BoxOffice® Pro - March 2010

The Business of Movies March 2010 | $6.95
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Sam
Worthington
as Perseus in
Warner Bros.
Pictures’ 3D
epic
INSIDE OUR DIGITAL/3D ISSUE WITH A GLOBAL ROLLOUT ROUNDUP
WE CONGRATULATE CINEDIGM’S BUD MAYO AND CHUCK GOLDWATER
PERSPECTIVE: CARMIKE CINEMAS’ CONVERSION–A FIRSTHAND REPORT
The Official Magazine of NATO

MAR2010 VOL. 146 NO. 3
22 SPECIAL REPORT > WORLDWIDE DIGITAL ROUNDUP
Plus a look at Bow Tie Cinema’s implementation of the new 3D-on-film solution
▼ Anniversary Tributes
30 CINEDIGM > Mass appeal: To Cinedigm’s Bud Mayo and Chuck Goldwater,
the future is now
36 GDC TECHNOLOGY > To preserve and protect: GDC founder Dr. Man-
Nang Chong on the power of digital to protect Hollywood’s past—and ensure
its future
38 BIG PICTURE >
CLASH OF THE TITANS
Hail the conquering hero: Louis
Leterrier’s Titan-ic quest … Mad
as hell: How to fight a Kraken—
with a little Hollywood magic …
Get Kraken: Turn patrons into
demigods and your ticket sales
will soar
DEPARTMENTS
4 EXECUTIVE SUITE
Looking good: A snapshot of digital cinema
and 3D
6 PERSPECTIVE
If you install it …: Why Carmike bet on
digital—and why you should, too
8 SHOW BUSINESS
Posters that really jump out at you: Virtual
Images brought the 3D experience to Avatar’s
marketing blitz
10 FRONT LINE AWARD
HELEN KOWOL
12 FRONT OFFICE AWARD
CHRISIE LANCASTER
14 MARQUEE AWARD
LIVING ROOM THEATRES
18 TIMECODE
We’re in the hospitality business: The day
a movie studio wished it had stuck to making
movies
54 MARKETPLACE
56 CLASSIFIEDS
®
THE SLATE
BOXOFFICE MEDIA
PUBLISHER
Peter Cane
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth James Bacon
the business of movies the business of movies ®
46 ON THE HORIZON
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time: Like
sands through the hourglass … Sex and the
City 2: Bartender, another round … Shrek
Forever After: It’s a wonderful swamp
48 COMING ATTRACTIONS
The Runaways: Teenage wasteland … Green
Zone: Green means ‘Stop’ … Greenberg:
What goes down must come up? … Our
Family Wedding: Let’s get ready to rumble
… Brooklyn’s Finest: Three cop night …
The Bounty Hunter: Handcuffed and hottempered
… Remember Me: Twi-hards can’t
forget that face … Hubble 3D: Space Odyssey
… Season of the Witch: Witches be crazy
50 QUICKTAKES
Capsule reviews of films soon to be in release.
Complete reviews of these and other films can
be found at BOXOFFICE.com
52 BOOKING GUIDE
Booking information for nearly 150 upcoming
theatrical releases from majors, mini-majors and
independent distributors
BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
EDITOR
Amy Nicholson
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Sara Schieron
INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTORS
John Fithian
David Passman
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Tim Cogshell
Barbara Goslawski
Pam Grady
Cole Hornaday
John P. McCarthy
Ed Scheid
Steve Ramos
Cathleen Rountree
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ally Bacon
BOXOFFICE.COM
EDITOR
Phil Contrino
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Tyler Foster
Joe Galm
Daniel Garris
Ray Greene
Pete Hammond
Mark Keizer
Wade Major
Richard Mowe
Matthew Nestel
Steve Simels
Christian Toto
EDITORIAL INTERNS
Matt McKeehen
Katelyn Dato
Kirsten Acuna
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2
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies December 2008

STOPPRESS
Case closed
If you were still skeptical as to whether digital and 3D were here to stay, James Cameron
and 20th Century Fox have given us 2.2 billion (and counting) reasons to believe. At press
time, we hear that Digital Cinema Implementation Partners has closed on its long awaited
$700 million financing, and, as you can see in the pages that follow, digital cinema is gaining
traction around the world. Who would have thought such a thing was possible ten years
ago? Bud Mayo and Chuck Goldwater of Cinedigm were among the very few, and it is our
pleasure to honor them this month and recognize them as two of the industry’s true visionaries.
It’s been quite a decade for our friends Bud and Chuck, and all of us at Boxoffice wish
them the very best for years to come.
Our industry has lost a leader—former NATO Chairman Malcolm C.
Green died on February 2nd in Boston. Mal Green spent his entire
working life in the movie business, with Interstate Theatres, White
Theaters and then Cinema Centers with his partner, the late Bud Rifkin.
Cinema Centers was later sold to Hoyts, where Mal served as president.
Mal is survived by Sylvia, his wife of 45 years, and their children and
grandchildren.
As he wrote in Boxoffice in December 1987:
No exhibitor is strong enough to go it alone against governmental or
special interest legislative proposals and regulation. We are better served to work together for
theatrical welfare with respect to building codes, new construction and design concepts, advertising
approaches, new presentation technology, etc. The only effective way to do that is through the
National Association of Theatre Owners and its regional units.
He will be missed.
peter@boxoffice.com
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IN MARCH AT BOXOFFICE.COM
REVIEWS
Will ticket-buyers be curiouser and curiouser about Alice in
Wonderland to make it the highest-grossing Tim Burton and
Johnny Depp collaboration? Can Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass’
Green Zone get mainstream moviegoers to show up for
a film about Iraq? Check out our reviews section for our take on
all of March’s releases.
WEEKLY ANTICIPATION INDEX
Each week BOXOFFICE analyzes the financial prospects for the
most promising (or over-hyped) upcoming releases. Be ahead
of the curve: read what we have to say.
THE BOXOFFICE REPORT
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EXECUTIVESUITE
JOHN FITHIAN > NATO president and chief executive officer
Looking good
A snapshot of digital cinema and 3D
Ensuring a fair transition from film to
digital cinema has constituted one of
NATO’s highest priorities for over a decade.
Given recent developments and rising
expectations, this edition of Boxoffice correctly
gives focus to digital issues. With
ShoWest just a few weeks away, the industry’s
attention to these issues is heightened.
In this space, I offer some personal observations
about the status and implications of
the digital transition.
The debate is over—
digital 3D exhibition is here to stay
For years, cinema operators around the
globe have debated the viability of digital
cinema business models. At the dawn of the
discussion in the late ‘90s through the earliest
years of the next decade, most exhibitors
expressed justifiable skepticism. The potential
digital conversion made perfect sense
for our partners in distribution. Print cost
savings could add nearly one billion dollars
a year to studios’ bottom lines. For the
theater business, however, digital cinema
posed many potential risks including high
costs, potentially rapid obsolescence and
few quantifiable benefits. To be sure, digital
offered benefits like consistent visual quality
and enhanced programming flexibility.
But how could our members put a pencil to
that?
Then one seminal event began to alter the
debate. In 2005 at ShoWest, four leading
directors explained their vision and commitment
to digital 3D exhibition, and showed
examples of what the new technology could
offer. Watching for our members’ reactions
in the Paris Hotel that day, I could see interest,
if not enthusiasm, build. In subsequent
years, 3D more than any other factor has
driven exhibitor interest in the digital conversion.
Even so, a sizable number of NATO members
remained doubtful that digital cinema
constituted an enhanced business model
for exhibition. With each new 3D movie
release, from Chicken Little in 2005 to a string
of successful movies in 2009, the interest
in digital 3D and the number of 3D-capable
screens grew.
Then the world of exhibition changed dramatically
in December with the release of
Avatar. Simply put: Avatar shattered any lingering
doubt about the long-term viability
of digital 3D exhibition. Since the release of
the movie, I have not encountered a single
member who has told me they still don’t see
value in 3D. To the contrary, most calls from
members now involve questions about how
to move forward quickly with digital.
The numbers speak for themselves. Digital
3D commands greater value—and a higher
ticket price—than 2D exhibition (and large
screen digital 3D provides even more value
to patrons). As I write this column, after six
weeks of Avatar’s domination of the box
office, 80 percent of the domestic grosses on
the picture have come from 3D and large
format. Internationally, where the penetration
of 3D installations trails that of the U.S.
and Canada, 65 percent of the Avatar grosses
have come from 3D.
I have experienced Avatar in 3D and 2D. I
have seen the movie on a home flat screen.
To me, the differences are stunning. James
Cameron wrote a good story. But it’s the
technology and immersive 3D experience
that makes the picture revolutionary.
The digital rollout will (finally) accelerate
At this stage, I should probably be reluctant
to predict an accelerated rollout of
digital cinema screens. Given the number
of times such movement has been stymied
by prolonged virtual print fee (VPF) model
negotiations, the impact of the recession on
the availability of money and debates over
equipment formats and brands, I have made
overly aggressive predictions before. But
this time it feels right. The improved availability
of money, the completion of viable
VPF models and the availability of excellent
equipment suggest that more rapid installation
rates are highly likely. In the U.S., we
have roughly 7,500 digital screens, 3,500 of
which possess 3D capability. In the period
leading up to the release of Avatar, U.S.
exhibitors installed approximately 150 3D
capable screens per month. In 2010, I expect
that pace to increase. Currently there are
20 different 3D releases scheduled for 2010.
And in December we have the first weekend
during which two 3D releases—Yogi Bear
and Tron Legacy—are scheduled simultaneously.
Obviously, we need more screens and,
since money talks, we’ll likely get them.
The growth in digital screens and 3D capabilities
will come from exhibitors big and
small, and locations urban, suburban and
small town. Domestically, public reports
suggest the Digital Cinema Implementation
Partners (DCIP), the implementation entity
for Regal, AMC and Cinemark, has secured
financing and is nearing rollout. At the same
time, NATO’s Cinema Buying Group for
smaller exhibitors has completed an exhibitor-finance
and vendor-finance program with
our integration partners at Cinedigm, and
many CBG members are signing up and beginning
to install systems. We are also hopeful
that the Cinedigm-financed, second phase
financing and concomitant master licensing
agreement will also be available soon.
Internationally, many other integrators and
exhibitor-buyer deals are coming to fruition
as well. In the U.K., our sister association has
formed a buying group. Others have followed
suit. Real, global progress looks very likely.
3D on film is a bad idea at the wrong time
(But that doesn’t necessarily mean
it won’t happen!)
Given my optimism about the digital
conversion, one new concept causes me
concern. At least two technology companies
have recently proposed new methods
to offer 3D exhibition in a film world.
Technicolor proposes its enhanced “overunder”
mechanism and Oculus 3D suggests
a similar film 3D system in a side-by-side
strategy. I have heard that a third 3D-on-film
offering may be on the way. In my personal
(as opposed to “associational”) opinion, any
substantial installation of units designed
4 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

to offer 3D on film will retard the digital
conversion, confuse our industry’s patrons
and devalue the expanding but still nascent
consumer image of digital 3D.
I have seen 3D on film demonstrated. It
looks good, but not as good as digital. And
the demonstrations to date have been in
pristine environments with good prints and
sophisticated operators. I can only imagine
what 3D looks like on a scratched or dusty
print several weeks or months into a run
at an average cinema. The film 3D model is
less expensive than digital 3D. But to me,
here the old adage rings true: you get what
you pay for.
Another significant, and perhaps fatal,
problem lies in the lack of unanimous support
from the major studios. In meetings
with five of the major distribution offices in
late January, I learned that one studio aggressively
supports 3D on film, two studios
reluctantly support it as an interim strategy
to quickly expand the number of 3D capable
screens and two major companies (with
dense upcoming 3D release schedules)
emphatically oppose 3D on film and will
not distribute their movies to any such locations.
I do understand that the 3D release
schedule in 2010 demands more screens, but
I don’t believe that film-based technologies
are the way to do it.
The digital transition should, but hasn’t yet,
expanded the potential for independent
movies
I am writing this column, as I often do, on
an airplane—this time leaving Utah where
I attended and spoke at the Sundance Film
Festival. During my weekend in Park City
at Mr. Redford’s event, I watched some entertaining
and thought-provoking movies,
heard brilliant moviemakers describe their
passion and work, witnessed high-tech but
March 2010
JAMES THE GREAT
Cameron’s latest has shatttered the $2 billion mark
and may be the top grossing film of all time
low-cost micro movie shoots, participated
in a stimulating panel discussion about the
future of the cinema and engaged in many
random conversations about independent
movies and digital technologies.
One would think that the digital revolution
would expand the potential for
independent movies in our members’
cinemas. For starters, digital technologies
dramatically reduce the costs of production.
At Sundance I watched young moviemakers
capture brilliant images on HD camcorders
that cost about $5,000. Digital technologies
also increase the efficiency (and reduce the
costs) of editing and post-production. As for
distribution, digital cinema could eventually
reduce costs by 80-90 percent over the
fragile and tedious distribution format of
celluloid film. Finally, in exhibition, digital
cinema provides the cinema operator much
greater flexibility in programming.
However, as my colleague Patrick Corcoran
described in last month’s Boxoffice, more
and more people are coming to the cinema
to watch fewer and fewer movies. The top 20
percent of the movies released over the past
two years garnered north of 90 percent of all
box office grosses. Yet twenty years ago, the
top 20 percent of movies earned 75 percent
of the grosses. I was stunned to learn of this
paradox. Somehow, as digital technologies
expand the universe of affordable movie
production, distribution and exhibition—
and as the multiplex environment offers
more screens within a complex to play more
movies at the same time—the biggest movies
are earning even more of the revenues.
There are many possible explanations for
this and no more room in this column. I will
simply conclude by saying that digital cinema
and 3D will grow the movie distribution
and exhibition industries. I just hope we can
find a way to use the technologies to grow a
more diverse film slate at the same time.
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
5
JACK WARNER ON 3D
BOXOFFICE / March 28, 1953
It is time for exhibitors and public to be informed of
the scientific facts of three dimensions on the motion
picture screen.
The most important fact, and I stress the word 'fact,'
is that polaroid viewers are a comfortable part of
viewing properly photographed three-dimensional
motion pictures. Physicists and physiologists, with
all the facts of optical science in their possession, as
yet are unable to conceive of the possibility of true
three-dimensional film viewing without an accessory.
We have proved to our own satisfaction that there
is no inconvenience of any kind in wearing polaroid
viewers. We are convinced that the public will wear
such viewers as effortlessly as they wear wrist watches
or carry fountain pens.
Those who have not yet had our experience with
three-dimensional film production, as in House of
Wax. are prone to say that they have three-dimensional
film which may be seen without glasses. It is
true that you can see it without glasses but it isn't
three-dimensional film. There are some effects or illusions
possible in some small degree, but science
and our experience prove to us that the only real
thing in third-dimension is the method we are using
to photograph, project and see.
Self-appointed spokesmen have decried the use of
viewers. They say the public won't take to them. That
is not true. The public, I have noted on certain occasions,
disagrees with the so-called 'experts' and
makes up its own mind. If they like something contrary
to the experts' prophecies, the experts simply
find they've been wrong again. The public decides,
as it always will.
We are the proud owners of as fine a set of press
quotes on House of Wax as anyone ever enjoyed.
We believe the press very ably represents public
opinion. We do not believe the press supports unsupported
claims. Exhibitors have told us how revolutionary,
exciting and enjoyable our House of Wax
is. The RCA Victor officers and board of directors applauded
a showing we held for them at the studio.
Such response is more than gratifying. We encountered
no reluctance to wear viewers. There was no
consciousness of them. That is because the picture
has been photographed intelligently and because
optical science gives us thrilling true third dimension
on the screen.
We know the hazards of prophecy and pioneering
from the days when we began to introduce sound in
the midst of derision from our own fellow producers.
One prophet even said sound would keep awake
those who went to film theaters to sleep. There
were prophecies, later embarrassing to those who
made them, that sound was a brief wonder, merely
a quick circus attraction that wouldn't last 30 days.
We worked it out anyway, believing public, press
and exhibitors would justify our hopes for it. They
did. We hear the same type of anti third-dimension
talk within production circles. Many who foretell
doom for third-dimension did the same with sound.
Many producers predict, with little knowledge, many
things that only the public will decide. Our showings
to date to the country's leading exhibitors and members
of the industry press corps indicate that such
opinion-droppers and crystal-ball-gazers are wrong.
To summarize, I urge the motion picture makers to
let the public decide in the matters of merit and material
and to refrain from confusing with claims, counterclaims,
statements impossible of proof, prophecies
and early decisions on 'They will or they won't.'
Let us eliminate confusion instead of creating it. Let
us build our industry instead of tearing it down.
[House of Wax was the first color 3D film released
by a major studio and was the third top grosser on
the BOXOFFICE Barometer for 1953–54. Another
3D film, Bwana Devil, was the top scorer during
the same period.]

PERSPECTIVE
DAVID PASSMAN > President/CEO, Carmike Cinemas
If you install it …
Why Carmike bet on digital—and why you should, too
ALICE IN 3D-LAND
Tim Burton’s first 3D flick is pegged to be
one of the season’s big hits
Following an impressive year for the
movie industry, highlighted by all-time
box office results and a strong fourth quarter
led by the record-setting release of Avatar
despite the challenging economic picture—
now is a good time to take a look at where
exhibition has been and where it’s going
with digital projection and 3D.
What a difference a year makes! Just one
short year ago, many experts were openly
questioning the wisdom of digital projection,
reasoning that 3D was at best a fad
and at worst nothing more than a thinly
disguised studio scheme to get exhibitors
to convert to digital and reduce the studios’
reproduction and distribution costs. As the
year unfolded, more and more believers
came into the tent. 3D features such as Monsters
vs. Aliens, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
and Up performed well at the box office. In
fact, two of the top four performers in 2009
were 3D and Avatar has eclipsed Titanic as
the highest grossing picture ever.
The tremendous success of these high-profile
3D releases has created lots of additional
interest in the movie industry’s conversion
to digital. Carmike Cinemas has been at the
forefront of the digitalization and 3D conversion
trends. We completed our rollout
over a year ago—and we are very excited
about the future.
We believe that our peers’ upcoming deployment
of thousands of additional digital
projectors and 3D screens bodes well for everyone:
the studios, the movie-going patrons
and, of course, the exhibitors who own and
manage the approximately 40,000 screens
located throughout the United States.
When Carmike first committed to digitizing
our circuit, the major studios were
producing very little 3D product. In other
words, we were required to take a “leap of
faith”—to hope that if we built it, the product
would come.
Our risky early-adopter decision has paid
off very well; as the first major exhibitor to
go digital, we’ve enjoyed a significant advantage.
Today, all of Carmike’s first-run theaters
are fully digital and we have 500 3D-capable
screens spread across two-thirds of the U.S.
Importantly, each of our entertainment
complexes has at least two 3D screens. This
multiple screen strategy affords us added
flexibility, which we believe will be increasingly
critical. With multiple 3D screens in
one location, we will not have to prematurely
pull a 3D movie that’s still enjoying box
office momentum in order to make room for
a newer 3D release. That was a trouble spot
in 2009, which had a dozen 3D releases. The
2010 pipeline includes at least 18, including
Alice in Wonderland, How to Train Your Dragon,
Shrek Forever After and Toy Story 3. It’s
worth noting that many of the 3D titles are
installments of well-known, well-performing
franchises. Everyone is excited about the
long-term potential for 3D movies and looks
to 2010 as a watershed year.
Carmike’s experience with 3D has been
very positive. Our valued patrons like it, too.
When customers are faced with the choice
of attending a movie in both 2D and 3D,
they opt for 3D by a two-to-one or greater
ratio—despite the upcharge. With childrenoriented
3D movies, we have seen 3D top 2D
by as much as nine to one.
Nearly all the studios are backing the 3D
format with a large pipeline of product.
DreamWorks Animation announced last
year that they will release all their future
movies in 3D. We share their optimism.
Carmike believes that the growing number
of 3D screens will catalyze greater consumer
awareness and appreciation.
Many industry observers seem to think 3D
is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow;
once they have 3D, they are done with the
technology conversion. I believe that is a
limited understanding of digital technology
and its financial and strategic importance.
As great as 3D undoubtedly is, some feel
that it doesn’t justify the cost of converting
every available screen to digital projection.
They may choose to digitally convert only
the handful of screens they plan for 3D.
After all, they argue, even if 3D expands rapidly,
it likely will be in addition to—not in
place of—2D. Besides, film isn’t going away
any time soon. While those arguments have
merit—and due in part to limited credit
availability, the conversion debate has and
will continue to be an academic debate for
some exhibitors—partial conversion will
not prove wise over the long term. 3D is
an important component of a much larger
picture.
6 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

Here are Carmike’s strategic reasons to embrace digital:
Digital projection provides the clearest and most consistent
picture possible for an unparalleled viewing experience. Presentations
are flicker free; there are no interruptions from film splices,
tears or breakage. Digital movies come to us electronically via
satellite transmission or hard drives, similar to those on your computer
network, and are then “uploaded” into our network at the
local theater. Both delivery time and cost are significantly less than
for film.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’s midnight screening this
July 15th illustrates another significant advantage of having a
digitized circuit. That evening we sold out all 16 screens in our
El Paso, Texas theater. We were literally able to push a button and
open up additional screens to match real-time box office demand.
This would not have been possible in the 35mm days unless we
had committed to 16 prints of the film for one location—an impossible
proposition. I think back about how painful midnight openings
used to be, knowing we had one or two sold out auditoriums
while the remaining auditoriums—the majority of the complex—
were completely empty. This flexibility has virtually eliminated
sell-outs at Carmike. Can you imagine the day when none of us
have to turn away patrons?
Another emerging benefit of digital—with or without 3D—is
alternative content. While still in its early stages, alternative content
has shown some exciting developments from which we can
learn. For instance, on a Thursday night in early 2009, normally
a slow night of the week for exhibitors, the FedEx BCS National
Championship Game was broadcast via satellite live in 3D across
the country, including about 35 Carmike facilities. While there
had been several previous experiments in broadcasting live sporting
events on a local level, this was the first national footprint for a
live sporting event in 3D. Sports fans turned out in large numbers
to watch this widely anticipated college football game between
the University of Florida and the University of Oklahoma as they
battled it out for the college football national championship.
What was most exciting to us was our awareness that people
could have stayed home and watched the game for free on television.
Instead, they chose to pay an admission charge—on average,
double the cost of a standard movie screening—to see this special
event on a big screen in 3D. (And concession sales were strong
when we also served alcoholic beverages and hot food.) The reaction
from our patrons was overwhelmingly positive; for Carmike,
it was also profitable. Clearly, if the content is attractive, people
will leave their big screen televisions and home theaters with surround
sound to attend exciting alternative showings at exhibitors’
entertainment complexes.
In addition to sports in 3D, we and others have been showing live
and pre-recorded concerts, opera performances, religious programming
and a wide array of other events. The possibilities are virtually
endless—and as more digital and 3D projectors are installed,
there will be a sufficient critical mass of theaters and screens that
producers will find it financially feasible to spend the necessary
funds to market these types of content.
For exhibitors, the lure of alternative entertainment ultimately
lies in our desire to maximize our theaters. To be honest, as much
as we love our facilities on big opening weekends, our theaters are
often under capacity during the week. That is why the promise
of alternative content is so exciting to us—and it’s just one of the
many reasons Carmike continues to be bullish on the future prospects
for us and the industry, especially once the majority of the
40,000 screens in the U.S. join us in going digital.
Extending Warm
Congratulations
on Cinedigm’s
Tenth Anniversary!
In recognition of their profound contribution to the digital cinema
industry, Barco extends warm congratulations to Cinedigm in honor
of their tenth anniversary. In particular, we also salute Bud Mayo and
Chuck Goldwater for their roles as key enablers — and their ability to
integrate and simplify a highly complex supply chain with hardware,
software, and essential services. “Hats off,” gentlemen … or should
we say, “3D glasses off!”
Barco
USA: +1 916 859 2500
Europe: +32 56 36 80 47
sales.digitalcinema@barco.com
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
7
www.barco.com/digitalcinema

SHOWBUSINESS
PHIL CONTRINO > editor, BOXOFFICE.com
Posters that really jump out at you
Virtual Images brought the 3D experience to Avatar’s marketing blitz
Now that Avatar is the most successful
worldwide hit of all time—without
adjusting for inflation, of course—its influence
can be felt in a major way. I’ve been
calling it the “Avatar Effect.” When it comes
to blockbuster films, 3D is no longer a novelty
or a fad as many industry professionals
are still claiming. It’s going to be expected.
This is why Warner Bros. moved quickly to
convert Clash of the Titans to 3D while also
announcing that the last
two Harry Potter flicks
will have the wizard boy
zooming through the
air in three dimensions.
Frankly, I don’t see how
any tentpole can go into
production without having
a 3D release in mind.
Ask passionate movie
fans around the world
whether they’d prefer to
see action extravaganzas
in 2D or 3D and I guarantee
that the majority
will want to put on those
glasses. When I took my
15 year old brother to see
2012 this past November,
his response was, “That
was awesome, but it
would have been better in
3D.” I couldn’t have agreed
more. Imagine what Roland
Emmerich’s symphony of destruction
would’ve looked like with an extra dimension.
That’s the Avatar Effect in a nutshell.
Yet the Avatar Effect isn’t limited to the
films themselves. It extends its reach across
the exhibition industry. I’ve sat in plenty
of auditoriums where patrons murmured
about how they were hoping for 3D for
every trailer. If you’ve ever seen the 2D
trailers for Avatar and Alice in Wonderland,
you know that the experience is not nearly
the same. If a movie is designed to be 3D,
moviegoers are beginning to expect it to be
marketed in 3D.
Enter Virtual Images, a California-based
company that creates 3D posters.
For the release of Avatar, Virtual Images
put together 2,000 posters in 3D—most of
which were sent out to domestic theaters.
The posters animated the now-iconic image
of Zoe Saldana’s Neytiri giving a come
hither glance to the millions upon millions
of people eagerly waiting to see the film.
Virtual Images knew that it wanted to be a
part of James Cameron’s landmark film, and
they acted aggressively.
Dave Corey, President and 3D technology
director for Virtual Images recalls, “We
approached James Cameron, and we were
THE PARALLAX VIEW
These two images of the same poster differ because the image shifts as the viewer’s line of
sight shifts, giving the image a dimensional appearance
fortunate enough to find an early, though
not accurate, asset for Avatar and we made a
really beautiful poster from it and we sent it
to him. Like the studio mavens do, he said, ‘I
want this for my film.’”
Keeping up with Cameron takes a high
level of technical prowess.
“Our sister company in Minnesota, where
all our manufacturing is done, has invested
in technology and processes that really
make us the 900-pound gorilla in our space.
That puts us in a position where the quality
and consistency of our product is second to
none,” boasts Corey.
“We have some output devices that use
resolutions that are higher than our competitors,”
Corey continues. “If you’re trying
to create just really super sexy depth, then
there’s a very special, new, exclusive patented
lens that we implement that’s over
a quarter of an inch thick and gives really
striking depth.”
As studios continue to embrace 3D content
in all of its forms, the process behind
producing quality 3D marketing is becoming
easier.
“We’re helping studios plan to use our medium
earlier in process—then the chances
are that we’re going to get better images and
we’re going to get art assets
that were originally
intended to become 3D
posters. That has a big
impact on the quality of
the project that hits the
streets,” says Corey.
The reality is that 3D
marketing often increases
the amount of attention
and time that patrons are
willing to give. Virtual
Images has found that
traditional 2D posters
receive three seconds of
attention, while 3D movie
posters can entice people
to spend an average of 10-
15 seconds soaking up the
content. If you consider
that patrons are constantly
being bombarded with
messages from companies
trying to sell them something,
an extra ten seconds makes a world of
difference.
“That’s very important extra time that
you’re spending with that consumer, and
it helps to form a level of interest that gets
them to the theater,” notes Corey.
The next couple of years will be incredibly
big for 3D content, and that means that Virtual
Images has plenty of room to grow.
“All of the studios and all of the 3D movies
are our targets and we’re actively trying to
generate work from all those targets. And
in our case that often means creating prototypes
of 3D posters and getting them in the
hands of the right people and generating
buzz,” says Corey.
Some day in the near future we could
hear people say, “That poster is great, but it
would be better if it was in 3D.”
8 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

WINNER
FRONT LINE AWARD
HELENE KOWOL > BOX OFFICE/CONCESSIONS
AURORA THEATER > EAST AURORA, NY
Nominated by Paul Brown, owner
Places in the heart
An old movie house is home to its devoted former owner
Emigrating from Poland as a little girl
in the late 1960’s, Helene Kowol never
felt truly grounded until she set foot in the
Aurora Theater. Built in 1925 and performing
tirelessly ever since, the old movie house
was purchased by Helene and her husband
Bob in 1981. The 650-seat, single-screen
theater was not simply a workplace, but the
Kowol’s home away from home—the place
they raised their son and their link to the
close-knit, upstate New York community.
Aurora, New York has worked hard to
maintain a small town atmosphere. It’s
successfully driven off the advances of
Wal-Mart and other big-box stores, while
hosting prosperous production facilities
for Mattel/Fisher-Price and Moog. When
the Kowols decided to sell their beloved
movie house in 2007, film and television
producer Paul Brown (Breakfast with Scott)
and his wife Barbara Tranter leapt at the
opportunity to buy. “Aurora’s main street
is strongly supportive of the small business
entrepreneur,” says Brown. “I love that
about the town. It
has a nice base of
businesspeople and
family people.”
Helene shies from
talking about herself,
but doesn’t hide
her emotions when
asked about the old
Aurora Theater. “To
be honest with you,
I didn’t really want
to sell the theater,”
says Helene. “I was
very angry with my
husband for selling
it. But it was time.
He wanted to retire.
He’s a little older
than I am, and he’d
had enough.” After
decades of sacrificing
weekends, evenings, and holidays—not
to mention pint after pint of blood, sweat
and tears for the old theater—one can’t begrudge
Bob’s dreams of relocating to Florida
and spending his days wandering those emerald
fairways.
Brown and Tranter had many plans for the
future of the Aurora: film festivals, live performances,
as well as screening Brown’s own
productions and those of his colleagues.
Actual management of the theater was least
on their agenda. Knowing how reluctant
Helene was to leave, Brown and Tranter
asked her to remain on the staff, and found
themselves overwhelmed by her dedication.
“Helene continues to work the box office,”
says Brown, “meeting and greeting
all the regular customers our theater has
each week. She’ll go out of her way to pick
up supplies or run behind the concession
stand. She helps the young and old with any
concerns or problems they may have.”
“I love being with people and I love seeing
the faces,” says Helene. “I’ve been there
so many years and people always expect to
see me. When I don’t work certain nights,
people come in and they say, ‘Oh my god,
where were you?’”
Helene is reticent when discussing the
future, and issues with her health have set
back Bob’s plans for relocating to Florida.
She admits, however, she is reluctant to
move too far from friends, family and her
beloved movie house.
Brown says the change in ownership of
the Aurora has been seamless, something
he credits Helene for in particular. “We
were welcomed with open arms,” recalls
Brown. “We are welcome to stay at their
house when in town. They’re happy to
make us dinner, to have us to lunch—this
is the woman who says, ‘Don’t drive all the
way over here, I’ll drive over to Sam’s Club
and get the stuff you need.’ She’s exceptional
at that.”
Brown admits that between being fulltime
Canadian residents, and the constant
demands of his production company, Miracle
Pictures, he and Tranter have come to
rely on Helene more than they anticipated.
“When I’m not there, I’ll call her a couple
times a day to find out how a film is doing,”
laughs Brown. “Sometimes I’ll call her
twenty minutes after showtime to see how
the numbers were and who was there.”
Brown says, aside from the occasional
jibe pertaining to his Canadian heritage,
his relationship with the Kowols and the
Aurora staff is fantastic. “Helene really grew
up with this theater, this old movie theatre
is one of her babies,” says Brown. “But she
always says, ‘It’s your movie theater, you can
make the decisions,’ and even when Barbara
and I fail, which happens on occasion, she’ll
never make me feel badly. She just says,
‘Okay, what can we do next?’ This is a person
who goes beyond what they do.”
Regardless of what Helene’s future holds,
everyone knows where her heart will always
be found.
–Cole Hornaday
BOXOFFICE is looking for winners—theater employees you consider to be genuine role models making a significant, positive impact on your theater operations. Monthly
winners of the BOXOFFICE Front Line Award receive a $50 Gap Gift Card! To nominate a theater employee send a brief 100– to 200-word nominating essay to cole@
boxoffice.com. Be sure to put ‘Front Line Nomination’ in the subject line.
10
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

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WINNER
FRONT OFFICE AWARD
CHRISIE LANCASTER > GENERAL MANAGER
REGAL FRANKLIN SQUARE STADIUM 14 > GASTONIA, NC
Nominated by Klaudine Radford, district manager
Action hero
Goal-oriented GM takes on troubled times
Gastonia, North Carolina is a workingclass
community woven into the textile
industry for generations. Like so many
other mill towns throughout the South, Gastonia’s
workforce was hit hard by the country’s
recent economical downturn. Though
local attitudes are hopeful, a significant part
of the city’s population remains without
work. Regal Franklin Square Stadium 14
General Manager Chrisie Lancaster knows
how important a few hours of escapism can
be to folks combing the want ads.
“It is very vital that we make sure they get
110 percent value for their entertainment
dollar,” says Lancaster. As GM, she is concerned
with giving Gastonia patrons a quality
entertainment experience—and creating
return customers. Lancaster knows that hers
is not the only cinema in town, and with
patrons’ pockets thinning every month, it’s
paramount that she make certain hers is the
cinema they choose first.
Lancaster says the only way to insure
the level of quality of service her customers
expect and deserve is to have a solid
plan—and it’s a good day when your plan
follows through. “You never know when the
unexpected may happen, but I’ve found that
preparation is the key,” says Lancaster. She
credits District Manager Klaudine Radford’s
influence in making her more goal-oriented
“Klaudine’s philosophy is ‘Always have a
plan,’” says Lancaster. “She says it is always
better to have a plan in place—it makes
everything easier. Just like a movie, you
can’t always predict the next twist or turn
in the plot of your life, but you can prepare
yourself.”
Since she entered the movie business at
15, Lancaster has grown from entry-level
floor staff to an uncannily thorough, detailoriented
GM. “I started out working for a
janitorial company cleaning a discount theater,”
recalls Lancaster. “In July of 1994, the
manager of the theater asked if I would like
to work there on the weekends. I thought
I would just do it until I graduated high
school.” As time went on, Lancaster surprised
herself at her steady enthusiasm for
her work, and discovered she had little interest
in working any other kind of job.
“That theater later closed and I went to
work for Eastern Federal in 1998 as a floor
staff employee, but working all positions,”
recalls Lancaster. Over the years, she found
herself doubling and redoubling her skills
while working her way through concession,
box office, usher and relief manager until
finally becoming a grade-a general manager
less than a year before Regal purchased Eastern
Federal in July of 2005.
As a general manager, Lancaster’s plan
involves maintaining sterling customer
service and team unity. Her Anonymous
Theater Checker scores have been excellent,
averaging 98.7 out of a possible 100.
Lancaster maintains strong staff morale
leading by example. “Chrisie is willing to get
directly involved in maintenance projects
whenever possible,” says Radford. Such
direct involvement and willingness to dirty
her hands are virtues Lancaster gained growing
up in the fragile economy of her Gastonia
community. Lancaster’s upbringing
also taught her frugality, translating it into
a rallying point for her team even as she sets
higher standards and greater goals. “Recently
she painted our entire parking lot without
hiring a contractor,” notes Radford. “Chrisie
is not afraid of rolling up her sleeves alongside
her team to all work together.”
“Over the past 12 years, one of the best
things about my job has been the customers,”
says Lancaster. “I have so many loyal
customers. I have watched children grow
into adults and seen many people come to
the movies week after week, learning more
about them each time. One couple drives
45 miles—past three other theaters—simply
because they feel welcomed at our
theater by all our employees and managers.”
Though like a secretive superhero,
Lancaster keeps her personal action plan
private, the end product is clear: she’s created
a place of quality entertainment for
her patrons and an efficient and enduring
workplace for herself and her team.
–Cole Hornaday
BOXOFFICE is looking for winners—managers, operators and executives you believe to be the real stars—exhibition professionals making a significant, positive impact
on operations, employees and the bottom line. To nominate a front office star for the monthly BOXOFFICE Front Office Award, send a brief 100– to 200-word nominating
essay to cole@boxoffice.com. Be sure to put ‘Front Office Nomination’ in the subject line.
12 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

WINNER
FRONT OFFICE AWARD
CHRISIE LANCASTER > GENERAL MANAGER
REGAL FRANKLIN SQUARE STADIUM 14 > GASTONIA, NC
Nominated by Klaudine Radford, district manager
Action hero
Goal-oriented GM takes on troubled times
Gastonia, North Carolina is a workingclass
community woven into the textile
industry for generations. Like so many
other mill towns throughout the South, Gastonia’s
workforce was hit hard by the country’s
recent economical downturn. Though
local attitudes are hopeful, a significant part
of the city’s population remains without
work. Regal Franklin Square Stadium 14
General Manager Chrisie Lancaster knows
how important a few hours of escapism can
be to folks combing the want ads.
“It is very vital that we make sure they get
110 percent value for their entertainment
dollar,” says Lancaster. As GM, she is concerned
with giving Gastonia patrons a quality
entertainment experience—and creating
return customers. Lancaster knows that hers
is not the only cinema in town, and with
patrons’ pockets thinning every month, it’s
paramount that she make certain hers is the
cinema they choose first.
Lancaster says the only way to insure
the level of quality of service her customers
expect and deserve is to have a solid
plan—and it’s a good day when your plan
follows through. “You never know when the
unexpected may happen, but I’ve found that
preparation is the key,” says Lancaster. She
credits District Manager Klaudine Radford’s
influence in making her more goal-oriented
“Klaudine’s philosophy is ‘Always have a
plan,’” says Lancaster. “She says it is always
better to have a plan in place—it makes
everything easier. Just like a movie, you
can’t always predict the next twist or turn
in the plot of your life, but you can prepare
yourself.”
Since she entered the movie business at
15, Lancaster has grown from entry-level
floor staff to an uncannily thorough, detailoriented
GM. “I started out working for a
janitorial company cleaning a discount theater,”
recalls Lancaster. “In July of 1994, the
manager of the theater asked if I would like
to work there on the weekends. I thought
I would just do it until I graduated high
school.” As time went on, Lancaster surprised
herself at her steady enthusiasm for
her work, and discovered she had little interest
in working any other kind of job.
“That theater later closed and I went to
work for Eastern Federal in 1998 as a floor
staff employee, but working all positions,”
recalls Lancaster. Over the years, she found
herself doubling and redoubling her skills
while working her way through concession,
box office, usher and relief manager until
finally becoming a grade-a general manager
less than a year before Regal purchased Eastern
Federal in July of 2005.
As a general manager, Lancaster’s plan
involves maintaining sterling customer
service and team unity. Her Anonymous
Theater Checker scores have been excellent,
averaging 98.7 out of a possible 100.
Lancaster maintains strong staff morale
leading by example. “Chrisie is willing to get
directly involved in maintenance projects
whenever possible,” says Radford. Such
direct involvement and willingness to dirty
her hands are virtues Lancaster gained growing
up in the fragile economy of her Gastonia
community. Lancaster’s upbringing
also taught her frugality, translating it into
a rallying point for her team even as she sets
higher standards and greater goals. “Recently
she painted our entire parking lot without
hiring a contractor,” notes Radford. “Chrisie
is not afraid of rolling up her sleeves alongside
her team to all work together.”
“Over the past 12 years, one of the best
things about my job has been the customers,”
says Lancaster. “I have so many loyal
customers. I have watched children grow
into adults and seen many people come to
the movies week after week, learning more
about them each time. One couple drives
45 miles—past three other theaters—simply
because they feel welcomed at our
theater by all our employees and managers.”
Though like a secretive superhero,
Lancaster keeps her personal action plan
private, the end product is clear: she’s created
a place of quality entertainment for
her patrons and an efficient and enduring
workplace for herself and her team.
–Cole Hornaday
BOXOFFICE is looking for winners—managers, operators and executives you believe to be the real stars—exhibition professionals making a significant, positive impact
on operations, employees and the bottom line. To nominate a front office star for the monthly BOXOFFICE Front Office Award, send a brief 100– to 200-word nominating
essay to cole@boxoffice.com. Be sure to put ‘Front Office Nomination’ in the subject line.
12 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

WINNER
MARQUEE AWARD > LIVING ROOM THEATERS / PORTLAND, ORE.
DIGITAL ARTHOUSE
Living Room Theaters features
state of the art digital screening
capability intent on lowering print
and distribution of independent film
releases
ALL-NEW DIGITAL ARTHOUSE PROMISES BIG LUXURY AND LOCAL TALENT
Just a quarter-block south of the bibliophilic Mecca, Powell’s Bookstore,
LIVING ROOM THEATERS stands on the former grounds of the notorious Panorama
nightclub. A labyrinth of dark and earthy delights, the Panorama club drew
a broad spectrum of patrons and preferences. From the Panorama’s central hub
sprouted interconnecting hallways that fed a number of smaller satellite meeting
places with names like Boxxes, the Brig and the Red Cap Garage. Needless to say, the
block is open to surprises.
by Cole Hornaday
14 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

ALL THE COMFORTS OF HOME (AND THEN SOME)
Living Room Theaters features six small-scale screening
spaces, wine, beer, espresso bar and a European-style café
As an independent filmmaker and
former president of the Mexican Independent
Producers Association, Ernesto
Rimoch (Demasiado Amor, El Anzuelo) struggled
for years to break the stigma against
Mexican films created by decades of d-grade
wrestling pictures and bottom-drawer creature
features. “The public was generally
reluctant to watch Mexican movies,” says
Ernesto’s son Diego Rimoch, co-founder and
CEO of Living Room Theaters. “The ’70s and
the ’80s were a very bad decade for Mexican
cinema—a cinema that had a golden age
before that. Most of what was produced after
those years was garbage.” Though Ernesto’s
work received critical success throughout
Mexico and Europe, appreciation in North
America was slim. He set out to establish a
venue to support films after his own heart,
starting with a pitch to his own son.
“I think most of the time children are the
dreamers and parents try to sober them up,”
says Diego. “In my case it was the opposite.
My father kind of put it into my head—it
was very subtle.” With his background in
sales and marketing, Diego had his doubts,
especially in light of the perpetually tenuous
Oregon economy, but his father was
persistent. “He’d say, ‘don’t you think this is
a really good idea? I think we could have a
lot of fun doing this!’ And I fell for it. I said,
‘Yeah, yeah it sounds great, I’ll do this with
you.’ Without knowing what all that would
involve.”
“When I first heard about Diego’s plans I
thought, ‘Hmm, does Portland really need
another artfilm theater?’” recalls publicist
and programmer Gabriel Mendoza. Mendoza’s
concerns were valid—but, surprisingly,
when one crunches the numbers,
Portland has the highest per-capita cinema
attendance in the US. After hearing out the
father and son team, Mendoza warmed to
the idea. “I met with them a few months after
they opened and thought what they had
was amazing.” The Rimochs’ concept was
simple: create an arthouse mini-multiplex
of six intimate auditoriums, about fifty seats
per house, all with access to bar, lounge and
a European style café. But most importantly,
stock each screen with soft and cushy loveseats.
“At first they were really talking it up,
that it was going to be the most glamorous
theater in the world,” laughs Mendoza. “I
was thinking, ‘These are just seats.’ But they
are extremely comfortable seats. They’re a
love seat design with an armrest that you
can lift up and have a big bench for you and
someone else. Then there’s sort of a barrier
between you and the other seats—plus you
have all this legroom. Even the sold-out
shows are perfectly comfortable.” Word has
it even industry insiders see Living Room
Theaters as more comfortable and luxurious
than the major studios’ screening rooms
Living Room Theatres don’t just offer a soft
seat. Diego says it’s also the first all-digital
arthouse of its kind. “As time goes by and
the critical mass of theaters starts to convert,
the options for independents are going to
narrow. We’ve been working on developing
alternative technology that allows for
great viewing experiences even though it’s
non-DCI compliant. It’s accessible for independents.”
To create opportunity for the support and
promotion of local and independent film,
Living Room Theaters uses proprietary
digitizing software that allows local and
unseasoned film producers and directors to
screen and distribute their work without the
inhibiting high overhead of print and distribution
fees.
“We have a submissions page on our website
which specifies all of the guidelines for
us to consider a film,” says Rimoch. “We will
January March 2010 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies 15

