Have a news tip for us?
Just email . Ideas for stories, links to interesting articles, and press releases are welcome.
Industry
-
March 24, 2009
Bank Of America subsidizing consumers to see Hollywood film
It appears that the American taxpayers are footing the bill for a plan to promote the 3D debut of Dreamworks' “Monsters vs. Aliens” on March 27. Bank of America, which has received $45 billion in “bailout” funds from the federal government is offering their customers complimentary ticket upgrades to see the movie in 3D vs. 2D at no additional cost. Deadline Hollywood Daily notes a connection between DWA’s president, Lew Coleman, who is Bank of America’s former vice chairman and CFO:
It took respected media analyst Rich Greenfield of Pali Research to uncover this staggering scheme (registration required). He found out that Bank of America was helping families to see Monsters vs Aliens in 3-D rather than 2-D at no additional cost when it starts playing in theaters on Friday, March 27th. (The promotion is here.) And at the same time helping out the box office grosses of Katzenberg’s DreamWorks Animation, a publicly traded company.
“Why Bank of America?,” Greenfield asks in a report posted this morning. “We have not seen any formal announcement about the Bank of America/[DWA] promotion beyond an increasing number of consumers discussing the promotion link on Twitter. However, we find it odd that a bank that just received $45 bn [billion] in government aid is paying for consumers across the US to see a movie in 3-D vs. 2-D at no extra cost. We also wonder whether the presence of DWA’s President, Lew Coleman, helped DWA convince Bank of America to enter into the promotion, as Coleman is a former Vice Chairman and CFO of Bank of America.”
Read the rest of the story at Deadline Hollywood.
1 comment -
March 20, 2009
Turkish movie poster site
My name is Deniz Pinar. I’ve started a blog about Turkish Movie Posters beginning with Turkish Fantastic Cinema.
http://turkishposters.blogspot.com/
Vintage movie posters from Turkey: Erotica, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Spy/Bond, Kung-fu/Bruce Lee, Blaxploitation, Monster movies, Horror, Comedy, Spaghetti westerns, Post-Apocaliptica, French cinema, Classics, Exploitation, Turkish sexploitation, Turkish fantastic cinema, Bollywood, Made in Hong Kong, Bad Taste… Some of the posters came with a completely different graphic image in Turkey!
Deniz Pinar
-
March 18, 2009
Christian Owners/Managers given forum
One Way Films, a film production website, has created a forum for Christian theatre owners and managers to discuss managing a theater today without compromising their beliefs. Also, it’s for interacting with Christian film producers and whatever else may be on your mind.
The site came about after a request by a former manager/owner when it was noticed that the two major exhibition sites block exhibitors from discussing “religion” on their sites. The address for the cinema forum is here.
-
March 13, 2009
Screenvision strikes deal with Marcus
Signifying a possible loss of power for industry leader National Cinemedia, Screenvision stole away the contract for Marcus Theatres' in theater advertising business.
While other media are plodding or imploding, digital out-of-home video is steaming ahead with plans for expansion and positive earnings results. In the latest deal, Screenvision signed up Marcus Theaters, the nation’s seventh-largest theater chain—adding 675 screens at 55 locations to its national cinema advertising network, including heavy concentrations in Chicago and Minneapolis.
Marcus Theatres switched to Screenvision from its main rival, National CineMedia, signaling intensifying competition between the two for cinema ad partners. However, NCM had good news of its own, announcing strong results for the fourth quarter of 2008.
Read more at the Media Daily News.
-
March 11, 2009
Christopher Campbell discusses chain loyalty
In a new post, Christopher Campbell blogs on our preferences for certain chains.
Do you have any brand loyalty when it comes to movie theaters? I ask this because of the recent news that former Starbucks exec Gerald Lopez has been made head of AMC Theaters, the second-largest cinema chain in North America. Of course, Starbucks may not be a company you think of in terms of loyalty so much as addiction, since people primarily seem to go there either because the coffee chain has taken over their market or because it hooks them with higher doses of caffeine. But thinking of analogous ideas Lopez could implement at AMC, perhaps we’ll soon be eating narcotic-supplemented popcorn?
