metro

Federation Congratulates Our
2015 Award Winners

IFETIME
CHIEVEMENT

Like 'Old Hollywood'

Harvey Bronstein
Margot Halperin

The new Riviera theater brings luxury
back to the movie experience.

Adam Bland(

YOUNG LEADERSHIP AWARN

I

D

FRANK A. WETSMAII Brian Y. Satovsky
AWARD

SYLVIA SIMON
GREENBERG AWARD

Regina Colto

Join Us At Federation's

44 •■■ •••"°--.

IL P

Thursday, May 21, 2015

5:30 p.m.

Light fare and drinks
Dietary laws observed

Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit

3220o Middlebelt Rd.
Farmington Hills, MI

RSVP

jewishdetroit.org/awardsnight
by May 6, 2015

Here

For Good

&"% Jewish Federation

OF METROPOLITAN DETROIT

2003600

24

-ril 30 • 2015

JIB

Julie Edgar
Special to the Jewish News

espite the immediacy of
streaming services like
Netflix and Hulu, abundant
cable movie channels and even DVDs,
people still are drawn to the movie
theater — but ifs got to be at least as
comfortable as their living room. A little
elegance with that bucket of popcorn
doesn't hurt either.
The folks behind a new cinema in
Farmington Hills are betting on luxury.
A project of the joint partnership of
Cloud Nine Theater Partners LLC (which
runs the Maple Theater in Bloomfield
Township), and the Buffalo-based
Dipson Theatres, the Riviera, which
formally opens today (April 30), features
nine screens, all outfitted with reclining
chairs, and state-of-the-art film projec-
tion and sound.
A 10th auditorium, the "Screening
Room" is a 50-seat auditorium for pri-
vate events. Like its sister theater, the
Maple, the Riviera will offer cocktails
and a lounge and higher-end concessions
(gourmet pizza, etc.). There will also be
live music on the weekends.
The Riviera is in a spot long ago occu-
pied by the Grand River Drive-In at 9
Mile and Grand River. It later became
the UA West River Theatre, part of the
West River Centre shopping center that
is anchored by a Target. It then morphed
into the Phoenix Theatres, which closed
in 2003, when its lease expired.
Cloud Nine and Dipson decided
to combine forces and remake the
38,000-square-foot space as an old-
time movie palace that features gold
chandeliers and red velvet drapes — "a
throwback to old Hollywood," says Ruth
Daniels, a managing partner. Ron and
Roman of Birmingham designed the
renovation.
"The new trend is luxury; says
Daniels, who spoke last week from
CinemaCon, the annual gathering of
movie theater owners in Las Vegas.
"Some people are saying these are the
new 'stadiums: Sitting in these reclining
seats, ifs almost like you're in your own
pod. It's very private. It's not like an old
movie theater where you're bumping
elbows"
The partners did a ground-up renova-
tion, redoing the bathrooms, lobbies and
auditoriums, trimming the number of
seats from 2,000 to 800 to create a more
intimate venue.
A grand opening charity benefit to

show off the Riviera and raise money for
four local charities is set for Wednesday,
May 6. A strolling buffet and a choice of
movies is part of the soiree.
While the Riviera will show senior-
friendly movies and family-friendly
blockbusters like The Avengers, it will
also offer the kind of independent,
smart films the three-screen Maple
Theater would show if it had the room.
For its opening weekend, viewers can
see Woman in Gold and Age of Adaline,
among others.
Riviera ticket prices will be the same
as the Maple's, ranging from $8-$12, with
lower prices for children and students.
Cloud Nine, which took over the
Maple in 2012, added a coffee bar and
a traditional bar there and is finishing
renovations to the lobby.

❑

Riviera's May 6
Grand Opening

The Riviera's grand opening
charity benefit begins at 6 p.m.
Wednesday, May 6. The evening
includes a strolling supper, a
signature cocktail, live music,
choice of movie, popcorn, snacks
and more. Jay Towers of Fox2-
TV and WNIC-FM will serve as
emcee.
Sales of tickets, at $100, will
go to National Council of Jewish
Women-Greater Detroit Section,
an organization that promotes
social justice and advocacy local-
ly and federally; Jay's Juniors,
Towers' charity that provides
Disney World vacations for fami-
lies with a child suffering from an
chronic or acute illness; Sweet
Dreamzzz Inc., a charity that
provides sleep education and
bedtime essentials to economi-
cally disadvantaged students and
their families; and Oakland Early
College, a college prep program
at OCC's Orchard Ridge Campus
that enables high schoolers to
earn college credits.
To purchase tickets, visit
EventBrite.com and search for
the Riviera Cinema. Advance
reservations are recommended,
although tickets will be available
at the door. Cocktail attire is
welcome.
The Riviera is in the West
River Centre at 30170 Grand
River, Farmington Hills.