BoxOffice® Pro - November 2011

BOOK IT! WE’VE PICKED FOUR FILMS THAT MAY BE JUST A BIT UNDER THE RADAR > PAGE 78
®
WWW.BOXOFFICE.COM
$6.95
NOV. 2011
YOU MAY NOW
BITE THE BRIDE
Breaking Dawn Part I kickstarts Twilight’s
bloody lucrative climax
INSIDE HOW TO MAKE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER WORK FOR YOU
JOHN FITHIAN REPORTS ON THE ANNUAL NATO MEETINGS IN D.C.
SHOWEAST IS HERE AND SO IS OUR SUMMARY OF 20 NEW PRODUCTS
The Official Magazine of NATO

Digital conversion is easy with
the Christie Virtual Print Fee program
Converting from film to digital can be daunting, we
know. To take some of the concern out of converting,
we’ve created the Christie ® Virtual Print Fee (VPF)
program. A simple, cost-effective and affordable
program, designed to meet your needs.
Don’t be left out – Make the move today!
© 2011 Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. All rights reserved.
christiedigital.com/makethemove

For five generations the Cretors family has been making concessions
more profitable. The new MACH 5 popper is our latest combination of
innovation and ease-of-use that can give you years of higher-margin
popcorn sales.
The MACH 5’s exclusive one-piece lid ensures maximum corn expansion.
Its clean-in-place kettle makes cleaning fast and easy. And the optional,
programmable LED sign can flash any sales message.
You can choose the MACH 5 that’s most efficient for your spot: 3 ft., 4 ft.,
5 ft. and 6 ft. cabinets are available,
as well as a counter model.
Add a 32, 48 or 60 oz. kettle,
then customize with some
of the dozen options.
Call Shelly Olesen for all the
details: 777-433-7425.
www.cretors.com
MACH11

NOV 2011 VOL. 147 NO. 11
BOXOFFICE MEDIA
PUBLISHER
Peter Cane
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Kenneth James Bacon
BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
EDITOR
Amy Nicholson
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Sara Maria Vizcarrondo
INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTORS
Patrick Corcoran
John Fithian
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Cole Hornaday
J. Sperling Reich
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Kevin O’Conner
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
Ally McMurray
TIME TO MAKE THEIR MOVE
TWILIGHT’S BELLA AND EDWARD ARE ALL GROWN-UP AND READY TO BE WED
30 GROWTH
STRATEGIES
The Real Social Network
Straight talk on making Twitter
and Facebook work for you
Meet the New Contenders
Social media upstarts who want
a piece of Mark Zuckerberg’s
mojo
36 TECH TALK
Prevention is the Best
Medicine Technicolor’s
Certifi3D Program says
there’s no excuse for bad 3D
conversions
36 NEW PRODUCTS
20 ShowEast vendors present
their latest snacks, equipment
and services
44 THE BIG PICTURE
THE TWILIGHT SAGA:
BREAKING DAWN—PART I
Interviews with star Kristen
Stewart and director Bill
Condon
6 Industry Briefs
10 Executive Suite
14 Law & Order
18 Front Line Award
20 Front Office Award
22 Show Business
24 Marquee Award
62 On the Horizon
70 Coming Soon
78 Book It!
88 Classifieds
BOXOFFICE.COM / BOXOFFICEMAGAZINE.COM
EDITOR
Phil Contrino
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Christian Toto
Alonso Duralde
Alex Edghill
David Ehrlich
Kate Erbland
Joe Galm
Daniel Garris
Todd Gilchrist
Ray Greene
Pete Hammond
Joseph Jon Lanthier
Ross A. Lincoln
Mark Olsen
Vadim Rizov
James Rocchi
Nick Schager
EDITORIAL INTERNS
Daniel Berkowitz
Kayleigh Dray
Inkoo Kang
Sterling Wong
ADVERTISING
DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING
Ben Rosenstein
230 Park Ave., Ste. 1000
New York, NY 10169
212-627-7000 tel
866-902-7750 fax
ben@boxoffice.com
CIRCULATION INQUIRIES
Palm Coast Data
800-877-5207
boxofficemagazine@emailcustomerservice.com
EDITORIAL
9107 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 450
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
310-876-9090 tel
866-902-7750 fax
MARKETING
Jonathan Margolis
the michael alan group
michael-alan.com
2 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

STOPPRESS
It’s ShowEast time again, when many in our industry gather in
the Florida sunshine to catch up with each other and what’s
going on in the world of movies. In this issue, as we’ve done for
decades, Boxoffice is featuring new products from our friends and
advertisers. This year, though, we’ve got our own new product to
crow about.
For about 60 years, Boxoffice was a weekly. We are again. Boxoffice
Magazine Weekly is now available on the iPad. It’s the first movielovers’
magazine in a tablet format and we’re very proud of it. Each
week, we bring you exclusive movie news, reviews and previews,
surrounded by lots of original video and interactivity. Please check it
out and let me know what you think.
peter@boxoffice.com
Insurance
Services
for the
Theatre
Industry
TOWER HEIST opens in December
COMING IN NOVEMBER TO BOXOFFICE.COM AND BOXOFFICEMAGAZINE.COM
BOXOFFICE’s WebWatch Data
Your customers are buzzing on the Internet about which movies they want to
see—and which ones they don’t. Use our new subscription service to predict
Hollywood’s hits and misses before they hit your theater.
Facebook & Twitter Tracking
Follow our daily tracking of activity on these two wildly popular social media sites.
Reviews
Tower Heist is causing all kinds of controversy in the exhibition world. Will moviegoers
boycott it as well? Read our review first to find out.
News-Reeling?
Let Boxoffice.com and BoxofficeMagazine.com digest all the reports and rumors
for you! Check our sites daily for breaking industry news.
BOXOFFICE PRO (ISSN 0006-8527) is published Monthly for $59.95 per year by Boxoffice Media, LLC, 9107 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 450,
Beverly Hills, CA 90210. Periodical Postage Paid at Beverly Hills, CA and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to: BOXOFFICE PRO, 9107 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 450, Beverly Hills , CA. ©2011 Boxoffice Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
MOC
Insurance
Services
THEATRE INSURANCE
SPECIALISTS
800 951 0600
San Francisco
www.mocins.com
license #0589960
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 3

When it comes to 4K, all eyes are on Sony.
While others are just realizing the benefi ts of 4K, Sony has become the undisputed leader
in 4K technology. We’ve installed thousands of projection systems worldwide, delivering
stunning Sony 4K. And lifelike 3D. But we’re not stopping there. We also provide digital
signage for concessions, box offi ce and lobbies, plus exciting alternative content, digital
surveillance, a network operations center, nationwide support, and fl exible fi nancing.
The advantages of Sony 4K are clear. Now let’s talk about the bigger picture.
Visit sony.com/4K to set up a meeting.
© 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, make.believe and their respective logos are trademarks of Sony.

INDUSTRY BRIEFS
As Boxoffice went to print, Universal
Pictures declared their intention to
sell the upcoming Brett Ratner action
comedy Tower Heist, starring Eddie
Murphy through video-on-demand just
three weeks after it debuts in theaters on
November 4 at an announced price of
$59.99. The proposed test will be offered
in Atlanta and Portland to approximately
500,000 digital cable subscribers of Universal’s
corporate parent, Comcast Corp.
Cinemark, the third-largest cinema chain
in the country, has already announced
that they will no longer screen Tower
Heist in their theaters.
Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. and
Technicolor USA, Inc. have signed an
agreement for Technicolor to acquire
certain assets of Cinedigm’s physical and
electronic distribution business, as well as
global, software license agreements related
to Cinedigm’s digital theatrical movie
and trailer distribution business. The deal
is expected to close this November and
is subject to customary and limited closing
conditions. During the next month,
the companies plan to work together to
ensure a smooth transition for customers
and employees.
Also in Cinedigm news, the company has
named Adam Mizel as chief operating officer
and chief financial officer, and Gary
Loffredo has been named president of
Digital Cinema Services and will continue
as general counsel, effective immediately.
Mr. Mizel and Mr. Loffredo will continue
reporting directly to Chris McGurk, chairman
and CEO of Cinedigm Digital Cinema
Corp. Mr. Mizel and Mr. Loffredo
have been members of Cinedigm’s Board
of Directors since 2009 and 2000, respectively.
“I am extremely pleased to have
Adam and Gary assume additional leadership
responsibilities,” said McGurk. “I
have worked with them closely for the last
nine months and know they have an ideal
mix of relevant industry experience and
strategic insight and have demonstrated
the superb leadership ability to drive Cinedigm
to the next level.”
Senator Chris Dodd, chairman and CEO
of the MPAA, has appointed veteran
entertainment industry attorney Henry
Hoberman as the association’s new senior
executive vice president and global
general counsel. Hoberman will oversee
all legal, content enforcement and rights
management programs within the MPAA,
both domestically and abroad. He will
assume his new position in early November.
Hoberman comes to the MPAA
with nearly 25 years of experience in the
media and entertainment industry. Since
2008, he has been the Executive Vice
President, General Counsel and Secretary
of RHI Entertainment, Inc., responsible
for all worldwide business affairs, legal
affairs and human resources. RHI is a
leading producer and distributor of original
made-for-television movies and miniseries,
with a library of over 1000 films.
For the previous decade, he held various
positions of leadership at ABC and The
Walt Disney Company, including Senior
Vice President of ABC, Inc., responsible
for overseeing litigation and employment
practices for all business units of ABC and
the ABC Television Network.
Said Dodd, “Henry’s experience within
the film and television industry and his
breadth of knowledge of the many serious
challenges facing the entertainment
community will be a tremendous resource
to the MPAA. He joins a strong senior
leadership team and dedicated worldwide
staff who have set their sights on
delivering a clear and simple message:
when it comes to growing the economy,
creating jobs and promoting trade and
American innovation, movies matter.”
Sony Pictures Entertainment has notified
theater owners that it will no longer
pay for 3D glasses as of May 1, 2012.
Such a system is already in place in a
number of foreign territories, including
the U.K., Australia, Italy and Spain, but
this is the first time a studio has decided
not to subsidize glasses in the States. The
change is timed to Sony’s two large 3D
summer tentpoles, Men in Black III and
The Amazing Spider-Man. “This is an issue
that has to be resolved between us
and our exhibition partners. We are trying
to give them a very lengthy lead time in
regards to the change in policy,” said
Sony worldwide president of distribution
Rory Bruer.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences has issued new regulations
for the marketing of movies submitted
for the 84th Academy Awards to
Academy members. Prior to the nominations
announcement on January 24, 2012,
screening events may include the live
Q&As and receptions. After the nominations
have been announced, receptions
are not permitted and no one individual
from the film can participate in more than
two panel discussions. Previously, Academy
members could not be invited to any
screening event that included filmmakers
participation or a reception either before
or after the nominations had been announced.
The distribution of screeners is
still permitted, however, with specific restrictions
on packaging and accompanying
materials, and the digital distribution
of movies to Academy members is now
acceptable, as long as the delivery method
conforms to the regulations. The longstanding
ban on negative campaigning
about other nominated films or individuals
is now extended to social media platforms,
and specific penalties are spelled
out. Academy members will be subject to
a one-year suspension for first-time violations
and expulsion for any subsequent
violations. “These campaign regulations
play an important role in protecting the
integrity of the Academy Awards process
and the distinction of the Oscar,” said
Academy President Tom Sherak. “Above
all, we want Academy members to see
movies as they were meant to be seen, in
a theatrical setting.”
The Producers Guild of America has declared
that Steven Spielberg will receive
the 2012 David O. Selznick Achievement
Award in Motion Pictures at the 23rd Annual
Producers Guild Awards ceremony
on Saturday, January 21st. The Selznick
Achievement Award recognizes a producer’s
outstanding body of work in motion
pictures, and past recipients include Clint
Eastwood, Billy Wilder, Brian Grazer, Jerry
Bruckheimer, Roger Corman and John
Lasseter. “As one of the most prolific
filmmakers of all time, Steven’s continued
genius, imagination and fearlessness in
the world of feature film entertainment is
unmatched in this industry,” said Producers
Guild Awards co-chairs Paula Wagner
and Michael Manheim. “Steven has
produced some of the most iconic films
in the history of cinema and we have no
doubt he will continue to bring thrilling
(continued on page 8)
6 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

We’re Projecting the
the brightest! magic
On the biggest screens for a giant experience
Everybody likes choices. Premium and large-format screens are no exception.
Now you have a choice.
Don’t overpay for dated technology when you’re ready to create your giant
screen experience. Only Barco offers the brightest projectors paired with
the most immersive audio technology to bring your audience the ultimate
premium experience.
Be the brightest exhibitor in your market!
Contact Jami Morrison at jami.morrison@barco.com
Choose your magic at www.projectingthemagic.com
DP4K projectors & Auro-3D sound
Barco
+1 916 859 2500
sales.digitalcinema@barco.com
www.barco.com/digitalcinema

INDUSTRY BRIEFS >
adventures, emotionally moving storylines,
thought provoking characters and cult
classics to audiences across the globe.
We’re extremely proud to recognize Steven’s
contributions to the producing craft
as well as the entire film industry with the
David O. Selznick honor.”
After the successful 3D rerelease of The
Lion King, The Walt Disney Studios has
announced limited theatrical engagements
for four of its classic films for the first time
in 3D. The following titles from Walt Disney
and Pixar Animation Studios will be
released in 2012 and 2013:
Beauty and the Beast – January 13, 2012
Finding Nemo – September 14, 2012
Monsters, Inc. – January 18, 2013 (Monsters
University, a prequel to the original
film, arrives in theaters in Disney Digital 3D
on June 21, 2013)
The Little Mermaid – September 13, 2013
“Great stories and great characters are
timeless, and at Disney we’re fortunate to
have a treasure trove of both,” said Alan
Bergman, President, The Walt Disney Studios.
“We’re thrilled to give audiences of
all ages the chance to experience these
beloved tales in an exciting new way with
3D—and in the case of younger generations,
for the first time on the big screen.”
This past July, construction began at
Classic Cinemas York Theatre, located at
150 N. York St. in downtown Elmhurst, IL
where a 10th auditorium is being added.
This bring the total number of Classic Cinemas
screens to 100, a milestone for the
theater chain who operates 13 theaters in
12 communities throughout the northern
Illinois area. “When we acquired the York
Theatre in 1982, it was a single screen,”
says Willis Johnson, president of Classic
Cinemas. Built in 1924, the York Theatre in
Elmhurst is Classic Cinemas’ second oldest
theater. Johnson adds, “For the past five
years, adding a tenth screen has been on
my mind.” With nine screens, the York has
found it challenging to play all the product
that comes out of Hollywood in a timely
fashion. “An additional screen will give
us the opportunity to offer our patrons
more movie choices,” explains Johnson.
The York is an anchor for the downtown
Elmhurst business district, and attendance
continues to grow at the theatre. “We
draw from Elmhurst and the surrounding
communities as well,” says Mark Mazrimas,
marketing manager for Classic Cinemas.
The new auditorium will feature the latest
digital equipment and offer stadium
seating for 180 patrons plus six additional
for handicapped patrons. Completion is
slated for early November 2011, just in
time for the mid-November pre-holiday
release cycle.
The American Film Institute announced
today that MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd
and David Rips, president of Verizon Digital
Media Services, have been elected to
the AFI Board of Trustees. On the board,
they join Lisa Arpey (American Airlines),
Todd Bradley (Hewlett-Packard, Co.), Brad
Grey (Paramount Pictures), Jonathan Miller
(News Corporation), Frank Pierson (Writer/
Director and Artistic Director of the AFI
Conservatory), Anne Sweeney (Disney-ABC
Television Group), Thomas Tull (Legendary
Pictures) and Michael Wright (Turner
Entertainment), as well as Roger Enrico
(DreamWorks Animation SKG), who was
8 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

e-elected to the AFI Board of Directors for
a new three-year term. Sir Howard Stringer,
Chairman and CEO of the Sony Corporation,
is Chair of the 62-member AFI Board
of Trustees, which is comprised of leadership
that represents the moving image arts
community in different and diverse ways
and provides different backgrounds and
areas of expertise in their Trustee role.
Robert A. Daly, former Warner Bros. Chairman
and CEO, is Chair of the 21-member
AFI Board of Directors, which acts as an
executive committee, setting the Institute’s
priorities and overseeing its programs.
At the IBC Big Screen theater screenings
at RAI Amsterdam, Christie delivered
the world’s first mass-audience
demonstration of a 3D High Frame Rate
D-Cinema system using a single projector,
the Christie SolariaTM Series CP2230
projector, in combination with other
currently-available component. The Cavalia
equestrian production company was
projected in 3D at 60 frames per second.
“This demonstration sets the scene for
single-projector 3D HFR cinema content
delivery, following on James Cameron’s
ground-breaking ‘proof of concept’ of
HFR cinema content at CinemaCon 2011,
which Christie assisted with,” said Dr. Don
Shaw, director of Product Management for
Christie. In a related move designed to accelerate
the development and adoption of
next-generation 3D digital cinema, Christie
and James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment,
Inc. announced the signing of
a milestone, five-year agreement that will
see these two industry leaders exchange
research, testing, development and technical
support on this new technology.
Van Maroevich, President and CEO of
MOC Insurance Services and Fred S.
Nagle, III, President of San Francisco
Insurance Center, have announced that
SFIC has joined MOC Insurance Services
effective September 1, 2011. MOC Insurance
Services provides risk management
and employee benefits consulting services
within specialized industries across the
U.S. The combined entity creates an organization
of 65 professional employees
servicing business and personal clients
nationwide; total annual premiums exceed
$100 million. “We continue to strengthen
client services with specialized focus. Risk
and claims management expertise concentrates
in the industries of real estate,
entertainment, thoroughbred racing, ag
and viticulture, marine and aviation, while
building one of the largest independent
insurance brokerages in Northern California.”
Maroevich reaffirmed MOC’s commitment
to unsurpassed client service
which will guide their strategy toward succeeding
growth.
Carmike Cinemas has appointed Mark
R. Bell to its board of directors. In addition,
Mr. Bell has been appointed to serve
on the Audit Committee of the Board
of Directors. Mr. Bell is a retired senior
partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, LLP
and Arthur Anderson, LLP with over 36
years of experience in the energy, utility
and telecom industries. Carmike Cinemas
President and Chief Executive Officer David
Passman said, “Mr. Bell’s vast financial
expertise and experience in a wide array of
industries will undoubtedly be an asset to
our Corporation. As Carmike looks to grow
its circuit, we are confident that Mark will
make a valuable contribution.”
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 9

EXECUTIVE SUITE
JOHN
FITHIAN
NATO
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
From October 4th through the 6th, more than 100
exhibition company representatives gathered in
Washington, D.C. for NATO’s annual meetings. Over
three days, members met in various board, committee
and task force meetings to discuss the most significant
challenges and opportunities confronting the industry,
and to conduct over 50 meetings on Capitol Hill in
support of legislation to combat movie theft. MPAA’s
leader, Senator Chris Dodd, spoke at the annual Board
dinner, while Department of Justice representatives appeared
at the meetings to discuss access for patrons with
disabilities. All the largest movie theater companies in
the United States and Canada sent top executives to the
meetings, while dozens of independent theater operators
came as well. By week’s end, a tired but exhilarated
NATO staff met to assess the most important conclusions
from the week. This column provides a few highlights
from those discussions.
ACTIVE VOLUNTEER MEMBERS RECOGNIZED;
NEW OFFICERS ELECTED
NATO’s influence in Washington and Hollywood continues
to grow in large measure because of the volunteer
efforts of many of its members. During the annual meetings,
members were recognized for their service over the
past two years in a variety of capacities. Every reader of
Boxoffice has an interest in the motion picture exhibition
business, and no doubt joins the NATO member meeting
attendees in thanking these committed individuals.
The leaders recognized at the meetings included:
TONY KERASOTES (Kerasotes Theatres)
NATO Chairman
AUBREY STONE (Georgia Theatre Company)
Vice-Chairman and Audit Committee Chair
AMY MILES (Regal Cinemas)
Treasurer and Investments Committee Chair
MARK O’MEARA (University Mall Theatres)
Secretary and Membership Committee Chair
JOOST BERT (Kinepolis Group)
Vice Chairman, International Committee
BILL CAMPBELL (Orpheum Theatre)
Managing Director, Cinema Buying Group
ROB DEL MORO (Regal)
Chairman, Concessions Task Force
MUNIR FALAH (Cine Colombia)
Chairman, International Committee
LOTS TO TALK ABOUT
A report on NATO’s annual meetings in Washington
DON FOX (Fox Theatres)
Vice Chair, Independent Theatre Owners Committee
PHIL HARRIS (Signature Theatres)
Co-Chairman, Conventions Task Force
GEORGE MANN (Signature Theatres)
Chairman, Codes Task Force
NEAL PINSKER (Regal)
Vice Chairman, Membership Committee
RANDY SMITH (Regal)
Chairman, Captioning Task Force
GEORGE SOLOMON (Southern Theatres)
Chairman, Credit Card Task Force
BILL STEMBLER (Georgia Theatre Company)
Co-Chairman, Conventions Task Force
RAND THORNSLEY (Bear Tooth Theatre)
Chairman, Independent Theatre Owners Committee
TIM WARNER (Cinemark)
Chairman, Windows Task Force
During the meetings in Washington, new leadership was
selected. The association’s officers for the next two years
will be:
DAVID PASSMAN (Carmike Cinemas)
Chairman
NORA DASHWOOD (Pacific Theatres)
Vice-Chairman
BYRON BERKLEY (Foothills Entertainment)
Treasurer
MARK O’MEARA (University Mall Theatres)
Secretary
Congratulations to the new officers!
THEATRICAL RELEASE WINDOWS REMAIN
A KEY PRIORITY
Discussions by the members during the meetings in
Washington confirm that preservation of a robust theatrical
window remains a high priority for the association.
NATO reported on the current data and the outcomes of
the industry’s outreach to Wall Street and the creative
community. NATO leaders emphasized the need for
individual exhibition companies to establish their own
policies in the marketplace while (continued on page 12)
10 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

