BoxOffice® Pro - June 2010

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JUNE 2010
SCHNEIDER · ROCK · JAMES · SANDLER · SPADE
ARE
EXCLUSIVES
Director Dennis Dugan on not herding comedians
Rob Schneider hazes Kevin James
Promoting this summer’s buddy movie
INSIDE HIRE · INSPIRE · RETIRE > TIPS FROM OUR FRONT OFFICE WINNERS
JOHN FITHIAN ON CINEMA CONCESSIONS AND THE RIGHT TO INDULGE
CAN THEATERS—AND THE STUDIOS—SURVIVE WITHOUT FILM CRITICS?
The Official Magazine of NATO

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JUNE 2010 VOL. 146 NO. 6
30 Industry News
Pixar adopts Dolby Surround 7.1 for Toy Story 3 / Producers Guild of
America’s Produced By Conference / Animating The Last Airbender /
Christie’s new partnership
34 On Management
Hire · Inspire · Retire > Tips for every step of your staff’s career
Disasters! > What would you do if …
Managers gone wild > Stories from 15 years working on the floor
40 Big Picture > Grown Ups BY AMY NICHOLSON
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Go long > Director Dennis Dugan
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW The man of a thousand faces > Star Rob Schneider
PROMOTION Reunited and it feels so good > Dust off that polyester tux
DEPARTMENTS
2 Charts & Graphs
Saturday Night Live > winners and
losers at the box office
6 Peanut Gallery
We ask > What is the funniest movie
you’ve ever seen?
8 Industry Briefs
Roundup of the latest announcements
from the world of exhibition
10 Executive Suite
Cinema concessions and the
right to indulge By John Fithian
12 Law & Order
There is nothing permanent
except change
By Gary Klein
14 Show Business
3D at the drive-in? By Phil Contrino
16 Timecode
The boy from Montana
By Kenneth James Bacon
18 Front Row
Can theaters—and studios—survive
without film critics?
By Pete Hammond
62 Marketplace
64 Classifieds
AWARDS
20 Front Line
Nick Brock, Tucson, AZ
22 Front Office
Daime Lai, Cerritos, CA
24 Marquee
IPic Entertainment’s Bayshore Town
Center, Glendale, WI
THE SLATE
46 On the Horizon
The Expendables / Scott Pilgrim vs. The
World / Piranha 3D
48 Coming Soon
Get Him to the Greek / Killers /
Marmaduke / Toy Story 3 / I Am Love /
Knight and Day / The Karate Kid
50 Quicktakes
Flash reviews of nine films that should
be on your radar
52 Booking Guide
Nearly 150 films that you can book
right now, complete with contact info,
film formats, audio formats and more
BOXOFFICE MEDIA
PUBLISHER
Peter Cane
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth James Bacon
BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
EDITOR
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INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTORS
John Fithian
Gary Klein
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
S. Matthew Bauer
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Ray Greene
Pete Hammond
Cole Hornaday
Wade Major
John P. McCarthy
Richard Mowe
Steve Ramos
Ed Scheid
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
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BOXOFFICE.COM
EDITOR
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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
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Pete Hammond
Joe Galm
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Steve Simels
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EDITORIAL INTERNS
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2 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

STOPPRESS
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Boxoffice went online for the second
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filmmaker interviews and other news from
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Only” button on their homepages. That’s
where you’ll find the specific news and data
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day. But click around both sites and let me
know what you think. The story behind the
sites in the next edition of Boxoffice.
IT ACTUALLY WAS ROCKET SCIENCE
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to readers in the November 1994 issue of
BOXOFFICE
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Coming in June at BoxOffice.com and BoxOfficeMagazine.com
REVIEWS
The summer movie season strikes! In June, prepare for Marmaduke, Get Him to the Greek,
The A-Team, The Karate Kid and Toy Story 3. Which flicks will become blockbusters? (And
which are doomed to be duds?)
WEEKLY ANTICIPATION INDEX
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releases. Be ahead of the curve: read our analysis.
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JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 3

CHARTS & GRAPHS
“…IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!”
On the release of Grown Ups, with a cast that includes seven Saturday
Night Live alums, we look at how the Not Ready for Primetime Players
have fared in movies based on their late-night characters
Title Distributor Year Rating
Domestic Gross
(adjusted for inflation
All data from BoxOffice.com
Domestic Gross
Wayne’s World Paramount 1992 PG-13 $233,100,000 $121,697,323
The Blues Brothers Universal 1980 R $169,100,000 $57,229,936
Wayne’s World 2 Paramount 1993 PG-13 $92,500,000 $48,197,805
A Night at the Roxbury Paramount 1998 PG-13 $51,100,000 $30,331,422
Coneheads Paramount 1993 PG $40,900,000 $21,274,790
Superstar Paramount 1999 PG-13 $43,500,000 $30,636,251
SO FAR, SO GOOD
Early word on the latest SNL comedy
with Will Forte is solid
Blues Brothers 2000 Universal 1998 PG-13 $23,800,000 $14,051,798
The Ladies Man Paramount 2000 R $20,100,000 $13,616,306
Stuart Saves His Family Paramount 1995 PG-13 $1,700,000 $912,642
It’s Pat Buena Vista 1994 PG-13 $118,500 $60,822
MacGruber Rogue 2010 R In Release
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
ADAM SANDLER
Adam Sandler’s Top 3 >
Big Daddy
The Waterboy
The Longest Yard
Chris Rock’s Top 3 >
The Longest Yard
Head of State
Death at a Funeral
David Spade’s Top 3 >
The Benchwarmers
Tommy Boy
Black Sheep
Rob Schneider’s Top 3 >
Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo
The Benchwarmers
The Hot Chick
CHRIS ROCK
ADAM SANDLER:
Still leader of the pack
Chart: Top 3 movies for Grown Ups’ SNL
cast members in which they top-lined*
Kevin James’ Top 3 >
Hitch
$180 mil
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
$146 mil
I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry $120 mil
DAVID SPADE
* live-action films only
ROB SCHNEIDER
Number of Saturday Night Live cast members who have been nominated for an Oscar 7
Dan Aykroyd Best Supporting Actor Driving Miss Daisy 1989
Joan Cusack
Best Supporting Actress Working Girl 1989
Best Supporting Actress In & Out 1997
Robert Downey, Jr.
Best Actor Chaplin 1992
Best Supporting Actor Tropic Thunder 2008
Michael McKean Best Song A Mighty Wind 2004
Eddie Murphy Best Supporting Actor Dreamgirls 2006
Bill Murray Best Actor Lost in Translation 2003
Randy Quaid Best Supporting Actor The Last Detail 1973
Number of Saturday Night Live featured players serving in the United States Senate 1
Al Franken D-Minnesota 2009–
4 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

The fi rst name in 4K.
Sony launched the fi rst 4K digital cinema projectors in 2005 to meet the industry’s highest specifi cations.
Our research proved that audiences appreciate the 4K advantage. After careful evaluation, our customers
agree. And now competitors are jumping in. It’s no surprise. Sony has long been synonymous with advanced
engineering, innovation and picture quality. No wonder the industry is choosing Sony 4K. First and foremost.
Visit sony.com/4K to see the full list of Sony Digital Cinema 4K theaters or to schedule a demonstration.
© 2010 Sony Electronics Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Features and specifi cations are subject to change without notice.
Sony, Sony Digital Cinema, Sony Digital Cinema 4K, make.believe and their respective logos are trademarks of Sony.

PEANUT GALLERY
Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois,
Directors How to Train Your
Dragon
Chris: The movie that I laughed
the most at, ever, was South Park:
Bigger, Longer & Uncut. It is actually
the funniest movie I ever sat
through. Usually when you sit in a
movie audience, you tend to laugh
more than when you watch it by
yourself at home. I saw that movie
by myself at home and people
would have thought a crazy person
was in the house because all I did
was scream and laugh through the
THE QUESTION: What is the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?
whole thing. It really is hilarious.
Dean: To that end, The Simpsons
Movie is also pretty hilarious. I
also thought, I have to say, that
Team America: World Police had
me wetting my shorts. Basically
anything by Trey Parker and Matt
Stone. I’d say those are three
pretty good examples because the
writing’s so smart. It’s just so fresh,
abrasive, poignant and relevant. It
just makes us giddy and squeal.
Brian Taylor, President
Kernel Season’s
Dumb and Dumber, because after
watching it for my 200th time in
college, it was still funny!
Antonio Banderas, Actor
Shrek Forever After
The Party. I love the early works of
Mel Brooks, too—Blazing Saddles
I like, It has Dom DeLuise and a
great group of actors. But The
Party is hilarious. The characters
don’t take themselves seriously.
There’s a rhythm and a narrative
process and Peter Sellers. You
know how he actually started
working? It’s a most interesting
story. He actually called a
producer pretending to be the
voice of Sir Laurence Olivier and
recommended himself. Saying,
this is the guy that is going to be
the best comedian in the history
of British movies and you have to
see him—he faked the voice of
Laurence Olivier and then later
when he actually went to the interview,
the guy said to him, “You
know, Laurence Olivier called
talking beautifully about you.” But
it was Sellers himself! That’s how
he got his first job. It’s fantastic.
That scene in The Party when he’s
sitting down at a table with a little
stool and you can only see the top
of his head—it’s so funny.
Nash and Joel Edgerton,
Director and Writer The Square
Nash: There were parts of Happy
Gilmore where my stomach hurt
from laughing so much. And
Planes, Trains and Automobiles—
Joel: Yes! Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Nash: And Borat. It’s relentless.
Stuart Bowling,
Technical Marketing Manager
Dolby
My all-time classic is Planes,
Trains and Automobiles. I love
that movie. I can watch that time
and time again. John Hughes’
writing is just spot-on and the
combination of Steve Martin and
John Candy—their execution
and facial expressions, just the
chemistry between them—is
fantastic. It cracks me up every
time I see it.
Paul Cichocki,
Post-Production Supervisor
Pixar
Blazing Saddles. That was one of
those total breakout, hysterical
films I remember seeing as a
kid—I’ve never forgotten it and
someday, I want to be involved
in something that wacky and
entertaining. I can only imagine
what those sets must have been
like. How hard would it be to keep
a straight face on that set!? ■
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6 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

INDUSTRY BRIEFS
CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS
BLOCKBUSTER
REALD
Christie donated digital cinema projectors
to the social outreach program
“Let’s all go to Cinépolis Haiti,” which
screened 11 free movies to more than
70,000 people devastated by the
February 12th earthquake. A joint effort
between the Cinépolis Foundation
and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Mexico, as well as the support of the
Ministry of Culture of Haiti, FilmAid
International, DOR Internacional and
Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc, movies
were shown nightly on an inflatable
screen in shelters located throughout
Port au Prince and surrounding areas.
The line up included shorts themed on
survival, unity and civic participation—
some recorded by survivors of the
earthquake—as well as feature length,
Hollywood movies including 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea, Ice Age: The
Meltdown and Night at the Museum.
Blockbuster struck a deal giving
Warner Bros., Sony and Fox a first lien
on its Canadian assets in exchange for
day-and-date delivery of DVD rentals
for movies from those studios, as well
as payment terms that are tweaked to
favor Blockbuster up front. Warners already
had said it was giving Blockbuster
movies 28 days before giving them
to Netflix and Redbox. “These positive
signs of studio support are part of our
overall recapitalization effort to drive
top-line performance while reducing
debt and operating costs at Blockbuster,”
Blockbuster CFO Tom Casey
said. “This affirms our strong and collaborative
business relations with these
critical vendors.”
RealD’s initial public offering is moving
closer to reality. The company’s
S-1 filing with the SEC in advance of
the IPO proposes a value of $200 million
for the company, but speculation
is that the value of the offering could
run as high as $1 billion. The filing
notes RealD derives “substantially all”
of its revenue from the licensing of its
cinema systems and the use and sale
of its eyewear. No date for the IPO has
been set.
RAVE MOTION PICTURES
MASTERIMAGE
REGAL ENTERTAINMENT
Rave Motion Pictures will digitally
upgrade 356 Rave screens across 20
U.S. states under Cinedigm’s Phase 2
program, a quarter of which already
have previously installed digital cinema
equipment. The bulk will be converted
using Barco Series II projection equipment.
Tom Stephenson, President
of Rave Motion Pictures, says, “Our
experience working with Cinedigm
over the past few years has been excellent.
They provide the technology
that makes running our theaters in the
digital cinema age successful, and the
alternative content programming that
helps make our customers recognize
Rave as a superior entertainment
provider. We’re excited to extend our
working relationship with them and to
bring more entertainment to our new
locations across the country.”
MasterImage 3D introduced their
reusable glasses at the 2010 NAB
Show. The glasses are fitted with the
company’s circular polarized lenses
and will be available to theater owners
this month at a market setting list price
of $5 a pair. The glasses do not require
batteries. Says MasterImage’s Peter
Koplik, “We are mindful of the environmental
benefits afforded by reusable
glasses and wanted to offer exhibitors
options so they can select the right
product for their needs.”
Regal Entertainment Group plans
to launch its own giant-screen format.
The chain will call their offering the
RPX, which stands for Regal Premium
Experience, and the all-digital format
will feature luxury seats, state of the art
sound and a giant “immersive screen.”
It debuted May 7 with the release of
Iron Man 2 in New York City. “The addition
of the RPX locations to Regal’s
already successful IMAX strategy will
complement and extend the number
of Regal theaters featuring premium
moviegoing experiences,” Regal said
in a release. A month earlier, AMC
Entertainment decided to open more
of its own ETX large-format theaters.
AMC and Regal are IMAX’s two largest
customers.
Responded IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond,
“It took a hundred million dollars
in R&D to build the IMAX brand...I
think putting an ‘X’ in a name and
building a big screen doesn’t recreate
the IMAX experience.”
NATIONAL CINEMEDIA
HOLLYWOOD THEATERS
NCM delivered 35.3 million ad exposures
per month to moviegoing adults
in the fourth quarter of 2009 to place
first in Nielsen’s new “Fourth-Screen
Network Audience Report.” The inaugural
quarterly report measured 10 of
the largest location-based networks in
the country, analyzing gross monthly
digital advertising exposures, on-site
traffic counts, third-party-reported
transactions and client-supplied
transaction data that were either audited
against third-party data or accompanied
by affidavits of accuracy.
Captivate, the network of TV screens
located in elevators, ranked second
with an average 31.3 million gross
monthly ad exposures. Rounding out
the top five were Zoom Fitness, the
health club-based network (29.4 million);
NCM competitor Screenvision
(26.4 million); and Zoom Social, the bar
and restaurant network (25.2 million).
In the last four months of 2009, adults
18 years or older were exposed to 237
million video ads per month in the 10
location-based video networks measured
in the report. Nielsen also compared
exposures in the place-based
nets to prime-time TV and found that
the average audience for a prime-time
broadcast TV commercial was 3 million
viewers age 18-plus in October 2009.
During that same period, video ad exposures
to NCM’s and Screenvision’s
movie theater networks combined for
an average 61.7 million, meaning that
it took about 20 prime-time ads to
reach the same audience as a typical
month-long advertising flight in both
movie theater networks.
Hollywood Theaters based in Colo.
chose Vista as their new operating system
for their new SouthGlenn Stadium
14 cinema. Vista Cinema is a new cinema
concept for Hollywood Theaters
that features reserved and balcony
seating and a full service restaurant.
8 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

STARPLEX CINEMAS
LANDMARK THEATRES
SONY
Starplex Cinemas of Dallas
announced a deal with GDC to deploy
99 GDC servers. As part of Cinedigm’s
Phase 2 digital cinema deployment
program, GDC servers will be
integrated with Series 2 DLP Cinema
projectors supplied by Barco. Starplex
Cinemas currently operates 21 theaters
with 208 screens in the states of Texas,
Oklahoma, Washington, Florida,
Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and California.
Steve Holmes, CEO of Starplex
Cinemas, says, “Starplex went through
an extensive testing period with GDC
Technology and feels confident it
will support the current and future
demands of digital projection.”
On Earth Day, Landmark Theatres
launched the EcoSelect popcorn bag
in 55 theaters across the country.
EcoSelect popcorn bags are made
of FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)
certified natural fiber, which means
that up to 50 percent of the energy
used to produce the natural fiber
is sourced from hydro power and
renewable bio-fuels. The bags are
printed with water-based inks on
natural, chlorine-free paper and are
100 percent biodegradable.
In April, Sony launched 3D School, a
three-day course offered to directors
of photography who want to learn
the new technology. Two hundred
filmmakers signed up in the first
four days and the free classes are
not restricted to those affiliated with
Sony. “There was a realization that if
Sony wants to promote 3D, bad 3D
experiences are going to hurt Sony
a lot,” said technology head Chris
Cookson. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a
Paramount movie or a football game
that’s really terrible. If somebody
watches it and gets uncomfortable,
they’re not going to be interested in
what we’re doing in 3D, whether it is
equipment or TV sets or movies.”
KODAK
ODEON + UCI
TIVOLI
Lauren Lung has been named vice
president and general manager of
Kodak’s Entertainment Imaging Division
in North and South America. Prior
to this role, Lung was VP of Corporate
Business Development and Marketing
Operations and had global responsibility
for the company’s business development
partnerships and marketing
operations. Former VP Peter Boyce
is now general manager for the division’s
Europe, Africa and Middle East
Region. “We continue to be driven by
the filmmakers who want to bring their
visions to the screen in more powerful
and compelling ways,” says Lung. “I
look forward to working hand-in-hand
with them and our partners in the
industry to deliver the expertise, technology,
products and solutions they
have come to expect from Kodak.”
Odeon and UCI Cinemas signed a
deal with Universal Pictures International
(UPI) through which UPI will
provide digital versions of Universal’s
movie releases in the U.K. and Ireland.
Those releases, according to the parties,
will be “made possible by Odeon
and UCI Cinemas Group’s ongoing
digital conversion process.” The move
to 100 percent digital projection for
their 800 screens is expected to be
fully completed by 2012. As of March,
Odeon and UCI operated 154 digital
screens in the U.K.
Tivoli Lighting has moved into a
new 15,136 sq. ft. building in Orange
County, CA. The new building has a
product-application showroom; additional
employee work stations; large
reception and conferencing rooms;
high-bay manufacturing space with
dual loading-dock doors for over-theroad
trucks; full drive-around capability
and easy access to multiple freeways.
HARKNESS
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
CINEDIGM
Harkness Screens is debuting its
Perlux 220 3D screen in India with the
recent install at the Urvashi Cinema
in Bangalore. Featuring a 56-foot by
28-foot Perlux 220, Urvashi is the first
3D digital equipped single screen cinema
in India. With a seating capacity
of 1,100, including a balcony of 464
seats, Urvashi has some 30 3D movies
lined up over the next 12-18 months.
“With the explosion of blockbuster
movies coming out in 3D and digital
2D, it was essential for us to equip our
cinema with a screening system that
could provide our patrons with all of
the action and excitement of 3D,” says
Amit Gowda, president of Urvashi.
Jimmy Horowitz has been promoted
to President of Universal Pictures. In
his new role, Horowitz will work, shape
and implement domestic strategic
business initiatives and help manage
day-to-day business operations. A key
member of Universal’s senior management
team, Horowitz previously served
as Co-President of Production and
Executive Vice President of Universal
Pictures, a position he held since
July 2006. Prior to joining the studio,
Horowitz served as counsel for the Alliance
of Motion Picture and Television
Producers (AMPTP).
Cinedigm plans to more than double
its network of satellite-enabled theater
locations across the United States by
deploying an additional 300 locations
by the end of 2010. This will increase
its satellite-enabled theater network
to more than 575 locations. “Satellite
delivery is the most secure, the most
efficient and the most environmentally
friendly way to deliver movies and
other content to theaters,” said Chuck
Goldwater, President of Cinedigm’s
Media Services Group.
GOT NEWS? Submit it for Industry
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JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 9

EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC QUOTABLE GROSSERS QUOTE
EXECUTIVE SUITE
“
JOHN
FITHIAN
NATO
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
I adore simple pleasures.
They are the last refuge
of the complex. … The
only way to get rid of a
temptation is to yield to
it. Resist it, and your soul
grows sick with longing
for the things it has
forbidden to itself.
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
1891
“
CINEMA
CONCESSIONS
AND THE RIGHT
TO INDULGE
Give me liberty or
give me carrot sticks
With the exception of Halloween, I
won’t buy packages of candy for
my seven year old daughter to eat
at home. Any popcorn served in the Fithian
house is the ultra-lite, microwave variety
with no butter or bad butter substitutes. And
I can honestly say that I haven’t made nachos
at home even once during the past ten years,
despite the fact that I would love to. Similarly,
when we go out to eat at a restaurant,
I typically look to my wife for recommendations
because, as she says, I “have no idea
what’s truly healthy and not” on the menu.
However, when I go to the movies at one
of our local NATO member theaters, the
rules change. Daughter Ellie gets to select
the candy of her choice in the really big box
size. If one or both of my older sons come
along, they’ll eat popcorn, candy and regular
soda. And the cinema concession counter is
the only place where I will ever indulge my
craving for nachos—preferably with lots of
cheese sauce and jalapeños. (I do order diet
soda.) I do not feel guilty about my choices
for myself and my children, and believe our
personal eating and snacking habits constitute
responsible behavior and also fit comfortably
within the “norm” of the average—
or even health-conscious—cinema patron.
The data on rising childhood and adult
obesity rates are indisputable. Nearly 34 percent
of adults are obese—more than double
the percentage 30 years ago. During that
time, the share of obese children tripled to 17
percent. In addition, 68 percent of adults and
nearly one-third of children are considered
at least overweight with a body mass index
of 25 or higher. (For a 5-foot-8 person, that
would be 164 pounds.) I don’t write this column
as a campaign for junk food consumption.
I agree that parents must focus more
aggressively on healthy foods at home and
school, and schedule time every day for their
children to have physical play and organized
exercise. (And of course, the parents need to
follow the same steps!) But a trip to the movies
should be considered a treat—an escape
from the normal daily routine.
Americans go out to the movies more
than audiences in most other countries.
Even in the U.S., however, the national
average of tickets sold per person (admissions
per capita aged 2+) in 2009 was only
4.3. Most people eat three meals a day and
sneak in two snacks. In one year, that’s 1825
consumption events. Snacks at the cinema,
on average, contribute a grand total of 0.2
percent of all consumption opportunities.
Should splurging on caloric, fatty, sugary and
salty treats 0.2 percent of the time be considered
irresponsible? Apparently, the majority
of people—myself included—believe that it
is not.
As for typical cinema patron behavior, I
refer first to the anecdotal evidence witnessed
nightly by my teenage son who works
proudly as an usher shift-lead at the Regal
Potomac Yards in Alexandria, Virginia. Alex
tells me, not surprisingly, that movie patrons
eat a lot of popcorn, soda and candy and
leave the refuse from their splurging all over
the auditoriums.
As exhibit “B” in my examination of
cinema patron concessions preferences,
I turn to the Great Popcorn
Scare of 1994. Serving as outside counsel to
NATO, I attended the NATO board and membership
meeting in Boston, Mass. a mere ten
days after the Center for Science in the Public
Interest (“CSPI”) announced the results of
their first study of movie theater popcorn.
CSPI was already famous for their previous
attacks on other foods like fettuccine alfredo
and most Chinese feasts. Now they came
after our members’ popcorn, calling it “artery
clogging” and claiming that a medium plain
popcorn was twice as fatty as a Big Mac with
fries.
With President Bill Kartozian at the helm,
the one hundred members assembled at the
meetings sprang into action. We drafted
(and the members approved unanimously)
a resolution focused on consumer choice
which suggested that the industry would
offer healthier concession alternatives.
Many of our members quickly took action to
change the oils used to prepare popcorn or—
even more often and more dramatically—to
purchase air-popping machines that used
no oils. The industry widely marketed the
offering of these alternatives. Some in the
press loved our rapid response, and CSPI
took credit for making a significant impact
10 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

on a healthier movie theater concession
experience.
Unfortunately, the patrons hated the
new, healthier popcorn. Sales fell, and
the program fizzled. Ginny Shelby from
Millersville, MD. wrote a personal note
to NATO stating, “If I want air-popped I
can stay home and watch TV. I love the
movies and the popcorn just the way it is.
Please don’t change it.” The Boston Globe
editorialized that, “Air-popping may be
more sensible, but people do not go to the
movies to be sensible. They go to escape,
and the refreshment stand provides
the junk food to accompany their mind
candy.” The Orlando Sentinel added,
“We’re all for healthier eating, in general,
but that shouldn’t preclude something
sinfully succulent in moderation … The
simple fact is that the coconut-oil-andbutter
combo tastes great and complements
a good movie.”
We learned important lessons
from the Great Popcorn Scare of
1994. First, patrons confirmed
for us their preference for buttery, salty, oilladen
movie theater popcorn. They love the
stuff and consider it their right to indulge
at our cinemas. Second, despite the massive
press coverage of the asserted health risks
involved, and the concomitant industry
response, our consumers wanted nothing
to do with healthier popcorn alternatives.
They demonstrated without question their
desire to indulge in tasty snacks at the cinema,
even with the full knowledge of the
contents of their consumption. Given that
patron reaction, virtually all of the NATO
members who had experimented with airpopped
corn abandoned the practice and
returned to oil popping.
Now I don’t mean to suggest that
NATO members should never consider
healthier concessions options.
Our industry successfully expanded our
historical soda offerings to include diet
drinks, bottled water and other reducedcalorie
options. At some locations with
certain demographics, food options from
fruit smoothies to hummus and healthy
sandwiches have sold. Indeed, several
NATO members have new, healthier food
options going into the market currently.
But in the end, it’s all about consumer
choice. Our members will sell what movie
patrons want to buy—it’s that simple.
And much, much more often than not,
movie-goers want to snack on popcorn,
candy and soda. Who ever talks about going
out for “movies and apples?”
History repeats itself and so does
the CSPI. On November 19, 2009, CSPI
released another movie theater popcorn
report giving their assessment of concessions
sold at Regal, AMC and Cinemark.
This time, however, we learned from history—even
if CSPI did not. NATO quickly
coordinated an understated, downplayed
message with the three leading members
highlighted in the report, and the
story died in 24 hours. Few if any movie
patrons who saw the second CSPI report
raised any concerns with us. NATO Chairman
Tony Kerasotes summed it up nicely
when asked about the issue at ShoWest:
“Every couple of years the Center of No
Fun comes up with a report about how
bad popcorn is.” Amen, Tony.
We come full circle, then, to my exasperation
at ShoWest 2010 in Las Vegas
when featured speaker Michael Lynton,
chairman and chief executive of Sony
Pictures, suggested that movie theaters offer
healthier snacks to help fight obesity.
Lynton gave a great speech otherwise by
describing the successful partnership
between distribution and exhibition
and the great year at the box office, and
by treading carefully though honestly
through the issue of release windows. At
the end of his speech, though, he seemed
to discard reality and history when he
suggested that our members start selling
“fruit cups, vegetables with dip, yogurt,
granola bars, baked chips and unbuttered,
air-popped popcorn.” He went on
for a good ten minutes with the healthysnacks-to-fight-obesity
theme.
NATO once again underplayed our
immediate media response to Lynton, and
once again the story died in a day or two.
But now with the delay of a few months,
and the more focused readership of Boxoffice,
I can offer a little more in response.
I respect Lynton’s desire to address a
growing problem of obesity and I believe
it comes from the heart. But what was he
thinking to come to the largest convention
of theater operators in the world and
suggest how our members should sell
concessions? Maybe the MPAA will invite
me over to talk to their members about
my views on guns and the asserted causal
connections between violence in movies
and in life? Probably not.
■
Consistency. Quality. Performance.
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 11

EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC QUOTABLE GROSSERS QUOTE
LAW & ORDER
“
GARY
KLEIN
NATO
Vice-President
and General
Counsel
As NATO members
are among the largest
employers of part-time
and younger workers,
[my] experience will
enable me to provide both
guidance on compliance
with various laws and
also insight into how best
to effectively deal with
proposed legislation in
areas that affect members’
interests.
“
“THERE IS
NOTHING
PERMANENT
EXCEPT
CHANGE”
–Heraclitus
The acronyms are new,
but the fight is the same
As this is the first of what I hope will
be many columns for Boxoffice, I had
some angst in figuring out what to
write about. Given my brief tenure at NATO, it’s
not as if I have this vast institutional history to
draw on or the knowledge to expound on some
obscure legal issue of vital importance to NATO
members that they are anxiously awaiting to
hear. I considered writing about something that
would illustrate some knowledge of the law
surrounding key issues faced by the members:
antitrust, employment law, intellectual property.
But as I started to jot down points to cover, the
piece started to look like a first year law school
course which, trust me, would not have made
most people’s must-read list. So with deadlines
approaching, I started to look at the matters I
encountered in my first few weeks at NATO for a
glimmer of an idea. I recalled that on my second
day of work, I received a phone call from an
attorney in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Justice
Department wanting to discuss the possible
antitrust implications ic
of the digital transition,
and the role of the studios in dealing with
the integrator, to
which I responded with
a forceful “Huh?” In the days that fol-
lowed, I was in meetings discussing the negotiations
with the studios on VPFs and other (as yet)
unknown acronyms, capped off a short time
later by a dust up over the DVD release window.
And then in my third week it was off to Vegas
and ShoWest. Welcome to NATO!
I finally decided to adhere to the cardinal rule,
“Write what you know.” I’ve chosen a subject
with which I am intimately familiar: Me. Well,
not me precisely, but a bit about my background
and experience and what I hope to contribute to
NATO’s ongoing success as its members confront
new technologies, and the association begins a
new era of show management with CinemaCon.
Although I started work as a lawyer in
Washington, DC specializing in employment
law and appellate litigation, through a series
of inexplicably lucky steps, I sold a pilot idea
for a situation comedy to one of the Big Three
networks—and, despite no previous experience,
was hired to write the pilot episode. So I
left the firm and moved to Los Angeles where I
spent seven years with moderate success. (The
pilot never made it on the schedule.) I became a
member of the Writers Guild and learned a great
deal about the business of entertainment and the
decision-making process of studios. Back then, I
used to call myself a “recovering” lawyer in the
12 Step program, but after a prolonged writer’s
strike that led to studio cutbacks in writing staff
and fewer freelance assignments, I decided that
I would never get past the 9th Step—the
one where you have to apologize to
anyone you may have offended in your
life—and I moved back to D.C. to resume
my legal career.
This led to a senior position in the
U.S. Department of Labor where I
advised on the enforcement of the
Fair Labor Standards Act, Wage
and Hour, OSHA, ADA, etc.
And then it was on to
Capital Hill as counsel
on two Senate Subcommittees
covering areas
including tort reform,
intellectual property,
antitrust and international
trade. As
12 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

NATO members are among the largest employers of part-time and
younger workers, this experience will enable me to provide both guidance
on compliance with various laws and also insight into how best
to effectively deal with proposed legislation in areas that affect members’
interests. NATO has a built-in grass roots network that, when
activated, can have tremendous influence. It reminds me of a remark
by a powerful committee chairman to a legendary trade association
executive. A coalition of high tech associations had enlisted the librarians
and their associations—known to be very active—in an effort to
amend a bill, and the chairman was about to include their language.
When the association executive complained that the librarians were
not the real beneficiaries of the amendment, the chairman told him,
“This is like the dispute between the Greeks and the Turks. The Turks
may be right on the merits, but the Greeks have a restaurant in everybody’s
neighborhood.” And like Greek restaurants, NATO members
are in every congressional district.
After four years helping make law—and yes, it is messier
than making sausage—I became the General Counsel of
the Consumer Electronics Association, whose big issue at
the time was transitioning from analog to digital broadcasting. That
tough transition was eerily similar to what NATO members are currently
facing in their transition from film to digital projection. And
while the respective interests and impacts are quite different, many of
the parties involved are not. CEA had to navigate its way between the
studios’ fear over the potential for massive copyright infringement,
and the reluctance of the broadcasters to give up their free analog
spectrum—not to mention convincing consumers of the need to
replace 250 million televisions. Having led the legal effort to get this
accomplished provides an understanding of the challenges NATO
members face over the cost of this transition as exhibition negotiates
with the studios, who will save collectively some $1 billion dollars
in print costs. Perhaps even more relevant to my new position, CEA
owns and manages the International Consumer Electronics Show,
one of the biggest trade shows in the world with over 2000 exhibitors.
For the International CES, I provided virtually all legal services, a role
I expect to continue as we launch CinemaCon in 2011.
Eventually, I left the world of big people’s toys and joined an association
whose members make little people’s toys: the Toy Industry Association,
where in addition to dealing with the general legal matters
one encounters at a trade association, there were FCC and FTC issues
regarding program ratings on cable, advertising to children under 12
and managing all the legal aspects of TIA’s well known trade show.
More to the point, the age of the ultimate consumer was skewing
younger as kids moved from traditional toys to computer and video
games earlier than anticipated—and the industry had to adjust. And
with studio members like Disney and Warner, protecting intellectual
property was paramount (no pun intended).
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it. Which brings me to the
2,500-year-old quote at the top of this article. I’ve been involved with
issues that required associations to adapt to change, and it is exciting
to be a part of NATO at this stage. Indeed, the potential of 3D as a
killer app for the digital transition reminds me of the reaction when
people first saw HDTV. But NATO members will still be exhibiting
what the studios create, regardless of the technology used to transmit
it. So here is a more appropriate quote from a modern philosopher,
Paul Simon: “Something unstoppable set into motion. Nothing is different,
but everything’s changed.”
■
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 13

HEY GOOD LOOKING
The Taylors challenge the industry to
bring 3D to drive-ins
SHOW BUSINESS
PHIL
CONTRINO
Editor
BoxOffice.com
EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC GROSSERS
WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN
In 1953, two of the top three grossing
films were 3D pictures, Bwana Devil
and House of Wax. Hitchcock made
a 3D film and now Scorcese is planning
one. Making the transition to 3D
particularly difficult for exhibitors then
was the nearly simultaneous introduction
of CinemaScope and the era of wide
screens. For several years during this
time, BOXOFFICE carried advertising and
published editorial touting the dozens of
manufacturers and vendors promoting
products specifically geared toward 3D
exhibition—both for indoor and outdoor
theaters. Below is an ad that appeared
in the October 3, 1953 edition of our
quarterly section, The Modern Theatre.
3D AT THE
DRIVE-IN?
As technology advances,
an important part of the
exhibition industry keeps pace
You would be hard pressed to find
one person who would disagree that
the drive-in theater is an American
institution. While theater owners
treasure 3D’s place in history, most drive-in
owners don’t want to
become historical artifacts.
Enter Chase Taylor.
I met Chase and his
father, Jeff Taylor, at ShoWest
2010. We all go through
a lot of introductions in
Vegas. You shake a phalanx
of hands and exchange
enough business cards for
an acre of rainforest. Unfortunately,
a lot of conversations
don’t make it past the
small talk. That wasn’t the
case with Chase; He got
right to the point. As we
journalists say, he didn’t
bury the lede. And his story
is one worth telling.
Chase believes that 3D
can be done at the drivein.
The idea stopped me
dead in my tracks. With
the focus on converting
brick-and-mortar theaters
to digital, I had overlooked
how drive-ins could take advantage
of new technology.
Jeff and Chase incorporated Continental
Cinemas on November 18, 1997. Like many in
the exhibition industry, they made their dream
a reality. Their first project, a five-screen indoor
theater in Troy, Alabama, opened its doors on
June 26, 1998. Soon, they’d done well enough to
start a drive-in in Newton, AL.
Now, more than a decade later, the Taylors
are looking to keep up with the times—and
their customers’ wants. As everyone in the
industry knows, it’s not simple when the old
system gives way to new opportunities. There is
a rough period where the price of adapting new
technology is high. Luckily for the Taylors, they
made the early decision to face the transition
head on.
Chase is a natural showman and he knows
exactly how to reach a new generation of
patrons.
“We have found that Facebook is a fantastic
way to get to our customers immediately,” says
Chase. “At our brick-and-mortar location, we’ve
already cut out newspaper ads, and to this day
we have not had one customer come up to us
and ask why we’re not in the paper. That spoke
quite loudly to us.”
Chase also understands the business. Three
out of the five theaters at the Cinema Continental
5—or CC5 as it’s known to local patrons—
have digital capability. A sixth screen, also
digital, is now under construction.
When I ask Chase if he made the right
decision to convert, there isn’t a moment of
hesitation.
“Oh, absolutely. There’s no time to turn
heads and look behind us. We’ve done the correct
decision by putting digital in our houses.”
The CC5 charges $8 for general admission
and a $2.50 upcharge for 3D, right around the
national average. The results were encouraging
enough for the Taylors to look at bringing the
3D theatrical experience to their drive-in venue.
14 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

LINE ‘EM UP
Family fare is key to drive-ins—but
will they be handicapped by 3D
giants like Toy Story 3 and Shrek
Forever After?
After all, the drive-in business depends heavily
on the family dollar. Now, as more family
films are made for 3D, drive-ins will face
greater competition since they can’t show a
film as it was intended.
“Through some careful examinations of
the numbers—and going through how much
light we would have to achieve, as well as
what type of big hurdles we would have to
jump—I personally think it’s a theory that’s
worth exploring further,” says Chase. “It’s a
financial thing at that point to get past how
much a digital system would cost to get it
into a drive-in—and to see if it works.”
As an exhibition professional, Chase
approaches new developments from both a
business and technical perspective. When
it comes to the details of how the system
would operate, he knows where he stands.
“The screen will have to be painted with
silver screen paint for exterior use. This is
needed to hold polarization and for brightness,”
says Taylor. The screen he envisions is
66’ x 28’ with at 445’ throw.
“Sound will also be an obstacle,” adds
Taylor. “Most hearing-impaired outputs on
sound processors only output Left, Center
and Right. If there was a processor that
could output at least Left, Center, Right, Left
Surround, and Right Surround out of the
hearing-impaired output, that would solve
the problem.”
Chase also stresses the importance of using
disposable glasses. It’s enough of a challenge
to make sure that people recycle them
after they walk out of a theater. Imagine
what it will take to stop people from driving
off with them.
As with any theory, there needs to be a
period of trial and error. That’s what Chase
is looking for as he stands on the vanguard
of an exciting—and necessary—innovation.
Consider this an official call to arms to
all the technical leaders reading this magazine
right now. Can you make 3D happen
at Chase’s drive-in? Invest in one phone call
with him. You’ll hear the enthusiasm and
natural drive the industry and its drive-ins
need to expand 3D’s reach.
“I’m not asking anybody for a free projector,
but let’s throw one in there and see if
works,” says Chase. “It would be great if we
could get some equipment manufactures to
say, ‘All right, let’s just try it.’”
■
DON’T JUST STAND THERE
The drive-in needs to compete
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 15

THE BOY FROM MONTANA
He led a life right out of the movies, but I just called him Uncle Paul
EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC GROSSERS SEMPER FIDELIS
TIMECODE
KENNETH
JAMES
BACON
Creative
Director,
BOXOFFICE
Media
HE OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES
Sgt. Paul Kerns in full Marine regalia
and, above, at age 102 in 2003
Besides blowing stuff up, Michael Bay is
well-known in Hollywood for receiving
more cooperation from the U.S. Defense
Department than all other filmmakers. Even
though any producer or director can go to the
Office of Public Affairs’ page at www.army.mil
and download their licensing agreement (hey,
just like Mattel!), only Michael Bay can get an
actual, operational Transformer. But Bay wasn’t
the first in Hollywood to get such treatment.
The first film to receive assistance from the
U.S. military was Tell It to the Marines starring
Lon Chaney in 1926. MGM
pursuaded The Fighting
Quaker, General Smedley
Butler, to allow the production
to film on the Marine
base in San Diego. To add
verisimilitude to the procedings,
real Marines were
recruited to play themselves
in the picture. It was one
of the studio’s biggest hits
of the year and was said to
have caused enlistments to
spike. Two years later, silent
star Richard Dix and famed
aviatrix Ruth Elder arrived
on base to shoot Moran of
the Marines. As Lon Chaney
had set the bar so high in his portrayal of a drill
sergeant, the makers of Moran recruited a real
drill sergeant to coach Dix. His name was Paul
Kerns and he was my uncle.
As you can see at left, Paul Kerns should have
been a movie star. However, as a boy in St. Ignatius,
Montana, Paul had dreams of seeing the
FORBIDDEN CAMERA
In 1924, Paul Kerns, dressed as a member
of the American Legation Guard
Band, snuck into the Forbidden City
THE ALMOST LAST EMPEROR
Prince P’u Jie, Princess Tang Shihhsia
and Paul Kerns in Peking, 1925
world and thought his best bet was as a man in
uniform. And as he told me in 2003, women love
the uniform. So, in 1919, he became a jarhead.
In the early ‘20s, the most prized assignment
in the Marines was with the American
Legation Guard in Peking (Beijing), China. To
get a sense of what it was like to be a Marine in
China at that time, place 1966’s wonderful The
Sand Pebbles with Steve McQueen in your Netflix
queue. Marines stuck in San Diego joked that it
took an act of Congress to get to China or that
you needed a skill of such outlandish rarity that
they had to send you. As luck
would have it, Paul possessed
the singular ability
that was in short supply in
Peking. Paul played halfback.
The commanding general in
Peking needed a halfback if
he was to beat the Marines
stationed in Shanghai. After
all, money was on the line.
So off to China Paul went,
where he immediately
came under the spell of a
charming, young Americaneducated
nurse named Anna
Belle Loh.
Anna Loh had friends in
high places and soon Paul
found himself in the company of Prince P’u Jie,
the younger brother of the man still living in
the Forbidden City: P’u Yi—The Last Emperor.
The Prince and his wife, Princess Tang Shih-hsia,
became Paul’s generous hosts during his posting
in China, introducing him to many high-profile
personalities, including The Young Marshall,
Chang Hsueh-liang. Paul also befriended the
Soong Sisters, subjects of an 1997 awardingwinning
film featuring Hong Kong star Maggie
Cheung.
Entrance into the Forbidden City was restricted
to but a very few. However, the American
Legation Guard Band was invited to entertain
The Boy Emperor one day in 1924. Paul
disguised himself as a flautist and followed the
band into the Forbidden City—with a forbidden
camera. One of dozens of his photographs
appears on this page.
While in China, Paul and his buddies began
to hang out with a “shaggy rumpled lot” stuck
in Peking waiting for permits so they could head
into the vast fossil fields of the Gobi Desert in
16 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

search of bones—dinosaur bones. The leader of this group, later to
become the director of the American Museum of Natural History, was
an adventurer (and some say publicity hound) named Roy Chapman
Andrews. It’s now a common belief that Andrews was the inspiration
for Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones character in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Paul’s next posting was in Nicaragua, and when he wasn’t charming
the women of Matagalpa he was battling Sandinista bandits
with “Chesty” Puller (played by William Sadler in HBO’s The Pacific).
In December, 1931, Sgt. Paul Kerns was awarded the Navy Cross for
heroism and was the first receipient Nicaragua’s Cruz de Valor.
One evening, Paul and a friend were out on the town in Matagalpa
looking for their buddy, Sgt. Maurice “Mike” Chenoweth. They figured
that the best way to find him would be to go out into the street
and listen to where any drunken hilarity may be taking place. Chenowith
was easy to locate—loud and several blocks away in the only
cantina in town. They found him conducting a contest to determine
who would pay for drinks. Chenoweth demonstrated the procedure
by running towards the dance floor and sliding as far as possible. The
person with the shortest slide would pay the tab.
Chenoweth was a fellow member of the Guardia and his reputation
as the life of the party and a ‘hound dog’ followed him home
after leaving the Corp. He joined the Michigan State Police and upon
retirement from the force opened, of course, a tavern. Whether it
had a slippery dance floor or not is unrecorded, though Chenoweth
apparently did win a beard growing contest there.
One July evening in 1952, Army Lt. Coleman Peterson went to
Chenoweth’s Lumberjack Tavern in Big Bay and shot the ex-Marine
dead. Coleman then emptied his gun into the barkeep’s sprawled
body; seven shots in all. It was Coleman’s later claim that he had gone
into a rage after his wife Charlotte had told him that Chenoweth had
beaten and raped her after having spurned his advances. Many doubted
her story. At trial, Peterson was represented by local attorney and
fly-fishing enthusiast John D. Voelker who engineered a not guilty by
reason of insanity acquittal for his client. Neat trick.
Several years later, Voelker penned a novel based on his case
(under the pen name Robert Traver) which was later made into an
award-winning movie the title of which you may have guessed by
now: Anatomy of a Murder.
Paul’s intention after his third posting to China was to retire to
his Montana boyhood home. A childhood friend, Florence McCauley,
traveled to San Francisco to see him after his discharge and a brief
courtship later they married, though they could have picked a better
date. They chose as their wedding day Friday, Dec. 5, 1941. Three
days later, Paul was back in uniform. He served in Guadalcanal and at
Division Headquarters in Guam during the invasion of Iwo Jima.
After thirty years in the Corp., Paul retired with Florence to St. Ignatius,
Montana, where he soldiered on for another fifty years. Capt.
Paul Kerns passed away, at 102, in 2003. His brother, Bud, also served
in the Pacific and survived the Bataan Death March to personally tell
me his harrowing tale. Today, he lives in sunny San Diego. He will be
96 this month.
I hope I have the Kerns genes. But I doubt it. When Paul passed
away he still had all his hair.
■
WE’VE MOVED! As regular Timecode readers learned last month, Billy the Bartender
is singularly responsible for ensuring that the staff of Boxoffice’s Seattle
branch always maintains an even strain. Effective immediately, Billy has moved our
offices to Capri Ristorante Italiano, which makes for a shorter walk home. Cheers!
FRIENDS FOREVER
Paul Kerns and Anna Loh stayed in
contact through letters for over 60
years. She died April 7, 1991
"Add the warmth of a by gone era"
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JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 17

