The Hobbit Part 2 premiered here last week (which we may go see tomorrow night), so they have a cool display in the forecourt to promote the movie.
We did the VIP tour, which I last did ten years ago with my Dad (last milestone birthday), so I was anxious to see how it had changed. The tour was better in some ways, less in others. Tour tickets are treated like movie tickets now, so you can buy them from the kiosk right outside. You can also get them online in advance, but we didn't know what time we'd get there and there are many, many tours available throughout the day.
Last time, there wasn't a movie playing when we did the tour, which meant we could go in the auditorium just fine, so I wasn't sure how that was going to work out.
The tour started promptly on time, and our excellent guide took us all through the ornate lobby. He was really knowledgable and clearly enthusiastic, which always makes for a great guide. It was also great that we had a very small group, which made it much easier to hear while the movie was playing.
Much of the lobby is original, except for the carpet, which is a reproduction. It had to be replaced in 1977 after millions of people came to see Star Wars. There are Chinese murals hand painted on the upper walls and ceiling by actor Keye Luke, who had a long career ranging from the original Kato in the Green Hornet serial, to old Master Po is Kung Fu and the Old Man who sold Gizmo in Gremlins.
Since the theatre was built in the 20s, if you look behind the exit signs over the doors, you can still see the gas pipes that were used to illuminate them long ago.
They also had numerous display cases of costumes. The first few were from The Hobbit 2, of course, but the rest were gowns worn by classic Holkywood actresses like (North Catolina's own) Ava Gardner and Lauren Bacall. There were also display cases featuring programs from movie premieres dating back to the 20s, along with a poster for one of the most popular, The Wizard of Oz.
In addition to all the movies that have played there, he mentioned a couple that were recently shot there: Iron Man 3 (which I got to see shooting back in NC) and Saving Mr. Banks, which we were going to see later that night.
From there we went down a side hallway which featured two items from the theatre's origins. The first was a wooden chair that Grauman actually purchased in China, which inspired him to build the theatre. The second was one of a trio of wax figures that originally stood in the lobby. Last time, two of them and the chair were in an open-air gift shop in the very back at the end if the tour. Since they'd been moved inside, I correctly guessed that we wouldn't be going back there this time.
Next I got my answer about seeing, or not seeing, the auditorium. After a friendly explanation about safety, codes, and whatnot that forbade us from going in while the movie was playing, our guide let us know that he was going to give us a glimpse anyway. Since The Hobbit 2 is playing in IMAX (a recent addition thanks to a major renovation) 3D and HFR (High Frame Rate), he handed out 3D glasses for everyone and led us down the dark hallway to the doorway, where we could see the screen from the side. Since it was impossible to see much of the auditorium, I was more interested in the picture quality of HFR. Seeing it from a side-angle so close to the screen, it was difficult to make a complete judgment. It was definitely sharp and crystal clear, but it seemed to give me a headache. We may come back tomorrow night to see it, if we're up to it (Update: Yes, we were. See below).
Next we went downstairs to the Ladies' lounge, much of which is original (with hand-painted butterflies), except for the completely renovated and modern bathroom attached. This is where all the great actresses of Hollywood past came to relax and touch up before the big show. By comparison, the Men's lounge is non-existent.
Finally (for the interior at least, we saw more costumes on the other side of the lobby and went down the other hallway where they have a giant statue that looks like stone but is actually made of wood, which also dates back to the theatre's beginnings in 1927.
Our final stop was outside to the forecourt where our guide pointed out several sets of handprints, such as Jackie Chan, Sandra Bullock, Marilyn Monroe, and Sid Grauman himself. And that was it. Sadly, we didn't get to go up into the VIP lounge (it is billed as the VIP Tour, after all), which we did before. That was the part which I was most looking forward.
UPDATE: Funny enough, despite wanting to for much of my life, I've never actually seen a movie at the Chinese Theatre. For one reason or another, I was unable to work it out on each previous trip. Well, mark another one off my bucket list.
Tonight we watched The Hobbit in IMAX 3D and HFR. The IMAX was awesome, as usual, but I've grown to really dislike 3D (except in certain theme park attractions), and I thought the HFR brought absolutely nothing except to give me a headache. Just IMAX alone would have been great, like Christopher Nolan does it.
Finally seeing a movie at the Chinese was incredibly awesome, but the icing on the cake was this: when it was time for the movie to start, the curtain began to open very, very slowly. Just when I commented on it, they started playing the theme from 2001, which was just perfect. Everyone applauded when it was over. That's an A+ for presentation. Not to mention exceeding my already high expectations.
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