BoxOffice® Pro - May 2012

10 QUESTIONS
because many Chinese tourists came across
the border to watch the movie. It appealed not
just to men but also women moviegoers. They
booked some of the cinema times for women
only. They were quite curious to see what it was
like in 3D. I have not seen it myself—maybe
on Blu-ray. They’re making another sequel to be
released next year, I believe.
China has made 3D movies before, but the
quality was appalling, so we didn’t get good box
office. There was a local movie last year, The Flying
Swords of Dragon Gate, the first locally made
really good 3D movie, and the box office has
been overwhelming. Jet Li is the actor and the
director Hark Tsui is famous and I believe had
a film at the Cannes Film Festival a couple of
years ago. It’s the first 3D movie China has released
that I believe is comparable to Hollywood
standards. And the story is a remake of a very
popular movie I remember watching as a kid.
It made $70 million dollars in China alone—it
was really big. I believe it’s even still screening in
some parts. It will have a long shelf life.
Which 3D movie are you most looking forward
to in 2012?
Men in Black and Spider-Man would be very interesting
in 3D. I enjoyed watching the previous
Men in Blacks. Spider-Man will be a challenging
one because there’s a lot of fast action, so I
wonder how good it will be.
What do you think are the most important
topics the industry needs to be talking
about at CinemaCon this April?
I believe the digital conversion is almost done
for most countries, so the next big question is
what can one do with digital cinema? This is
just the beginning of digital cinema, I believe.
3D has proven a successful catalyst by improving
revenues, so what will be the next application
that can make the cinema great? I believe
3D sound is one of the possibilities. There
have been a lot of cinemas experimenting with
large-screen formats. This is made possible by
dual projectors, and then there’s laser projectors,
which will make projectors brighter. Perhaps
we can reduce the cost of 3D and have more
consistency. And the next topic which interests
me a lot is alternative content in cinemas.
Alternative content hasn’t been really successful
other then the Met opera and, in some countries,
the ballet. Beyond that, nothing has really
happened yet. There’s concerts and sports, but
no constant revenue coming into cinemas from
alternative content.
Your restoration process, Revival, was
used to preserve Casablanca. With digital
3D reissues like Titanic and The Lion King
becoming a new trend, what are some
classic films you’d like to see restored and
converted to 3D?
I think a Hitchcock series would be my favorite.
I’m not sure whether the 3D would make any
difference—I’m just a big fan of Hitchcock. I
enjoy watching Rear Window again and again.
Classic movies like Frankenstein maybe, or
Stephen King. But if Hitchcock was rereleased,
I’m sure I would bring my family to see Vertigo
in 3D—my daughter is a big fan of 3D. Young
people like to watch 3D. For me, watching a
restored 2D rerelease with enhanced sound
would be great.
Two years ago, you joked that the stress
of the industry had turned your hair 70
percent gray. How is it today?
Last year was the most challenging yet—we
became DCI-compliant. I think the whole
company was under a lot of pressure to deliver
it, and we’re so pleased that all ten of our servers
passed. I’m feeling a lot better now. I have
more time to explore different countries. I’m
about to fly to India, and we just installed the
first multiplex in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh.
We installed the first three-screen multiplex—I
didn’t realize Cambodia didn’t have cinemas yet?
I hope I have more time to spend in developing
countries like Myanmar, Papua New Guinea,
and see how digital cinema can improve their
lives. As for my hair, I don’t think I can reverse
it now. It’s probably 75 percent gray after the
DCI compliance.
34 BOXOFFICE PRO MAAY 2012