EXPENDABLES’ OUR TOP FIRST DOMESTIC REVIEW GROSSERS > JUNE 13, 1929
FRONT ROW
PETE
HAMMOND
Contributing
Writer
BOXOFFICE
The Leatherneck
Pathe— Synch. 6,965 Ft.
Silent 6,898 Ft.
Sound or silent, The Leatherneck,
if given the break, should prove
to be the high money mark of
the year. It is a perfect box office
picture if ever there was one.
Color, story, action galore and a
beautiful love theme that motivates
and activates it all, and for the
wired house, excellent dialogue
and the best musical score we have
yet heard for any picture, thanks to
Zuro. And the cast: William Boyd,
Alan Hale, Robert Armstrong as
the three Marine buddies, and
Diane Ellis, a beautiful blonde,
as the woman. It can’t be beat.
The story, briefly, is about these
three leathernecks in China. One
by one, within two weeks, they
disappear from camp. Desertion,
is the charge if they are found.
Then they return, one is dead, the
other insane, and the third, Boyd,
heartbroken. Boyd is on trial for
desertion and murder of his dead
pal. He tells his story … and what a
story! Book this one, by all means.
Compare it in your exploitation
with the best pictures of the past
few years, and tell your public that
The Leatherneck is even greater.
You won’t be wrong.
CAN THEATERS—
AND STUDIOS—
SURVIVE
WITHOUT FILM
CRITICS?
No, and here’s why
Critics are dead. That’s the line we keep
hearing as cost-cutting at newspapers
claims the local movie critic, replaced
by syndicated
reviews or not at
all. Media stories
about movie openings
now refer to
critics with an
aggregated score
from RottenTomatoes.com
or Metacritic.com,
rather
than individual
names. Time and
Newsweek have
relegated most of
their reviews to
their websites. The
three-decade TV
warhorse At The
Movies that made
national celebrities
of Roger Ebert
and Gene Siskel is
leaving the air for
good in August.
Its replacement: a
vapid red carpet
fashion parade. On Good Morning America, credible
movie reviews died with Joel Siegel two
years ago. David Ansen and Scott Foundas left
print to program film festivals. And of course
there’s Variety, which cut costs and raised eyebrows
by axing Todd McCarthy, their tireless
and highly regarded lead critic of 31 years.
Not everyone has been tossed overboard.
Gene Shalit hangs on at The Today Show with
OUR PUBLISHER RESPONDS—86 YEARS AGO
Read what BOXOFFICE publisher Ben Shlyen had to say
about film critics at www.BoxOfficeMagazine.com
his gimmicky segments while the limping
giants—the major city papers of New York,
Chicago and Los Angeles—are still toting a full
plate of film criticism. But the general feeling is
the party’s over.
In a March 31st New York Times essay, A.O.
Scott—lead critic and current co-host of the
aforementioned soon-to-be-defunct At The Movies—points
out the new reality.
“Maybe criticism mattered once, but the
conventional wisdom insists that it doesn’t
anymore,” he writes. “There used to be James
Agee, and now there is Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten
movies routinely make huge sums of money
in spite of the demurral of critics. Where once
reasoned debate and knowledgeable evaluation
flourished,
there are now
social networking
and marketing
algorithms and a
nattering gaggle of
bloggers.”
True. But then
why does every
major and minor
(i.e. indie) release
rely so heavily
on critics’ opinions?
Just look
at the ads: print,
internet, TV, radio,
billboards, DVDs.
The studios have
scoured reviews
from the biggest
papers to the tiniest
websites to
flaunt whatever
compliments are
fit to print, even
if just a single
adjective: “Brilliant!” Reviews aren’t just being
read—they’re being parsed.
“If critics are irrelevant, then why is every
movie ad—without exception—based on
critics’ quotes?” asks veteran film critic and
historian Leonard Maltin (who also publishes a
thriving annual movie guide of reviews). “And
it doesn’t matter who the critics are. They will
quote anybody, but the advertising premise
18 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

seems to be that you can’t persuade people
to go to a movie without quoting someone
recommending it.”
Maltin says the practice is so pervasive
that when an ad or a DVD box doesn’t include
a quote, he’s immediately suspicious
that the movie must really be a dog.
But how important are critics to exhibition,
particularly for big tentpole releases?
Sequels, horror and blockbuster action
films—“fanboy” movies, as they’re often
dismissed—would seem to least need
critical support. Still, even these so-called
“critic proof” movies are promoted with
praise if they can scrounge it from the likes
of USA Today, The Wall St. Journal or Rolling
Stone. Failing that, they resort to the
fanboy holy grail: Ain’t It Cool News, BloodyDisgusting.com
and Chud. A quote is a
quote, and any quote has a psychological
effect on consumers.
Take the abysmally reviewed Furry
Vengeance. Only one critic copped to liking
it on Rotten Tomatoes, where it bottomed
out at only two percent Fresh. Nevertheless,
Summit Entertainment managed to crowd
its ads with quotes dredged from The Dove
Foundation and the Film Advisory Board.
You get it where you can get it.
Marketers see exhibition and critics as
strange—but necessary—bedfellows.
“The most important thing happening
in film criticism right now is twofold,” says
marketing and distribution specialist Marian
Koltai-Levine, a key executive at New
Line Cinema and Picturehouse who has
since struck out on her own. “From a business
side, it is very important for the exhibition
community and ancillary markets to
see that there is a theatrical release—and
the theatrical release is often indicated by
one of two things: box office or film critics.
Because as we know, there are lots of films
that struggle at the box office, but that critics
really support.”
Koltai-Levine is opening a new lowbudget
indie film, Touching Home, in New
York. It’s a tough market for this particular
movie, but she wants to get the New York
Times review—good or bad—in order to
influence exhibitors to book the film. That’s
how important a key review can be to get
exhibition excited.
“In the world of Landmark Theatres,
critics are extremely essential,” says veteran
exhibitor and Landmark CEO Ted Mundorff,
whose screens run a variety of studio and
indie films. “Critics matter not only to hopefully
get a good review, but just to expose
the fact that the picture is playing at your
neighborhood theater. The Landmark audience
still reads. Local critics are critical for a
successful release of an independent movie.”
And the bigger movies that Landmark
also plays?
Dreamworks’ expensive cartoon How To
Train Your Dragon is a perfect example of a
commercial film where critics made a difference.
After opening to a good—but lowerthan
hoped for—$44 million, the studio
increased its TV and print ads to emphasize
stellar reviews. It even used the tagline, “The
best reviewed movie of the year,” planted
next to Rotten Tomatoes’ Certified Fresh
logo. Dreamworks Animation marketing
honcho Anne Globe and studio head Jeffrey
Katzenberg frequently cited the reviews (it
has an impressive 98 percent fresh rating on
Rotten Tomatoes) in their trade interviews as
one of the key reasons that the film gained
such traction and eventually turned into a
big hit in subsequent weeks—even doing the
unprecedented by returning to the number
one spot in its fifth week on the charts.
With potential ticket-buyers still relying
on reviews, the loss of so many critics in
both large and small markets is troubling
to both filmmakers and exhibition. Some
even directly correlate the downturn in the
indie film market to the downsizing of local
reviewers whose trust with readers was
hard-won.
“One of our problems with newspapers
slicing costs is they are cutting critics,” says
Mundorff. “People have a reliance on their
local critic. They may not agree with that
person, but they’re used to them, so I think
critics are crucial. We even blow up reviews
for lobby standees, and in some theaters we
have a book on display with full reviews.”
Even Maltin is taken in by words when
he attends movies as a regular filmgoer.
“I have been known to stand in a lobby
and read a review of a film that has somehow
escaped my notice, and that will definitely
fire my curiosity to see it,” he says.
So are critics dead? Hardly.
“There’s an even greater need for film
critics because there’s an even greater need
for endorsement as the media has become
so fragmented. This is an inexpensive way
to tell people that other people like it,” says
Koltai-Levine.
Mundorff even suggests that downsizing
critics to cut costs could instead cut profits.
“If news outlets decide they are going
to cut critics, we would consider not advertising
with them,” he cautions. “Look, we
aren’t asking for great reviews. We’re just
asking to be reviewed.”
■
For most of its 90 years, BOXOFFICE has been publishing film criticism, with tens of thousands of reviews on file. Many
of these reviews are now online! Our current roster of professional critics are highly-regarded and seasoned veterans.
You’ll find them at Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. Four are members of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (more
than any other publication), one belongs to the San Francisco Film Critics Society. We encourage you to seek out our
opinions at our newly refurbished site www.BoxOfficeMagazine.com.
THE BOXOFFICE CRITICS: Amy Nicholson · Sara Maria Vizcarrondo · Pam Grady · Tim Cogshell · Ray Greene · Mark
Keizer · Wade Major · Barbara Goslawski · Pete Hammond · John P. McCarthy · Matthew Nestel · Ed Schied · Steve
Ramos · Richard Mowe
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 19

FRONT LINE AWARD
Nick Brock
Floor Staff Supervisor
Tower Theatres
Tucson, Arizona
Nominated By
Annamarie Johnson
General Manager
THAT TOWER FEELING
“We’re constantly complimented on
how great our customer service is,” says
Johnson
UNLIMITED POTENTIAL
A unique
perspective creates
opportunity
At 21, Nick Brock
has turned away
enough opportunities
for a lifetime. From
middle school on, the rangy
youth has had the Midas
Touch. “My first time going
out for cross-country, I’d
never run before in my
life,” says Brock. “By the
end of the year my brother
and I had gotten 1st and
2nd place in State. I won
this University of Arizona
basketball shootout,
I made 13 of 13 shots in
30 seconds. I’ve also won
a free-throw competition
that over a hundred people
entered.”
Brock was even complimented
on his skills by
former University of Arizona men’s head basketball
coach Robert Luther “Lute” Olson.
But natural talent can’t compete with real
world pressures. Offers to join the basketball
team came up, but Brock had to turn them
down. “I never played on the team,” says Brock,
“Our coach would kick me, but I was always
working throughout high school. I’ve pretty
much always been working somewhere.”
Thanks to his discipline, Brock graduated in
the top of his class with a 4.0, high marks that
earned him an academic scholarship to the U of
A. The surprise came when Brock, once again,
turned down the opportunity. “I decided that
I wanted to go to the Police Academy instead,”
says Brock. “I took a couple of security classes
and became a security officer. But then I had
some hands-on experiences with some police
officers and I decided that’s not what I wanted
to do.”
“I don’t have the aggressiveness,” realized
Brock. ”But I do have the photography experience
and the knowledge to become a forensic scientist.
That’s still along the lines of being a police
officer, just a different way of looking at it.”
It’s precisely this ability to shift his perspective
and view adversity as opportunity that
has made Brock a valuable asset to his Tucson,
Arizona Tower Theatres management.
“Nick has a very different perspective on
things,” says Tower Theatres General Manager
Annamarie Johnson. “He’s interested in picking
things apart. I think that’s how he approaches
the job. He has an ability to retain information
and to memorize a lot of information, but I’m
especially impressed with his ability to take
criticism—he seems to apply that and really try
to improve upon his performance.”
Brock’s knack for seeing the potential in
things recently landed him the position of Floor
Staff Supervisor, an honor that caught him off
guard. “When I was offered the position, I was
astounded,” says Brock. “I don’t look at my work
ethic as being any more superior to anybody
else’s; I just try to get the job done by any means
necessary. For them to recognize the hard work
I’ve been doing and the initiative I’ve taken
means a lot.”
To Johnson, Brock’s attention to detail and
professional comportment makes him a valuable
employee, but just as much it’s the warmth
of his personality and his standout customer
service skills. “My biggest goal is to find people
that are not afraid to talk to customers,” says
Johnson. “That’s how we set ourselves apart.
We’re not a big chain, we’re an independently
run theater so we have to struggle to compete.
One of our biggest accomplishments is that
we’re constantly complimented on how great
our customer service is—and Nick is committed
to giving first-rate customer service and hustling
when cleaning theaters. He has distinguished
himself from other staff by taking things to the
next level—challenging himself to go beyond
traditional expectations.”
In his first year at Pima Community College,
Brock divides his time between class and
his new supervisory responsibilities at Tower
Cinemas. With his sights now set on forensic
photography, his drive is strong. “I am 100 percent
focused,” he says. “Every single time I take
a picture, and every single time I look through
that camera lens, I know that’s what I want to
do in my future career and I know that I want to
put that career toward the police work. I want
to do something that uses my skills, but at the
same time makes a difference.”
■
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.
20 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

FRONT OFFICE AWARD
Daime Lai
General Manager
UA Los Cerritos Galaxy
Stadium 11
Cerritos, California
Nominated By
Bill Curtis, District Manager
GATEWAY TO GREATER THINGS
UA Los Cerritos Galaxy Stadium II, like
Cerritos itself, promises passage to new
sights and sounds
CELEBRATING
DIVERSITY
Variety is the spice of life
By Cole Hornaday
For generations, the Californian city
of Cerritos has been many things to a
great many people. From the Native
Americans to the Spanish colonists to today’s
suburbanites, 60 percent of whom are first and
second generation Asian immigrants, one thing
is constant: Cerritos is a place of bounty and
diversity.
For over 14 years, United Artists Los Cerritos
Galaxy Stadium 11 General Manager Daime Lai
has been a part of this quite literally fertile community.
Once known as ‘Dairy Valley,’ thanks
to its lush pastures used for cattle grazing and
poultry production, Cerritos has expanded
from a scattered agricultural community to a
population of 56,000 hungry for art, culture
and entertainment.
Lai attributes her fruitful career in exhibition
to the eclecticism at its core. “Cerritos is a
very diverse city—that offers us the opportunity
to see and learn different perspectives,” says Lai.
“It helps give us guidance on how to exceed moviegoer
expectations. My team is so diverse that
we can generate ideas from different perspectives
to help improve the theater’s operation.”
Lai knows something about different perspectives,
herself. As she steadily climbed the
rungs from Concessionaire to General Manager,
Lai learned about the inner workings of her theater
from every possible angle. “The experiences
I’ve gained from the different theaters where I’ve
worked are endless,” says Lai. “As I gain more
experience, I feel confident that I can take on a
bigger challenges professionally and personally.”
Lai’s broad perspective has made her a magnet
for responsible and energetic employees.
“Daime has not only attracted but has maintained
a staff that is very open to her direction,”
says District Manager Bill Curtis. “She directs
them with strong leadership and cares very
much about the professional development of
her employees.”
Since its incorporation in 1956, the city of
Cerritos has been a ‘Gateway City’ to greater
Los Angeles, and the theater has gone to great
lengths to maintain that role. Bright and vibrant,
diverse and storied, the Galaxy Stadium
11 lobby has polished marble floors, pillars
thick and sturdy as redwoods and clean and
clear glass. To Lai, her theater’s entrance should
be a gateway to a new world, “Going to the
movies is fun and exciting. It’s a place where
family and friends enjoy their time together
and are entertained, a place to relax and escape
day-to-day pressures.”
And they escape in droves. Free time is
at a premium for Cerritos’ upwardly mobile
middle class of young people on the go. For
them, Lai and her team devote themselves to
delivering the best possible service. “If my staff
and I can provide these moviegoers with the
experience that they came for, than my team
and I have successfully done their job,” says
Lai. “The everyday challenge of how to exceed a
moviegoer’s expectations gives me the utmost
gratification.”
When Lai herself is off the clock, she relaxes
with scrap-booking and the occasional hike.
Still, she finds time to lift the spirits of others by
volunteering at a local battered woman’s shelter.
In Lai’s grander vision, exhibition—like
Cerritos—will always be about diversity and
growth. “I admire the movie industry and believe
I can help it grow. So when I learned that I
would be a General Manager, I knew I was one
step closer to accomplishing that goal.” ■
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.
22 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

MARQUEE AWARD
ARTS & LEISURE
IPic Entertainment’s cinema space
featuring six digitally projected
screening rooms with plush oversized
love seats and reserved stadium seating
IPIC ENTERTAINMENT > BAYSHORE TOWN CENTER > GLENDALE, WI
Pick of
the Lot
Luxury entertainment
concept breaks new ground
By Cole Hornaday
(continued on page 26)
VALUE PROPOSITION
Says Hashemi: “What people are
getting for that small premium is such a
superior experience that they don’t view
it as an off-chart; they look at it and say,
‘Wow, that’s a great value.’”
24 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

IPIC ENTERTAINMENT > BAYSHORE TOWN CENTER > GLENDALE, WI
MARQUEE AWARD
SAVE IT FOR THE SEQUEL
The Sequel Bar. All the glamour
of an upscale restaurant with the
energy level of a nightclub—the first
or last destination for food, drink
and late evening socializing at Ipic.
iPic’s Ovation American Grill is a
casual restaurant where patrons
can enjoy classic American
specialties, appetizers, oven baked
pizzas, burgers, sandwiches,
salads and some of the best
desserts to finish your meal.
Ovation is open for lunch, dinner
and late night dining.
I got into this business in
1984, it was purely by accident,”
“When
recalls IPic Entertainment
Founder and CEO Hamid Hashemi. “I really
didn’t know anything about the business. I
learned the hard way what competition
means.”
Born and raised in Iran during the reign
of the Shah, Hashemi came of age in a land
that now only exists in memory. Hashemi fled
his homeland at 19, just ahead of Ayatollah
Khomeini’s rising storm of Islamic Fundamentalism.
He boarded a plane to the US with just a
suitcase under his arm and $700 to his name.
With his meager funds, Hashemi purchased
a black market visa and taught himself English
by watching American film and television.
His childhood dream was to be a doctor, but
Hashemi eventually found himself buying and
selling real estate in Boca Raton, Florida. An
investment in a three-screen theater in Coral
Springs set the groundwork for what would
become Muvico Cinemas, an eastern seaboard
chain that stretches from Florida to Maryland
and is famous for their quirky theme theaters
posturing as French opera houses and pirate
ships.
Hashemi’s relationship with Muvico would
eventually fragment, resulting in a takeover of
his investments. Muvico filed for bankruptcy
protection in 2009.
Two years ealier, Hashemi rallied his
resources and struck out to explore new entertainment
ventures. Taking elements refined
through Muvico, Hashemi broke ground on his
new venue concept, IPic Entertainment.
When it came to naming his new business,
Hashemi challenged his children with the task.
“The children suggested names for about two
weeks,” says Head of Public Relations, Jim Lee.
Eight-year-old Alex chose the best title. “His
son came up with IPic because you were able
to chose—or pick—what type of entertainment
you wanted on any particular evening:
movies, bowling, a restaurant or bar. He
thought of I-Pick.”
Adjacent to the Bayshore Town Center, a
45-acre mall in the mellow Milwaukee suburb
of Glendale, the theater space Hashemi envisioned
was designed to be more immediate
than a theme-oriented gimmick. “The idea was
to bring the most popular forms of entertainment
under one roof,” says Hashemi.
Initially, patrons had sticker shock at Ipic
Theatre’s $14 movie ticket price, but that
wore off with each return customer. “You say
something is expensive when the value does
not correspond to the dollars you are spending,”
says Hashemi. “A guy can go to the Ritz-
Carlton and spend $400 a night and say, ‘Wow,
26 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

