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Movieplex 8 will reopen
Vermont senator buys theater; plans to open next Friday
By Paul Crossman
The recently vacated Movieplex 8 in Greenport has now been purchased by Vermont State Sen. Kevin Mullin and his company Glenwood Movieplex Corporation, who promises that it will be up and running again by next Friday.
“The landlords have been great people to work with,” said Mullin, “and I look forward to operating a theater that Columbia County can be proud of.”
Joe Calcagno, the managing owner of the building, was also glad to see Mullin taking over the theater.
“Basically, we’re just really excited to have him,” Calcagno told the Register-Star. “It’s nice that we have a senator who is interested in our community. He worked hard for this.”
The senator plans to make several renovations and changes to the theater, including swapping out many of the current seats with rockers, putting stereo sound in the four theaters that are currently without it, and updating the theaters that already have it to digital sound. He also plans to install a digital 3D projector so that the movieplex will be able to show the various 3D films that are now coming out.
According to Mullin, these improvements will take place over a period of time, and will not disrupt the operation of the cinema.
“At most, only one auditorium will be dark at a time,” he said.
The senator also plans to rehire any employees that worked for the previous owner and who would like their jobs back.
The new theater will still be called the Hudson Movieplex, but though prices will stay the same, Mullin says he plans to try and get many more first-run movies than the old owners.
He also said that although he realized Hudson’s Cinema 3 had also been trying to procure a lease to the larger movieplex, he had no intention of being overly competitive with the neighboring theater.
“It’s going to take time,” he said. “We’re not trying to put [the Cinema 3] out of business, we’re just trying to create more entertainment opportunities for Columbia County.”
Starting on the theater’s opening day, the movies to be shown will be “Planet 51,” “The Blind Side,” “This is it,” “Paranormal Activity,” “The Fourth Kind,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Matinee only),” “Couple’s Retreat,” and “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Mullin himself has a long history with the movie theater business, and was actually one of the people who founded Cinema North — the company which previously owned the theater — in 1981, but left to pursue other ventures in 1993, long before the company went bankrupt.
He has since owned a drive-in movie theater called the Finger Lakes Drive In, in Auburn, N.Y. and had previously tried to buy several theaters from Cinema North, but was turned down. Once the company went under, he began to look at some of the abandoned theaters, and decided the Hudson/Greenport community was one he would really like to be involved with.
Mullin is also looking into purchasing another of the Cinema North Theaters in an as-of-yet undisclosed location.
“I’ve been in the movie business for 30 years,” he told the Register-Star. “I’m really excited about getting back into the year-round theaters.”
Mullin says that any community members with ideas or concerns about the new theater can either e-mail him at kjmbjm@aol.com, or call him directly at 1-802-353-6770.
The Web site for the theater will also be up next Tuesday at www.hudsonmovieplex8.com.
To reach reporter Paul Crossman, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail pcrossman@registerstar.com.
“The landlords have been great people to work with,” said Mullin, “and I look forward to operating a theater that Columbia County can be proud of.”
Joe Calcagno, the managing owner of the building, was also glad to see Mullin taking over the theater.
“Basically, we’re just really excited to have him,” Calcagno told the Register-Star. “It’s nice that we have a senator who is interested in our community. He worked hard for this.”
The senator plans to make several renovations and changes to the theater, including swapping out many of the current seats with rockers, putting stereo sound in the four theaters that are currently without it, and updating the theaters that already have it to digital sound. He also plans to install a digital 3D projector so that the movieplex will be able to show the various 3D films that are now coming out.
According to Mullin, these improvements will take place over a period of time, and will not disrupt the operation of the cinema.
“At most, only one auditorium will be dark at a time,” he said.
The senator also plans to rehire any employees that worked for the previous owner and who would like their jobs back.
The new theater will still be called the Hudson Movieplex, but though prices will stay the same, Mullin says he plans to try and get many more first-run movies than the old owners.
He also said that although he realized Hudson’s Cinema 3 had also been trying to procure a lease to the larger movieplex, he had no intention of being overly competitive with the neighboring theater.
“It’s going to take time,” he said. “We’re not trying to put [the Cinema 3] out of business, we’re just trying to create more entertainment opportunities for Columbia County.”
Starting on the theater’s opening day, the movies to be shown will be “Planet 51,” “The Blind Side,” “This is it,” “Paranormal Activity,” “The Fourth Kind,” “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (Matinee only),” “Couple’s Retreat,” and “Where the Wild Things Are.”
Mullin himself has a long history with the movie theater business, and was actually one of the people who founded Cinema North — the company which previously owned the theater — in 1981, but left to pursue other ventures in 1993, long before the company went bankrupt.
He has since owned a drive-in movie theater called the Finger Lakes Drive In, in Auburn, N.Y. and had previously tried to buy several theaters from Cinema North, but was turned down. Once the company went under, he began to look at some of the abandoned theaters, and decided the Hudson/Greenport community was one he would really like to be involved with.
Mullin is also looking into purchasing another of the Cinema North Theaters in an as-of-yet undisclosed location.
“I’ve been in the movie business for 30 years,” he told the Register-Star. “I’m really excited about getting back into the year-round theaters.”
Mullin says that any community members with ideas or concerns about the new theater can either e-mail him at kjmbjm@aol.com, or call him directly at 1-802-353-6770.
The Web site for the theater will also be up next Tuesday at www.hudsonmovieplex8.com.
To reach reporter Paul Crossman, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2266, or e-mail pcrossman@registerstar.com.
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upstateapples wrote on Nov 13, 2009 10:30 AM: