From the Editor’s Desk In Focus

LEARNING ABOUT Y OUNG MOVIEGOERS TICKETING EVOLUTION

Recently, the International Cinema Technology The traditional movie theatre box office hasn’t gone away, Association held a business session in as part but in recent years the industry has seen more and more al- of their annual program, the L.A. Seminar Series, at the ternatives to longstanding face-to-face ticket sales. The ubiquity Universal Hilton Hotel. The program usually attracts 200 of smartphones, the lure of the web, and the public’s comfort to 250 attendees and is geared primarily to the technology with online transactions have all been factors in the growth of community of the motion picture industry. However, in the Internet and mobile movie-ticket purchases. Still, online ticket- past five years the programming has broadened its focus and ing accounts for only 25 percent of overall movie-ticket buys in is now attracting studios and theatrical exhibition. North America, compared to a massive 80 percent in China. One program that attracted attention and was favorably But the percentage is growing each year, spurred most received was a panel of students including a high-school of all by the rise of luxury recliner seating in cinemas and the senior, film students and a 16-year-old student from Europe. public’s urge to reserve those extra-comfy and roomy chairs. Most of the panel members were between 16 and 23 and As Joel Davis, VP and chief operating officer at Premiere Cin- their comments were intriguing. Bear in mind that some of ema Corp., explains in our FJI exhibitor survey in this issue, the findings below are skewed, because each panelist enjoys “Patrons are quickly accepting the reserved model due to the going to the movies and has little income and few spare wide acceptance of recliners. It’s the law of supply versus de- dollars for entertainment. mand, due to the loss in chair inventory. It created a greater Å Social media is most important in picking out a movie occupancy and a higher revenue stream for advance tickets to attend. Trailers are second, followed by YouTube and peer that did not exist before.” Davis reports that since Premiere recommendations. converted to recliner seating, his advanced reserved-seating Å The quality of the cinema is important, depending on sales have at least doubled. the ticket cost. One individual said she would rather see a $5 No doubt about it, the movie-ticket landscape is changing. movie in a plastic chair than a $15 movie in a luxury recliner. Fandango recently acquired MovieTickets.com, expanding its Å Food service is not important, but the theatre does reach to all 40,000 screens across the U.S. Today’s Fandango serve as a meeting place to network with friends. is much more than just a ticketing platform; it’s also a source Å Tickets must be affordable for them to consider going for information and trailers to encourage “movie discovery,” to the movies. in the company’s words. Fandango has also integrated its Å Surprisingly, this group was not in favor of reserved ticketing into Apple’s Messages and Facebook’s Messenger seating. They indicated that finding a seat is part of the film platforms, making group outings easier to coordinate. That experience. kind of social-media planning is also the raison d’être of Atom Å Most were not big fans of the pre-show and definitely Tickets, a growing app that streamlines the process of plan- liked seeing trailers better. ning a night out at the movies with friends. Å The panelists like going to the movies with friends Dynamic pricing is another hot trend. In this issue, Andreas and are not fans of going alone. Fuchs talks with Claas Eimer, commercial director of German Å Price is most important for tickets and concessions. circuit UCI Kinowelt, which recently announced it is deploying Å As a group, they thought MoviePass is the best deal Smart Pricer’s airfare-style pricing software in all 23 of its loca- ever. tions (totaling 203 screens). Leading U.S. circuit Regal Entertain- Å 3D doesn’t make a difference, but all loved the 3D ment Group is also exploring the concept. And just before press in Avatar. time, Missouri-based circuit B&B Theatres announced a ar- Å This group was not interested in theatre service. They rangement with Dealflicks under which a varied amount of ticket just want to see the movie. and concession deals will be available for movies on certain days. Å All but one watches pirated movies but said they Availability and prices will differ depending on time of day, day of would not do so if movies were cheaper. week, seat availability and other factors. Å Several subscribe to but indicated that if they And let’s not forget the boldest experiment of all: Movie- could not find the movie, they would pirate it. Pass, which just lowered its monthly fee from $9.95 to $7.95, if paid as a yearly subscription bundled with the Fandor stream- The session was eye-opening. But it would have been ing service. Some theatre circuits are embracing the scheme, even more productive if a few different age groups had been which gives the public unlimited access to movies, and others represented, along with at least one person who does not go like AMC Theatres are fighting it. Whatever the ultimate out- the movies. come, this is no longer your parents’ ticketing world.

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 3 OLIVIA COOKE AND ANYA TAYLOR-JOY IN THOROUGHBREDS; EDDIE REDMAYNE OX

(VOICE OF DUG) AND F TUDIOCANAL (VOICE OF GOONA) ON THE SET OF MARCH 2018 / VOL. 121, NO.3 A Film Expo Group Publication ENTURY EARLY MAN, WITH DIRECTOR NICK PARK; C © 2017 S AND NICK ROBINSON IN LOVE, SIMON.