IPIC ENTERTAINMENT > BAYSHORE TOWN CENTER > GLENDALE, WI
MARQUEE AWARD
SAVE IT FOR THE SEQUEL
The Sequel Bar. All the glamour
of an upscale restaurant with the
energy level of a nightclub—the first
or last destination for food, drink
and late evening socializing at Ipic.
iPic’s Ovation American Grill is a
casual restaurant where patrons
can enjoy classic American
specialties, appetizers, oven baked
pizzas, burgers, sandwiches,
salads and some of the best
desserts to finish your meal.
Ovation is open for lunch, dinner
and late night dining.
I got into this business in
1984, it was purely by accident,”
“When
recalls IPic Entertainment
Founder and CEO Hamid Hashemi. “I really
didn’t know anything about the business. I
learned the hard way what competition
means.”
Born and raised in Iran during the reign
of the Shah, Hashemi came of age in a land
that now only exists in memory. Hashemi fled
his homeland at 19, just ahead of Ayatollah
Khomeini’s rising storm of Islamic Fundamentalism.
He boarded a plane to the US with just a
suitcase under his arm and $700 to his name.
With his meager funds, Hashemi purchased
a black market visa and taught himself English
by watching American film and television.
His childhood dream was to be a doctor, but
Hashemi eventually found himself buying and
selling real estate in Boca Raton, Florida. An
investment in a three-screen theater in Coral
Springs set the groundwork for what would
become Muvico Cinemas, an eastern seaboard
chain that stretches from Florida to Maryland
and is famous for their quirky theme theaters
posturing as French opera houses and pirate
ships.
Hashemi’s relationship with Muvico would
eventually fragment, resulting in a takeover of
his investments. Muvico filed for bankruptcy
protection in 2009.
Two years ealier, Hashemi rallied his
resources and struck out to explore new entertainment
ventures. Taking elements refined
through Muvico, Hashemi broke ground on his
new venue concept, IPic Entertainment.
When it came to naming his new business,
Hashemi challenged his children with the task.
“The children suggested names for about two
weeks,” says Head of Public Relations, Jim Lee.
Eight-year-old Alex chose the best title. “His
son came up with IPic because you were able
to chose—or pick—what type of entertainment
you wanted on any particular evening:
movies, bowling, a restaurant or bar. He
thought of I-Pick.”
Adjacent to the Bayshore Town Center, a
45-acre mall in the mellow Milwaukee suburb
of Glendale, the theater space Hashemi envisioned
was designed to be more immediate
than a theme-oriented gimmick. “The idea was
to bring the most popular forms of entertainment
under one roof,” says Hashemi.
Initially, patrons had sticker shock at Ipic
Theatre’s $14 movie ticket price, but that
wore off with each return customer. “You say
something is expensive when the value does
not correspond to the dollars you are spending,”
says Hashemi. “A guy can go to the Ritz-
Carlton and spend $400 a night and say, ‘Wow,
26 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

ELECTRIC WONDERLANE
Pinstrikes bowling alley where players can bowl
and lounge on plush couches and partition lanes
for private parties.
that was great.’ Or he can spend $50 at a
Holiday Inn and think, ‘That’s too much.’
It really is a question of what you get for
your money.”
A great bang for a buck is the mantra for
IPic Entertainment’s Bayshore Town Center
location. As a working model for other
locations, it debuted with online reserve
seating. “You don’t have people showing up
45 minutes early, because they don’t have
to,” says Lee. “They’ve gone online and
they’ve bought their tickets so it’s a much
calmer and more relaxed atmosphere—
they know their seat’s there and the usher
is waiting for them.”
The all-digital IPic Theatre is six auditoriums
of stadium seating with customdesigned
love seats, wall-to-wall screens,
hi-def sound and a full service bar. “It’s a
huge facility for a traditional six-plex,” says
Hashemi, “but not huge compared to the
megaplexes we used to build.”
Though it seats upwards of 250 people,
IPic’s Ovation Restaurant is an intimate dining
experience designed for casual elegance.
Great care has been put into the signature
dishes designed by Corporate Chef Adam
Lamb, but Hashemi is quick to point out
that cuisine—unlike cinemas—lacks a universal
appeal. “People in different parts of
the county have different
tastes. A menu that
works in the Midwest
wouldn’t work in California.
You really have
to design for that—it really
does become more
challenging.”
The complex’s
Sequel Bar was designed
as a transitional
through-space to meet
up with friends and
move on to another destination,
say Pinstrikes
bowling alley. Pinstrikes
features a luxurious
lounge area and 18
state of the art lanes
that can be partitioned
off for private events.
“We approach the marketing as mostly
to adults because we are 21-and-older after
7:00 pm,” says Lee. “Our 21-34 age audience
is a big part of what we do. At the same
time we will market different times and
different products to the kids and families,
as well.”
As his biography proves, Hashemi is
an entrepreneur adept at reinvention. He
CLICK HERE
IPic’s website touts its good taste
looks to the future of IPic Entertainment
with great hope and enthusiasm. Plans are
already underway to open additional IPic
venues in Texas, Illinois, and Florida. “I can
tell you we opened the theater in the worst
economic climate that you can imagine,”
says Hashemi, “and our growth rate in terms
of attendance and revenue has been greater
than what the industry has seen.”
■
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 27

RELEASE CALENDAR
Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 opens June 18, 2010
2010
2011
2012
DATE DISTRIBUTOR TITLE
05.21.10 Paramount Shrek Forever After
06.18.10 Disney Toy Story 3
07.02.10 Paramount The Last Airbender
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
08.27.10 The Weinstein Company Piranha 3D
09.10.10 Sony Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D
09.24.10 Warner Bros. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
10.01.10 Lionsgate Alpha and Omega
10.15.10 Paramount Jackass 3D
10.22.10 Lionsgate Saw VII 3D
11.05.10 Paramount Megamind
11.19.10 Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (Part 1)
11.24.10 Disney Tangled
12.17.10 Disney Tron Legacy
12.17.10 Warner Bros. Yogi Bear
01.14.11 Sony The Green Hornet
01.14.11 MGM The Cabin in the Woods
02.11.11 Summit Drive Angry
02.11.11 Miramax Gnomeo and Juliet
03.04.11 Universal James Cameron Presents Sanctum
03.04.11 Screen Gems Priest
03.11.11 Disney Mars Needs Moms!
03.25.11 Warnr Bros. Sucker Punch
04.08.11 Fox Rio
06.03.11 DreamWorks Animation Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom
06.17.11 Warner Bros. Green Lantern
06.24.11 Disney Cars 2
07.15.11 Warner Bros. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows (Part 2)
08.03.11 Sony The Smurfs
08.19.11 The Weinstein Company Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World
11.04.11 DreamWorks Puss in Boots
11.11.11 Universal Immortals
11.11.11 Sony Arthur Christmas
11.18.11 Warner Bros. Happy Feet 2
12.09.11 Sony The Invention of Hugo Cabret
12.16.11 Fox Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D
12.23.11 Paramount The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
02.17.12 Sony Hotel Transylvania
03.02.12 Universal Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
03.30.12 Paramount The Croods
Spring Disney King of the Elves
05.18.12 Paramount Madagascar 3
05.25.12 Sony Men in Black 3
06.15.12 Disney Brave
07.13.12 20th Century Fox Ice Age: Continental Drift
11.02.12 Paramount (DreamWorks) The Guardians
11.16.12 Disney Monsters Inc. 2

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FACTS & FIGURES FROM BOXOFFICE.COM
INDUSTRY NEWS
TOY STORY
11/22/95
OPENING
WEEKEND*
$34,266,446
DOMESTIC TOTAL
$191,796,910
TOY STORY 2
11/24/99
OPENING WEEKEND*
$66,670,626
DOMESTIC TOTAL
$245,852,199
* Thanksgiving
YEE HAW!
Jessie and the gang can hoot
in improved stereo
A BRAND NEW
TOY BOX
To Pixar, the decision to adopt
Dolby Surround 7.1 was child’s
play
By Amy Nicholson
With its first feature, Toy Story, Pixar
put its stamp on
computer anima-
tion. With Up, Pixar dove into sub-
mersive 3D. Now, 15 years after the studio be-
came a Goliath of animation, n Pixar has teamed
up with Dolby to use Toy Story 3 to unveil
Dolby Surround 7.1, a new sound set up that
doubles the standard Left Surround and Right
Surround to introduce Back
Surround Left and
Back Surround Right zones—a reconfiguring
designed to wrap—and control—sound
around a theater.
“From Pixar’s perspective, p we’re
always looking for the best way to tell
a story—the best way
to get our audi-
ence immersed in our films,” says Pixar
Post-Production Supervisor Paul
Cichocki. i His team was
starting work on Toy
Story 3 and wanted
to keep pushing
themselves with
a new innovation.
“We started trying
to figure out the next thing we
could do in the technical world
of audio,” says
s Cichocki. “We’ve
had all these improvements in the
last couple of years with digital
cinema, with
3D, but the sound
side of things has been sort of
left behind.”
Meanwhile, e Dolby was ham-
mering out its own design to improve
its sound systems, within one technical
and economic guideline. Explains Dolby’s
Technical Marketing Manager Stuart Bowl-
ing, “We wanted to see what we could do
without impacting exhibition. Given the
footprint Dolby already has with Sur-
round DX, 7.1, basically, if a theater is
already converted to Surround DX, then
just a software update
to their cinema
processor allows them
to select this new
format—that made the
best sense.”
As both Pixar and Dolby began bunker-
ing down with their big projects, they teamed
up to do some tests. “We did a bunch of experiments
here at Skywalker Ranch with the creative
folks at Pixar, and we amazed ourselves
how much 7.1 could bring to the theater with
existing gear, for the most part,” says Cichocki.
“The immersive quality fills the auditorium better—it
was surprising how good it was.”
And because Pixar adopted 7.1 early in the
process of creating Toy Story 3, they were able to
work with Dolby to design sound that showed
off what they could do. Describes Cichocki, “Because
we made the decision early, we’ve been
able to design with 7.1 in mind: edit, design
and pre-mix.” A 3D animated film crammed
with characters gave Pixar a lot of room to play.
“The sequences that are full of characters, we’re
able to spread them around the room and give
you some definition. Some of the giant effects
sequences in the film, we’re able to pan sound
from the front of the theater to the rear—it’s
amazing how that directionality that we’ve
never had before allows sound to jump out and
be so clear,” says Cichocki. “It’s really spectacular.”
In turn, Pixar mixed a reel of their past and
present footage in 7.1 and allowed Dolby to use
it as a demo reel at ShoWest. “We were on board
and excited about it, and wanted to help make
7.1 available,” explains Cichocki.
“We’re really blown away by what Paul and
the Skywalker team were able to do for their
demonstrations—that really helped sell the
format to exhibition,” adds Bowling. “Our next
goal is to start talking to the studios, the sound
designers, and get people interested in the format.”
As Boxoffice went to press, over 100 theaters
were drawing plans to adopt 7.l in advance of
Toy Story 3’s June 18th release. And in March,
Dolby announced that it was also lowering the
cost of its 3D glasses from $27.50 to $17. “Toy
Story 3 was part of the reason, but the main
reason was that as we’ve continues to expand
and proliferate the adoption of Dolby 3D, we’ve
been able to effectively bring down the price of
the glasses as well,” says Bowling.
For Pixar, the release of Toy Story 3 will mark
yet another technical milestone for a company
that intends to keep trucking forward. “The
first time some of the creatives at Pixar really
heard the demo, they were all blown away,” says
Cichocki. “We absolutely want to push all of our
films in that direction—it’s fantastic. If we could
bring the sound and the music and the ambiance
around you, we felt it would suck you into
the picture more. Collectively, we all need to get
together and lock arms and make sound better to
keep up with better looking pictures.”
■
30 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

TAKING CENTER STAGE
At their annual conference,
producers are the stars
By Amy Nicholson
BRIAN GRAZER
[ROBIN HOOD]
JAMES L. BROOKS
[THE SIMPSONS]
TED TURNER
[CHAIRMAN OF THE
UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION]
JUNE 4 – 6, 2010
20th CENTURY FOX STUDIOS
MARSHALL HERSKOVITZ
[BLOOD DIAMOND]
MARK CUBAN
[EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, THE ROAD]
GARY LUCCHESI
[MILLION DOLLAR BABY]
HOSTED BY:
LAURA ZISKIN
[SPIDER-MAN 1, 2, 3]
I was starting out, it was a very expensive endeavor
to produce a film,” says veteran producer Gale
“When
Anne Hurd, the behind-the-scenes brains behind
Aliens, Armageddon and the first three Terminators. With her exhaustive
resume and experience logged as a National Board Member of
the Producers Guild of America, Hurd’s been a firsthand witness to
the industry’s continuing evolutions: digital, 3D, streaming video
and beyond. So last year, she and fellow producer Rachel Klein
(Rocky Balboa and HBO Sports) joined forces to co-chair the inaugural
Produced By Conference, an annual convention for producers of
all interests and sizes.
“We felt it was important to be a resource not only for aspiring
producers, but for current producers and the general public,” says
Hurd. “What does a producer do? We’ve found that there’s a great
deal of confusion about the role of a producer.”
One thing Hurd and Klein were clear on, however, was that making
connections and mentoring would be paramount at the threeday
event, held this year from June 4-6 at the Fox Studios lot.
“Going up the ranks as a producer, mentoring was very important
to me,” says Klein. “It’s very, very important for a young producer
to hear from an established producer how to conduct yourself—it’s
not just figures, it’s how you’re perceived in an industry.”
To serve that need, this year’s second annual Produced By Conference
has lined up participation from dozens of big producers including
Paula Wagner, Ridley Scott, Brian Grazer, Richard D. Zanuck, Gary
Lucchesi and Dean Devlin. In addition to speaking at the conference,
many will host 45-minute roundtables for attendees. “Not only did
we want to have expert panelists speak, we wanted to have mentoring
roundtables of 10-11 participants who are able to interact more
directly and ask questions that are relevant to them,” explains Hurd.
“The logistics of putting together an event—we’re expecting over
1,000 people with another 40-60 vendors—is hectic,” continues
Hurd. “Another feature that we’re introducing is workshops on
everything from how to learn scheduling and budgeting to editing.
Since they’ll be under 100 people, there’s more opportunity to be
really interactive.”
“They’re really nuts and bolts,” adds Klein. “Every time you turn
around, you think you’re right at the cutting edge and then there’s
10 people ahead of you—everything and anything that we can get
our hands on that’s coming down the pike, we want producers to be
informed: 3D or trans-media or web and mobile. I think there are so
many opportunities for producers in the new media.”
To serve the next generation of producers, the conference also
touts their Producers Challenge for producers of short films and
serial Internet “webisodes.” Of the hundreds of submissions in the
four catagories—Narrative Shorts, Documentary Shorts, Webisodes
and Studio Webisodes—the top winners will earn a $30,000 Make
Your Next Film package which includes consulting, gear, editing
facilities, post-production technol ogy and even a crew and a van.
“There are so many amazing entries—we received hundreds and
hundreds of submissions and we make sure we all watch every
single film that comes in so they all get a fair shake,” says Klein.
Still, the core of the conference is the packed schedule of panels
on everything from blockbusters and 3D to reality TV and international
co-productions.
“As the business changes, we need to change with it,” says Hurd.
“In the past, studios financed films—and then of course, there was
independent financing—but even studios now have an enormous
component of independent financing. The fact is, producing films
has become very much a global proposition.” And to back her up,
attendees have traveled from Australia, Ireland, the UK, Brazil and
Czechoslovakia, not to mention all four corners of the States. Recognizes
Hurd, “The Producers Guild now is not just focused on NY and
Los Angeles.”
Still, despite the array of talent, participation, information and
interest, one truism unites the eclectic conference: “In order to be a
successful producer, you need to be kept apprised of new technologies,
but always in the service of good storytelling and great characters,”
says Hurd. “At the end of the day, we are storytellers.”
■
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JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 31

INDUSTRY NEWS continued
FAKING FIRE
WITH FIRE
Animating The Last Airbender
By Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
Pablo Helman, the visual effects supervisor
and second unit director of
The Last Airbender, makes a point of
authenticity. An affable man with a big accent,
he addresses the theater at the Industrial
Light and Magic (ILM) compound in San
Francisco with a familial warmth. Like an
uncle pulling pennies from ears, Helman is
a man who both manages and manufactures
childlike wonder, something he does with
a comprehensive detail. As the animator
entrusted to make M. Night Shyamalan’s live
action adaptation of the Nickelodean cartoon
real, Helman’s highest priority was fire.
“It’s hard to make fire look real,” warns
Helman. “Night [referring to the director] was
very concerned it would look CG.” This was
a big concern for a story that merges martial
arts and their spiritual-cum-literal relationship
to the four natural elements. The effects
departments responsible for water, air and
earth all had their own battles—animators
had to manipulate each in unnatural ways.
But fire burned though their best efforts.
“We actually created fire, filmed it and it
still looked fake,” says Helman. And Charlie
Chaplin famously won third place in a Charlie
Chaplin look-a-like contest. We often
expect more of reproductions. To ILM’s animators,
imagination is the secret ingredient;
wily youth blessed with the capacity to bend
the elements and their animal-like friends.
Take Appa, a flying polar bear and elephant
hybrid that Tim Harrington—animation
supervisor and the man who made Yoda
fight with Count Dooku—called “a cross
between the Millennium Falcon and Chewbacca.”
He and his animators had to build
creatures that are such wild mixings of naturally
occurring parts, it’s hard to distinguish
realities: a beaver’s tail, six legs, primate’s
eyes, levitation. And, Harrington insists,
“He’s a gentle giant.”
Like Appa, Momo—main hero Aang’s
(Noah Ringer) sidekick animal, a ring-tailed
lemur with wings—was present in the animated
series. So, too were the Spirit Dragons,
favorite ride of the Airbenders, who are akin
to enormous Kimodo Dragons—only dangerous.
Transforming these cartoon beasts
into live action can feel just as perilous.
Here’s the paradox: believability is the
goal, accuracy isn’t the solution. To illustrate
ILM’s challenge, Craig Hammack and Daniel
Pierson, the Associate Visual Effects Supervisor
and the Technical Director Supervisor
respectively, showed their research footage
of actual tornadoes and geysers. As they
explained, we don’t see the movement of
air—we see the movement of the particles
in it. ILM has learned it’s not what we see but
what makes us believe it that counts. These
are not mundane occurrences the animators
at Industrial Light and Magic are presenting,
they’re magical and well beyond the scope of
our everyday realities.
Even the world we recognize is off, not
that we’d notice. Barry Williams and Chris-
tian Altzman, visual effects supervisors in
i i ti i th ti di t tian Altzman, visual effects superviso
these animators aren’t just creating
natural al occurrences—they’re ing to make natural elements do
supernatural things.
Avatar: ar: The Last Airbender. r
The
try-
story is an American visioning of
East Asian lore. In it, the Earth Kingdom,
Air
Nomads and Water Tribes
unite to
stave off the conquest of
the evil Fire Lords. It’s still a tightly
guarded secret how much the
film is married to the highly
lauded d and widely adored
charge of backgrounds, explain
that
they were responsible for designing
the cities in The Last Airbender. The
North Water Temple must re-
semble a fully engineered e me-
tropolis, but there’s no need
to plan plumbing. Garbage
disposal and parking
lots are
not part of this live action real-
ity. Williams and Altzmann apply
reason to their city layouts, but
shorthand stuff like civic
SAY AANG
TV series, s, but the tors loyally preserved the
Noah Ringer control fire,
Still, the cities
anima-
planning.
ILM had to make newcomer
spirit of
the characters— air, earth and water
demonstrate te a
logic
that gives the audience that crucial connection
to reality.
Pierson emphasized their guiding principle:
“Naturalistic filmmaking style over
fantasy.” Everything must be couched in
the real. As they explain, “The fire benders
have to have fire—they can’t conjure it.” And
really, neither can the animators. Incredible
things are done on the ILM campus,
but they’re not the product of far flung
whimsy. It’s the work of dozens—sometimes
hundreds—of animators over the course
of years. The work is hard. But if they do it
right, you’ll think you’re looking right at
Chaplin without rubbing your eyes. ■
SUPER SONIC
Christie on their new
partnership and the state of
24-hour support
By Amy Nicholson
Last year, Christie Managed Systems
debuted their new 24-hour command
center, a humming, industrial control
room that looks like a movie set where a
president barks orders to prevent a global
disaster. In a smaller, less-Roland Emmerich
way, that’s almost what it is: a support nexus
where technicians avert crises. Sure, it’s not
life-and-death, but it sure feels like it when
you’re an exhibitor trying to fix a glitch before
the Friday night onslaught.
“Early on, we saw the need for some of
these types of core, fundamental support
options,” says Christie’s Vice President of
Managed Services, Sean James. “A lot of other
folks probably didn’t think it made sense at
the time, but as you start developing scale, I
think everybody’s come on board with the
concept.”
Last month, Christie announced it had a
new partner in crisis aversion: Sonic Equipment
Company, a Kansas-based sales and
consulting service that connects exhibitors
to the digital equipment best for their theaters.
Sonic has helped install more than 400
digital screens to date, and now offers Christie’s
24-hour support to current and future
customers.
“Sonic has been a very good Christie partner,”
says James. “They’ve sold a lot of Christie
gear. They see the level of investment, the
32 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

technology that’s in place. It’s a natural fit.
They’ve got a great relationship with their
customers, they have feet on the street in
terms of installation and support personnel.
One way we enhance them is being able
to provide that 24/7 support—the remote
monitoring, the diagnostics, the operating
systems.”
Adds James, “I think we’ve found some
good opportunities both with exhibition and
some of our partners to put together packages
that use our strengths and theirs—to
allow them to provide a fuller compliment
of services to their customers. We’re still
working with exhibition directly, but we’ve
also put some significant effort into developing
collaborative programs with some of the
independent services companies as well as
some of the regional exhibitors they work
with.”
In the 16 months the new command center
has been open—as with their decades of
previous experience—Christie has concentrated
on expanding and simplifying their
support. They’ve kept pace by adding staff,
but have also developed a learning management
and training system to improve fix
time among themselves, their partners and
exhibition.
“We installed 4,000 systems during the
phase one deployment of Cinedigm,” says
James. “We put a lot of effort into making it
not so frantic: putting in the right systems
and developing a system solution that allows
us to do things in a more efficient way. That’s
really paid dividends and it allows people to
work more effectively.”
At the heart of their improvements is a
self-help knowledge base gleaned from studying
past problems and their best solutions.
“Part of the service management solutions
we’ve implemented were developed by
a company called Amdocs. These self-help
tools allow people to create their own case
and search for answers,” says James. The
next step is to collect and analyze those
reports. “We leverage those internally so we
can see what has happened historically and
what was done to restore that—it develops
and grows over time as we get exposed to
problems and document fixes. Then, when
people identify a problem, it will show up
HOUSTON, WE’VE SOLVED YOUR PROBLEM
Christie’s support center buzzes with action
for them and allow them to expedite their
resolution.”
After all, one smart way to navigate an
expansion is a library-like system with builtin
flexibility and ease of use that will only
become more useful as exhibitors and the
support contribute their continuing knowledge.
“A lot of what we’ve been focusing on
is developing scalability,” says James. “We
knew this push was coming.”
“We’ve been very busy over here,” says
James. “The forward momentum keeps every
one positive. It’s hard not to be positive
when you see a box office year like 2009. The
ability to remotely resolve issues in a theater’s
off-time, that’s starting to make sense.
It’s exciting for us—we’re definitely going on
the right direction.”
■
©2009 ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Give Our
St. Jude Stars
A Chance
To Shine
You can help. Donate now at www.stjude.org
or by calling 1-800-4STJUDE.
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 33

