KSL News Story
22 November 2001
USA Today named the Villa one top ten great places in the nation for
classic cinema. However the recognition may not be enough to save the
theater from the wrecking ball, as news specialist John Hollinghorst reports.
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
A movie like "Harry Potter can still line em up at the box
office, but in recent years it has been mighty tough to fill this huge
auditorium, designed originally for the archaic Cinerama movie process.
The Villa had stadium seating long before the movie industry coined the
term.
KELLI JENSEN, THEATER LOVER:
This where you experience a movie. You don't come to see it, you experience
it.
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
Most days not enough people experience the plush furnishings, the spectacular
mural art, the big curved screen, and old-fashioned stage.
AARON DOZIER, THEATER EMPLOYEE:
They used to put on live stage shows and stuff.
GRANT SMITH, THEATER LOVER:
It's a great theater. A large part of history. It's the oldest first-run,
single-screen theater we've got. It's the only one we've got left.
TREVAN BIDDULPH, ASSISTANT MANAGER:
Like, I love this building, you know. That's the reason I work here still.
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
Villa lovers began campaigning to save the theater a few months ago when
it was almost sold. That deal has now fallen through.
GRANT SMITH:
That's an encouraging thing in some ways. I can hope now that maybe the
theater will pick up sales and we'll be able to keep it open.
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
The Atlanta-based company that owns the Villa is in bankruptcy proceedings
and the building remains up for sale. The property and its water rights
considered more valuable than the historic theater itself.
TREVAN BIDDULPH:
. . . and they're trying to sell it because they need the money.
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
USA Today listed the nation's top ten movie-going experiences. Villa lovers
were delighted to their theater on the list. Kelli Jensen recently spoke
to a corporate vice president in Atlanta.
KELLI JENSEN:
He said, "We love the theater. We do not want to sell it. But your
people in your town aren't supporting it."
JOHN HOLLENHORST:
Their goal now it to do the company's work and drum up more business,
hoping bigger crowds will save the day. John Hollenhorst, Eyewitness News.
A similar battle over an old Cinerama theater in Seattle ended when Microsoft
billionaire Paul Allen stepped in and bought it. His Cinerama Society
sent a letter supporting the Villa, but there's no hint they would consider
buying that theater.
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