ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE RENAMES LOWER MANHATTAN LOCATION TO THE IVAN REITMAN CINEMA
The acclaimed cinema company celebrates works of the beloved filmmaker with a dedication ceremony featuring Ivan and Jason Reitman.
New York, NY — November 15, 2021 — They came, they saw, they renamed a theater. Austin-based cinema-eatery Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is proud to announce that their brand-new Lower Manhattan theater will carry an alternate name, the Ivan Reitman Cinema, after the legendary filmmaker behind GHOSTBUSTERS. The company’s founder and Executive Chairman, Tim League, made it official this morning at a ceremony that included both Ivan and his son Jason Reitman, the director of JUNO, UP IN THE AIR, and this weekend’s GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE.
“Ivan Reitman’s movies have made a big impact on my life and maybe just maybe helped to forge my sense of humor,” says Alamo Drafthouse founder and Executive Chairman Tim League. “I am humbled to be able to share his legacy with our guests in New York.”
The plaque dedicated to Reitman reads:
IVAN REITMAN CINEMA
“Director Ivan Reitman has entertained and influenced generations of film lovers with seminal films like STRIPES, MEATBALLS, and DAVE. In GHOSTBUSTERS, he made hilariously wild concepts feel grounded, and cemented his entire cast – including a 112-foot-tall marshmallow man – into New York icons. Because of his incalculable influence on cinema, as of Monday, November 15th 2021, this Alamo Drafthouse Cinema shall hereby and forevermore be known as the Ivan Reitman Cinema.”
Fittingly, the ceremony took place beneath the gaze of a massive, nearly 12-foot-tall statue of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, complete with gothic columns and terror dog gargoyles. The replica’s existence – an ideal photo op destination for any Ghostbusters fan – has been under wraps until today’s ceremony.
The dedication was timed to mark this weekend’s Sony Pictures release of Jason Reitman’s long-anticipated GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, which was written by Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman based on the 1984 film GHOSTBUSTERS, an Ivan Reitman film, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis.
“As a wide eyed five-year-old breathlessly watching my first film in a packed theater of kids, I could only dream that this might be the magical path that my life would follow,” says Ivan Reitman. “Thank you Alamo Drafthouse for naming this theater after me, and more importantly, thank you for clearly demonstrating belief in the future of this art form by building a great movie palace – just blocks from the firehouse that the Ghostbusters occupy!”
The filmmakers also attended a tour of The Press Room bar and museum and helped hand-crank a small batch of posters with historic GHOSTBUSTERS imagery on the bar’s 1938 Vandercook Letterpress. Later that evening the theater hosted a screening of GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE for select members of their loyalty program, Alamo Victory. All guests attending the screening received an embossed GHOSTBUSTERS movie ticket and a limited-edition 12×18” letterpress poster from The Press Room featuring original promotional art.
This event is just the beginning of what Alamo Drafthouse has in store for Ghostbusters fans across the country. Beginning Friday, November 19th, guests at all GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE shows will enjoy a free letterpress postcard from The Press Room featuring original promotional art, a GHOSTBUSTERS-themed drink menu, featuring an “Ectoplasmic Residue” cocktail and “Ecto-Cooler” juice, and a custom pre-show featuring a kaleidoscope of nostalgia-inducing pop ephemera that fans of the 1984 Ghostbusters will appreciate.
After years in development, Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan opened last month at the 28 Liberty building in New York’s Financial District. The theater debuted amidst an incredible resurgence in the cinema industry that saw NO TIME TO DIE, VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE, and ETERNALS premier to massive box office success. The upcoming holiday season includes major releases like Jason Reitman’s GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, Paul Thomas Anderson’s LICORICE PIZZA, Steven Spielberg’s WEST SIDE STORY, Jon Watts’ SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, and Lana Wachowski’s THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS.
About GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE
From director Jason Reitman and producer Ivan Reitman comes the next chapter in the original GHOSTBUSTERS universe. In GHOSTBUSTERS: AFTERLIFE, when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. The film is written by Gil Kenan & Jason Reitman.
Based on the 1984 film “Ghostbusters” an Ivan Reitman film written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. Executive producers are Dan Aykroyd, Gil Kenan, Jason Blumenfeld, Michael Beugg, Aaron L. Gilbert and Jason Cloth. The film stars Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Annie Potts and Paul Rudd.
About The Press Room
A museum, a letterpress print shop, a bar, and a private event space all-in-one, The Press Room is a brand new bar concept that’s located within Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan.
Like the century-old wax figure exhibits thoughtfully curated and delicately displayed throughout Alamo Drafthouse Brooklyn’s House of Wax, The Press Room displays selections from a vast archive of over 60,000 letterpress film advertising plates spanning the 1930s through the 1980s. But this collection will also come to life – The Press Room’s 1938 Vandercook letterpress will be inked and ready to be fired up for special screenings with limited edition greeting cards, private events, and classes for anyone wishing to learn the resurgent art of letterpress printing.
In addition to a tap wall of 48 draft beers, guests will be able to customize their own bespoke cocktail or choose from a list of original craft cocktails designed by Alamo Drafthouse NYC Bar Manager, Vince Favella. For more info about The Press Room – including a sneak peek at the menu – visit thepressroom.bar.
About Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Founded in 1997, Alamo Drafthouse has been heralded for unique programming events, great food and drinks, and high exhibition standards, earning accolades including “Best Theater Ever” by Time Magazine and “The Coolest Theater in the World” by Wired. A September 2018 Market Force Information survey of nearly 13,000 moviegoers across the country gave Alamo Drafthouse the #1 ranking for Favorite Movie Theater, Best Service, and all food and beverage-related categories.
Alamo Drafthouse provides a unique combination of theater and restaurant, showing first-run movies, independent films and special events with an extensive menu made from scratch. Guests order all food and drinks from servers who quietly attend to them throughout the movie from inside the theater. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the pre-show entertainment. Instead of a barrage of advertising, Alamo Drafthouse shows a curated collection of rare and humorous clips themed to each feature.
Additionally, Alamo Drafthouse protects the theatrical experience with a zero tolerance policy for people who disrupt the film with talking or texting. Alamo Drafthouse’s “Don’t Talk” PSAs have frequently received national attention, and have featured former Texas Governor Ann Richards, Jeff Goldblum and a velociraptor,Georgie from IT, THE ROOM director and star Tommy Wiseau, and one very angry voicemail.
Alamo Drafthouse NYC Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlamoNYC
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlamoNYC
Website: https://drafthouse.com/nyc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/AlamoNYC
Additional Alamo Drafthouse Social Media:
Facebook: facebook.com/alamodrafthouse
Twitter: twitter.com/alamodrafthouse
YouTube: youtube.com/alamodrafthouse
Instagram: instagram.com/drafthouse
Website: drafthouse.com
About Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema was founded in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin, TX. Twenty-four years later, with 36 locations and counting, Alamo Drafthouse has been called “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best theater in the world” by Wired. Alamo Drafthouse has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star-studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse created Fantastic Fest, a world-renowned film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety. Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of genre cinema from independents, international filmmakers, and major Hollywood studios. Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art gallery, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. Alamo Drafthouse continues to expand its brand in new and exciting ways, including the American Genre Film Archive, a non-profit film archive dedicated to preserving, restoring and sharing film, and Alamo On Demand, a new VOD platform boasting a growing and carefully curated library of entertainment for rental or purchase.