The Ticket Window Is Now Open
You’re one step closer to the excitement
of CinemaCon—the largest and most important
convention for the worldwide cinema industry.
• Studio Presentations & Screenings
• International Day Programming
• Seminars
• Trade Show
• Sponsored Food Functions
• Filmmakers, Stars and More!
Register today and book your hotel rooms at Caesars Palace.
April 23 – 26, 2012
Caesars Palace • Las Vegas, NV
The world goes to the movies. The movie world goes to CinemaCon.
The Official Convention of

EXECUTIVE SUITE (continued from page ##)
Frame rates and laser projection were on the agenda as two technologies
that offer the possibility of improved quality but challenging
business models. And of course 3D remains an important technology
discussion point. A reinvigorated NATO Technology Committee
will address all of these issues in the coming weeks and months.
As NATO made clear in a recent report to its members, the end
of film is near and every exhibitor must finalize their own plans
to convert to digital, or make the decision to exit the business. The
NATO meetings in Washington served to remind members of all
the complicated issues at stake, as well as the resources available to
navigate through those challenges.
the association focuses on outreach.
Members discussed the most significant development of the year—
the test of four studios with so-called “premium” VOD with DirecTV.
Those gathered concluded that the test has been a failure for the
studios, and expressed their gratitude for the members of the creative
community who spoke out in support of the theatrical experience.
In a moment of déjà vu, however, Universal Studios announced
in the middle of the NATO meetings their intention to conduct a
PVOD test with an extraordinarily short window in two markets:
Atlanta, Georgia and Portland, Oregon. As this column went to print,
the issue remained unresolved. (Given the fact that the DirecTV
announcement was made during CinemaCon, and the Universal
suggestion was made during NATO’s annual meetings, one exhibitor
joked that perhaps NATO shouldn’t meet any more!)
The news about Universal served to reinforce the priority attention
given by the association to the issue of windows. During its
meeting, the Executive Board confirmed its intention to dedicate the
resources necessary to continue the industry’s outreach to the creative
and financial communities, and to the broader public, as well.
DIGITAL CINEMA ROLL-OUT ACCELERATES
During the discussions of the NATO Advisory Board, in select committee
and task force meetings, and during informal chats at the receptions
and meal functions, digital cinema remained a significant
focal point. NATO staff presented data on the pace of the roll out
and the strength of 3D. Independent operators discussed issues of
concern to them, including the continued activities of the Cinema
Buying Group. The Advisory Board meeting included a productive
conversation between the Department of Justice, NATO staff and
lawyers, and volunteer member leaders regarding the inclusion
of technologies for the deaf and blind within the broader digital
cinema roll-out.
Technology always constitutes an important part of the NATO
discussions, and this year was no different. Members examined the
issue of satellite delivery and the current work to develop an open
delivery utility that can be used by all suppliers and all exhibitors.
MOVIE THEFT COMPLICATES BUSINESS MODELS AND
STIMULATES VARIED REACTIONS AMONG EXHIBITORS
In advance of the annual meetings, NATO staff and volunteers on
the association’s Membership Committee conducted and analyzed
a survey of members. (The survey, which reflected strong member
support of the association and its activities, was discussed during
the meetings. Members seeking more information should contact
the NATO offices.) One finding of the survey surprised the association’s
president. When the members were asked to establish the
relative priority of a list of issues, windows, d-cinema and government
relations issues appeared in a group of top priorities, while
movie theft appeared in a lower group of mid-level priorities.
Data suggests that exhibitors in the U.S. lose $700 million or
more in ticket sales every year because of pirated movies. And
that data is six years old—it predates Transformers, The Dark Knight
and Twilight. The MPAA has conducted newer research and the
association hopes to have the results soon. It is likely, though, that
the number has grown and domestic exhibitors may be losing ten
percent of their business to theft. Given the magnitude of the economic
impact, contrasted with the mid-level interest of industry
leaders, NATO has some work to do in terms of member education.
At the annual meetings, movie theft constituted a priority. In
addition to the lobbying efforts, the members also discussed the
rewards program, patron notification methods, detection technologies
and other related issues. NATO’s Executive Board established a
task force of members to examine new detection technologies and
discuss possible models for implementation.
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS ISSUES CONTINUE TO
COMMAND ATTENTION
In addition to the lobbying on movie theft legislation, other government
relations issues were discussed at the annual meetings.
On the federal level, NATO continues its work to reduce payment
card processing fees, to affect pending rules regarding menu labeling
requirements, to prevent or soften the burden of new labor
relations rules and to change rules that prohibit the use of laser
projectors in cinemas.
NATO also coordinates with various regional units across the
country. The regional unit leaders also met in Washington to discuss
such state and local issues as admission taxes, beverage taxes, minimum
wage requirements and more.
The breadth of topics discussed during the week in Washington
simply exceeds the space limitations of this column. Any member
or industry supporter who desires more information should contact
the NATO offices. For now, the NATO staff thanks the many members
who journeyed to our nation’s capital for the meetings.
12 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

MOVING PICTURES. FORWARD.
We’ve reached the 10,000 milestone for:
CP750 shipments
Dolby ® 3D shipments
Cinema servers shipped
Working to bring you the next generation of digital cinema.
Learn more at www.dolby.com.
Dolby and the double-D symbol are registered trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. © 2011 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All rights reserved. S11/24922

HILL CLIMBING
(The Capitol, that is)
LAW & ORDER
GARY
KLEIN
NATO
Vice President
and General
Counsel
As noted in John Fithian’s column, one of the most
important components of the recently concluded
annual meeting of NATO was the opportunity
to trek up to the Hill and attend meetings with Senators,
House members and their staffs. Indeed, it was this
potential that inspired the Executive Board to alter its
meeting location for 2011 from Los Angeles to Washington,
DC. Noting that 2012 was an election year in which
members of Congress routinely leave town early in
October to return to their respective states to campaign,
the Board decided to keep the 2011 meeting in Washington,
and the
decision paid off
in several ways. SENATORS
First, thanks to the Richard Shelby (R-AL)
Herculean efforts
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
of Todd Halstead,
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
NATO’s Deputy
Director of Government
Affairs,
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
approximately 50 Mark Kirk (R-IL)
visits to individual
members
Olympia Snowe (R-ME)
John Kerry (D-MA)
of Congress were
Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
scheduled (including
one with Jon Tester (D-MT)
Senator Durbin,
Richard Burr (R-NC)
the Majority Whip, Kay Hagan (D-NC)
in his office in the Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Capitol building).
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
And fortuitously,
John Thune (R-SD)
legislation that
would help reduce Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
movie theft and
Bob Corker (R-TN)
illegal streaming, Kay Bailey Hutchinson (R-TX)
issues which are
John Cornyn (R-TX)
of considerable
Patty Murray (D-WA)
importance to
Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
NATO’s members,
was awaiting a
debate and ultimately
a vote on
the Senate floor. In the House, similar legislation was
in the process of being drafted, and getting co-sponsors
was a priority.
So with those goals in mind, the call went out to
NATO members attending the annual meeting to see
who would be interested in taking part in “Capitol Hill
Day” to advocate on behalf of the association. And in
response, some 28 attendees signed up representing
15 states. They arrived in Washington a day early for a
briefing session where they learned the “do’s and don’ts”
of lobbying as well as the key provisions of the legislation.
Accompanied by NATO staff, the group broke up
into teams to meet with their respective Senators and
Representatives. Among those with whom they met are
listed in the table below.
In asking the members of Congress to support the
legislation, the key elements were highlighted. In the
Senate, S. 968, the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic
Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act (PRO-
TECT IP Act ) would allow the Attorney General to seek
an injunction from a federal court against a domain
name used by a foreign website that promotes infringement
of intellectual property or the sale of counterfeit
goods. The Court
order could then
HOUSE MEMBERS
be served on U.S.
Spencer T. Bachus III (R-AL-6)
based domain
name servers, internet
advertisers,
Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4)
Wally Herger (R-CA-2)
search engines and
John Garamendi (R-CA-10)
payment processors
which would
Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL-21)
Dennis Ross (R-FL-12)
then be required to
Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-GA-3) block access to the
website or suspend
Paul C. Broun (R-GA-10)
services to the site.
Danny K. Davis (D-IL-7)
S. 978, the Commercial
Felony Stream-
Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA)
Richard E. Neal (D-MA)
ing Act, makes
Justin Amash (R-MI-3)
unauthorized web
Bill Huizenga (R-MI-2)
streaming of copyrighted
content
Dave Camp (R-MI-4)
a felony with a
Sue Wilkins Myrick (R-NC-9)
possible penalty of
Frank C. Guinta (R-NH-1)
up to five years in
Kristi L. Noem (R-SD-At Large) prison. Basically,
Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-7)
it equates illegal
Steve Cohen (D-TN-9)
streaming—which
up to now is only
John J. Duncan Jr. (R-TN-2)
considered a misdemeanor—with
Louie Gohmert (R-TX-1)
Pete Sessions (R-TX-32)
illegal downloading,
which has
been a felony for
years. On the House side, members were urged to support
the legislation once it was introduced. And the positive
response from all the meetings was overwhelming.
But the job is not finished, and we will be urging those
who took part in the visits to follow up with letters and
calls as the legislative process grinds slowly onward. And
we urge those of you who were not able to attend to write
to your respective members of Congress with the same
message. NATO is your association and we are here to
help with that effort. So let’s complete the hike to the top
of the Hill, and think about joining the next effort when
the annual meeting returns to Washington, DC in 2013.
14 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BOXOFFICE WEEKLY
only on the iPad
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 15

06.15.12 Warner Bros. Jack the Giant Killer
06.22.12 Disney Brave
06.22.12 20th Century Fox
Abraham Lincoln:
Vampire Hunter
07.13.12 20th Century Fox Ice Age: Continental Drift
RELEASE
CALENDAR
2011
11.04.11 DreamWorks Puss in Boots
11.04.11 New Line
A Very Harold & Kumar
Christmas
11.11.11 Universal Immortals
11.18.11 Warner Bros. Happy Feet Two
11.23.11 Sony Arthur Christmas
11.23.11 Sony Hugo
11.23.11 The Weinstein Company Piranha 3DD
12.21.11 Paramount The Adventures of Tintin
12.25.11 Summit The Darkest Hour
2012
01.13.12 Disney Beauty and the Beast
01.20.12 Screen Gems Underworld Awakening
01.27.12 Warner Bros.
02.10.12 Fox
02.17.12 Sony
03.02.12 Paramount
Journey 2:
The Mysterious Island
Star Wars: Episode I - The
Phantom Menace
Ghost Rider:
Spirit of Vengeance
Hansel and Gretel:
Witch Hunters
03.02.12 Universal Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
03.09.12 Walt Disney Pictures John Carter
03.30.12 Sony/Columbia The Pirates! Band of Misfits
03.30.12 Warner Bros. Wrath of the Titans
04.06.12 Paramount Titanic
05.25.12 Sony Men in Black 3
06.08.12 DreamWorks Madagascar 3
06.08.12 Fox Prometheus
08.17.12 Focus Features ParaNorman
09.14.12 Disney Finding Nemo
09.14.12 Sony / Screen Gems Resident Evil 5
09.21.12 Sony Hotel Transylvania
09.21.11 N/A Dredd
10.05.12 Disney Frankenweenie
10.05.12 Lionsgate
The Texas Chainsaw
Massacre 3D
10.26.12 The Weinstein Company Halloween 3D
11.02.12 Disney Wreck-It Ralph
11.21.12
Paramount/
DreamWorks
Rise of the Guardians
11.21.12 Warner Bros. Gravity
11.21.12 Universal 47 Ronin
12.14.12 Warner Bros.
The Hobbit:
An Unexpected Journey
12.21.12 20th Century Fox Life of Pi
2013
01.18.13 Disney Monsters, Inc.
01.25.13 Sony/Screen Gems Planet B-Boy
03.08.13 Disney Oz: The Great and Powerful
03.22.13
Paramount/
DreamWorks
The Croods
05.17.13 Fox Leafmen
06.21.13 Disney Monsters University
07.12.13 Warner Bros. Pacific Rim
10.04.13 Disney Untitled Henry Selick Film
11.08.13
Paramount/
DreamWorks
Me and My Shadow
11.27.13 Disney Untitled Disney/Pixar Film
12.13.13 Disney
The Hobbit:
There and Back Again
12.20.13 Fox Walking With Dinosaurs
2014
05.02.14 Sony The Amazing Spider-Man 2
05.30.13 Disney Disney/Pixar Untitled Film

Come imm
Enjoy cinema like never before!
Be part of a new era in the movie industry with the amazing imm 3D sound technology
It’s immersive, it’s immpressive, it’s imm Sound ®
imm Sound ®
www.immsound.com
Diagonal 177, E-08018, Barcelona
Tel (+34) 934 853 880 | Fax (+34) 933 093 188
info@immsound.com

FRONT LINE AWARD
SNAKES AND LADDERS
Will this rookie set down roots?
Exhibition newcomer Terry Burwell is conscientious to a fault.
He arrives early for his shift at Charleston’s Hippodrome
Widescreen clad in his Sunday best. Seconds later, he is informed
by general manager Jake Spell that the interview with Boxoffice
would be conducted by phone and he won’t need his fine duds.
Needless to say, whatever life throws at Burwell, he’s always
well prepared and looking sharp—a boon to any general manager.
A Wyoming native, Burwell recently relocated to Charleston
on a whim. “If you’ve ever spent a winter in Wyoming, you know
it’s not a fun place to be if you aren’t on the ski slopes. I moved out
to Charleston in December and I was applying for every job that
I could.”
Burwell admits he suffers from a touch of wanderlust. “I’m
kind of a drifter,” he says. “I moved to Charleston in December
and this is the longest I’ve
stayed in one place since I
graduated from college. I
don’t know if that means
I’ve found my home or
if that means I’m due to
leave, but I do like it here.”
Listening to Burwell,
it’s clear his urge to roam
stems from eclectic tastes
and an insatiable curiosity.
“I got my degrees in
Biology and Spanish,” says
Burwell. “I studied abroad
in Costa Rica for a semester
and again in Puerto
Rico for another.” Thanks
to credits combined from
his foreign studies and
biology course work, Burwell
would graduate with
a double major.
Burwell says the dual
interest in language and
science dates back to his childhood. “I grew up reading about the
rain forests,” says Burwell. “I was big into reptiles and amphibians
and liked reading these magazines about people going into
the Amazon and Central America to find snakes and things like
that—Spanish was the language that was spoken in those places
so it just kind of coincided.”
Burwell still harbors a great love for reptiles but admits it’s
hard to heed the call of the open road with his 12-foot scrub
python in tow. “I’m just kind of a snake guy.”
by Cole Hornaday
Spell says Burwell is far more than just a snake guy: he was the
right guy for the job. Burwell quickly climbed the ladder from concessions
to middle management. “Terry is definitely a go-getter,”
says Spell. “He’s someone who definitely wants to do both the right
thing and make sure his job gets done well by going beyond what
his supervisor expects of him.”
Built nearly 130 years ago, the Hippodrome is a huge structure
situated on the banks of the Charleston Harbor. Standing alongside
the Art Institute and the Aquarium, it is a key part of downtown
Charleston’s cultural hub. Of late, life at the Hippodrome has been
in flux with recent changes in ownership and management. And
it’s also being reconfigured for multiples uses combining its IMAX
and 3D with live music and corporate events—a versatile space in
dire need of an eclectic assistant manager.
The Hippodrome
also holds
a certain amount
of cultural capital
in the community,
something
Burwell has come
Terry Burwell
Asistant Manager
The Hippodrome
Widescreen
Charleston, SC
Nominated by
Jake Spell,
General Manager
to appreciate. “I
went in to check
on some employees
cleaning the
auditorium right
before the movie
started,” Burwell
laughs, “and two
kids had come
in with their
parents and they
were kneeling at
the entrance of
the auditorium,
bowing down to
the screen saying,
‘We’re not
worthy…’ But it was just because the screen was so big. You don’t
understand it unless you come to see it.”
One has to wonder: will a vagabond soul like Burwell’s be
content at the Hippodrome?
“Well, the last job that I had I was a truck driver,” Burwell
chuckles. “Compared to that job, you can’t help but be enthusiastic.
You work really hard for 30 minutes, and then you’ve got
about an hour and half to relax a little bit—and then we do it all
over again when the next movie shows up. I like it. I like it a lot.”
BOXOFFICE PRO 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 PRO 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.
18 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

FRONT OFFICE AWARD
THE DAILY RHYTHM
Shift Supervisor’s routne is always eye-opening
After three years on the job at Malco Theatres Grandview 17,
Shift Supervisor Adam Mason knows the value found in the
rhythm of a routine.
21 years old and a full-time student at the Ridgeland, Mississippi
branch of Holmes Community College, Mason is up and
out the door early each morning to get to class. With his primary
focus in biology, Mason is a diligent student, as his coursework is
dense and his homework cumbersome. Intent on transferring to
a university to pursue pre-med, Mason knows his workload will
only intensify—all the more reason to establish a disciplined
daily regimen.
Once classes let out for the day, Mason returns home for a brief
workout: jogging, calisthenics, and then maybe a much-deserved
nap before heading to
work at the Grandview
17. At work
there is still a forward
momentum to his
day, but not always
a predictable flow.
“Monday through
Thursday it’s kind of
slow during the day,”
says Mason. “That’s
when we do most of
our cleaning and anything
that needs to be
fixed gets worked on.
On the weekends the
crowds get bigger—
that’s when it gets
really busy.”
Looking back on
his early days at the
Grandview 17, Mason
assumed his entry
level responsibilities would be predictable and low-key. “This was
my first real job so I thought everything was going to go smoothly
and there wasn’t anything to it,” Mason recalls. “I’d never
worked in a movie theater, so I didn’t know about anything that
went on with the customers and employees and management. It
was an eye-opener.”
Mason says he was initially taken aback by the unpredictable
nature of customer service. “Customers will come to you with
concerns,” says Mason, “ and some are nice and sweet and some
of them have terrible attitudes. I had to learn to deal with each
of them together. At the time I didn’t know things like that went
on in a movie theater.” Navigating the unpredictable twists and
turns, Mason ultimately found his rhythm. A rhythm he didn’t
discover on his own.
by Cole Hornaday
Mason enjoys being busy, and when things are busy you need
a team of resilient people at your back. Mason says his team at the
Grandview 17 is far more than just colleagues—they’ve become
members of an extended family. “I love the people I work with.
That’s number one on my list about this job.”
“We call each other family and treat each other like brothers
and sisters,” says Mason. “I think that’s the most important thing
about the job and the work environment: it’s the people you work
with and how you react with one another.”
Mason says this deep familial identification with his staff
and co-workers didn’t just happen overnight. “It grew,” says
Mason. “When I first came it was like I was a stranger. I didn’t
know these people and I didn’t know how they would take me,
but as days turned to
weeks, weeks turned
to months, everybody
started to get along—
they accept you for
who you are and that’s
Adam Mason
Shift Supervisor
Malco Theatres
Grandview 17
Madison, MI
Nominated by
Jordan W. Suddeth,
House Manager
what a family does.”
Mason says after
being made Shift Supervisor,
his rapport
with his co-workers
changed very little.
“That’s because as a
family, we work,” says
Mason. “We’re friendly,
we talk, we joke, we
play around—but at
the same time everyone
has a specific job
and we make sure that
job gets done.”
Mason believes the
success of this familylike
team at Grandview 17 is the support they receive from those
higher up. “The managers, they have our backs,” says Mason.
“Let’s say when a customer comes in with a problem—maybe
they’re yelling at us and we can’t really do anything—the manager
will step in right away and take charge. That makes us feel
more comfortable, in particular, about them. Just like a family
does, everyone has each other’s back.”
Hectic as his schedule may be, Mason finds a certain amount
of joy in his daily rhythm and routine. He admits this is due in
part to the make-up of his team. “I look forward to working with
everybody,” says Mason. “During the week some of us don’t see
each other, like when the other kids are at school. On weekends
you get to see almost everybody and you’ll see everybody giving
each other hugs and saying ‘I missed you—I love you.’”
20 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

