July 1, 2006
The Royal: Loves A Long Goodbye
Amidst the car horns and national flags in Little Italy yesterday evening, a long line-up formed in front of The Royal for its would-be last film, Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” . The screening was supposed to start at 9pm but it wasn’t until 9:30pm that the thank-yous to the staff began and one of the current owners confirmed that the theatre will be reborn sometime in the future. As an extra treat, the projectionist showed a Three Stooges short before finally playing the opening overture to Kubrick’s film. Sometime around midnight, the theatre shut its doors for the last time, albeit temporarily.
Photo of the Royal by Cal MacLean
|
Advertisement: Torontoist Continues Below!
Post a comment (Comment Policy)
A sad day indeed.
Any more pictures available from this night?
You didn't mention that they only charged $1 for tickets to each film last night.
There are a few photos on Flickr, so far. And one user has a nice set devoted to the Festival Cinemas.
There was a similar scene at the Revue, which played Lawrence of Arabia as its final show. Admission was $1.00. A group of neighbourhood people calling themselves "Save the Revue" are trying to get it reopened under some form of community auspices. I think it will be a real challenge.