The Latest Cinema and Exhibition Industry News.

Dear All,

Please find below this weeks news headlines. The URL is slightly different this week, so it now no longer matters if you don't get to read this email before midnight, as it now displays the last 50 stories from the database. So the new URL is: http://ping.fm/0LqKS

There are a few stories which are worth specifically noting this week. One which appear in the Sun about the demise of the Odeon Projectionist, one about Cineworld bringing D-BOX to the UK, and finally one which is really a blog post about someone who no longer plans on going to the cinema.

The Latest Cinema and Exhibition Industry News.

2012-02-14
FTT to Open Office in Croatia - The Croatian company AVC and the Austrian-based FTT Digital Cinema GmbH opened a new office in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-14
Imax Pacts With Barco on Laser Projection Development - The Canadian and Belgium companies will collaborate on new technology to allow the exhibitor to screen super-sized Hollywood movies in more institutional theaters.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

2012-02-14
Digital switch keeps council theatre afloat - The closure of Hastings Reading Cinemas and the repair work on the Manawatu Gorge are sending movie-goers towards Waipukurau, where RealD 3D cinema technology has reinvigorated interest in the country town's big screen.
Source: Hawke's Bay Today

2012-02-14
Bucharest reopens after six-month renovation - The Elvira Popescu cinema within the French Institute in Bucharest will reopen after six months of renovation, on February 10, with the screening of the film ”Persian Love”, the first live action film of director Marjane Satrapi.
Source: Romania Insider

2012-02-14
At last - Since the advent of the multiplex, visiting the cinema has for most of us become a soulless and often rather nasty experience. Endless queues at ill-informed box offices, out-of-order ticket machines, long escalators followed by longer corridors, sound systems designed to deafen even the hardest of hearing and, above all, the relentless dispensing of shedloads of popcorn, colas and confectionery, much of which ends up splurged over the nylon carpet.
Source: Telegraph (Blog)

2012-02-14
Arts Alliance Media Bolsters Team with Addition of Eric Stevens as Commercial Director - Arts Alliance Media (AAM), the London-based digital cinema company, has announced the appointment of Eric Stevens as the company
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-14
Cinema in Stratford Town Square given go-ahead - A NEW five-screen cinema with restaurants and shops built around it in the run-down Town Square of Stratford-upon-Avon was granted planning permission tonight.
Source: Stratford Herald

2012-02-14
Christie Helps Texas Drive-Ins Light Up - Christie Digital Cinema Projectors Light Up 90-Ft Screens at the “Big Sky” and “The Stars & Stripes”
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-14
IMAX coming to Crawley - AN IMAX screen will be opening in Crawley this Spring.Cineworld has announced on its website it will be converting screens at its London Road cinema at Crawley Leisure Park.
Source: Crawley Observer

2012-02-14
Cineworld Chain to go 4D - UK chain Cineworld will be adding a fourth dimension to selected cinemas with motion seating starting with John Carter.
Source: 3D Focus

2012-02-14
Cinema firm to operate new 12-screen multiplex - The Qatar Cinema & Film Distribution Company (QCFDC) signed an agreement yesterday with Doha’s Pin Point Holdings to operate the 12-screen multiplex at Tawar Mall in Duhail area.
Source: Gulf Times

2012-02-14
Cinedigm Revenues Rise, And So Does Its Stock - A year after CEO Chris McGurk arrived and started reinventing the company, revenues and the stock price are up, although it continues to lose money.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

2012-02-14
Lottery award for Birks Cinema revamp - A campaign to restore a derelict Perthshire cinema has been awarded more than £500,000 of lottery money.
Source: BBC News

2012-02-14
Burnley's Apollo cinema set for refurbishment - A NEW look is being proposed for Burnley’s Apollo Cinema as part of a major investment by its London owners.
Source: This Is Lancashire

2012-02-14
Whiteladies Picture House cinema memories sought - Campaigners who want to reopen the derelict Whiteladies Picture House in Bristol are asking for people to share their memories of the cinema.
Source: BBC News

2012-02-14
A letter to the UK cinema industry: This has to stop - Last week I was moved by the words of Drew McWeeny who, in a piece written for HitFix, shared an empassioned open letter to what he called “the worst human being to ever sit in a theater.” It was easy to tell how this one incident was born of a growing frustration with how visiting the cinema is, for many of us, becoming more of a chore than the magical experience the marketers behind the major chains would have us believe. Incessant talkers and people with a lack of respect for others are ruining cinema – and I’m sick of it.
Source: Eat Sleep Live Film [Blog]

