Boxoffice-November.2001

non-profit group the Amherst Cinema
Center Committee. With the aid
of local
volunteers, the organization is hoping to
renovate the moviehouse into a 375-seat,
two-auditorium venue for the performing
arts. The site also plans to include a cafe,
an art gallery and office space. Among the
partners helping to fund the conversion are
the University of Massachusetts and the
New World Theater.
BOSTON PLEX GOES BUDGET
New York City-based Loews Entertainment
has revealed plans to operate its fourscreen
Boston theatre as a second-run cinema.
Formerly one of the city's most upscale
moviehouses, the Cheri theatre's transformation
into a budget venue follows the recent
opening of Loews' 19-screen cineplex in
nearby Millennium Place. A spokesperson
for Loews says that the exhibition chain
decided to take an experimental approach to
the area rather than shutter the Cheri.
UPTOWN BUILDS UP
IN BIRMINGHAM
Developer Uptown Entertainment has
announced the opening of a state-of-theart
cineplex in Birmingham, a suburb of
Detroit. The new Uptown Palladium 12
features curved screens, Dolby digital
surround sound, highback leather seating,
complimentary valet service and
gourmet concession options. The
is
73,500-square-foot, 500-seat venue
the second Uptown Entertainment venue
to bow in the area, with the Uptown
Birmingham 8 multiplex also in operation.
"Location was a key factor for us, as
the new development offers several great
restaurants and retailers in the same
complex," says company president Carole
Hitch Trepack. "IPeople] can peruse
downtown, shop, dine and see a movie
all in the heart of Birmingham."
ALTERCATION AT
MARYVILLE CINEMA
A recent confrontation outside of a
movie theatre in Maryville has landed one
18-year-old in jail and another 18-yearold
in the hospital. Jonathon Hensen has
been charged with first-degree assault for
allegedly hitting Damon Ross in the head
during a Saturday night encounter. A local
witness described the two men as having
an "ongoing feud."
OKLAHOMA
SAPULPA PONDERS PLEX PLANS
Sapulpa city council members are
considering final plans for a retail complex
project currently being developed
on New Sapulpa Road. Among the major
facilities expected to anchor the site are
two family restaurants and a multiplex,
which, according to architectural sketches,
will hold eight screens and 14-inch
riser stadium seating auditoriums. The
theatre is also expected to cover just
under six acres of property. The Sapulpa
Metropolitan Area Planning Commission
and city manager Tom DeArman have
already expressed their approval of the
finalized scheme.
NEW THEATRE
DANDY IN SANDY
Plans for an eight-screen theatre in the
town of Sandy seem to be back on-track
after a disagreement about development
fees threatened to derail the project.
Theatre developer El lie Kassab had been
in negotiations with Sandy's city council
regarding $32,000 in local construction
fees. Kassab's Prestige Development had
requested that the city waive the fees,
arguing that the community was not
charging the levies when his company
first considered building the multiplex
several years ago. Sandy officials, however,
countered that the exemption would
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