|
3,900
Seats Bound For Northern California
Century Bows Bay Area 20
 DALY
CITY, Calif. – California state senator Jackie Speier,
supervisor Michael Nevin, top Century Theatres execs Ray
& Joe Syufy and members of the Daly City City Council
were on hand June 20 for the grand opening of Century’s
Daly City 20-plex.
The
new multi offers patrons a café, Starcade gamerooms,
three snack bars, and advance ticketing via the Internet.
The
facility’s auditoria are THX-certified and feature
wall-length screens, digital sound and stadium-style seating
with rocker seats and retractable armrests.
Century
currently operates over 850 screens in 11 U.S. states.
MovieFone
Veteran
Gotterup Promoted to
Clearview Sr. VP & GM
CHATHAM, N.J. – Clearview Cinemas announced June
17 the appointment of Morten Gotterup to senior vice president
and general manager.
The
promotion follows former Clearview president Chuck Goldwater’s
appointment as CEO of NewCo Digital Cinema.
Gotterup
will oversee the day-to-day business of Clearview, a subsidiary
of Cablevision.
Before
joining Clearview, Gotterup was vice president of sales
at MovieFone, director of corporate development at CDNow
and chief operating officer of Xpressreturns, a concierge
service for Internet and catalog businesses.
Previous
to his promotion at Clearview, Gotterup was vice president
of marketing and business development at the New Jersey-based
circuit.
St.
Louis Area Site To Bow in 2003
Wehrenberg Plans 14-Plex
ST. LOUIS – Wehrenberg Theatres announced on June
20 plans to build a 14-plex in Greater St. Louis’
Chesterfield Commons area.
Earmarked
for the new facility are a 500-seat auditorium (the area’s
largest upon completion) with an 80-by-60-foot screen,
seats with retractable cupholder armrests, party rooms
and a 2-story entertainment area with the most advanced
electronic games.
 Wehrenberg
has also slated a late-August start for the renovation
of the St. Clair 10 Cine which will include the installation
of wall-length screens and stadium-style seating with
“snuggle seats” in its auditoria, new wall and
floor coverings, an updated concession stand, an expanded
gaming area, renovated restrooms and the installation
of a family restroom.
Completion
of the 14-plex is planned for 2003 and the renovation
of the St. Clair is targeted for a November 2002 completion.
Wehrenberg
also announced on June 20 that it had just paid off all
its creditors in full, only months after its December
exit from Chapter 11.
‘Reign’
Writers Also Honored
Great States Awards
Regal, Polson Execs
LAKE GENEVA, Wis. – The second annual Great States
Theatre Convention announced June 17 the award recipients
to be honored at the event’s Sept. 19 dinner gala.
Honorees
include:
*
Buena Vista distribution chief Chuck Viane, who receives
the “Distributor of the Year” award;
* Regal Entertainment theatre group CEO Michael Campbell,
who receives the “Industry Service” award;
* Polson Theatres VP Ayron Pickerill, who receives the
“Founders” award;
* Gregg Chabot and Kevin Peterka, screenwriters of “Reign
of Fire,” who receive the new “On the Rise”
award; and
* Pepsi Cola, which receives the “Vendor of the
Year” honor.
The
Great States confab, which resulted from the merger of
the Rocky Mountain and Geneva conventions, will run Sept.
18-20 in Lake Geneva, Wis. The show will feature the annual
Variety Club Charity Golf Classic, a 100-plus-booth trade
show, four seminars, a digital cinema demonstration and
a screening of a major fall release.
Murray
Re-elected President
TONE Dials Up Officers
BOSTON
– The Theatre Owners of New England (TONE) elected
officers at its June 12 annual meeting.
The
incoming roster includes: James J. Murray, president;
William J. Hanney, vice-president; Melvin L. Fraiman,
secretary-treasurer; and Daniel Vieira, chairman of the
board. Carl Goldman remains the NATO affiliate’s
executive director.
Northwest
Pioneer
Yakima Celebrates
90th Anniversary
YAKIMA, Wash. – Yakima Theatres gave away mountain
bikes and offered 90-cent concession specials from June
15-30 to celebrate its 90th year in exhibition.
All
three Yakima sites participated in the celebration, which
also included a giveaway of 10,000 refrigerator magnets
featuring the anniversary logo and special screenings
of kids’ movies on two consecutive Saturday mornings.
Local radio stations conducted giveaways of anniversary
t-shirts, movie passes and complimentary concession items
to its listeners.