WINNER
MARQUEE AWARD > LIVING ROOM THEATRES / PORTLAND, ORE.
not accept something
that’s just on
DVD; we require
more professional
and higher quality
formats. That sort of
sets a threshold for
what is acceptable
and what isn’t. The
filmmakers that are
more conscientious
and are preoccupied
with the quality of
their work will understand that and realize
that it’s a good policy on our behalf. At the
end of the day the customer is expecting a
certain quality level.”
Though its standards are high, Living Room
Theaters strives to give hopeful filmmakers
a fair shake. “We view submissions and if we
think we can get a run out of it, we’ll give it
a week,” says Mendoza. “Every filmmaker
thinks, ‘Oh, all my friends will come and it’ll
be huge,’ and they discover that it can be really
hard to get people into theaters. We’ve
shown five or six locally produced films over
the last eight or nine months.”
SWEET STREETS
Living Room Theaters stands at the corner of Stark and Burnside in Portland, Ore. Once a seedier
section of the city, now scrubbed and friendlier to families and filmgoers.
Of late, Portland has become home to several
film studios of note. When local Laika
Studio’s debut feature Coraline was pushed
out too soon at local name cinemas, it settled
in for a long and fruitful run at Living
Room Theaters. “Laika was very supportive
and they actually brought in a small set and
placed it at the entrance of the theater,” says
Diego. “Portland still has a limited number
of 3D screens and Coraline played in 3D for
just a few weeks before it was bumped by
the next release. We actually wound up
playing it for a very long time because we
were the only theater playing it in 3D after
the mainstream
theaters.”
Rimoch is so satisfied
with Portland’s
response to his
cinema concept
that new plans are
unfolding on the
opposite coast.
“We’re working on
a location in Boca
Raton, Florida, on
the campus for Atlantic
University,” says Rimoch. This new
Classroom/Living Room will not only feature
the cinema’s trademark art house fare
and physical comfort, it will also be another
proving ground for young filmmakers. “The
concept over there is for a new classroom
building. The idea is for the university to
use the theaters for its Film Studies program,
to screen films in their classes during
the days and in the evenings after 5pm and
on the weekends.”
Obviously, though its fans have settled in,
Living Room Theaters won’t be putting its
feet up for a while.
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16
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

TIMECODE
KENNETH JAMES BACON >
creative director, BOXOFFICE Media
We’re in the
hospitality business
The day a movie studio wished it
had stuck to making movies
It was a chilly 38 degrees in Las Vegas on the morning of November
21, 1980. A light breeze moved west across the Strip. For sports
gamblers, the talk of the town that Friday morning was likely the Roberto
Duran/Sugar Ray Leonard rematch scheduled for the following
Tuesday, just two days before the start of the Thanksgiving weekend.
A week prior, sharp punters would have made a nice haul by betting
on Georgia with freshman Herschel Walker running all over Auburn
for the SEC championship. Ronald Reagan was celebrating his stillfresh
victory over Jimmy Carter and The Empire Strikes Back had just
crossed the $200 million threshold.
Five thousand miles away, in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, just
two dozen miles from London, Laurence Rosenthal was putting the
finishing flourishes on his score for a new fantasy film. The London
Symphony Orchestra was set
to begin recording the work
a week hence and the film’s
OH, GODS
Lord Olivier lords overall
producers were thrilled with the from Mount Olympus
themes and music cues Rosenthal
had composed for their
biggest picture to date. What
had been a nearly ten-year struggle
to bring to the screen was
coming to an end, but in Vegas
things were about to heat up.
Tim Connor, supervisor of a
marble and tile setting crew,
arrived at work just a few
minutes after 7:00 a.m., as was
his custom. The hotel that
employed Mr. Connor was one
of the largest in the world and
when he arrived that morning
there were 5000 people occupying the 26-story movie-themed resort.
His first order of business was to check for broken tiles in the Deli
before it opened for the day. When Connor entered the restaurant he
noticed the vague reflection of a flickering light.
Back in Buckinghamshire, the back-breaking work of the lone
special effects artist responsible for the magic to be accompanied
by Rosenthal’s music was complete. Ray Harryhausen had labored
for 18 months to bring to life the creepers and crawlers that would
populate this, his latest fantasy film, originally called Perseus and
the Gorgon’s Head, as outlined by his friend Beverley Cross who had
written Harryhausen’s landmark Jason and the Argonauts. Harryhausen
had considered adapting the Perseus myth a decade earlier but
shied away from it when he realized a hero named Perseus—Percy!—
wouldn’t fly. So the idea lanquished until frequent producing partner
Charles Schneer set up the project with Columbia Pictures, who
promptly dumped it.
continued on page 21
CLASSICREVIEW JULY 1981
CLASH OF THE TITANS
Directed by Desmond Davis / Written by Beverley Cross
's long-planned blockbuster comes to the screen as
MGM more of a bust, a sprawling, lifeless film likely to spell
doom for any future effects films dealing with Greek mythology.
A creation of special effects master Ray Harryhausen, who also
co-produced, Clash fails to deliver any semblance of suspense
or wonderment during its interminable 118-minute running time.
Perhaps some of the blame should fall to director Desmond Davis'
lifeless rendering of Beverley Cross' stilted script, but for the first time
in many pictures Harryhausen's stop-action model work is less than
wondrous.
If anything, the film might serve as a lay text for beginning mythology.
It follows the story of Perseus and his love for the lovely Andromeda,
a love made difficult by the gods of Olympus.
Perseus is the son of Zeus (Sir Laurence Olivier), the product of an
earthly liasion with a mortal woman. Goddess Thetis (Maggie Smith)
is jealous of Zeus' attention to Perseus and angered by the god's
punishment of her own son, the evil Calibos.
With Andromeda as the prize, Perseus is pitted against Calibos.
Also, Thetis has arranged for Andromeda to be sacrificed to the
monstrous Kraken as revenge against Zeus for his turning Calibos into
an ogre.
The bulk of the film follows Perseus as he seeks a way to combat the
gigantic Kraken. With the help of poet
Ammon (Burgess Meredith)
and a mechanical owl named
Bubo (Clash’s answer to R2D2),
Perseus perseveres by cutting
off the head of the horrid Medusa
and turning the Kraken to
stone with its deadly stare
The film is a disappointment
on several levels. Those fans
of Harryhausen’s effects will
be entertained by his unique
creatures, but they seem very
dated in the wake of recent
special effects found in such
films as Star Wars and Alien.
Although the matte photography
is often so obviously
mismatched that small children
can pick out the matte lines, it
won’t matter much. The acting
is so wooden and the pace so slow that most children will either be
asleep or running around the theater by the second reel.
MGM has high hopes for this expensive film, which may have looked
like a real moneymaker five years ago when production began. The
studio has committed the film to an enormous commercial tie-in
campaign which is doomed to suffer when this less-than epic hits the
theaters. Though the filmmakers may have been very earnest in their
attempt to bring mythology spectacularly alive for modern audiences,
they have been betrayed by the same ponderous trappings of the
ancient tales that make them so hard to digest in written form.
Exhibitors may still benefit from MGM’s sizable promotional campaign
and the numerous multimedia tie-ins this film hath wrought. A
display featuring the dreaded Kraken placed in the lobby or at stores
in the area may produce some box office results.
However, the poor word of mouth this film will receive from its initial
patrons will no doubt lessen the impact of any promotion, no matter
how extensive. For all of its lofty ambitions, Clash of the Titans proves
it’s only human. The gods will not be pleased. —David Linck
18
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

CLASSICCOVER > HARRY HAMLIN AS PERSEUS IN CLASH OF THE TITANS JUNE 1981
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
19

TIMECODE > WE’RE IN THE HOSPITALITY BUSINESS
Licensing Effort
MGM Cashing in on Clash Long Before Film Is Screened
By Richard Kahn / June 1981
When we decided to make Clash of the
Titans in November of 1978, MGM
saw it as an excellent opportunity and
vehicle to do a total marketing campaign
that would involve not only the efforts of
ourselves and our distributors, United Artists
and Cinema International overseas, but one
that could also provide a platform for other
advertisers and marketeers to sell their own
wares and to create wares that would be
inspired by this film.
The reason for this thinking was that we
saw the film as the beginning of a new
genre, or the revitalization of a genre that
had not been given much attention in
recent years: the genre of pure fantasy, of
sword and sorcery, of adventures in past
CLASH OF THE
MERCHANDISE
periods of time rather than of time ahead,
such as the adventures in outer space.
We began to position the picture early in
1979; for this reason also the film was ideal
as a merchandising vehicle, for with most
films the lead time from inception of production
to release is as short as 12 months.
Even if there is a compatability between
such a film and possible merchandising,
other manufacturers and advertisers have
such long lead times that they would find
themselves coming into the market three, six
or nine months after the release of the film.
If the film had been successful it might help
the merchandising, but the merchandising
would not necessarily help the film, which
was nearing the end of its distribution cycle
With Clash we felt we had time to develop
a merchandising effort that could be timed
to be executed coincident with the release
of the film, since we had 30 months between
the time we started production and
the release date for the film.
By the time the picture started production
in the Summer of 1979 we had evolved
the basic poster look for the picture. We
framed the poster and sent copies around
the world to editors of science fiction magazines,
to all of the United Artists branches
around the U.S. and all the CIC branches
around the world. We had a poster advertising
our film 26 months before the release
of the film. What we were trying to do was
to create a platform of awareness so that
when the big pre-release advertising campaign
was set off, there would be a cushion
of receptivity.
We didn't expect to achieve the kind of
pre-release advertising awareness comparable
to that generated by a film like
Superman, but if we
could develop a core
of awareness among
the science, space,
sword and sorcery audience,
they would be a
nucleus.
We were also very
fortunate in being
aligned with a filmmaker,
Charles Schneer,
who not only has
a keen grip on the kind
of film and the market
for the kinds of films
he makes, but is also
avery astute and adept
marketeer in his own right.
While we were doing this pre-release work
in the United States, we were doing the
same thing abroad, because the international
market is as important to us as the
domestic market, and for a film like Clash
of the Titans which is readily translatable for
overseas audiences, the foreign market can
be a bonanza.
By the Fall of 1979, when the picture
was being filmed, Al Newman, MGM's
vice president for publicity and promotion,
took a group of potential licensees to the
Pinewood Studios in London to sample first
hand the excitement of the production,
to see some of the early footage and the
wonderful plans for the special effects and
the visual splendor of the movie.
Out of that visit, just under two years prior
to the release of the film, came decisions by
several licensees to get involved. The most
far-reaching was that by Mattel Inc., which
made what was their largest merchandising
commitment to a motion picture: they
are manufacturing a full line of what they
call "male action figures," ranging from the
four-armed monster to the characters in the
movie to swords and shields and Bubo, the
articulated mechanical owl.
Mattel made a carefully calculated
decision to put their merchandise into the
market at the time when the full weight
of the advertising for the film would take
place. That will be the Summer of 1981, not
Christmas of 1981. Their spot TV campaign
is scheduled for July, and merchandise is
already in the stores.
It is one of the few times that a movie and a
major manufacturer have been able to dovetail
their efforts so that both the film and the products
arrive at the market at the same time.
Mattel is just one of the licensees. We
have others that are equally exciting, and
in a number of cases we have been able
to combine the marketing efforts of the
licensee with the efforts of the film itself. …
What is so unusual is not only the number
and range of licensees, but that the whole
merchandizing program is fully operational
at the time of the film's release.
While MGM does not disclose the negative
cost of its films, I can say that the amount of
money being spent in the marketing of the
film by ourselves and our licensing partners
will ultimately be equal to the cost of the film.
We are planning to take advantage of that
with our release plan, which embraces not
only the U.S. and Canada but the entire
world. We open in North America on June
12, and we begin to move around the world
so that by the middle of July we will be in
every major foreign market except Japan,
where the film will be playing at Christmas.
… We plan a 23-day network and local TV
advertising campaign, beginning prior to
opening and extending through June 27.
It's designed to support not just the first
weekend or week of the film but to carry it
all the way into its second month of release.
For exhibitors, we have created not only
the standard exploitation and press kit, but
we've also made up a special retailer tie-in
kit that will enable an exhibitor to work with
local retailers offering Clash merchandise.
The licensing agreements generally call
for a fee to MGM from the licensee, plus an
ongoing royalty, and that revenue is significant.
Equally important to MGM, however,
is the impact that the licensees' efforts will
have in promoting the film itself.
In 1981, Richard Kahn was senior vice president of worldwide marketing for MGM Films. He served as President of AMPAS from 1988 until his death the following year.
20
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

continued from page 18
The Deli was one of six restaurants
on the casino level of the hotel and
none, save the Barrymore Room,
featured what today is considered a
default safety feature in the lowliest
studio apartment: a fire spinkler system.
In Vegas, buildings occupied 24
hours a day were exempt from this
standard requirement as it was felt if
a fire broke out someone would see
and report it. However, this hotel’s
alarm system was local; that is, its
alarms were not connected to any
outside agency, not even Fire Station
No. 11—which sat right across
Flamingo Street from this hotel, the
MGM Grand.
One year prior, Kirk Kirkonian, the owner
of MGM, the motion picture studio, issued
a statement that MGM was now in the hospitality
business. Kirkonian had purchased
the studio in 1969 and installed “the Smiling
Cobra” James T. Aubrey as President. Aubrey
immediately began to sell off real estate and
studio memoribilia—including Dorothy’s
ruby slippers—turning MGM esentially
into an occasional movie studio, but mostly
a film library and hotelier. However, in
CLASSIC AD: DECEMBER 1981
Clash of the Titans producer Charles Schneer was one of
several filmmakers featured in a series of Kodak ads that appeared
in BOXOFFICE in the early ’80s
1977, possibly after seeing the grosses being
pulled in by Star Wars, MGM decided to get
into the big-budget fantasy film business
and casting their eyes about decided that
Perseus and the Medusa’s Head fit the bill. But
that title had to go.
Within six minutes of Connor spotting a
flickering light in the Deli, a fireball blew
out the west doors of the MGM Grand casino
while flames spread across the floor at a
rate of 19 feet per second. The fire, heat and
smoke found every stairwell in the massive
structure and shot up at speeds in excess
of the fastest elevator. Though the
flames rose no higher than the 5th
floor, the super-heated black smoke
encountered no opposition—not
even Zeus—as it rose 20 more
floors.
The story of Perseus, now dubbed
Clash of the Titans, was greenlit in
late 1978 and work began immediately.
Live action elements were
shot in Spain, Italy and Malta after
which Harryhausen began the
ardous task of bringing the stopmotion
creatures to life with the
help of a lone assistant. His work
was completed for MGM just days
before Tom Connor went to work
one cool Friday morning in 1980. By
the end of that day, 85 people had been
killed. Over 700 others were injured. Today,
Las Vegas has the strictest fire codes in the
country and the MGM Grand Fire remains
the second worst hotel fire in U.S. history.
The complex is now known as Bally’s (the
MGM Grand name having been transferred
to the resort a few blocks away). Next
time you’re in Vegas, stop in at Bally’s and
have a drink in the Tequila Bar & Grill, the
former site of the Deli. Look up. I’ll bet you
see sprinklers.
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
21

SPECIAL REPORT
WORLDWIDE
2: Dawn of the Dinosaurs nearly matched Mr. Bones’s
box office, while Avatar has to date brought in $10
million (but that’s just .5 percent of the juggernaut’s
worldwide take). South Africa wants 3D—even if
a full continental rollout still feels as far away as
Pandora.
AFRICA
In June 2008, South Africa had just 17 digital screens.
(Comparatively, the U.S. boasted 4,945.) By the end
of the year, 84 screens had gone digital—11 percent of
the country’s 734 screens. Interest is there, but a year
and a half later, only a handful of the country’s theaters
are equipped to show films in 3D.
Most of South Africa’s bigger cinemas are run by
local company Ster-Kinekor, which has installed
five 3D screens in four South African cities—Johannesburg,
Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town—and
has plans for more. Ster-Kinekor’s main competitor,
fellow South African company Nu Metro Cinemas,
has 14 3D screens across nine locations. These two
companies control over 80 percent of South African
exhibition. CineC has three percent of the market
and the rest of the theaters are independently run.
Money is being spent on urban multiplex cinemas
to keep them up to date, and for metropolitan areas
the transition will happen on pace with Europe.
Still, outside big South African cities, many theaters
are dwindling one or two screen operations. (Interestingly,
over the last decade many have been converted
to churches.) These theaters aren’t focused on
digital—they’re simply trying to stay afloat despite
the rise of pirate cinemas or “video booths.” These
hardscrabble theaters are essentially small rooms
the size of dining halls that show pirated films and
sporting events on a large TV or makeshift screen
and cheap projector. (Outside South Africa, Uganda
alone has an estimated 1,000 video booths.) The
video booth phenomenon shows that Africa has an
under-served appetite for movies, but cost is a factor.
The average ticket price at a real theater costs $2; for
a video booth, the fare is about 38 cents.
But examining the real cinema industry could give
hope to local film producers and exhibitors wondering
if they should take the leap into digital and 3D.
In 2008, the highest grossing film in South Africa
was Mr. Bones 2: Back from the Past, a comedy which
totaled $3,655,844 despite not being released in any
other region. The second highest grossing film that
year, Mamma Mia, made $2,513,158 in South Africa
or .4 percent of its worldwide gross. In 2009, Ice Age
www.sterkinekor.com
www.numetro.co.za
www.shaw.sg
www3.cinema.com.hk
(Broadway Circuit)
ASIA
Many people consider Asia to be the world’s
technological front runner, and when it comes
to employing digitalized state of the art movie theaters,
Asia utilizes leading innovators for the job.
Twelve percent of the 35,000 movie theaters across
China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Indonesia
have been digitalized. With a watchful eye on their
economies, Asian countries are optimistic about their
transition into the digital movie world. Although the
production of 3D films adds an estimated $15 million
to production costs, Asian industry leaders believe
that digital and 3D films are profitable now and will
broaden and diversify their future audiences.
With 70 percent of the market, Asia’s leading
supplier of digitalized projectors is Global Digital
Creations—they’ve installed over 2,500 systems
worldwide. As a distributor, GDC uses VPFs (and
occasionally their own funds) to support the transition,
and for now, five big Hollywood studios—Fox,
Paramount, Sony, Universal and Disney—will make
financial contributions toward the costs of GDC’s
DCI-compliant digital equipment. Together, GDC
expects that 6,000 screens will be converted as a result
of the studio deals.
Many theater chains in Asia are already in preparation
for more digital rollouts, including Broadway
Circuit, UA Cinemas, Blitz Theaters, Ambassador
Cinemas and Shaw Cinemas.
China’s government is helping to fund the digital
transition and has tapped GDC and Barco to lead
the way. After their projectors were used in the 2008
Olympic Games, however, Christie has entered the
market with momentum. They’ve installed 600 projectors
in China and intend to double that within
the year at a growth rate of 400 percent. (After the
Games, Christie donated used digital equipment to
22 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

the Time Antaeus chain of theaters.
In Singapore, the government has agreed to supply
15 percent of the up-front costs for Eng Wah cinemas
to install digital equipment. In Japan, T-Joy Ltd.
is leading the switch, committing to only fully digital
installations in the future and a minimum of two
3D screens per site. To date, Japan has just over 200
digital screens. Still, in South Korea, only 130 of 1996
screens have converted to digital despite an estimate
that 400 screens would have made the switch by the
start of 2010.
Despite the burgeoning interest, 3D and/or digital
movies have yet to gross even ten percent of the
worldwide box office in Asia. Journey to the Center
of the Earth ($9.9 million) and Avatar $136 million)
have come close to breaking through the 3D ceiling,
but for now, Asian exhibitors are aware that as they
get audience interest and funding in line, they’re
playing an enthusiastic game of catch-up.
www.eventcinemas.com.au
www.villagecinemas.com.au
established in July 2008, is helping to fund three
3D films in 2010: Bait 3D, Burning Man, and Blame.
Screen Australia is an ambitious and multi-faceted
funding body designed to support the local film
industry and the contributions it makes to the
country’s economy—that the fund is also backing
3D proves that the country sees value in promoting
the technology. Screen Australia’s first 3D project,
the cheeky science documentary Cane Toads: The
Conquest, premiered at Sundance 2010 to raves. “Welcome
to Avatoad,” joked director Mark Lewis.
Though the Australian film industry is graced with
government support, it also faces a serious piracy
threat. After China, Australia has the highest rates
of film theft. The addition of more 3D movies would
make camcording more difficult. That strong draw,
added to the fact that in 2009, 3D films accounted for
three percent of film releases yet ten percent of the
box office, makes it clear why exhibitors are ready to
take on the rollout if they can get financial help. And
with Discovery, IMAX and Sony’s announcement
last month that they’ll launch a 24-hour 3D television
station in 2011, there’s pressure on Australia’s
exhibition to be fast and first.
AUSTRALIA
Enjoying a $63.2 million (and growing) take, Avatar
is the biggest box office hit in Australian history.
And with James Cameron announcing that he’ll
shoot his next opus, Sanctum, Down Under, the Australian
push for 3D has been rewarded and the industry
is throwing its weight behind the technology.
At the end of 2009, Joseph Peixoto, RealD’s President
of Worldwide Cinema, announced an additional
rollout of 139 3D screens. RealD, the marketleading
provider of 3D films in Australia, made its
deal with local theaters including Australia’s Greater
Union, Event Cinemas, Birch Carroll & Coyle and
Village Cinemas. Edge Digital Technology, the leading
cinema supply company in Australia, will take
on the RealD installation.
With the cost of upgrading to a digitally enabled
and equipped 3D cinema at an estimated US
$100,000 per screen, Australian theater owners want
studios and film distributors to help relieve costs
with a virtual print fee. To date, however, there have
been no agreements completed.
But on the production side, a creative push from
Screen Australia, an Australian government agency
www.cinemark.com.mx
www.cinepolis.com.mx
LATIN AMERICA
Having 5.6 percent of the world’s digital screens
may not sound like a large number. But for
Latin America, what matters isn’t the tally—it’s the
momentum.
The region has seen the fastest growth in the number
of digital screens—a 900 percent increase in only
the past year. In December 2007, the region had only
20 digital screens. Ten months later, it had fifty, or
.7 percent of the global total. Today, they have over
500 screens, and are working to convert more of the
region’s 7,000 screens (roughly 3,000 in Mexico and
4,000 across the South American countries of Argentina,
Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and
Venezuela). The rollout isn’t evenly divided across
the region, but it’s enthusiastic; three-fourths of the
screens are situated in Mexico and Brazil.
The emergence of digital screens in Latin America
shows no signs of stopping.
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
23

