The Reel Blog

NATO president John Fithian responded to remarks made by Jeffrey Katzenberg about the slow pace of 3D cinema installations. In a Variety interview, Fithian previewed a speech he is scheduled to make at ShowCanada today.

Fithian countered that some of the studios can't agree on what they'll pay the top three circuits in virtual print fees and that circuits need to have those fees in place before they can make the costly investment.

He wouldn't name names, but industry insiders say that Disney, 20th Century Fox and Paramount are close to agreement with exhibs, while Warner Bros. is far behind. Universal and Sony are still in talks.

Katzenberg "suggested it is the cinema companies who are dragging their feet," Fithian said. "That is not the case," he added.

Further, Fithian noted that Katzenberg's colleague, Steven Spielberg has been, at best, lukewarm about the conversion to digital cinema.

There was an outcry among theater owners earlier this year when Par suggested it wouldn't supply digital prints of Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," because Spielberg wanted the movie played only as film on 35mm screens. Filmmakers including Spielberg sometimes balk at having their movies shown in digital when they were shot on film.

Not providing a film like "Crystal Skull" on digital would slight theater owners who have made the conversion, according to exhibs. Theater owners have long argued that there's no reason to make the transition if the product isn't there.

Par changed its position and will be releasing digital prints of "Indiana Jones." Exhibs aren't entirely mollified, though, since digital prints will go only to those houses where all the screens are digital. If there's a mix of screens in a theater, that theater will get only a film print.

Spielberg a print tease? Get your popcorn, the show isn't over. It's only intermission. 

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The Cinema Buying Group announced today it has chosen AccessIT to be the digital cinema system integrator for the more than 8000 independent screens under the group's umbrella.

Wayne Anderson, CBG managing director, complimented the quality of submissions from all vendors in the CBG’s Request for Proposal process.  In the end, he said, “AccessIT offered the winning package of extensive experience, exhibitor choice, and competitive cost.  Our mission is historic: ensure that independent cinemas survive and thrive in the digital age—and AccessIT proved its skill and determination to make that happen.”

More, from the press release:

The CBG began as a small buying program for independents—but mushroomed quickly into its current size and significance when it became an advertised vehicle for independents to acquire digital cinema equipment and service.  NATO’s vice president and general counsel, Kendrick Macdowell, said, “NATO’s commitment to the broadest possible digital deployment for our industry is well-known.  We’re proud to have worked with a man of Wayne Anderson’s stature to ensure that the march of digital cinema does not leave behind the vital independent segment of exhibition.”

 

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Nobody wants a bad economy, but movie theaters are well positioned to do well in tough economic times. In five of the seven recession years over the last four decades, box office revenues have gone up - as much as $670 million in one case. And it's not hard to see why:

Click the image to watch CNN's Brooke Anderson report on why movie theaters do well in recessions. Interviews with NATO President and CEO John Fithian and Media by Numbers' Paul Degarabedian are included. 

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Village Roadshow sparked quite a bit of interest with its announcement of $35 a ticket luxury cinemas featuring restaurant and bar service. USA Today weighed in almost simultaneously with a story on alcohol service in movie theaters. The story leans heavily on the possibility of underage moviegoers being served alcohol. As part of the permitting process, movie theaters go to great lengths to demonstrate how they will segregate the alcohol service from the more accessible areas of the theater - information USA Today had, but omitted from the story.

 A great article in NATO's former magazine, In Focus, covers the problems and prospects for alcohol service in the cinema.

Meanwhile, Fox Business Channel interviews yours truly about luxury cinema:

And Fox News talks with us about alcohol service:

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NATO President John Fithian presents the first ShoWest/NATO Freedom of Expression Award to Ang Lee and James Schamus for their courage and integrity in releasing Lust, Caution with an NC-17 rating.

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NATO has updated its Digital Cinema System Requirements. This is the first such update in 2 years.

Under the leadership of NATO's digital cinema consultant Michael Karagosian and dedicated member volunteers, the new requirements updates some issues and breaks new ground in others, including

            - Operational requirements

            - Maintenance operations

            - Workflow requirements

            - System requirements for support of the blind, deaf, and hard-of-hearing.

