Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter: Behind the Scenes of Austin's Newest Film Venue

We're just about a month away from the opening of the newest Alamo Drafthouse location. The plans for Alamo Slaughter Lane were started almost four years ago, but had to be put on hold when the tanking economy called the entire shopping center development into question. The whole plaza, located in the Circle C neighborhood, is now starting to slowly come to life, and this state-of-the-art theater opening next month (filled to the brim with sustainable and more efficient features) will anchor it.

Last week, Alamo founder Tim League took local press outlets on a tour of the facility, and we can't wait for it to open. This location will be the largest of all of the local Alamo theaters, with eight screens. They all have wall-to-wall screens for maximum impact, and there are no more rows all the way up front where you have to strain your neck to watch a movie. Here, the height of the screen image is the same amount of distance that has been left between the screen and the front row (that leaves at least 22 feet of space between the front row seats and the movie for a far more enjoyable experience).

Every screen at the Alamo Slaughter Lane will be presenting movies in Sony 4K digital projection. All of the major studios have projected that they will stop producing new 35mm prints by the end of next year, so this new location will not have any 35mm capabilities. League said that he believes that the chain will still be the "last man standing" for supporting actual film projection in the area and that special programming with 35mm prints will continue on at the Ritz and South Lamar locations for many years to come.

One of the highlights of the new theater's design is the monster invasion happening above the box office in the lobby. Blue Genie was commissioned to create the massive alien plant monsters that attack the neon Alamo sign. As the chain expands into other markets across the country, you can expect all kinds of invading monster design themes to become one of the hallmarks of each new theater.

Another feature that we expect audiences will love is a redesign of the tables in each auditorium. Most Alamo patrons are familiar with the process of ducking down underneath the table in front of your seat to get in and out if you have to run to the bathroom during a movie. With the new design, every two seats will share a small table instead of a continuous one. This will make it much easier to maneuver, especially for taller customers.

League also mentioned that in order to minimize wait times (and undoubtedly to also encourage patronage of The 400 Rabbits bar which is inside the theater), this location is expected to use a "boarding pass" system similar to Southwest Airlines for ticketing. This should reduce the amount of time that people have to wait in line, although this feature may not be implemented immediately. Attendees of Fantastic Fest will already know just how painless the process can be. We look forward to not having to sit in line for 90 minutes to see a new release on the weekend!

Another, far nerdier, highlight at Slaughter Lane is a micro-cinema that seats just 32 people. This will allow the theater to support more niche & indie titles consistently and also offer a great room for private rentals.

Alamo Slaughter Lane officially has its grand opening on March 22 (just in time for "The Hunger Games"), but begins with a soft open on March 8. This early preview is going to break in the theater as an official SXSW Film venue as well as screen some first and second-run titles for general audiences to check out.

Photos by Steve Hopson & Text by Matt Shiverdecker

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