WHAT I’VE LEARNED
Studying Facebook and Twitter for a year and a half has taught me these lessons
SHOW BUSINESS
PHIL
CONTRINO
Editor
Boxoffice.com
We’ve been tracking Facebook, Twitter and online
comments in general on Boxoffice.com since May
2010. We launched our WebWatch service just in time
for Iron Man 2, and we haven’t looked back.
It’s been a very rewarding year and a half. I feel like I
learn more about moviegoers on a daily basis by listening
to what they are saying on Facebook and Twitter. The two
sites have—among many other things—revolutionized
customer feedback. If a movie is great, people will know
about it in record time. If it’s a dud, toxic word of mouth
will spread at a rate fast enough to make any distributor’s
head spin. This means that there is a higher accountability
placed on content creators. It’s becoming increasingly
difficult to pass off an inferior product.
I’ve decided to use my column this month to share
with loyal Boxoffice readers a few lessons I’ve learned
since the launch of our groundbreaking tracking service.
passionately about superhero costumes. A fanboy waits
in line for hours to get a ticket to the latest sci-fi extravaganza.
Got it? Good.
I’ve watched as fanboys created hysteria for such
films as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Kick-Ass. Then I
watched as those films failed to deliver at the box office.
Scott Pilgrim had more than 327,000 likes on the day it
opened, but it managed only $10.6 million during its
debut frame. The fervent fanbase created the illusion of
widespread appeal, but the reality was that Scott Pilgrim
only appealed to a relatively narrow audience.
The lesson here is not to be swayed by a strong online
following. Ask yourself just one simple question: Will
this rally fanboys? If the answer is “yes,” then chances
are that all the likes and tweets in the world won’t expand
the audience.
BEWARE THE POWER OF TEENAGE GIRLS
Teenage girls are just as powerful as fanboys. They
have the ability to create a buzz that often doesn’t lead
to solid grosses. Charlie St. Cloud and Abduction are two
examples of this phenomenon. Cloud star Zac Efron and
Abduction star Taylor Lautner are both incredibly popular
among teen girls, and by popular I mean they wouldn’t
be able to show up at a shopping mall without being
completely mauled. Even though that popularity led to
plenty of Facebook and Twitter activity, it did not lead to
strong grosses. On the day of its release, Charlie St. Cloud
recorded 9,504 tweets and it had more than 730,000 likes.
Sounds good, right? Well, the activity only helped the
drama to a $12.4 million debut. Abduction posted 9,492
tweets and had more than 727,000 likes, but that was
only good enough for a $10.9 million debut.
I know for a fact that they will help you on a day-to-day
basis as you try to gauge which films will be most successful
in your theaters.
FANBOYS ALWAYS SKEW THINGS
It’s important to have a clear understanding of the type
of moviegoer that tends to be most active on Facebook
and Twitter. The “fanboy” is easily one of the most active
types. In case you’re not familiar with the term “fanboy,”
let me provide a few quick examples. A fanboy argues
DON’T WORRY IF ADULT-SKEWING FLICKS
AREN’T VERY ACTIVE
As moviegoers aged 35+ begin to use Facebook more actively,
I suspect that this lesson will go away. But for now,
it’s not fair to judge an adult-skewing flick by its buzz
on Facebook and Twitter. Take The Fighter. Paramount’s
Oscar-winning film had only 8,508 likes on the day it hit
theaters, but it went on to gross a whopping $93.6 million.
IT’S ALL ABOUT CONTEXT
This is the one lesson that is essential to understanding
the three lessons I’ve listed above. You cannot look at
online activity for any film in a vacuum. Placing each
film in the context of comparable films provides a better
understanding of the significance of Facebook and Twitter
data. Without it, you would guess that Scott Pilgrim could
out-gross The Fighter. And if you worked at the studio,
you’d be out of a job.
22 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

MARQUEE AWARD
The Lake Theatre
Oak Park, Illinois
The Test of Time
Movie palace reaches diamond anniversary
by Cole Hornaday
uring the late 1920s, the Parisian
art scene was dominated by a new
design style called Art Deco. The
clean, streamlined blending of the geometrical
lines with Greco-Roman imagery tickled
flapper sensibilities at Chicago’s 1933 Century
of Progress World’s Fair, impressing many a
visitor—including renowned theater architect
Thomas Lamb.
(continued on page 26)
24 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

MARQUEE AWARD >
Striking popular consciousness at nearly
the same moment exhibitors were building
theaters devoted solely to the Talkies, Art
Deco became the signature design style of
movie houses nationwide—thanks, in part,
to the Scottish-born architect.
Famous for such beloved movie palaces
as the Fox Theatre in San Francisco and New
York’s Capitol Theatre, Lamb was commissioned
by Oak Park Amusement Company
to design an ornate but serviceable 1,520-
seat single-screen venue complete with
state-of-the-art CO 2 air conditioning and
modern sound technology. On April 11,
1936, the Lake Theatre threw open its doors
for the first time, revealing a design marvel
that would prove the test of time.
Under the auspices of Essaness Theatres,
and then Classic Cinemas, who leased the
Lake in 1981, the cinema remained in continuous
use, but its terra cotta carpeting and
plaster banding couldn’t resist the ravages of
age. Classic Cinema’s President Willis Johnson
says his attitude toward the condition
of the theater wasn’t cause for concern until
he actually purchased it outright in 1984.
“Obviously there’s a lot more incentive to
do things when you own it,” says Johnson,
THE MORE THINGS CHANGE
Little has changed about the Lake Theatre’s
exterior. Though the 60-foot-tall vertical blade
has had new wiring and its six-foot-tall neon
letters replaced over the years, it still maintains
the aura of a classic movie house and downtown
icon.
“That’s when we really started in on it with
our decorator Joe DuciBella.”
Deeply devoted to preserving the historical
integrity of the Lake Theatre, Johnson
and his wife Shirley knew expansion would
be crucial to the cinema’s financial survival,
and tasked their design team with converting
the single auditorium to three screens,
carving two spaces out of the original’s back
corners. They then re-carpeted and added a
new concession counter.
The gradual revitalization of the Lake
Theatre was not the only resurrection transpiring
within the Oak Park community—
the whole of downtown was experiencing a
facelift. Following World War II, the downtown
storefronts were the primary hub
for retail and entertainment. But with the
suburban migration of the ’70s, downtown
businesses lobbied to close off and cover
over Lake Street in order to create the same
incentives as their suburban multiplex competition.
The gamble didn’t pay off. Traffic
was cut off from the main artery, re-routing
customers from downtown and turning the
new district into a parking nightmare.
In 1988, downtown Oak Park business
owners set about undoing the mall dead
zone by re-opening Lake Street to throughtraffic.
Johnson saw to it the Lake Theatre
was the showcase of the downtown facelift,
but admits it could not (continued on page ##)
HISTORICAL ACCURACY
Color and clean lines have always been a principal component to Art Deco. Here, the mood of the downstairs foyer is brightened with accent colors of gold
and blue, along with earth tones like henna and rust.
26 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

A 3D Picture
That Wows
Spectral TM
240 3D
The Worldʼs Most Trusted 3D Screen
See us at ShowEast, Booth 518
For more information visit:
www.harkness-screens.com
TM

MARQUEE AWARD >
HISTORICALLY SYMPATHETIC
With decorator Joe DuciBella on hand, the Johnsons lovingly expanded and then equipped each Lake Theatre auditorium with historically accurate treatments
from the Art Deco era.
have been done without the influence of
interior designer Joseph DuciBella.
“Oh, I don’t know where you’d stop with
Joe,” says Johnson with admiration. “Not
only was he a licensed interior decorator,
but his first love was art deco and historic
theaters. He was a founding member of the
Theatre Historical Society. We started working
with him in ’82 or ’83 and from then
until he passed away in 2007.”
Acting as both artist and archeologist,
DuciBella brought his signature design
sensibilities to several theaters under the
Classic Cinemas banner by borrowing,
swapping and digging up treatments and
artifacts from revered, but far less fortunate
movie houses. “Some of the elements that
are in the theater he found,” says Johnson.
“We have two busts of musicians from the
Southtown Theatre that he found for us, a
chandelier that came from the Will Rogers
Theatre, and statues that came out of the
basement of the Marbro in Chicago.”
Famed L.A. theater architect S. Charles
Lee once said, “The show begins on the sidewalk.”
It’s a notion Classic Cinemas has always
worked to uphold. “I think we learned
it fairly early on, but maybe not early
enough, that people respond to architecturally
significant spaces,” says Johnson. We
want to bring people into movie theaters
that make a statement—and certainly the
older theaters do in a way that no one does
today because you can’t afford it.”
Currently sporting seven auditoriums,
each with its own unique elements, the
expansion and refurbishment of the Lake
was a labor of love that was not without a
few painful kicks to the backside.
“When we were on one of our tours in
England, we visited the Odeon Leicester
Square,” says Johnson. “The place is what
you’d refer to as High Deco. It had some statues
and big wall decorations—ladies with
flowing gowns moving towards the screen.
It really impressed us and when we came
back Joe has copies built.”
The bas-reliefs were massive ornamental
discs, each featuring a single nymph
of ancient Greece. “When they delivered
them it was like the story of the guy that
built the boat in the basement,” laughs
Johnson. “We couldn’t get them in the
auditorium and ended up having to tear
out the door and part of the wall so that
we could get them in.” Now securely in
place and backlit with neon, the mythical
ladies help instill that Art Deco aura to
auditorium number seven.
With the Lake Theatre, Classic Cinemas
recognizes the future of exhibition
as much as it does the past. “Our digital
roots go back to the original Chicken Little
3D excursion,” says Classic Cinemas VP
of Operations, Chris Johnson, Willis’ son.
“At the time there were only four theaters
in all of Illinois that had this technology
and we decided the Lake Theatre would
be perfect spot to put this technology in.
So we installed it and we’re having great
success with it. As time went on, we added
an additional auditorium and now we have
three digital auditoriums and are nearing
the final conversion and adding digital in
all of them.”
On Monday, April 11th, 2011 the Lake
Theatre rang in its 75th Anniversary. Following
a ceremonial ticket-tearing and
cake-cutting, audiences were treated to a
free screening of the Lake’s 1936 premiere
feature, The Ghost Goes West, followed by a
succession of films also screened during the
cinema’s inaugural year.
“The Johnsons may have expanded or
added screens,” says Classic Cinemas Marketing
Manager Mark Mazrimas, “but they
always keep the ambiance of the original
theater—a lot of nice touches, but you
always get that feeling of continuation, like
the whole building has been there for 75–80
years, including the expansions. I’ve always
liked that about our theaters.”
Sadly, many renowned Lamb movie
palaces like the Fox and the Capitol are long
gone, but with the Lake Theatre, Classic Cinemas
helped establish a model that couples
restoration with high-tech revitalization.
A bit of the old, a bit of the new—and all
of it golden.
28 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

SPECIALREPORT
BY J. SPERLING REICH
THE REAL
SOCIAL
NETWORK
Straight talk on making
Twitter and Facebook
work for you
At a time when the conversion
to digital cinema has
many exhibitors struggling
to tell the difference
between a DCP (digital
cinema package) and a KDM (key delivery
message), technology is upending another
aspect of theater owners' businesses
operations: Marketing. In addition
to the standard newspaper and radio
media mix, exhibitors are venturing
into social media marketing where an
evolving set of web-based and mobile
tools are motivating them to learn a
new acronym: SMO, or Social Media
Optimization.
When it comes to advertising,
marketing and brand messaging,
consumers have become skeptical and
discerning. They're aware they're being
sold a pitch, and they rarely trust the
messenger. How social media helps
a business overcome that hurdle is it
enables it to enter into a direct dialogue
with its customers that feels more intimate
and personal. Organizations of all sizes have
found that communicating with their customers
through Facebook or Twitter makes
them more aware of or engaged with the
company or brand.
"The day of telling you what I'm going to
sell you are over, and it's more about what
guests want to buy," says Anita Newton, vice
president of retail and interactive marketing
at AMC Theatres (@amctheatres on Twitter).
"I think it's more of a fundamental shift
in how guests feel about brands. The role of
us as an AMC brand is not to tell you what
to do but to help facilitate a conversation so
you as a guest can have other conversations
with your friends about the things that we
sell."
What Newton means is that simply posting
"marketing speak" on Twitter or adding
special deals to a Facebook page is not the
most effective use of these platforms. In
fact, customers are more averse to marketing
via social media than they are through
traditional mediums. Think of social media
as an ongoing conversation with your customers,
one in which an exhibitor can gain
a patron's trust and build what is referred to
as "social authority." Theater owners using
social media must be perceived as honest
and, well, human to facilitate genuine interactions
in which they both give and receive
information.
"It's really a platform to listen, to learn
and engage our guests—and in the process,
our guests become more loyal to our brand,"
explains Newton. "It's helped us in terms of
loyalty in engaging our guests and giving
them things that are helpful to them."
"It's the most real time that we can get
with our communication," says Joel Cohen,
CEO of web ticketing giant Movietickets.
com. "That's where we really see the impact
because we can change things and there is
no waiting around—it's instantaneous."
Why is social media creating such a stir
in the marketing community and why have
certain exhibitors taken it so seriously? Because
more and more, that's where their
customers are consuming information
and talking with their friends. According
to a 2010 Nielsen study, social networking
accounts for 22 percent of all time spent
online in the United States. In fact, by
December 2009, leading social networking
websites accounted for 25 percent of all
Internet page views, and with the ascent of
Twitter, that number has climbed. And it's
not just teenyboppers or the Generation Y
crowd behind these statistics: in 2010, the
number of social media users over the age of
65 grew more than 100 percent.
"We want to go to places and put our
brand where our guests consume media,"
says Newton says. "Clearly what we're finding
is that guests consume media and have
different interests depending on whether
they are on social channels or on websites."
But let's get specific about Twitter
and Facebook. Twitter is an online
social network and microblogging tool
that allows users to post and read text
messages no longer than 140 characters
in length—and since users can retweet
other user's posts, news travels fast.
The announcement of Steve Jobs' death
triggered a staggering 6,049 tweets per
second; pop star Beyonce's pregnancy
set a record of 8,868. On Twitter, companies
can share links, reward people who
reply or retweet, or sometimes do all at
once like this recent post from
@AMCTheatres, typed in Twitter-speak
to highlight key words: "What @Twilight
movie do you want to see @9:30pm before
#BreakingDawn opens at midnight on Nov
17? Take our poll! http://t.co/fR5U0dxI"
And if you haven't heard of Facebook and
its 750 million users, then you're not in the
exhibition business since it was the subject
of last year's Oscar-nominated hit The Social
Network. Facebook allows businesses to
set up "pages" on which they can publish
information such as promotions, news and
events. Some exhibitors even list showtimes
for all of their theaters on their page. Users
can then "like" a page, which puts updates
from that feed on their homepage. AMC
Theatres for instance has 1.7 million likes
on Facebook. Since 2009, Movietickets.com
30 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

(@movietickets) has gathered more than
59,000 likes and hopes to increase their presence
on Facebook over the coming months.
"We've been evaluating a number of
different ways to integrate our Facebook
page even more into our site," says Joel
Cohen. "From our perspective we are looking
at building in some of the functionality
that exists within our site into our Facebook
page as well, like the ability to more easily
purchase tickets using Facebook as your
point of origin."
One of the benefits of purchasing tickets
directly on Facebook is that users would be
able to quickly and easily invite their friends
to screenings, a ripple effect which could
increase attendance. "In this day and age,
the number one marketing vehicle is to tell
a friend," adds AMC's Newton. "So if you're
talking to a friend about a great movie or a
great theater, it just makes it easier for our
guests to purchase a ticket. Our goal is that
as guests are having conversations about
all of these things, we make it as easy as
possible to interact with our brand and do
business with us."
Companies such as National CineMedia
have used their Facebook page to maintain
ongoing discussions with those who have
attended their Fathom Events (@fathomevents)
screenings. "We also do contests
where we're giving away products that are
associated with the upcoming entertainment
events," says Lauren Leff, Senior
Vice President of PR and Marketing at
NCM. "When we've had events previously
featuring Glenn Beck or other radio and TV
personalities, there may be signed books or
signed DVDs or signed posters that we're
able to do contesting around."
Newton says that Facebook has helped
AMC plan future promotional campaigns.
This past August the company asked their
fans to vote on their ideal concession
promotion. The promotion that received
the most votes was a 50 percent off coupon
for AMC's most popular combo: a large
popcorn and large soda. The promotion was
announced through Facebook and was put
in place two weeks later. "It led to a lot of engagement
among customers as fans debated
among themselves as to what promotion
was best," recounts Newton. "Our guests are
the best arbiters of telling us what is going
to drive them and increase their interest of
AMC."
Charlotte Førli, marketing director of
Oslo Kino in Norway, has found success running
promotions in conjunction with movie
titles. "Right now, we are doing a promotion
with Twilight where in order to obtain information
about the competition, which has a
very nice prize, you need to like our page on
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 31

GROWTH STRATEGIES >
Facebook," she reveals. "As well, in order to
participate in the competition you have to
be a member of our loyalty program. So we
gain likes and members at the same time."
Some marketing experts, however, are
wary of running sweepstakes or giveaways
through Facebook and report that such
practices don't amount to an increase in
meaningful customer engagement. Gordon
Paddison, CEO of Stradella Road, a Los
Angeles based marketing and branding firm
focused on entertainment media properties,
believes sweepstakes are, "great for getting
likes, and for getting people to follow
you on social networks, but it doesn't
necessarily mean that they are transacting.
It just means they are getting
stuff for free so they are showing up.
Whereas finding a way with social
media to have a dialogue and reward
the consumers that are your loyal
consumers—I think that has value."
Cautions Tearlach Hutcheson, director
of marketing at Studio Movie
Grill (@studiomoviegril), another
issue exhibitors should think about
is the fundamental purpose of their
presence on Facebook. "Is your Facebook
page designed to replace your
website or is it designed to direct
people to your website?" he asks.
"You have to remember that with your
Facebook page, it doesn't truly belong
to you. It belongs to Facebook and if they
decide to take you down and off their site,
they can do that. You lose all that engagement
and marketing work you've done
on there, versus your website, which you
control."
Hutcheson also warns against some of
the downsides social media has to offer. "In
engaging your customer, you're also giving
them a platform to gripe," he points out. "It
gives people a forum to make comments
about you, versus if you merely have a
system where people can email in their
thoughts, their complaints, their comments.
Imagine all the emails you get from
your customers are now put out for the
world to see. You're going to have to take
into account that there's going to be a mix
of good comments and a mix of bad comments
made about your company, and both
of those types of comments will be hitting
your social media pages."
In certain instances, handling a
complaint or problem in public can work
work in the exhibitor’s favor. Potential
patrons can view first-hand how much a
theater owner cares about their customers'
concerns, which helps build and maintain
brand equity. "There's a way to talk to a
community of users," explains Paddison. "If
you respond in an open forum to someone,
you are speaking to as many people as view
that information. It's about being transparent
and upfront. There are ways to deal
with things—even with complaints—that
can turn them into positives."
Paddison gave a specific example of
how exhibitors can manage their reputation
even when a complaint isn't directed
specifically at them. "Over the summer
there was a moment when everyone said
3D was failing and theater owners were
turning down the brightness of the bulbs
to save money," Paddison recalls. "Without
being defensive, exhibitors can address
these things appropriately. These are all
ways they can talk to their consumer about
how they're dealing with their business,
their consumer's comfort, things that are
perceptions in the marketplace that aren't
necessarily reflecting the exhibitors' best
interest. You can take control of the story in
a non-defensive way and you can have your
voice there."
While Facebook and Twitter may
be free, Studio Movie Grill's Hutcheson
reminds us that there is a hidden price
to pay for such a high level of customer
engagement. "Remember every single time
you respond to a customer, that takes up
someone's time," he says. "That takes labor
and labor is a cost."
Hutcheson is right. There is one piece
of advice both marketing executives and
social media experts say can't be overstated:
running a successful social media marketing
strategy is incredibly time-consuming.
"Don't be on the Facebook wagon because
people are saying everyone is on Facebook,"
he cautions. "Really make sure it's really
something you want to do and can be committed
to. Go look at one or two other theater
chains that have Facebook pages. Have
a look at how many fans they have relative
to the size of the theater chain and have
a look at how many times they post on a
weekly basis, and that's going to give you
sort of an idea of how much extra work
it takes to maintain social media."
"It does take dedication," agrees
Movieticket's Cohen. "I don't think
you can go into it without having
really researched and without really
having a strategy."
NCM's Leff adds, "It does take
dedicated resources, but a strategy
behind it is really important. It goes
beyond 'Let's set this page up and
then we don't have to do anything
else with it.' It's a constantly evolving,
living, breathing platform that
needs to be monitored and tweaked.
Don't just launch your Facebook page
or your Twitter feed without having
some thoughts and strategies behind
it first. I think it's important to make sure
you understand and discuss and have a
dialogue internally about what your goals
and objectives are with using some of these
social medial tools, what you hope to accomplish."
As a marketing strategist working with
numerous media companies, Paddison
reports that one of the biggest mistakes he
sees companies make with social media is
believing that an intern or inexperienced
personnel can take charge of their campaigns.
He urges clients to get involved and
learn more about the platform. "If you're
the head of an exhibition or distribution
company and you think suddenly you need
some of this social media, a young person
may understand how to tweet and how to
use their phone but they certainly don't
have 40 years of brand experience in dealing
with consumers like you do," he says. "Don't
abdicate your brand to the youngest person
in the room just because they know how to
use their phone. Would you make your dog
the CFO because he can move an abacus
around?”
32 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

