Ramola Garai (who, as Jeffrey Overstreet rightly notes, \u201cstole every scene she […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n