Times Square Premiere, 14 October 1980

Posted on 22nd March 2016 in "Times Square"

Times Square had its premiere at the Ziegfeld Theater at 141 West 54th Street (which was still there when I first wrote this entry, but joined most of the locations in the movie when it closed its doors for the final time on January 29, and was gutted the next day. It had been, hands down, the best place to see a movie in New York City), followed by a party at Tavern on the Green in Central Park at West 66th Street (which closed in 2009, but reopened under new ownership in 2014, so it still exists) (Tavern on the Green, not Central Park) (I mean, Central Park does still exist, but it wasn’t closed for a five year stretch) (let’s get back to the subject, shall we?).

In attendance were a slew of celebrities with more or less tenuous ties to the production, such as Robert Stigwood, Lou Reed, Carly Simon, Irene Cara, Meat Loaf, Rick Derringer, Lorna Luft, Andy Warhol, and Abbie Hoffman. Allan Moyle gave the event a miss, but Trini Alvarado and Robin Johnson were there.

Trini Alvarado and Robin Johnson at the "Times Square" Premiere Party, Oct. 14, 1980

I believe copies of the white label soundtrack sampler were handed out at this event, but I can’t find my reference for that. It’s possible that there was another premiere and party in Brooklyn at which the records were given out, between this one and the official opening of the film the next week; my notes on this are not clear because I frankly didn’t realize I’d be writing about this, ever.

The image above is an edit of a digitization made by me from a 35mm slide I purchased in 2013 from an eBay seller of movie memorabilia who no longer has an account. I have notes indicating I believed the photographer to be Ed Geller, but I didn’t note down why I thought that. It’s very similar to the photos of the event taken by Ron Galella and licensed (for more money than I can spare) through Getty Images, which join the full screenplay, the complete sheet music, and the complete movie among the items I won’t be sharing here. The picture above is an image I made of a physical object in my possession, and doesn’t appear among Getty’s photos of the premiere, which you can see here.

 

 

Times Square Premiere, 14 October 1980 (color slide, AAT ID: 300128366), Trini Alvarado and Robin Johnson; 2 in (H) x 2 in (W) (incl. mount) (work);
1080 px (W) x 917 px (H), 96 dpi, 248 KB (image)

 

 

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Another Full-Page Times Square Teaser Ad

Posted on 12th March 2016 in "Times Square"

"Times Square" teaser ad from Circus, No. 248, October 28 1980, p. 2
The same ad as last time, this one appearing on the inside front cover of Circus No. 248, dated October 28, 1980. As the ad is for a movie opening October 17, the magazine must have come out before then. Either that, or it came out bursting with hope as Times Square was closing in theaters across America. (But no, it’s the former; as I’ve noted before, a magazine’s cover date is the date it’s to be taken off sale and replaced by the next issue.)Circus, No. 248, October 28 1980, p. 1 (cover)

 

Unlike Tiger Beat, Circus was too cool to mention Times Square anywhere in the editorial content.

 

 

Circus, No. 248, October 28, 1980, pp. 1-2 (work);
Circus-No-248-p-2_1080px.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 803 px (W), 96 dpi, 563 KB;
Circus-No-248-p-1_1080px.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 816 px (W), 96 dpi, 568 KB;
(images)

 

Circus ©1980 Circus Enterprises Corporation

 

Times Square ©1980 StudioCanal/Canal+

 

Tiger Beat Vol. 17 No. 2, November 1980

Posted on 2nd March 2016 in "Times Square"

Tiger Beat Vol 17 No 2 Nov 1980 coverFull page "Times Square" ad from Tiger Beat Vol 17 No 2 Nov 1980 p 29

 

 

 

The November Tiger Beat also came out before Times Square’s October release, judging by the full-page teaser ad that ran on page 29.

 

"Times Square" soundtrack review from Tiger Beat Vol. 17 No. 2, Nov. 1980, p. 59. Text: Various Artists: “TIMES SQUARE” SOUNDTRACK. AFD’s new movie, “Times Square,” is perfect for a soundtrack, since it’s about three people trying to make it in show business! The music is New Wave and artists include Suzi Quatro, The Pretenders, Gary Numan, Joe Jackson, The Ramones, Desmond Child and Rouge, and many more. One single, “Rock Hard” by Suzi Quatro, has already come from this album, with “Help Me!” (from Marcy Levy and Robin Gibb) another one due out soon. There are too many good songs to name outstanding ones—hear them for yourself! (RSO)

 

In fact we can narrow down the date it came out to sometime between the releases of the first two singles from the soundtrack, as that’s stated explicitly in the scarily enthusiastic soundtrack review found on page 59, which was apparently written by someone with a third-hand synopsis of the movie that had come from someone who’d given the film’s publicity materials the most cursory of glances.
 
Previously.

 

 

Tiger Beat, Vol. 17 No. 2, November 1980, pp. 1, 29, 59 (detail) (work);
Tiger Beat Vol 17 No 2 Nov 1980 cover crop 1080.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 806 px (W), 96 dpi, 609 KB;
Tiger Beat Vol 17 No 2 Nov 1980 p 29 manual crop 1080.jpg, 1080 px (H) x 784 px (W), 96 dpi, 568 KB;
Tiger Beat Vol 17 No 2 Nov 1980 p 59 crop 1080.jpg, 1080 px (W) x 536 px (H), 96 dpi, 475 KB (images)

Tiger Beat ©1980 The Laufer Company

Times Square ©1980 StudioCanal/Canal+