The
Yakima, Wash.-based circuit, founded in 1912 by Frederick
Mercy Sr., is one of the nation’s oldest family-owned
cinema companies.
Yakima
Theatres currently operates 20 screens at three sites,
with plans to expand its 6-plex into a 9-plex.
|
|
New
England, Mid-Atlantic, Pa.
NATO Affiliates
Award Scholarships
 NORTH
HOLLYWOOD, Calif – As the new academic year approached,
three regional NATO affiliates – Mid-Atlantic NATO,
NATO of Pennsylvania and the Theatre Owners of New England
(TONE) – announced the winners of their annual scholarships
for employees.
Mid-Atlantic
NATO’s college-bound winners are:
*
Bridget Catherine Brett ($3,000), NA Reston Town Center,
Reston, Va.;
* Nathan Thomas Fisher ($2,000), Holiday Cinemas, Frederick,
Md.;
* Derek Ray Slagle ($1,000 Sam Bendheim III Memorial
Scholarship), Cinemark Tinseltown 14, Bristol, Va.;
* Travis Byron Clay ($1,000), R/C Easton Movies, Easton,
Md.;
* David Buchanan Wolcott ($1,000), Millwald Theatre,
Wytheville, Va.;
* Erin Nicole Risi ($1,000), Consolidat-ed Harbor View
Grande 16, Suffolk, Va.;
* Kimberly Rae Cottle ($500) Marquee Cinemas, Fredericksburg,
Va. and Lauren Bridgeman-Fralin ($500) Byrd Theatre,
Richmond, Va.
Returning
college students receiving Mid-Atlantic scholarships are:
*Rahal
E. Bezabhie ($3,000), Loews Cineplex Pentagon City 6,
Arlington, Va.;
* Tatyana Yeremina ($2,000 Jim & Ted Pedas Foundation
Scholarship), Regal Rockville 13, Rockville, Md.;
* Michael Anton Ionescu ($2,000 Paul Roth Memorial Scholarship),
Regal Bel Air 14, Abingdon, Md.;
* Stephanie Jean Smith ($1,000), Regal MacArthur Center,
Norfolk, Va.;
* John Michael Halliday ($1,000), Regal Downtown Mall
6, Charlottesville, Va.;
* Nasreen Mohammed ($500), UA Snowden Square, Columbia,
Md.; and
* Stacy Rebecca Way ($500), Regal Aquia 10, Stafford,
Va.
The
10 recipients of NATO of Pennsylvania’s $2,500 scholarships
are:
*
Emily C. Rosenberry, R/C Theatres MJ Mall Cinema 8;
* Victoria P. Bosch, Clearview Cinemas Anthony Wayne
Theatre;
* Zachary J. Reitman, Regal Cinemas Lionville;
* Kristin Maureen Bateman, United Artists Montgomeryville;
* Katrina Lyn Dean, Rialto Theatre;
* Christal D. Karshick, Cinema Center of Bloomsburg;
* Mariel Elizabeth Young, Sayre Theatre;
* Christopher M. Gordon, Loews Theatre;
* Corey A. Bartholomew, Cinema Center of Bloomsburg;
and
* David C. Strawbridge, Regal Cinemas Lionville.
The
six recipients of TONE’s $2,500 scholarships are:
*
Johanna Lynn Bliss, Hoyts Cinemas, Westboro, Mass.;
* Miguel A. Tavarez, Showcase Cinemas, Lawrence, Mass.;
* Christopher M. LaFlamme, Saco Cinemagic 12, Saco,
Maine;
* Andrea Dreeszen, Showcase Cinemas, Revere, Mass.;
* Leigh Huston, Flagship Cinemas, Lewiston, Maine; and
* Christopher John Conroy, Hoyts Cinemas, So. Burlington,
Vt.
New
Roles At Imax Sites
Destination Cinema
Shuffles Management
OGDEN, Utah – Destination Cinema, large-format distributor
and exhibitor, announced June 27 the promotion of Loui
Coleman to the position of general manager for its Grand
Canyon Theatre and Nancy Merrifield to the position of
general manager for its Hearst Castle Theatre.
Previous
to her promotion, Coleman was general manager of San Simeon’s
Hearst Castle Imax site since its 1996 opening. Merrifield
has been operations manager for the San Simeon site since
its opening.
For 18 years, Destination’s Grand Canyon site has
presented the large-format film “Grand Canyon: The
Hidden Secrets” to over 200 million visitors.
Destination
owns sites in Niagara Falls and Victoria, British Columbia,
and also serves as the distribution arm for National Geographic’s
large format film division.
|
