The closest I came to experiencing a tornado was in 1972 while living in Charleston, IL. My grandma and I were giving me the 'Summer Blonde-from-a-bottle-treatment' over the kitchen sink. My hair was full of the stuff when the tornado warning sounded. All of us in the house beat feet to the basement. As we waited, my grandma turned on the washing machine, had me lean over and she rinsed out my smelly hair. Didn't miss a beat. And we were not slammed by a tornado. However, thousands of people are not so lucky, losing homes, businesses, neighbors, loved ones and pets. If you've seen the new IMAX film Tornado Alley, you've seen the bravery and camera skills of Sean Casey who has been ch

World famous Sean Casey and the TIV (Tornado Intercept Vehicle) blow into Sacramento early Saturday morning. Casey, a die-hard storm chaser and movie producer, built the TIV so that he could accomplish his life-long passion of entering the eye of the tornado and documenting it on film.  Casey built the TIV to accomplish just that. Casey and team began building TIV2  in 2007 and finished it in time for the tornado season of 2008. The turit atop TIV2 was home to the 80mm IMAX camera Sean would use in creating the 3D, action packed, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat, stunning Tornado Alley. You may have seen Sean on the Discovery Channel as he was making this movie.  Sean and the TIV will be at

A downtown K Street businessman is turning to other nearby businesses and the community in an effort to jump-start the long-blighted area’s revitalization with the rallying cry: “It's your turn. It's my turn. It's OUR Sacramento.” Señor Ernesto Delgado de Tequila, owner of Tequila Museo Mayahuel at 1200 K St., wants to start a grassroots campaign encouraging people to come downtown to eat, shop and explore. “I want to put a call out to people to come here, take a walk and experience downtown,” Delgado said Wednesday. “There is so much here, and people should be part of it.” Delgado opened his restaurant six months ago on what is arguably the most vibrant section of K Street at the momen

A group of fans converged on K St last night in to promote the newest TRON movie playing at IMAX and to hopefully set a new Guiness World Record for the longest 'glow stick." "By the end of the event, 1,485 glowsticks were connected end to end in a continuos wavy snake that stretched five city blocks from the DSP Ice Rink at 7th and K down to 12th and K at the Esquire IMAX Theatre," said Doug Link, Marketing and Operations manager of Esquire IMAX theatre on K St. Bunches of glow sticks got activated at the start line around 9pm. The beginning of the half-mile long glow stick. The sticks got connected to each other and made their way south on K St. It was a great team effort, especia

3D movies - once rare, now increasingly common for big blockbusters - used to be one of IMAX theatres' main claims to fame. That is no longer the case, as mainstream movie theatres adjust to the desire of audiences to see recent films like "Alice in Wonderland" and "Avatar" (both of which also played IMAX theatres) in 3D. But IMAX theatres will keep their edge as long as they keep showing films like "Hubble 3D", which opened Friday at the Esquire IMAX in downtown Sacramento. Wow. The 43-minute film, shot with IMAX large-format cameras in earth orbit and through the Hubble space telescope's own all-seeing lens, is literally breath-taking.  The were gasps from the audience throughout the

Still haven't seen your first show at the Esquire IMAX Theatre? You no longer have any excuse. The theater is inviting the public to free showings of the film "Adventures in Wild California" from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 11. The hour-long, large-format film will play every hour on a six-story screen. The theater at 1211 K St. seats 400. The shows are being offered on a first-come, first-served basis to celebrate the IMAX theater's 10-year anniversary July 8. On Monday, the IMAX theater's role in reviving K Street Mall and the downtown core was lauded during a press conference led by Esquire IMAX Theatre Director Doug Link, Mayor Kevin Johnson and others. "In just 10 years, th

With Esquire IMAX Theatre's summer dinner deal, Netflix and Blockbuster rentals might sit around unwatched for a few extra days. Starting Sunday, May 10, diners who have spent $20 or more at any downtown or midtown restaurant can see one of three movies for only $5. Dinosaurs Alive 3D, African Adventure 3D and Under the Sea 3D are all available for $5 as long as guests bring along their receipt from dinner. For the other films that are being shown, including Monsters vs. Aliens 3D, Night at the Museum 2, Star Trek or Transformers 2, guests can receive a $5 discount off the full-price ticket. The offer lasts until Monday, August 20, and is valid all days of the week except Saturday at th

Dinosaurs Alive 3D (IMAX) Written and directed by David Clark and Bayley Silleck Sacramento Press was fortunate enough to preview Dinosaurs Alive 3D in the Esquire IMAX theater. Narrated by Michael Douglas, this movie journeys from the breathtaking Gobi Desert in Mongolia all the way to the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Through archival footage, the film tells the history of American paleontologist Roy Chapman Andrews, an Indiana Jones-style adventurer who traveled to the Gobi Desert and discovered a large repository of dinosaur fossils. It then follows a team of modern-day paleontologists and their graduate students from the American Museum of Natural History in New York as they retrace A

Monsters vs. Aliens Directed by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon by Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly This is an interesting release for Sacramento, for a couple of reasons. For starters, it’s set in California, with the initial action taking place in the Central Valley and the climax in San Francisco. But it’s also a bit of a departure from the established norm in this market, in that it’s being released in 3D on the giant IMAX screen on the same day as it hits the multiplexes – so you can pick your format without having to wait. Susan (voiced by Reese Witherspoon) lives in Modesto, where she’s about to marry the local TV weatherman Derek (Paul Rudd). Derek is waiting to expand his horizons

Missy Howard, development director of the Marine Science Institute, stood outside the state capitol early Wednesday morning with land program manager Doug Zoebst while managing a miniature interactive aquarium of starfish, baby sharks, and sea urchins. Occasionally, an intrigued passerby would stop and admire the sea creatures nestled inside the water tank. Howard and Zoebst were recruited on behalf of Oceans Day, an annual event organized by environmental advocacy group Environment California, aimed toward educating lawmakers about threats to the ocean’s health in an effort to convince them to take action in upcoming legislation to restore and preserve the ocean. Howard explained that t

Scouting Mission to Esquire Imax Theater/De La Rosa Residence By Paul Dale Roberts, HPI General Manager/Ghostwriter Date: November 29, 2008, Saturday. On this day it’s time to have a scouting mission. A scouting mission consists of many paranormal investigators and ghosthunters-in-training. We would meet up at Starbucks at 15th and Broadway in Sacramento for the briefing of what they may find at these two locations. I had Shannon talk about the McCabe Method of gathering EVPs, we took our historical group shot and the signing off of release forms. Paranormal Investigative Scouts attending this event were: Laura Miller, Chantal Apodaca, Rita Reyes, Bryan Coleman/Videographer, Natalee, Ka