SPECIAL REPORT > WORLDWIDE DIGITAL ROLLOUT
Cinemark, Cinépolis and Hoyts have added and
continue to add digital and 3D projectors in the
region. Cinemark has digital screens in 13 of Latin
America’s countries, while Hoyts is popular in Argentina,
Chile, Brazil and Uruguay.
Cinépolis is the world’s fifth largest theater chain.
The Mexican company has marked territory in 61
cities in its homeland, and moved into five other
countries in Central and South America. In 2008,
Cinépolis theaters partnered with RealD and announced
that 500 3D screens would be installed
in their Mexico and Central and South American
theaters through 2010. The influx of new screens
was designed to accommodate more than 30 new 3D
films to be released in 2009 and 2010.
Ticket sales are following suit. In 2008, the 3D releases
of U2 3D and The Nightmare Before Christmas
took in $1.5 million combined. In 2009, My Bloody
Valentine, Final Destination: Death Trip, and The Jonas
Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience grossed $15 million—a
tenfold increase.
The most popular digital manufacturers in the
region are RealD and Dolby. Across every market
in Latin America, each enjoys a roughly 50 percent
share. The exception is Mexico. Dolby doesn’t compete
in the market, allowing RealD to swallow 80
percent of the country’s digital screens, with XpanD
sweeping up the last 20 percent.
Converting to digital in Latin America can cost two
to three times as much in the US because of huge import
taxes. Add to that a lack of government support
found in other regions, no VPF model and the worldwide
credit crunch, and it’s clear what is slowing the
region’s transition. In addition, Mexico and Brazil are
the only big money makers in the small Latin American
cinema market. Since October 2009, there have
been attempts to gain financial support to cover the
cost of a Brazilian projector factory based on the VPF
model, but there is no agreement yet.
However, some theater owners have committed
to—and succeeded in—raising the funds on their
own, while others have hunted for sponsorships.
In Buenos Aires, one Cinemark theater signed the
Coca-Cola Company to sponsor its first 3D screen;
in the same city, Mexican communications giant
Telmex is springing for another exhibitor. Not to
be outdone, cell phone company Movistar is supporting
a screen for the Hoyts General Cinema in
Santiago, Chile.
Additionally, in March 2008, IMAX signed a deal
with Giencourt Investments S.A. to purchase and
install 35 IMAX digital projection systems in Central
and South America and the Caribbean over the next
six years.
Three years ago, Latin America accounted for less
than one percent of the world’s digital screens. Now,
deals such as the recent ones with RealD and Cinépolis
have spurred the digitization process. The only
thing holding Latin America back is the hunt to find
a way to pay for the new equipment. They’re making
great progress, but it’s slower than they’d like.
www.xpandcinema.com
www.hoyts.com.au
www.artsalliancemedia.com
www.europa-cinemas.org
www.ymagis.com
EUROPE
There are roughly 33,000 movie screens across
Europe. By the end of 2008, the number of digital
screens on the continent was 1,529, just under
a third of the U.S. screen count. As of January 2010,
only 2,602—5.7 percent—of Europe’s screens have
been digitally converted, with projections that by
the end of the year, the continent will reach 13.2
percent conversion.
One of the main reasons Europe has put less
emphasis on the digital rollout is that European
cinemas offer less big ticket blockbuster fare—not
substantially so, but enough to have an impact. Individual
countries also support their local filmmakers
and often press for a quota of domestic films in their
theaters; in France, Michael Bay’s latest won’t command
a multiplex.
But European exhibitors aren’t always happy with
the quota system. On February 1, 70 percent of the
theaters in the Catalonia region of Spain went on
strike to protest a bill that requires at least half of
a foreign language film to be dubbed or subtitled
in the Catalan dialect. Exhibitors argue that quotas
hurt rather than help smaller regions. Whether
these strikes will loosen the European governments’
quota systems remains to be seen, but the situation
in Catalonia is one to watch.
A significant percentage of European exhibition
is single screen theaters—8,074 screens, to be exact,
nearly a quarter of the industry. The exhibitors who
run these smaller operations do not have the money
to convert their screens—and because many of them
play local films they also lack the incentive.
Though the desire to digitally convert Europe’s cinema
screens is less fervent than in the U.S., cinemas
that play Hollywood’s first run fare face pressure
to convert. One fear is that Hollywood studios may
eventually stop distributing traditional film reels
altogether; if the major U.S. studios call for exclusive
digital distribution, more than half of European theater
screens would go dark.
This dilemma has now caused the European Commission
to get involved and its MEDIA program has
come up with three possible solutions to help speed
up the transition process.
The Europa Cinemas network currently offers a
bonus reward for those theaters that are digitizing
their screens. One of the Commission’s proposals is
to transform the bonus into an advance subsidy. As
Europa Cinemas is already up and running no new
department would need to be created, thus making
this option the easiest to implement. However, the
24 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

European Commission would need to back the bonus
program with some of its own money.
Another option would create a middleman organization
to perform the digital installations, but that
has the potential to disrupt the market. The final
idea is to set up a line of financing devoted to the
digital transition. The estimated annual budget for
each option is between €5 to 10 million ($7 to $14
million) every year from 2010 through 2013.
There are three major digital cinema network providers
in Europe: XDC, Arts Alliance Media and Ymagis.
XDC is leading the pack with its plan to roll out
more than 8,000 digital screens by the end of 2015.
They have also reached virtual print fee deals with
all of the six major U.S. film studios, which should
greatly speed up the digital transition. An increased
demand for 3D films will also increase the transition’s
speed. In the first half of 2009, screens in Europe
equipped with RealD technology increased by
400 percent to a total to 2,000—over 1/5 th of RealD’s
reach around the globe.
In 2008, the continent that spawned ABBA enjoyed
a huge hit with its digital release of Mamma
Mia, which grossed a total of $350,205,690, or 57.4
percent of its total worldwide gross. Avatar—surprise!—was
2009’s biggest digital smash, raking in
over 35 percent of the flick’s record-breaking box
office.
INDIA
In India, the digital transition has been cautiously
optimistic. Eleven percent of Indian screens are
digitalized and, over the past two years, moviegoers
have gotten into the habit of booking tickets in advance
to ensure that they will have a chance to view
the film in digital and/or 3D.
Still, as Hollywood films make up only 10 percent
of India’s box office, the country isn’t feeling
the same pressure to follow the major Hollywood
studios. Industry experts predict that US films will
comprise 20 percent of India’s ticket sales in the
near future, and one key is the digital and 3D conversion.
Christie has tapped Scrabble Entertainment to provide
India’s largest single digital cinema deployment
in the country. As a part of the deployment plan
and virtual print fee, they will install a total of 1,750
projectors over the next five years at an average of
350 projectors per year, boosted by nonexclusive
VPF contracts with Fox, Warner Bros., Disney, Paramount,
Universal and Sony.
PVR Cinemas, one of India’s largest cinema chains,
www.sterkinekor.com
www.scrabbleentertainment.com
www.nevafilm.ru
www.cinemapark.ru
www.kinostardelux.ru
has a total of 103 digital screens across the country
and will expand to major cities including New Delhi,
Lucknow, Indore, Bangalore and Mumbai. Over the
next three years, Cinepolis Theaters will also invest
$78 million to launch 110 screens across eight cities.
Only grade-A cinemas in highly populated metropolitan
areas receive new releases. This causes problems
for many rural exhibitors as audiences demand
movies that will not be shown in their region. There
is hope, however, that 3D releases will help cut
down on India’s piracy plague.
There are opportunities to tap into India. Digital
releases Ghanjini grossed $34.3 million and another
$38 million worldwide, Singh is Kinng grossed $22.1
million plus $29 million more worldwide and Avatar
has made over more than $20 million to date in
Indian theaters.
RUSSIA
With over 200 digital cinemas in Russia installed
over the past two years (a quarter of
them in Moscow), 3D and/or digital screens have
taken off. The first half of 2009 saw Russia preparing
for what would be a record-breaking 52 digital releases.
Today, digital cinema equipment is installed
in every tenth movie theater in Russia.
The major players are Nevafilm (33 percent of
the market), Kinoproject and Cinemeccanica (both
tied at 18 percent) and ASK (11 percent). They’ve
been installing systems in chains like Cinema Park
and KinoStar, the biggest companies to begin the
conversion. Surprisingly, independent theaters are
leading the charge—more of them have converted
than Cinema Park and KinoStar combined, and Palace
Cinemas has announced that it will help fund
the transition into digital with a VPF. XDC has also
acquired €100 million in global financing through
Fortis Bank, which will allow a rollout of nearly
2,000 digital screens in the first phase of its digital
deployment program.
The most popular digital projector brand in Russia
is Christie. With 55 percent of the market, it leads
the country as the dominant manufacturer.
Locally, Nevafilm Cinemas, which operates nearly
144 screens across 47 Russian cities, has started to
create and distribute digital content through Nevafilm
Emotion, who will showcase ballet films and
documentaries in digitalized movie theaters.
3D movies that have done well in Russia include Ice
Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($40 million) and Final
Destination: Death Trip 3D ($14 million, nearly ten
percent of the worldwide box office).
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
25

SPECIAL REPORT > 3D ON FILM
Why I’m installing Technicolor’s 3D-on-film
Bow Tie Cinema’s co-owner on the controversial technology
Since Bow Tie Cinema’s founder Benjamin
S. Moss opened a nickelodeon
in 1900, the theater chain—and four
generations of the Moss family—have
faced several upheavals: feature-length
films, sound, color, TV and VCRs. It’s
survived, and today co-owner Ben Moss
talks to Boxoffice about the industry’s
latest challenge—the digital conversion.
Bow Tie has just signed a deal with Technicolor
to install 3D-on-film for 25 of its
154 screens. Moss tells Boxoffice why he
took the plunge.
Bow Tie has been around for four generations.
What’s your history been with
3D in the ‘60s and ‘70s?
We experimented with it in a number of locations.
As you may remember, the quality
of the available 3D presentation decades ago
was nowhere near what it is today. While
the concept is the same, the technology that
delivers that concept is light years ahead of
where it was then.
When the first new generation 3D
releases began rolling out, what did
Bow Tie think was the company’s best
move?
We jumped in right away as we saw what
excellent potential the technology had. We
did not, however, convert all of our screens
to digital, as we thought it was too early for
that step. That’s why the Technicolor process
is so important as it gets us through a
potentially serious gap until we ultimately
do convert more screens to digital.
What about Technicolor’s 3D-on-film
system caught your interest?
Since we don’t yet have digital projection on
every one of our screens, it’s a high quality,
cost-effective, quick and efficient way for us
to insure that we are able to play every available
3D film.
Did you have reservations about the
technology?
No.
What made you finally make the call to
install the system?
Without it, there would be a period of time
until we convert the majority of our screens
to digital projection in which we would
likely not be able to exhibit every 3D movie.
How do you see the system functioning
in your theaters? As a temporary
solution or a permanent option?
We see it as a temporary measure that gets
us through a crowded period until we are
certain of the correct path to a digital conversion.
How many Technicolor lenses are you
installing, and how did you decide
where they should be distributed?
We’re installing 25 systems. Some will be
installed in smaller theaters that have no
current 3D capability and others will be installed
along side our digital 3D systems in
complexes where we don’t have a sufficient
number of screens with digital projection
to accommodate all of the 3D films in the
marketplace.
What do you see for the future of 3D?
It’s extremely promising. I think Avatar
has conclusively demonstrated that 3D is
a far greater technology than the ability to
make objects fly out of the screen. I believe
it offers a new and exciting way of making
and seeing films that will have a long and
productive future.
How will Bow Tie handle the releases
from studios that won’t support 3D on
film?
We’ll discuss it with each studio and handle
it on a case by case basis.
Would you encourage other exhibitors
to consider Technicolor?
Absolutely—for the same reasons we are
investing in it.
READY FOR ANYTHING
The digital rollout is underway at Bow Tie Cinemas,
but until it’s complete Ben Moss sees Technicolor’s
solution as a way to screen all the 3D hits
26 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

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CLASSIC AD MARCH 14, 1953

BOXOFFICE > CELEBRATING 90 YEARS

TRIBUTE
10TH ANNIVERSARY
MASS APPEAL
To Cinedigm’s Bud Mayo and Chuck Goldwater, the future is now
By Cole Hornaday
On the wall outside Cinedigm Chairman
Bud Mayo’s office hangs a plaque
engraved with a Ralph Waldo Emerson
quote: “Nothing great was ever
accomplished without enthusiasm.” Emerson’s words touch
the core of Mayo’s lifelong entrepreneurial philosophy, and
they represent the through-line of Cinedigm’s company
culture and vision. Mayo’s enthusiasm has proven infectious
from his early days spent establishing digital exhibitor
software management systems with AccessIT to Cinedigm’s
unprecedented, cooperative efforts to bring cinema into the
digital age.
As an uncannily prescient exhibitor and businessman,
Mayo’s technological foresight dates back to the 1960s.
Selling large-scale computer systems for IBM, Mayo
pulled off the challenging sale by instilling his vision in
THE MAN
WITH THE PLAN
Cinedigm’s Bud
Mayo has spent
five decades on
technology’s cutting
edge
his customers. His product’s viability reached beyond the
imagery of science fiction films—this was the next step in
the technological evolution.
30 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
March 2010

After sales and marketing, Mayo entered investment
banking. In the mid-1990s, he began channeling
his Wall Street savvy into the realm of exhibition.
His first rollout was Clearview Cinemas. “The
idea was to have a geographic concentration
for the theater chain,” says Mayo, “taking
upscale suburban markets and playing a mix
of independent film, commercial cia
product and
family-friendly movies—it was a programming
attitude.” We bring neighbors to the movies was
their company motto, and Clearview Cinemas
was (and still is) one of the largest independent
theater chains in metropolitan New York.
While growing the theater chain, Mayo began
taking a closer look at the viability of film. He noted
the frequency with which the medium’s revenue
would drastically rise and fall with each
advent of competing entertainment nm
technology.
“I started looking and
what I found was that the
big problem was film,”
says Mayo. “There was
no flexibility in film.
That led me—somebody
who’s always been a big
proponent of the use of
technology—to investigate
and begin looking at the
opportunity to utilize digital cinema and whatever that
meant at the time.”
Mayo sold Clearview
Cinemas to Cablevision in the
‘90s and stayed on temporarily as President and CEO,
all the while gathering
g information and formulating
a plan for a less rigid exhibition model. “A great
company like Cablevision combines the use of
technology and content to make their company
stronger and better,”
says Mayo. “They knew how
to attract revenues, to
attract subscribers. I began
to apply that type of
thinking to the vision of what
Cinedigm could become.”
Mayo conceived of a company designed as a
network that gave moviegoers access to digital content
rather than just a new format. “The restrictions that
film produces—the cost, the inflexibility,
scheduling, all of those things
began to evaporate with
digital and be replaced with
digital’s flexibility.”
At the same time, former
film student, lifelong
exhibitor and DCI (Digital
LUCKY NUMBERS
Cinema Initiative) CEO
Chuck Goldwater
discovered he and Chuck Goldwater took
Bud Mayo shared over as Clearview President
the same birthday—
and the same vision and allowed Mayo to
for digital’s future pursue developing his new
company, Access Integrated
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
31

CINEDIGM
Technologies, Inc or AccessIT.
Though initially strangers, Mayo
and Goldwater crossed paths with
great frequency. Over lunch they
discovered they both shared the
same birthday, not to mention
a shared vision for the future of
entertainment. Before long, their
plans for the industry’s future
began to mesh. “I left Cablevision
after a few years when there was
an opportunity to head back to LA
and head up DCI,” says Goldwater.
“AccessIT was getting into motion
for the digital cinema business. Bud
and I had gotten to know each other
very well by then and he made me
an offer, gave me an opportunity
to head up at the time what was
Christie/AIX, what became the
digital cinema deployment division
group.”
While CEO of DCI, Goldwater
was present for a series of
groundbreaking events in the
development of digital cinema.
From the back row of the old Warner Pacific Theatre on Hollywood
Boulevard, Goldwater sat rapt as cinematographic luminaries like
Daryn Okada and Alan Davio put the STEM (Standardized Test
Evaluation Material) digital camera-testing program through its
paces. “They shot on film, the same scene in different conditions:
lighting, time of day, fog, rain, on the back lot at Universal,” recalls
Goldwater. “Then they projected it in different film formats against
the digitized versions and satisfied
themselves that the digital cinema
technology that was being created
and proposed could become the
new standard for movies, as well
up to their standards of film.” As a
former film student, Goldwater was
reeling.
“It was an extraordinary process.
Sitting back, watching these
projection tests with these Academy
Award-winning cinematographers
and all the studio technical
executives—sometimes all of us
focused on one square inch of the
screen, knowing I’m watching
the birth of this new technology,”
Goldwater recalls. In 2005, Mayo
invited Goldwater to sign on as
AccessIT’s CEO and President.
Hunting for new life in the
burgeoning digital marketplace,
Mayo kept close tabs on two
former members of MGM
animation, Jonathan Dern and Paul
Sabella. With their company SD
Entertainment, Dern and Sabella
had resurrected the tradition of
the weekly Saturday afternoon
children’s matinee with their costefficient,
satellite-direct family
fare. Kidtoons drew on the solid
relationships SD had established
with big IP owners like American
Greetings, Hasbro and Hit
Entertainment, and worked with
high-profile brands like Tonka,
Candyland and My Little Pony.
“With the vertical integration
happening and the studios owning
networks—and, therefore, the
networks wanting to own the
content—we couldn’t get on the
air,” says Dern. “We invested in
producing all of these great shows
in long form as movies, but they
all were going direct to DVD, so we
decided to bring back the matinee.
But that kids’ matinee business
model didn’t make sense until the
world went digital.”
As Kidtoons proved successful,
SD began expanding its network
beyond children’s programming,
exploring anime, live performance and faith-based content. “All
of a sudden we really started to grow. The company really needed
to expand—I was either going to have to hire a big staff or I was
going to need to use the services of what was Cinedigm,” says
Dern. “Bud and I shared the same vision—I think he had it a little
bit before I did—so we teamed up. I became President of Cinedigm
Entertainment Group and hired somebody on the SD Entertainment
side to take my place. We moved the
Cinedigm staff over with me and
now we’re a pretty hot commodity.”
With Dern’s help, the company
spent 2000 to 2005 establishing
a digital network that eventually
encompassed four separate
divisions: Digital Cinema, Media
Services (satellite delivery systems),
Cinedigm Software and the Content
and Entertainment Group. Mayo’s
vision to bring new flexibility
to film and cinema had reached
critical mass. In 2007, Cinedigm
began Phase One of its multi-screen
digital deployment process and
spearheaded the conversion of
nearly 4,000 screens across the
country.
“The plan was to convert
100 percent of the screens in a
multiplex,” says Mayo. “Not just
one or two screens. It’s always
100 percent of the screens so that
theater is completely digital and is
completely networked to a library
management server with single
point of delivery into that library
32 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

DOREMI’S DIGITAL CINEMA SERVERS
INFINITE SOLUTIONS
THINK “INSIDE” THE BOX.