ON MANAGEMENT
CONGRATULATIONS
To all of the managers who
survived our record box
office year. The economy
and 3D have gotten most of
the credit for the boom in
ticket sales, but the real key
is the hard work managers
do to make their theaters
well-run and welcoming.
Our annual salute to
management talks to four of
the best—2009–2010 Front
Office winners Genevieve
Gerst of the Century
Regency 6 Cinemark in San
Rafael, CA.; Shane Leavell
of Kerasotes Showplace
12 in Muncie, IN; Connor
Dennison of the Malco
Collierville Town Theatre in
Collierville, TN; and Brian
Eichstaedt of the Goodrich
Quality Theatres Holland
7 in Holland, MI—and asks
them about the three stages
of an employee’s career and
their solutions to a dozen
multiplex disasters.
HIRE
In the interview, what qualities do you look
for—and how do you spot them?
GENEVIEVE GERST I take note of whether or not
the applicant is comfortable making eye contact.
Experience has shown me that applicants
that are comfortable making eye contact with
their interviewers tend to be more honest and
more reliable. I try to ask questions that cannot
be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” This
gets the interviewee talking,
so I am able to learn
more about them. If an
interviewee is giving me
monosyllabic responses to
questions and they seem
unwilling to elaborate upon
their responses, it sends up
GENEVIEVE a red-flag. Bare-minimum
GERST
responses often indicate
bare-minimum effort, enthusiasm
and commitment
to the job.
SHANE
LEAVELL
CONNOR
DENNISON
BRIAN
EICHSTAEDT
HIRE INSPIRE RETIRE
Tips for every step of your staff's career
SHANE LEAVELL Enthusiasm
and Eagerness! I think
it’s very important to show
how excited you are about
the opportunity and how
much you would enjoy
working there. Smiling and
showing a positive attitude
is also important because it
gives me a good idea of how
they might interact with
each one of our customers.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Good
eye contact, professionalism,
motivation, track
records, reason for employment—and
by reason, I
mean why do you want to
get a job with us.
And what traits are dealbreakers?
SHANE LEAVELL Showing
up late and lack of enthusiasm!
You go to an interview
in order to impress the person interviewing
you and show them what kind of employee you
could be. If you can’t show up on time, or you
act as though you don’t want to be there, then it
gives me a pretty good idea of what kind of employee
you might be.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Availability and enthusiasm.
We’re busiest on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, so
if someone says they can work Monday through
Thursday 9-5, that doesn’t help us when we need
people to work.
What’s the biggest blunder you’ve heard from
a would-be employee?
GENEVIEVE GERST One young applicant told me
that he didn’t want to get a job but his parents
were making him get one. He said he was hoping
that a job at a movie theater would be really
easy and that he wouldn’t have to really do much
work. Needless to say, we did not hire him.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT “On a previous job, I disliked
management.” Or, “I’m not good with people.”
They say they have a problem with authority.
We deal with a lot of people—if someone says
they don’t like working with people...?
How highly do you value recommendations for
their friends from current employees?
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I highly recommend it because
it’s a good way to get good people. We offer
an employee referral program, so if employees
refer someone who makes it through a good
first evaluation, the employee gets a $25 bonus.
It works great because the employee is going to
want the person to work out and they’re going
to do what they can to make sure they do a good
job. It’s their name, too.
INSPIRE
What do you do if one of your employees is
inconsolable after a bad day, but you need all
hands on deck?
SHANE LEAVELL Talk to them and do my best to
let them know that I understand how bad their
day has been, but also let them know that we are
extremely busy and the customers need our full
attention. Hopefully their day doesn’t interfere
34 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

with their ability to provide great customer
service, but if it does, maybe try to make arrangements
to let them leave early if possible.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Sit down with them and
try to figure out what’s going on. Find out the
problem—maybe they had a bad day when
they came into work, but it’s important that
you sit with them and say we need total focus
tonight, 100 percent. But if someone’s having
a really bad day, even if you need all hands on
deck, sometimes it’s better to have them go
home for the evening. It’s just going to make
things worse for everyone.
On slow days, how do you keep everyone
busy?
GENEVIEVE GERST Detail cleaning! There is
always something that could use some attention.
giving out duties that need to be done. It
tends to work because they recover from the
craziness of a rush and are then willing to do
what you ask without complaints—and feel
like they should since I just let them recover.
Do you encourage your staff to think of you
as a friend?
SHANE LEAVELL Not as much as a friend, but
more as a mentor or someone they can talk
to if they are having any job-related issues. I
want them to understand that I’m here for
them and will work as hard as possible to
make their job experience positive.
CONNOR DENNISON I do try to encourage the
staff to see me as a friend. I see some of them
at school and the entire staff is generally
pretty fun to talk to/work with, especially on
slow days.
I look for. Someone who will go the extra
mile for you, that you can depend on. When
you walk out the door and they’re in charge,
you know things are going to get done as
though you were there. I was promoted up
from staff—I started as an usher—and when
I got promoted to management, it was a little
different. I know other people have felt the
same thing. When you’re staff, you’re friends
with the other people and they mean the
world to you. When you get promoted up to
management and you’re at that next level,
you need to separate yourself, but maybe
you have a coworker who’s upset because
you were promoted and they weren’t. Or a
co-worker who when you ask them to do
something says, “We’re friends—you know I
don’t like to do that.”
Two employees can’t work together for
personal reasons. How do you handle it?
SHANE LEAVELL We have multiple checklists
that the employees can refer to in order to
keep themselves busy. Whether it is cleaning
behind concessions or sweeping outside,
we can always find something to keep them
busy.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I always say that if you’re
leaning, you should be cleaning.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I don’t like to have them
think of me as a friend—more a coach. I
think there’s a line between management
and staff and you’ve got to follow that line. If
they push the friend card, you sit down with
them and explain that it’s important that you
keep that area between friends and staff. If
you hang out with staff outside of work and
let your hair down, that comes back to work.
CONNOR DENNISON If two employees can’t
work together, that’s usually something managers
will handle in scheduling. If they were
scheduled together, I would keep them busy
and doing things not in the same area until I
felt the tension didn’t exist anymore. It’s not
my place to get into their business—until it
begins to be a problem in the quality of their
work or others’.
And on busy days, what works to make
things run smoothly?
GENEVIEVE GERST Having versatile employees
is important. We like to have each of our
employees trained on as many positions as
possible so that in a crunch they can seamlessly
shift from one position to the next depending
on where their help is most needed.
A strong teamwork mentality is another
invaluable asset. If we have two employees
working usher and they see a line building
up at the snack bar, one of those two ushers
will rush over to snack bar to help out their
co-workers.
SHANE LEAVELL The one great thing about
busy days is that you are constantly staying
busy and your mind doesn’t have time to
wander off. This allows one to stay focused
on the task at hand and eliminates possible
mistakes.
CONNOR DENNISON I’m pretty relaxed on
giving them breaks and giving them a few
minutes to recover from a rush before I start
How do you decide when an employee is
ready to be promoted—and how do you
get the rest of your staff to adjust to the
change?
CONNOR DENNISON I don’t do the promoting,
but my General Manager typically does
ask me and the other supervisors who we
think is right for the promotion or what we
think of who she has selected. Of course we
generally always see eye-to-eye on the work
ethic of individuals. We look for people that
know to stay busy and have everything ready
to go for a rush. Also, if a supervisor is not
currently around, who do the other workers
turn to to ask a quick question if they run
into a problem? If that person knows what
they are talking about then essentially they
have exactly what it takes to be promoted.
Usually, people expect the promotion to
come, and taking direction from the person
in a new position is not a problem since they
practically did this before.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I think the big thing is
job performance and attitude. That’s what
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT We do our best to accommodate
it. We cant guarantee that they won’t
work shifts together, but if two people are
having outside problems that they bring into
work, you need to sit down with them and
say that they need to be professional. They
need to do their best.
What are your best motivators?
SHANE LEAVELL I feel my best motivator is
working next to them and showing them
that I’m always willing to work just as
hard—if not harder—to make everyone’s job
easier. “Lead by example” is one of the best
motivational tools any manager can perform.
If they see you working hard and performing
your job properly, then hopefully they will be
motivated to follow your actions.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Money. Employee incentives,
coupons, passes, dinner gift cards. My
most important thing beyond that is pleases
and thank you’s. If they see that you’re helping
them, pitching in just the same, it matters.
If you walk up to an employee and say,
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 35

ON MANAGEMENT
SELECTED MANAGEMENT BOOKS & WEBSITES
“Could you please empty the trash?” you’re
going to get a better response than “Go empty
that trash.” And then, “Thank you for taking
out the trash.” It goes a long way.
RETIRE
What makes you realize that a staff member
can’t/won’t improve?
SHANE LEAVELL If all motivational tools or
training sessions have not succeeded in improving
an employee’s job performance, then
that gives you a pretty good idea they probably
won’t improve.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT After a few write-ups,
maybe the right attitude isn’t there. They
BOOKS
On Becoming a Leader: The
Leadership Classic By Warren Bennis
Tony Soprano on Management:
Leadership Lessons Inspired By
America’s Favorite Mobster
By Anthony Schneider
The One Minute Manager|
By Spencer Johnson
Learning To Lead: A Workbook On
Becoming A Leader By Warren Bennis
Smart Staffing: How to Hire, Reward
and Keep Top Employees for Your
Growing Company By Wayne Outlaw
Recruiting and Retaining Employees
for Dummies By Paula Manning
Human Resources Kit for Dummies
By Max Messmer
The Manager’s Book of Questions:
751 Great Interview Questions for
Hiring the Best Person By John Kador
Interviewing and Selecting High
Performers: Every Manager’s Guide
to Effective Interviewing Techniques
By Richard H. Beatty
WEBSITES
Society for Human Resource
Management www.shrm.org
Bureau of Labor Statistics
www.bls.gov
Free Management Library
www.managementhelp.org
just don’t care, they just don’t want to work,
you just don’t see a lot of effort in trying to
change.
Do you offer last chances or prefer a clean
break?
GENEVIEVE GERST Offering an employee a
last chance is fine if you think it’s worth it.
Just make sure you stick to your word. For example:
if you tell an employee that they’ll be
fired if they miss another shift and then you
don’t fire them the next time they don’t show
up to work, you are telling that employee and
the rest of your staff that you don’t always
mean what you say and that they can walk
all over you and get away with it. That is a
precedent you never want to set.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I prefer last chances. I
think it’s important to make sure you let the
staff know where they’re at. They can’t fix
a problem that they don’t know is there. If
you write them up, you explain why. And at
the last write-up, you want to sit down with
them and say, “You really need to be on time
for work. This is the third time and the next
time, we’re going to have to let you go—and
we don’t want to do that.” We’ve brought
employees back from the brink—sometimes
just sitting down with them will make them
realize, “Wow, I really do want this job.” We
have had people do a 100 percent turnaround
and it’s great when that happens.
How and when do you have the conversation
where you let an employee go?
GENEVIEVE GERST I always have these conversations
in person. I think it’s inconsiderate
to give someone such news over the phone.
I always have a senior manager present as a
witness.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT After you’ve given them
a fair amount of time to improve, usually
they know that conversation has to happen.
It could happen at any day, but obviously you
want it on a slower day because you don’t
want to be shorthanded. Everyone’s going
to react differently, but you’ve got to be fair
across the board. If they do act out, you want
to make them understand that this is the
only option. Usually if you talk it out, things
are okay.
Or, a great employee is moving away for
school, but you’d like to maintain ties if
they’d like to work when they’re back for
the holidays?
GENEVIEVE GERST I make a point of inviting
such employees to consider returning during
the holidays. I make sure they know when
they leave that we appreciated the time they
spent working here and would be happy to
have them back to help out during our busy
holiday periods. A lot of our employees do
return for the holidays; it’s a great way to
make some money if you don’t want to have
to do school and work year round.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Someone could start
with you when they’re 16 and in high school,
and then so quickly they’re 18 and going to
college. But they’re always helpful because,
in our business, we’re busiest in the summer
and the holidays. It works out well if someone
goes away to college, but wants to come
back and help when you’re busy.
When a valued employee has to move on,
how do you say goodbye?
SHANE LEAVELL It’s always sad to see one of
our valued employees leave, but we hope it’s
for something better and more challenging.
We always try to show our employees the
right way to doing things, and hopefully they
take this with them to their next job or whatever
it is they are pursuing.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Usually, they finish up
their time and we wish them the best. We
don’t usually have parties, but we make sure
we let them know how much we appreciated
them working for us and you never know
down the road—opportunities may come up
for them.
■
DISASTERS!
What would you do if:
It’s Friday night and the popcorn machine
just broke?
GENEVIEVE GERST We’re lucky to have another
Cinemark theater less than three miles
away. I would call and ask if they would be
willing to pop us a few batches that we could
go pick up.
36 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

BRIAN EICHSTAEDT That’s something you
don’t want to happen on a Friday night. As
we troubleshoot, we have a back-up popper—as
long as both of them aren’t down,
we’ll get by.
sure all customers and employees are alerted
of the situation and everyone is safe.
A crowded theater is ready to dim the
lights, but the projector just broke?
make it in that different movies are available.
If that doesn’t work, instruct them on
how to purchase advanced tickets. That way
they can make sure they get their ticket before
the show sells out.
CONNOR DENNISON I would encourage the
staff to offer other menu items and try to be
understanding as I’m sure they would face
very upset customers—and if they do, direct
them to myself or a manager.
Everyone asks off for the same day?
GENEVIEVE GERST We grant the time-off
requests for all the employees we can based
on who submitted their requests first. We
may have to say no to some of the employees
who turn in their requests late.
SHANE LEAVELL Talk to each individual and
see if they would be available to give me any
hours that day: morning, afternoon or evening.
I would do my best to work with them
to make sure everyone got the day off they
wanted, but ensure we are properly staffed.
CONNOR DENNISON I would have as many
people there for as long as possible, and
maybe call in some help from another theater.
An earthquake/tornado/hurricane/fire/your
local natural disaster struck?
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT My main concern is to
get our patrons and staff to safety ASAP.
We’d try to stay calm ourselves and make
announcements—try not to let them see
us sweat. If it’s a tornado, we’d get people
to the lowest part of the theater, making
sure not to put them under a cooling unit.
Restrooms, the interior, is good. For a fire,
we’d try to get people to our exit doors
quickly. Staff would be a big part of assisting,
making sure that they’re checking to
make sure everyone got out. Even though
the alarms are going off, you want to double
check the building, the restrooms, the
auditoriums.
SHANE LEAVELL Luckily we have emergency
plans in place for such disasters and practice
these plans throughout the year. Each employee
has a responsibility when it comes to
executing these emergency plans, whether
tornado or fire. The main thing is to make
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT We’re going to do
everything in our power to get it fixed.
Unfortunately, it has happened in the past
and we issued passes to everyone in the
theater. In some cases, if you have a theater
running but no one’s bought tickets for it,
you can move them to another auditorium.
We do our best to explain that obviously
things happen and we’re very sorry for the
inconvenience but at this time, we’re unable
to show this showing—usually patrons are
pretty understanding. Usually.
SHANE LEAVELL Two things must be done:
First, call our tech and let him know we
are having issues with our projector. At the
same time, alert all the customers in that
auditorium as to what is going on and that
we are in the process of trying to get their
movie started as soon as possible. Hopefully,
we can figure out what is wrong and get it
started. However, in that rare case where we
can’t get it fixed, immediately apologize to
the customers and find a solution to make
all of them happy. This could be done with
passes, refunds or switching them to a different
movie.
All showings of a big blockbuster are selling
out and would-be ticket-buyers are
annoyed?
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Nothing’s more discouraging
then to wait in a line for no reason. If
you have a big blockbuster and a long line,
you need to keep your patrons informed
with, “Ladies and gentlemen, at this time we
are sold out for the 7 o’clock feature, but we
have plenty of tickets for the 9 pm.” If people
are still upset, we tell our staff to know
that people have bad days and we need to
make it just a little bit better. To make sure
they’re smiling, being pleasant.
GENEVIEVE GERST We would find the closest
theater that is showing the film and has
seating available and then recommend them
there.
SHANE LEAVELL We try to accommodate
as many as we can, but let those who can’t
A terrible, mysterious smell is overpowering
an auditorium?
CONNOR DENNISON I would keep the air
conditioning cool and get an air freshener.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Check it out. You
don’t know what it could be. It could
be a belt burning on the equipment, a
skunk in the area. But it could be a gas
smell, so it’s important to take the proper
precautions. But if it’s a skunk and people
are complaining, we need to offer them
another auditorium or do what we can to
make them happy.
An R-rated trailer accidentally just ran
before a G-rated matinee?
SHANE LEAVELL Hopefully this never happens,
but the first thing is to apologize to the
customers and then immediately get that
trailer taken off. We have also developed
many different procedures and checklists
to prevent such a thing from happening
because this would be a major mistake on
our part.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Wow. First of all, you
stop it immediately. Then you’ve got to go
talk to the crowd and let them know this
was a terrible mistake. If it takes giving out
concession coupons, you just have to deal
with it immediately so they know it wasn’t
something you did intentionally.
Taggers keep spray-painting the building?
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I’m going to go undercover
on stake-out! I’ll be in the parking lot
with my binoculars and I’ll catch them!
GENEVIEVE GERST We would report it to the
police every time and remove the vandalism
after taking photos. Then we would do our
best to monitor the area and report any suspicious
activity to the police.
SHANE LEAVELL We have surveillance cameras
on the outside of our building so we
would make sure to view this footage to see
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 37

ON MANAGEMENT
if we can figure out who might be vandalizing
our building. We would also need to
work with the local authorities in order to
determine who it might be and deter them
from doing it in the future.
A loud fight breaks out in a theater during
a movie?
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT You want to make sure
you get the lights on immediately. Call the
police, have back up when you go in, and
make proper announcements to let people
know that the authorities have been called.
You don’t want to jump in and get yourself
or your employees hurt, but you want to
stay calm and handle it. It’s rare, but it has
happened in the past. Once, I was a patron
watching Honey, I Shrunk the Kids—that ages
me—and people were being loud in front.
And one thing led to another. Someone
comes in with a hat that’s two feet tall and
sits down in front of you so you can’t see the
screen, people get upset.
A broken pipe has just put the ladies room
out of commission?
CONNOR DENNISON I would have a male stationed
at the restroom to occasionally clear
out the men’s to let the women go in and
make sure no man goes in while a woman is
in there.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT Hopefully you have a
backup restroom, but if not you need to get
the plumbers in immediately. You need restrooms—if
a pipe breaks, you’d almost have to
close down.
Construction across the street is way
too loud and is affecting parking/
accessibility?
CONNOR DENNISON I would deal with complaints
one-on-one and try to explain that
there’s nothing our theater can do to prevent
the what the construction workers are doing.
BRIAN EICHSTAEDT I would go straight to the
foreman and try to mediate their schedule
to work in the middle of the night or before
we open because my patrons need quiet to
enjoy the theater. If it disrupts the parking,
we need to let people know where they can
park. Maybe we can make arrangements with
other local businesses to use their lots. ■
MANAGERS
GONE WILD
Highlights—or lowlights—from
15 years working the floor
By S. Matthew Bauer
Cineplexes are unusual workplaces: their
employees can be an all-ages collision pressurized
by the need to give hundreds of
people a ticket, a soda and a seat every two
hours. And in their hardy walls, theaters
brave challenges from their patrons, staff
and yes, even management. Please consider
the following anecdotes from my 15 years of
experience:
Promote based on skill, not pity
My boss had been stealthily training me for
weeks—I was gonna run the show! Then,
one Friday, the District Manager announced
the promotion…for Steve. Steve was 19 and
lived with his parents, who charged him $20
to drive him to work (a loss of $4.60/shift).
Steve once walked through our mall balancing
detachable boom box speakers on his
shoulders, blaring the Mortal Kombat dance
jam and strutting his head. He was dim. A
co-worker offered to take him to Denny’s
and Steve declined because he wasn’t
dressed “fancy enough.” And here’s the best
part—he got the job because he needed
Community College credit. This was the guy
chosen to run things. I wish I could tell you
he surpassed our wildest hopes. I can’t. (I’m
not bitter. Really.)
Be capable of pronouncing the names of
the movies you’re showing
If memory serves, the theater
manager that announced to a
line of ticket buyers that the
movie “Tweester” was sold
out was the same manager
that later sold someone a box
of “Skyttles.”
Settle rodent
problems
expediently
S. MATTHEW BAUER
One of my theaters had an unwanted mascot
named Ralph S. Mouse. This little fellow
did not drive a motorcycle; he did, however,
have a penchant for bounding through the
lobby just as the 7:00 pm rush died down.
After nearly being crushed, Ralph hid for
three nights, then triumphantly re-emerged
solely to greet the pant leg of Family Ties’
Meredith Baxter Birney. Luckily she was too
embroiled in a conversation with her husband
(awkward—Google it) to notice.
Don’t scald Oscar winners with concession
items
Another theater sold hot pretzels. Frozen,
they doubled as monkey wrenches and had
to be nuked for the better part of the opening
credits. There was no middle ground:
either they were petrified or molten. We had
nothing but paper bags in which to hand
them off. Readers, I honestly tried to warn
Oscar winner Ed Harris that his cinnamonshellacked
confection was Pompeii-hot,
but he braved it like a man who’d already
survived the dark side of the moon. (Perhaps
this was karmic payback for Milk Money.) If
you’re casting the role of a guy with no fingerprints,
Ed Harris is your man.
Underpaid, angry theater staff are cunning
I know a guy who made off with $12,000
by selling ticket stub halves to patrons. I
know another guy who adjusted the stock
each night so he could leave with an extra
$20. Anyone paying attention to the books
would’ve caught this in a week, but evidently
this theater chain—which shortly thereafter
filed for Chapter 11—felt their method
of hiring other angry kids to handle the
money and the paperwork were foolproof
loss-prevention techniques. The finances
could have been better handled with
friendly supervision. But that
brings us to the last—and most
important tip.
If you’re going to fraternize, do
not have masturbation contests
with subordinates in the office
or the supply closet
That seriously happened.
Regularly.
■
38 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