PUBLISHING SINCE 1934 WENTIETH OHNSON J © T HRIS / C OTHSTEIN R EATURES EN F / B OCUS NSTITUTE I © 2018 F ILM F OLGER F RITISH B HE LAIRE T : C AND HOTOS P S.A.S

FEATURES DEPARTMENTS

SIMON SAYS, COME ON OUT ...... 16 CAVEMATION ...... 24 IN FOCUS ...... 3 Simon is in love, but it’s complicated… Nick Park goes paleo with new REEL NEWS IN REVIEW ...... 6 a coming-of-age and coming-out rom-com. animated comedy, Early Man. TRADE T ALK ...... 8 FILM COMPANY NEWS ...... 10 FROM RUSSIA, WITH LAUGHS ...... 18 A NEW VISION ...... 28 CONCESSIONS: T RENDS ...... 12 Satirist assembles Bud Mayo maintains oversight CONCESSIONS: P EOPLE ...... 13 stellar ensemble for new political spoof. of rising theatre circuit. ASK THE A UDIENCE ...... 14 EUROPEAN UPDATE ...... 70 YOUNG BLOODS ...... 22 KODAK MOMENTS ...... 32 R IN REVIEW ...... 71 Teenage girls have murder on their minds Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre USSIA in indie thriller Thoroughbreds. is about more than just showing movies. ASIA/PACIFIC ROUNDABOUT ...... 72

FJI EXAMINES TRENDS AND INNOVATIONS IN TICKETING AND POS, PGS. 36-47

DERMOT CROWLEY AS KAGANOVICH, PAUL WHITEHOUSE AS MIKOYAN, STEVE BUSCEMI AS KHRUSH- EXHIBITION GUIDE, PGS. 48-57 CHEV, JEFFREY TAMBOR AS MALENKOV, AND PAUL CHAHIDI AS BULGANIN IN . REVIEWS

ANNIHILATION ...... 58

. BLACK PANTHER ...... 58

THE DEATH OF STALIN ...... 60 RELEASE

ILMS EARLY MAN ...... 65

IFC F THE 15:17 TO PARIS ...... 62 N

. A FIFTY SHADES FREED ...... 61 ILMS ISMAEL’S GHOSTS ...... 63 IFC F OF

NOSTALGIA ...... 64

THE PARTY ...... 60 OURTESY

/ C PETER RABBIT ...... 63

OVE SUBMISSION ...... 61 D

ICOLA THE YOUNG KARL MARX ...... 64 N © 2018 Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc. All rights reserved.

CP4325-RGB Affordable RGB pure laser projection is here.

Visit us at CinemaCon 2018 | Milano 1

christiedigital.com one, failed to crack the $10 million mark earlier this year. Culpepper was replaced by Steve Bersch, head of Pictures 825 Eighth Ave., 29th Floor REEL Worldwide Acquisitions. New York, NY 10019 MOVIEPASS LOWERS Tele: (212) 493-4097 NEWS PRICES AGAIN Last year, MoviePass made news IN REVIEW when it lowered its price to $10 a month, offering subscribers the chance LAWSUIT FILED AGAINST to see one movie a day for what in WEINSTEIN COMPANY some markets is less than the price of The office of New York State Attorney one movie ticket. Now they’ve dropped Publisher/Editor General Eric Schneiderman has filed a law- their monthly price again, this time to Robert Sunshine suit against The Weinstein Co., alleging that $7.95 with a one-year subscription, with President, Film Expo Group company leadership enabled a “years-long free access to streaming service Fandor gender-based hostile work environment, a sweetening the deal. According to Movie- Andrew Sunshine pattern of quid-pro-quo sexual harassment, Pass’ figures, the company is responsible Executive Editor and routine misuse of corporate resources for five percent of all movie tickets sold for unlawful ends.” In particular, wrote in the ; though moviegoers Kevin Lally Schneiderman in a statement, the company pay MoviePass a flat monthly fee, in most Associate Editor failed to protect employees from “perva- cases MoviePass pays the entire price of Rebecca Pahle sive sexual harassment, intimidation and the ticket to theatres. discrimination” at the hands of co-chairman Art Director Harvey Weinstein. The lawsuit calls for pen- VUE INTL. TO EXPAND Rex Roberts alties of between $500 and $250,000 to be INTO SAUDI ARABIA paid per violation to the state of New York, Two months after Saudi Arabia an- Senior Account Executive, plus damages paid to victims and a voiding nounced that it would end its - Advertising & Sponsorships of any NDAs that would prohibit women long ban on movie theatres, Vue Inter- Robin Klamfoth from speaking out. TWC’s planned sale to national has leapt into the new market an investor group is now on hold. with plans for 30 cinemas there. Said Vue Exhibition/Business Editor founder Tim Richards, “This is a huge Andreas Fuchs MAY BID moment in the history of global cinema FOR 20TH CENTURY FOX development for the exhibition industry Concessions Editor Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, and we are honored to be partnering Larry Etter reported on in FJI’s January issue, isn’t a sure with such a well-regarded and prestigious thing yet. According to the rumor mill, Com- operator [real estate group Abdulmoh- Far East Bureau cast may make a new offer of their own. The sin Al Hokair Holding]. We are delighted Thomas Schmid conglomerate made a bid for Fox last year, to have been chosen to lead in the devel- only to be turned down in favor of Disney opment of world-class cinemas and the CEO, Film Expo Group due to anti-trust concerns. Reports now big-screen experience in Saudi Arabia.” Theo Kingma indicate that Comcast may wait to see how the AT&T-Time Warner antitrust trial shakes MARK GORDON JOINS out—it’s slated to begin on March 19—be- FJI ONLINE fore potentially making another offer. Longtime producer Mark Gordon has joined Entertainment One as their Visit www.filmjournal.com president and chief content officer for for breaking industry news, CHIEF STEPS DOWN film, television and digital. Entertainment FJI’s Screener blog and reviews Twenty-eight-year Sony executive Clint One acquired 51 percent of The Mark Like us on Facebook Culpepper has stepped down as the head Gordon Company in 2015; since then, www.facebook.com/ of genre-oriented division Screen Gems. the companies have partnered on Murder filmjournalinternational Since being kicked into gear by Culpepper in on the Orient Express, Molly’s Game and 1998, Screen Gems has enjoyed successes the upcoming The Nutcracker and the Four Follow us on with The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the Realms, among other projects. Gordon @film_journal Underworld and Resident Evil franchises. In will serve alongside Steve Bertram, ap- for updates on our latest content the last several years, however, the label’s pointed president, film, television, and success rate has been shaky; Proud Mary, for digital. ш Film Journal International © 2018 by Film Expo Group, LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any Subscriptions: 1-877-496-5246 • filmjournal.com/subscribe • [email protected] means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, Editorial inquiries: [email protected] • Ad inquiries: [email protected] recording or otherwise, without prior written Reprint inquiries: [email protected]• 1-877-652-5295 permission of the publisher.

