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Kodak
Moment For ‘Signs’ Mastermind
ShowEast Honors Shyamalan
 ORLANDO,
Fla. – “Signs” writer-director M. Night
Shyamalan was honored with ShowEast’s Kodak Award
at the convention’s Oct. 12 final night award ceremony.
Shyamalan,
32, became the youngest recipient of the honor, presented
annually to “an executive or filmmaker who has risen
to the top of his/her profession.”
“When
you talk about great entertainment, you can’t help
but think of the films of M. Night Shyamalan,” said
Robert Mayson, general manager and vice president of digital
systems for the Eastman Kodak Company.
Previous
recipients of the Kodak award, born in 1988, include Jerry
Weintraub, Norman Jewison, James L. Brooks, Ron Howard,
Brian de Palma, Rob Reiner, Martin Scorsese and Sidney
Lumet. .
Hollywood
History Heralded
True Cinerama To Dome
 HOLLYWOOD
– Pacific Theatres’ Cinerama Dome in Hollywood,
welcomed during the week of Oct. 4 its first-ever screenings
of a Cinerama film in its true Cinerama format.
“This
is Cinerama” was presented for a week in “three-strip
format,” utilizing three separate 35mm projectors
on a traditional Cinerama curved screen.
The
run marked the 50th anniversary of the Cinerama process,
which was introduced Sept. 30, 1952 with the premiere
of “This is Cinerama” at the New York Broadway
Theatre.
To
take advantage of the facility’s new projection configuration,
Warner Bros. struck a new print of “How the West
Was Won,” one of the final films made in true Cinerama,
for a subsequent run at the Dome.
Two
Arizona Sites In Pipeline
Harkins 32 For
Phoenix Area
SCOTTSDALE,
Ariz. – Harkins Theatres announced on Aug. 28 plans
to construct 32 screens at two sites in the Phoenix area.
 The
Harkins Gateway Pavilions 18-plex, slated to open Nov.
15, will be located at the intersection of I-10 and Loop
101W in Avondale. The multi will feature myriad amenities,
including a children’s play center and “specialty
foods that you can’t get in any other theatre,”
according to circuit CEO Dan Harkins.
A
May 2003 opening is planned for the chain’s new Scottsdale
14-plex, to be situated at Loop 101 and Scottsdale Road.
“This
one is going to be special,” said Harkins. “In
each of our new builds, we try to introduce something
innovative and unique – in the case of this theatre,
that will be an understatement.”
“We
continue to look to build in areas that make sense, and
so far we’ve been extremely fortunate in finding
strong sites that respond well to our brand of neighborhood
marketing.”
Scottsdale-based
Harkins currently operates 233 screens at 21 Arizona sites.
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Scribe
Screenings
ArcLight
Launches
‘Meet the Writer’
 HOLLYWOOD
– The Scriptwriters Network and Pacific’s ArcLight
multiplex in Hollywood have teamed to introduce a new
film series titled “Meet the Writer.”
The
first event, held Sept. 10, featured author, screenwriter
and playwright Ray Bradbury, who discussed his film career
and participated in a Q&A session following a screening
of 1956’s “Moby Dick,” which Bradbury adapted
for the big screen.
Other
scribes tapped to participate in the series include Tom
Schulman (“Dead Poets Society”), Joseph Stefano
(“Psycho”) and Kevin Williamson (“Scream”).
The
screenings, hosted by CNN entertainment correspondant
Dennis Michael, take place on the second and fourth Tuesday
of each month inside Hollywood’s historic Cinerama
Dome.
Scriptwriters
Network, established in 1986, is a nonprofit organization
of “writers helping writers” dedicated to, among
other things, celebrating the art and craft of the scriptwriter.
Historical
Society Hosts
THS Recognizes
Classic’s Johnsons
DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – Tivoli Enterprises officers
Willis and Shirley Johnson were named the first recipients
of the Theatre Historical Society of America (THS) President’s
Award. The honor recognizes the couple’s contributions
to the nonprofit educational organization.
 “It’s
truly fitting that this first award be presented to the
Johnsons,” said THS president Lowell Angell. “Without
their dedicated efforts, we would literally and figuratively
not be where we are today. Eleven years ago, they encouraged
us to move our facilities from a damp church basement
to a much larger, and much nicer, space in their York
Theatre building.
“Besides
being our friendly landlords, the Johnsons devoted considerable
time to helping our organization grow in other ways.”
The
Johnsons own Downers Grove, Ill.-based Tivoli Enterprises,
which oversees 14 Classic Cinemas movie theatres, the
Tivoli Bowling Center, the Tivoli Hotel, and various other
commercial properties throughout Northern Illinois. Willis
Johnson is also president of NATO of Illinois.
The
Theatre Historical Society of America, founded in 1969,
boasts more than 1,000 members worldwide and maintains
archival information on more than 9,000 venues.
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