WEATHER
Theater crowds may be wowed with incredible depth or feel the need to duck when something appears to fly into the stadium seating when the Galaxy Theatres open Friday morning at Uptown Gig Harbor off Point Fosdick Drive.
That’s because two of the theater’s 10 screens will have 3-D technology, general manager AJ Witherspoon said Monday.
“Hollywood is super excited about this,” Witherspoon said. “They’ve really mastered the technology. We have film projectors that have the built-in ability to do this.”
Viewers will wear special glasses for the 3-D effect — otherwise, the film will look blurry.
Witherspoon said that will prevent people who sneak into the theater with video cameras who try to create their own film.
When the films come out on DVD, they will not be in 3-D.
“You have to come out to the theatre to see the 3-D version,” Witherspoon said. “There’s a lot of digital 3-D protection. Videos in the store will just be the regular two-dimensional version.”
Two 3-D films Galaxy Theatres will release include a U2 concert and “Journey to the Center of the Earth.”
Witherspoon said the theater plans to run about five or six 3-D films this year and about seven or eight next year.
More films will be appearing in the format. Even some classics are being remastered in 3-D.
Film buyer Lee Josselyn said several 3-D movies expected to be released in the future include: “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Shrek Goes Fourth” and James Cameron’s highly secretive “Avatar.”
“Once more and more (movie) houses are equipped with the 3-D process, there will be a lot more 3-D films,” Josselyn said. “They’re the wave of the future.”
The theater is also preparing its summer cache of family blockbusters such as of “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “Kung Fu Panda.”
Josselyn said most movies with a PG-13 rating or below tend to be more profitable than those rated R.
“A lot of theaters stay away from R-rated films and prefer ones that are PG-13 or PG,” he said. “The good ones (R rated) are usually the art films.”
Comfortable seating
The theater boasts an expansive, high-ceiling lobby and stadium-style seating in every theater.
Each seat has a moveable armrest with a cup holder. The seats also recline and offer more legroom than most theaters.
“People can walk by without everyone having to stand up,” Witherspoon said. “I think I have yet to be in a more comfortable theater in my life.”
VIP Theater
Galaxy will offer a VIP theater with 79 seats. It is not a membership club — adult guests just spend a little extra for their ticket.
The “adult” label pertains to the audience, not the movie content, and offers viewers a chance to watch a film without disruptions from children.
“The behavior of young people has really changed,” Witherspoon said. “A lot of them don’t act appropriately when they’re in public. We get a lot of complaints about kids making noise and text messaging during movies. When they text, it turns on a light, and in a dark theater, your eye goes right to it.
“There is a segment of the population who want to watch a movie without having to deal with that.”
The VIP will be for ages 21 and older, and beer and wine orders will be taken when the theaters obtain a liquor license from the state.
Guests will also be able to order food items from their seats.
“We want to provide an upscale product in that auditorium,” Witherspoon said. “The plan here is to skip the snack bar all together. We’ll have waitresses, so people won’t have to deal with the concession stands.”
The future is digital
The 10 theaters will all be equipped with digital equipment. A regular 35mm projector is on hand for movies that have not yet been converted to a digital format, but Witherspoon said the push from Hollywood is to switch to digital.
“The directors are happy about this, because these movies will look brand new after being shown a million times over,” he said. “Years from now, it will look exactly as it did six weeks after the film opened.”
Modern conveniences
Moviegoers visiting Galaxy can purchase their tickets online or buy them at showtime from two kiosks at the entrance — or from one of four cashiers.
Witherspoon said even bathroom lines shouldn’t be too bad: The women’s bathroom alone has 28 stalls.
“Lines are bad,” he said. “We really focus on speed and service here.
“People come here to escape and forget about things. We want things to run as smoothly as possible so we can achieve that goal.”
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