2012-02-14
120 get clip from Odeon - THE digital revolution sweeping Britain's cinemas has triggered more than 120 job cuts at ODEON.
Source: The Sun

2012-02-07
Popular picture house is back in business - A POPULAR Witney cinema that was forced to shut after the closure of the Corn Exchange will reopen this month.
Source: Witney Gazette

2012-02-07
Dolby Digital Cinema Continues Support for Berlin International Film Festival - Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: DLB) announced today that it will again support the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival as the official supplier of digital cinema equipment and services, including Dolby
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-07
Deluxe expands UK digital cinema operation - The company is building a new £4m purpose built facility in Soho.Deluxe Entertainment Services Group is expanding its UK Digital Cinema operation with a new purpose built facility in Soho.
Source: Screen Daily

2012-02-07
Cinema opens up for Morocco's blind - As Aziz Bouallouchen walks into the foyer of a plush cinema in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, he is given not a pair of 3D glasses that one can expect to find in many cinemas around the world but a pair of headphones.
Source: BBC News

2012-02-07
UK cinema box office takes £1bn in 2011 - UK cinema box office takings passed the £1bn mark for the first time last year, according to the British Film Institute (BFI).
Source: BBC News

2012-02-07
Cinema hope after casino licence win - A MULTIPLEX cinema could be built in Scarborough after the five-year saga of the town's small casino licence ended.It emerged yesterday that Apollo Leisure, the company which also operates the Open Air Theatre, had formally pulled out of the bidding process.
Source: Scarborough Evening News

2012-02-07
Perth film-goers on top of the town - PERTH'S first rooftop cinema has been given the green light, with the top floor.
Source: Perth Now

2012-02-07
Swedish Cinema Ticket Sales Up Nearly 4 Percent - It was another strong cinema year in Sweden, with admissions jumping 3.7 percent to 16.4 million in 2011 and and local titles accounting for around one in five tickets sold, according to official statistics.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

2012-02-07
Marcus Theatres' to Acquire Former OMNIMAX Theatre from Duluth Entertainment Convention Center - Marcus TheatresÆ, a division of The Marcus Corporation (NYSE:MCS), today announced it will acquire the former OMNIMAX Theatre located in the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC) adjacent to the company's 10-screen Duluth Cinema at 300 Harbor Drive. Marcus Theatres will convert the domed theatre, which closed in April 2011, to a nearly 70-foot-wide UltraScreenÆ auditorium.
Source: Business Wire

2012-02-07
Megaplex Theatres Chooses Cinedigm Digital Cinema for Digital Deployment - Deal Will Enable the Rollout of 90 New Digital Cinema Screens at Six Locations
Source: Market Watch

2012-02-07
Christie and Partners Lead America - Iconic Part of American Cinema History Gets New Lease on Life
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-07
Former cinema goes on market for £350,000 - THE former home of Jesters Comedy Club in Cheltenham Road has been put up for sale. Metropolis - a converted cinema, which once housed the popular comedy brand and saw performances by live bands and regular burlesque cabaret nights - is now on the market for £350,000.
Source: This Is Bristol

2012-02-07
Ymagis Exceeds 1,000 Deployed Digital Systems in France - To date, YMAGIS has deployed more than 1,000 digital projection systems in France, becoming the first deploying entity to pass the 1,000 systems figure in any one European country. YMAGIS has so far signed deals with more than 1,050 screens in France and expects to consolidate its leadership in the country by signing and deploying more screens in the coming months.
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-02-07
Barco Impresses Large-Screen Theater Experts with Laser Projection Technology Showcase at Moody Gardens Digital Cinema Symposium - Digital cinema pioneer and world-record holder of the brightest DC projector, Barco publicly unveiled its laser projector technology, showcasing levels of brightness and color saturation never seen before to exhibitors and industry luminaries at the 2nd Annual Moody Gardens Digital Cinema Symposium in Galveston, Texas from January 9-10, 2012.
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-01-31
Hastings cinema closes - Hastings cinema-goers will be forced to travel to Havelock following the closure of Reading Cinemas.
Source: Hawkesbay

2012-01-31
Cinema to mark centenary with memories - OXFORD'S Phoenix Picturehouse has been the scene of unforgettable films and equally unforgettable first kisses for nearly 100 years. Now the Jericho institution wants to collect those cherished memories for a special centenary celebration in 2013.
Source: Oxford Mail

2012-01-31
After years of lacklustre films, Israeli cinema makes world impression - The budgets are bare-bones and the talent pool is limited, but Israel has emerged as a surprising powerhouse in the foreign film industry.
Source: Washington Post (Blog)