6 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 Offer an unrivaled movie experience with NEC digital cinema laser projectors!

NEC offers you the best projection technology in its class - from small screens to premium large format (PLF) theaters - and all sizes in between!

NC3541L • Experience the real magic of cinema - the most vibrant and spectacular chromatic reproduction for incredibly real scenes thanks to the innovative RB laser technology. • Enjoy the lowest total cost of ownership - maximum reliability, maintenance-free operation, low power consumption and up to 30,000 hours of life with the laser light source. • Discover brightness - the high brightness output of 35,000 lumens will create spectacular images on screens up to 32m. • Captivate the audience in excellent image quality - the full 4K resolution (4096 x 2160 pixels) creates a and immersive movie experience. • Achieve your goals with this comprehensive solution - easy to operate and install, without the need for external refrigerators, external laser light sources or an external exhaust system.

NC1201L • Experience flexibility - adapts to any installation, whether floor or ceiling. • Install with ease - compact, lightweight and quiet, installation is simplified in small projection booths; perfect for cinemas without projection booths. • Enjoy the lowest total cost of ownership - maximum reliability, maintenance-free operation, low power consumption and up to 20,000 hours of life with the laser light source. • Save time with the sealed optical motor - reducing dust and smoke in the filter, ensuring constant performance and lowering maintenance needs. • Deliver an enhanced theater experience with this all-in-one solution.

NEC offers a complete solution for the best overall cinema experience. From lobby signage, video walls, bar and concession screens, NEC offers the widest portfolio of commercial and professional LCD screens, LCD desktop monitors, direct view LED screens, a diverse line of multimedia and digital cinema projectors, and integrated screen solutions to meet your needs. No other manufacturer can offer a portfolio as complete as NEC Display Solutions. TRADE TALK

CINÉPOLIS’ RAMÍREZ Bert Nathan Memorial Award supplied by Barco, including operations around the world EARNS MARQUEE AWARD Honoree. the laser projectors for all in an industry that still suffers The National Association The Bert Nathan Memo- studio product presentations from significant gender of Theatre Owners (NATO) rial Award is given by NAC and screenings during the imbalance in senior roles. will honor Alejandro Ramírez each year to an individual June event. Moutis is the Magaña, chief executive of- to recognize leadership and “Having the opportunity communications and ficer of Cinépolis, with the significant accomplishment to partner with a technology operations manager of 2018 NATO Marquee Award in the theatre concessions giant like Barco at CineEu- Film Expo Group, which on April 24 during Cin- industry. The award honors rope is very exciting for us. produces three important emaCon at Caesars Palace in the late Bert Nathan, a past We are confident this con- global cinema trade shows, Las Vegas. Ramírez is being president of the Association. tinued partnership will help CineEurope, ShowEast singled out by NATO for his Biehn will be presented the the development of cinematic and CineAsia. Soliman dedication and service to award during CinemaCon at technologies expand through- is the programming and the motion picture theatre the NAC Bert Nathan Recep- out the region,” said Andrew operations manager for industry. tion scheduled for April 23 at Sunshine, president of The Film Expo Group. Runge “As our industry be- 3:30 p.m. at Caesars Palace in Film Expo Group. is an independent advisor comes increasingly global, it the Salerno Room. Barco has outfitted more to companies in the is appropriate that our most Biehn became a regional than 100 all-laser multiplexes cinema industry as well as significant award goes to a VP of the North Central globally and recently created European representative of truly global exhibitor,” noted Region in 2005 and served in a strategic partnership with the International Cinema John Fithian, president and that capacity until 2015. He leading global cinema innova- Technology Association. CEO of NATO. “With op- was named chair of the RVP tors to transform cinema. “I am excited to help erations across four different Committee in 2011. From shine a light on the work continents, Cinépolis brings there, Biehn moved to the DANA MOUTIS CHAIRS of inspiring female industry moviegoing magic to millions NAC Education Committee WOMEN IN CINEMA PANEL leaders who are working to of guests. On a personal and eventually became chair Celluloid Junkie, leading transform the cinema busi- level, with his commitment as of that group in 2016. He was online resource dedicated ness,” said Moutis. “Statistics chairman of the Global Cine- named an at-large member of to the global film and cinema show that the cinema indus- ma Federation, Alejandro has the NAC Board of Directors business, named Dana Moutis try is a female-driven business become the leader of a united in 2014 and serves to this day. the chair of the selection from a consumer perspective global industry.” Biehn began his and awards committee of and it is important that the Cinépolis is one of the professional career with its 2018 “Top Women in highest levels of the industry largest film exhibition com- General Foods as a sales Global Cinema.” The list of represent that data. As we panies in the world, with representative. He moved to the 50 most influential female celebrate the top women operations in Mexico, Brazil, cinema foodservice in 1994 leaders in the global cinema in the industry, it is also im- Spain, India, the United States, at ConAgra Brands, selling industry will be published perative that gender equality Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Vogel Popcorn and managing by Celluloid Junkie on becomes normalized at every Peru, Guatemala, Honduras, the introduction of Orville International Women’s Day level within the industry.” El Salvador, Costa Rica and Redenbacher. In 2004, he on March 8. Nominations for women Panamá. The circuit operates joined the team at FUNacho. Joining Moutis are Joelle to be included can be sent more than 647 theatres (5,313 Soliman and Jan Runge, as to women@celluloidjunkie. screens) globally, employing BARCO IS CINEEUROPE well as CJ’s editorial staff, com stating the person’s more than 37,000 people. TECHNOLOGY PARTNER with the list to be published name, title, company and a Barco, a global leader in partnership with Film motivation for her inclusion. BRIAN BIEHN CHOSEN in cinema technology, has Journal International in mid- FOR BERT NATHAN AWARD partnered with the Film Expo April with more in-depth VISTA GROUP NAMES The National Association Group to become the Official coverage. KIMBAL RILEY CEO of Concessionaires (NAC) Projection Technology The annual list was Vista Group International announced that Brian Biehn, Partner at CineEurope. launched two years ago announced that Kimbal Riley executive VP at FUNacho/ All projection equipment to highlight the major role will take over as Group CEO Pretzel Haus Bakery, has in the CCIB Auditorium played by female leaders from Murray Holdaway. been selected as the 2018 in Barcelona, Spain will be in large and small cinema Holdaway will take up the