MEET THE NEW
CONTENDERS
Social media upstarts
who want a piece of Mark
Zuckerberg’s mojo
Facebook and Twitter are hogging most
of the buzz when it comes to social networking
tools, but they’re not the only games
in town. As a number of exhibitors, there
are other tools that can be just as—if not
more—effective at reaching customers.
But for selecting right one for your cinema
chain depends on your target market, strategy
and overall goals for your social media
campaign.
One of the hottest trends right now is
location-based social networking applications
that allow users to “check-in” to
venues, places and events on GPS-enabled
mobile devices like smart phones and
iPads—users can say where they are and, in
turn, see where and what their friends are
up to. While there are a number of sites like
Gowalla, Brightkite and even a service from
Facebook, the most popular is Foursquare,
a geo-location application that turns the
check-in process into a social game rewarding
users with discounts, rewards and
“badges” marking certain achievements.
For instance, after checking into more
than 10 movie theaters, users are given
the Zoetrope badge. Through the mobile
application, users can see which of the their
Foursquare friends are nearby and be alerted
when one shows up. Users who frequent a
specific establishment can even become its
“mayor.” More importantly, when a user
checks-in they are often presented with a
list of special offers for either that venue or
ones nearby.
Recently Foursquare expanded their
check-in information to include more detail
and in the process launched an events platform.
Movietickets.com, the web ticketing
company, saw this as a perfect opportunity
to partner with Foursquare. “Instead of just
checking in at a particular movie theater,
now you can check into the theater and
you can let your friends know what movie
you’re going to see,” says Joel Cohen, Movietickets’
CEO. “What we’ve integrated into
their platform is the ability to actually purchase
tickets from within the Foursquare
app. Not only can you let someone know
that you’re making plans, but the actual
transaction component now exists within
their app.”
Running promotions and marketing
through location-based social networks is
still very much in its infancy. Most exhibitors
have yet to fully embrace the platforms—they’re
still in the early stages of
investigation. But just as it took Facebook
four years and Twitter three to become serious
social media forces, Cohen believes that
as Foursquare continues to grow, the special
opportunities they offer will become much
more relevant and contextual. “There are a
lot of interesting promotions that I’ve seen
Foursquare do that would be really beneficial
to the theater chains,” he says. “One
that I saw locally is a mayor of a particular
retail establishment got their own parking
spot, which I thought was really innovative.”
Due to the many competing locationbased
social networks, Anita Newton, Vice
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 33

GROWTH STRATEGIES >
President of Retail and Interactive Marketing
at AMC Theatres feels the space faces an overcrowding
risk. She hasn’t found a clear winner
in the bunch, but is giving all of them a
try. “I think it’s important to keep your eye on
the ball in this space, especially as we think
about the extension of mobile,” she says. “For
us, our question is: how do they map to our
objectives? What we are interested in is having
our users, our guests learn about times,
titles, movies and entertainment. There’s an
ongoing debate about the role of brands in
these check-in applications and I think the
picture is still a bit muddy.”
National CineMedia hasn’t begun
working in earnest with location-based
social networks. However, Lauren Leff, the
company’s Senior Vice President of Public
Relations and Communications, says they
have had positive results with two unlikely
professional services: LinkedIn and Scribd.
LinkedIn, a social network for businesses
and professionals, and Scribd, a documentsharing
application, NCM Fathom Business
to reach their target demographic of Fortune
100 companies to hold business meetings
and corporate seminars in movie theaters
during non-peak hours. “Social media platforms
like LinkedIn and Scribd are perfect
vehicles for us trying to communicate with
other marketers and potential clients in the
professional community,” says Leff. “We
also use Twitter and Facebook with that
business, but we found that LinkedIn and
Scribd can be even better vehicles.”
Another group of marketing platform
that exhibitors are approaching with caution
are the “deal-of-the-day” websites that
send subscribers a daily offer that slashes
an average of 50 percent off of a restaurant
or activity. Groupon and Living Social are
the two most popular of these services,
each with tens of millions of consumers
signed up to receive daily emails promoting
discounts and gift certificates that can be
purchased and used at local or national businesses.
There is usually a time limit both to
purchase the discount as well as to redeem
it at the retail level, and Groupon has the
added twist of required a certain number
of people to agree to purchase the offer
otherwise the deal is off and nobody winds
up with the deep discount.
An interesting factoid about group
buying services that is rarely publicized is
their fulfillment rate—it’s a better deal for
businesses than you might expect. Groupon
reports that less than 75 percent of
their purchased coupons are ever actually
redeemed at retail before they expire. That
means retailers are pocketing 25% of their
Groupon sales without ever having to offer
that product or service. However, there
is a good reason why you don’t see, and
may never see, a lot of exhibitors working
with the likes of Groupon or Living Social;
studios don’t appreciate or approve when
theater owners discount the price of movie
tickets.
However, last March, Lionsgate used
Groupon to offer $6 tickets to their Matthew
McConaughey thriller The Lincoln Lawyer.
The studio sold 190,000 tickets, less than a
quarter of which were actually used, meaning
that the gamble made $900,000 just on
filmgoers who didn’t even go to see the film.
And of buyers who actually showed up to
the theater, 89 percent said they wouldn’t
have seen The Lincoln Lawyer without the
Groupon discount. A curious success, but
enough of one that exhibition’s experimentation
with Groupon continues.
Ryan Noonan, Director of Public Relations
at AMC, says the chain has never
worked with Groupon and has no plans to
do so. “You’ll see Groupon advertising our
tickets for $4 but we don’t actively partici-
34 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

pate with them like a typical business does,”
says Noonan. “We can’t discount our tickets.
They come and they buy our bulk tickets at
typical retail price and they discount it on
their own. Usually it’s an attempt to gather
email addresses or get more users. It’s more
of a marketing initiative on their side.”
One of Groupon’s latest initiatives is
Groupon Now. Through Groupon’s mobile
app, users can see what short-term deals are
around them at that very moment. These
coupons, which can be purchased directly
through a user’s smartphone, usually expire
within a few hours or by the end of the
day. The idea behind such a service is to
give businesses a real-time method to attract
nearby customers on a slow day.
“The biggest dilemma you’ll have with
Groupon or Living Social or any of these
companies is the way that you can actually
go through and redeem the bar codes and
prove that people haven’t been copying
them and how much that slows down your
concession lines or your box office lines,”
says Tearlach Hutcheson, director of marketing
for Studio Movie Grill. “Groupon has an
app for the iPhone where a merchant can
type in the code to make sure it hasn’t been
used before. That has a major impact on
your business.”
A final example of a marketing strategy
that may at first seem a little unorthodox—
even retro—is blogging. The job description
of a theater owners is to exhibit content, not
create it, but as AMC is proving, the concept
has merit. As part of their MovieWatcher
Network, AMC established a blog that
features a group of journalists providing the
latest movie news on a daily basis. There
are celebrity interviews, announcements
about future releases, trailers and just about
everything a movie lover might want to
read about. (Of course, you won’t find any
film reviews on the blog—why risk panning
the very films you’re trying to entice people
to see in your theaters?)
“When you think about it, our guest’s
first experience with a movie isn’t when
they walk in the theater,” explains AMC’s
Newton. “It’s happened several days or
weeks before when they’ve had a conversation
with their friends about it with whatever
social media channel they’re using. Our
job is to help augment and engage that guest
in an entertaining fun way before they ever
set foot in the theater. To us, it feels like a
real natural extension of what we’d offer.
Our guests have told us that they’re really
interested in that kind of thing. We want
to make sure to have that kind of content
where that guest is naturally living which
is not only on our Facebook page but on our
website page as well. We’re not just in the
movie business, we’re in the entertainment
and guest experience business. We think
about it holistically and anything we can
do to make that experience more enjoyable
before they go to the theater and then after
we feel it’s part of the purchase process and
excitement about the movies.”
From a technical perspective, adding
a blog to its website was a brilliant move
for AMC as it increases the chain’s search
engine optimization (SEO), i.e., makes AMC
even more present during Google searches.
Each blog post is yet another page for
a search engine to catalogue and for third
party websites to link to. If moviegoers are
searching for information on the latest Brad
Pitt film, one of the results Google will spit
out at them very well may be from AMC’s
blog. And when visitors arrive at the blog,
they are greeted not only by the news story
they were seeking, but also links and advertisements
for AMC’s theaters, showtimes
and concessions.
AMC is treading a fine line by marketing
so overtly through its blog. Rick Calvert,
CEO of BlogWorld, an annual conference
for bloggers, podcasters and social media
experts explains, “You can’t use a blog or
Twitter or Facebook or any of those other
social channels to broadcast a sales message.
You can’t force somebody to come to your
blog. They’ve made a conscious choice to
come there. Unless you’ve tricked them with
some bait-and-switch content and then when
they come to your site they see a commercial
and leave. Not only is that ineffective—it
doesn’t have the positive effect you want—it
has a negative effect. You’ve upset your
customer. The right way to do it is to provide
content your consumer is interested in.”
Social media is often credited as the
savior of modern marketing, but exhibitors
should be wary of thinking of it as a silver
bullet solution. Reminds Hutcheson of Studio
Movie Grill, sometimes the best way to
communicate with your patrons is through
plain old email. “What is the lifespan of putting
a comment up on Facebook?” he asks.
“How many people are going to sit there on
Facebook and keep scrolling through until
they get to your message, versus if I send
you an email that sits in your email in box
until you’re ready to read it?”
X4D Motion EFX
Cinema Seats
Coming To
a Cinema
Near You!
A complete immersive
movie-going experience.
Seats that move to the exact
motion on the screen.
Standard effects include
seat transducers and wind.
Call for details or visit:
www.x4dexperience.com
sales@mediamation.com
+1 310.320.0696
© 2011 MediaMation, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 35

PREVENTION IS THE BEST MEDICINE
Technicolor’s Certifi3D Program says there’s no excuse for bad 3D conversions
In January of 2011, Technicolor began doing
2d to 3d conversions. Was that a nobrainer
or a cause for caution? Technicolor
has a solid reputation, but 3d conversion has
been blamed for everything from a waning
interest in 3d to the death of Amelia Earhart.
Conversions have the negative stereotype
of being hastily completed on films not
shot for 3d. Public mistakes like Clash of the
Titans and The Last Airbender are a recipe
for ticket buyers’ remorse and have hurt
the reputation of 3d among consumers. But
conversion can be done well—even Avatar
had two-dozen converted shots—and highminded
directors like Werner Herzog (Cave
of Forgotten Dreams), Wim Wenders (Pina)
and soon, Martin Scorsese (Hugo) have faith
in its magic. Certifi3d, Technicolor’s new
certification program, was created to ensure
a standard of quality in the field. The head
of their training camp is Vice
President Pierre “Pete” Routhier,
an affable French Canadian, former
aerospace engineer and the
foremost expert on stereoscopic
ALEFT
imagery at Technicolor—when
he says a movie’s “bad,” he
What is it?
means it might make you sick.
and right images
What causes it?
Pete’s lecture at the inaugural
Palo Alto Film Festival
How to fix it?
was a preventative primer for
local filmmakers and 3d techs.
While 3d seems too pricy and
A
LEFT
prestigious for small filmmakers
to produce, in actuality the
What is it?
in one of the images
What causes it?
tools are as rent-able as any old
How to fix it?
Bolex, if more complex. But
stereoscopic imagery is still
a high-maintenance luxury;
even if the tools are available
to more than studio higher-ups
What is it?
they still require the know-how
viewed comfortably
What causes it?
to use them right—like the 3d
How to fix it?
image itself, the technical strictures
of 3d are amplified. And
3D space
shooting footage for 3d means
abandoning many of the traditional
tricks of the 2d trade—or
AA
B
LEFT
What is it?
rather, swapping the old tricks
What causes it?
for new ones. But if filmmakers
doesn’t design their shoot
How to fix it?
for 3d, they must then fix the
1. Alignment/Geometry
Improper vertical alignment of left
Camera/lens not matched
properly in production
Geometry realignment
5. Contamination
Dust, water, dirt or other particles
Challenging environment, lenses/mirror
not cleaned thoroughly
Dust removal techniques
9. Hyperdivergence
Objects are too far back to be
Improper camera settings or objects going
beyond the safe 3D zone
13. Visual Mismatch
Elements within a 3D composition that do
not match left and right
3D compositing error
by Sara Maria Vizcorrondo
image in the conversion, which costs extra
time and money.
“There is no shallow depth of field in 3d
because it mimics the tendency of the eye to
focus,” says Routhier. “Instinctively, what’s
closer to you is an opportunity or a threat
in nature. In 3d your eye is drawn to that. If
you change focus mid-shot, the image will
‘breathe,’ which makes it look like a vacillation
of shape, size, focus, identity.” That’s
just one of a dozen crucial errors that a 3dconverted
film must prevent.
3d is felt in the number of pixels used to
distinguish the filmed object in “negative
space,” i.e., the space between the viewer
and the screen. The average 3d film is shot to
distinguish a body in space by 50 pixels, but
a director more sensitive to 3d will choose
a lower pixel rate for shallower depth. M.
Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender, used
TECHNICOLOR’S 15-POINT CERTIFI3D CHECKLIST
VS.
Pull convergence forward or compress the
VS.
Fix composition. Cannot be fixed on
the final image without significant
post-production work
A
RIGHT
A
RIGHT
AA
RIGHT
2. Luminance/Colorimetry
What is it?
Left image is brighter, darker or of a
different hue than right image
What causes it?
Cameras not matched and/or beam
splitter diffraction
How to fix it?
Color adjustment
6. Sync/Genlock
LEFT
A
LEFT
What is it?
Left and right images are not time accurate
What causes it?
Non-genlocked cameras or editing error
How to fix it?
Sync: Re-edit. Genlock issues
cannot be fixed without significant
post-production work
10. Edge Mismatch
A
LEFT
What is it?
Left and right eye side edges not matching,
either due to the addition of “floating”
windows or beam splitter box
How to fix it?
Remove floating windows
14. 2D to 3D Ratio
A
LEFT
What is it?
Too many shots in 2D to qualify the show as
genuine 3D
What causes it?
Lack of 3D content
VS.
A
How to fix it?
Replace non-stereo content with
stereo content
A
RIGHT
RIGHT
A
RIGHT
RIGHT
A
3. Depth of Field
A
LEFT
What is it?
Focus not matching in the left and right eye
What causes it?
Different aperture settings/non-matching
lens focal values
How to fix it?
Cannot be fixed without significant postproduction
work or blurring the focused
image to match
7. Full Reverse Stereo
RIGHT
What is it?
Left and right images are swapped
What causes it?
Data management or editing error
How to fix it?
Swap left and right images
11. Partial Reverse Stereo
LEFT
What is it?
Some of the layers in a 3D composition are
reversed left and right
What causes it?
3D compositing error
VS.
VS.
How to fix it?
Swap incorrect layers in compositing.
Cannot be fixed on the final image without
significant post-production work
15. High Contrast
RIGHT
LEFT
RIGHT
technicolor.com
What is it?
Reflections on shiny objects not
matching the left and right images
What causes it?
Beam splitter polarization, camera angles
How to fix it?
Cannot be fixed without significant postproduction
work
What is it?
Objects are too close to the viewer’s eye to
be viewed comfortably
What causes it?
Improper camera settings or object going
beyond the safe 3D zone
How to fix it?
Push convergence back, or compress the
3D space
What is it?
Elements within a 3D composition are not in
the correct depth to the scene
What causes it?
3D compositing error
How to fix it?
Fix composition. Cannot be fixed on
the final image without significant
post-production work
What is it?
An element deep inside or far out of
the window in high contrast with its
environment, creating a double image
on the display
What causes it?
Refresh rate of the display device/partial
separation of left and right images by the
3D glasses
How to fix it?
Reduce contrast, change convergence or
compress the 3D space
Technicolor
2255 North Ontario Street, Suite 350
Burbank, CA 91504, USA
Telephone: +1 818 260 2615
3d with a 10 pixel rate of depth, one-fifth
the norm—and a big fraction of why fans
were unimpressed with the film’s 3d. Joked
Routhier, “While Shyamalan is sensitive to
3d, his audience is sensitive to boredom.”
3d has become so widespread that it’s
inescapable. Last month, Routhier found
a pair of glasses for sale on Amazon that
downgrade 3d to 2d. Why someone would
want them is debatable, but for filmmakers,
so is the pressure to convert. And for Routhier,
it’s personal: when he took his wife and
kids to The Smurfs, they didn’t see the added
value of the 3d and ditched the upgrade for
a 2d screening. (“I work with 3d, but they
don’t have to … they probably wouldn’t have
liked The Smurfs in 3d, either.”) Yet animation
is the only arena in which you can
achieve a perfect 3d presentation. For a liveaction
3d conversion, a single camera captures
a single image which is
deconstructed and reassembled
into stereo images by cgi artists
and sophisticated software,
which is why it can take several
A
RIGHT costly months to accomplish.
The 3d will only be as good as
time and talent will allow. By
contrast, the images in 3d animated
films is ‘shot’ with two
virtual ‘cameras’ that can be
placed and manipulated with
extreme precision, almost perfectly
mimicking the actions
and parallax view of a pair of
human eyes.
“Gulliver’s Travels was
rushed through convergence
in two months and it’s the kind
of thing that makes crowds say
‘This is a waste of our money’
and they blame the entirety of
3d,” says Routhier. “For most
families who can go in and
spend $60 on tickets and popcorn,
they don’t know Dolphin
Tale is bad—we just ruined
3d for them.” Those cautionary
tales are preventable. And
Routhier and Certifi3d want to
make sure the entire industry
sees that fact clearly.
4. Reflections, Polarization, Flares
LEFT
VS.
8. Hyperconvergence
12. Depth Mismatch
36 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

www.sylvania.com/cinema
1.57 OSRAM GmbH, CRM CC, 81536 Munich
Always an impressive performance.
XBO ® Xtreme Life.
XBO ® Xtreme Life lamps ensure that long movie nights always run smoothly. With an up to
50% longer warranty and at the same price, the new standard for cinema projection lighting
also offers “Xtreme” brightness, reliability and technology. It’s never too late for a change to
XBO ® Xtreme lamp performance.
For more information, please go to our website: www.sylvania.com/cinema, call
888-677-2627 in the U.S. or email ncscsmfo@sylvania.com.