 
A fresh review of the entire document was conducted, deleting some requirements no longer needed, and expanding or creating new section topics. Among the highlights,

 1) Exhibitor-driven universal theatre identification scheme introduced.

2) Establishes the requirement for a commodity digital cinema server.

3) New requirement for closed caption support.

4) Workflow automation requirements introduced.

5) TMS (Theater Management System) described in terms of 3 service functions, with detailed roles for each service.

                6) New requirements for exhibitor network security.
 

 If you have d-cinema systems installed in your theater, or are planning to install them, I encourage you to read it.

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A little snippet from a Los Angeles Times opinion piece:

"The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was once a force to reckon with. During the Cold War, it possessed formidable capabilities and real cohesion. No more. As a serious military enterprise, the alliance has all but ceased to exist. The "other" NATO -- the National Assn. of Theatre Owners -- probably wields more clout."

Now if we only had an air force.

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The Cinema Buying Group, representing more than 8,700 North American movie screens, has narrowed its list of prospective vendors for its digital cinema RFP to four. For this second round, vendors must provide sufficiently detailed cost information which would enable CBG to evaluate the total initial and recurring costs to exhibitors - details that were necessarily lacking in the initial round of proposals.

The vendors, according to CGB's press release - AccessIT, Digiserv, Kodak and Technicolor - will also now need to describe how they will accommodate all CBG members - whether by the creation of different classes based upon different cost structures, different equipment packages, different sequencing, or otherwise.

This request of the vendors is made with the understanding that distributors may not wish to sign open-ended VPFs with four different vendors. According to Kendrick Macdowell, NATO Vice President and General Counsel, and counsel to CBG:

We have asked distributors to execute CBG-specific VPF agreements with the remaining four vendors as expeditiously as possible so that these vendors can crunch their numbers and respond with their final and best offer to CBG members.

These VPFs would likely be conditioned on a winning bid for the CBG project and allow for a competitive final phase of the RFP.

According to CBG managing director Wayne Anderson:

For small theater owners across North America, this process means surviving the digital cinema revolution, and that means not losing access to the big screen in many communities. We're pleased with the quality of the submissions so far, and we hope to move this final selection phase quickly.

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The Cinema Buying Group has released a revised Particpation Agreement.

The new agreement entails the creation of a "Late Membership Class" comprising those who join CBG-NATO after the November 2 deadline who may, or may not, participate in the digital deal negotiated for CBG members. According to the Agreement:

The Participant understands and agrees that the Managing Director was obliged to provide potential digital vendors with a fixed membership roster so that the economics of providing equipment and service to CBG members could be calculated, and the RFP process concluded fairly. The Participant understands and acknowledges that-in addition to urging independent cinema owners to join CBG, repeatedly and in multiple forums, over the last two years-NATO sent notice of a CBG membership deadline of November 2, 2007 to all NATO members, that NATO requested that state and regional units circulate the notice to all of their members, and that notice of the membership deadline was posted on the CBG website. The Participant understands and agrees that by joining CBG after November 2, 2007, the Participant will belong to a "Late Membership Class," and that participation in the digital cinema equipment and service deal negotiated for CBG members is not guaranteed, and/or that participation in the deal, at the vendor's discretion, may not be on the same terms as provided to CBG members in good standing before November 3, 2007.

The Late Membership Class only applies to digital cinema equipment and services and does not affect any other aspect of CBG membership.

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The Cinema Buying Group has announced a deadline for CBG membership, for purposes of participating in the digital cinema deal arranged by CBG for CBG members. That deadline is Friday, November 2, 2007:

The Cinema Buying Group is currently engaged in evaluating proposals from digital cinema system integrators to provide digital cinema equipment and service to CBG members. It is now necessary to provide precise information to qualified vendors about the locations they would be equipping-which compels us to finalize the CBG membership list. It is therefore necessary to impose a deadline.

If your paperwork and dues are not received by November 2^nd, then you will not qualify to participate in the digital cinema equipment and service deal currently under evaluation. Please visit www.cbgpurchasing.com to get more information about CBG membership and download the forms that must be completed.

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