8 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 position of chief product Gateway, Asia’s leading film- The winners this year creative officer at BBDO; and officer for Vista Group, and consulting firm. He served demonstrate the true Scott Donaton, chief content will continue in his role as as CEO of leading cinema international nature of the officer at Digitas. an executive director on circuit Golden Village starting event cinema industry, with The grand winner will be the Vista Group board. The in 2011 before joining Mars medals going to distributors awarded the Hegarty ACE change is part of a succession in 2013. Exhibition on Screen and Award, along with $1 million planning process. the Royal Opera House in in media consideration in Riley joined Vista Group LOREN NIELSEN the U.K., Nexo from Italy, Screenvision Media’s “Front + four years ago, with the past JOINS XPERI CORP. Pathé Live from France, Center” cinema program, for two years as CEO of Vista H. Loren Nielsen joined Piece of Magic Entertainment any pro-bono or charitable Entertainment Solutions Xperi Corporation as VP, from the Netherlands, and causes for June 2018 to June (VES), which is responsible content relations and strat- a multitude of awards to 2019. The winner will be for the largest proportion egy. Nielsen will serve as Fathom Events in the USA, announced in Cannes in June of the Group’s revenue. the studio liaison for DTS:X including the gold award for 2018. Under his leadership, VES object-based immersive sound Pokémon The Movie—I Choose has grown its global footprint technology from DTS, a wholly You! U.K. newcomer Trafalgar ALLIANCE FRANÇAISE by an additional 20 markets, owned subsidiary of Xperi. Releasing earned a silver NAMES COHEN CHAIR extending its reach to more Nielsen will lead the ef- award for “Dave Gilmour Charles S. Cohen, than 80 countries. fort, in collaboration with Live in Pompeii,” a music president and chief executive content owners, to identify concert attended by nearly of the Cohen Brothers CINEMACON TO SALUTE movie titles that would ben- 400,000 fans in cinemas Realty Corporation, Cohen FOX’S KURT RIEDER efit from a release in DTS:X worldwide. A silver award Media Group and Cohen Film Kurt Rieder, executive format. She will also engage also went to Piece of Magic Collection, has been named VP, Asia-Pacific, at Twentieth with content creators to Entertainment’s “Andre Rieu the new chairman of the Century Fox International, develop a comprehensive ap- Maastricht Concert 2017.” board of New York’s French will receive this year’s proach to their workflow and Institute Alliance Française CinemaCon “Passepartout distribution needs utilizing SCREENVISION SELECTS (FIAF). Cohen’s appointment Award,” presented annually DTS technologies and tools. HEGARTY ACE JURORS follows the unexpected death to an industry executive who Nielsen was co- Screenvision Media in December of Robert G. demonstrates dedication founder and president of announced the seven Wilmers, chairman of FIAF’s and commitment to the Entertainment Technology jurors for the Hegarty ACE board since 2011. international marketplace. Consultants (ETC). (Advertising in Cinema A prominent real estate Rieder will be presented with Excellence) Awards. The developer and owner, Cohen, the honor at CinemaCon’s ECA CELEBRATES awards celebrate the most through Cohen Media Group, International Day Luncheon BOX-OFFICE EARNERS creative campaigns running has bought and restored on April 23 in Las Vegas. The Event Cinema in cinema, and will consider several historic cinemas, Based in Singapore, Association’s fifth-annual advertisements or content including the Cinema Rieder joined Fox last June. conference was held in that launched through in Greenwich Village and He most recently served on Feb. 7 at the Vue Screenvision Media’s “Front + the Larchmont Playhouse in as CEO of Mars Cinema West End in Leicester Square, Center” cinema program. Westchester County. Most Group, the leading exhibitor capped by the ECA Box The panel of jurors will recently, he acquired and will in Turkey. Supported Office Awards. be led by Sir John Hegarty, restore the famed La Pagode by a 1,600-person team “The criteria are creative chair in residence cinema located in the seventh controlling over 750 screens simple,” said Melissa Cogavin, at Screenvision Media, arrondissement in Paris. in 32 provinces, he helped his managing director of the and will consist of Colleen Cohen is the largest investors sell Mars to CGV ECA. “Box Office Awards DeCourcy, chief creative distributor of French in 2016. are open to ECA distributor officer at Wieden+Kennedy; in North America, and has In 2003, Rieder joined members. 100,000 admissions Corinna Falusi, CCO and produced several acclaimed United International Pictures wins a bronze medal, 250,000 partner at Mother; David French films, including the as a VP, rising to senior VP. admissions is a silver award Droga, creative chairman and Oscar-nominated documen- In 2009, he was named and 500,000 admissions is a founder at Droga5; David tary Faces Places by Agnès managing director of Artisan gold award.” Lubars, chairman and chief Varda and the artist J.R. ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 9 FILM CO. NEWS

