Boxoffice-August.1989

"
"Tennessee
"
camera enters the heart, lungs and blood vessels
of subjects via the first-ever endoscopic
IMAX lens Viewers also race down a ski
course with world champion Maria Walliser,
thanks to three newly invented camera
mounts ...
ShowBiz Expo, a three-day convention tor
the entertainment industry, drew a recordbreaking
crowd of 9,500 to the Los Angeles
Convention Center lune 3-5, with attendance
up 38",, from the previous year The turnout
exceeded estimates by as much as $2,500
Palm Springs
The first annual Palm Springs International
Film Festival has been set for January 10-14,
l^NO, with leanette Paulson as executive
director Mayor Sonny Bono's selection committee
includes Ian jessel, president of Nelson
Entertainment; Darryl Macdonald, co-founder
ol the Seattle and Vancouver Film Festivals;
and Emily Laskin. since 1985 the director of
national educational programs for the American
Film Institute. Others on the committee
are Paulson and Denis Pregnolato. the associate
director of the comedy-themed festival.
San Antonio
The Azfec 3 Theatre, San .Antonio's only
downtown theatre, recently enjoyed a
month-long run of "Pet Sematary" and "The
Seventh Sign." The theatre is owned and
operated by the San Antonio Conservation
Society, which hopes to restore the historic
film palace
The San Antonio Conservation Society
closed the 62-year-old Aztec 3 for the day on
March 22 to hold their 65th Founders Day
celebration, dinner, and awards presentation.
The theatre's usual program, consisting largely
of action pictures, was suspended for the
night to accommodate a banquet in the grand
lobby and the awards in the main auditorium
Hap Veltman took home a posthumous
award for his role in the Conservation Society's
restoration of the Aztec
"Last Tango in Pans" will not screen at a
film festival sponsored by San Antonio College.
Many students protested the banning of
the film, but school authorities claimed that
"Last Tango" was not in keeping with festival
guidelines
Ordinances approved by the cities
of San
Antonio, nearby kirby, and suburbs Hollywood
Park and Balcones Heights have placed
extensive restrictions against adult theatres
and bookstores, and resulted in several recent
raids by the police and sheriff's departments.
Owners of targeted establishments
say they'll take legal action to stay open
Rand Theatres, which recently moved into
the Dallas/Austin market, began their expansion
into San Antonio with the opening of the
Rand Nakoma 8 and Rand Bandera 6
Theatres The cinemas are among the of
first
seven that Rand is opening in San Antonio
Eventually, theatres in Rivercenter, Windcrest,
Turtle Creek and two other locations
will give Rand 50 screens around the city. The
siege of San Antonio is
part of a $200 million
nationwide expansion for the Little Rock,
Arkansas-based chain Rand expects to have
-400 sc reens in 60 theatres in I i stales by the
time the expansion is done. Rand theatres will
have computerized boxoffices and, in the
future, customers will be able to buy tickets
with a credit card, either over the phone or at
the theatre. Inside, the theatre floors are
steeply raked on what's called
a dish effect
slope, which reputedly assures an equal line
of vision for all
Also, the Rivercenter location
will offer movies dubbed in Spanish. Selecterl
movies will run simultaneously in English and
Spanish in separate theatres Rand now has
theatres in the District of Columbia, Albuquerque,
Baltimore, Denver, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Dallas, and parts of Tennessee,
Arkansas and Florida
Austin
Act III Theatres now owns and operates
the largest theatre chain in Austin, with the
acquisition of 26 screens from AMC Entertainment.
The purchase brings to 47 the number
of screens under Act Ill's Presidio banner in
Austin. The newly acquired complexes are
the Aquarius 4, Northcross 6, Riverside 8, and
Westgate 8. Acquisition of AMC's Southwood
2 is also pending. .
General Cinema has announced development
of two new eight-screen theatres in
Austin Scheduled for opening |uly 14 is the
Great Hills 8 Cinema In the fall of 1989, CCC
will smash a magnum over the Wells Branch 8
Cinema The one in Great Hills will have THX
sound enhancement and 70mm projection
Counting the two new houses, General Cinema
will operate 33 screens in the Austin
market.
Colorado
The National Association of Theatre Owners
is about to launch a vigorous statewide
protest in Colorado against a newly proposed
3',, state sales tax on entertainment and
amusement industries The money would go
for prison construction If adopted, the "passthrough"
amusement tax bill would force
theatregoers to shell out an additional 15 to
20 cents for movie tickets, which range from
$5 to $5.50 in the state.
CANADIAN NEWS
MONTREAL - The historic Rialto repertory
cinema will host 12 nights of "B-Movie
Madness" under its stained-glass roof during
the festival's mid-|uly run The program will
include such cult hits as Edward D Wood's
"Plan 9 from Outer Space" and Russ Meyer's
"Faster Pussycat' Kill' Kill'" The highlight of
this camp-out will be a feature-length minifest
of the animated shorts of lay Ward, the reclusive
genius behind "Rocky and Bullwinkle,"
"Fractured Fairy Tales,
Tuxedo,"
"Commander McBragg," "Peabody and
"
Sherman. and "George of the jungle
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