NEW PRODUCTS
BALLANTYNE STRONG INC.
Strong introduces an industry wide compatible
Library Management System for use with Theater
Management Software. The LMS is suited for
cinema complexes from one to 30 screens that
are compatible with various Virtual Print Fee programs.
Assembled with the best components,
factory configured for easy install and supported
by Strong’s 7/24/365 Hotline & NOC (Network
Operations Center).
Ballantyne Strong Inc.
Mailing Address: 4350 McKinley Street, Omaha, NE 68112
Phone: (402) 453-4444 or (800) 424-1215
Fax: (402) 453-7238
Email: troy.james@btn-inc.com
Website: www.strong-world.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #403
C. CRETORS AND
COMPANY
C. Cretors and Company, the
leading designer and manufacturer
of food processing and
concession equipment for over
126 years, introduces the OriginateAir,
the latest addition to
its hot air popping and puffing
equipment line. Designed for
caramel corn shops and other
concession locations, the OriginateAir
continuously pops and puffs up to 40 pounds of popcorn
or other healthy snacks per hour. The stainless steel popper
is a smaller version of Cretors’ original Model 80 Continuous
Hot Air Popper, measuring in at 34”D x 59” W x 63” H.
C. Cretors and Company
Mailing Address: 3243 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL 60618
Phone: (773) 588-1690
Fax: (773) 588-7141
Email: SOlesen@cretors.com
Website: www.cretors.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #611
DOLBY
The new Dolby 3D kids glasses
provide the same lightweight,
reusable design as the adult
model, but are optimized to fit
the smaller head sizes of children
three years old and up. These eco-friendly glasses deliver
a premium quality visual performance and are compatible with
Dolby 3D systems currently installed. The glasses come in fun,
kid-friendly green and are equipped with Sensormatic and
RFID tags. The glasses are available now at a list price of $12
or lower when purchased with a Dolby 3D bundle.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc
Mailing Address: 100 Potrero Avenue,
San Francisco, CA 94103 USA
Phone: (415) 558-0200
Fax: (415) 863-1373
Email: joshua.gershman@dolby.com
Website: www.dolby.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #803
DOLPHIN
SEATING
Dolphin Seating presents
the Falcon rocker back
cinema seat. Designed
to maximize seat count
and customer comfort for
$99, a price that includes
deluxe moving cup holder
arms along with the
longest factory warranty
available in the business. The Falcon is available in a rocker or
fixed back and for stadium or slope floor installation.
Dolphin Seating
Mailing Address: 313 Remuda St., Clovis, NM. 88101 USA
Phone: (575) 762-6468
Fax: (575) 763-0440
Email: info@dolphinseating.com
Website: www.dolphinseating.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #925
EMBEDDED PROCESSOR DESIGNS
The PlexCall Audio Alert provides an audible reminder beep
that lets kitchen staff or servers know that a customer needs
service. This is the latest in a series of PlexCall notification
products that include illuminated call buttons, seat map monitors,
call lights, pagers, and email. PlexCall’s array of options
enables servers and managers to provide the best possible
service.
Embedded Processor Designs Inc.
Mailing Address: 1301 Sand Hill Road, Building 300
Candler, NC 28728
Phone: (866) 903-7337
Fax: (828) 665-6782
Email: cpollak@epdesignsinc.com
Website: www.EPDesignsinc.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #519
GREYSTONE
Greystone provides
quality seating products.
Cinema seating is a large
investment and becomes
exponentially more expensive
if chairs are a
maintenance hassle or
need replacement after
five or ten years of use. Greystone is committed to ensuring
our chair is a one-time purchase that offers maximum return
on investment. Once the chair is installed, it is designed to last
decades in any auditorium.
Greystone Public Seating
Mailing Address:7900 Logistic Drive, Zeeland MI 49464
Phone: (616) 931-1114
Fax: (616) 931-1119
Email: seating-sales@gsseats.com
Website: www.gsseats.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #1012
JBL
Today’s cinemas require perfect coverage in every seat of the
auditorium, wide dynamic range and extended bandwidth,
as well as inaudible levels of distortion. Digital soundtracks
require sound systems for premier auditoriums that can ac-
38 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

Perfect
together.
From stadiums to beach resorts and everything
in between – wherever food meets fun, trust PCI
for your food packaging needs.
Discover great PCI service and our superior range
of stock and custom design packaging – including
leakproof popcorn bags, foil bags, 2 and 4 cup drink
holders, pizza boxes and a wide range of food trays.
Perfect for your event, perfect for your customers.
PCI and you – a perfect match.
To find out more simply call 314-329-9700
or email info@packagingconceptsinc.com
greener, cleaner packaging concepts
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
Eco Select ® is a trademark
of Wausau Paper Mills, Inc.

NEW PRODUCTS
curately reproduce the
sound exactly as recorded.
The 3730 ScreenArray
provides smooth and
accurate reproduction of
cinema soundtracks in a
compact and very cost
effective system. The
ScreenArray horn features
a patented design that
compensates for high frequency
spreading caused
by perforated screens for
greatly improved audience
coverage.
JBL
Mailing Address: 8500 Balboa Blvd, Northridge CA 91329
Phone: (800) 852-5776
Fax: (818) 830-7807
Email: info@jblpro.com
Website: www.jblpro.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #703
MASTERIMAGE
3D
Introducing the MI-CLARI-
TY3D, a new 3D digital cinema
system from MasterImage
3D designed to provide
the best image quality and
color fidelity in 3D presentation.
Because projection
booths come in many sizes,
the MI-CLARITY3D Cinema
System is made in three
designs: Standalone (SA),
Mezzanine-Free (MX) and
Remote Sliding Head (RH). Additional benefits
include increased light efficiency, full system
automation and improved styling. Our ownership
model provides 3D without ongoing royalties,
license fees or other hidden costs.
MasterImage 3D, Inc.
Mailing Address: 5358 Melrose Avenue, Fourth Floor,
Hollywood, CA 90038
Phone: (323) 606-7800
Fax: (323) 960-8008
Email: peter.koplik@masterimage3d.com
Website: www.MasterImage3D.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #115
MEYER SOUND
The Acheron Designer
screen channel loudspeaker
is the newest addition
to Meyer Sound’s
self-powered EXP cinema
products. Measuring 19
inches wide, 25.37 inches
tall, and 14.62 inches
deep, the Acheron Designer brings the lowdistortion
sonic quality of the other EXP members
to sound design studios and sound editing
suites, as well as private screening rooms
and small theaters. The Acheron Designer has
a peak output of 130 dB SPL and its production
prototypes have been in use by Skywalker
Sound, Bay Films, and 20 th Century Fox Sound
Editorial Department.
Meyer Sound Labs
Mailing Address: 2832 San Pablo Ave. Berkeley, CA 94702
Phone: (510) 486-1166
Fax: (510) 486-8356
Email: winnie@meyersound.com
Website: www.meyersound.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #124
OMNITERM DATA
TECHNOLOGY
Save thousands
of
dollars annually
with
Omniterm’s
new fee gift
card module.
Typically, gift
card systems are linked to third party processors
with fees charged to the theater for each
transaction. On average, fees can range from
10 to 20 cents per transaction, adding up to a
very large annual cost. For theaters that prefer
to manage their own internal gift card system,
Omniterm has developed a secure gift card
module which eliminates transaction fees.
This module is integrated with our Back Office
software, Integra, allowing for theater and
head office level monitoring plus management
reporting of card issuing, redemption
and balances.
Omniterm Data Technology Ltd.
Mailing Address:11- 2785 Skymark Ave,
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4W 4Y3
Phone: (905) 629-4757
Fax: (905) 629i8590
Email: info@omniterm.com
Website: www.omniterm.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #408 & 410
PHILIPS LIGHTING
Philips Digital Cinema Xenon lamps are designed
for the demanding requirements of
today’s digital cinema projectors. Each lamp
is customized by projector model to maximize
projector performance. With the introduction
of the Philips Digital Helios Xenon lamps, Philips
enables end users to optimize their total
cost of ownership no matter which equipment
is used or film format (2D or 3D) is chosen.
Check the Lamp Selector tool on www.philips.
com/lighting/entertainment to see what Philips
lamp fits best in your theater.
Philips Lighting
Mailing Address: 13700 Live Oak Avenue,
Baldwin Park, CA 91706
Phone: (626) 480-0755
Email: entertainment@philips.com
Website: www.philips.com/lighting/entertainment
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #503
PROMOTION IN MOTION
Make theatergoers
melt with
a new kind of
treat: Bake
Shoppe Cookie
Dough Miniatures:
bite-size,
shelf-stable cookie dough morsels made with
real butter in the batter. Bake Shoppe Cookie
Dough Miniatures are egg-free, contain no
hydrogenated oils and taste like pure milk
chocolate.
Promotion in Motion, Inc.
Mailing Address: 3 Reuten Drive, PO Box 558, Closter NJ
07624
Phone: (201) 784-5800
Fax: (201) 784-1010
Email: leustic@promotioninmotion.com
Website: www.promotioninmotion.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #921F
PROSTAR INDUSTRIES
ProStar Industries’
Spot-Xtract is a highly
portable carpet
and upholstery extractor
from Sandia.
The slide-out handle
and built-in wheels
are designed to get
into every corner. The three gallon commercial
model comes with a 4” upholstery tool
and can be combined with optional four foot
floor wand. This Sandia Spotter provides great
performance, ease of use and superior results.
ProStar Industries
Mailing Address: 1590 N. Harvey Mitchell Pkwy
Bryan, Texas 77803
Phone: (800) 262-7104
Fax: (979) 779-7616
Email: ruth@prostarind.com
Website: www.prostarindustries.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #723
RETRIEVER SOFTWARE
Retriever Software introduces an automated
media delivery system for our Retriever Media
signage system.
Through a
partnership with
Pelican Productions
(www.pelicanprod.com),
a
leading industry
40 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

NEW PRODUCTS
supplier of title art to the theater industry,
theater operators can now import movie images,
trailers, digital posters and customized
concession menus, directly into their Retriever
Media signage system. The artwork is directly
associated with the shows playing on your
schedule, so images will appear automatically
on the digital displays once the films are
scheduled. Retriever Software and Pelican
Productions will automate your theater signage
with eye-catching graphical information
on flat screen video monitors throughout your
facility.
Retriever Software Inc.
Mailing Address: 2525 South Broadway
Denver, CO 80210
Phone: (888) 988-4470
Fax: (722) 212-0197
Email: phil@RetrieverSoftwareInc.com
Website: www.RetrieverSoftwareInc.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #419
SCHULT
Introducing
Smartbrite
Infinity
Signage &
Displays,
now available
in 3D
and multiple
sign and
display formats, including the popular XL LED
Display. View the latest in Smartbrite energysaving
poster cases, menu systems and décor
signage at www.schult.com, along with our
digital signage, enclosures, surrounds and
branding elements. To schedule an onsite
design meeting, contact Allison or Rhonda at
1.800.783.8998
Schult
Mailing Address: 900 NW Hunter Drive
Blue Springs, MO 64015
Phone: (816) 874-4600
Fax: (816) 874-4607
Email: anicponski@schult.com, jdurwood@schult.com
Website: www.schult.com
TASTE OF NATURE
Taste of
Nature, Inc
has begun
shipping
Chocolate
“Chipwrecked”
Cookie
Dough Bites to movie theaters. This product
is another expansion of the Cookie
Dough Bites line and will be available along
with an Alvin and the Chipmunks Fruit
Gummies candy for kid packs. Chocolate
“Chipwrecked” Cookie Dough Bites are a
play on Taste of Nature’s popular Cookie
Dough Bites candies, which were originally
introduced as a movie theater candy
in 1997. The Chocolate “Chipwrecked”
Cookie Dough Bites consist of egg-free
raw chocolate-chip cookie dough covered
in creamy milk chocolate and are adorned
with graphics from the upcoming Alvin and
the Chipmunks Movie Chipwrecked which
arrives in theaters on December 16.
Taste of Nature, Inc.
Mailing Address: 2828 Donald Douglas Loop N, Suite A
Santa Monica, CA 90405
Phone: (310) 396-4433
Fax: (310) 396-4432
Email: s.samet@candyasap.com
Website: www.candyasap.com
TEXAS DIGITAL SYSTEMS
Texas Digital
(now a
part of NCR
Corporation)
recently
released the
latest version
of its digital
signage solution,
VitalCAST 2.10. The new version includes
priority site check-in now enhancements, an
element that allows users to display menu
items exactly as desired in mosaics, and the
ability to drag and drop content plans into
schedules. VitalCAST currently interfaces with
95 percent of POS systems available.
Texas Digital Systems, Inc.
Mailing Address: 400 Technology Parkway College Station,
TX 77845
Phone: (979) 693-9378
Fax: (979) 764-8650
Email: smedlin@txdigital.com
Website: www.txdigital.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #815
TITAN TECHNOLOGY
GROUP
Titan introduces
the CinemaTixs
ticketing
and POS
essentials
package,
complete
with
ticketing,
concession, online sales, and 24/7 support via
Titan’s online portal. CinemaTixs is preconfigured
to meet the needs of a single site or
small, multi-site cinema exhibitor seeking a
cost-efficient, easy to use system. CinemaTixs
allows for easy installation and fast training
and makes purchases as convenient and safe
with reduced transaction times and integrated
real time credit card, stored value gift card
and patron loyalty processing in a PA-DSS and
PCI compliant environment.
Titan Technology Group
Mailing Address: 254 West 31st St., 12 th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Phone: (917) 777-0959
Fax: (917) 777-0961
Email: info@TitanTechGroup.com
Website: www.TitanTechGroup.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: #715
TIVOLI
Tivoli is
pleased to introduce the
Monogram LED Surface or Seat Mounted
Row Indicator—a two LED design with a 50
percent larger window—for edge-lit, nonintrusive,
illumination of letters or numbers
for row indication. With new lens etching
on a black background for highly visible
illumination of characters and multiple lines
of alphanumeric text possible with wide
window for additional seat and row graphics,
up to two rows. Assorted font types are
available, along with six LED color choices.
Fits stationary or pivot arm, hard or fabric
surface mount, right or left sided angled or
flush mounting options.
Tivoli LLC
Mailing Address: 15602 Mosher Ave, Tustin, CA 92780
Phone: (714) 957-6101
Fax: (714) 427-3458
Email: iLovit@tivolilighting.com
Website: www.tivolilighting.com
BOOTH NUMBER AT SHOWEAST: SUITE 3
USL
USL, Inc. and Cine Gen-
esis are pleased to introduce
their Remote
Theatre Manager
System. This new
handheld remote
device can control
an entire digital
theater projection
system with a
touch of a finger.
This System
utilizes a modular
approach that
allows direct communication
with your digital
cinema equipment and is compatible with
both new construction and existing theaters,
both boothless or mezzanine design.
42 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

THE
TWILIGHT
SAGA:
BREAKING
DAWN—
PART I
THE BIG PICTURE
44

HERE
COMES
THE BRIDE
Steel yourself for Twilight's
wildest sequel
by Amy Nicholson
Kids grow up so fast. Three Novembers
ago, Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward
(Robert Pattinson) first made eyes at each
other across a high school cafeteria. We all
know what happended next: teen vampire
love and $1.8 billion in global ticket sales.
Breaking Dawn Part I is the fourth film in the
series and the first of a two-part climax shot
simultaneously to release in November of
this year and 2012. Fans know what happens:
after break-ups, near-suicides and a
love triangle with local shirtless werewolf Jacob
(Taylor Lautner) Bella and Edward finally
tie the knot at the ripe old ages of 18 and
110. But on their honeymoon, Bella discovers
she's pregnant … with a fast-growing
half-vampire child who's feeding—literally—
off of her mother. The birth nearly kills the
slender human, forcing her new husband to
save his bride's life by turning her into an
immortal vampire. It's heady stuff and tough
to pull off with a PG-13 rating, but director
Bill Condon and star Kristen Stewart think
Breaking Dawn Part I is Twilight's most
intense installment yet. Get ready for a teen
invasion, cause everyone's invited to this
white (and blood red) wedding.
TURN PAGE TO READ OUR EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEWS WITH STAR KRISTIN
STEWART AND DIRECTOR BILL CONDON
45

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
Wild romance
Kristen Stewart on love, marriage, pregnancy—
and saying goodbye to the role that made
her a global megastar
INTERVIEW BY AMY NICHOLSON BEGINS ON PAGE 48
46 BOXOFFICE OFFI
FI
EP
PRO
NOVEMBER ER
2011

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
What's it like working on a film where people are so fascinated
by the tiny details? However you and your hair designer
decide to style your hair for the wedding, thousands of girls
are going to copy it for their own wedding or prom.
It's funny. It's something you have to put out of your mind while
you're working, or else it's incredibly heavy, it weighs you down.
You want to do something that is clear to you. But at the same time,
it makes it exciting, like, "I hope they like it!" I'm also on their level:
I'm just as worried about how the hair is going to look. It's just not
normal for other people to be as concerned about something that
you're concerned about on the movie. Usually, people don't know,
people don't care. It's unique, really unique in that way. I've never
experienced that on another project.
Knowing that other people take your role as seriously as you
do—it's kind of a great confluence of actor and audience.
Yeah. It really is pretty amazing, and it's so different. I've had a
taste of it in a couple movies, but this case was the most extreme.
Playing real people, you get a similar experience. With Joan Jett
[in The Runaways] and then a On the Road, where I play this woman
who's absolutely f--king incredible, LuAnne Henderson [who inspired
the character of Marylou in the novel and film]. That was so
important on a level that had nothing to do with
me. So it's a similar experience. Usually, I
own these parts—they're mine and the
director's and the writer's. But this has
relevance on another level in the real
world.
That's true. Especially with On the
Road, Marylou is based on a real person
but she's also existed in the minds of
readers for six decades. And you've got
the pressure to make them all happy
with your take on that character.
Were there moments during Twinlight
where you were wondering
how much you could make the
character your own?
Having read the books and sitting
down with everyone involved, it's
so funny. People don't love the same
things you love all the time. And
some things I would remember
from the book never existed. It
was odd. Like, that something
had happened to Bella between
films and I would fight tooth and
nail for it, but it wasn't there. I
had made it up. It was something
I had imagined from
between the times that are
there. Which is a strange experience,
especially when you're
arguing with the director. Then I'd
go back and read chapter 23 and it wasn't there. It was so weird. But
different things are important to different people and you've got to
choose. And that's what makes the job cool, that's what makes the
movie ours. It's a strange thing. It's owned by so many people at this
point—it has such a huge past and we've had so many directors. I
must sound totally corny and weird, but it's loved by an insanely
diverse and large group of people.
We've culled pictures of Twilight fans posing with their favorite
piece of memorabilia, or posing next to paintings they've
made—sometimes even whole wall murals in their own
house. I love their enthusiasm.
So do I. I always feel this intensely about things I work on, but to
suddenly look up and see that other people do as well, there's nothing
more to say other than that it feels good. It's nice to share that.
On an energy level, that's going to fuel you. It feels cool.
You mentioned all the directors you've been through. That
makes you and Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner the old
guard—you know the characters and this world so well. What
do you tell the directors when they start?
Everyone was so different, it always felt fresh. As much as going
back and working with Rob and Taylor and the rest of the cast and
everyone else who'd been there the whole time was like picking
up where we left off, at the same time we were pretty accepting of
the fact that we were going to
have different directors on every one.
The director, you follow him. He sets the tone 100 percent. I love
that. Feeling lost is
not a cool thing and I rely heavily
on directors. It's the nature of doing the job—I don't
dictate, he does. Everyone genuinely had differ-
ent ideas—not even different ideas, they were
moved by
very different things. The things that
got them off about the project were all very,
very different. That was interesting to see.
How did Bill Condon fit in? What
made him different?
He had this very unobtrusive gentleness.
He's incredibly sweet. It's funny,
now I'm describing him as a character,
but he accepts things that are simple,
and I
feel the same way. Somehow, the
romance is easier to accept in this movie.
Things started to feel genuine again, things
started
to feel real again, because he believed
in them so much. And that's pretty awesome
considering the point in the series
that this movie is at. I think that Bill is
really collaborative and awesome, and
I
think that he really was able to get
that Edward and Bella are united now
and they really do feel, at least to me—
or
they're working on becoming—
whatever the f--k it means to be "adult."
And
it's nice not to see them scrambling
48 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

Bring
[advertorial]
movies
to life
The cinema industry can rely
on Philips lamps to transform
the theatre experience, bringing
movies to life to delight, amaze and
fascinate audiences.
High performance, low cost
Philips Digital Cinema Xenon lamps have a
high light intensity that optimizes on-screen
brightness to produce sharp digital pictures in
brilliant, vivid colors. The robust design also has a
long lifetime to minimize operation costs while
maximizing the cinema experience.
Always a perfect match
Philips works closely with leading projector
manufacturers to ensure that lamp performance
is a perfect match to projector requirements.
And they’re already getting great reviews. Sony,
Barco and NEC have all certified Philips as an
authorized supplier of Digital Cinema Xenon
lamps for their projectors to light up cinema
screens around the world.
The ultimate support
With offices around the globe, there’s always
a Philips Lighting expert close at hand to offer
help and advice. So Philips Lighting can provide
the ultimate support network for cinema lighting
from the opening titles to the final credits.
To find out more about Philips cinema lighting solutions please visit www.philips.com/lighting/entertainment