GROWN UPS
BIG PICTURE
✮ IF, LIKE FARMERS, EXHIBITORS WROTE AN ALMANAC, HERE ARE SOME TRUISMS THEY’D
INCLUDE: MICHAEL BAY WILL BLOW SOMETHING UP, KIDS WILL FLOCK TO PIXAR, TEENS WILL
TRY TO SNEAK INTO THE LATEST R-RATED HIT AND ADAM SANDLER WILL RELEASE A FILM THAT
GROSSES OVER $100 MILLION ✮ THIS YEAR, THE LIKELY CONTENDER IS GROWN-UPS, A MORE
SPRIGHTLY LOOK ON AGING AND (IM)MATURITY THAN LAST YEAR’S FUNNY PEOPLE THAT PAIRS
THE WHOLE HAPPY MADISON PRODUCTION TEAM: ROB SCHNEIDER, CHRIS ROCK AND DAVID
SPADE, AND OF COURSE SANDLER AND DIRECTOR DENNIS DUGAN, WHO HAS HELMED THE
CREW OF COMEDIANS FROM HAPPY GILMORE AND BIG DADDY THROUGH THE BENCHWARM-
ERS, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK AND LARRY AND YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN
✮ WHAT’S IT TAKE TO STAY STRAIGHT-FACED WHILE SHOOTING A BIG ENSEMBLE COMEDY?
BOXOFFICE ASKS DUGAN AND SCHNEIDER—AND THE ANSWERS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU ✮
BY AMY NICHOLSON
40 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

ANOTHER DAY AT THE OFFICE
Four SNL alumns plus Chuck and Larry’s
Kevin James is a proven formula
HI BOYS
Dugan has directed a half-dozen hits for
Sandler’s squad
Photos: Tracy Bennett
GO LONG
Director Dennis Dugan on
comedy, sports and his sixth
time helming for Adam
Sandler’s Happy Madison
Productions
You started as an actor—how did that
shape your directing?
It definitely did. I had to learn how to shoot,
how to hold a camera, editing, all of those
things. But the nice thing was I studied so
long being an actor that performance is a
strong card in my deck. And I just love doing
comedy, so that’s what I gravitated to once I
started directing.
This cast is huge. When you’re working
with so many different comedy styles, how
do you wrangle them so they’re all serving
the same movie?
There’s a specific way that we work
together. The script is written by Adam and
his collaborators and then I’ll give notes
on it, but we have a similar approach to
comedy: as crazy as it gets, we try to base it
in reality. We tell all the actors who work
with us that. Everybody can get as goofy
as they want, but we try to keep in all in
the same style, while giving everyone the
freedom to bring all the quirks to their
characters they want.. For instance, last
night [while shooting the upcoming Just Go
With It], it was Nicole Kidman’s first night.
The producer and the assistant director
said “Who do you want to shoot first?”
I said we should do Adam and Jennifer
Aniston first, and then we’ll do Nicole
after we’ve done their coverage. They said,
“Why? The light will be better if we do it
this way.” It may be better for the light,
but this is Nicole’s first day on a movie
that’s been shooting for 35 days and I said I
wanted her to be able to work on the scene
for a while when it’s just over her back so
she can see how Jennifer and Adam are
working and she can start to get into the
rhythm of the whole piece without having
to be on camera first.
I feel like a comedy director has an unusual
role. You’re given people who are already
funny, who have natural talents for humor.
Do you feel like your job is setting them up
and letting them run with it? Where does
the directing come in?
You hit it on the head. People ask, “How do
you corral these people?” You don’t corral.
If you’re smart, you don’t corral—you let
them run free. One of the tricks is you let
them feel as comfortable as possible so they
can be goofy. And also feel like they can flop
and not be judged or have their egos bruised.
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 41

BIG PICTURE > GROWN UPS
I SAID—A HIP HOP THE HIPPIE
Rappers delight? Not to Chris Rock
Those last minute moments are a
great curse. Both Grown Ups and The
Benchwarmers have a connection to
sports—what’s the link between sports and
humor?
Sandler loves sports, I love sports. We’re
all baseball fans, Sandler’s a big basketball
player. Happy Gilmore was golf and hockey.
Pretty soon we’re going to run out of sports!
On screen, Adam Sandler doesn’t look like
Shaq, but when you look at his films, he’s
obsessed with sports. The Waterboy, The
Longest Yard …
He’s a wonderful athlete. He plays tennis,
he plays basketball religiously. He’s a good
basketball player. He did most of those shots
in Happy Gilmore with that golf club, which
is unheard of. On set in the Video Village,
we have ESPN playing the entire day. Unless
there’s NASCAR on, which Jack Giarraputo
loves. NASCAR or the Yankees game, or we
fight over the Lakers—some people love
the Lakers on our squad, some people hate
them. It’s sports, sports, sports, comedy,
comedy, comedy. All day long.
I’m a gigantic fan of comedy and all these
people I’m working with, I’m just so thrilled
by them that I think they get that sense that
we’re here to go have fun. We’re goofing
around on set, we’re having a great time—
it’s a real familial atmosphere. But we help
everybody feel relaxed and brave.
Are there any standout moments in Grown
Ups that sprung from that improv-ish
atmosphere?
It wasn’t even improv-ish. It was designed
that way. These guys—most of them who
have known and worked with each other
for years and years and years—for them it
was a reunion of sorts. There were scenes
where we’d do 45 minute takes. We’d start
with the scene and then they’d just start
riffing. Sandler was the bandleader and we’d
go, “What did you think of that?” And he’d
do stuff, and then Chris Rock would take it
and fly off for a while, and then David Spade
would throw in his acerbic comments.
Kevin James would take it up and then Rob
Schneider’d be jumping all over it. We’d
just go on and on and on. The problem with
doing a 45 minute take is then you’ve got
to give it coverage. We’d have two people
writing everything down as frantically as
possible, so when we’d turn it to the other
side, I’d have this list of things they’d talked
about. I’d say, “Do the drugstore part! Do
the McDonalds part!” They’d jump back in.
Last night was again a perfect example. We
did Adam and Jennifer’s side of the scene,
and then at the end of the night when
we turned around on Nicole and Dave
Matthews, Sandler came up with a really
funny one-line thing. But you had to see
his face and we didn’t have the luxury of
spending another hour to turn back around.
So I said Adam should just stand in Dave
Matthews’ light. It’s just one line—maybe
we’ll get away with it! If we have people
moving around in the background, maybe
audiences won’t know! That’s one of the
problems of doing a comedy. When Martin
Lawrence and I did National Security, we’d
turn from him to the other people, but then
he’d be so funny that we’d have to turn back
around and do it again. I’m not loathe to do
it because the whole job is to make it funny.
Whatever you need to do to get it funny—if
you have to turn back around, you turn
back around.
Your son Kelly Dugan was just drafted to
play baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies—
how does that work when you live in
Dodger town?
I was a Dodger fan forever. I grew up in
Chicago so I was a Cubs fan first, but when
I moved to LA, I went Dodgers. But then my
son was the number one pick for Philly. It
turns out that I have a price for my loyalty,
and that price was the exact amount of
Kelly’s signing bonus. I love the Dodgers,
I’ve loved watching them for all these years,
but now my heart is with the Phillies. At
least my wardrobe changes.
This cast has comedy heavy-hitters, many
of whom have been at the top of the heap
for the last 15 years. Do you scout for
newcomers to add into the mix? Is there
even room for newcomers between Adam
Sandler’s team and Seth Rogen’s team?
There always is. One of the new guys
Sandler befriended who’s become part of the
squad is Nick Swardson. Sandler had seen a
comedy special he did for Comedy Central
or something like that and hired him to
write a couple things with him. He co-wrote
42 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

and acted in Benchwarmers and since then
has done a bunch of things. A couple movies
with me, this one now. He’s an example
of how you break in. Funny is funny. He’s
working on this movie with us as an actor
and writer, so the squad keeps expanding.
With YouTube, does it seem like the way
comedians break out has evolved?
I think so. There’s a writer I’ve been working
on a couple things with, he and his buddies
have a mini-short film company and they’re
always doing little three and four minute
films. They introduced me to Internet short
film contests. For somebody who wants to
be a comedy writer, a comedy director, a
comedy performer, it’s a good and cheap
way to get your product out there and get
seen. It’s better than just working at the
comedy clubs.
Post-I Now Pronounce You Chuck and
Larry, have you become the unofficial gay
marriage expert at dinner parties?
I haven’t, but I’m a huge proponent of
letting anybody who wants to get married
get married. I don’t understand what all of
the fuss is about. It doesn’t threaten me in
any way. And I think the more people can be
happy in this world, the better the world is
going to be. I’m all for tolerance.
On a similar note, I think You Don’t Mess
with the Zohan is going to be unveiled as a
smarter and more sophisticated film than it
was given credit for when it first came out.
I understand that we got a really good
review from the New York Times. I don’t
read reviews, but I understand it was a
thoughtful review, which is nice. Comedies
don’t get awards; comedies are not thought
of as sophisticated films. But I would say
that the amount of work and thought that
goes into a comedy is equal to or greater
than the work that goes into a drama. Adam
thought it was a very big, very serious
subject that, if we treated it in the right
way, might make the idea of peace and
tolerance more accessible to people who
normally wouldn’t think that it’s a subject
for comedy.
Right now, you’re in Maui shooting Just Go
With It—how do you keep your mind on
your work?
It’s beautiful. Just beautiful. I can’t lie to
you—even though we’re working like
crazy, it’s great. We’ve been working nights,
so you just try to keep your eyes open and
on the task. And have a five-hour energy
drink in your left hand. Maui would be an
awesome place to live, but I can’t do it. It’s
too relaxing.
Nicole Kidman is a great comedienne and
it’s been a while since she’s had a chance
to show that off. I’m curious about the rest
of the cast—there’s such a range: Dave
Matthews, Heidi Montag. Jennifer Aniston
hasn’t had a comedy script that’s played to
her strengths in years.
Adam and Jennifer together is magically
wonderful. They just get each other. When
they start improvising, it’s just thrilling.
I’ve always thought that she was one of
the absolute best: she can do comedy, she
can do drama, she can do anything. I was
very excited to have a chance to work
with her, and she has met and exceeded
my expectations by miles. She’s always
in the moment, always prepared, always
completely professional, and just as
funny and charming and witty and sexy
as anybody can be. And Nicole, she’s a
wonderful actress who does stuff you
don’t expect. She doesn’t do the obvious.
She does little quirky readings and you
go, “Oh my gosh—I didn’t see that there.”
And so professional. Every phone call,
every interaction I’ve had with her, she’s
delightful. Dave Matthews is a terrific
guy, a buddy of Adam’s for a long time.
He first did a little bit in Chuck and Larry,
and then a bigger bit in Zohan—both of
them real character-y parts. This time, he
plays Nicole’s husband. Here’s a guy who
plays to stadium-sized crowds and he’s
doing his scene last night and he goes,
“I’m so nervous! Look who I’m standing
on the set with.” It’s those three and Dave.
I said, “Dave, you kill—you sell out the
Hollywood Bowl and you’re not nervous.
This is nothing, just look at them and talk.”
He’s playing a straighter part, a regular
human being instead of some whacked-out
character, so he’s got to be more vulnerable
than he’s used to being. But he did great.
He’s a very funny guy, terrific, hangs around
the set even when he’s not filming. There’s
nothing bad I can say about my experiences.
Right now I’m in Hawaii looking out over
the ocean, and everything is beautiful. ■
BIG PICTURE > PROMOTION
REUNITED
AND IT FEELS
SO GOOD
Dust off that polyester tux
and get goofy
Adam Sandler and the gang are as close
to comedy for all ages as it gets: everyone
from preteens to, well, Grown Ups, ponies
up for his charm. High schoolers who
went cuckoo for Billy Madison are now old
enough to have their own overgrown kids,
even if Sandler himself doesn’t seem to
have aged at all.
Since Grown Ups tracks five friends who
reunite after thirty years, it’s a friendly time
for you to get nostalgic. Mount a wall and
invite your staff to post a favorite, funny
childhood photo, which will trigger your
audience to think of your theater as family.
Take the project online and get patrons to
post shots of their own hilarious fashions
and hair-dos. The popularity of blogs like
MyParentsWereAwesome.com proves
there’s an appetite for snickering—and
sharing—retro photos.
Here’s an event idea: as Grown Ups
debuts just weeks after prom season, give
your patrons an excuse to slip back into
their taffeta and ties. Host a prom at your
theater and give a free soda (spiked flask
optional) to ticket holders who promenade
in a flouncy dress or suit—the more dated
and dug-out-of-Goodwill, the better.
String balloons and streamers and be sure
to get a good shot in the local paper or on
your website—and if you want to really get
your presence on Facebook, set up a prom
portrait photo station at the entry with
your name on the backdrop and post the
photos on your website. It’s guaranteed
people will want to repost their hilarious
glamour shot, and you can even up the
ante with a rack of two or three ridiculous
thrift store dresses and jackets they can
borrow. Also scout your local high schools
to see if any reunion committees want to
use your theater to host a pre- or planning
event. Tie your theater’s name to Sandler’s
latest hit and make some sweet, salesboosting
memories.
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 43

BIG PICTURE > GROWN UPS
THAT’S MY GIRL
Schneider finds love with a first-generation
hippie (Joyce Van Patten)
THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES
In Grown-Ups, you play Rob, one of five friends reuniting
after years—which is basically the on-set truth as
you’ve been friends with nearly everyone in the cast for
decades.
Yeah! Except for Kevin James. He’s the odd-man-out since
he was never on Saturday Night Live, but we’ve been sure
to run that in. It bothers him. Whenever we start talking
about Saturday Night Live, he always feels left out.
Did you have to haze him?
Rob Schneider on accents and activism
Every time we bring it up, it’s like he’s been hazed. But
it’s funny—he’s a solid guy. He should have been on the
show. He would have been great. But the shoot was like a
By Amy Nicholson
reunion. We’re all getting older. I don’t know if it will ever
happen again.
Tell me about your character: Rob.
The thing about the movie is over the 30 years they’ve
known each other, some people have been more successful
and some people have been less successful. And some people
have been been successful in business but unsuccessful
in their home lives, or the opposite. Who’s got what? I play
a character who’s been married a few times. He hasn’t been
able to commit. So he’s gone the other way: instead of marrying
young women, he’s married a very old lady. I guess
it’s less of a commitment because he doesn’t know how
long she’s going to be around. Some of the stuff is based
44 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

on me, I guess. He’s a health nut with some
anger issues. But that’s how Adam and Fred
Wolf wrote him.
Do you and David Spade ever lobby to get
super hot wives? You’re always left out.
It’s because Adam wrote it for himself! Of
course he has himself married to Salma
Hayek and me married to a 75 year old.
That’s Adam.
When you’ve done so many movies with
the same people, do you ever have a moment
on set where you’re scrambled? Is it
hard to keep the scenes straight?
No. As far as keeping my face straight, yes.
That’s a problem because these are some seriously
funny guys. We’ve all been around a
while, so there’s not that pressure to always
score. With five funny guys, it’s tough. But
it doesn’t feel like the pressure we had when
we first started. David Spade is particularly
funny. In real life hanging around with
these guys, somebody’s always got something
funny to say.
You were born on Halloween: Was that a
birthday killer or did it give you the best
birthday party ever?
Oh, it was the best! Everybody dressed up
and my parents said, ‘It’s all for you, Robby.’
They were trying to create a monster out of
me. I later realized it wasn’t, but since there
was always a big party, always everyone in
costume, my childhood was a lot of fun.
Do you still feel a pressure to have the best
costume ever? Who were you this year?
The Dog Whisperer. Oscar What’s-his-face.
[In accent] I dress up like heem, talk like
heem. ‘Dees dogs here! Dey don’t have a
problem. He’s-a good. You just haf to communicate
with your dog. That’s how he
wants it, and when you pet-a heem, he’s
gonna do it ‘cause he jus wants to please
you.’
Some people have taken offense at your
accents, but you have a diverse background.
Your mom was Catholic, your dad
was Jewish, your grandmother was Filipino.
I don’t care if they take offense to it. That
doesn’t bother me. Peter Sellers played an
East Indian pretty well—The Party was really
funny. Alec Guinness can play an Arab
in Lawrence of Arabia. Marlon Brando played
a pretty good Sicilian in The Godfather. The
idea that we’re not allowed to play other
ethnicities is just a bunch of crap. I played
a woman in a movie [The Hot Chick] and no
matter what the reviews said, not one critic
said they didn’t believe me as a woman. I
think if you’re gay, you can play straight. If
you’re straight, you can play gay. Anything
that’s part of the human experience, you can
play. I refuse to be limited by my looks, or by
my size or by my whatever. People always
need to bitch about something.
Do you think the comedy world has gotten
more sensitive since you started doing
stand-up in the ‘80s?
Nah, I don’t think so. Comedy is not a line
in the sand. It ebbs and flows. You just hope
you’re ebbing while the audience is flowing.
But I think with the economy and people being
broke, people want to laugh more. If you
take a look at the box office, it reflects that.
You’re also outspoken on environmental
and educational issues.
We spend more money on prison space than
we do on classroom space. We have to ask
ourselves: what kind of society are we building
here? We have for-profit prisons. Next
to China, we have the highest per-capita
amount of people in prison. It’s ridiculous.
Next to China—an authoritarian military
dictatorship. And we have more in common
with them than we do with Europe, as
far as how we imprison people, mostly for
stupid drug offenses. As far as our schools,
we’re not even in the top ten in the world.
We’re in the 20s or 30s. What do you want
to spend your money on? Our teachers need
to have a tax-free status. If we don’t have the
money to pay them as much as they deserve,
then if you’re a teacher, you don’t pay taxes.
If we really value our teachers, we should
show we value them with a special status.
But then the firemen and the policemen are
gonna say, ‘Well, how about us?’ Well, I’m
sorry, but teachers don’t make as much as
you. We don’t have a fireman and policeman
problem. We have a teaching problem.
Most other comedians and actors aren’t as
comfortable speaking their minds on political
topics—do you try to encourage your
friends to take a stand on issues that matter
to them?
Yeah, but I’m doing stand up again because
Chris Rock and Adam Sandler talked me
into doing it again. So I can talk about it
to people. But at the end of the day, people
have to do what they want. I think it’s important
for people to be knowledgeable.
You’re going to have to make tougher decisions
now for our country because we’re literally
bankrupt. That whole stimulus package—$750
billion—was from China. That’s
how bad it is. They’re buying our treasury
bills every month to keep the government
afloat, and we’re going deeper and deeper in
debt. If you don’t think that’s going to affect
things—it is. We can no longer spend $700
billion a year on the military and be the
world’s only superpower. We’re broke. This
cannot maintain. We can’t take care of our
roads, our schools, the health of our people.
Something’s got to change.
Is there a classic movie you’d like to redo?
Local Hero with Burt Lancaster and Peter
Riegart. Love it.
You have a 20 year old daughter. Did you
raise her to have great taste in movies?
Cinema Paradiso. That movie has a real love
of film. Some movies are just beautiful.
Strictly Ballroom is great; it’s before Baz Lurhmann
got too pretentious.
Cinema Paradiso was a favorite for me and
my dad.
If you don’t like that movie, you don’t like
movies!
I was touched when you sent flowers to Roger
Ebert when he got his cancer diagnosis.
I didn’t do it for publicity. The only reason
anyone found out was because he said
something nice about it on his blog. I don’t
know how many people whose careers he’s
helped, and I don’t know how many of them
sent him flowers, but they should have because
he’s been a really positive influence
on so many people’s careers. Not mine, but I
wish him well. He influenced me—I discovered
foreign films because of him and Gene
Siskel. I wish him well. He’s an American
institution.
■
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 45

ON THE HORIZON
THE SLATE
EXPENDABLES’ TOP DOMESTIC GROSSERS
Dependables?
WILLIS
The Sixth Sense
$293,506,292
SCHWARZENEGGER
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
$204,843,345
STALLONE
Rambo: First Blood Part II
$150,415,432
LUNDGREN
Rocky IV
$127,873,716
LI
Lethal Weapon IV
$130,444,603
STATHAM
The Italian Job
$106,128,601
ROURKE
Man on Fire
$77,911,774
COUTURE
Invincible
$57,806,952
SUPER MAN
Stallone writes,
directs and stars
in this heavyweight
action
blowout
SUCKER PUNCH!
The Expendables
Big fan of ‘80s action flicks? Here’s your chance to see all of them at
once. Sylvester Stallone had an ambitious idea to write and direct
the motherlode of bullet bonanzas. He just needed one thing. Or
really, seven things: Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Jason Statham, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Dolph Lundgren.
And, of course, himself playing the top dog of a mercenary squad who gets set
up in South America.
“It’s an old-school, kick-ass action movie where people are fighting with
knives and shooting at each other,” says Lundgren. And judging by the
blogosphere, there’s an appetite for it, especially after its release was pushed
back four months from April to August. The cast is so complete, it’s almost
easier to ask who isn’t an Expendable. Stallone asked them all; only Jean-
Claude Van Damme, Kurt Russell, Wesley Snipes and Steven Seagal
said nay. Van Damme thought his character was slight, Russell’s a lone
wolf, Snipes was forbidden to shoot abroad and Seagal cited his past
grievances against the film’s producer, Avi Lerner, the one-time king
of the straight-to-VHS market who pumped out ten films a year with
titles like Terminator Woman, Cyborg Cop and Forest Warrior (the last
a vehicle for Chuck Norris). Lerner still cranks ‘em out—at present,
he’s got 17 films in production or development including Conan, Red
Sonja and Rambo V: The Savage Hunt.
Of course, what has action fans sweating bullets is a confirmed
scene between Stallone, Willis and Schwarzenegger, the first time
all three titans have shared the screen. Remember the Pacino-De-
Niro showdown in Heat?
This one has guns. ■
DISTRIBUTOR Lionsgate CAST Sylvester Stallone, Jason
Statham, Jet Li, Mickey Rourke, Randy Couture,
Dolph Lungdren, Steve Austin, Charisma Carpenter,
David Zayas, Terry Crews, Giselle Itie, Eric Roberts
DIRECTOR Sylvester Stallone SCREENWRITERS Sylvester
Stallone, Dave Callaham PRODUCERS Kevin King,
Avi Lerner, Kevin King Templeton, John Thompson
GENRE Action/Thriller RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 99
min. RELEASE DATE August 13, 2010
STONE COLD? NOT SO MUCH
Steve Austin and Eric Roberts play
dodge fireball
46 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

