CINEMA STAR

The world’s most famous movie theater is marking its 90th year. What’s now called TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX has historic treasure and modern movie magic inside and out.

SEEING STARS INDOORS

The TCL Chinese Theatre’s cement slabs, with their handprints of celebrities, are visited by an estimated 5 million tourists a year, but the inside is seen by less than 1 percent of those visitors. Behind the front doors, the stars of the silver screen are as bright and big as they can be on a 97-foot-wide IMAX screen with the newest laser technology. The theater touts its screen as the most immersive cinematic experience in the world and premieres 35-50 films a year, the most of any theater in the world. The slogan of the Chinese Theatre is “If you premiere a movie at the Chinese Theater, that good fortune will smile on you at the box office,” and the list of blockbusters first seen there makes a great case: They include “Star Wars” “Titanic” and “Jurassic World.” Spanning California The Chinese Theatre was built by Sid Grauman, who was born in Indiana and came to Los Angeles by way of San Francisco and San Jose. Grauman’s father constructed the Unique theater in San Jose, which was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. The father and son were recognized by the city for their efforts to lift morale by showing movies in a canvas tent after the quake. By 1922, the Graumans were at the epicenter of the movie business in Los Angeles and hosted the first movie premiere at the Egyptian Theater. The Egyptian is a four-minute walk from the Chinese Theatre, but it is a world away with regard to Hollywood lore. Movie royalty If you sit in the Chinese Theatre, you will be in the room where Bob Hope announced the best picture Oscar for “Casablanca” in 1944. The Oscars were presented there in 1944, ’45 and ’46. Originally the theater could seat 2,258, was downsized to 1,492 in 1957 and now seats 932. The cost of the construction was $2 million in 1927, which would be about $27 million today.

THE STARS OUTSIDE

Sid Grauman died in 1950, and now an anonymous committee selects celebrities to honor with concrete slabs. The only criterion, according to theater historian Levi Tinker, is selectees must have had a major impact on the film industry.

At left, the ceiling was made in China and shipped to Los Angeles in three pieces. The theater is little changed from when it opened in 1927, with a few cosmetic refreshes and earthquake retrofits. The building was designated a cultural landmark by Los...

Sources: Levi Tinker, The TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX, Los Angeles Public Library Photos by Kurt Snibbe Wikimedia Commons, and courtesy of TCL Chinese Theatre IMAX

Concrete numbers Director Ridley Scott on Wednesday became the 304th person to put his name in cement. It will take at least a month before his slab is dry and placed in front of the theater. Every slab has a story, and here are a few. First star...

The Duke John Wayne signed his slab in 1950 for the premiere of “Sands of Iwo Jima.” His slab was made with two 100-pound bags of sand from the Pacific island. Wayne’s footprints look tiny because he was wearing his riding boots. The ceremony was the...

At top, several costumes are displayed in the theater - including one from “The Terminator” and one James Dean wore in “Giant” - as well as the tablets from “The Ten Commandments.

The Dude The most recent slab to be placed was Jeff Bridges’, in January. Bridges sketched a portrait in the concrete. Carl and Rob Reiner’s slab is still drying and will be placed soon. Carl Reiner, at age 95, will be the oldest celebrity to have a...

Original art painted on the theater’s two story walls in 1927 was created by Xavier Cugat, a famous musician, director and screenwriter.

Taking it to 11 Mel Brooks had a little fun with his slab. Count the fingers.

The Egyptian Theater was the first big movie palace, constructed in 1922.