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
THE PAWN BECOMES A QUEEN
ALWAYS TWILIGHT’S BEAUTY-IN-PERIL, NOW BELLA BECOMES A STRONG FORCE IN VAMPIRE SOCIETY
around and not knowing what the f--k
they're doing. They're incredibly steadfast at
this point, and I feel like I believe it mostly
because of Bill. For whatever reason, it's
hard to make these movies and I like how
this one turned out, I really do.
Which makes sense because this is the
book where things really get real: they
make permanent decisions. Do you
think Bella understands what marriage
means at 18 years old?
Marriage means something so different
to everyone. I think that's just another
step for her. I think it's an interesting
story point that marriage has no regard
for her—she's doing it for him. I get asked
constantly whether I think she's a strong
character, whether I think she's subject
completely to this man and is a mindless
follower. I think it takes a really ballsy
person—and someone who really knows
themselves—to be able to give it up and
know that it's worth it and know that the
person they're doing it with is on the same
level. I just don't really understand why
people approach it from that way. Imagine
if they were both girls or both guys, I think
that Edward would probably be criticized
just as much. They're both kind of lost and
crazy and stupid in the beginning, and in
the end they really have f--king committed
to each other. They both give things up and
lose things. And I don't understand why it's
criticized. Maybe because I've played the
part and worked through it in my head in
every way, but I don't get it.
People look at Romeo and Juliet as this
infatuation story between two stupid
kids, but if they had lived longer, they
might have been able to prove themselves.
Yeah. That was totally circumstantial. You
look back on it and go, "No! Why the f--k did
that have to happen?" Luckily, Edward and
Bella are just a little bit more lucky.
I'm projecting some of my own fears
onto this, but the idea of playing a character
who is pregnant with something
literally otherworldly that's dominating
her from within sounds totally terrifying.
Especially having never been
pregnant yourself.
What was strange was that was my every
inclination playing the scenes, what the first
rehearsal would always end up being. But ultimately,
it became one of my favorite things
to play: this pregnant, feral cat in the corner
of a room who's just like, "Stay the f--k away
from me!" All that matters is what is inside,
and that is awesome. But it took a little bit to
get inside and on that page in a real way. It's
funny, you look down and your instinct is to
be like, "Ugh!" But you can't do that. It hurts,
but it's something that you're willing to take.
And it's f--king weird. It really was like an
alien baby pregnancy. It was so weird to get
all of the logistics right and talking to Stephenie
[Meyer, the author of the Twilight series]
about really weird s--t. About [gestational]
sacs and how you can get through them—
just so many conversations about logistical
pregnancy vampire baby stuff.
You know this character so well, what's
it like to take her through this huge
change when she becomes a vampire
herself?
It felt good. It was really weird. It was such
a long process of the two movies being
shot at the same time as if they're one. You
shoot, obviously, out of order and you keep
going back and forth between pregnant,
human and dead vampire Bella. There's so
many different versions of Bella in this, it's
insane. It was a strange experience walking
on set the first time I played a scene as
a vampire because I'd watched everyone
around me doing it all the time. I sound so
lame, but vampire Bella really is my favorite
character—she's very representative of a
matriarch. She's very intuitive on almost a
psychic level and no one ever acknowledges
it, which is interesting. Maybe that says
something about Stephenie that she doesn't
get respect for all of her f--king amazing
qualities. And that's also one of the things
that makes her appealing to me, so that's
not a strike at it—that's something that I
like about it. And I think it's nice to see her
finally get what she wants. That's probably
the best thing, even if it sounds simple and
indulgent, which is why the f--king thing is
criticized all the time. It's nice to see people
be happy. And she really—if I've played it
right—is born to be where she is.
Tell me about the morning after the
last day of shooting whee you woke up
knowing you'll never go back to that set.
You literally go through a range of every
50 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
single emotion. I didn't care, and then ten
minutes later I'd care a lot. I think it's different
on every movie, and obviously this it's
going to be the most heightened. Luckily I
don't have to say goodbye to anyone. That's
different. Usually, you kind of know at the
end of a five week thing that you're not going
to hold on to every single relationship that
you form on these little movies, and I've done
a lot of those. But Twilight's been a unique
experience. It wasn't like saying goodbye to
everyone and how sad that is. It's more like
that you feel done. You feel like you've done
your job. And obviously, it's been a long process
and I can't just generally say, "Oh yeah!
I was completely happy!" It's definitely been
torturing me for a little while. At the end of
the day, I really f--king love it. I can't wait for
these two to come out. I feel like we really
take it up a notch.
You started acting at nine and already
had your own career before Twilight. And
between Twilight films, you've pursued
your own daring films like The Runaways
[as Joan Jett] and Welcome to the Rileys
[as a homeless teen hooker]. Now working
with child actresses like Mackensie
Foy [cast as Bella's fast-growing vampire
daughter] who is the same age now that
you were then, what advice can you give
about carving out their own career?
It's tough to say. I've done what I've done, and
it feels like a lot. But at the same time, I feel so
young, so it's weird for me to spout out stuff
or give advice. It makes me cringe a little bit.
But if I personalize it, I think it's pretty important
not to do anything that doesn't feel right.
People do things constantly in this business
that they do not believe in, and that's obviously
where people make huge errors. Even if
I make a bad movie, I look back and go, "Well,
that thing didn't necessarily turn out the way
I wanted it, or it could have been better, but
I loved the experience and it was something
that was worthwhile. Basically—and this is
so lame—but if you follow your heart, you're
never going to regret anything, even if you
completely mess up constantly. Whenever I
hear anyone giving acting advice, it's either
really vague and general like, "Follow your
dreams," which is basically what I'm saying,
or actual agent-y weird s--t that I have absolutely
no idea about.
Corny advice is corny because it's true.
Exactly. In most cases.
You're shooting Snow White and the
Huntsman right now which imagines
Snow White as this warrior princess.
What's her fighting style like?
Not to trivialize it at all, but it's hard to play
an action hero who is also the most compassionate
person on earth. You can't hate. You
epitomize bleeding hearts, so how the f--k
do you do an action movie like that? She is
sort of the last shred of hope for her land.
She has this ethereal, spiritual connection
to her people—she really feels things—and
so it's like we don't really feel empathy. I've
had some f--king eye-opening experiences
on this movie. I think that to truly care for
something isn't just putting yourself in that
situation aesthetically and then going, "Oh
my god, I feel so bad for them." It's truly not
thinking of yourself at all. The way that you
fight is that you must take out anything
that hurt your people. Basically, I'm fighting
evil—I'm fighting the most evil motherf-
-kers—and it's fine that they're being killed.
It's anguish. It's literally f--king anguish. She
takes absolutely no pleasure in ever hurting
anything. I'm exhausted right now and I was
thinking, "The fight stuff is coming up, maybe
that won't be so bad." And then I realized
that they're probably going to be my most
emotional scenes because I'm killing people
and I'm Snow White. It's a really f--king cool
way to approach a movie where so many
people die. Not that I'm criticizing violent
movies—I love them, generally—but it is
nice to do it this way.
You're the type of fighter who would
take a bullet.
Yeah, and also very impulsive. She hasn't
learned how to fight—she's just smart,
she's just fast. If you're smarter than someone
and you're not scared and you know
you're doing it for the right reasons, it
doesn't matter how big you are: you could
probably f--k them up. She's a weird kind
of savant. She has to kind of click off her
mind. You either have to completely feel it
or completely turn it off and just slaughter
people. Which is awful, but they're the bad
guys, so whatever.
OUR EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
WITH DIRECTOR BILL CONDON
BEGINS ON PAGE 54
52 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
TIME TO TUCK IN
CONDON SHOOTS A BEDROOM SCENE WITH
HIS YOUNG NEWLYWEDS
EVERYTHING’S AT STAKE
Director Bill Condon on Twilight’s bloody crazy two-part climax
by Amy Nicholson
This must be the first time in your
career that there are videos of people
crying after watching your trailer.
That is true! [Laughs] I love them, I love
them all. They’re so great.
What was it like to get that call that you
were chosen to direct the climax to the
huge Twilight franchise—word is you
beat out Gus Van Sant?
It felt like a process more than a call. I was
into it and it felt like we had a connection,
especially with Stephenie. All of us felt like
we were on the same page about it, which
was good. It was good—that’s the main
thing I can say.
Well, you’re about to become a lot more
popular with teenage girls. Even your
future projects will get a boost—Chris
Weitz [the director of New Moon] was
saying that the Twilight fan base was invaluable
in getting the word out about
his new indie film A Better Life.
That’s interesting. That’s good to know. I
was curious about that, whether anything
extends beyond Twilight. But that’s good to
hear from him.
You’re on their radar for life. We interviewed
Robert Pattinson a while back
and he said the only other director he
could imagine handling the blood of
Breaking Dawn was David Cronenberg
[The Fly, Naked Lunch].
And then he went to work for him! [In
2012’s Cosmopolis] But I know what he
means because it is very, very intense in the
last part—it’s almost like a horror movie.
And he’s certainly delivered the most intense
images in the last decade or so. I tried
to get my Cronenberg on a little bit and I
think within the confines of a PG-13 rating,
I think we’ve got something that’s pretty
powerful.
Everyone has been saying for years how
hard it would be to make Breaking Dawn
PG-13. How did you pull it off?
The whole movie is very immersive, kind
of like in the book, which is in the point
of view of Bella and Jacob [Taylor Lautner].
We tried to do the same thing in the
movie—there’s a whole chunk where you
get inside the head of a wolf. And in terms
of the birth, it was, “Let’s do it from Bella’s
point of view. Let’s see whatever she can
see.” Once you decide on an approach like
that, it’s amazon how powerful you can
be without being overly explicit. She gets
glimpses of a lot of things—and hears everything—but
it’s not the cutaway to teeth
clawing through flesh. But you certainly
know what’s happening.
Between this and the MTV show 16 and
Pregnant, teen pregnancy is going to go
way down.
Oh, I know! It’s so true—they’re such
cautionary tales. And poor Bella has a ring
on her finger, so I don’t know why she gets
punished.
I heard that you had a midwife on the
54 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
THE FAST TRACK TO ADULTHOOD
DEALING WITH A VAMPIRE PREGNANCY WOULD MATURE ANY COUPLE
set to figure out the birthing scene?
A midwife and a nurse, yes. It was because
it was a c-section, in it’s own strange way.
I wanted to make sure we were doing
everything the right way, even though it
obviously has vampire elements to it that
we couldn’t get much advice on.
What were you concerned with getting
right? The location of the organs?
Mostly that, yeah. Where the baby would
be and where you’d pick it up.
Are you a father yourself?
I am not, no.
So you’ve been spared watching the
birth of a baby in person.
Having babies on set was enough for me.
You must have nieces and cousins who
now think you’re the coolest guy ever.
There aren’t that many target audience
girls in my life who feel that, but kids of
friends I know, I’m really eager for them
to see it.
Do they pester you about what Bella’s
like in person?
There’s been a few of those, definitely.
You had a quote that I liked: you said
you “imprinted” on the book right
away, using the word Twilight uses for
when a werewolf falls in love.
It’s true. There was a moment when I was
like, “Oh, wow.” I think it was so interesting
that this love triangle had been set up,
and Bella’s dilemma—her desire to be with
Edward and her questions about being immortal—and
the fact that my god, she actually
does become a vampire. That was the
first surprise. And then Stephenie’s really
imaginative way of solving the romantic
triangle by introducing the Renesmee character
[Bella’s daughter, who the thwarted
werewolf Jacob imprints on as a child], all
of that was just so wild and completely
original.
How do you pull off that imprinting
where Jacob, who’s been this hunky
male lead, now falls for his ex-love’s
baby?
That’s definitely a challenge, but I think
that hopefully people understand what the
basic idea of imprinting is, you know. The
merging of souls. So I hope we were able
to capture that on screen so that it doesn’t
become reduced to something that’s more
mundane.
You definitely picked the most challenging
book in the series to take on.
I know! It’s true. I feel that. But also, the
wonderful thing about it is if you look at
all of the movies as being one story, I got to
do the third act, I got to do the part where
everything comes together. Which does
bring its own advantages.
When you started making this film,
what was the learning curve?
The cast taught me so much. Kristen
Stewart knows this character better than
anybody in the world, and it’s so much
made up of the Bella Swan of the book and
Kristen Stewart and what she brings to
it. That, for me, was just a lot of hanging
out and talking before we started shooting.
A lot of discussion, especially of the
script. We took a few weeks where we just
went through it page by page with all the
actors. That completely helped me to get
inside it.
56 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

Clearly
Brighter.
There are reasons why
DLP Cinema ® is the
brightest digital cinema
technology available
today:
DLP Cinema offers the widest product line
for every possible screen size and delivers
unparalleled brightness in 2D and 3D.
Advanced 3D technology from a single
projector, and a single projection lens lights up a
75 foot 3D screen with bright, stunning clarity.*
For premium experience auditoriums and
screens over 60 feet, DLP Cinema is the
technology of choice for EVERY major exhibitor
deploying digital cinema.
More than 8 out 10 digital theatre screens use
DLP Cinema to wow audiences every day 1 .
Licensed Partners
* Check with your DLP Cinema licensed partner for specific models that meet this specification.
1
Source: Screen Digest
Copyright 2011. DLP cinema and the DLP cinema logo are registered trademarks of Texas Instruments. The platform bar is a trademark of Texas Instruments.
Texas Instruments is traded publicly on the NYSE ® under the symbol TXN.

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
What did you take from each of the past three films in studying them to
figure out what you wanted your own voice to be?
The big thing I took was how different they are from each other. That was part of
the appeal of getting involved because I feel that within the template of Twilight,
those are three very different directors who made three very different movies,
each of which reflected their interests. That really appealed to me. I always saw
Breaking Dawn Part I as being kind of a bookend to the first movie. Everything
that gets set up there gets resolved in the last. I think it has it’s own completely
different style, but there are echoes of moments and musical references more to
that movie than any of the others.
I think of the first one as having this youthfulness, the second as having
this almost adult heartbreak, and the third as having this action and
interest in vampire lore.
Absolutely.
Where do you fit in?
First of all, these two movies I made are each very different from the other, but I
would say Breaking Dawn I is a real immersion in romantic melodrama, but as a
grown-up story. I feel like it’s Twilight Grows Up. The actors have adult concerns
now. Take the vampires and the werewolves away and it’s about what the first year
of marriage is like, or for Jacob, after you’ve lost, how do you grow out of this and
become your own person. I have to say, the last act of this movie is a horror movie,
too. It’s a flat-out horror movie. And that excited me because I have a background in
that [with Candyman 2] and it’s something I wanted to explore again.
Once of the things of Twilight that I feel goes overlooked is the almostlegal
element added by the Volturi, the ancient vampire clan who enforces
the rules. You have to wrangle with them a lot in your films.
I always think of them as being the Vatican of the vampire world. There is a strict
set of rules that need to be obeyed and that’s where it gets complicated—politically,
they’re not wrong about what they’re trying to enforce. Except there’s a
power-grabbing element that corrupts it. As you know, the first movie hardly
deals with them at all, but the second movie brings them into focus.
I bet you could make a movie from the Volturi’s point of view where we’d
think, “Why are Bella and Edward making things so complicated for
everyone?”
Right, and also just the idea that the need for secrecy is to put the needs of the
community before the individual. There’s something to be said for that. That is
why laws are made. They’re just so nasty about it.
The government always has the right idea, but the execution—here, literally—is
wrong. Tell me about picking Mackensie Foy to play Bella and
Edwards half-vampire child.
That was so interesting. We were meeting a lot of girls and then suddenly this
young actress walks in. First of all, she looks like she could be the child of Robert
Pattinson and Kristen Stewart. Renesmee is this very otherworldly creature—
she’s half-vampire, half-human—and there’s a stillness and a confidence to
Mackensie that makes her seem very ethereal.
NOOOOOOOO!
A HEART-BROKEN JACOB RECEIVES HIS WEDDING
INVITATION
It’s a very adult role—she’s basically playing an adult in a child’s body.
It’s very true. She is just an incredible natural. I was learning about motion capture
58 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BIG PICTURE > THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN—PART I
WEDDING OF THE CENTURY
VAMPIRES MAGGIE GRACE, ELIZABETH REASER, MYANNA BURING, CASEY LABOW HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW A GOOD BASH WHEN
THEY SEE ONE
and putting on helmets where she’d do the
face when we had smaller bodies. It was
complicated for me because I’d never done
it before, and she just took to it all naturally.
Very complicated technical stuff. In some
early scenes, you’d have a 4-year-old girl—
that’s how big Renesmee was meant to be at
that point—walking through the scene and
doing the action. And then she would put
on this helmet and have to move in a similar
way. And she could do it effortlessly—she’s
really rather remarkable.
I heard that when you shot scenes on
the streets of Brazil, you needed a wall
of men with guns just to protect the set.
What was it like to work under so much
secrecy?
You know what? I liked it because I always
find one of the more distracting things about
making movies is that so many people show
up to visit. Imagine people showing up at
your office at work and standing there with
their arms folded watching you. It just gets
to be distracting. But we didn’t have any of
that. It was too hard for people to make even
casual visits. It helped you to focus on just
getting the job done.
Is there a scene in the film that just had
that magical click where everything was
working right and you thought, “This is
why I took this job.”
I felt that the wedding was really magic. Once
we made that decision that it was going to be
told from inside Bella’s head, walking down
the aisle and her just being so nervous until
she sees Edward—he’s just the point of light
that she’s going to go toward—telling it that
way and revealing the dress slowly. We were
at a beautiful location. It was cold and wet
and all that, but it didn’t matter. There was
something very magical about it and the sun
came out at the right moment. It felt like the
real thing.
These are two young kids—well, at least
in Bella’s case since she’s not undead—
who as I was talking about with Kristen
have been thought of as these naive
Romeo and Juliet types who are now
making this big commitment.
It’s true, only they don’t die. Well, they do die
for a little bit. I felt the Romeo and Juliet vibe
in the first film, but now there are different
forces at work that bring people against
them. It’s not so much do with their love
anymore. There’s a real sense of resolution in
the beginning of the movie that the love has
finally forced its way past all those hurdles.
You feel the difficulty of getting down an
aisle, how much it took and how much
willpower from Bella got her there, and I
think that gets supported a lot through the
movie. She’s a great character and, my god,
there are so many unbelievable touchstone
experiences that this character goes through
in this movie. Marriage and honeymoon
and pregnancy and childbirth and death. It’s
amazing.
I heard that there was some talking of
making Breaking Dawn Part II in 3D?
We considered it early on. The only reason
I was thinking about it for a while was the
Bella point of view thing. We are now seeing
the world through the eyes of a vampire.
That was a creative reason that it might have
made sense, but because we shot the movies
at the same time and in the morning, she’d
be pregnant, and in the afternoon, she’d be a
vampire, it just became too unwieldy of an
idea.
Where do you go from here now that
you’ve directed the last two installments
of one of the biggest teen franchises ever?
I can safely say someplace smaller.
60 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

ON THE HORIZON
BY SARA VIZCARRONDO
MAN ON A LEDGE
It’s a bird! It’s a plan! Look over here!
> Very few documentarians transition
into fiction films. Exceptions like
James Marsh (Man On Wire, Red Riding
Hood) exist, but they’re rare. Director
Asgar Leth comes from filmmaking
stock: his father, Jørgen Leth, (director
of The Five Obstructions) was one of
the Dogme 95 filmmakers in Denmark
and if it weren’t for his father’s time
spent in Haiti, Asgar might never have
been exposed to the strife that resulted
in his debut doc, Ghosts of Cité Soleil.
That film tracked two brothers in
Port-au-Prince who led the local gangs
through a political coup and a war in
the streets. Turning his camera to a
first world contest of wills and appearances,
the younger Leth is making his
narrative feature debut with Man on
a Ledge, another crime saga about two
badass brothers. Sam Worthington is a
cop wrongly accused of stealing a diamond
worth tens of millions. Framed
by the diamond’s owner (a smarmy Ed
Harris), Worthington breaks out of jail
and plans a heist to prove that Harris
was never actually liberated from his
multi-carat burden. But to do it, he
DISTRIBUTOR Summit Entertainment CAST Jamie Bell, Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks,
Edward Burns, Ed Harris, Kyra Sedgwick, Anthony Mackie DIRECTOR Asger Leth SCREEN-
WRITER Pablo F. Fenjves PRODUCERS Mark Vahradian, Lorenzo di Bonaventura GENRE Suspense
RATING PG-13 for violence and brief strong language RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE
DATE January 27, 2012
has to create a diversion. Worthington
performs a veritable song and dance
for the streetwalkers of Manhattan.
From the avenue, Kyra Sedgewick
leads the gawkers with her TV cameras
and from the ledge Elizabeth Banks
negotiates for Worthington’s life.
Meanwhile, Jamie Bell breaks into the
diamond vaults with his girl friend
and lets his bro play Man On Wire to
the public. It’s January, Hollywood’s
coldest month, so let’s hope this Man
can keep our attentions.
(more On the Horizon on page 64)
DON’T LOOK DOWN
LUCKILY, SAM WORTHINGTON ISN’T AFRAID
OF HEIGHTS
62 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

ON THE HORIZON >
DCP-100
Digital Cinema Processor
An integral part of
the most complete
D-Cinema
Audio Solution
DCP-100 Digital Cinema
Processor
DCA Amplifiers
DCS Loudspeakers
©2011 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights
reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered
trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark office and other countries.
OUTTA HER WAY
REAL LIFE FIGHTER GINA CARANO
CAN REALLY PACK A PUNCH
HAYWIRE
COULDABEEN A KNOCKOUT
DISTRIBUTOR Relativity Media CAST Ewan McGregor, Channing Tatum, Gina Carano, Antonio Banderas, Michael Douglas, Bill
Paxton, Michael Angarano, Michael Fassbender DIRECTOR Steven Soderbergh SCREENWRITER Lem Dobbs PRODUCER Gregory
Jacobs GENRE Action RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE January 20, 2012
> After director Steven Soderberg handed off helming September’s Moneyball, he’s
taken a string of high pedigree actioners, most of them (apparently) without room for
his trademark panache. So, following in the antiseptic action of Contagion is Haywire, a
spy-gone-rogue thriller with a cast that glitters with names like Michael Fassbender and
Ewan McGregor. If Soderberg does with this cast what he’s done with the last few amazing
ensembles (think: Traffic, the Oceans franchise) he’ll go out of his way to make them look
iconic, but unkempt (no skin looks good under his harsh blues and yellows). The heroine
of Haywire (Gina Carano) is a ronin of sorts, a freelance operative sent on a job to Dublin
where she’s double-crossed and has to run to the States to protect her family. No one wants
to secure her comeupance. There will be international intrigue and the jet-setting that
makes spy thrillers so glammy, but what Soderberg’s done to make Haywire stand out is
cast Carano, a celebrity in the world of Mixed Martial Arts—she’s not a traditional choice,
but boy can she pack a punch. Soderberg’s working again with Lemm Dobbs, the epic
screenwriter responsible for many films including his own 1999 homage to the British
gangster The Limey—and it’s a surprise to see them together because if you’ve ever listened
to the commentary tracks for that Terrence Stamp drama, you’d think Dobbs would avoid
working with the Oceans director at all cost. But the smartest films come from tense
collaborations and that, among other things, makes Haywire (previously titled Knockout)
sound more promising than its January opening date. (more On the Horizon on page 66)
64 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