ANNAPURNA has yet been confirmed, though Craig Mazin (Identity Thief, The Call Me By Your Name’s Eighteen years after Helen Zemeckis may very well take Hangover II and III) wrote the signed on to Hunt, Mel Gibson and director the job. STX will release the film most recent draft of the script. star in an untitled thriller from Nancy Meyers told us What in the U.S. and internationally, Under the Shadow director Women Want, director Adam barring China, which falls under WARNER BROS. Babak Anvari. Annapurna Shankman and Paramount are Alibaba’s umbrella. Warner Group Pictures is co-producing and teaming for the rom-com’s inked a deal with Dr. Seuss will release the film, about male counterpart. Taraji P. 20TH CENTURY FOX Enterprises that will see the a bartender whose life goes Henson will star in What Men The Deadpool team— animation outfit produce a haywire in a potentially Want, about a sports agent producer/star Ryan Reynolds series of adaptations of the supernatural way after he (Henson) who uses her sudden and writers/executive works of Dr. Seuss. First in line picks up a phone left at a bar. ability to hear men’s thoughts producers Rhett Reese and Paul is an adaptation of The Cat in Annapurna has set a release to try to land an important Wernick—signed a three-year the Hat, previously adapted in a date of March 29, 2019. NBA contract. Shankman first-look deal that will see the live-action version by Universal, previously directed A Walk to trio continue to partner with with Mike Myers playing the IFC FILMS Remember, Hairspray and Rock Deadpool studio 20th Century eponymous feline troublemaker. In advance of its premiere of Ages; additional upcoming Fox. First up under the deal is a Universal currently has an at this year’s SXSW, IFC projects include Enchanted movie based on the board game animated version of Seuss’ The Midnight acquired U.S. and sequel Disenchanted, with Amy Clue, previously adapted into a Grinch Who Stole Christmas in the Canadian theatrical rights to Adams returning. Paramount 1985 cult classic comedy starring works. horror film Wildling. First-timer will release What Men Want in Tim Curry and the late Madeline Fritz Böhm directed the film, theatres on Jan. 11, 2019. Kahn. Rhett and Wernick INDEPENDENT which co-stars Liv Tyler as a will write, with Reynolds co- Octavia Spencer is going small-town sheriff who rescues SONY producing through his Maximum the horror route with her The a woman (The Diary of a Teenage It’s been years now that Effort shingle. Help director Tate Taylor. The Girl’s Bel Powley) forced by Sony has been trying to work pair will collaborate—Taylor the man who raised her (Brad out some sort of for the UNIVERSAL directing, Spencer starring—on Dourif) to spend her entire Men in Black franchise. Finally, Selena Gomez has joined Ma for , life in an attic so as to avoid a things are coming to fruition: the star-studded cast of Stephen which recently scored a bevy child-eating monster known F. Gary Gray (Straight Outta Gaghan’s (Traffic) Voyage of of Oscar nominations for as the “Wildling.” Upon her Compton, The Fate of the Furious) Doctor Dolittle, based on Hugh Get Out. Specifics of the film rescue, the woman’s visions is in negotiations with the studio Lofting’s 1920s book series and Spencer’s role are being of her childhood boogeyman to helm an untitled MiB spinoff, about a doctor who can talk kept under wraps, though we return. IFC will release Wildling on the calendar for May 17, to animals. Robert Downey, do know it’s a horror film/ theatrically and on VOD on 2019. Written by Iron Man’s Matt Jr., taking a break from the psychological thriller co-starring April 13. Holloway and Art Marcum, the beat, will star as Juliette Lewis and Luke Evans film will reportedly focus on Dolittle, while Gomez, Tom and will shoot in Mississippi. new characters, not Agents J Holland, Emma Thompson and It’s been a good five years (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Ralph Fiennes will voice various SUNDANCE since Sam Raimi has directed Jones). members of his menagerie. ACQUISITIONS a feature film: Oz the Great Michael Sheen and Antonio Bleecker Street acquired and Powerful, which was, er, STX ENTERTAINMENT Banderas have live-action roles. North American rights to less than well-received. It’s Production/distribution Universal has set a release date Leave No Trace, director Debra now looking like the Evil Dead outfit STX Entertainment, of April 12, 2019. Granik’s first narrative feature and Spider-Man director will which has had success in the Michelle MacLaren, Emmy- since she ushered Jennifer make his grand return to the mid-budget movie market with nominated for her directing Lawrence to superstardom big screen with Lionsgate’s such films as Bad Moms, Bad work on “Breaking Bad,” has (and an Oscar nomination) with The Kingkiller Chronicles, based Moms Christmas, Molly’s Game been tapped by Universal to 2010’s Winter’s Bone. Ben Foster on the first book in Patrick and The Bye Bye Man, is teaming helm Cowboy Ninja Viking, out stars in the Sundance-premiering Rothfuss’ classic fantasy series. up with China’s Alibaba Pictures in theatres on June 28, 2019. film, playing a father whose Lionsgate plans to create a for Steel Soldiers. Robert In development at the studio desire to live “off the grid” with whole media universe around Zemeckis is producing the film, since 2014, the action comedy his young daughter sends them the franchise—movies, TV, about a Special Forces officer is based on a graphic novel both on a journey through the possible stage productions— tasked with training an army about a government super- American wilderness. with Hamilton creator/star of robot soldiers for a mission soldier (Chris Pratt) with In addition to Leave No Lin-Manuel Miranda serving as involving the rescue of their three personalities: cowboy, Trace, Bleecker Street (together creative producer. human creator. No director ninja and…well, you know. with 30WEST) got their hands