PILGRIM’S PIXELS
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Call it synergy. Call it the future of comic pop. But Scott
Pilgrim has spawned a new pattern to the comic book
franchise. Post X-Men, every illustrator in town sketches
for a blockbuster, and down the line, maybe even a video
game. But Bryan Lee O’Malley first concocted this story as an unsual
comic-video game hybrid. Characters score points, earn weapons,
face levels, win extra lives and even shatter into coins when
defeated. What makes Scott Pilgrim more unusual is its mundane setting:
plain old Toronto, so faithfully recreated that characters visit
actual restaurants, work as dishwashers and worry about ordinary
problems with landlords. In short, it’s a thoroughly modern mutation
that could find a big audience on the big screen.
Michael Cera stars as the eponymous Scott, an everyday twentysomething
rock star wannabe who falls for a manic pixie named
Ramona (Mary Elizabeth Winstead). She’s great, only her bag is a
space-time portal and every one of her seven evil exes is bent on
killing Scott for the crime of dating her. And it’s not going to be easy.
Among the exes hired to fight Cera are Chris Evans (The Fantastic
Four), Brandon Routh (Superman) and scrappers Kieran Culkin and
Jason Schwartzman.
Universal leapt on the comic in 2005, a year after the first issue
was published, and hired Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz)
to write and direct. Back then, the Pilgrim comic was intended to
be a trilogy. Five years later, there’s been five with a sixth timed
for July. After cooling their heels, Universal decided to move
DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Michael Cera,
Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Chris Evans,
Anna Kendrick, Alison Pill, Brandon Routh, Jason
Schwartzman DIRECTOR Edgar Wright SCREENWRIT-
ERS Michael Bacall, Edgar Wright PRODUCERS Eric
Gitter, Nira Park, Marc Platt, Edgar Wright GENRE
Comedy/Action RATING PG-13 for stylized violence,
sexual content, language and drug references. RUN-
NING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE August 13, 2010
BLAZE OF GLORY
A guitarist battles seven ex-boyfriends
in this kooky video-game comedy
ahead with the project
before the last comic was
even written, though
O’Malley, Wright and
co-screenwriter Michael
Bacall said they talked frequently
about what was right for the characters. (Still, O’Malley has
declared, “Their ending is their ending.”) And finally, after all the
incarnations, a video game has been announced—and in a cheeky
twist, it’ll be a side-scroller in homage to classic 8-bit Nintendo. ■
AGAINST LIVE-ACTION 3D? BITE ME
Piranha 3d
Think Piranha 3D is an unlikely savior
of the technology’s recent bad
rep? Consider this: 1981’s Piranha II
was the directing debut of … James
Cameron. Right now, the buzz seems to be
that 3D is great for cartoons, but blah for
live-action, especially for audiences who
can’t discern between post-production conversion
and 3D-by-design. And they have a
point: there haven’t been many live-action
3D successes because most directors and
studios weren’t thinking in all dimensions
when they launched their projects. The
only relevant rebuttal has been My Bloody
Valentine 3D, Lionsgate’s pick-ax thriller
which, despite middling reviews, boasted
a smart use of the technology, shining
skinny flashlight beams down dark mine
shafts and using 3D attacks to goose the
moviegoers. It’s a gimmick, but it looked
great.
Horror may be the 3D transition’s surprise
BFF—no other genre is as determined
to sink the audience into its spell. Atmosphere
is king. And the Weinsteins’ longanticipated
Piranha 3D may buy live 3D
some crucial time as the studios finish this
last controversial boon of post-production
conversion.
The plot centers on the hamlet of Lake
Victoria, built on a volcano crater, who’s
got the hottest Fourth of July festival
in the state. Only this year won’t be red,
white and blue. It’s red, red and red thanks
to a fissure in the lake floor that unleashes
millions of prehistoric man-eating fish.
Early test screenings report that the
thriller is wet with blood, and may be the
top contender for gross-out of the year.
(Director Alexandre Aja is a card-carrying
member of the “Splat Pack.”) But the
Weinsteins have faith that their schlock
horror comedy can take a bite out of the
late summer box office.
And they’re not alone—
they’ve convinced
Richard Dreyfuss to
reprise Jaws with a role
as a local doctor. ■
STILL WATERS RUN RED
For Piranha, those dry-cleaning bills are
murder
DISTRIBUTOR Weinstein Co. CAST Elisabeth Shue,
Adam Scott, Ving Rhames, Dina Meyer, Richard
Dreyfuss, Jessica Szohr, Jerry O’Connell DIRECTOR
Alexandre Aja SCREENWRITERS Alexandre Aja, Josh
Stolberg, Gregory Levasseur PRODUCERS Alexandre
Aja, Mark Canton, Grégory Levasseur, Marc Toberoff
GENRE Horror/Thriller RATING TBD RUNNING TIME
TBD RELEASE DATE August 27, 2010
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 47

COMING ATTRACTIONS
IF YOU GROUPIES INSIST
Forgetting Sarah Marshall’s rock star is
called back for an encore
THE SLATE
Get Him to
the Greek
L.A. OR BUSTS
DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures CAST Jonah
Hill, Russell Brand, Elisabeth Moss, Rose
Byrne, Sean Combs, Aziz Ansari DIRECTOR
Nicholas Stoller SCREENWRITER Nicholas
Stoller PRODUCERS Judd Apatow, David L.
Bushell, Rodney Rothman GENRE Comedy
RATING R for strong sexual content and drug
use throughout, and pervasive language. RUN-
NING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE June 4, 2010
> Russell Brand was the breakout
star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
In a Hollywood minute, he went
from an unknown British comic to
hosting the MTV Movie Awards.
Now, his lustful, preening rock star
Aldous Snow returns with his own
outré comedy where minor league
record company intern Jonah Hill
(Superbad) has to wrest him from
England to LA, battling—and suc-
Lcumbing g to—the
siren lure of
groupies and
drugs.
■
QU’EST-CE QUE C’EST, BABY?
Killers
DISTRIBUTOR Lionsgate CAST Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Mull DIRECTOR Robert
Luketic SCREENWRITER Ted Griffin PRODUCERS Scott Aversano, William S. Beasley, Jason Goldberg, Mike Karz, Ashton
Kutcher, Chad Marting, Christopher S. Pratt, Josie Rosen GENRE Comedy/Action/Romance RATING TBD RUNNING TIME
TBD RELEASE DATE June 4, 2010
> The Ugly Truth director Robert Luketic rehired his favorite leading lady, Katherine Heigl, for this
multi-genre comedy about a quickie marriage gone violent when Heigl’s newlywed bride discovers
hubby Ashton Kutcher is a spy with a license to kill—and now it’s a family business. As the rare
comedienne entrusted to open a movie, Heigl’s been a solid studio workhorse, and Killers should
make the cut.
■
GO FETCH
Marmaduke
DISTRIBUTOR 20th Century Fox CAST Judy Greer, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, Owen Wilson, Fergie, Emma
Stone, George Lopez, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Steve Coogan, Damon Wayans, Marlon Wayans DIREC-
TOR Tom Dey SCREENWRITERS Tim Rasmussen, Vince Di Meglio PRODUCERS John Davis, Tom Dey GENRE
Family/Comedy RATING PG for some rude humor and language. RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE
June 4, 2010
> Is 20th Century Fox barking mad for pushing a splashy feature based on an old comic strip? Their
$800 million global take for Alvin and the Chipmunks and the Squeakquel say “Nay.” And to prove it,
the studio has signed on a solid voice cast with everyone from Owen Wilson to George Lopez to the
Blackeyed Peas’ Fergie. If Marmaduke unearths a golden bone, is Clifford next?
■
TO INFINITY, AND … COLLEGE?
Toy Story 3
DISTRIBUTOR Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar CAST Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael
Keaton, Jodi Benson, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Timothy Dalton
DIRECTOR Lee Unkrich SCREENWRITER Michael Arndt PRODUCER Darla K. Anderson
GENRE Comedy/Family/Animated RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 86 min. RELEASE DATE
June 18, 2010
ARE YOU READY TO
ROCK?
Jonah Hill plays an
intern doomed to
decadence
> Seems like just yesterday Buzz and Woody were fighting to be Andy’s favorite. But
the boy—and the franchise—are 15 years older, and Andy’s packing for his freshman
year of university. And the toy box isn’t invited. Pixar closes out its signature series
with a bang in this epic epilogue about what happens after an owner outgrows his
toys for good. Oh, and if you weren’t already sure it’ll make a mint: it’s 3D.
■
48 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

PICTURE PERFECT
TIlda Swinton as the Love-less matriarch
of a stuffy Italian family
MILAN MANSION MAKE OUTS
I Am Love
DISTRIBUTOR Magnolia Pictures CAST Tilda Swinton, Flavio Parenti, Edoardo Gabbriellini, Alba
Rohrwacher, Pippo Delbono, Diane Fleri, Maria Paiato, Marisa Berenson, Waris Ahluwalia, Gabriele
Ferzetti DIRECTOR Luca Guadagnino SCREENWRITERS Luca Guadagnino, Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo,
Walter Fasano PRODUCERrs Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi d’Eril, Marco Morabito, Tilda
Swinton, Alessandro Usai, Massimiliano Violante GENRE Drama/Romance RATING: R for sexuality
and nudity. RUNNING TIME: 100 min. RELEASE DATE June 18, 2010
> Unearthly talent Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) plays a Russian
immigrant long-married to the heir of a wealthy Italian family. But
this isn’t a success story—it’s a tragedy unleashed when her son introduces
her to a lover who recognizes her restlessness and helps her
steal a few minutes of joy before the world—and the world of the
bourgeoisie—comes crashing down. This erotic drama has so much
buzz distributor Magnolia is braving a wide release.
■
FOR LOVE OR SPECIAL OPS
Knight and Day
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century Fox CAST: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Paul Dano, Peter Sarsgaard, Maggie
Grace, Marc Blucas DIRECTOR: James Mangold SCREENWRITERS Dana Fox, Scott Frank, Laeta
Kalogridis PRODUCERS Todd Garner, Cathy Konrad, Steve Pink, Joe Roth GENRE Action/Romance/
Comedy RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE June 25, 2010
> Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz team up on their quest for box
office redemption. This slick flick plays to their strengths casting
Cruise as a secret agent (sound familiar?) and Diaz as the smart
babe who might be dating
him—if he wasn’t always kidnapping
her with a gun to her
head. If Killers does well, Knight
and Day wants to steal its mojo.
And if both flop, the so-I-snogged-a-super-spy genre will have had
a short shelf life.
■
DISTRIBUTOR Columbia CAST Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith DIREC-
TOR Harald Zwart SCREENWRITER Chris Murphy PRODUCERS
James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Ken Stovitz,
Jerry Weintraub GENRE Action/Family/Sports RATING PG for
bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language.
RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE June 11, 2010
The Karate Kid
NEW MOVES
Forget the Crane Kick. This Kid
struts its own stuff
> How will Columbia remake the ‘84
classic? By not remaking it. Director
Harald Zwart has aged-down and exoticized
the original, recasting Ralph
Macchio as a Detroit preteen (Jaden
Smith) shipped off to China with his
single mom. Friendless, he learns
kung fu from janitor Jackie Chan to
defend himself from bullies. This is
a star-making role for young lead
Smith—and with parents Will and
Jada Smith as producers, it’s darn
well designed to be.
■
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF—TRY AND YOU’LL SUCCEED
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 49

THE SLATE
QUICK TAKES
DEAR JOHN
German businessman John Rabe is
lionized in this WWII drama
PUTS THE SPOTLIGHT ON HORRIFIC NANKING MASSACRE
John Rabe
Steve Ramos says …
Seventeen years since Steven
Spielberg made a hero out of Oskar
Schindler, German businessman
John Rabe receives the Schindler
treatment twice over thanks to two
foreign dramas about the horrific
December 1937 invasion of Nanking,
China by the Imperial Japanese
Army. Rabe is a key supporting
character in Chinese filmmaker Lu
Chuan’s artful City of Life and Death,
due for release later this year from
National Geographic World Films.
Reaching U.S. arthouses first is German
filmmaker Florian Gallenberger’s
epic period drama, John Rabe
(titled City of War: John Rabe for its
international release). Gallenberger
is an Oscar winner (Best Short Film in
2001) and enjoys a modest reputation
among world cinema fans for
his debut feature, Shadows of Time.
Boasting impressive production
values, engaging storytelling and a
standout lead performance by German
star Ulrich Tukur, John Rabe will
receive enthusiastic word of mouth
from select arthouse audiences when
LA-based specialty distributor Strand
Releasing opens the film in mid-May.
While overall box office for John
Rabe will be extremely limited by its
modest platform release and increasing
competition for arthouse screens,
the film will prove to be an impressive
addition to Strand’s line-up and
introduce Gallenberger to larger
North American audiences. ■
JEAN-PIERRE JEUNET’S MOST COMPELLING FILM YET
Micmacs
Micmacs à tire-larigot
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST Dany Boon, André Dussollier, Omar Sy, Dominque Pinon, Julie Ferrier, Nicolas Marié, Marie-Julie Baup,
Michel Crémadès, Yolande Moreau, Jean-Pierre Marielle DIRECTOR Jean-Pierre Jeunet SCREENWRITERS Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillaume Laurant
PRODUCERS Frédéric Brillion, Gilles Legrand, Jean-Pierre Jeunet Genre: Comedy/Drama RATING R for some sexuality and brief violence. RUNNING
TIME 104 minutes RELEASE DATE May 28 NY/LA
Pam Grady says…
It has been five long years since Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s last film, A Very Long Engagement, but the wait has been
worth it with Micmacs. The story of a man who seeks revenge against the munitions makers who have ruined
his life begins from a serious premise, but it is as whimsical as the filmmaker’s wonderful Amelie. Star Dany
Boon has charm to spare, but without Amelie’s rom-com hook or Audrey Tautou’s gamine charm, Micmacs is
unlikely to repeat that film’s worldwide mega-success. Still, with Jeunet’s fan base lining up at theaters and
good word of mouth, it should score solid numbers in its stateside release.
■
CREATION VS. PROCREATION
The Father of My Children
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Strand Releasing CAST Ulrich Tukur, Steve Buscemi,
Daniel Brühl, Dagmar Manzel, Anne Consigny DIRECTOR/SCREEN-
WRITER Florian Gallenberger PRODUCERS Jan Mojto, Benjamin Herrmann,
Mischa Hofmann GENRE Drama RATING Unrated RUNNING
TIME 134 min. RELEASE DATE May 21 NY, June 4 LA
DISTRIBUTOR IFC Films CAST Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Chiara Caselli, Alice de Lencquesaing, Alice Gautier, Dominique Frot DIRECTOR/SCREEN-
WRITER Mia Hansen-Løve PRODUCERS Philippe Martin, David Thion, Olivier Damian GENRE Drama/French-language with English subtitles RATING
Not Rated RUNNING TIME 110 min. RELEASE DATE: May 28 NY
John P. McCarthy says…
Cinephilia and the tug of domesticity are contending themes in Mia Hansen-Løve’s entrancing drama about an
indie film producer in Paris. Deeply affecting without being maudlin, The Father of My Children offers realistic
portraits of family life and the business of small-scale movie making by dramatizing their toll on one man
that’s devoted to his wife and children, but also devoted to midwife-ing celluloid babies. The satisfactions of engendering
quality arthouse product will be felt intensely by viewers, but this labor of love won’t provide much
financial succor to its backers—at least not stateside. They’ll have to make do with aesthetic comforts. ■
READ ALL OF OUR MOST RECENT REVIEWS AT WWW.BOXOFFICE.COM
50 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

MYSTIC TALES FROM THE
EMERALD ISLES
Ondine
of silly science tingler and moral
philosophy with a straight-to-video
sheen—which is likely where its
larger profit margins lie.
■
LOOKING FOR DAD IN ALL THE
WRONG PLACES
Jennifer Lawrence stars in this
backwoods mystery
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Magnolia Pictures CAST Colin
Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Tony Curran,
Stephen Rea, Dervla Kerwan, Alison Barry
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Neil Jordan PRO-
DUCERS Ben Browning, James Flynn, Neil
Jordan GENRE Drama RATING PG-13 for
some violence, sensuality and brief strong
language. RUNNING TIME 102 minutes RE-
LEASE DATE June 4 ltd.
HAMLET’S A PASTY GUY
ANYWAY …
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern
are Undead!
Pam Grady says...
The 2007 writers’ strike derailed
Neil Jordan’s plans to go Hollywood,
but he didn’t sit idle. Instead,
he returned to Ireland to write
a story set in his own backyard.
Filmed near the director’s home
in Castletownbere on the Emerald
Isle’s gorgeous southwest coast,
Ondine spins the tale of a fisherman
whose life is changed when he snags
a most unusual catch: a mysterious
blonde. Jordan’s strongest outing
since 2002’s The Good Thief, Ondine is
injected with a heavy dose of magic.
It has a lot going for it: an endearing
performance from star Colin Farrell,
Christopher Doyle’s evocative cinematography
and a captivating—if
thin—story. Ticket sales look to be
modest in a limited release, but good
word of mouth could transform this
small-scale drama into one of the
year’s sleeper hits.
■
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN
YOU MIX TOO MANY
GENRES—ER, SPECIES
Splice
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Adrian Brody,
Sarah Polley, David Hewlett, Delphine
Chanéac DIRECTOR Vincenzo Natali Writers:
Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant,
Doug Taylor PRODUCER Steven Hoban
GENRE Drama/Thriller RATING R for disturbing
elements including strong sexuality, nudity,
sci-fi violence and language. RUNNING
TIME: 100 min. RELEASE DATE June 4, 2010
Amy Nicholson says…
What do you get when you cross a
kangaroo, a dolphin and a human?
Sexy horror, at least to director
Vincenzo Natali’s thriller about a
pair of scientists and long-time lovers
(Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley)
who create the daughter they never
wanted in an experiment in “multispecies
morphism” that their bosses
hope will cure cancer. Warner Bros.
had the confidence to snatch up
the Sundance midnight-screener
for a summer release. Still, despite
an A-list star and a high-tech plot,
the film itself feels like a hybrid
DISTRIBUTOR Indican Pictures CAST Jake
Hoffman, Devon Aoki, John Ventimiglia,
Ralph Macchio, Kris Lemche Jeremy Sisto
DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Jordan Galland
PRODUCERS Jordan Galland, Mike Landry,
Russell Terlecki, Carlos Velazquez GENRE
Comedy RATING: Unrated RUNNING TIME 82
min. RELEASE DATE June 4 ltd.
Ed Schied says…
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are
Undead combines Shakespeare’s
Hamlet with Manhattan’s vampires.
This comedy about a theater director
who hires the wrong cast—bloodsuckers
and his ex-girlfriend (Sin
City’s Devon Aoki)—has some clever
touches that make it mildly diverting,
but it loses steam as characters
lose their blood to the undead. The
catchy title and offbeat blend of subjects
could draw audience attention
and help DVD sales. With a cameo
from Karate Kid’s Ralph Macchio. ■
A GOLDEN MOMENT,
FILLED WITH PASSION
Coco Chanel &
Igor Stravinsky
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classic CAST
Mads Mikkelsen, Anna Mouglalis, Elena
Morozova, Natacha Lindinger, Grigori Manukov,
Nicolas Vaude, Anatole Taubman.
DIRECTOR Jan Kounen SCREENWRITERS
Chris Greenhalgh PRODUCERS Claudie Ossard,
Chris Bolzli GENRE Drama RATING R
for some strong sexuality and nudity. RUN-
NING TIME 118 min. RELEASE DATE June
11, 2010
Richard Mowe says …
After a dignified gap between Coco
avant Chanel (Anne Fontaine’s take
on the fashion icon starring Audrey
Tautou) comes an exploration of one
of the fashion empress’ tempestuous
affairs with the Russian composer,
Igor Stravinsky. Perhaps Fontaine’s
film will give added box office
impetus to this completely different
period of Chanel’s life rather than
simply scrabbling for the same
audience that sought out the earlier
released biopic. Upscale fashionistas
will swoon and suitable box office
draw will follow.
■
DISTRIBUTOR Roadside Attractions CAST Jennifer
Lawrence, John Hawkes, Dale Dickey,
Sheryl Lee, Kevin Breznahan DIRECTOR
Debra Granik SCREENWRITERS Debra Granik,
Anne Rosellini PRODUCERS Anne Rosselini,
Alix Madigan Yorkin GENRE Crime/
Drama RATING R for some drug material,
language and violent content. RUNNING
TIME 100 min. RELEASE DATE June 11 NY/LA
A COMEDY IN ZOMBIE’S
CLOTHING
George A.
Romero’s
Survival of the
Dead
★★★★★
DISTRIBUTOR Magnet Pictures CAST Alan Van
Sprang, Kenneth Welsh, Devon Bostick, Julian
Richings, Kathleen Munroe DIRECTOR/
SCREENWRITER George A. Romero PRODUC-
ER Paula Devonshire GENRE Horror RATING R
for strong zombie violence/gore, language
and brief sexuality. RUNNING TIME 90 min.
RELEASE DATE May 28 ltd.
Pam Grady says…
Forty-one years after he spawned
the archetypal zombie movie, Night
of the Living Dead—and two years
after the box office disappointment
of Diary of the Dead—horror
master George A. Romero brings
the dead back to life yet again in his
eponymous Survival of the Dead, the
tale of zombie-killing soldiers who
stumble into the middle of a family
feud. Silly and not nearly scary
enough, this does not rank as grade-
A Romero, but the story unfolds
efficiently and economically and it
packs plenty of laughs. It won’t set
the box office on fire, but it ought
to rack up healthy numbers among
genre fans and Romero’s sizeable
base.
■
Winter’s Bone
Ray Greene says…
A stunning journey through
a world that’s as close as a
plane ticket but as exotic and
dangerous as the mountains
of the Moon, Winter’s Bone
deserves to be a major commercial
breakthrough for
both director Debra Granik
and Jennifer Lawrence, its
luminous, moon-faced star.
Based on the novel by
Daniel Woodrell and set in
the remote hill country of
Southern Missouri, Bone is on
the surface much like a mafia
movie—a journey through the
dangerous byways of a submerged
continent of crime,
vice and lurking violence. But
if the film’s dramatic engine
is in genre, Granik’s unflinchingly
environmental direction
and the uniformly nuanced
and truthful performances
she gets from every member
of a vast ensemble launches
Winter’s Bone so far past any
notion of formula or precedent
that comparison is a
futile exercise. This film is a
thing all its own. Audiences
might not notice Winter’s
Bone in June—but the smart
bet is they will during Oscar
season.
■
AN INDIE STAR IS BORN
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 51