CINEDIGM
management server.” That server
would have enough storage capacity
to hold every movie scheduled to
play in that multiplex along with all
trailers and advertisements—a total
turnkey operation where everything is
accessible at the touch of a button.
In an effort to avoid constructing a
digital fiefdom, Cinedigm’s agreement
with exhibitors included access to
their multi-platform software. “Our
software is totally agnostic,” says Mayo.
“We don’t care whose projector, whose
media server is used as long as we’ve
tested and validated it and it’s on our
approved list. That allows all of the
hardware vendors to participate, provided they’re competitive and
can provide the service that is needed after the installation.”
The successful relationships Mayo and Cinedigm had nurtured
with studios, exhibitors, lenders and the public helped ensure that
Phase One of the digital deployment plan worked well. Mayo credits
a great deal of Phase One’s success to Cinedigm’s network of 24/7
support staff. “The staff was already in place and we were able to use
it as a supplementary help desk throughout the conversion process,”
says Mayo. “Exhibitors were able to call somebody on the phone any
time of the night or day and have them walk through how to make
this happen, how to make it work.”
This immediate connection between support staff and clientele
also helped fine-tune their model. “Throughout this process we
learned things about how to make the software more user-friendly,”
says Mayo. “It was not only tested in the field, but the field helped to
create it and make it simpler, more foolproof and more functional.
Without having a 24/7 help desk we could not have done the
conversion.”
Unfortunately with the downturn in the economy Cinedigm’s
CHILDREN ARE OUR FUTURE
President of Cinedigm Entertainment Group, Jonathan Dern,
started up Kidtoons with partner Paul Sabella, paving the way for
Cinedigm’s robust digital network
plans for Phase Two— geared to cover
another 10,000 screens—encountered
a temporary slowdown. “Because of the
credit crunch over the past few years,
what should have been happening in
2008 will happen in 2010,” says Mayo.
“We’re in a relatively very quiet period.
We did very few conversions in 2008
and 2009; in 2010 and toward the end
of 2009, things started to pick up pretty
dramatically.”
Despite the setback, Mayo feels great
optimism for the future of Cinedigm and
its constituents. “We see tremendous
growth in the use of our delivery system
and the size of our network,” says Mayo.
“We see reaching every theater in the US and Canada and eventually
beginning to look outside of the continental United States to create
that network for delivery. We also see huge opportunity on the
content side, distributing all kinds of alternative content—and
being that we own the only 3D live network in the world of any size,
I’m excited by the number of 3D opportunities for live events.”
Decades ago, Bud Mayo was troubled by the future of film: its
inflexibility, the empty seats and the growing competition from
other mediums. Through his undying enthusiasm to change and
improve the quality of exhibition, he and his company have helped
to bring about an evolution in the very nature of entertainment.
“From the earliest days of Edison until today—more than
a century later—technology has continually contributed to
improving the movie-going experience,” says Goldwater. “Whether
it’s filmmakers using new tools to find new ways to create and tell
their stories, or exhibitors and distributors enhancing the moviegoing
experience, it’s all an extraordinary catalyst for enhancing the
movie-going experience. And that, to me, has always been the real
magic to the movies.”
FROM THE BRIDGE
The monolithic Cinedigm library management
server set against a sample dashboard screen of
Cinedgim’s Theatre Command Center Software,
the most used theatre management system (TMS)
in the world.
34 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

No applause cues necessary.
Congratulations to
Bud Mayo and
Chuck Goldwater
of Cinedigm
on 10 years of
outstanding achievements
in advancing the digital cinema industry
From all of your friends at
NEC Display Solutions
and Ballantyne Strong

TRIBUTE
10TH ANNIVERSARY > GLOBAL DIGITAL CREATIONS
To preserve and promote
GDC founder Dr. Man-Nang Chong on the power of digital to protect Hollywood’s past—
and ensure its future
On behalf of the digital and 3D industry,
Boxoffice salutes Global Digital
Creations on ten successful years during
which GDC has become the largest supplier
of cinema servers throughout Asia, as well
as the second-largest provider worldwide. As
GDC enters its 11 th year, it has committed its
funds, technology and service to the industry,
and the rewards have been great: GDC
ranks among the world’s top three digital
cinema server manufacturers and enjoys an
astonishing 70 percent market share in Asia.
And they’ve just opened their first stateside
THE LONG MARCH
GDC has devoted itself to
the digital rollout for over a
decade
office in Burbank,
California.
“The last ten years
have been like thirty
years for me, or
maybe even more,”
jokes Founder and
CEO Dr. Man-Nang
Chong. “There’s
no chance for me
to feel that GDC is
a powerful company—far
from it.”
Working to please
studios, exhibitors
and his own employees
doesn’t
leave much time for
self-congratulation.
Instead, let the numbers
talk:
GDC has installed
more than 2,500
servers worldwide
that have handled
2.5 million screenings
of over 400
full-length features.
They’re the oldest
digital cinema
server manufacturer
in the industry, and
are still willing to
reach into their own
pockets to convince
others that the future
is digital—and
that the future can
be now. In 2007, GDC utilized its own funds
to deploy 450 2K digital cinema screens in
China without any bank loans.
“We’ve been working very quietly to help
contribute to the move from 2D to 3D and
from celluloid to digital,” says Chong, “I’m
really proud that we play a part in these
two paradigm shifts—and they’re happening
concurrently, which makes things very
exciting.”
Chong is a lifelong movie-lover. When
he started his sixth year at school, he was
finally allowed to go to the movies alone,
and he took full advantage of the freedom. “I
remember getting really excited to have the
money for the ticket,” he recalls. “Re-releases
were so cheap, I could see one movie a day.”
The classics were his favorite. And as he
grew older and earned his PhD in electronic
and electrical engineering at the University
of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, he
stayed interested in what his inventions
could do for the industry. While a professor
back at the Nanyang Technological
University in his native Singapore, Chong
started working on ways to use digitizing to
remove dirt and noise from old film prints,
but found that the technique required a lot
of processing power. He approached Texas
Instruments, which helped him build giant
processors that could handle the work.
In 1996, TI announced a worldwide contest
in Digital Signal Processing. Chong
entered and beat out university teams
from around the globe. His first prize was
$100,000 and phone calls from major studios
and post-production houses who asked
for his help in restoring their prints of Casablanca,
James Bond flicks and those directed
by his favorite: Hitchcock. Chong named his
restoration process Revival and in 2000, sold
the company to US-based Da Vinci Systems
(which still uses Revival today).
It was during his years promoting Revival
that Chong discovered his next project.
“I was visiting the studios and the postproduction
houses in Los Angeles, so I met
many early pioneers in digital technology,”
Chong recalls. Then came the big 1998
announcement of electronic projectors. “I
looked and thought, ‘This should be the future.’
Restoration seemed to be yesteryear’s
thing—studios never seemed to be that interested.
I embraced digital technology.”
But the industry was slow to join him and
his newly formed GDC.
“I started making digital cinema servers and
I thought that this could be a huge savings—
and there wouldn’t be any more scratches
on the pictures. But it took me eleven years,
from 1999 to now,” says Chong. “I thought
that the world would love digital entertainment,
but I underestimated the economy, the
politics behind studios and lenders.”
36 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

CLASSIC AD NOV. 28, 1942
PLAY IT AGAIN
As an engineering professor,
Dr. Chong met the industry when
his invention, Revival, was
the top pick to restore
Casablanca and other classic
Still, the company kept charging forward.
They began with the USB1.0 and IEEE1394
Firewire. In 2001, GDC shipped the first
software based MPEG2 Interop server,
which enabled customers to upgrade to
GDC servers to DCI JPEG2000 while retaining
the MPEG2 capability for independent
producers and OSA application. Now, they
work off of the USB2.0 and plan to premiere
the USB3.0 by the end of 2010.
In 2005 and 2006, GDC was selected by
Sony to market its 4K projector in Asia.
In union with Sony, demonstrated the
Sony-GDC 4K cinema solutions in Seoul,
Taipei, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and
Singapore, and have been shipping digital
cinema servers that are ready to support 4K
digital cinema content.
“I guess we survived because we could
adapt,” notes Chong. “Digital cinemas have
been evolving—some companies are like
Jurassic Park—they can’t survive the evolutions.
It’s never-ending. It’s a lot of hard
work.”
As well as these accomplishments, GDC
has been selected for Cinedigm’s Phase 2
and Digital Cinema Korea (DCK) deployments
which are sponsored by the Hollywood
VPF program. In 2009 alone, GDC
signed virtual print fee deals with five
major Hollywood studios for 6,000 screens
across Asia
“I would like the world to know that GDC
is playing a part in advancing digital,” says
Chong. “Not just technically, but financially—and
in providing the best service
possible for our audience here.”
At ShoWest 2010, GDC plans to showcase
their SX-2000 digital cinema server with
Integrated Media Block. Following their
design philosophy of seamless upgrades
and migrated paths, this server can be
integrated into DLP Cinema Series 2 projectors
while retaining the features and user
interface of its existing SA-2100 servers.
They’re also currently completing the design
for the DLP Cinema Series 2 projectors
with enhanced 4K DLP Cinema technology,
while working to provide even better support
for D-Box 4D technology, Closed Caption
systems, live 3D broadcasts, storage
capacity and multi-lingual user interfaces.
“I think the first time we stop innovating,
that will be the end of GDC,” says Chong.
“We like to continue to listen and innovate
and contribute to the industry. The long
march has not ended yet—we’re maybe
halfway. I’m not a Communist, by the way,”
he laughs.
In 2008, less than 100 screens in Asia
were able to show Journey to the Center of the
Earth in 3D. Hong Kong, GDC headquarters,
had only ten; now it has 40. In 2009, Asia’s
digital deployment was geared towards 3D
digital cinema in anticipation of Avatar,
and, as GDC looks toward 2010, they expect
another 1,000 digital cinema screens to be
added in China alone.
“I’m still proud of collecting the box office
for James Cameron,” says Chong. “Avatar
is really the first film that could smash
the dam and get all the water flowing
through. I hope James is able to make the
second Avatar as quickly as possible to help
me sell more servers.”
But from his perspective, the rest of the
world is still waiting for the States to push
through their rollout. “We first need to convince
the exhibitors in the states to convert
to digital. The rest of the world is just icing
on the cake,” says Chong. “I’d like to see a
complete paradigm shift before all my hair
turns gray,” he jokes. “I started GDC with
black hair, really dark black, and now I’m
70 percent gray!”
“I must say that movies are the best form
of entertainment that can be shared by
everybody—this is the closest thing shared
in our civilizations. Not everyone can buy
a Ferrari, but everyone can see Titanic,” says
Chong, glad that GDC can promote his love
of watching movies big and clear in a movie
theater. “I feel that this is something contributing
to the civilizations. Everybody gets
to share the big screen and the big story—I
hope that movies will be here for many
years to come.”
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
37

BIGPICTURE
CLASH OF THE TITANS
HAIL THE CONQUERING
LOUIS
LETERRIER’S
TITAN-IC
QUEST
French director Louis Leterrier can handle giants. For his last film, 2008’s The Incredible Hulk, he
faced down one of America’s biggest and greenest. But Clash of the Titans is a whole different
monster—or really, a dozen of them, from killer scorpions to snake-headed gorgons. Leterrier tells
BOXOFFICE about bracing himself to re-sculpt his cinematic icon and why he hopes his multiplex
blockbuster will get fans to—gasp!—pick up a book.
By Amy Nicholson
Do you remember the first time you saw the original Clash
of the Titans?
Very much so. I was eight when I saw it. It was the first time I went
to see a magical movie with my parents in the theater. I was born in
France and I missed the first Star Wars. My first Star Wars experience
was Empire Strikes Back, which was afterward. So the first movie I
saw with that ‘Wow!’ impression was Clash of the Titans. It changed
my life. Before that, I’d seen Disney movies, but this one was like,
‘Real people! With flying horses!’ The creatures, actually, were really
scary for an 8 year old. I remember that date extremely, perfectly
well.
And now you’re shooting your own version.
Frankly, when I started directing, I never thought I would get to do
this type of movie. So when the opportunity arose and they told me,
‘Lets make this movie, Clash of the Titans—do you know it? We’d
like you to remake it,’ that was jarring because I’d be remaking one
38
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

THE GREATEST SHOW ON OLYMPUS
“I don’t know if when I’m 55 I would have the
energy,” says Leterrier of his gargantuan job
of my favorite movies of all time. Which
was so scary, but at the same time I realized
that I would never be offered a similar opportunity.
At that exact time in my life as
a director—I was 33 when that happened
to me—I’m in love with this movie. And I
don’t know if when I’m 55 I would have the
energy. It takes a lot of energy and stamina.
So I said, ‘Lets do it! Lets go crazy!’ But I just
want to be respectful of the original. That
was my main thing: being respectful of the
original.
And as the original has such a definitive
style, how did that affect you as
you brainstormed your vision? Did you
feel like you had the freedom to find
your own way?
I very much had the freedom to find my
own way. The screenplay that I was working
on at the beginning was actually quite, quite
different from the original. It reinforced
my positive feeling to go forward because if
they allowed this screenplay to be written,
maybe I can change it a couple of times.
Change this, change that to reinforce the
emotional motivation and make it my Clash
of the Titans while being extremely respectful
of the Desmond Davis, Ray Harryhausen
version.
You’ve said that today’s superheros
are inspired by the Greek myths—that
those myths are the origin of everything.
Being brought up in France, it was mandatory
to take either Greek or Latin—we learned
classic mythology tales in class, so I know
all the mythological tales. And you put
them in the back of your mind. Of course
studying filmmaking, you read
The Hero’s Journey and you put
them back in your mind. You
know that these movies were
done in the ‘50s and ‘60s and
Clash was the last one in the
‘80s, but nowadays no one
goes to see a girl wearing
a toga and a man
wearing a skirt running
around. I thought
that we could never do
that stuff. But when we
were working on Hulk,
everything we were
talking about when we
were writing was Greek
mythology. These were
our references—we were
looking at Greek myths.
We finished the Hulk in
a pantheon with Greek
columns—actually, more
Roman than Greek—but
it was because they
were gods. The superheros
are the gods, the
modern demigods.
When I was offered
this movie, I was
like, ‘Yes! It’s so
natural. I know
exactly what
you’re talking
about—and I
think I know
a way to make
it modern.’ Not to make that
classic sword-and-sandal
movie with the guys with the long flowing
hair and the gods wearing togas on smoky
sets.
What makes Greek heroes feel modern
today is that in Greek mythology,
‘hero’ doesn’t mean you’re a great guy
who does amazing things. It means you
have complications and tragedies—
even the gods are good and bad.
It’s fantastic. If you look at the gods or
heroes, there’s a flaw in each character.
That’s what makes a man a hero. Normal
do-gooders, polite women, they’re not put
on a pedestal. It’s only the people that went
against the system that had stories written
about them. Persephone went to hell and
back. People who led a careful life and were
fearful of the gods weren’t that interesting
to the poets of the time. That was my base.
Perseus is a good guy, but he doesn’t start as
a hero. He’s not an antihero, either. He just
doesn’t know yet that he has this thing in
him. He needs to be poked to realize that.
You’re always asked what other Marvel
comic books you’d like to direct,
but I’d like to know which Greek
myths you want to do.
If this movie is successful, I’d love to
incorporate the other Greek myths
into sequels. Let’s bring in Icarus,
let’s bring in Persephone, let’s
bring in everybody. Let’s make it
beautiful. It’s comparable
and not comparable
at the same time, but
if you look at Lord of
the Rings, there’s so
many interesting
characters in this
world. Aragon,
Frodo, Arwen—
you could make
a beautiful movie
about each of
these characters,
but instead they
made one with all
of them. To bring
Icarus, Jason, Hercules
and make it
an ensemble piece,
that’s what I’d love to
do. My dream is in 30 years
when my grandson is about to
learn about Greek mythology in
class, they’ll say, ‘Here is a series
BLOODY AWFUL GIFT
As Perseus, Sam Worthington totes the
head of Medusa
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
39

BIGPICTURE
CLASH OF THE TITANS
TELL ME, MUSE
Lettier works out a very wet scene
of movies to get you excited!’ I remember
the movies that were shown were always
boring movies. Let’s show something semirealistic
that depicts Greek mythology and
at the same time has these great action
sequences and beautiful heroic women and
men. Smarts, wits and action and adventure.
My seventh grade teacher showed us
the original Clash of the Titans—it’s
one of the things I remember most
about being twelve.
Hopefully, this movie will get people to
open books again and read more mythology.
It’s fun and it’s exciting—there are great
tales of heroism and humanity. In a world
where gods are guiding our presidents’ decisions,
it’s good to see that there were gods
before and they doubted each other and
mistreated each other. In a way, to look into
your present and future, you have to look
into your past.
One of my favorite quotes I’ve ever
read is while everyone thinks only of
Icarus falling, they forget that for a
while, he also flew.
That’s beautiful. And Icarus’ father Daedalus
created the labyrinth that held the Minotaur.
It’s all related. I’d love to do Icarus—I’d
love to see the rise and fall of Icarus. He’s the
perfect hero. It’s amazing. Can’t wait to do
Clash 2, if we get there.
What’s your approach to shooting action?
I always put myself in the movie seat. Before
3D, I always had stuff coming at the camera.
I always put the audience in the middle of
the action. You’re over the shoulder during
a sword fight, you’re in between a scorpion
and Perseus, you’re flying alongside Pegasus.
The camera is always moving. That’s how
I’d describe my camera style when it comes
to action—even when it comes to drama.
I don’t like those long, long lenses that
remove the audience. They look beautiful,
but they remove me as an audience member
from everything. I want to be part of the action,
part of the drama, part of it all.
You’ve worked with Jason Statham
twice—what else does he need to be
the world’s biggest action star?
Hair. [Laughs] No, he needs to get the right
projects. He’s a great guy—I can’t wait
to work with him again—but our paths
haven’t crossed because he’s always busy.
In order to be Bruce Willis, in the ‘80s,
Bruce Willis was doing different kinds of
stuff. I think what Jason did two years ago
in The Bank Job was completely fantastic—
there was physical stuff, but he was relying
on his comedy skills. He’s a fantastic actor
and he needs more of a mixed platter on
his resume than action, action, action. He’s
hilarious. Jason is so smart and funny and
tender. I feel like I’ve used the right Jason—
and Guy Ritchie has used the right Jason—
in movies. In Transporter, we were using his
tenderness, wits and physicality. The same
thing in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
But the other stuff is just using the ‘Grrr!’
side of Jason.
The Crank films I love because he’s a
manic, angry Buster Keaton—those are
almost silent comedies.
Crank is great—I love Crank. It’s an experience!
I can’t wait to work with Jason again.
And Sam Worthington has become the
go-to muse for big action films. Why?
Because he’s fantastic. I’d never seen a single
frame of Avatar when I met him, a single
frame of Terminator: Salvation. What I’d seen
was this beautiful, great tender actor from
this Australian movie called Somersault. I
saw that and thought, ‘I can’t wait to meet
this guy.’ He was working with James Cameron
and another film that was like a Bourne
drama, so I realized he must also be physical.
I had to meet him and it was instantaneous,
like love at first sight. The humility, the
charisma, the physicality—actors are not
born buff. They have to train to become athletes.
Just the perfect Perseus—completely
different from any Perseus I had imagined. I
thought that Perseus would be this guy with
long, black hair—not this short guy with
an Australian accent. He changed my mind,
just convinced me. He’s just a great actor
because he commits to everything he does,
whether it’s the emotion or the comedy or
the fights. For very, very dangerous stuff
like fire and high jumps we would use the
stunt men, but the rest was all Sam. Sam just
jumping up, jumping down. The first scene
we started shooting was the Medusa scene
and I broke him, I broke my actor. Sweat
and tears at the end of the first week. And he
said it was the hardest work he’d ever done
and the best time ever. And for me, also. I
hugged him and thanked him so much. It
was pure, great cinema. I knew I could now
start seeing the movie. It was week one and
I knew we had the movie. Thank you, Sam!
And then we had Mads Mikkelson, Danny
Huston, Nicholas Hoult—not to mention
the heavies, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes,
Pete Postlethwaite, Polly Walker, Vincent
Regan—this is an amazing dream come true
cast. It’s humbling. When would they realize
I was a fraud? When would they realize
I was a guy who walked into the studio one
day, sat down in a chair and said ‘Action!’ I
was really afraid, but they were just fantastic.
For a moment, there was talk of releasing
Clash in 3D?
It was on, then it was off. So I did an interview
saying, ‘No, no, no, it’s not going to
happen.’ But now it’s back on.
It’s back on?
We’re doing some tests. The problem is,
we want to do it right. We’re going along
with it and we’re doing a lot of tests by the
people that actually did some of the shots
in Avatar. In Avatar, some stuff was shot
continued on page 42
40
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

Sony 4K. Now playing.
The industry is moving to 4K, and the clear leader is Sony. Theaters have chosen
Sony 4K digital cinema projection systems for over 11,000 screens, and counting.
Studios continue to support 4K with more and more releases. And audiences
love Sony 4K and notice the quality difference over 2K, even on small screens.*
Sony 4K also projects 3D without triple-flash artifacts. Where do you turn for
proven, deliverable 4K? Only Sony.
click: sony.com/4K to schedule a product demonstration
Introducing Sony’s latest
4K Projector: the SRX-R320.
*Parker Marketing Research, March 2009. A total of 157 respondents viewed clips and still images in 2K and 4K on a 20-foot screen but were neither told of the
difference nor that the study was conducted by Sony. They used handheld key pads to quantitatively provide feedback without interacting with one another.
© 2009 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.
Features and specifications are subject to change without notice. Sony and the Sony logo are trademarks of Sony.