10 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 on Colette, a period drama 1980 when they discovered that starring Keira Knightley. Wash they were identical triplets who Westmoreland directed the had been separated at birth. Weiss and Benioff Join Star Wars film, which tells the true story Following its debut at Winter is coming to the Star Wars franchise. D.B. of the French novelist who Sundance, Lionsgate and Weiss and David Benioff, creators of HBO’s “Game battled with her husband of Thrones,” have been tapped by Disney to write and (Dominic West) over credit acquired U.S. rights to the for her work. Westmoreland, romantic comedy Juliet, produce a new series of Star Wars films. This is sepa- Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Ida) and , directed by “Girls” and rate from the trilogy to be spearheaded by Rian John- Richard Glatzer (who co-wrote “Divorce” helmer Jesse Peretz. son, who wrote and directed last year’s The Last Jedi. and-directed Still Alice with Rose Byrne stars as a woman Westmoreland) penned the whose long-term boyfriend Fast and Furious Eyes David Leitch script. (Chris O’Dowd) is obsessed The Fast and Furious franchise keeps on racing. David New distributor , with an obscure rock musician Leitch, director of John Wick (with Chad Stahelski), which has had success on this (). Writers Tamara Atomic Blonde and the upcoming Deadpool 2, is report- year’s awards season circuit Jenkins, Evgenia Peretz, Phil with I, Tonya, got their hands Alden Robinson and edly in the running to direct an untitled Fast and Furi- on a trio of films out of this adapted Nick Hornby’s novel for ous spinoff. Universal has set a July 26, 2019 release year’s Sundance. The first the screen. A summer theatrical date for the movie, which will be a team-up film for of those is writer-director bow is planned. the established franchise characters played by Dwayne Reinaldo Marcus Green’s Daveed Diggs (Broadway’s Johnson and Jason Statham. Chris Morgan, who’s writ- Monsters and Men, which tells Hamilton, Wonder) and Rafael every Fast and Furious film since 2006’s Tokyo Drift, the story of the police shooting Casal wrote and star in Carlos is on scripting duties. of an unarmed black man from López Estrada’s Blindspotting, three different perspectives. about a pair of friends navigating Anthony Ramos and Jasmine the streets of their gentrifying Tom Hanks Invites the Neighbors Cephas Jones (both of Broadway Oakland neighborhood, Film’s nicest man will play TV’s nicest man in You Are My sensation Hamilton), John attempting to stay crime-free Friend for Sony division TriStar. Tom Hanks has signed on to David Washington (“Ballers”), for three days until Diggs’ don the cardigan of Mr. Rogers for the biopic, to be direct- Kelvin Harrison, Jr. (It Comes character’s parole is up. Carlos at Night), newcomer Chanté López Estrada directed the ed by Diary of a Teenage Girl helmer Marielle Heller. Micah Adams, Nicole Beharie buddy comedy, which had its Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster penned the script, (“Sleepy Hollow”), Cara Buono worldwide rights picked by which centers on the friendship between Rogers and Tom (“Stranger Things”) and Rob Lionsgate. Junod, a cynical journalist who experienced a shift in his Morgan (Mudbound) co-star. and worldview after being asked to write a feature on Rogers. Next up for Neon is Media picked writer-director Sam Levinson’s up worldwide rights to RBG, a Assassination Nation, acquired documentary about Supreme for $10 million by Neon Court Justice Ruth Bader and new production outfit Ginsburg that had its premiere distribution business. Along with Saban Films acquired North AGBO, founded by filmmaker at Sundance. Directed by Julie The Orchard, the company has American rights to the film, brothers Joe and Anthony Cohen and Betsy West, the acquired North American rights which was directed by Craig Russo. Odessa Young, Suki film will be released theatrically to American Animals, a true- William Macneill. Waterhouse, Hari Nef and Abra and on VOD by Participant and crime heist thriller from The It’s not Sundance without star as teenage best friends Magnolia, with RBG producer Impostor director Bart Layton. Classics. in Salem, Massachusetts who CNN Films handling U.S. Evan Peters, Barry Keoghan, Sony’s art-house division arm themselves and take to broadcast rights. Participant has Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, picked up worldwide rights the streets after their sexual another Ginsburg film due this Ann Dowd and Udo Kier star. to director Marc Turtletaub’s pictures and texts are leaked year: On the Basis of Sex, starring Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Puzzle, starring Kelly Macdonald online. Joel McHale, Bill Felicity Jones as a young lawyer Stewart star in the period drama as a suburban housewife who Skarsgård, Anika Noni Rose and version of the legal pioneer. Lizzie, based on the true story develops an obsession with Bella Thorne co-star. MoviePass—an app- of Lizzie Borden. Sevigny plays jigsaw puzzles. Turtletaub, Finally, Neon landed North based service that allows Borden, who famously took whose credits as a producer American rights to Three moviegoers to buy one movie an axe to her parents, while include Little Miss Sunshine Identical Strangers, Tim Wardle’s ticket per day for a flat monthly Stewart plays the Borden family and Safety Not Guaranteed, documentary about three fee—announced at Sundance maid who—as Bryce Kass’ script previously directed 2013’s Gods strangers who made headlines in their intention to get into the has it—was Borden’s lover. Behaving Badly. ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 11 TRENDS

