Took my Mom and wife to see Wicked in the same theater @jimlee.bsky.social and I both first saw Superman way back in ‘78 - Des Peres Cinema. We all loved it. (I mean Wicked but yes also Superman ofc).
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Hey fam how about you do better than Stan ? Let's put BIPOC in lead roles and stop acting like Trans folk haven't always existed eh? Ps. I was born to play Iris Shaw
I’m an old lady who moved to St. Louis (from Rolla, where, apparently, there was a mid-state gap in this delightfulness) when I got married in 1983 and…wehrenberg, wehrenberg, wehrenberg
In my era (80's, 90's, and on) it was a modern spin on that but it did this bizarre thing at the end where it was "Wehrenberg" said in a whisper timed to these pulses of light on the screen. So everyone in the theater would be whispering "Wehrenberg. Wehrenberg. Wher-Wherenberg."
YES!!!! This was the absolutely best way to start a movie! I miss this so much! When we got Ronnie’s to screen our film FOUR COLOR EULOGY for a week we tried to get them to put that in front of the film. Sadly it was a no go.
This tune is such a perfect musical shibboleth for identifying fellow 70's/80's St. Louisans. Sing "Bah-bah-bah-bah, bah-bah, bah-bah, bah-bah-bah..." and anyone who frequented Wehrenberg theaters during that time will complete the tune easily. Love it.
Same. I haven’t hit play and I can hear the whole song in my head… I think I’m preparing to see Return of the Jedi for the 20th time and a young me is happy as a lark.
I lived across the river in Illinois and we had Kerasotes until they sold in the 2000s. I hate the AMC experience. There’s a small chain in Hannibal now and they are pretty sweet.
I have this set up as an automation in HomeKit. I say "Siri let's go to the movies", and all my lights go low, this kicks in and the tv background lights frame the traveling the logo beautifully. Then it switches to my media player and hits play. I have to cue up the movie, input specific. Worth it.
Apparently the early 90’s too. I spent 2 years in STL and completely forgot about this song, but it came flooding back even before I hit play on the video.
if you love the musical and the songs you will love the movie even new hollywood couldnt mess this up 😂 sadly i was 5 years old when superman 78 was released and my parents didnt take me to see it but it was the first film i ever remember seeing it made such an impression on me thank you dick donner
Same theater different times. I mean, who knows, it could have been the same time but we didn’t know each other. It’s something we discovered a couple years ago while talking about how important that movie was to both of us.
Wow, that’s my local theater! Had no idea you had roots here. Saw Gladiator II on the Des Peres SuperScreen last week. Would’ve been crazy to run into you there.
I had a close high school friend who had a story about going to see Batman in 1989 with another mutual friend. There was a huge line. Friend #1 snuck in the back way and avoided the line completely and Friend #2 never forgave him.
Very cool. The cinemas I have so many amazing memories from as a kid/teen are completely gone…well there is one still there, but that’s been irrevocably changed.
My mom just passed and I loved that we saw Star Wars The Force Awakens in the same theater we saw a New Hope. After we ate Chinese and she kept laughing cuz I was still crying over Han. Btw fuck all the fan girling over Kylo. He killed Han Solo I’m glad he is dead.
I think Superman was the first movie my dad took me to. I still remember the event, not so much the movie (I was 5), because one of the perks that came with the ticket was a Superman figure that had a parachute attached to his back, so if you threw it up in the air, S-man would parachute down.
I had a Superman figure that came out at that time. He had a cord attached to his back that you could attach and he would slide down it looking like he was flying
I need to find that one. Ronnie's near Crestwood has been my go-to since college, same with the Galleria. I may have seen the first Spiderverse at Des Peres though, if it's the one I'm vaguely remembering.
Same theater different times. I mean, who knows, it could have been the same time but we didn’t know each other. It’s something we discovered a couple years ago while talking about how important that movie was to both of us.
Just revisited Superman, such a perfect film.
It rolled from comic to celluloid so beautifully it hurts.
Christopher Reeves is Superman.
Sorry other guys.