BIGPICTURE
CLASH OF THE TITANS
Louis Leterrier continued from page 40
in 3D and some stuff was shot with a very
wide lens. It’s very interesting—I’ve yet to
see the results, but frankly, I shot it better
than I would have shot a 3D movie because
I never thought I would do it as a 3D movie.
Everything is coming at the camera. So if we
do the 3D conversion and it looks good, it’s
going to be such a ride. Everything is going
to come right at your face. It’s going to be a
pretty dynamic movie. (Ed. note: As we went
to press, Warner Bros. announced that the
film will be released in 3D.]
I like that. There’s so much talk about
how the new 3D is immersive—instead
of jumping out at you, it pulls back.
But I kind of like it when it jumps out
at you.
If you like big rides, you’re going to be
thrilled with this movie because it’s going
to take you everywhere. You’ll be going
through the tentacles of the Kraken, following
the Pegasus for three seconds and
then the claw of a scorpion is going to snap
right at you—jump right out. It’s going to
be pretty exciting. But it’s also a rating issue
because now it gets really scary, really impressive.
I hope it’s good. I’m excited—really
excited.
I heard you met with Ray Harryhausen?
No, never, never, never. I talked to him a
few times and wanted to meet him, but as I
understand, he never really loved the idea
of remaking this movie with CGI technology.
I was trying to convince him that I
was the right guy and I would be respectful,
but he’s 88. He wants to have a peaceful
life and I didn’t want to bug him too
much. I hope he gets to see the movie and I
hope I get to meet him—I just want to kiss
the ring. That would be great. To say, ‘Mr.
Harryhausen, I’m a huge fan. Thank you
very much.’
What do you want people to talk
about after they’ve seen your version?
I want people to open books and read mythology.
That’s what I want. I want them to
say, ‘This was great, I loved the action!’ and
then their parents or their cousins or their
aunts to tell them that this universe has
some great stories. Then they’ll be like you
and me, Amy: Greek nerds.
What’s next for you after Clash?
I don’t know yet because I’m working seven
days a week. It’s been a great, long, but for
this kind of movie, short-ish ride. I’ve just
been concentrating on Clash. That’s the way
I like to do my movies: one at a time, pouring
my heart and soul into doing it. I’d love
to revisit this universe—it’s fantastic.
MADS AS HELL
How to fight a Kraken—
with a little Hollywood
magic
In Denmark, actor MADS
MIKKELSON is a star. Here,
he’s about to break out into
the stratosphere with his second
major Hollywood role
after his turn as the villainous
poker player, Le Chiffre,
in Casino Royale. After
James Bond, what’s it like
to battle a giant scorpion?
Mikkelson talks to BOXOF-
FICE about taking on his first
CGI role in a god and monster-controlled
world where
humans are small, squashable
and ready for revenge.
LOOKING AT ME,
KRAKEN?
Mads Mikkelson as the
cynical soldier Draco
Your character Draco is new—he wasn’t in the original. What can you tell me
about him?
He’s a retired soldier, a Praetorian guard. And he’s being dragged into this suicide mission
to save the princess [Gemma Arterton] by Perseus—he’s going on this mission against his
own will. He’s definitely not believing that Perseus has a plan—he thinks he’s got a much
better plan.
So he enters this mission thinking that he’s doomed.
Definitely. It’s a suicide mission. What else could it be with human beings fighting the
Kraken? It’s impossible. So he’s definitely going towards his own doom, his own death,
and he knows it. But he’s got orders; he’s a soldier. There’s nothing else they can do. They
just want to take the princess, hide in the city and wait it out. But nobody is listening to
him and there’s nothing he can do about it. continued on page 48
42
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

BIGPICTURE
CLASH OF THE TITANS
GET KRAKEN
Turn patrons into demigods
and your ticket sales will soar
Clash of the Titans is a carnival
for all ages—those old enough to
love the original, and the young first
discovering the blockbuster magic of
Greek mythology. Why not celebrate
with a real carnival where you
encourage your patrons to discover
their inner conquering demigod?
One easy idea is a Kraken-slaying
balloon pop. Stuff winning tickets
for a free trinket, soda or popcorn—
maybe even a free ticket—inside a
few dozen balloons and test your
audience’s skills and luck at 25 or 50
cents a pop (or for free if you think
your employees won’t get deluged).
A different take is simply colorcoordinating
your balloons to a prize
so sharp-shooters can show off their
stuff.
If you want the whole multiplex to
feel like Mount Olympus, host the
weekend as a three day toga party
with a free concession for anyone
who shows up wrapped in a sheet.
Before one of your biggest showings,
announce a costume contest with
a pair of free tickets for the winner
(bonus points if they can down a Coke
with the speed of Animal House’s
John Belushi). Find a pair of foam
swords and in case of a tie, you can
have the winners defend their title
with a duel.
For the artsy crowd, the stop-motion
magic of the original deserves a nod.
Frame a table in the lobby with stills
of Ray Harryhausen’s best triumphs
and commission your patrons to
sculpt their favorite mythological
monster out of Play-Doh. Display
their genius throughout the film’s run
and your theater has made a fan for
life—and scored good will points that
will pay off if (or really, when) Clash
returns with a sequel.
Mads Mikkleson continued from page 46
What’s his relationship like with
Perseus?
First of all, Perseus is the guy bringing him
on this mission. If Perseus wasn’t there,
things would be nice. Their relationship is
not good. Secondly, Perseus is a demigod.
And if there’s one thing Draco hates, it’s
gods. It’s not starting out easily for those two
guys.
Why does Draco hate the gods?
That’s a story that will be revealed during
the film, but basically, all human beings
have a hard time with the gods. They’re
fighting the gods, resisting the gods, trying
to take over their own lives. He’s definitely
one who believes that the gods have had too
much control.
So this is a story about human
independence?
I would say. In a lot of ways, it’s about our
relationship with religion, our relationships
with gods. And what is freedom.
What attracted you to the project?
The script. I found it interesting. Then I met
the director, Louis, and he was extremely
enthusiastic and very vivid when he was
talking. He was getting up and showing
everything with his arms, really getting into
character himself. I thought, ‘This is a good
start—there’s really good energy in this
place.’
I heard you have a dance background—
does that help you prepare to do
action scenes?
I’m not dancing on the way to my part! All
things like reading a script again and again,
sitting down with the director help you
understand a character. Is he fast? Is he slow?
In this case, we knew we were going to be
fairly physical: jumping around, fighting
scorpions, a lot of running and fighting with
swords. Obviously I had to wake up very
early.
When you shot Casino Royale, you
avoided seeing the original. And here,
you also haven’t seen the original Clash
of the Titans.
I know! It was really big in the ’80s but for
some reason, it went under my radar. I’d
never heard of it. Maybe I was just occupied
watching Bruce Lee films when I was
younger.
Were you one of the only people on
set who hadn’t seen it?
I think I was one of the only ones, yeah.
There were a lot of jokes about the previous
film that I didn’t get—I had no idea
whatsoever. It’s probably so different from
the original that it’s not a must.
Now that shooting is over, will you
sit down with your kids and watch it
together?
I think I will, eventually. It wasn’t like, ‘Oh,
I’m not going to see it until I’m done!’ It
wasn’t an actor thing. I just didn’t have it, so
I didn’t see it. There wasn’t a rule like I was
so much into my own part that I couldn’t
watch.
I remember the first film I saw you in,
The Green Butchers [Denmark, 2003].
You had shaved a receding hairline in
your head and everyone was shocked
because you’d just been named the
Sexiest Man in Denmark. But this is
your first film with elaborate CGI.
I’ve done some big American films before,
but I’ve never acted on a green screen beside
an enormous creature that wasn’t there. I
was one of the lucky guys. Fighting a giant
scorpion, I had this thing that I could ride.
A lot of the other guys didn’t have anything.
Only the wind—they were fighting against
nothing. I was lucky.
Did your acting style change when
you were in scenes with imaginary
monsters?
Mostly, scenes are scenes. Mostly, you’re
interacting with actual people. Here, I had a
lot of scenes with Sam [Worthington]. Some
scenes with Gemma and the other guys. It’s
real, normal, acting scenes between people.
It’s nice to have something where you
can impact the movie. But in scenes when
something’s not there, that’s the way it is.
And after a couple of days you get used to it,
but it’s a big challenge to imagine something
that’s not there. It becomes a fun game.
What do you picture in your head when
you’re fighting something invisible?
They made a big deal out of showing us
animation of what they were planning
to do. You have a fairly good idea what
Medusa would look like, or the Kraken.
The scorpions. They’ll put an eyeline for us,
but once you go through all these levels of
what’s supposed to be, that’s part of acting.
You imagine what is there. It’s magic, this
acting!
44
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland opens March 5, 2010
2010
2011
2012
DATE DISTRIBUTOR TITLE
03.05.10 Disney Alice in Wonderland
03.19.10 Warner Bros. Hubble 3D
03.26.10 Paramount How to Train Your Dragon
04.02.10 Warner Bros. Clash of the Titans
04.16.10 Sony Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D
05.21.10 Paramount Shrek Forever After
06.18.10 Disney Toy Story 3
07.09.10 Universal Despicable Me
07.30.10 Warner Bros. Cats & Dogs: Revenge of Kitty Galore
08.06.10 Disney Step Up 3-D
08.13.10 Warner Bros. Friday the 13th Part 2
08.27.10 The Weinstein Company Piranha 3D
09.10.10 Sony Resident Evil: Afterlife
09.24.10 Warner Bros. Guardians of Ga’Hoole
10.01.10 Lionsgate Alpha and Omega
10.15.10 Paramount Jackass 3D
10.22.10 Lionsgate Saw VII
11.05.10 Paramount Megamind
11.19.10 Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (Part 1)
11.24.10 Disney Rapunzel
12.17.10 Disney Tron Legacy
12.17.10 Warner Bros. Yogi Bear
01.14.11 MGM The Cabin in the Woods
01.21.11 Sony Underworld 4
02.11.11 Summit Drive Angry
04.08.11 Fox Rio
06.03.11 DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom
06.24.11 Disney Cars 2
07.15.11 Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (Part 2)
07.29.11 Sony The Smurfs
11.04.11 DreamWorks Puss In Boots (working title)
11.11.11 Sony Arthur Christmas
11.18.11 Warner Bros. Happy Feet 2
12.23.11 Paramount The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
Christmas Disney The Bear and the Bow
TBD Disney Beauty and the Beast
02.17.12 Sony Hotel Transylvania
03.02.12 Universal Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
03.30.12 Paramount The Croods (working title)
Spring Disney King of the Elves
05.25.12 Paramount Madagascar 3 (working title)
Summer Disney newt
11.02.12 DreamWorks The Guardians

THESLATE
ONTHEHORIZON
By Amy Nicholson
Like sands through an hourglass …
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME
In this videogame-inspired blockbuster
(and hopeful franchise debut), a 6th
century street kid named Dastan is
adopted by the King of Persia. Among
the possessions of the kingdom is the
Sands of Time, a magic dagger that can rewind reality. Only evil
nobleman Nizam (Ben Kingsley) has taken hold of the blade and it’s
up to Dastan and Princess Tamia (Gemma Arterton of Clash of the
Titans and Quantum of Solace) to take back control of time.
Since making its computer bow in 1989 for the Apple II, The
Prince of Persia video game series has spawned a dozen popular
titles. But this is their first film turn and Disney trusts it’s found the
right man for the job: producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who steered
Pirates of the Caribbean into rich, reinvigorating waters. Disney
and Bruckheimer have treated their expensive flick with kid gloves,
even pushing it back a year from summer ‘09 to summer ‘10 under
Distributor Walt Disney Pictures Cast Jake Gyllenhaal,
Gemma Arterton, Alfred Molina, Ben Kingsley, Toby Kebbell
Director Mike Newell Screenwriters Jordan Mechner
, Doug Miro, Carlo Bernard, Boaz Yakin Producer Jerry
Bruckheimer Genre Action/Fantasy Rating PG-13 for intense
sequences of violence and action. Running time TBD
Release date May 28, 2010
pressure from the animation team who
didn’t want an expensive rush job and from
the competing release of Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen.
“Rather than do a straight beat-forbeat
adaptation of the new videogame, we’re taking some cool
elements from the game and using them to craft a new story,” says
videogame designer Jordan Mechner who was just 25 when he
invented the series two decades ago. Jake Gyllenhaal scored a
jewel of a role as the eponymous Prince Dastan. The respected
actor infamously lost out on two plum franchises, being the second
pick after Tobey Maguire for Spider-Man and getting eked out
by Christian Bale for Batman. Could this be the blockbuster that
rockets the intelligent, A-list actor to the top action star of his
generation? And if not, will he, like his prince, be able to redo time
and get a second chance?
46 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

MOUNT UP
Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma
Arterton are ready to ride
DON’T STOP BELIEVING
A decade plus after the start
of their hit HBO show, the
SATC girls still lure a huge
audience
SEX AND THE CITY 2
Bartender, another round
Distributor New Line Cinema Cast Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon, Kristin Davis, Chris Noth, Max Ryan, Alice
Eve Directo/Screenwriter Michael Patrick King Producers Michael Patrick King, John P. Melfi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Darren Star
Genre Romance/Comedy Rating TBD Running time TBD Release date May 28, 2010
> Not since The Phantom Menace has a sequel’s
film shoot been so achingly dissected.
After Sex and the City rang up $415 million
worldwide in 2008, a redux was inevitable.
Or was it? Once again, the cast of the HBO
hit played a round of cash-and-mouse with
the producers, who knew full well that no
actress could be replaced.
But when producers committed to the
ladies’ salary demands—and fans were
certain that Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and
Charlotte (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall,
Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis) were back
in for a sequel—it was time to pop the champagne.
Addicts have breathlessly chronicled
the foursome’s romances since 1998; they
remember every kiss and every heartbreak.
Still, twelve years is a long time to keep love
lives interesting—especially when the first
film ended with focal point Carrie finally
walking down the aisle with on-again-offagain
beau Mr. Big (Chris Noth). The big
question is: who’s going to break up? And
who’s going to fall in love again?
New Line has sealed its lips. Even though
fans have flocked to their shooting locations
in New York and Morocco (standing in for
Dubai), the plot has stayed secret. And every
star lucky or unlucky enough to wander by
the set has been accused of making a cameo:
Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand, Victoria
“Posh Spice” Beckham, Miley Cyrus and Penelope
Cruz. After photos ran of actor John
Corbett in Morocco, the gossip was certain
that his character Aidan, Carrie’s ex, had
arrived to screw up her marriage. Corbett
made a hasty denial. “I was in Istanbul about
six years ago and somebody put a picture up
and said I was Morocco,” he explained. For
her part, Sarah Jessica Parker said she could
neither “confirm nor deny” Aidan’s return.
The buzz has made sure that Sex and the City
2 will have a big debut, but there’s one thing
the curious know for sure: with a third sequel
allegedly in development, don’t get too
invested in this flick’s happily-ever-afters.
SHREK FOREVER AFTER
It’s a wonderful swamp
Distributor DreamWorks Animation Cast Mike Myers, Cameron
Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas Director Mike
Mitchell Screenwriters Tim Sullivan, Josh Klausner Producers
Teresa Cheng, Gina Shay Genre Comedy/Fantasy/
Animated/3D Rating TBD Running time TBD Release date
May 21, 2010
> Over three gargantuan hits totaling
$2.18 billion at the box office, Shrek has
found self esteem, friends, a wife and three
tykes. He’s got it all. And he can’t stand it.
Consider DreamWorks’ fourth installment
The Ogre Mystique; Shrek’s finding domestic
life intolerable and he yearns to reclaim his
mud crown as the beast of Far Far Away—
he wants to make tourists scream, not
reach for their cameras.
The Shrek series is known for being
sardonic. But Shrek Forever After gets
truly bleak. After Rumplestiltskin (Paul
McCartney) offers to grant Shrek (Michael
Myers) one last monstrous day, the beloved
antihero discovers he’s made the worst
deal of his life. Like George Bailey, he sees a
world where he never existed—and worse,
at the stroke of midnight, he and his nowunborn
kids will vanish forever, and his
wife Fiona (Cameron Diaz) will be hunted
down and enslaved.
DreamWorks has positioned Shrek as
the cartoon where kids and adults laugh
together—albeit at different jokes. Shrek
Forever After takes the franchise to places
possibly too dark for very young children:
in one nightmare scene, the Gingerbread
Man fights animal crackers in a gladiatorial
ring. (Imagine that in the flick’s gorgeous
3D.) It’s a bold move for the crowd-pleasing
series—one that could earn it new respect
even as parents steel themselves to have a
long post-film conversation with their kids.
Still, when the fourth film could make nine
figures by playing it safe, DreamWorks
deserves credit for upping the stakes.
Allegedly, this Shrek is the final chapter.
Will the claim stick if the 3D boost helps it
gross Shrek 2’s $920 million?
March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
47

THESLATE
COMING ATTRACTIONS
GREEN ZONE
Green means ‘Stop’
Distributor Universal Pictures Cast Matt Damon, Amy
Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, Antoni
Corone, Said Faraj, Yigal Naor Director Paul Greengrass
Screenwriter Brian Helgeland Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric
Fellner, Lloyd Levin Genre Thriller/Drama/War Rating R
for violence and language. Running time 115 min. Release
date March 12, 2010
> In Paul Greengrass’ Iraq War thriller, the enemy
is us. Based on the bestselling nonfiction
book Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Greengrass’
latest reunites with him action muse
Matt Damon, here playing a soldier tipped to
investigate why the special forces have hidden
away a prize terrorist—and why they’re now
out to kill him. With Damon and Greengrass
threatening to pull the plug on their
Bourne franchise, this might be one of the last
chances for explosion fans to get their fix.
GREENBERG
What goes down must come up?
Distributor Focus Features Cast Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig,
Rhys Ifans, Brie Larson, Juno Temple Director Noah Baumbach
Screenwriter Noah Baumbach Producers Jennifer
Jason Leigh, Scott Rudin Genre Drama/Comedy Rating R
for some strong sexuality, drug use and language. Running
time TBD Release date March 12, 2010
Teenage wasteland
THEY LOVE ROCK
AND ROLL
Dakota Fanning and Kristen
Stewart as the original punk
chicks in The Runaways
> Expect armchair sociologists to dig into
Noah Baumbach’s latest about a man (Ben
Stiller) way past his immaturity expiration
date who devotes himself to living aimlessly.
After he loses his job, Stiller relocates
to LA for the one career he can handle—
house-sitting—and connects with an old
friend (Rhys Ifans) and a new crush (Greta
Gerwig) who may or may not choose to help
him grow up. Writer-director Baumbach has
a history of pulling strong films out of lost
characters (Kicking and Screaming, The Squid
and the Whale, Margot at the Wedding). Can
he pull it off again?
Distributor Apparition Cast Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton, Hannah
Marks, Stella Maeve, Brett Cullen Director Floria Sigismondi Screenwriter Floria Sigismondi Producers Art Linson,
John Linson, William Pohlad Genre Drama/Musical Rating R for language, drug use and sexual content - all involving
teens. Running time 105 min. Release date March 19, 2010
> Shady ‘70s music producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) had a
brainstorm: an all-girl, all-teen punk band. Musical talent didn’t matter;
what counted was sex, drugs and attitude. Two of the girls—Joan
Jett and Lita Ford—stayed sane long enough to have adult careers. Floria
Sigismondi’s biopic tells their story, but devotes itself to ill-fated
lead singer Cherie Currie, a wild child who’d lived it all by 17. Starring
Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning and a hell of a lot of raw attitude.
OUR FAMILY WEDDING
Lets get ready to rumble
Distributor Fox Searchlight Cast Forest Whitaker, America
Ferrera, Carlos Mencia, Regina King, Lance Gross, Charlie
Murphy Director Rick Famuyiwa Screenwriters Rick
Famuyiwa, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Malcolm Spellman
Producers Edward Saxon, Steven J. Wolfe Genre Comedy
Rating PG-13 for some sexual content and brief strong language.
Running time TBD Release date March 12, 2010
> Guess who’s coming to the rehearsal
dinner? Carlos Mencia and Forest Whitaker
topline this over-the-top comedy about two
fathers aghast that their kids (Ugly Betty’s
America Ferrara and Lance Gross) are marrying
outside of their cultures—and worse,
making them family. This may be the only
film to bravely tackle both the ills of bigotry
and the scourge of goats accidentally taking
Viagra during a wedding ceremony.
48
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