Dustin Lyman, chief executive officer of Famous COOKIE CONVERGENCE Brands, states, “We are delighted to partner with Taste of Nature in this exciting phase in our company’s Mrs. Fields Enters growth. We are confident this collaboration with Taste of Nature, Inc. will help Mrs. Fields reach an expanded the Cinema Channel retailer customer base and we look forward to working with a proven industry leader with a 25-year track record of success.” by Larry Etter, Concessions Editor So what does this mean for Taste of Nature? Scott Samet, co-president of Taste of Nature, states that Mrs. Fields extends the Taste of Nature ilm Journal International always portfolio with “true diversification.” F tries to acquaint its readers While Taste of Nature is known for with the latest trends in the its Cookie Dough Bites brand, CONCESSIONS industry. This month, we would like Mrs. Fields Cookies enhances the to introduce Mrs. Fields, the queen of collection within the company. cookies. This notable brand has been Samet adds, “This is absolutely a in the retail sector for quite some terrific fit with Cookie Dough Bites. time. Now, through the efforts of Taste This brand allows us to extend the of Nature, this delicious concoction of items we sell within the cinema morsels of chocolate chips and sugary batter channel and creates more space will now be available in mass distribution to for us in the retail outlets. Cookie concessionaires across the United States. Dough Bites lovers have been enjoying I’ll eat one cookie, not a whole box of cookies. But our products for over 20 years! Creating I still eat the one cookie…sometimes two, or even three. But a baked cookie that helps tie the two together seems not the whole box.—Kate Winslet like a natural fit and next step for the company.” And Everyone loves cookies! While theatres have the combining Cookie Dough Bites and Mrs. Fields Cookies core segments of soda, popcorn and candy, cookies brings more visibility to the cookie concept at the are a universal delight when it comes to snacks while counter point of sale. watching movies. Not only do cookies carry a sweet Patrick Micalizzi, assistant VP, food and beverage, at taste to the mouth, they offer the aroma of freshness and /Showcase Cinemas, offers his view are warm to the touch. The secret is how to create that on this new supplement to concession options. “The consistency in every cookie baked. Mrs. Fields Cookies addition of Mrs. Fields Cookies to our 1-2-3 Go Box™ have made that practice a part of their success story. kids’ pack provides another great snacking option for As theatres grapple with ways to reinvent the our young guests. We are thrilled to partner with Taste theatre experience, cookies warm and rich in flavor of Nature as their first cinema concessions operator to could become a delectable alternative to the common offer this delicious treat as part of our everyday lineup.” selections offered. Mrs. Fields offers those attributes. Samet notes that the rollout will continue through Regarded as shelf-stable, individually wrapped for the year and expand to the international market as well, guaranteed freshness, these can be prepared either at since Mrs. Fields already has multiple stores abroad. room temperature or warmed to 110 degrees for that “Our initial intent is to market the cookies internally— “down home” impression. within the theatre lobby spaces with digital content and PR Newswire first announced the partnership P.O.S. materials,” reports Samet. “We will focus on between Famous Brand International, the parent lobby exposure first.” company of Mrs. Fields Cookies, and Taste of Nature, Another means of extending the marketing of the Inc., a cinema confection broker, in a press release product is through kids’ packs. Samet says that the 1-oz. dated August 28, 2017. Effective January 2018, Mrs. size package will be offered to complement kids’ packs Fields Cookies are now available through Taste of in theatres. “Hopefully, this prominence will precipitate Nature. adult awareness that Mrs. Fields are available in the Taste of Nature takes on the responsibility for larger sizes as well,” Samet observes. the manufacturing, sales and distribution of Mrs. Congratulations to Taste of Nature on bringing the Fields Cookies. The cookies are pre-packaged and best of the best in the cookie line to cinemas. are available in Everyday Chocolate Chip and seasonal varieties to all cinema circuits across the domestic markets. Through its partnership with Taste of Nature, Larry Etter is senior vice president at Mrs. Fields is positioned to extend is growth in sales and director of education at the National Association with the addition of the exhibition channel. of Concessionaires.

12 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 PEOPLE

IN THE SILVERSPOT LIGHT Luis Ginestra Brings Passion for Foodservice to Growing Circuit

