Boxoffice-March.2000

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jMPANY: Cinemark Intl., Piano, Texas
Is it true that AOL tried to hire you for $130 billion, but you said no and they had to settle for Time Warner?
An "e" at the end of my first name, and it'd be merger city. Ironically, it's the "e" in the AOL-TW
merger that is making all the difference in that deal, and in our industry as well. "E-business" is
revolutionizing exhibition, and will continue to do so in the coming years. From purchasing to
presentation, the efficiencies and quality that new technologies and the internet bring to our
companies are dynamic. As an industry, we must embrace this revolution to enhance vitality and
continue to provide the best quality for our customers. We have a fast-moving, challenging and
exciting "e-road" ahead of us. It is very important that we make the right decisions.
I've spent many a March in Las Vegas, seven as chairman of ShoWest.
iat one exact place in Las Vegas is your favorite place to be?
.e've all found that the main elevators in Bally's or the Coke display
the trade show are key crossroads of the exhibition world. In past
years, one need only wait a few moments at either site for a chance
meeting with longtime friends and to meet people from all over the
world who drive our industry's success. Certainly, we are all exr"
that "Paris" has become a new crossroad of our industry.
What is your favorite least essential item in your office?
The clock. When you operate on several continents, an accurati
is meaningless. It is always time for a movie somewhere.
Fox's Tom Sherak calls you "determined, accommodating, tenat
good-willed, even-tempered." What might be one adjective he left
Out of generosity, I suspect that Tom omitted "stubborn." I've learned
great deal from Tom Sherak, especially the importance of working together
and seeing our business as one industry.
Which one do you use most frequently: PC, pen, email, or phone?
E-Mail. It is the most ubiquitous example of how e-business is enhancing
our ability to conduct international business.
If elves were at work in exhibition, what might their best midnight mat
They would bring sanity back to exhibition and stop the overdevelopment of
the marketplace. Exhibition and distribution would work together to solve our
common problems, focusing on our customers and expanding the marketplace.
In your experience, has Lee Roy ever said anything other than exactly what he means?
If you spend time with Lee Roy [Mitchell, chairman and CEO of Cinemark USA],
you notice right away that he doesn't talk a lot. He listens. And listens. And
listens. And, when he does speak, his words are carefully chosen, often woven
into an anecdote or an insight that is right on point. Lee Roy is one of the great
innovators and visionaries of our business. It has been a honor to work with him
and to carry out his vision of building one of the premier global exhibition companies.
Of your exhibition beginnings— a lobby page boy at the age of 9 at a Fox-lntermountain theatre in
Butte, Montana—you recently recalled, "I used to sweep up the lobby after the people came in."
How would you describe, these 47 years later, what you do now?
Now, I am a builder. First, of dreams. Then, of management teams and staffs who make those dreams
a reality.
Tim Warner will be honored as International Exhibitor of the Year at this month's ShoWest 2000.
See our April 1996 issue profile for a look back on Warner's life and times—and keep an eye out lor
our upcoming ShoWest Intro 2000 publication, where our cover story on Warner provides a look forward.