2012-01-31
Cinema will be part of Hounslow town centre plans - THIS is the first glimpse of how a new shopping and leisure quarter in Hounslow town centre might look, writes Robert Cumber.A cinema is at the heart of early proposals to develop the run-down car park, unveiled today by Legal & General Property (LGP).
Source: Hounslow Chronicle

2012-01-31
Downtown Entertainment Center Expected To Revitalize Towson - Downtown Entertainment Center Expected To Revitalize Towson;Downtown Towson has been hit hard by the economic decline. But it's about to get a big boost with a brand new multi-million dollar development.
Source: CBS Baltimore

2012-01-31
Stratford-upon-Avon cinema plans prompt concerns - Plans for a cinema complex in Stratford-upon-Avon have caused concern about the future of its current cinema. London and Regional Properties has applied to build the five-screen cinema as part of a revamp of the Town Square.
Source: BBC News

2012-01-31
Cinema faces funding cut - The Bendigo council is considering changes to its support of the city's arthouse cinema.The council currently rents the former Eaglehawk town hall to the operators of the Star Cinema but is investigating a relocation to the Capital Theatre in central Bendigo.
Source: ABC Central Victoria

2012-01-31
Telford cinema dream moves a step closer - Multi-million pound plans for a new cinema, restaurants and shops in Telford centre and creating nearly 300 jobs, came a step nearer reality today.
Source: Shropshire Star

2012-01-31
The Chemical Brothers' Don't Think Brings Festival Fever to Cinemas Worldwide in Dolby Surround 7.1 - World's first concert film cinema release mixed in Dolby Surround 7.1.
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-01-31
Canadian Exhibitor Cineplex Adds Digital Theatres - The cinema chain has ordered 12 more premium UltraAVX venues, which include wall-to-wall screens and RealD 3D technology.
Source: Hollywood Reporter

2012-01-31
Jersey's Freedom Church to buy former Odeon cinema in St Helier - A Christian group in Jersey is set to buy a former cinema to turn it into a community centre.
Source: BBC News

2012-01-31
MP demands answers over Ealing cinema delay - EALING MP Angie Bray has written to the developer which is due to rebuild Ealing's cinema demanding to know why work has still not started despite previous assurances.
Source: Ealing Gazette

2012-01-31
Laser focus: With new technologies, Barco proposes premium cinema experiences for all - "It is important that the market gets a good view and perspective on what is possible and coming,” Wim Buyens tells Film Journal International about the newest technology on hand and latest developments in store for cinemas at Barco. “We want to show people what is possible right now, and let them feel and envision the possibilities. Then, later on, we will present them with different solutions tailored to the types of auditoriums that they have.”
Source: Film Journal International

2012-01-31
Curzon Cinemas Launches New Cinema Initiative 'CURZON AT' - Curzon At marks a new era of varied and exciting programming for cultural arts venues in the UK. The project combines the technical and programming expertise of Curzon Cinemas with various rural arts venues and spaces across the UK, enabling them to screen contemporary releases on state of the art digital equipment.
Source: Close-Up Film

2012-01-31
Odeon sees increased attendance for British films in 2011 - Odeon reports that 270,000 more cinema-goers bought tickets for British films at its cinemas in 2011, compared to 2010.
Source: Screen Daily

2012-01-31
Hebden Bridge Picture House taken over by town council - A West Yorkshire town council has taken over a 500-seat cinema which dates back to 1921.
Source: BBC News

2012-01-31
Epic Theatres Selects Barco for 69 Screens Including Exclusive "Epic XL" Premium Cinema Experience - Barco, world record holder for the brightest DC projector, has been selected by Epic Theatres of DeLand, Fla. to convert 69 screens to digital projection with its industry-leading DLP Cinema
Source: D Cinema Today

2012-01-31
Cineplex to Debut VIP Cinemas in Quebec at Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas - Cineplex Entertainment (TSX: CGX) today announced VIP Cinemas will be added to Cineplex Odeon Brossard Cinemas later this year. The VIP Cinemas and licensed lounge will be built on the east side of the building and will feature four VIP auditoriums, a licensed lounge and a private entrance with its own box office.
Source: Digital Journal

2012-01-31
Kinoton Official Supplier for 2012 Berlinale - Kinoton has been chosen to equip the cinemas of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, with digital projection technology. Kinoton's premium Digital Cinema Solutions (DCS) and comprehensive service and support will ensure a brilliant cinema experience at the World Culture House of the Berlin Congress Hall, the CineStar Cubix theatre, and the Martin Gropius Building.
Source: D Cinema Today


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Peter J. Knight
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