{"id":2951,"date":"2006-02-02T14:49:01","date_gmt":"2006-02-02T19:49:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com?p=2951"},"modified":"2006-02-02T16:10:34","modified_gmt":"2006-02-02T21:10:34","slug":"the_end_of_an_e","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/2006\/02\/02\/the_end_of_an_e\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of an era"},"content":{"rendered":"

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R.I.P. Loews State<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/table>\n\n

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The Loews State cinema<\/a>, the last cinema on Broadway and the biggest Bollywood theater in Manhattan, closed last Friday<\/a>, a victim of the AMC-Loews merger<\/a>. This Times Square theater was so central that it showed up in movies ranging from Kal Ho Naa Ho<\/a> <\/em>to Phone Booth.<\/em> As far as I know, the much smaller ImaginAsian<\/a> is now the only theater on the island regularly playing Bollywood flicks. Where will I go to get my regular phixx<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n

I loved and hated you, my State. From playing telephone with the non-Hindi-speaking ticket window <\/a>to watching tripe masquerading as film<\/a>, you brought me the best and the worst on giant screens. You brought me up with Parineeta<\/em> and down with Deewane Huye Paagal<\/a>,<\/em> up with Mangal Pandey \/ The Rising<\/a><\/em> and down with Bluff Master;<\/em> you brought me sold-out crowds (for Pandey)<\/em> and a hall to myself (for everything else). Not three weeks ago, I ran backward down your escalator to retrieve a scarf and met two cuties doing the same. In recent years you were a second-run theater, but watching desi flicks at the center of the world was its own distinct thrill. And your location in the Virgin Megastore was so Bolly-apropos <\/p>\n\n

When I lived in S.F., a friend of mine hosted stylish, witty desi parties for the mid-20s to mid-30s set. She had a baby, the parties stopped, and everyone felt the loss. Some things are as much community services as profit-making ventures. The Bollyrun at the Loews State was such a creature.<\/p>\n\n

Fifty years ago, the neighborhood was the world’s largest showcase for cinema — the area housed over a dozen grand movie palaces, including the Paramount, Roxy, Capitol, Strand, Warner, Rivoli and the National. In late 2004, the Loews Astor Place closed on 44th Street (it is now a concert venue, the Nokia Theatre), and a few years before, the area lost the Embassy two-plex and the Criterion Center. Much of the blame can be laid at the feet of increased rents for commercial space, the recent AMC-Loews merger, and the flourishing new multiplexes on 42nd Street near Port Authority, the AMC Empire 25 and the Loews E-Walk. [Link<\/a> – NSFW]<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

One commenter speculated about the fate of this huge but poorly-promoted basement theater:<\/p>\n\n

[I] would not be surprised if the whole lower level is turned into another high-priced theme eatery for the tourists that frequent Times Square. [Link<\/a>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

Another Bolly-ignorant commenter snarked:<\/p>\n\n

Check out this all-hit line-up. No wonder this place is ready to become a Dunkin’ Donuts, or whatever.

Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya…
My Date With Drew
The Rising
Viruddh<\/em> \n

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posted by Don Rosen [Link<\/a>]<\/blockquote>\n\n

Yes, Don, and here’s the lineup of winners at the Hollyplex:<\/p>\n\n

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo
Big Momma’s House 2
Cheaper By the Dozen 2<\/em>
Last Holiday<\/em><\/blockquote>\n\n

Related posts: ImaginAsian showing Bollyflicks<\/a>, Let’s play telephone<\/a>, ‘Yuva’<\/a>S<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

R.I.P. Loews State The Loews State cinema, the last cinema on Broadway and the biggest Bollywood theater in Manhattan, closed last Friday, a victim of the AMC-Loews merger. This Times Square theater was so central that it showed up in … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2951"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2951\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sepiamutiny.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}