The Rialto Is Coming Back And So Is Film Babble Blog

I don't know who Andrew is - this was just the Rialto's marquee yesterday.

After a hiatus that I thought might be much longer, Film Babble Blog is back with some great news. The Rialto Theatre in Raleigh, N.C., is re-opening. I have a personal history with the venue as I worked there from the early 2010’s until it closed last August (I worked the final ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW night, and it was a blast), so I’m elated that it will again be screening movies for local audiences thanks to an investment group, headed by Hayes Permar.

Read Ral today’s write-up about the news:

 

Rialto Theatre to reopen under new ownership

And here (again) is my video from when the Rialto closed last year:

So like the article says, there’s no word on when the Rialto will re-open, and again serve the community with cinema (and live music – something it hasn’t done in decades), but I’ll keep you posted. I’m thinking of re-applying for my ole usher job – for just a couple of shifts a week maybe. I’m thinking that might help re-ignite my love of movies, and seeing them on the big screen again. 

 

My movie-loving mojo has been lacking lately, and that might be exactly what I need.

Also, no word whether THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW is also coming back.

More later...

The Rialto’s Goodbye Marquee And Their Cryptic Current Status

I’m finally getting around to posting my video of the last marquee change at the Rialto Theatre in Raleigh, NC, when it closed at the end of last month (August 28). In it, you can see Ambassador Entertainment principle, Bill Peebles, put up the last letters for the Rialto’s message to moviegoers: “THATS ALL FOLKS…UNTIL.”

The event also served as a retirement party for Peebles, where it was good to see some of my fellow co-workers from the past (I’ve worked for Ambassador Entertainment since 2009).

So that was the end of the AE era of the Rialto, and at that time there was no news of a possible buyer, or any word on the building’s fate, but right now the marquee reads:

I’ve inquired to the Rialto’s General Manager, Wes Farrell, who can be seen handing the letters for the marquee in the video above, about the meaning of the marquee (it has obvious connotations, sure) and have so far received no comment. But it is indeed intriguing.

 

One last shot for now:

More later...

It’s Starting To Sink In: Raleigh’s Historic Rialto Theatre Closes on August 27

Two weeks ago, it was announced that Bill Peebles, the owner of the Rialto Theatre in Raleigh, was retiring, and that the historic venue would be closing on August 27. Perhaps because I’ve been in denial, I haven’t posted anything about it until now, but I’ve got to face that this place that I’ve had a connection to for decades will soon be another abandoned building, represented by yet another empty marquee.

The first movie I ever attended at the Rialto was in 1984 - a revival showing of THE MALTESE FALCON, the John Huston-directed, Humphrey Bogart-headed 1941 classic, that may have been a part of the long-running Cinema Inc. series. In 2020, the film was again shown as part of the Monday at the Movies series, and I felt like I had come full circle in at least one of my big screen journeys. 

The Rialto’s demise also heralds the demise of Peebles’ local-based company, Ambassador Entertainment, which previously owned Six Forks Cinemas (closed in 2020), Mission Valley Cinemas (closed in 2019), and the Colony Theater (closed in 2015). Ambassador also operated the Studio I & II (1987-2000), and the still-open, (but with different owners), Lumina Theatres in Chapel Hill.

In 2009, shortly after moving to Raleigh, I started working at the Colony Theater, and in 2011, started picking up shifts at the Rialto, which I’ve worked at until now.

Tonight, I’ll be working for the Rialto’s screening of Luc Beeson’s 1997 sci-fi cult classic, THE FIFTH ELEMENT ($5, 7pm), and am looking forward to staying and watching the film as I haven’t seen it in ages. I’m hoping that there will be a good turnout for this show as it could be the last ever Monday at the Movies event at the Rialto – unless, you know, some savior swoops in sometime soon.

 

“The Rialto Theatre may close – maybe?” was the headline of Peebles’ announcement email, obviously highlighting the theater’s uncertain future. Of course, we hope that somebody will save the place – buy it, and breathe new life into the joint, but we’ll just have to deal with it being out of commission for a bit. 

 

Like I hate driving by the Colony, or Mission Valley, which have had no new businesses take up their space in the years since they’ve shut down, I’m going to hate seeing a lifeless Rialto with an empty marquee in the weeks and months ahead. Here’s hoping that won’t come anywhere close to being a permanent prospect.

 

In addition to THE FIFTH ELEMENT event tonight, here is what’s scheduled for the Rialto’s final screenings:

 

WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING screens on August 16, 17, and 18 at 7 pm.

 

MRS. HARRIS GOES TO PARIS opens on Friday, August 19, and shows at 1pm and 7pm, then on August 20, and 21, at 2pm, 4:30, and 7pm, and on August 22-24 at 7 pm.

 

Special screening of SONS OF MEZCAL (2021 documentary): August 25, 6:30pm ($10).

 

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (the final showings of the mighty cult classic that the Rialto has shown since the ‘80s): August 26, 7pm, 10pm, and midnight ($7).

 

LASER THEATRE: BANANAS – 7pm, 8:30pm, and 10pm ($15). 

More later...

My Last Night At The Rialto

Last night was my final shift working at the Rialto Theatre in Raleigh.

A little back story: I first started working at the Colony Theater, owned by Ambassador Entertainment, in late 2009. I had previously worked at the Varsity Theater in Chapel Hill throughout most of the 2000’s, but quit when I got married and moved to Raleigh earlier that year.

It must also be noted that the Varsity was closing down then, which I wrote about in this blog post: My Last Night At The Varsity Theater & THE HANGOVER (June 4, 2009).

The Varsity later re-opened later that year which I also blogged about: The Historic Varsity Theater In Chapel Hill NC Is Reopening! (October 26, 2009) and Visiting The New Varsity Theater On The Verge Of Its Reopening (November 23, 2009).

So I began working at the Colony Theater in December, 2009, and also started working at their sister theater, the Rialto, shortly after. Sometimes I worked at both theaters on the same day; many Fridays I worked matinees at the Colony, then went to work the evening shift at the Rialto.

Sadly, the Colony closed in late 2015. The empty space and blank marquee still remains.

After that, I continued to work at the Rialto, but am leaving now to pursue other opportunities (more on those in future blog posts). I will miss the Rialto greatly as I’ve worked with great people there, and seen many great movies via their first run roster of indies, foreign films, documentaries, and the revival series Monday at the Movies and Cinema Inc.

This last summer has been a great one for the theater as they’ve shown three superlative docs: RBG (about iconic Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? (about iconic children’s TV show host Fred Rogers), THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS (read my review here), and Spike Lee’s excellent BLACKKKLANSMAN (read my review here).


BLACKKKLANSMAN is the movie that was playing on my last night at the 76-year old movie palace, so I highly appreciated that my final shift was in service of a great film (my last movie at the Varsity nearly a decade ago – THE HANGOVER – wasn’t so great a film to leave on).

Here’s a pic of the audience waiting to see Lee’s latest on my last night:

I’ll still visit the Rialto and my friends there, and I’ll still post pictures of its great marquee on this blog. It’s such a grand venue; a real historic part of Raleigh that I hope will be around a long time.

In weeks to come, I’ll update you dear readers (I’m betting there’s more than one of you) with my new adventures and continue spreading Film Babble Blog goodness as I’m still going to be involved heavily with the world of movies.

Farewell Rialto! Thanks so much for all the movie memories!

More later…