Question. As a Hollywood director, do you find yourself watching movies differently than the rest of us? Like, since you know how the
sausage is made, are you more focused on analyzing it through a director's lens instead of just being fully immersed in the magic of it all?
This reminds me of the time I saw the movie, "Young Frankenstein," in the same theater that once terrified an audience with "Frankenstein" in 1931. I wasn't around to see it in 1931, but I sure wish I was.
Clark saying goodbye to Ma Kent in the field is one of the best shots in the history of movies. The lighting is magnificent, the scenery screams "Heartland of America" and the actors nail it.
I also saw Superman at Des Peres in ‘78, with my dad and sister, and while we were in line my dad pretended to not know who Superman was, just to mess with the people around us. My sister would go, “He’s a man who can fly!” And my dad would be like “What? A man who can fly??” Etc. Classic dad-ness.
That first Superman film was the best. What stands out is the writing but also the performances. The emotion conveyed by Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve was off the chart. When Jonathan Kent passes away and Clark tells his mother that he’s leaving gets me every time and I’m bawling like a baby.
I’m debating going to the movie theater after years just to see Wicked. The last movie I saw a theater was Frieda. Maybe I’ll drag my mom along. She’s also uncomfortable in dark rooms full of strangers, lol. Wicked feels worth it.
I think it'd be cool if James found some spot for Jonathan Bailey in the DCU. Don't really know which character but he seems like a massive star in the making. I'm actually surprised he's not a more popular fancast for Batman.
I don’t really know his work, so can’t judge on if he’d make a good Batman.
What I do know is that as Batman is the friggin best, everyone and their cat is throwing their hat in the ring!
Glen Powell said he’d do it and while I think there could be better actors for the part, he’d do a good job.
It's a great theater but it's in the most batshit little area in the entire city. One way highways each way, tucked in this little nook of asphalt and concrete. Honestly, that whole section of Manchester, including the mall and the odd strip with the 7-11 and the former Blockbuster, is wild.
A lot of my childhood was in that Halls Ferry area. Grandma lived in a senior high-rise across from that movie theater (and the Showbiz Pizza) and we'd go there almost every weekend. I still remember that arcade. Made her see Jo Jo Dancer there with me because I had no idea it wasn't a comedy.
There's a lot that I'm too young to have childhood experiences of but I *do* remember all the way back to infancy so I actually have multiple memories of driving past that drive-in all the time. (I also have one at Skyline w/my uncle at 5, missed Purple Rain b/c I slammed the hatchback on his head.)
I worked at the white office building when they split Manchester Rd. East bound in front of us, west bound behind us. They made an entrance to our back parking lot from the west bound side but it caused too many accidents so they had to rip it out. It was crazy to watch and still crazy to drive.
Also just to be clear, this isn't me trashing that area. I love it because of how crazy it is. But I also love the parking lot of a Target next to an Office Depot *because* of how empty it feels even with 500 cars parked there. All patchwork repairs and weathered asphalt stretching out way too far.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that the more I remember about that little knot of madness, the more insane it gets, and that's me getting CLOSER to reality, not farther away.
I was today years old when I learned James Gunn was born in the STL area. I've seen a few dozen movies at Des Peres theatre. We used to end our cars and coffee at Des Peres or Ronnie's when I was younger.
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Ba-baa Ba-Baa
Ba-Ba-Baaa
*wehrenberg*
*ʷᵉʰʳᵉⁿᵇᵉʳᵍ*
True story: her dad took her to Alien when she was 10 (he had no idea) and she was traumatized. Still can’t watch anything Alien-related.
wherenberg...wherenberg)
You can’t cut out the whispers!
Welcome back James! I hope you had a nice visit.
At least each one has its own theme inside in terms of design.
It rolled from comic to celluloid so beautifully it hurts.
Christopher Reeves is Superman.
Sorry other guys.
sausage is made, are you more focused on analyzing it through a director's lens instead of just being fully immersed in the magic of it all?
https://youtu.be/MAu4WmnM6mg?si=rrnFE461d9W1k_im
What I do know is that as Batman is the friggin best, everyone and their cat is throwing their hat in the ring!
Glen Powell said he’d do it and while I think there could be better actors for the part, he’d do a good job.