Jokes (and fears) aside, I used to think of movie theaters as having no more brand loyalty than movie studios. But at least you’ve probably always known what chain owns your favorite (or only) local cinema, whereas you might not know what studio produced or released the last film you saw (you might not even know who made your favorite film of all time). For most people outside of urban areas, there isn’t usually a choice of where they see movies. Growing up in Southern Connecticut, for instance, I basically only had Loews or National Amusements to pick from. Now there is a bit more variety there, but not a lot – not that anybody notices his or her limit, anyway. It’s not as if there are nationally broadcast TV commercials for Cinemark or Regal that have moviegoers wishing they had those chains nearby to try out.
Read the full story at First Showing.
-
March 10, 2009
Stimulus Tuesdays at Carmike
COLUMBUS, OH — Carmike Cinemas is trying to lure in customers with $1 refreshments on Tuesdays.
So Carmike Cinemas, a movie theater chain that operates 2,276 screens in 36 states, is trying out a Tuesday-night stimulus plan: Starting March 10, Carmike Theaters will sell 16-ounce sodas and 46-ounce popcorns for $1 each.
Drastic cuts in concession prices are rare because the snack bar is where movie theater companies make the most profit. And Carmike’s concession results haven’t been so hot lately; with third-quarter sales dropping 8.3 percent to $41.8 million, though a Carmike spokesman said the decline was due to the closure of 20 underperforming theaters. (The company reports fourth-quarter results on March 16.)
Read the full story in the New York Times
-
March 5, 2009
Huge surge in moviegoing due to poorer economic times
Not only is revenue surging but even attendance is on pace to reach high peaks.
While much of the economy is teetering between bust and bailout, the movie industry has been startled by a box-office surge that has little precedent in the modern era. Suddenly it seems as if everyone is going to the movies, with ticket sales this year up 17.5 percent, to $1.7 billion, according to Media by Numbers, a box-office tracking company.
And it is not just because ticket prices are higher. Attendance has also jumped, by nearly 16 percent. If that pace continues through the year, it would amount to the biggest box-office surge in at least two decades.
Read the full story at the New York Times.
-
March 3, 2009
Audio watermarking technique could locate movie pirates
With new audio watermarking technology, pirated movies will be traceable.
In an attempt to deter camcorder piracy, researchers have been developing watermarking techniques that embed a secret message into a movie indicating when and where the movie was shown. Once the movie is posted on the Internet, this secret message can be extracted to reveal the movie theater and showtime, and the theater can implement additional surveillance to deter piracy. However, these watermarking techniques cannot identify the recording location in the theater.
How much affect will it have?
Read more at Physorg.
-
March 2, 2009
Will the recession change movies?
An article suggests that the state of the economy could affect the types of films studios are releasing.
Analysts say the recession also is likely to affect the types of movies being made by Hollywood, how they’re made and what will succeed.
Based on recent successes, there’s evidence to suggest studios will continue to focus on comedies and action films.
Read more at CNN.
-
February 26, 2009
Sacred Cinema - Feature Documentary
I am currently in pre-production on a feature documentary entitled “Sacred Cinema”.
The long and short of it is that I am trekking across the planet in search of the world’s most unique movie theaters. By in large in Canada (where I am from), from what I have experienced, many theaters have lost the plot when it comes to providing a meaningful cinema experience.The documentary will touch on cinema etiquette and what theaters are doing to improve audience cooperation. I also want to take a look at the worlds kookiest home theaters and get an inside peek at why staying at home is a reasonable option for many people. I want to visit a wide array of cinemas. From a shanty village theater in India to a luxurious cinema palace in New York. Please if you have any suggestions for cinemas to feature I am open to suggestions as I am shortlisting as my research comes to an end in the next couple weeks. I am not looking for pure visual esthetics, though visually it helps if the cinema is a little offbeat or offers some real grandeur – I want to find theaters that have different, odd or atypical policies or amenities that help make the movie going experience memorable.