BROOKLYN’S FINEST
Three cop night
Distributor Overture Films Cast Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere,
Don Cheadle, Jesse Williams, Ellen Barkin, Wesley Snipes, Lili
Taylor, Brian F. O’Byrne, Shannon Kane, Will Patton, Vincent
D’Onofrio Director Antoine Fuqua Screenwriters Michael
C. Martin, Brad Caleb Kane Producers Elie Cohn, Basil
Iwanyk, John Langley, Avi Lerner, John Thompson Genre
Crime/Drama/Action Rating R for bloody violence throughout,
strong sexuality, nudity, drug content and pervasive language.
Running time 140 min. Release date March 5, 2010
> Director Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day, a
Academy Award-winning LA noir, sparked
a cop flick resurgence. His new walk down
the beat takes him to New York where he
profiles three trope policeman—all strangers
to each other—headed toward a violent
collision. Richard Gere is the alcoholic cop
on the verge of retirement, Ethan Hawke is
the desperate, jaded family man, and Don
Cheadle is the undercover cop who just
wants his life back—especially so he can
stop palling around with Wesley Snipes’
deadly gangster. Individually, their plot
threads are familiar, but Fuqua’s determined
to tie them into a noose.
THE BOUNTY HUNTER
Handcuffed and hot-tempered
Distributor Columbia Cast Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler,
Christine Baranski Director Andy Tennant Screenwriter
Sarah Thorpe Producers Neal H. Moritz Genre Comedy/
Action Rating TBD Running time TBD Release date March
17, 2010
> Running into your ex is awkward. It’s worse
when you find out he’s a bounty hunter—and
he knows you’ve just skipped bail. This perky
Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler comedy
tracks the pair as they squabble, shoot,
scheme, seduce and suddenly discover they’ve
also got to escape a pack of killers. Both Aniston
and Butler could use a rom com smash—
and if their latest doesn’t click with audiences,
they could find themselves in lockdown.
REMEMBER ME
Twi-hards can’t forget that face
Distributor Summit Entertainment Cast Robert Pattinson,
Emilie de Ravin, Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Lena Olin Director
Allen Coulter Screenwriters Will Fetters, Jenny Lumet
Producers Trevor Engelson, Nick Osborne Genre Drama
Rating PG-13 for violence, sexual content, language and
smoking. Running time TBD Release date March 12, 2010
> An Upper West Side story about the posh-
21-year-old (Robert Pattinson) and scion of
a rich jerk (Pierce Brosnan) who falls for
the daughter (Emilie de Ravin) of a cop
who once
arrested him (Chris Cooper).
Summit mit Entertainment struck gold
with Pattinson’s tinson’s turns in Twilight and
hopes his
fans will flock to his
latest. And with award-winning
screenwriter riter Jenny Lumet of Rachel
Getting Married behind the
script, Pattinson might finally
get some grown-up respect.
HUBBLE 3D
Space odyssey
BROOKLYN BLUES
Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke
play two cops on a collision course
Distributor Warner Bros. Cast Leonardo DiCaprio Director
Toni Myers Producer Judy Carroll Genre Documentary
Rating G Running time TBD Release date March 19, 2010
> Sure IMAX has a $3-$5 upcharge, but
consider the numbers: a space shuttle
ticket to the stars runs you $20
million. This doc follows a team of
astronauts as they attempt
to
salvage the bedeviled
Hubble mission and
show the folks back
home the gorgeousness
of our galaxy—
and its neighbors.
Brains plus beauty.
What’s not to love?
Narrated by Leonardo
DiCaprio.
SEASON OF THE WITCH
Witches be crazy
FLAME-BROILED
Medieval Era Nicolas Cage must
survive an angry coven
Distributor Lionsgate Cast Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Stephen Campbell
Moore, Claire Foy, Robert Sheehan, Ulrich Thomsen, Stephen Graham,
Christopher Lee Director Dominic Sena Screenwriter Bragi Schut
Producers Alex Gartner, Charles Roven Genre Thriller Rating PG-13 for
thematic elements, violence and disturbing content. Running time Release
date March 19, 2010
> Two 14th century crusaders (Nicolas Cage and Ron
Perlman) are trusted to escort a witch to a remote abbey
where the priests and council pray a bloody ceremony
can cure the Black Plague. But first, they’ve got to battle
a more deadly—and more personal—killer. Director
Dominic Sena (Kalifornia, Gone in Sixty Seconds) hopes
to put a healing spell on his career after his latest, this
fall’s Whiteout, vanished without a trace.
March 2010
Boxoffi of
fice ·T
The
Business of fMovie
Movies
49

THESLATE
QUICKTAKES for complete interviews and reviews, go to BOXOFFICE.com
IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING
Italian talent scout and manager Lele Mora takes a
call in Erik Gandini’s Videocracy.
VIDEOCRACY
Sexy Videocracy captures controversy of Italian
politics
Distributor Lorber Films Cast Lele Mora, Fabrizio Corona,
Silvio Berlusconi Director/Screenwriter Erik Gandini Producers
Mikael Olsen, Axel Arnö, Erik Gandini Genre Documentary/English
and Italian-languages, subtitled Rating
Unrated Running time 84 mins Release date February 12 NY
★★★ Steve Ramos says: With his broad forehead,
closely cropped dark hair and grey banker’s suit, Italian
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the least flashy
character in director Erik Gandini’s high-energy
political documentary Videocracy, which made its
premiere at key fall film festivals including Toronto.
Berlusconi isn’t the most garish or flamboyant figure
in Gandini’s fascinating and fast-paced film; that wild
honor goes to the affluent TV producer, cutthroat
paparazzo and young females auditioning for spots
as Italian TV co-hosts. But the controversial Prime
Minister is the powerful man behind the curtain, a TV
magnate whose reality shows starring scantily clad
women helped create Italy’s chauvinistic media culture
(and whose family controls several major newspapers
as well as Italy’s largest publishing house).
Gandini outdoes Michael Moore in that he takes a
complex issue–how Italy’s crass media culture led to
Berlusconi’s political ascendancy—and makes it utterly
entertaining.
TOE TO TOE
Race politics and teen melodrama blend powerfully
Distributor Strand Releasing Cast Sonequa Martin, Louisa
Krause, Leslie Uggams Director/Screenwriter Emily Abt
Producers Susan Leber, Emily Abt Genre Drama Rating Unrated
Running time 104 min. Release date March 5 NY/LA
★★★ Steve Ramos says: One of the better coming
of age dramas to emerge from the Sundance Film
Festival since thirteen is writer/director Emily Abt’s
Toe to Toe; a tale of two girls—one white and rich, the
other African-American and poor—who become
friends during their senior year at a Washington DC
prep school. Toe to Toe is a social melodrama in the
truest sense, addressing race, class, diversity and affirmative
action. While Abt tackles race relations seriously,
she wisely offers the standard teen dramas of
popularity, sexuality and materialism. Abt makes an
impressive dramatic feature filmmaking debut after
directing a series of political docs. Best of all for LAbased
specialty distributor Strand Releasing, which
acquired Toe to Toe after its premiere at Sundance ’09,
there are familiar teen characters and an adherence
to the time-tested rules of high school melodrama.
Toe to Toe’s best prospects for strong word of mouth
lie with young adults who will immediately relate
to the two female leads. The hurdle for Strand is that
young adults are a challenge to attract to arthouses
in sizable numbers.
THE YELLOW HANDKERCHIEF
Great cast but predictable plot work for balance in
this roadtrip melodrama
Distributor Samuel Goldwyn Films Cast William Hurt, Kristen
Stewart, Eddie Redmayne, Maria Bello Director Udayan
Prasad Screenwriter Erin Dignam Producer Arthur Cohn
Genre Drama/Romance Rating Unrated Running time 102
min. Release date February 26 ltd.
★★★■John P. McCarthy says: Three misfits—a laconic,
late-middle-aged dude fresh from the slammer,
a coltish runaway and an oddball adolescent—take
a road trip through Louisiana in The Yellow Handkerchief.
From a short story by New Yorker journalist Pete
Hamill (one of the men who disarmed Sirhan Sirhan
after RFK’s assassination), the romantic drama earns
solid marks for atmosphere, moving shots of post-Katrina
New Orleans and acting—few do sad-and-wise
better than William Hurt—but each theme is hit hard
and predictably. Twiheads will note Kristen Stewart’s
presence, and they’re the generation that will determine
whether her Brit hunk co-star Eddie Redmayne’s
career flourishes. Yet it’s their elders who’ll be drawn
SWEET FREEDOM
William Hurt plays an ex-con in
The Yellow Handkerchief
in by Hamill’s script and Hurt’s performance, which
doesn’t augur well for the movie’s earning potential
in any format.
FORMOSA BETRAYED
A primer on China-Taiwan relations
Distributor Screen Media Cast James Van Der Beek, Wendy
Crewson, Chelcie Ross, John Heard, Tzi Ma, Will Tiao Director
Adam Kane Screenwriter Charlie Straton, Yann Samuell,
Ban Askew, Nathaniel Goodman Producers Adam Kane, Will
Tiao, David Cluck Genre Drama/Thriller Rating R for some
violent content Running time: 86 min. Release date: February
26 ltd.
★★★★■Tim Cogshell says: For more than four
hundred years, the Pacific island we know as Taiwan
was known by its Portuguese name, Ilha Formosa
(Beautiful Island). Thus, the Formosa betrayed in this
aptly named film is the perpetually occupied island
of Taiwan; at issue in this historically interesting but
otherwise banal thriller is the identity of these betrayers.
Turns out it’s everyone. While captivating stylistically
and great fodder for political geeks, even in its
deepest moments of intrigue and pathos this is a cable
TV movie at best, and it will likely reap its rewards in
that venue. Still, attention put on the film’s historical
and political content should help boost revenues in
theatrical.
MID-AUGUST LUNCH
PRANZO DI FERRAGOSTO
A foreign language sleeper-in-the-making
Distributor Zeitgeist Cast Gianni di Gregorio, Valeria De
Franciscis, Marina Cacciotti, Maria Calì, Grazia Cesarini
Sforza, Alfonso Santagata Director/Screenwriter Gianni Di
Gregorio Producer Matteo Garrone Genre Comedy/Italianlanguage,
subtitled Rating Unrated Running time 75 min.
Release date March 16 ltd.
★★★★ Cathleen Rountree says: Gianni di Gregorio,
in a somewhat autobiographical role, portrays the
unemployed, middle-aged only son and sole caretaker
of an aged but regal mother. The two live together in
Rome. Through a series of circumstances, the bachelor
finds his nanny-duties increased four-fold with three
other grande dames under his watch. The crux—and
fun—of the story revolves around how the four octogenarian
women and their put-upon caregiver spend
a day in cramped quarters becoming acquainted with
(and tolerant of) each other’s quirks and idiosyncrasies.
It may be difficult for the youth-obsessed American
culture to appreciate the quiet joys rendered in
this Italian charmer. But given the increasing domin-
50 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

ion of the Baby-Boomer Generation—hungry for lifeaffirming
images of old age—Mid-August Lunch could
prove a sleeper in the making.
MOTHER MADEO
Followup to sci-fi flick The Host stars human monsters
Distributor Magnolia Director Bong Joon-ho Cast Kim Hyeja,
Won Bin and Jin Gu Screenwriters Park Eun-kyo, Bong
Joon-ho and Park Wun-kyo Producers Seo Woo-sik, Park
Tae-joon and Choi Jae-Won Genre Thriller/Crime Drama/
Korean-language, subtitled Rating R for language, some
sexual content, violence and drug use. Runtime 129 min.
Release date March 12 NY/LA
★★★ Barbara Goslawski says: Korean writer/
director Bong Joon-ho affirms his place among the
art cinema masters with his latest endeavor, Mother.
Denied a coveted spot in competition at Cannes, this
film will still rank among the best of the year. Bong’s
breathtaking drama is a stylistic, but simple story of a
mother who will do anything to protect her mentally
slow son—even claim he’s innocent of murder. Bong’s
genre-jumbling practice takes us beyond established
boundaries. And the best part is that he has some fun
along the way. Following the successes of his recent
films, The Host (2006) and Memories of Murder (2003),
Bong’s name alone will draw crowds. Word of mouth
will follow. This film is as accessible as art films get.
MY SON, MY SON
Kim Hye-ja is a Mother who
won’t believe her son could kill
VINCERE
Tale of an abused wife brings passionate life to
Mussolini drama Vincere
Distributor IFC Cast Filippo Timi, Giovanna Mezzogiorno,
Corrado Invernizzi Director Marco Bellocchio Screenwriters
Marco Bellocchio, Daniela Ceselli Producers Marco Gianani
Genre Drama/Italian-language, subtitled Rating Unrated
Running time 128 min. Release date March 19 NY
★★★ Steve Ramos says: Forty-four years after his
exciting debut feature Fists in the Pocke, Italian filmmaker
Marco Bellocchio continues his late-career
renaissance with the passionate, beautifully crafted,
period melodrama Vincere. Bellocchio and co-writer
Daniela Ceselli tell the story of Italian dictator Benito
Mussolini’s early life, his rise to political power and,
most powerfully, the secret history of Mussolini’s first
wife, Ida Dalser, and son, Benito Albino. Vincere, from
Rai Cinema, Offside and Celluloid Dreams, looks to
be a foreign-language drama with robust specialty
box office potential. Bellocchio continues to be well
known with older arthouse audiences and attractive
co-stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi will
help attract younger moviegoers. While foreign-language
fare continues to struggle in the U.S. specialty
circuit, Vincere has the standout performances, stunning
art design and larger-than-life drama necessary
to rise above the ranks of other subtitled fare.
THE THORN IN THE HEART
L’ÉPINE DANS LE COEUR
A whimsical family portrait
Distributor Oscilloscope Pictures Director/Screenwriter
Michel Gondry Producer Georges Bermann Genre Documentary;
French-language, subtitled Rating Unrated Running
time 83 min. Release date Unset
★★★★■Pam Grady says: Taking a break in the narrative
flow between 2008’s Be Kind Rewind and this
Christmas’ superhero extravaganza The Green Hornet,
Michel Gondry returns to the big screen with a documentary
about his Aunt Suzette, a schoolteacher for
more than 30 years in the Cevennes region of France.
The woman and her son Jean-Yves are an engaging
pair, but the film, which made its United States premiere
at the San Francisco Film Society’s French Cinema
Now festival, is so personal that it is unlikely to
attract much of an audience beyond the Gondry clan
and is likely to disappoint fans of Gondry’s eccentric
fictions. Box office returns will be meager.
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March 2010
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies
51

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Action = Act
Adventure = Adv
Animated = Ani
Arthouse = Art
Biography = Bio
Comedy = Com
Crime = Cri
Documentary = Doc
Drama = Dra
Epic = Epic
Family = Fam
Fantasy = Fan
Foreign
Language = FL
Horror = Hor
Kids = Kids
Lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender = LGBT
Live Action = LA
Martial Arts = MA
Mystery = Mys
Musical = Mus
Performance = Per
Political = Poli
Romance = Rom
Science Fiction = SF
Stop-Motion
Animation = SMAni
Sports = Spr
Suspense = Sus
3D = 3D
Thriller = Thr
Urban = Urban
War = War
Western = Wes
TITLE DATE & RELEASE STARS DIRECTOR RATING GENRE RUNNING TIME FORMAT
APPARITION 310-575-7052
THE RUNAWAYS Fri, 3/19/10 Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning Floria Sigismondi NR Dra/Mus 105 Scope
THE SQUARE
Fri, 4/9/10
EXCL. NY/LA
David Roberts, Claire Van Der Boom Nash Edgerton NR Thr/Dra 114 Dolby SRD
CBS FILMS 425-591-9614
THE BACK-UP PLAN Fri, 4/23/10 Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Loughlin Alan Poul NR Rom/Com
BEASTLY Fri, 7/30/10 Neil Patrick Harris, Vaness Hudgens Daniel Barnz NR Fan/Hor/Rom
FASTER Fri, 11/19/10 Dwayne Johnson, Salma Hayek George Tillman Jr. NR Act/Dra
DISNEY 818-560-1000 / 212-593-8900
ALICE IN WONDERLAND Fri, 3/5/10 Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp Tim Burton NR Adv/Fam/Fan
Digital 3D/IMAX/DTS/
Dolby DIG/SDDS
WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY Fri, 3/26/10 LTD. Don Hahn NR Doc
THE LAST SONG Fri, 4/2/10 Miley Cyrus, Kelly Preston Julie Ann Robinson PG Dra Quad
OCEANS Thu, 4/22/10 Jacques Cluzaud/Jacques Perrin G Doc
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Fri, 5/28/10 Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley Mike Newell NR Act/Adv Quad
TOY STORY 3 Fri, 6/18/10 Tom Hanks, Tim Allen Lee Unkrich NR Fam/Com Digital 3D/Quad
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE Fri, 7/16/10 Nicolas Cage, Alfred Molina Jon Turteltaub NR Dra/Fan
STEP UP 3-D Fri, 8/6/10 Sharni Vinson, Rick Malambri John Chu NR Mus/Dra/Rom Digital 3D
YOU AGAIN Fri, 9/24/10 Kristen Bell, Sigourney Weaver Andy Fickman NR Com Quad
SECRETARIAT Fri, 10/8/10 Diane Lane, John Malkovich Randy Wallace NR Dra/Spt Quad
RAPUNZEL Wed, 11/24/10 Kristen Chenoweth, Mandy Moore Glen Keane/Dean Wellins NR Ani/Com/Fam/Mus Digital 3D
TRON: LEGACY Fri, 12/17/10 Michael Sheen, Jeff Bridges Joseph Kosinski NR 3D/Act/SF Digital 3D/IMAX/Quad
FOCUS FEATURES 818-777-7373
GREENBERG Fri, 3/26/10 LTD. Ben Stiller, Greta Gerwig Noah Baumbach R Com/Dra DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
BABIES Fri, 4/16/10 LTD. Thomas Balmes PG Doc 79 DTS/Dolby SRD/Flat
THE AMERICAN Wed, 9/1/10 George Clooney, Violante Placido Anton Corbjin NR Dra/Sus DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH Wed, 9/1/10 Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell Kevin Macdonald NR Dra Scope
FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID Fri, 4/2/10 Chloe Moretz, Steve Zahn Thor Freudenthal NR Fam/Com Flat
DATE NIGHT Fri, 4/9/10 Steve Carrell, Tina Fey Shawn Levy NR Com Scope
WALL STREET 2 Fri, 4/23/10 Shia LaBeouf, Javier Bardem Oliver Stone NR Dra S\
MARMADUKE Fri, 6/4/10 Ron Perlman, Owen Wilson Tom Dey NR Com/Fam
THE A-TEAM 6/11/2010 Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson Joe Carnahan NR Act/Adv Scope
KNIGHT & DAY Fri, 7/2/10 Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz James Mangold NR Dra
PREDATORS Fri, 7/9/10 Alice Braga, Adrien Brody Nimród Antal NR Hor/Act
RAMONA AND BEEZUS Fri, 7/23/10 Selena Gomez, Ginnifer Goodwin Laurie Craig G Com Scope
UNSTOPPABLE Fri, 11/12/10 Denzel Washington, Chris Pine Tony Scott NR Act/Dra/Thr Scope
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS Wed, 11/24/10 Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway Edward Zwick NR Dra Scope
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, THE: THE VOY-
AGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
12/10/2010 Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes Michael Apted NR Adv/Fam/Fant QUAD
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS Wed, 12/22/10 Emily Blunt, Jason Segel Rob Letterman NR Com Scope
FOX SEARCHLIGHT 310-369-4402
OUR FAMILY WEDDING Fri, 3/12/10 Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera Rick Famuyiwa PG-13 Com
CYRUS Fri, 7/9/10 LTD. Catherine Keener, Jonah Hill Jay Duplass/Mark Duplass R Com
LIONSGATE 310-449-9200
SEASON OF THE WITCH Fri, 3/19/10 Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman Dominic Sena PG-13 Act/Dra/Hor 98 DTS/Dolby SRD
TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED
TOO?
Fri, 4/2/10 Tasha Smith, Kevin Navayne Tyler Perry PG-13 Com/Dra Flat/Quad
KICK ASS Fri, 4/16/10 Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse Matthew Vaughn NR Act/Com Scope
KILLERS Fri, 6/4/10 Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher Robert Luketic NR Act/Com
THE EXPENDABLES Fri, 8/13/10 Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham Sylvester Stallone NR Act
WARRIOR Fri, 9/17/10 Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte Gavin O’Connor NR Act/Dra
ALPHA AND OMEGA Fri, 10/1/10 Christina Ricci, Justin Long Ben Gluck NR Ani/Adv/Com 3D
SAW VII 3D Fri, 10/22/10 Tanedra Howard, Tobin Bell David Hackl NR Hor 3D
TYLER PERRY’S FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO
HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE Fri, 1/14/11 Halle Berry, Oprah Winfrey Tyler Perry NR Dra
RAINBOW IS ENUF
MGM/UA 310-449-9200 / 212-708-0300
HOT TUB TIME MACHINE Fri, 3/26/10 John Cusack, Craig Robinson Steve Pink NR Com
THE ZOOKEEPER Fri, 10/8/10 Kevin James, Rosario Dawson Frank Coracci NR Com
RED DAWN Wed, 11/24/10 Josh Peck, Chris Hemsworth Dan Bradley NR Act
THE CABIN IN THE WOODS Fri, 1/14/11 Richard Jenkins, Anna Hutchison Drew Goddard NR Com/Fan/Hor 3D
MIRAMAX 323-822-4100
THE BASTER Fri, 8/20/10 Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman Josh Gordon/Will Speck NR Rom/Com
GNOMEO AND JULIET Fri, 2/11/11 Emily Blunt, James McAvoy Kelly Asbury NR Ani/Fam/Com
OVERTURE 424-204-4000 / 212-905-4200
THE CRAZIES Fri, 2/26/10 Timothy Olyphant, Danielle Panabaker Breck Eisner R Act/Dra/Hor 101 Quad/Scope
BROOKLYN’S FINEST Fri, 3/5/10 Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke Antoine Fuqua R Dra/Thr 133 Quad/Scope
LET ME IN Fri, 10/1/10 Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins Matt Reeves NR Hor
PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 / 212-373-7000
SHUTTER ISLAND Fri, 2/19/10 Michelle Williams, Leonardo DiCaprio Martin Scorsese R Dra/Mys/Thr 138
SDDS/Dolby Dig/DTS/
Quad/Scope
SHE’S OUT OF MY LEAGUE Fri, 3/12/10 Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve Jim Field Smith R Com 105 Quad/Scope
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Fri, 3/26/10 Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill Dean DeBlois/Chris Sanders NR Adv/Fam/Fan 3D/IMAX
IRON MAN 2 Fri, 5/7/10 Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow John Favreau NR Act/Adv
SHREK FOREVER AFTER Fri, 5/21/10 Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz Mike Mitchell NR Ani/Fam/Com 3D/IMAX
THE LAST AIRBENDER Fri, 7/2/10 Jackson Rathbone, Cliff Curtis M. Night Shayamalan NR Dra/Adv/Fam
DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS Fri, 7/23/10 Steve Carell, Paul Rudd Jay Roach NR Com
MORNING GLORY Fri, 7/30/10 Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford Roger Michell NR Com
JACKASS 3-D Fri, 10/15/10 Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O Jeff Tremaine NR Doc/Act/Com 3D
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY SEQUEL Fri, 10/22/10 NR horror
MEGAMIND Fri, 11/5/10 Tina Fey, Robert Downey Jr. Tom McGrath NR Ani/Fam 3D
TRUE GRIT Sat, 12/25/10 Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges Joel Coen, Ethan Coen NR Dra/Wes
52
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