ON THE HORIZON >
DCA
Digital Cinema Amplifiers
An integral part of
the most complete
D-Cinema
Audio Solution
DCP-100 Digital Cinema
Processor
DCA Amplifiers
DCS Loudspeakers
©2011 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights
reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered
trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark office and other countries.
HAVE YOU SEEN MY CAREER?
KATHERINE HEIGL IS OUT TO FIND
FAME (AGAIN)
ONE FOR THE MONEY
CAN HEIGL RECLAIM HER CROWN?
DISTRIBUTOR Lionsgate CAST Katherine Heigl, John Leguizamo, Daniel Sunjata, Debbie Reynolds, Sherri Shepherd, Jason O’Mara,
Patrick Fischler DIRECTOR Julie Anne Robinson SCREENWRITER Liz Brixius PRODUCERS Wendy Finerman, Gary Lucchesi, Tom Rosenberg,
Andre Lamal, Sidney Kimmel GENRE Action/Comedy RATING PG13 for violence, sexual references and language, some drug
material and partial nudity RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE January 27, 2012
> It seems like Katherine Heigl has as many detractors as fans, and while it used to be box
office gold to have her face on a poster, it’s a little harder to tell if her brand is a cost or a
benefit. But this made-for-tough-girls romcom is based on a series of books with fans almost
as fervent as Trekkies (if better-looking), so if you don’t go for the Heigl, maybe you’ll stay
for the high jinks. Heigl plays Stephanie Plum, tried-and-true Jersey girl who on the same
day loses her husband, her sports car and her job at the Macy’s lingerie counter. Before she
loses anything else, she has to beg her cousin for a job at his bail bonds company. Plum finds
herself relying on her street smarts and survival instincts to find a score worth $50,000—a
rogue cop who’s pegged for a murder he swears he didn’t commit. This newbie who’s moved
from brassieres to bounty hunting has to find her edge, and when she learns the $50,000
score was her high school sweetheart, she thinks she’s scored—but he’s a cop and a savvy
one, and she only has to be around him a while before the bullets and sparks start flying.
This is okay with her kookie grandma (a bubbly Debbie Reynolds) who’s all about the floorshow
and the feisty-hot second chance. Maybe we’ll give Heigl a second chance—though
after Killers and The Ugly Truth wouldn’t that be a third chance?Anyway, it won’t be easy, but
it might be worth a shot. (more On the Horizon on page 68)
66 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

ON THE HORIZON >
DCS
Digital Cinema Loudspeakers
An integral part of
the most complete
D-Cinema
Audio Solution
DCP-100 Digital Cinema
Processor
DCA Amplifiers
DCS Loudspeakers
©2011 QSC Audio Products, LLC. All rights
reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered
trademarks of QSC Audio Products, LLC in the U.S.
Patent and Trademark office and other countries.
HELL ON WHEELS
JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT PUTS
THE PEDAL TO THE METAL
PREMIUM RUSH
HARDCORE CYCLES
DISTRIBUTOR Sony CAST Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Aasif Mandvi, Dania Ramirez, Jamie Chung, Aaron Tveit, Heather
Lindell, Lauren Ashley Carter DIRECTOR David Koepp SCREENWRITERS David Koepp, John Kamps PRODUCER Gavin Polone GENRE
Action RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE January 13, 2012
> Production for director David Koepp’s Premium Rush has had its pitfalls: like when star
Joseph Gordon-Levitt was flung from a bike into the back of a taxi and endured 31 stitches
for a gash in his arm. But the biggest drama happened, this August, when novelist Joe Quirk
sued the studio for copyright infringement as his book The Ultimate Rush, a thriller about
rollerblading messengers (published in 1998, the height of the blading trend), greatly resembled
the plot of Premium Rush. A series of internal documents supported Quirk’s claims
of intellectual property theft. But the production was wrapped (and the lawsuit continues)
and the result is a taut actioner about a bike messenger who delivers a piece of mail so controversial
that a dirty NY cop (Michael Shannon) bullies him into retrieving it (soooo against
deliveryman rules). If you can overcome the silliness of men and women zooming on bikes,
this is probably the coolest thing ever—I mean bike culture is huge, and so many celebrities
talk about their early days as bike messengers as if it’s how they exercised their need for
excitement before hitting it big. Everyone needs an adrenaline bump, right? And this film
offers that, along with views of Manhattan as if taken right off a GPS. It’s stylized and serving
hipsters with fixies, but is it cool? You be the judge.
68 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BY SARA VIZCARRONDO
COMING SOON
TOWER HEIST
GRAND LARCENY AT THE MOVIES
DISTRIBUTOR Universal CAST Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Tea
Leoni, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Judd
Hirsch, Michael Pena, Gabourey ‘Gabby’ Sidibe, Scottie
Knollin DIRECTOR Brett Ratner SCREENWRITERS Ted Griffin,
Jeff Nathanson PRODUCERS Eddie Murphy, Brian Grazer
GENRE Action Comedy RATING PG13 for language and
sexual content RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE November
4, 2011
Brett Ratner has been the most marketable
name in low-brow, action comedy since
1998’s Rush Hour and in this heist film he
takes up some oh-so-slight class issues. Ben
Stiller plays the building manager of Arthur
Shaw’s (Alan
Alda) high
rent apartment
complex.
When
Stiller learns
Alda’s pulled
one over on
his entire
staff with a
Ponzi scheme,
he leads the
employees
in a hostile
takeover to
retrieve their
lost wages. Incompetence and anxiety run
high until they hire an ex-con (Eddie Murphy)
to “show them the ropes.” God willing
those ropes don’t break.
A VERY HAROLD &
KUMAR 3-D CHRISTMAS
IS THAT COAL IN YOUR STOCKING,
OR … ?
DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Kal Penn, John Cho and
Neil Patrick Harris DIRECTOR Todd Strauss-Schulson
SCREENWRITERS Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg PRODUCERS
Greg Shapiro GENRE Comedy RATING R for strong crude
and sexual content, graphic nudity, pervasive language,
drug use and some violence RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE
November 4, 2011
If you’re sick of wholesomeness this holiday
season, this is your bad-taste antidote. The
bong-boys are all grown up (well, mostly
grown up), but then Harold accidentally
shoots Santa. With Neil Patrick Harris turning
every holiday gag into a dirty joke, the
boys feel justified ignoring their responsibility
to “save” Christmas. Jesus makes an
appearance as a trust-fund baby/night club
manager. Wonder how they’re going to
broach the subject of his birthday?
KILLING BONO
THE EDGE OF MURDER
DISTRIBUTOR Arc Entertainment CAST Ben Barnes, Robert
Sheehan, Pete Postlethwaite, Justine Waddell, Krysten
Ritter DIRECTOR Nick Hamm SCREENWRITERS Dick Clement,
Ian La Frenais, Simon Maxwell PRODUCERS Mark Huffam,
Ian Flooks, Piers Tempest GENRE Comedy RATING R for
pervasive language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use
RUNNING TIME 114 min. RELEASE DATE November 4, 2011 ltd.
Based loosely on the true-ish book Killing
Bono: I was Bono’s Doppelganger, this Irish
comedy has one boot on a busted amp
and the other in the screen. Two brothers
wrangle their friends to start a band they
call SHOOK-UP and as they’re hitting it
big-ish in Dublin another tiny band called
U2 starts making headlines. Instantaneously
70 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

COMING SOON >
popular and repped by people with business
sense, their competitor is easy to laugh at
on the bus, but in the amphitheater and on
the radio, SHOOK UP doesn’t seem to have a
chance. Still, that won’t stop ‘em fighting.
THE SON OF NO ONE
MEAN STREETS
DISTRIBUTOR Anchor Bay CAST Al Pacino, Channing Tatum,
Juliette Binoche, Ray Liotta, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan,
James Ransone, Brian Gilbert, Jake Cherry DIRECTOR/SCREEN-
WRITER Dito Montiel PRODUCERS Holly Wiersma, John Thompson,
Dito Montiel GENRE Suspense RATING R for violence,
pervasive language and brief disturbing sexual content
RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE November 4, 2011 ltd.
Poet/novelist Dito Montiel has done pretty
well with his gritty dramas about machismo
in Manhattan. This new one is about a police
officer who opens a 15-year-old case and
learns how the men who’ve raised him were
“made.” Again paired with Channing Tatum
(Fighting), Montiel shoots in his native
Queens, and watches cops wrestle cops in a
town where fathers disappear and their sons
muscle for rank alongside criminals.
J. EDGAR
CLINT COMES OUT OF THE CLOSET
DISTRIBUTOR Warner Bros. CAST Leonardo DiCaprio, Judi
Dench, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, Ed Westwick DIREC-
TOR Clint Eastwood SCREENWRITER Dustin Lance Black PRO-
DUCERS Holly Wiersma, John Thompson, Dito Montiel GENRE
Drama RATING R for brief strong language RUNNING TIME TBD
RELEASE DATE November 9 ltd., November 11, 2011 wide
The head of the FBI for many decades, J.
Edgar Hoover is famous for two things: his
gleefully punitive policies and cross-dressing.
One of these is the product of urban
legend but evidence can be dug up for both,
making this rehashing of Hoover’s reign as
law man that much more controversial; he
had as much impact on the concept of criminality
as Sherlock Holmes had on investigation.
This period piece is director Clint
Eastwood’s (Dirty Harry) latest attempt to
understand the vigilante.
IMMORTALS
GLADIATORS, MOUNT UP
DISTRIBUTOR Relativity Media CAST Mickey Rourke, Henry
Cavill, John Hurt, Corey Sevier, Kellan Lutz, Freida Pinto,
Isabel Lucas, Alan Van Sprang, Luke Evans, Robert Maillet
DIRECTOR Tarsem Singh SCREENWRITER Charley Parlapanides,
Vlas Parlapanides PRODUCERS Mark Canton, Gianni Nunnari,
Ryan Kavanaugh GENRE Adventure RATING TBD RUNNING TIME
TBD RELEASE DATE November 11, 2011
This adventure film, made with the gladiatorial
glitz of 300, watches warrior Theseus
fling magical arrows to overthrow the
wicked King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke).
Perhaps attempting to improve upon last
year’s Clash of the Titans tumble, this saga of
Olympus features gods of varied sex appeal
and direction by Tarsem Singh (The Fall). As
Theseus, the chosen warrior, Henry Cavill
(TV’s The Tudors and the next Superman)
will finally make ample use of his supersquare
jaw.
MELANCHOLIA
BRIDEZILLA OF THE APOCALYPSE
DISTRIBUTOR Magnolia Pictures CAST Kirsten Dunst, Kiefer
72 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

Quartz Lamps Inc.

COMING SOON >
Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Charlotte Rampling, Udo Kier, Stellan Skarsgard, John
Hurt, Brady Corbet, Alexander Skarsgard DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Lars Von Trier PRODUCERS
Meta Louise Foldager, Louise Vesth GENRE Drama RATING R for some graphic nudity,
sexual content and language RUNNING TIME 135 min. RELEASE DATE November 11 NY/LA
As Kristin Dunst’s epic wedding approaches, so too does planet
Melancholia approach the earth, both events promising a collision
course of devastating proportions. Does the bride desire her pretty
event? Surely. Can she withstand it without unraveling? As celestial
pressures and family dramas mount, that question becomes harder
to answer. By some accounts it’s confounding; by others, it’s a train
wreck. But no one who’s seen Lars von Trier’s newest film has called
it anything but spectacular.
THE LIE
DON’T TELL MOM I SAID THE BABY WAS DEAD
DISTRIBUTOR Screen Media CAST Joshua Leonard, Kelli Garner, Alia Shawkat, Jane Adams
DIRECTOR Joshua Leonard SCREENWRITERS Joshua Leonard, Jess Weixler, Mark Webber
PRODUCER Mary Pat Bentel, Daniel Judge GENRE Dramedy RATING R for language and some
drug use RUNNING TIME 80 min. RELEASE DATE November 18 ltd.
Lonnie is a failed musician. Facing the reality of his talentlessness is
no fun, but the tyranny of his soul-killing job keeps him occupied—
more occupied, in fact, than the duties of being a new father and a
husband. And one day, when the pressure mounts and he just can’t
go into work, his boss complains and he says “My daughter died last
night.” On the one hand, that’ll shut him up. On the other, word
spreads along with condolences and fruit baskets until he has to tell
his wife why everyone’s looking her way like the world just ended. I
mean really, that baby’s way too cute for such a mean joke.
THE
DESCENDANTS
ALEXANDER PAYNE MAKES
A COMEBACK
DISTRIBUTOR Fox Searchlight Pictures
CAST George Clooney, Shailene
Woodley, Nick Krause, Patricia Hastie,
Beau Bridges, Matthew Lillard, Judy
Greer, Robert Forster, Amara Miller,
Nick Krause DIRECTOR Alexander Payne
SCREENWRITERS Alexander Payne, Nat
Faxon, Jim Rash PRODUCERS Jim Burke,
Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor GENRE
Drama RATING R for language including
some sexual references RUNNING TIME
115 min. RELEASE DATE November 23 ltd.
Like many of director Alexander
Payne’s main characters,
Matt King (George Clooney)
learned how to skate through life and didn’t think about doing
much more. When a boating accident puts his wife in a coma, he
naturally lacks the tools to support his kids or cope with the reality
his marriage was dying in front of him. A Toronto International
Film Fest favorite, this trenchant Thanksgiving release from the
maker of Sideways and About Schmidt gives us all sorts of reasons to
hold onto our loved ones with both hands.
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS
FAMILY BUSINESS BLUES
DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Animation CAST Hugh Laurie, James McAvoy, Imelda Staunton,
Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Ashley Jensen DIRECTORS/SCREENWRITERS Barry Cook, Sarah Smith
PRODUCER Cheryl Abood GENRE Animation/Family/Comedy RATING PG for mild rude humor
RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE November 23, 2011
We would call Arthur Christmas a holiday fanboy, if he wasn’t
the son of Yuletide’s grand poobah. Drowned in a sea of red and
green festoonery, Santa’s son still has an enthusiasm for the
74 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

COMING SOON >
season, but that doesn’t preclude him
from having some comical troubles with
the fam—a high performance clan of
ultra-busy professionals with top of the
line gear to deliver presents to the kids of
the world. This 3D CG kidflick was made
at Aardman Studios, the team responsible
for classics Wallace and Grommit and
Chicken Run.
THE ARTIST
SILENCE SPEAKS WONDERS
DISTRIBUTOR The Weinstein Company CAST Jean Dujardin,
Berenice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell, Penelope
Anne Miller, Missi Pyle, Uggy DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Michel
Hazanavicius PRODUCERS Thomas Langmann, Emmanuel
Montamat GENRE Silent/Comedy/Drama RATING Unrated
RUNNING TIME 100 min. RELEASE DATE November 23 ltd.
George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is an actor
with such appeal he has the world at his
perfectly adorned feet—until he stumbles
upon Peppy Miller (Bernice Bejo), the girl
he loves despite his wife, and helps despite
his descending popularity as the silent film
is slowly replaced with talking pictures.
This star-studded international picture is
lousy with charisma, just the thing that
made those silent black and whites twinkle
and shine in their heyday.
HUGO
A GANGSTER GETS FANTASTICAL
DISTRIBUTOR Paramount CAST Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloe
Moretz, Asa Butterfield, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Ben
Kingsley DIRECTOR Martin Scorsese SCREENWRITER John Logan
PRODUCERS Graham King, Christi Dembrowski GENRE Mystery
RATING TBD RUNNING TIME TBD RELEASE DATE November 23,
2011
Based on a popular book, this family feature
marks Martin Scorsese’s first foray into 3D.
Scorsese’s a family man so it was only time
before he took a break from his gangsters
and “modern saints” to make a kid’s film,
and this one is as much a valentine to the
magic of youth as to the origins of cinema.
Hugo Cabret receives a mechanical man
from his father only days before he loses
dad in a fire. Alone and without his father’s
last gift, he searches Paris for it, chased by
arriving trains and aided by his own Méliès,
a magician whose mechanical toys conjure
magic.
CRAZY WISDOM:
THE LIFE AND TIMES
OF CHOGYAM
TRUNGPA RINPOCHE
RAISING ZEN
DISTRIBUTOR Louise Rosen DIRECTOR Johanna Demetrakas
PRODUCERS Lisa Leeman, Johanna Demetrakas GENRE
Documentary RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 86 min. RELEASE
DATE November 18 NY/LA
It’s seldom we see major trends in modern
thought and have a person to credit for
them. While it’d be foolhardy to say Chogyam
Trungpa was singlehandedly responsible
for assisting this nation in the post-war
interest in Buddhism, but his teaching, his
timing and his outspokenness were evident
contributors to the America’s connection to
eastern thought and its pervasiveness in our
practices from art to politics.
A DANGEROUS
METHOD
ANALYZE HER?
DISTRIBUTOR Sony Pictures Classics CAST Keira Knightley,
Michael Fassbender, Viggo Mortensen, Sarah Gadon,
Vincent Cassel DIRECTOR David Cronenberg SCREENWRITER
Christopher Hampton PRODUCER Jeremy Thomas GENRE
Drama RATING R for sexual content and brief language
RUNNING TIME 93 min. RELEASE DATE September 23 ltd.
A hot Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender)
meets a wounded Sabine Spielrein (Keira
Knightly) in Victorian Vienna, and saves
her wounded psyche with talk therapy—
new at the time and spearheaded by his
distant mentor Dr. Sigmund Freud (Viggo
Mortensen). As Spielrein improves, she
develops skill in the field of psychology,
goes to school, graduates into practice
and falls into the arms of a married Dr.
Jung. It’s a ferocious affair; the sort to
destroy lives—or at least reputations—
and in a medical establishment so new
and easily tarnished, they should be taker
greater precautions … and being quieter
in bed.
76 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

Congratulations to Martin Schwartz,
General Manager, The Entertainment Division,
Corporación El Rosado S.A. for receiving the
International Exhibitor of the Year presented
by ShowEast 2011.
Your pursuit of excellence in the motion picture industry and your commitment to
the successful development of digital cinema in South America makes you an inspiration.
Congratulations from Christie and Cinema Equipment Services (CES).
christiedigital.com/makethemove
© 2011 Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. All rights reserved.

