Pacific Place's New Cinema Adds 11 Screens Downtown

The downtown movie scene is changing drastically.

Just yesterday, the only bargain house in the area, United Artists Cinemas, closed its doors. Belltown's Casbah Cinema went belly up and had its seats torn out. The Newmark is empty, the Market and the King no longer show movies, the Paramount screens only silent movies occasionally on Mondays, while the Cinerama will be dark until April.

But the area will be getting its second-largest multiplex soon, as General Cinema Pacific Place 11 opens this weekend with a series of events. First, public screenings: tonight's collection of Halloween-oriented films, which will benefit Rise N' Shine, a Seattle-based AIDS organization.

Designed for adults, kids

If the Pacific Place theater gets its liquor license in time, it will become the first Seattle multiplex to offer wine and microbrews with its movies (General Cinemas' Cinema Grill, previously known as the Aurora Cinema, will feature wine and beer when it opens in January). The theater is divided into two levels, reflecting that change.

A child-oriented downstairs level features video games, four theaters and a concierge desk. The more elaborate, adult-oriented upstairs area has a small cafe (admission restricted to 21 and up), an intimate "art house" that seats fewer than 100 people, four standard-size theaters, and two large auditoriums equipped with THX sound systems and 57-foot-wide screens.

All the theaters have Dolby digital surround sound and wall-to-wall screens. Each features a marquee that tells what's playing.

The theater occupies part of the fourth floor as well as the fifth floor of Pacific Place. Giant logs surround the box offices, and there's more wood inside. General Cinema claims no trees were cut simply for the sake of building a movie theater.

"The interior of this theater is designed to knock people's socks off," says Bill Doeren, president and CEO of General Cinema. "Our architects have given it the look of a Pacific Northwest hunting lodge, with exposed wood beams, lots of open space and a 42-foot forestry tower in the lobby that's made from timber reclaimed after a forest fire."

Each auditorium is a mixture of traditional flat seating (moviegoers look up at the screen in the front rows) and stadium seating (the sightlines are perfect at the back of the house), with handicapped seating particularly accessible. Some of the theaters have 80 percent stadium seating, some have less. Scattered around are "love seats with snuggling room for two."

The original plan for Pacific Place was to build 21 auditoriums, but the recent popularity of stadium seating dictated a complete redesign - and the elimination of 10 auditoriums. The multiplex, which now seats about 3,000, provides a stark contrast to the nearby Meridian 16, which has poor sightlines in several of its auditoriums.

During the morning hours, the auditoriums will be available for seminars and meetings.

Because of the concessions layout, which includes one room reserved for popcorn popping and an extensive kitchen for pizzas and other fast-food items, the company claims there will be less wait time for popcorn and drinks.

If anyone's still hungry, there are plenty of nearby restaurants within Pacific Place. The multiplex is designed to lure downtown workers who might be tempted to take in a movie and a meal after work, and there will be "rush hour" prices ($4.75 for adults) between 4 and 6 p.m. daily. Lower matinee prices will apply in the afternoon, while the $7 adult ticket will rule at night.

The theater will have one union projectionist, who will do 36 hours a week of handling the heavy-duty work of preparing films and cleaning up. Manager-projectionists will do much of the actual projection work.

During a press tour last week, technicians were trying out the projectors and sound systems by showing "Anaconda," "Godzilla" and other recent films.

Aside from a special program presented tomorrow night by Cinema Seattle, no first-run films will be shown until the official opening, Nov. 6 - which is the same day Loews Cineplex Entertainment (formerly Cineplex Odeon) will open a 14-screen multiplex in Burlington.

Here's a roundup of the opening shows:

-- "Absolutely Hollywood," from 7 p.m. to midnight today. You must be 21 or older to attend this collection of Halloween-oriented films, including "The Silence of the Lambs" and "Tales From the Darkside," plus such campy movies as "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and "Mommie Dearest." Alcohol will be served, and the evening begins with a live show featuring Mark Finley and Gaysha Starr. It's a benefit for Rise N' Shine, and tickets are $10 at the door.

-- "$100 Million Movie Marathon," from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow. The titles include "Titanic," "Contact," "The Truman Show," "Home Alone," "As Good As It Gets," "My Best Friend's Wedding," "Men in Black," "Godzilla," "Dr. Dolittle" and "Air Force One." Tickets are $1. All proceeds benefit Big Brothers/Big Sisters of King County.

-- "Flicks or Treats - Halloween on Screen," 7:30 p.m. tomorrow. Six of the theaters will be screening films chosen by Cinema Seattle, the creators of the Seattle International Film Festival. The Halloween specials include "The Witches," "The Haunting" and the brand-new "Gods and Monsters." Also showing are three films scheduled to open in November: "The Cruise," "The Inheritors" and (for Cinema Seattle members only) "Life Is Beautiful." Admission is free, although a $5 donation to Cinema Seattle ($3 for children) is suggested.

-- "Family Movie Day," 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. A collection of family-oriented films, including "Madeline," "Barney's Great Adventure," "MouseHunt," "Paulie," "Titanic," "The Mask of Zorro," "Liar Liar," "The Borrowers" and "Small Soldiers," will be screened for $1 apiece. Proceeds go to KJR's Baby DJ Children's Charities.

-- "Retro-Cheese Night," 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday. The titles include "Austin Powers," "Boogie Nights" and "The Brady Bunch Movie." Tickets are $1.

-- "Mountain Night at the Movies," 4 to 10 p.m. Monday. Washington Trails Association and United Way will benefit from the concessions sales at this outdoorsy program, which includes screenings of "Alaska," "Misery," "The Horse Whisperer," "The Mask of Zorro," "Ace Ventura 2: When Nature Calls," "The Edge" and "Fargo." Tickets are $1.

The theater will be closed for private tours and invitation-only galas on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Next Friday, the theater will officially open with a lineup of first-run films, including "The Siege." The phone number is 206-654-2404.