TITLE DATE & RELEASE STARS DIRECTOR RATING GENRE RUNNING TIME FORMAT
SONY 310-244-4000 / 212-833-8500
THE BOUNTY HUNTERS Fri, 3/19/10 Gerard Butler, Jennifer Aniston Andy Tennant NR Act/Com
DEATH AT A FUNERAL Fri, 4/16/10 Chris Rock, Regina Hall Neil LaBute NR Com
TAKERS Fri, 5/14/10 Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen John Luessenhop PG-13 Act/Cri 108
KARATE KID Fri, 6/11/10 Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith Harald Zwart NR Act/Dra
GROWN UPS Fri, 6/25/10 Adam Sandler, Kevin James Dennis Dugan NR Com
SALT Fri, 7/23/10 Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber Phillip Noyce NR Thr
OTHER GUYS Fri, 8/6/10 Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Adam McCay NR Act/Com
EAT, PRAY, LOVE Fri, 8/13/10 Julia Roberts, Billy Crudup Ryan Murphy NR Dra
PRIEST Fri, 8/27/10 Paul Bettany, Maggie Q Scott Charles Stewart NR Adv/Hor
BORN TO BE A STAR Fri, 9/3/10 Christina Ricci, Stephen Dorff Tom Brady NR Com
RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE Fri, 9/10/10 Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter Paul W.S. Anderson NR Act/Thr 3D
THE ROOMMATE Fri, 9/17/10 Cam Gigandet, Leighton Meester Christian E. Christiansen NR Cri/Mys Scope
THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Fri, 10/15/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake David Fincher NR Dra/Com
BURLESQUE Wed, 11/24/10 Cher, Christina Aguilera Steve Antin NR Dra
UNTITLED JAMES BROOKS Fri, 12/17/10 Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd James L. Brooks NR Dra/Com
THE GREEN HORNET Wed, 12/22/10 Seth Rogen, Enzo Cilenti Michel Gondry NR Act/Adv
UNDERWORLD 4 Fri, 1/21/11 Kate Beckinsale, Michael Sheen NR Fan/Hor/3D
PRETEND WIFE Fri, 2/11/11 Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston Dennis Dugan NR Rom/Com
BATTLE: LOS ANGELES Fri, 2/18/11 Michelle Rodriguez, Aaron Eckhart Jonathan Liebesman NR Act/SF
STRAW DOGS Fri, 2/25/11 Alexander Skarsgaard, James Marsden Rod Lurie NR Dra
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 212-833-8833
A PROPHET aka Un prophète
Fri, 2/26/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup Jacques Audiard R FL/Dra 150 Dolby SRD/Flate
CHLOE
Fri, 3/26/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson Atom Egoyan R Dra/Thr 96 Dolby SRD/Flate
THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Fri, 4/16/10 Ricardo Darin, Soledad Vilamil Juan Jose Camanella NR Cri/Dra 127
PLEASE GIVE
Fri 4/23/2010
TBD
Catherine Keener, Rebecca Hall Nicole Holofcener R Com
MOTHER & CHILD Fri, 5/7/10 Naomi Watts, Annette Bening Rodrigo Garcia R Dra 125
MICMACS
Fri, 5/28/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Dany Boon, Andre Dussollier Jean-Pierre Jeunet R FL/Com/Cri 105
COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY
Fri, 6/11/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Anna Mougalis, Mads Mikkelsen Jan Kounen R FL/Dra/Rom 120
WILD GRASS
Fri, 6/25/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Andre Dussolier, Anne Consigny Alain Resnais PG FL/Dra 104 DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
ORLANDO - REISSUE
Fri, 7/23/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Tilda Swinton, Quentin Crisp Sally Potter Dra 93 DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
GET LOW
Fri, 7/30/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Lucas Black, Bill Murray Aaron Schneider PG-13 Cri/Dra 100
LEBANON
Fri, 8/13/10
EXCL. NY/LA
Ashraf Barhom, Reymond Amsalem Samuel Maoz NR Dra 90
SUMMIT 310-309-8400
GHOST WRITER
Fri, 2/19/10
LTD.
Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan Roman Polanski PG-13 Dra/Mys/Thr 128 DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
REMEMBER ME Fri, 3/12/10 Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin Allen Coulter PG-13 Dra/Rom 112 DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
FURRY VENGEANCE Fri, 4/30/10 Brendan Fraser, Ken Jeong Roger Kumble PG Com/Fam 90 DTS/Dolby SRD/Flat
LETTERS TO JULIET Fri, 5/14/10 Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Redgrave Gary Winick PG Dra/Rom 93 DTS/Dolby SRD/Scope
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: THE ECLIPSE Fri, 7/30/10 Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson David Slade NR Dra/Sus/Rom
IMAX//Scope/DTS/
Dolby SRD
RED Fri, 10/22/10 Mary-Louise Parker, Morgan Freeman Robert Schwentke NR Act/Com
DRIVE ANGRY Fri, 2/11/11 Nicolas Cage, Lussier, Patrick NR Thr 3D
UNIVERSAL 818-777-1000 / 212-445-3800
GREEN ZONE Fri, 3/12/10 Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs Paul Greengrass R Dra/War
REPO MAN Fri, 3/19/10 Forest Whitaker, Jude Law Miguel Sapochnik R SF/Sus Quad
MACGRUBER Fri, 4/23/10 Val Kilmer, Kristen Wiig Jorma Taccone NR Com
ROBIN HOOD Fri, 5/14/10 Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett Ridley Scott NR Act/Adv/Dra Quad
GET HIM TO THE GREEK Fri, 6/11/10 Jonah Hill, Jason Segel Nicholas Stoller NR Com
DESPICABLE ME Fri, 7/9/10 Steve Carell, Jason Segel Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin NR CGI/Ani 3D
THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU Fri, 7/30/10 Matt Damon, Emily Blunt Geogre Nolfi NR Rom/SF
SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD Fri, 8/13/10 Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead Edgar Wright PG-13 Act/Adv/Com Quad
NANNY MCPHEE AND THE BIG BANG Fri, 8/20/10 Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal Susanna White NR Com/Fam Quad
YOUR HIGHNESS Fri, 10/1/10 James Franco, Natalie Portman David Gordon Green NR Com/Fan
LITTLE FOCKERS Wed, 12/22/10 Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller Paul Weitz NR Com
WARNER BROS. 818-954-6000 / 212-484-8000
COP OUT Fri, 2/26/10 Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan Kevin Smith R Com 110 Scope/Quad
HUBBLE
Fri, 3/19/10
EXCL. IMAX
Toni Myers G Doc 3D/IMAX/Quad
CLASH OF THE TITANS Fri, 3/26/10 Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton Louis Leterrier NR Act/Dra 3D
THE LOSERS Fri, 4/9/10 Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan Sylvain White NR Act/Dra/Adv Quad
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET Fri, 4/30/10 Jackie Earle Haley, Thomas Dekker Samuel Bayer NR Fan/Hor/Thr
SEX AND THE CITY 2 Fri, 5/28/10 Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall Michael Patrick King NR Com/Dra/Rom
JONAH HEX Fri, 6/18/10 Josh Brolin, John Malkovich Jimmy Hayward NR Act/Dra/Thr
INCEPTION Fri, 7/16/10 Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page Christopher Nolan NR Act/SF IMAX
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY
GALORE
Fri, 7/30/10 Chris O’Donnell, Jack McBrayer Brad Peyton NR Com 3D
LOTTERY TICKET Fri, 8/27/10 Ice Cube, Bow Wow Erik White NR Com Quad
THE TOWN Fri, 9/10/10 Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm Ben Affleck NR Dra/Cri/Rom Quad
FLIPPED
Fri, 9/17/10
LTD.
Penelope Ann Miller, Rebecca De Mornay Rob Reiner NR Rom/Com/Dra
GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE Fri, 9/24/10 Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving Zack Snyder NR Ani/Adv/Fant 3D/IMAX
GOING THE DISTANCE Fri, 10/8/10 Drew Barrymore, Justin Long Nanette Burstein NR Rom/Com
THE PRISONERS Fri, 10/22/10 NR Quad
DUE DATE Fri, 11/5/10 Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifianakis Todd Phillips NR Com Quad
HARRY POTTER 7 Fri, 11/19/10 Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson David Yates NR Adv/Dra/Fan IMAX/Scope
YOGI BEAR Fri, 12/17/10 Dan Aykroyd, Justin Timberlake Eric Brevig NR Ani 3D/Quad
LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Wed, 12/22/10 Katherine Heigl, Josh Lucas Gary Berlanti NR Rom/Com Quad
THE FACTORY Fri, 1/28/11 John Cusack, Dallas Roberts Morgan O’Neill NR Hor/Thr
March 2010 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies 53

MARKETPLACE
CONGRATULATIONS TO
Bud Mayo & Chuck Goldwater
cinedigm’s tenth anniversary
Looking Forward
to a Bright Future Together…
POST- PRODUCTION SERVICES
DIGITAL CINEMA & DCP CREATION
3575 CAHUENGA BLVD. WEST - FOURTH FLOOR
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - 90068 • (323) 969-8822
54
Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010

MARKETPLACE
AD INDEX
BARCO
Media & Entertainment Division
11101 Trade Center Dr.
Rancho Cordova 95670, CA
916-859-2500
sales.digitalcinema.us@barco.com
www.barco.com
PG 7
CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS
10550 Camden Dr.
Cypress, CA 90630
Craig Sholder
714-236-8610
craig.sholder@christiedigital.com
www.christiedigital.com
Inside front cover
CINEDIGM
55 Madison Ave., Ste. 300
Morristown, NJ 07960
Suzanne Tregenza Moore
973-290-0080
info@accessitx.com
www.cinedigm.com
Back cover
CINEMA CONCEPTS
2030 Powers Ferry Rd., Ste. 214
Atlanta, GA 30339
Stewart Harnell
770-956-7460
stewart@cinemaconcepts.com
www.cinemaconcepts.com
PG 1
DOLBY LABORATORIES
100 Potrero Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Christie Ventura
415-558-2200
cah@dolby.com
www.dolby.com
PG 43, 45
DOLPHIN SEATING
313 Remuda St.
Clovis, NM 88101
575-762-6468
www.dolphinseating.com
PG 54
DOREMI LABS
1020 Chestnut St.
Burbank, CA 91506
818-562-1101
www.doremicinema.com
PG 33
FOCUS FEATURES
65 Bleecker St., 3rd Fl.
New York, NY 10012
212-539-4000
www.filminfocus.com
PG 31
FRANKLIN DESIGNS
208 Industrial Dr.
Ridgeland, MS 39157
601-853-9005
franklindesigns@aol.com
www.franklindesigns.com
PG 9
HURLEY SCREEN CORP.
110 Industry Ln.
P.O. Box 296
Forest Hill, MD 21050
Gorman W. White
410-879-3022
info@hurleyscreen.com
www.hurleyscreen.com
PG 55
ILLUMINATE
3575 Cahuenga Blvd. W., 4th Fl.
Hollywood, CA 90068
323-969-8822
www.htvinc.com
PG 54
MAROEVICH, O’SHEA &
COUGHLAN
44 Montgomery St., 17th Fl.
San Francisco, CA 94104
Steve Elkins
800-951-0600
selkins@maroevich.com
www.mocins.com
PG 3
NEC DISPLAY SOLUTIONS
OF AMERICA
500 Park Blvd., Ste. 1100
Itasca, Illinois 60143
630-467-3000
www.necdisplay.com
PG 35
OSRAM SYLVANIA
100 Endicott St.
Danvers, MA 01923
978-750-2419
Christine Buckley
christine.buckley@sylvania.com
PG 27
PACKAGING
CONCEPTS INC.
9832 Evergreen Industrial Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63123
John Irace / 314-329-9700
jji@packagingconceptsinc.com
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
PG 51
READY THEATRE SYSTEMS
4 Hartford Blvd.
Hartford, MI 49057
Mary Snyder
865-212-9703x114
sales@rts-solutions.com
www.rts-solutions.com.com
PG 56
RETRIEVER SOFTWARE
7040 Avenida Encinas
Ste. 104-363
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760-929-2101
www.retrieversoftware.com
PG 16
SCREENVISION
1411 Broadway 33rd Fl.
New York, NY 10018
Darryl Schaffer
212-497-0480
www.screenvision.com
PG 13
SENSIBLE CINEMA
SOFTWARE
7216 Sutton Pl.
Fairview, TN 37062
Rusty Gordon / 615-799-6366
rusty@sensiblecinema.com
www.sensiblecinema.com
PG 56
SONY ELECTRONICS
One Sony Dr.
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
201-476-8603
562-342-2246
www.sony.com/professional
PG 41
TECHNICOLOR DIGITAL
Brett Fellman
(818) 260-4907
Brett.Fellman@technicolor.com
www.technicolordigitalcinema.com
PG 17
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
12500 TI Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75243
www.dlp.com
PG 11
TRI-STATE THEATRE SUPPLY
3157 Norbrook Drive
Memphis, TN 38116
800-733-8249
www.tristatetheatre.com
PG 55
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
818-777-1000
www.universalpictures.com
PG 31
WEST WORLD
MEDIA
63 Copps Hill Rd.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Brett West
888-737-2812
www.westworldmedia.com
Inside back cover
WHITE CASTLE
555 West Goodale St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Timothy Carroll
614-559-2453
carrollt@whitecastle.com
www.whitecastle.com
PG 21
March 2010 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies 55

CLASSIFIEDS
DRIVE-IN CONSTRUCTION
DRIVE-IN SCREEN TOWERS since 1945.
Selby Products Inc., P.O. Box 267, Richfield,
OH 44286. Phone: 330-659-6631.
EQUIPMENT FOR SALE
ASTER AUDITORIUM SEATING & AU-
DIO. We offer the best pricing on good
used projection and sound equipment.
Large quantities available. Please visit our
website, www.asterseating.com, or call
1-888-409-1414.
BOX OFFICE TICKETING AND CON-
CESSIONS EQUIPMENT. Stand-alone
ticketing or fully integrated theater ticketing
and/or concessions systems are available.
These fully tested, remanufactured
Pacer Theatre Systems have extended
full-service contracts available. Complete
ticketing and concessions
systems starting at $2,975.
Call Jason: 800-434-3098;
www.sosticketing.com.
WWW.CINEMACONSUL-
TANTSINTERNATIONAL.
COM. New and used projection
and sound equipment,
theater seating,
drapes, wall panels, FM
transmitters, popcorn poppers,
concessions counters,
xenon lamps, booth
supplies, cleaning supplies,
more. Call Cinema
Consultants and Services
International. Phone: 412-
343-3900; fax: 412-343-
2992; sales@cinemaconsultantsinternational.com.
CY YOUNG IND. INC. still has the best
prices for replacement seat covers, outof-order
chair covers, cupholder armrests,
patron trays and on-site chair renovations!
Please call for prices and more information.
800-729-2610. cyyounginc@aol.com.
DOLPHIN SEATING At www.dolphinseating.com
Find today’s best available new
seating deals 575-762-6468 Sales Office.
TWO CENTURY PROJECTORS, complete
with base, soundheads, lenses.
Pott’s 3-deck platter,like new. Rebuilt
Christie lamp,goes to 150 amps. Model
H-30. 603-747-2608.
EQUIPMENT WANTED
MOVIE POSTERS WANTED: Collector
paying TOP $$$ for movie posters, lobby
cards, film stills, press books and memorabilia.
All sizes, any condition. Free appraisals!
CASH paid immediately! Ralph De-
Luca, 157 Park Ave., Madison, NJ 07940;
phone: 800-392-4050; email: ralph@ralphdeluca.com;
www.ralphdeluca.com.
POSTERS & FILMS WANTED: Cash available
for movie posters and films (trailers,
features, cartoons, etc.). Call Tony 903-
790-1930 or email postersandfilms@aol.
com.
OLDER STEREO EQUIPMENT AND
SPEAKERS, old microphones, old theater
sound systems and old vacuum tubes.
Phone Tim: 616-791-0867.
COLLECTOR WANTS TO BUY: We pay
top money for any 1920-1980 theater
equipment. We’ll buy all theater-related
equipment, working or dead. We remove
and pick up anywhere in the U.S. or Canada.
Amplifiers, speakers, horns, drivers,
woofers, tubes, transformers; Western
Electric, RCA, Altec, JBL, Jensen, Simplex
& more. We’ll remove installed equipment
if it’s in a closing location. We buy projection
and equipment, too. Call today:
773-339-9035. cinema-tech.com email
ILG821@aol.com.
AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT PROD-
UCTS LLC is buying projectors, processors,
amplifiers, speakers, seating,
platters. If you are closing, remodeling
or have excess equipment in your warehouse
and want to turn equipment into
cash, please call 866-653-2834 or email
aep30@comcast.net. Need to move
quickly to close a location and dismantle
equipment? We come to you with trucks,
crew and equipment, no job too small or
too large. Call today for a quotation: 866-
653-2834. Vintage equipment wanted
also! Old speakers like Western Electric
and Altec, horns, cabinets, woofers, etc.
and any tube audio equipment, call or
email: aep30@comcast.net.
AASA IS ASTER AUDITORIUM SEATING
& AUDIO. We buy and sell good used theater
equipment. We provide dismantling
services using our trucks and well-equipped,
professional crew anywhere in the United
States. Please visit our website, www.asterseating.com,
or call 1-888-409-1414.
gle screen in Chicagoland. Over 500,000
potential patrons, serving NW side of
Chicago and suburbs. Contact dkms72@
hotmail.com.
THEATERS FOR SALE Three screens (370
seats), North Florida. First-run, no competition
60 miles. Additional large multipurpose
room (75 seats), with HD projector
on 13.5-by-7-foot screen for birthday parties,
conferences, receptions and café.
Contact 850-371-0028.
HELP WANTED
GREAT ESCAPE THEATRES is a regional
motion picture exhibition company with
24 individual locations that include 275
screens throughout the Midwestern United
States. Founded in 1997, Great Escape
is one of the fastest-growing movie
theater operators in the country. We are
currently seeking a motivated individual to
fill our position as the chief financial officer
or vice president of finance and accounting.
Please send resumes to amccart@
alianceent.com.
STORYTELLER THEATRES (TRANS-LUX
THEATRES) have management positions
open in Los Lunas, Taos and Espanola, NM.
Prior management experience required.
Salary commensurate with experience.
Send resumes to 2209 Miguel Chavez Rd.
BLDG A Santa Fe, NM 87505 or email to
info@storytellertheatres.com.
SERVICES
DULL FLAT PICTURE? RESTORE YOUR
XENON REFLECTORS! Ultraflat repolishes
and recoats xenon reflectors. Many reflectors
available for immediate exchange.
(ORC, Strong, Christie, Xetron, others!)
Ultraflat, 20306 Sherman Way, Winnetka,
CA 91306; 818-884-0184.
FROM DIRT TO OPENING DAY. 20-plus
years of theater experience with the knowhow
to get you going. 630-417-9792.
FOR SALE
SEATING
First run movie theatre. Vibrant Vermont
college town. Vaudeville stage, 3 screens,
298 seats, renovated. $850,000. 802-999-
9077.
FOR SALE Independent owned & operated,
eight-screen, all stadium-seating
theater complex located in suburban
Chicago. Completely renovated in 2004.
Seating capacity for 1,774 people within
a 48,000-square-foot sqft building on
5.32 acres. Preliminary site plan approval
for expansion of additional screens.
Proximate to national/regional retail and
dining. Strong ticket and concession revenues.
Excellent business or investment
opportunity. Contact Kevin Jonas at 305-
631-6303 for details.
FIVE-PLEX, FULLY EQUIPPED AND
OPERATIONAL: $735,000, land, bldg.,
equip., NW Wisconsin. Priced $50,000 below
appraised value. 715-550-9601.
AGGRANDIZE YOUR THEATer, auditorium,
church or school with quality used
seating. We carry all makes of used seats
as well as some new seats. Seat parts are
also available. Please visit our website,
www.asterseating.com, or call 888-409-
1414.
ALLSTATE SEATING specializes in refurbishing,
complete painting, molded foam,
tailor-made seat covers, installations and
removals. Please call for pricing and spare
parts for all types of theater seating. Boston,
Mass.; 617-770-1112; fax: 617-770-
1140.
DOLPHIN SEATING At www.dolphinseating.com,
find today’s best available new
seating deals: 575-762-6468 Sales Office.
THEATERS WANTED
FIVE-PLEX THEATER FOR SALE in the
beautiful Florida Keys. Business established
in 1974 with no competition within
40 miles. Completely renovated five years
ago. Call Sam: 305-394-0315.
THEATER FOR RENT 1,500 seating capacity.
No hanging balconies. Largest sin-
WE’LL MANAGE YOUR THEATER OR
SMALL CHAIN FOR YOU. Industry veterans
and current exhibitors with 40-plus
years’ experience. Will manage every
aspect of operations and maximize all
profits for you. Call John LaCaze at 801-
532-3300.
56 Boxoffi ce · The Business of Movies March 2010