SMALL FILMS, BIG POTENTIAL
BOOK IT!
BY SARA VIZCARRONDO
CRAZY HORSE
The women, the men, the cameraman—all
professionals
It was only months ago Morgan Spurlock
tried to make “the blockbuster of documentaries”
with Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest
Movie Ever Sold, branding each second of his
film with Ban deodorant and Volkswagens.
Veteran documentarian Frederick Wiseman
isn’t one to go gleefully commercial, but
with this doc he proves that doesn’t have to
change his agenda to stretch his box office
reach. The subject is The Crazy Horse, a
Parisian nightclub known for having the
best live nude shows in the world. Naturally,
this doc shows a lot of skin—it’s aesthetically
too beautiful to suggest Wiseman’s hit
on National Geographic’s “anthropological”
excuse to show breasts. But where most docs
about the sex industry focus on exploitation
and indignity, Crazy Horse replaces those
concerns with demonstrations of this club’s
dedication to art and quality. The French take
this very seriously. The nude dancers have
Broadway skills and a disciplined severity. At
an audition sequence, the Crazy Horse looks
impossible to saddle: the current dancers
bark, “Are you all Russians?” and “Your legs
are too short.” All this just after the artistic director
explained it’s precisely those imperfect
girls who dance the most evocatively because
“They’ve had to learn to work with what
they’ve got.” A document of the gold standard
of strip clubs, it may gain a wider release
than Wiseman’s previous films about boxing
gyms, public housing and the deaf ever could.
As for audience draw … did I mention it’s
about a strip club?
DIRECTOR Fred Wiseman GENRE Documentary; Frenchlanguage,
subtitled RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 129 min.
RELEASE DATE Unset
CONTACT: Zipporah Films / info@zipporah.com
617-576-3603
HIMIZU
Poignancy sharp as knives
Sion Sono’s view of post-tsunami Japan is, in
turns, painfully bleak and shockingly hopeful.
Made quickly after the March 2011 tsunami,
Himizu revolves around one willfully
“average” student, Sumida (Shota Sometani).
As the teacher’s lectures about excellence
78 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

TM
BOOK IT >
rattle their desks, a forceful girl named Chazawa (Fumi Nikaido) falls
for Sumida. At home, her parents plot her death like they’re looking
forward to Christmas, but Chazawa’s crush on the boy keeps her
cheerful. A few tsunami victims have camped out around the boat
rental house that Sumida’s mom lackadaisically runs, when she’s not
getting seduced by visitors. His mother’s revolving door of men gets a
blind eye from Sumida—his father is the villain. The man only comes
by to beat his kid, wish him dead and steal money from his wife. The
squatter’s watch apologetically; their sweetness and communal sentiment
towards Sumida makes his parents’ behavior seem nearly sacrilegious.
When Sumida’s mom abandons him and his father comes
home looking for money to resolve a debt, Sumida cracks and begins
a stabbing spree. But not out of hate—he loves the world so much
he’s using a kitchen knife to rid the world of violent whack jobs. More
self-sacrificial (and tragic) than Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, Sumido
needs the forceful care of Chazawa to realize his good for the world
requires repentance. As they run from the police, the audience will
pant alongside them. Based on the manga of the same name, Himizu is
one filmmaker’s hopeful valentine to his splintered nation.
Crispian (filmmaker A.J. Bowden) it’s Erin (Sharni Vinson), a soft
but savvy Australian who seems like the odd girl out, particularly
because the Davidsons are lousy rich. Dad Paul (Rob Moran) seems
milquetoast, but he made a mint with a defense securities firm, an
offensive source of wealth his family defends with, “He was just in
marketing!” Karma approacheth. At dinner, the family rivalry is
high: Crispian hates his older suck-up brother Drake (filmmaker Joe
Swanberg, Alexander the Last) and their sister Amy (Aimee Seimetz),
who arrives toting an iffy filmmaker (horror maker Ti West of
Cabin Fever), and the brief dinner chat about documentaries versus
commercials (Swanberg calls them the best of the form) is catnip
for insiders and mumblecore fans. But the real juice happens before
the roast is served: arrows pierce the windows and, of course, the
CAST Shota Sometani, Fumi Nikaido, Yosuke Kubozuka, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Anne Suzuki,
Takahiro Nishijima DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Shion Sono GENRE Drama; Japanese-language,
subtitled RATING Unrated RUNNING TIME 139 min. RELEASE DATE Unset
CONTACT: Gaga Communications / Tokyo / intl@gaga.co,jp
YOU’RE NEXT
Pass the salt—and look out for the machete!
It’s the Davidson’s 35th wedding anniversary and the all the kids
are attending the dinner. Each is introducing a love interest. For
Cutting Operating Costs, Not Quality
Perlux ® Digital
Greener, Smarter – A Brighter Choice
For more information visit:
www.harkness-screens.com
80 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

BOOK IT >
If you don’t offer
you don’t have
the tastiest popcorn
in town – period.
children. The family never overcomes the shock and, more comically,
never develops any sense of self-preservation. They scream
uncontrollably (“What is happening to us?!?!!?”) and can’t regain their
breath for long enough to connive an escape route or call the cops.
Even their bereavement histrionics impede their survival (“My
daughter is dead, I need to lie down.”) And this is where this film
gets interesting. It’s precisely tooled for the stuff horror genre fans
love—all the reliable beats are there—but the murders are hilarious.
When the Davidsons decide to send for help and Amy sells herself
to the family as their fastest runner, she’s offended they decline and
whines, “You never believed in me!” By the time I got excited for the
next funny death, I had to check in with my moral compass—and
so will you. Yes, it’s high rolling comedy with the lowest personal
values, but the context of a millionaire war profiteer from middle
management under assault creates a layer to You’re Next that, if
you’re watching it ironically, spells out pointless fuel for judgment. I
haven’t seen a film that divides audiences this strongly since the vagina
dentata dramedy Teeth. When Erin is under threat, the audience
gets serious and stakes are high. But when these guys can’t get over
their petty sibling rivalry issues while their brother lays gurgling,
they might just deserve what’s coming to them.
CAST Sharni Vinson, A.J. Bowden, Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Wendy Glenn, Margaret
Laney, Rob Moran, Amy Seimetz, Ti West DIRECTOR Adam Wingard SCREENWRITER
Simon Barrett PRODUCERS Keithe Calder, Jessica Wu, Simon Barrett, Kim Sherman GENRE
Horror/Comedy RATING TBD RUNNING TIME 95 min. RELEASE DATE Unset
CONTACT: Micah Green / sales@cineticmedia.com
13 delicious flavors including:
Call Krystal at
866.328.7672 x225
krystal@kernelseasons.com
ALMAYER’S FOLLY LA FOLIE ALMAYER
A French master in Conrad’s Cambodia
Chantal Akerman’s newest is a loose adaptation of the Joseph Conrad
novel of the same name, re-imagining Almayer’s “nearly nonexistent”
daughter as the axis around which her father’s story turns.
Though Almayer (Stanislas Merhar) lives well and with servants, his
Hamlet-like ennui overcomes him—the greenery that constantly
encroaches on his home seems a fitting metaphor for both his selfimposed
isolation and his sadness. His post was given to him by the
Captain (Marc Barbé), a man of the occidental ruling classes poised
stoically above the people and his middle-managers. As Almayer
is important to the Captain’s authority, he spends his life wallowing
in sadness and conceding to the prodding of his overseer. His
daughter mixed-race daughter Nina (Aurora Marion) is the only
thing connecting him to his lifeless marriage and the living world,
but the Captain thinks her chances are better if she’s educated as
a white girl and so he sends her off to a boarding school. Nina, like
her father, hates her gilded cage, but her obstacles are even more
powerful and they wear her down in record speed. And that’s even
before the Captain dies, Nina loses tuition and a monsoon hits and
transforms his home into a floating sarcophagus. Ackerman has created
a Phnom Penh that feels perpetual, a world by a river bed that
changes constantly yet feels forever the same. The film develops
with you and thinks through its story seductively, moving with the
force of the river that is now and never all at once.
CAST Stanislas Merhar, Marc Barbé, Aurora Marion DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER Chantal Akerman
PRODUCERS Chantal Akerman, Patrick Quinet GENRE Drama; French-language, subtitled RATING
TBD RUNNING TIME 127 min. RELEASE DATE TBD
CONTACT: shellac / +049 504-9592 / shellac@altern.org
82 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

DIGITAL SIGNAGE SOLUTIONS
Digital Menu Boards
Box Office
Auditorium & Wayfinding
Dynamic Movie Posters
txdigital.com | cinemasales@txdigital.com | 800.693.2628
Over 30,000 people each
week enjoy movies in
Edifice-built theatres.
Contact Scott Fandel
704.332.0900
edificeinc.com
84 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

CelebrationUses Vista
www.vistaUSA.com
NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 85

A D V E R T I S I N G I N D E X
ALCONS AUDIO
P.O. Box 821
Dana Point, CA 92629
949-439-8203
info@alconsaudio.us
www.alconsaudio.com
PG 70
BARCO
Media & Entertainment Division
11101 Trade Center Dr.
Rancho Cordova 95670, CA
916-859-2500
sales.digitalcinema.us@barco.
com
www.barco.com
PG 7
CARDINAL SOUND AND
MOTION PICTURE SYSTEMS
6330 Howard Ln.
Elkridge, MD 21075
401-7965300
cardinal@cardinalsound.com
www.cardinalsound.com
PG 71
CHRISTIE DIGITAL SYSTEMS
10550 Camden Dr.
Cypress, CA 90630
Craig Sholder / 714-236-8610
craig.sholder@christiedigital.com
www.christiedigital.com
INSIDE FRONT COVER, PG 77
CINEMACON
60 Cuttermill Rd., Ste 413
Great Neck, NY 11021
516-439-5511
info@cinemacon.com
www.cinemacon.com
PG 11
C. CRETORS & COMPANY
3243 N. California Ave.
Chicago, IL 60618
800-228-1885
www.cretors.com
PG 1
DATASAT DIGITAL
9631 Topanga Canyon Pl.
Chatsworth, CA 91311
818-531-0003
www.datasatdigital.com
INSIDE BACK COVER
DOLBY LABORATORIES
100 Potrero Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Christie Ventura / 415-558-2200
cah@dolby.com
www.dolby.com
PG 13, 16
DOLPHIN SEATING
313 Remuda St.
Clovis, NM 88101
575-762-6468
www.dolphinseating.com
PG 85
EDIFICE
1401 W. Morehead St.
Charlotte, NC 28208
Scott Fandel 704-332-0900
sfandel@edifice.com
www.edificeinc.com
PG 84
EOMAC
10 Perdue Ct.
Caledon, ON, Canada
L7C 3M6
905-970-8059
eomac@eomac.com
www.eomac.com
PG 79
FANDANGO
12200 W Olympic Blvd., Ste. 400
Los Angeles, CA 90064-1047
310-451-7690
www.fandango.com
PG 21
FRANKLIN DESIGNS
208 Industrial Dr.
Ridgeland, MS 39157
601-853-9005
franklindesigns@aol.com
www.franklindesigns.com
PG 23
FUNACHO
1253 W. Seventh Street
Cincinnati, OH 45203
1-800-FUNACHO
sales@funacho.com
PG 72, 74
GDC TECHNOLOGY LLC
3500 W Olive Ave. Suite 940
Burbank, CA 91505
818-972-4370
www.gdc-tech.com
PG 25
GOLD MEDAL PRODUCTS
10700 Medallion Dr.
Cincinnati, OH 45241-4807
Erin Meyer / 513-769-7676
info@gmpopcorn.com
www.gmpopcorn.com
PG 78
HARKNESS SCREENS
Unit A, Norton Road
Stevenage, Herts
SG1 2BB
United Kingdom
+44 1438 725200
sales@harkness-screens.com
www.harkness-screens.com
PG 27, 80
HURLEY SCREEN
110 Industry Ln.
P.O. Box 296
Forest Hill, MD 21050
Gorman W. White / 410-879-
3022
info@hurleyscreen.com
www.hurleyscreen.com
PG 76
IMM SOUND
Diagonal 177
08018 Barcelona, Spain
+34 93 485 3880
info@immsound.com
www.immsound.com
PG 17
IRWIN SEATING
3251 Fruit Ridge N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49544
Bruce Cohen / 866-574-7400
sales@irwinseating.com
www.irwinseating.com
PG 29
KERNEL SEASONS
1958 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60647
Krystal LaReese-Gaul
773-292-4576
info@kernelseasons.com
www.kernelseasons.com
PG 82
MASTERIMAGE 3D
4111 W. Alameda Ave. Suite 312
Burbank, CA 91505, USA
818-558-7900
www. masterimage3d.com
PG 19
MEDIAMATION
2213 Border Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
310-320-0696
sales@mediamation.com
www.mediamation.com
PG 35
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
MEYER SOUND
2832 San Pablo Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94702
510-486-1166
sales@meyersound.com
www.meyersound.com
PG 47
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 59
MOVING IMAGE
TECHNOLOGY
17760 Newhope St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
714-751-7998
sales@movingimagetech.com
www.movingimagetech.com
PG 61
MTI/AUTOFRY
10 Forbes Rd.
Northborough, MA 01532
800-348-2976
www.mtiproducts.com
PG 34
NATIONAL TICKET COMPANY
P.O. Box 547
Shamokin, PA 17872
Ginger Seidel
ticket@nationalticket.com
www.nationalticket.com
PG 88
ODELL’S
8543 White Fir St. #D-1
Reno, NV 89523
Arthur Anderson / 775-323-8688
odells@popntop.com
www.popntop.com
PG 52
OMNITERM DATA
TECHNOLOGY
2785 Skymark Ave., Unit 11
Mississauga, ON L4W 4Y3
Greg Coman / 905-629-4757
gregcoman@omniterm.com
www.omniterm.com
PG 87
OSRAM SYLVANIA
100 Endicott St.
Danvers, MA 01923
978-750-2419
Christine Buckley
christine.buckley@sylvania.com
PG 37
PANAVISION 3D
DPVO THEATRICAL, LLC
21300 Victory Blvd. Ste.
640 Woodland Hills, CA 91367
818-316-2195
3d.panavision.com
PG 53
PARADIGM
550 3 Mile Road NW, Ste. B
Grand Rapids, MI 49544
616-785-5656
www.paradigmae.com
PG 84
PARAMOUNT
5555 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90038
Jody Timmerman
323-956-5000
www.paramount.com
PG 41
PACKAGING CONCEPTS, INC.
9832 Evergreen Industrial Dr.
St. Louis, MO 63123
John Irace / 314-329-9700
jji@packagingconceptsinc.com
www.packagingconceptsinc.com
PG 39
PETER’S PRETZELS
30290 U.S. Hwy. 72 E
Hollywood, AL 35752
256-575-2470
www.peterspretzels.com
PG 75
PHILIPS LIGHTING
200 Clarendon St.
Boston, MA 02116
Dina Munchback
617-449-4127
www.philips.com
PG 49
PROCTOR COMPANIES
10497 Centennial Rd.
Littleton, CO 80127-4218
Bruce Proctor
303-973-8989
sales@proctorco.com
www.proctorco.com
PG 87
QSC
1665 MacArthur Blvd.
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Francois Godfrey / 714-754-6175
francois_godfrey@qscaudio.com
www.qscaudio.com
PG 64, 66, 68
QUARTZ LAMPS INC.
4424 Aicholtz Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45245
888-557-7195
sales@qlistore.com
swww.qlistore.com
PG 73
QUBE CINEMA INC.
601 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Ste 102
Burbank, CA 91502
818-748-9057
sales@qubecinema.com
www.qubecinema.com
PG 51
QUEST
A DIVISION OF THERMA-STOR
4201 Lien Rd.
Madison, WI 53704
800-533-7533
www.questprotect.com
PG 81
REYNOLDS & REYNOLDS
300 Walnut St., Ste. 200
Des Moines, IA 50309-2244
Darlene Fischer / 515-243-1724
info@reynolds-reynolds.com
www.reynolds-reynolds.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 84
RETRIEVER SOFTWARE
7040 Avenida Encinas
Ste. 104-363
Carlsbad, CA 92011
760-929-2101
www.retrieversoftware.com
PG 33
SCHULT INDUSTRIES
900 N.W. Hunter Dr.
Blue Springs, MO 64015
800-783-8998
sales@schult.com
www.schult.com
PG 8
SCREENVISION
1411 Broadway, 33rd Fl.
New York, NY 10018
212-752-5774
www.screenvision
PG 69, BACK COVER
SENSIBLE CINEMA
SOFTWARE
7216 Sutton Pl.
Fairview, TN 37062
Rusty Gordon
615-799-6366
rusty@sensiblecinema.com
www.sensiblecinema.com
PG 88
SONY ELECTRONICS
One Sony Dr.
Park Ridge, NJ 07656
201-476-8603
www.sony.com/professional
PG 4, 5
STRONG CINEMA PRODUCTS
(Division of Ballantyne Inc.)
4350 McKinley St.
Omaha, NE 68112
Ray Boegner / 402-453-4444
ray.boegner@btn-inc.com
www.ballantyne-omaha.com
PG 55
TEXAS DIGITAL
400 Technology Pkwy.
College Station, TX 77845
Romney Stewart / 979-446-0173
www.txdigital.comh
PG 84
TEXAS INSTRUMENTS
12500 TI Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75243
www.dlp.com
PG 57
TK ARCHITECTS
106 West 11th St., #1900
Kansas City, MO 64105-1822
816-842-7552
tkapo.tharch.com
www.tkarch.com
PG 83
USHIO
5440 Cerritos Ave.
Cypress, CA 90630
714-236-8600
www.ushio.com
PG 15
USL
181 Bonetti Dr.
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
805-549-0161
usl@uslinc.com
www.uslinc.com
PG 63
VARIETY CLUBS
5757 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 445
Los Angeles, CA 90036
www.usvariety.org
PG 43
VISTA ENTERTAINMENT
SOLUTIONS LTD.
P.O. Box 8279
Symonds Street, Auckland NZ
Meika Kikkert
011-649-357-3600
info@vista.co.nz
www.vista.co.nz
PG 85
WEST WORLD MEDIA
63 Copps Hill Rd.
Ridgefield, CT 06877
Brett West
888-737-2812
www.westworldmedia.com
PG 67
WHITE CASTLE
555 West Goodale St.
Columbus, OH 43215
Timothy Carroll / 614-559-2453
carrollt@whitecastle.com
www.whitecastle.com
PG 9, 65
86 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

NOVEMBER 2011 BOXOFFICE PRO 87

CLASSIFIED ADS
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
3D/DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR SALE: Barco DP-2000
projector; lens; lamp; 3D/server; etc. Purchase out-right for
$80,000. Equipment list provided upon request. Contact:
Michael Schwartz; email: mschwartz@pennprolaw.com;
phone: (212) 354-7700 x 3012.
3D/DIGITAL EQUIPMENT LEASE AVAILABLE: Barco
DP-2000 projector; lens; lamp; and 3D/server; etc. Assume
lease at $2,200 per month/42 months remaining or purchase
out-right at $85,000. Equipment list provided upon
request. Contact: Michael Schwartz; email: mschwartz@
pennprolaw.com; phone: (212) 354-7700 x 3012
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 EQUIP-
MENT. 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.CINEMACONSULTANTSINTERNATIONAL.
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 theaterrelated
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 well-equipped,
professional crew anywhere in the United States. Please
visit our website, www.asterseating.com, or call 1-888-409-
1414.
FOR SALE
3D/DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR SALE OR LEASE: Barco
DP-2000 projector; lens; lamp; 3D/server; etc. Purchase
out-right for $75,000 or assume balance of lease term
(3½ yrs.). Equipment list provided upon request. Contact:
Michael Schwartz; mschwartz@pennprolaw.com. 212-354-
7700 x 3012.
ALL FIRST RUN THEATRES: 4 screen in beautiful northern
Illinois town of 16,000, only theatre in county, expansion
possibilities, great potential $399,000. 3 screen in
southern Illinois town of 9,000, closest theatre 45 miles,
$299,000. Successful drive-in with huge drawing area and
good customer base $229,000 … better if sold as package.
217-549-3000, Principals only.
TWIN THEATRE WITH FOUR RENTALS IN ZEPH-
YRHILLS, FL (NE of Tampa) Rental income is more than
mortgage payments. Appraised at $325,000 land & building.
Next in line for $60,000 improvement Grant. Excellent
Draft House possibility. larry.rutan@verizon.net. Cell
813-299-0665.
ART DECO TWIN FOR SALE In Quaint Western New
York Town. NO COMPETITION. Colonial Home Located
Behind Theatre. $389K for Theatre Only. $459K For Both.
585-610-8640.
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, eight-screen,
all stadium-seating theater complex located in suburban
Chicago. Completely renovated in 2004. Seating capacity
for 1,774 people within a 48,000-square-foot sqft building
on 5.32 acres. Preliminary site plan approval for expansion
of additional screens. Proximate to national/regional retail
and dining. Strong ticket and concession revenues. Excellent
business or investment opportunity. Contact Kevin
Jonas at 305-631-6303 for details.
FIVE-PLEX, FULLY EQUIPPED AND OPERATIONAL:
$735,000, land, bldg., equip., NW Wisconsin. Priced
$50,000 below appraised value. 715-550-9601.
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
WANTED THEATRE MANAGERS TO INTERVIEW FOR
BOOK on movie industry to talk about your jobs, responsibilites
and careers. What lessons have you learned about
the film business? What do love about your job? You are
important. Tell me your stories. To set up a phone interview
email davidsikich@comcast.net
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
HELP improve movie-goer experiences and the industry,
go to movie-goer-rights.org or youtube.com/user/moviegoerrights
SERVICES
DULL FLAT PICTURE? RESTORE YOUR XENON RE-
FLECTORS! 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
NATIONAL THEATRE ACQUISITION CO. site acquisition,
brokerage of theaters on a sale, purchase or lease
basis and related services. Phone: 248-350-9090, email:
rkomer@wkbldg.com.
88 BOXOFFICE PRO NOVEMBER 2011

SOUND QUALITY.
sound decision.
Introducing the new standard in audio. The AP20 Audio Processor
offers an impressive collection of features for both the latest digital as well as
legacy analog sound systems - with 16-channels in/out and three expansion slots
for future development.
Supports Legacy Film
First expansion card designed with “A” chain film support.
Ideal for Alternative Content
Offers a wide range of inputs and stores multiple room EQs
to create the right listening environment.
Dirac Live® Room Optimization
Improves listener experience by correcting for room modes
and anomalies.
Cost Savings
Extends life of speakers and eliminates the need for crossovers,
automation systems, HDMI video conversion and any other
non-sync inputs.
8-Channel Upgradeable Audio Processor Also Available