BoxOffice® Pro - April 2011

INDUSTRY BRIEFS
to be a key entertainment element for King’s
Village Shopping Center as well as the future
planned Scotts Valley Town Center.
For the first time ever, the Wimbledon finals
will be captured in 3D and screened live to
3D-capable cinemas around the world. The
live 3D production, in partnership with the
BBC, will also be offered to interested global
broadcasters. Sony and The All England Lawn
Tennis Club (AELTC) have announced their
multi-year partnership to bring Wimbledon
in 3D to suitably equipped cinemas around
the world. Sony will work with SuperVision
Media, their theatrical distribution partner, to
bring the excitement of tennis to 3D cinemas
worldwide. Said Fujio Nishida, president of
Sony Europe, “Watching tennis in High Definition
3D is a stunning experience, bringing
the speed of the action and the emotions of
the occasion to life; it is as close to the atmosphere
and excitement of Centre Court as actually
being there. With the Live 3D Wimbledon
experience available in hundreds of 3D
cinemas across the world, many more people
will be able to enjoy one of the world’s most
iconic sporting events as though they were
actually at Wimbledon.”
AnyClip Ltd. has signed the company’s
first studio film licensing deal with Universal
Partnerships & Licensing. This unique
licensing agreement allows AnyClip Ltd. to
offer consumers the ability to access their
favorite movie moments from Universal Pictures’
library of feature films. AnyClip allows
for searching and browsing movies associatively
by characters, actors, scene details,
behavioral information, quotes, objects,
shooting characteristics and more. Through
AnyClip.com or via third-party distribution
partners, AnyClip Ltd. now offers movie
clips from Universal Pictures’ library of feature
films, including classic Universal Motion
pictures, the Back to the Future and The
Fast and Furious series and clips from new
releases. “This licensing agreement with
Universal Partnerships & Licensing leads
the way in changing how businesses and
consumers will interact with film content,”
said Oren Nauman, CEO of AnyClip.” We
allow viewers to access any moment of a
film at any time and to share it with anyone.
Our goal is to provide a new promotional
service for our studio partners.”
DreamWorks Animation SKG has announced
its feature film release slate
through 2014. The company’s plan of six
original films and three sequels is as follows:
Kung Fu Panda 2 for May 26, 2011
and Puss In Boots for November 4, 2011;
Madagascar 3 for June 8, 2012 and Rise
of the Guardians for November 21, 2012;
The Croods for March 1, 2013, Turbo for
June 7, 2013 and Me and My Shadow for
November 8, 2013; Mr. Peabody & Sherman
for March 21, 2014 and How to Train
Your Dragon 2 for June 20, 2014. “At
DreamWorks Animation, our creative ambition
has never been greater and the release
schedule we’re unveiling today is designed
to give our movies the time and resources
they need to realize their full potential so
each one can become a true event for our
audiences,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO
of DreamWorks Animation.
IMAX Corp. has promoted David Keighley
to the newly created role of Chief Quality Officer.
In this role, Keighley will be responsible
for ensuring that every IMAX release meets
the company’s criteria and is an enhanced
version of the original. “While many organizations
today are preoccupied with finding ways
to do things cheaper, IMAX is focused on
maintaining the highest quality of presentation
and continuing to improve all aspects
of the cinematic experience, said IMAX CEO
Richard L. Gelfond. “David Keighley has been
the driving force behind that approach at
IMAX for many years. By operating this way,
we are able to deliver exceptional value to
our audiences, partners and shareholders.”
Keighley has been involved in the postproduction
of more than 265 IMAX films and
will continue as president of IMAX’s postproduction
image and quality control subsidiary,
DKP 70MM Inc., co-founded with his wife
and business partner, Patricia, in 1972 and
acquired by IMAX in February 1988. Keighley
was appointed Executive Vice President of
IMAX in July 2007 and previous to that had
been Senior Vice President since July 1997.
Inception filmmakers Christopher Nolan and
Emma Thomas responded, “We were thrilled
to hear of David’s promotion. His attention to
detail, extraordinary technical knowledge and
dedication to the highest standards of motion
picture image quality have been essential to
the IMAX presentations of our films.”
Columbia Pictures has promoted Sam
Dickerman to executive vice president of
production. Dickerman served as senior vice
president of production since 2005 and has
overseen a series of hits including Click, You
Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Paul Blart: Mall
Cop, Salt, Grown Ups and Just Go With It.
“Sam’s contributions to our success the last
several years have been exceptional and this
promotion is richly deserved,” said Columbia
President Doug Belgrad.
The Collective, a full-service entertainment
management and content company,
along with AMC Theatres and horror website
BloodyDisgusting.com, is launching
a film distribution partnership dedicated
to acquiring and marketing the best horror
and thriller titles from the festival and
international markets. The Collective has
acquired the rights to several films out of
horror and genre heavy festivals such as
the Toronto International Film Festival, the
Berlin International Film Festival, Slamdance,
Sitges Film Festival and Fantastic
Fest, and plans to release the films across
multiple platforms. AMC will show a new
title in the series each month, at least twice
a week, across 32 key markets, including
a special Friday midnight show, beginning
in May. After their theatrical exhibition at
AMC, films from the series will be available
to fans of the genre in DVD, VOD, online
and television. “There’s a huge market for
niche horror films—both independent and
foreign—that isn’t being met in the current
environment,” said Gary Binkow, a partner
at the Collective. “Together, we will build
up a series around what those fans really
want. And it only makes sense to have the
trusted tastemakers of the genre from the
world’s number one entertainment source
for horror, Bloody Disgusting, pick the titles
that they think deserve to be seen by a
wider audience.”
Open Road Films, the distribution company
founded by AMC and Regal, has announced
that their partnership will acquire and release
between eight to ten films a year, with a focus
on wide-release movies. Tom Ortenberg,
the former president of theatrical films for Lionsgate,
has signed on to serve as CEO and
says Open Road will have a strong presence
at film festivals. “As major studio releases
have declined in recent years, Open Road
Films will fill an important gap that exists in
the market today for consumers, movie producers
and theatrical exhibitors,” said Gerry
Lopez, chief executive officer and president
of AMC. “We are committed to providing
a wide array of movies—year round-—that
appeal to all of our diverse groups of guests.
Open Road Films will provide a broader
availability of movies to consumers.” Added
Regal CEO Amy E. Miles, “Regal and AMC
are in a unique position to provide Open
Road Films with strategic access to theatrical
exhibition, enabling more great stories to
reach the big screen.” Advance word is that
this new content will not be exclusive to Regal
and AMC. Explained Miles, “Open Road
Films will distribute these movies to theaters
across the United States, playing them well
beyond Regal and AMC’s screens.” As for
international distribution, the answer is uncertain.
6 BOXOFFICE PRO APRIL 2011