BOOKING GUIDE
Action = Act Arthouse = Art Documentary = Doc Family = Fam
Adventure = Adv Biography = Bio Drama = Dra Fantasy = Fan
Animated = Ani Comedy = Com Epic = Epic Foreign Language = FL
FILM RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE RT FORMAT
CBS FILMS 310-575-7052
BEASTLY Fri, 7/30/10 Neil Patrick Harris, Vaness Hudgens Daniel Barnz PG-13 Fan/Hor/Rom
FASTER Fri, 11/19/10 Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thornton George Tillman Jr. NR Act/Dra
DISNEY 818-560-1000 / 212-593-8900
PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME Fri, 5/28/10 Jake Gyllenhaal, Ben Kingsley Mike Newell PG-13 Act/Adv Scope/Quad
TOY STORY 3 Fri, 6/18/10 Tom Hanks, Tim Allen Lee Unkrich NR Fam/Com
Digital 3D/Quad/
IMAX
THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE Fri, 7/16/10 Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel 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
TANGLED 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
I AM NUMBER FOUR Fri, 2/18/11 Alex Pettyfer, Sharlto Copley D.J Caruso NR SF Quad
MARS NEEDS MOMS! Fri, 3/11/11 Seth Green, Joan Cusack Simon Wells NR Ani/CGI Digital 3D/Quad
AFRICAN CATS Fri, 4/22/11
Alastair Fothergill/Keith
Scholey
NR Doc
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES Fri, 5/20/11 Johnny Depp, Astrid Bergès-Frisbe Rob Marshall NR Act/Adv Quad
CARS 2 Fri, 6/24/11 Brad Lewis NR Com/Fam Digital 3D
FOCUS 818-777-7373
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Wed, 7/7/10 LTD. Julianne Moore, Annette Bening Lisa Cholodenki NR Com 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 Fri, 9/24/10 Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell Kevin Macdonald NR Dra
DTS/Dolby SRD/
Scope
FOX 310-369-1000 / 212-556-2400
MARMADUKE Fri, 6/4/10 Ron Perlman, Owen Wilson Tom Dey PG Com/Fam
THE A-TEAM Fri, 6/11/2010 Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson Joe Carnahan NR Act/Adv Scope
KNIGHT & DAY Fri, 6/25/10 Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz James Mangold NR Dra
PREDATORS Fri, 7/9/10 Alice Braga, Adrien Brody Nimród Antal NR Act/Sus
RAMONA AND BEEZUS Fri, 7/23/10 Selena Gomez, Ginnifer Goodwin Laurie Craig G Com Scope
MACHETE Fri, 9/3/10 Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro Robert Rodriguez NR Act/Adv/Cri/Thr
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS Fri, 9/24/10 Shia LaBeouf, Javier Bardem Oliver Stone NR Dra 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
CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, THE: THE VOYAGE 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
BIG MOMMAS: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON Fri, 2/18/11 Martin Lawrence, Brandon T. Jackson John Whitesell NR Com
RIO Fri, 4/8/11 Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris Carlos Saldanha NR Ani/CGI 3D
FOX SEARCHLIGHT 310-369-1000
CYRUS Fri, 7/9/10 LTD. Catherine Keener, Jonah Hill Jay Duplass/Mark Duplass R Com Flat/Quad
LIONSGATE 310-449-9200
KILLERS Fri, 6/4/10 Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher Robert Luketic PG-13 Act/Com
THE EXPENDABLES Fri, 8/13/10 Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham Sylvester Stallone NR Act
THE LAST EXORCISM Fri, 8/27/10 Ashley Bell, Patrick Fabian Daniel Stamm NR Hor/Sus
WARRIOR Fri, 9/17/10 Tom Hardy, Nick Nolte Gavin O’Connor NR Act/Dra
BURIED
Fri, 9/24/10 LTD.
Fri, 10/8/10 WIDE
Ryan Reynolds, Samantha Mathis Rodrigo Cortés NR Mys/Thr 89
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
THE NEXT THREE DAYS Fri, 11/19/10 Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks Paul Haggis NR Cri/Rom/Dra
TYLER PERRY’S FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE
CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF
Fri, 1/14/11 Halle Berry, Oprah Winfrey Tyler Perry NR Dra
MGM/UA 310-449-9200 / 212-708-0300
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 / 917-606-5500
THE SWITCH 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 3D
OVERTURE 424-204-4000 / 212-905-4200
LET ME IN Fri, 10/1/10 Chloe Moretz, Richard Jenkins Matt Reeves NR Hor
PARAMOUNT 323-956-5000 / 212-373-7000
SHREK FOREVER AFTER Fri, 5/21/10 Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz Mike Mitchell PG Ani/Fam/Com 93 3D/IMAX/Quad
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
JACKASS 3D Fri, 10/15/10 Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O Jeff Tremaine NR Doc/Act/Com 3D
SEQUEL TO PARANORMAL ACTIVITY Fri, 10/22/10 NR horror
MEGAMIND Fri, 11/5/10 Tina Fey, Robert Downey Jr. Tom McGrath NR Ani/Fam 3D
MORNING GLORY Fri, 11/12/10 Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford Roger Michell NR Com
TRUE GRIT Sat, 12/25/10 Matt Damon, Jeff Bridges Etha & Joel Coen NR Dra/West
UNTITLED ASHTON KUTCHER/NATALIE PORTMAN Fri, 1/7/11 Ashton Kutcher, Natalie Portman Ivan Reitman NR Rom/Com
RANGO Fri, 3/18/11 Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher Gore Verbinski NR Ani/Act/Adv
THOR Fri, 5/6/11 Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman Kenneth Branagh NR Act/Adv
KUNG FU PANDA: THE KABOOM OF DOOM Fri, 6/3/11 Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman Jennifer Yuh Helson NR Ani/Com/Fam/Act Digital 3D
TRANSFORMERS 3 Fri, 7/1/11 Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox Michael Bay NR Act
THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA Fri, 7/22/11 Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell Joe Johnston NR Act/Adv/Fant
SONY 310-244-4000 / 212-833-8500
KARATE KID Fri, 6/11/10 Jackie Chan, Jaden Smith Harald Zwart PG Act/Dra
GROWN UPS Fri, 6/25/10 Adam Sandler, Kevin James Dennis Dugan NR Com
52 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

Horror = Hor Live Action = LA Performance = Per Science Fiction = SF Suspense = Sus Urban = Urban
Kids = Kids Martial Arts = MA Political = Poli Stop-Motion Animation = SMAni 3D = 3D War = War
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered = LGBT Mystery = Mys Romance = Rom Sports = Spr Thriller = Thr Western = Wes
FILM RELEASE DATE STARS DIRECTOR(S) RATING GENRE RT FORMAT
SALT Fri, 7/23/10 Angelina Jolie, Liev Schreiber Phillip Noyce NR Act/Sus
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
TAKERS Fri, 8/20/10 Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen John Luessenhop PG-13 Act/Cri 108
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
EASY A Fri, 9/17/10 Stanley Tucci, Emma Stone Will Gluck NR Rom/Com
THE SOCIAL NETWORK Fri, 10/1/10 EXCL. NY/LA Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake David Fincher NR Com/Dra
THE ZOOKEEPER Fri, 10/8/10 Kevin James, Rosario Dawson Frank Coracci NR Com
BURLESQUE Wed, 11/24/10 Cher, Christina Aguilera Steve Antin NR Dra
HOW DO YOU KNOW? Fri, 12/17/10 Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd James L. Brooks NR Com/Dra
THE GREEN HORNET Wed, 12/22/10 Seth Rogen, Enzo Cilenti Michel Gondry NR Act/Adv 3D
THE ROOMMATE Fri, 2/4/11 Cam Gigandet, Leighton Meester Christian E. Christiansen NR Cri/Mys Scope
JUST GO WITH IT 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
PRIEST Fri, 3/4/11 Paul Bettany, Maggie Q Scott Charles Stewart NR Adv/Hor 3D
SMURFS Wed, 8/3/11 John Lithgow, Julia Sweeney Colin Brady NR Ani 3D
21 JUMP STREET Fri, 8/5/11 Chris Miller & Phil Lord NR Act/Cri/Dra
SONY PICTURES CLASSICS 212-833-8851
MICMACS aka Micmacs à tire-larigot 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 Dra/Rom 118
WILD GRASS Fri, 6/25/10 EXCL. NY/LA Andre Dussollier, 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
Dolby SRD/Flat/
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 Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom Samuel Maoz R Dra 90 Dolby SRD/Flat
SUMMIT 310-309-8400
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: THE ECLIPSE Wed, 6/30/10 Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson David Slade NR Dra/Sus/Rom IMAX/Scope
RED Fri, 10/22/10 Mary-Louise Parker, Bruce Willis Robert Schwentke NR Act/Com
DRIVE ANGRY Fri, 2/11/11 Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard Lussier, Patrick NR Thr 3D
UNIVERSAL 818-777-1000 / 212-445-3800
MACGRUBER Fri, 5/21/10 Wil Forte, Kristen Wiig Jorma Taccone NR Com
GET HIM TO THE GREEK Fri, 6/4/10 Jonah Hill, Jason Segel Nicholas Stoller R Com Quad
DESPICABLE ME Fri, 7/9/10 Steve Carell, Jason Segel Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffi n 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 RETURNS 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
CHARLIE ST. CLOUD Fri, 10/15/10 Zac Efron, Kim Basinger Burr Steers NR Dra/Rom Scope/Quad
MY SOUL TO TAKE Fri, 10/29/10 Denzel Whitaker, Max Thieriot Wes Craven NR Hor/Sus Quad
LITTLE FOCKERS Wed, 12/22/10 Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller Paul Weitz NR Com
KIDS IN AMERICA Fri, 1/28/11 Topher Grace, Anna Faris Michael Dowse R Com/Dra Quad
THE DARK FIELDS Fri, 3/18/11 Bradley Cooper, Robert DeNiro Neil Burger NR Thr Quad
I HOP Fri, 4/1/11 Russell Brand, James Marsden Tim Hill NR CG/Act/Rom/Com
UNTITLED KRISTEN WIIG/JUDD APATOW COMEDY Fri, 5/13/11 Kristen Wiig Paul Feig NR Com Quad
FAST FIVE Fri, 6/10/11 Vin Diesel, Paul Walker Justin Lin NR Act/Cri/Dra Quad
COWBOYS & ALIENS Fri, 7/29/11 Jon Favreau, Daniel Craig Jon Favreau NR Ani/Act/Fan Quad
THE CHANGE-UP Fri, 8/5/11 Jason Bateman, Ryan Reynolds David Dobkin NR Com Quad
WARNER BROS. 818-954-6000 / 212-484-8000
SEX AND THE CITY 2 Thu, 5/27/10 Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall Michael Patrick King R Com/Dra/Rom Flat/Quad
SPLICE Fri, 6/4/10 Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley Vincenzo Natali NR Hor/SF Quad
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/Scope/Quad
CATS & DOGS: THE REVENGE OF KITTY GALORE Fri, 7/30/10 Chris O’Donnell, Jack McBrayer Brad Peyton NR CGI/Com 3D
LOTTERY TICKET Fri, 8/20/10 Ice Cube, Bow Wow Erik White NR Com Quad
GOING THE DISTANCE 8/27/2010 Drew Barrymore, Justin Long Nanette Burstein NR Rom/Com
THE TOWN Fri, 9/10/10 Ben Affl eck, Jon Hamm Ben Affl eck NR Dra/Cri/Rom Quad
FLIPPED Fri, 9/17/10 LTD. Penelope Ann Miller, Anthony Edwards Rob Reiner PG Rom/Com/Dra 90 Quad/Flat
LEGEND OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE Fri, 9/24/10 Hugo Weaving, Abby Cornish Zack Snyder NR Ani/Adv/Fant
3D/IMAX/Scope/
Quad
THE PRISONERS Fri, 10/22/10 NR Quad
DUE DATE Fri, 11/5/10 Robert Downey, Jr., Zach Galifi anakis Todd Phillips NR Com Quad
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 1 Fri, 11/19/10 Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson David Yates NR Adv/Dra/Fan 3D/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 Duhamel Gary Berlanti NR Rom/Com Quad
THE FACTORY Fri, 1/28/11 John Cusack, Dallas Roberts Morgan O’Neill NR Hor/Thr
SUCKER PUNCH Fri, 3/25/11 Vanessa Hudgens, Emily Browning Zack Snyder NR Act/Fan/Thr 3D
THE HANGOVER 2 Thu, 5/26/11 Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms Todd Phillips NR Com Quad
GREEN LANTERN Fri, 6/17/11 Ryan Reynolds, Jackie Earle Haley Martin Campbel NR Act 3D
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART 2 Fri, 7/15/11 Bill Nighy, Daniel Radcliffe David Yates NR Adv/Fant/Dra 3D
WEINSTEIN CO./DIMENSION 646-862-3400
THE CONCERT aka Le concert Fri, 7/16/10 LTD. Aleksei Guskov, Mélanie Laurent Radu Mihaileanu NR FL/Com/Mus 119
THE TILLMAN STORY Fri, 8/20/10 LTD. Josh Brolin Amir Bar-Lev NR Doc 94
PIRANHA 3-D Fri, 8/27/10 Elisabeth Shue, Jerry O’Connell Alexandre Aja NR Hor/Thr Digital 3D
NOWHERE BOY Fri, 10/8/10 Ann-Marie Duff, Aaron Johnson Sam Taylor Wood NR Bio/Dra 98
THE KING’S SPEECH Fri, 11/26/10 LTD. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush Tom Hooper NR Hist/Dra
BLUE VALENTINE Fri, 12/31/10 LTD. Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams Derek Cianfrance NR Rom/Dra
SCREAM 4 Fri, 4/15/11 Neve Campbell, David Arquette Wes Craven NR Hor/Sus
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 53

AD INDEX
MARKETPLACE
21ST CENTURY CINEMAS
9760 SW 99th St.
Miami, FL 33176
305-274-6529
barneyk.sunstar@yahoo.com
PG 55
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
CROSSPOINT
P.O. Box 2128
Mail Drop DY-02
Dalton, GA
Steve Magel / 706-879-4055
steve.magel@shawinc.com
www.crosspointfabrics.com
PG 17
DOLBY LABORATORIES
100 Potrero Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Christie Ventura / 415-558-2200
cah@dolby.com
www.dolby.com
PG 28, Inside back cover
DOLPHIN SEATING
313 Remuda St.
Clovis, NM 88101
575-762-6468
www.dolphinseating.com
PG 55
FRANKLIN DESIGNS
208 Industrial Dr.
Ridgeland, MS 39157
601-853-9005
franklindesigns@aol.com
www.franklindesigns.com
PG 21
GOLDBERG BROTHERS
8000 East 40th Ave.
Denver, CO 80207
303-321-1099
www.goldbergbrothers.com
PG 54
HARKNESS SCREENS
Unit A, Norton Road
Stevenage, Herts
SG1 2BB United Kingdom
+44 1438 725200
sales@harkness-screens.com
www.harkness-screens.com
PG 11, 13
HANOVER HOUSE
1428 Chester Street
Springdale, AR 72764
479-751-4500
www.hanoverhouse.com
PG 39
INDEPENDENT MARKETING EDGE
638 Ferguson Avenue, Suite 3
Bozeman, MT 59718-6405
406-587-1251
www.imeonline.com
PG 29
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
MOBILIARIO S.A. DE C.V.
Calle Del Sol #3 Col./
San Rafael Champa
Naucalpan de Juarez
53660 Mexico
5255-5300-0620
Claudia Gonzalez
877-847-2127
mobisa@netra.net
www.mobiliarioseating.com
PG 1
NATIONAL TICKET COMPANY
P.O. Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
Ginger Seidel
ticket@nationalticket.com
www.nationalticket.com
PG 9
PACKAGING
CONCEPTS, INC.
9832 Evergreen Industrial Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63123
John Irace / 314-329-9700
jji@packagingconceptsinc.com
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
PG 31
READY THEATRE SYSTEMS
4 Hartford Blvd.
Hartford, MI 49057
Mary Snyder
865-212-9703x114
sales@rts-solutions.com
www.rts-solutions.com.com
PG 54
RETRIEVER SOFTWARE
7040 Avenida Encinas
Ste. 104-363
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760-929-2101
www.retrieversoftware.com
PG 6
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
www.sony.com/professional
PG 5
ST. JUDE’S CHILDREN’S RESEARCH
HOSPITAL
262 Danny Thomas Place
Memphis, TN 38105
www.stjude.org
PG 33
TRI-STATE THEATRE SUPPLY CO.
3157 Norbrook Drive
Memphis, Tennessee 38116
800-733-8249
www.tristatetheatre.com
PG 56
WEST WORLD MEDIA
63 Copps Hill Rd.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Brett West
888-737-2812
www.westworldmedia.com
PG 23
NEED AFFORDABLE
PRECISION
REPLACEMENT
GLASS FAST?
Goldberg
Brothers
knows that
the show must
go on and can
provide the
very finest
projection port
window glass
in clear or
anti-reflective
coated both
sides
54 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010

we are the answer to your
film booking needs
We will book your first run or sub-run films for
a fraction of what you’re now paying.
• All major and independent companies
• Keep any film for one flat $35 booking fee regardless of
number of weeks on the screen
• Over 30 years of experience in distribution and booking
• For 35mm projection or digital projection equipment, contact:
Magna-Tech Electronic Co. at 305-573-7339 or email
iceco@aol.com
for film booking,
contact barney kaufman at
21st Century Cinemas, inc.
9760 SW 99th St · Miami, FL 33176
305 274 6529 tel | 305 815 5234 cell | 305 595 7602 fax
barneyk.sunstar@yahoo.com
JUNE 2010 BOXOFFICE 55

CLASSIFIED ADS
DIRECTOR OF CONCESSIONS METROPOLITAN THEATRES CORPORATION, a fourth-generation family-owned
company based in Los Angeles, is seeking a self-motivated professional to ensure premiere guest service and optimize
food and beverage profit at its 20 locations in California, Colorado, Idaho, Utah and British Columbia, Canada.
Goal-oriented and budget-minded candidates must have prior senior concessions experience,
be available for limited travel and possess excellent analytical, leadership and communication
skills. Please send resume and salary requirements to: jobs@metrotheatres.com
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 & AUDIO. 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 CONCESSIONS
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.CINEMACONSULTANTSINTERNATION-
AL.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, out-of-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
OLD MARQUEE LETTERS WANTED Do you have
the old style slotted letters? We buy the whole pile.
Any condition. Plastic, metal, large, small, dirty,
cracked, painted, good or bad. Please call 800-545-
8956 or write mike@pilut.com.
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 DeLuca, 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 PRODUCTS 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 wellequipped,
professional crew anywhere in the United
States. Please visit our website, www.asterseating.com,
or call 1-888-409-1414.
FOR SALE
First run movie theater. Vibrant Vermont college
town. Vaudeville stage, 3 screens, 298 seats, renovated.
$850,000. 802-999-9077.
FOR SALE Independent owned & operated, eightscreen,
all stadium-seating theater complex located in
suburban Chicago. Completely renovated in 2004. Seating
capacity for 1,774 people within a 48,000-squarefoot
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.
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 single 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
PARTNER AND/OR EXPERIENCED GM NEEDED for
ground floor opportunity in Arizona. New and popular
“Brew and View” concept in outstanding area. Contact
Stadiumtheatres@aol.com
7’6” Value Series Retracta-Belt ®
$69
+ UPS
Knocked-Down
Shipping saves over 50%
Patent Pending Brake
creates the safest post
Built-in Sign Frame
Adapter
All Parts Easily
Replaceable
Universal Belt Clip
works with most
existing posts
TRI-STATE THEATRE SUPPLY CO.
800.733.8249
www.tristatetheatre.com
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 know-how to get you going.
630-417-9792.
SEATING
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
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.
WELL-CAPITALIZED, PRIVATELY HELD, TOP 50 THE-
ATER CHAIN is looking to expand via theater acquisitions.
We seek profitable, first-run theater complexes
with 6 to 14 screens located anywhere in the USA. Please
call Mike at 320-203-1003 ext.105 or email: acquisitions@uecmovies.com
56 BOXOFFICE JUNE 2010