Just an update - REMEMBERING PLAYLAND is still running at the Balboa. http://balboamovies.com/ The DVD is now available as well. Jim -------- Original Message -------- Subject: "Remembering Playland" Movie Playing for 3 Months in San Francisco! Date: Sun, 30 May 2010 09:57:16 EDT From: RichardD56@aol.com To: RichardD56@aol.com, jim@historysmith.com, tpw1705@aol.com, coasterclubmike@yahoo.com, mg1626@yahoo.com It is every filmmaker's dream-come-true to see their film on a big screen in a real movie theater, but for writer / producer / director Tom Wyrsch, his documentary "Remembering Playland" has become a dream-come-true for an entire neighborhood. Originally slated to be shown just once on March 26th, 2010 the advance sales for "Remembering Playland" immediately dictated a second showing and then a second evening of showings. Now three months later, the Balboa Theater in San Francisco is still showing the movie every day of the week. It has become the surprise hit of the early summer in this vintage movie theater located just 12 blocks from where Whitney's Playland at the Beach amusement park entertained visitors for decades. "Everyone misses the old park with its incredible Fun House, Laughing Sal, the Big Dipper wooden rollercoaster, Diving Bell, Carousel and numerous dark rides," Wyrsch enthuses. "Audiences keep coming back to see the film and remember their childhoods and they return with their families to share their experiences from the past." On the opening night in March 2010 the lobby was filled to overflowing and many of the cast of the film were at the Balboa Theater in person. After the showings the audiences did not want to leave. They wanted to stay and share their own stories. Wyrsch has very cleverly interwoven freshly discovered and digitally transferred footage from the hey-day of Playland with interviews and commentary by people who worked at the park or were loyal visitors. And the stories are great! Marv Gold recalls working as a teenager at Playland and stranding riders upside down on the Roll-o-Planes while he went for coffee. Joe Mirante laughingly talks about working inside the Limbo Dark Ride and putting his arm over the shoulders of the riders to add one more thrill. The popularity of the "Remembering Playland" documentary has brought crowds into the neighborhood too, much to the delight of the local business owners. Suddenly the restaurants have waiting lines, the taverns have named drinks after Laughing Sal and other Playland luminaries, and the cast of the film are being stopped on the street for their autographs. Across San Francisco Bay in the suburb of El Cerrito, business has also increased for a museum of showcased artifacts aptly named Playland-Not-at-the-Beach. "Many weeks people leave the Balboa Theater and immediately drive the 18 miles to visit our Museum of Fun," explains Richard Tuck, the self-proclaimed Master of Fun. "They want to spend the rest of the day with Laughing Sal and view all our collections of photographs and memorabilia from the past. Of course they also want to win a teddy bear and play the old games that we have restored." The movie "Remembering Playland" seems to be developing a life of its own. In addition to continuing to play every day at the Balboa Theater, the film recently sold out at a screening in Oakland and is scheduled for showings in Chico, California over Memorial Day weekend -- several hours north of San Francisco. "People who once went to Playland now live all over the country, and they all recall that gentler, happier age when a seaside amusement park brought the whole family together," Wyrsch adds. "Remembering Playland" is now available on DVD and will be a welcome addition to the collection of anyone who loves great old amusement parks. The DVD comes with 15 minutes of additional footage not included in the theatrical version. When buyers order through the Playland-Not-at-the-Beach Museum for $20, they also receive a free artifact from the 1940s from Playland. -- James R. Smith Author/Speaker/Researcher Author: San Francisco's Lost Landmarks California Snatch Racket, June 2010 San Francisco's Playland at the Beach: The Early Years, Nov 2010 www.HistorySmith.com