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Show time at Laie
A North Shore couple has renovated the old Laie Cinemas and will run it independently
POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 17, 2009
The lights went out at Laie Cinemas about a year and a half ago, but the lights come back on today for its rebirth as Laie Palms Cinemas.
Laie residents Don and Alicen Nielsen have renovated the small, two-screen movie theater from top to bottom, and are debuting with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."
"We're going to run it as an independent movie theater," said Don Nielsen. "We're going to show some first-run movies, some maybe a week after the release date, some foreign movies, film festivals and surf movies. Because we're independent, we're going to run it differently than a lot of other movie theaters."
Laie Cinemas, formerly run by Hollywood Theaters of Oregon, closed down last April, leaving the North Shore void of any movie theaters.
Hollywood President Scott Wallace told the Star-Bulletin then that the theater was not getting the volume it needed and that the decision to close it was purely economic.
Wallace said at the time that two- and four-screen theaters across the nation were becoming obsolete and being replaced with more contemporary megaplex theaters.
But Nielsen believes there is a niche for an independently run community theaters, which have more flexibility in the kinds of movies they can run.
Tickets at Laie Palms will be priced lower than multi-plex theaters.
There will be at least one matinee during the week, said Nielsen, and more showings on Saturday; the theater will be closed on Sundays.
Nielsen, who has a background in banking and finance, described Laie Palms Cinemas as a quaint community theater and said it would not be competing with Consolidated Theatres or Regal Movie Theaters, which run most multiplex theaters on Oahu.
The Nielsens moved to Laie a year ago from San Luis Obispo, Calif., so that Alicen Nielsen could pursue a degree in art and anthropology at BYU-Hawaii.
When they learned that Laie Cinemas had closed, they were inspired to reopen it.
"We're real movie nuts," explained Don Nielsen.
Landowner Hawaii Reserves Inc. agreed to a lease earlier this year, and renovations began in the spring.
Work on the 235-seat theater included a new roof, new walls and air conditioners, an improved sound system and a renovated lobby and concession stand.
The interior features an old-Hawaiiana theme, said Nielsen, who described it as a "nostalgic-type theater" that will offer popcorn with real butter.
Longtime Laie resident and mother Judy Keys is thrilled that the theater is reopening. Keys, who organized a rally protesting the theater's closure last year, said it is essential to have entertainment in town for the kids.
"It's a very good thing because we really have nothing out on the North Shore," said Keys.
"Everything for entertainment for our kids is an hour away.
"It's good to keep our kids off the road."
The lights went out at Laie Cinemas about a year and a half ago, but the lights come back on today for its rebirth as Laie Palms Cinemas.
Laie residents Don and Alicen Nielsen have renovated the small, two-screen movie theater from top to bottom, and are debuting with "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."
"We're going to run it as an independent movie theater," said Don Nielsen. "We're going to show some first-run movies, some maybe a week after the release date, some foreign movies, film festivals and surf movies. Because we're independent, we're going to run it differently than a lot of other movie theaters."
Laie Cinemas, formerly run by Hollywood Theaters of Oregon, closed down last April, leaving the North Shore void of any movie theaters.
Hollywood President Scott Wallace told the Star-Bulletin then that the theater was not getting the volume it needed and that the decision to close it was purely economic.
Wallace said at the time that two- and four-screen theaters across the nation were becoming obsolete and being replaced with more contemporary megaplex theaters.
But Nielsen believes there is a niche for an independently run community theaters, which have more flexibility in the kinds of movies they can run.
Tickets at Laie Palms will be priced lower than multi-plex theaters.
There will be at least one matinee during the week, said Nielsen, and more showings on Saturday; the theater will be closed on Sundays.
Nielsen, who has a background in banking and finance, described Laie Palms Cinemas as a quaint community theater and said it would not be competing with Consolidated Theatres or Regal Movie Theaters, which run most multiplex theaters on Oahu.
The Nielsens moved to Laie a year ago from San Luis Obispo, Calif., so that Alicen Nielsen could pursue a degree in art and anthropology at BYU-Hawaii.
When they learned that Laie Cinemas had closed, they were inspired to reopen it.
"We're real movie nuts," explained Don Nielsen.
Landowner Hawaii Reserves Inc. agreed to a lease earlier this year, and renovations began in the spring.
Work on the 235-seat theater included a new roof, new walls and air conditioners, an improved sound system and a renovated lobby and concession stand.
The interior features an old-Hawaiiana theme, said Nielsen, who described it as a "nostalgic-type theater" that will offer popcorn with real butter.
Longtime Laie resident and mother Judy Keys is thrilled that the theater is reopening. Keys, who organized a rally protesting the theater's closure last year, said it is essential to have entertainment in town for the kids.
"It's a very good thing because we really have nothing out on the North Shore," said Keys.
"Everything for entertainment for our kids is an hour away.
"It's good to keep our kids off the road."
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