his month, Film Journal International recognizes Luis general manager. I had to open this new restaurant in less T Ginestra, a true foodservice professional from than two weeks,” he chuckles. His experiences at Samui Silverspot Cinemas. Luis is food and beverage di- allowed him to travel to Thailand, where he learned first- rector for the growing 57-screen exhibition circuit based hand the fare and the culture. in Central Florida. Currently residing in Florida, he spent He spent the late ’90s working at the Hyatt Regency over nine years managing the food and concession op- , where he again expanded his prowess in CONCESSIONS erations for Cines Unidos based in Caracas, Venezuela. food and beverage management and thrived doing what Ginestra has multiple disciplines, but he found his his range of creativity allowed. His roots were fully in passion for food and beverage while attending University hospitality. He never thought he would work in the movie of Nueva Esparta Hotel Management School. His career theatre business, but happenstance occurred again. is founded on the mastery of the restaurant business. “I remember I was working for Schlotzky’s deli and Luis earned his Certified Concession Manager (CCM) our friends from Coke mentioned to me that Cine Uni- credentials from NAC in 1999 and was the first graduate dos was looking for experienced F&B managers for their of NAC’s Executive Concession Manager (ECM) pro- concessions department at the corporate level. I did not gram. He has orchestrated multiple CCM certification know what to expect, but I was captivated by the indus- classes in Venezuela for the Cine Unidos managers. His try and almost 20 years later my passion hasn’t waned.” management style is a result of his appreciation of the As for his current responsibilities at Silverspot, he hospitality industry. Luis Ginestra represents the next is invigorated by the opportunities to build and develop generation of superstars in cinema foodservice. a boutique-style cinema experience: “Not so expensive Luis was born in Caracas and attended a French es- that everyone cannot enjoy it, but an elevated experience tablished school at an early age. He decided to continue that will make people want to come back.” His goal is to his education at a college in Venezuela, where he studied “keep the overall presentation of food and beverages in computer engineering. He soon learned that was not his line with the cool and hip images that represent Silverspot forte and developed a fervor for the hospitality indus- Cinemas.” He expects to be making big changes in the try. “My first job at age 16 was in the first McDonald’s menu in 2018. The greatest opportunity lies in trying to opened in Venezuela. I really like the interaction I had accommodate the culture of “Create Your Own” that ap- with the customers. I learned I could influence the expe- peals to the younger generations. He intends to offer more rience. I carry that attitude with me still today.” Ginestra personalized services by incorporating techniques learned later received his graduate degree from University of in the hospitality industry. He explains that in-theatre din- , San Diego. ing is similar to room service in a hotel; online ticketing is Luis will tell you his grandpa was a great influence on similar to reserving a hotel room online. Now that alcohol, him while growing up. But his professional life was fur- craft beers and specialty drinks are available in theatres, it thered by his mentor, Jean Paul Coupal. “Jean Paul taught mirrors lobby bars in hotels as well. me to look at things the way the guest sees them first, Asked about his favorite movies, Luis says, “There are before you do anything else. Check out the lightbulbs, just too many great movies to choose just one.” But if he the cleanliness, the table décor, floors and seats. Jean had to, it would be the entire Star Wars series. He was Paul taught me the rough side of the restaurant busi- influenced tremendously by Verne Harnish’s bookMaster- ness.” That approach continues in his role at Silverspot: ing the Rockefeller Habits, and he invites all his managers He sees thing through the eyes of the patron first. to follow its three key principles: Align with corporate Luis’ first “real job” was a fortunate turn. He was values, be focused on the task, and know your numbers. working as a tour guide to earn extra money when he Since Luis has worked or taught in nearly every received a call from the owners of Food Arts magazine. South American country, he would like to visit Europe They were coming to Venezuela to interview and visit and explore the French countryside where his ancestry Jean Paul Coupal and the Samui, an upscale Thai res- began. His favorite movie snack is popcorn accompanied taurant. “I would take them to the beaches, the various by a glass of wine, while watching a Tom Hanks film. His cities, the countryside and got to know them pretty well. enjoys soccer and golf. Luis and his wife Karen have three After interviewing Jean Paul, they told him about me and children: Isabella, 12, Federico, 10, and Felipe, six. introduced me to him. He hired me right then as the —Larry Etter

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 13 ASK THE AUDIENCE

- A COLLABORATION BETWEEN -

Ask the Audience is a monthly feature from Film Journal International and National YGTGUKIPKƂECPVN[OQTGNKMGN[VQWUGCP CineMedia (NCM) that allows you to ask an audience of 5,000 frequent moviegoers, CRRVJCPRGQRNGQNFGTVJCP#OQPI VJQUGYJQDQWIJVVJGVKEMGVFKIKVCNN[ known as NCM’s Behind the Screens panel, the pressing questions of our industry. YGCICKPJCXGIQQFPGYUtWUGF VJGKTVJGCVTGoUYGDUKVGCPFQHVJQUG 9JGPKVEQOGUVQƂPFKPIUJQYVKOGU VJGOQUVEQOOQPN[WUGFHQNNQYGFD[ NQ[CNKUVUUC[KVoUDGECWUGKVCNNQYUVJGOVQ CPFRWTEJCUKPIVKEMGVUOQXKGCWFKGPEGU +/&$CPF4QVVGP6QOCVQGU+PVGTGUVKPIN[ CFFVQQTWUGNQ[CNV[TGYCTFU1HVJQUGVJCV JCXGCPCNOQUVQXGTYJGNOKPIPWODGT /KNNGPPKCNUYGTGOQTGNKMGN[VQNKUV WUGFCVJKTFRCTV[UKVGQTCRR(CPFCPIQYCU QHQRVKQPU(TQOKPRGTUQPCVVJGDQZQHƂEG #VQO6KEMGVUQT/QXKG2CUUVJCPVJGKT CICKPVJGOQUVRQRWNCTRNCVHQTO VQENKEMKPIVJTQWIJVJGNCVGUVCRRVJGTG QNFGTEQWPVGTRCTVU(KPCNN[WUGF CTGEQWPVNGUUYC[UHQTCPCWFKGPEGOGODGT CUGCTEJGPIKPGUWEJCU)QQINGVQƂPF 9KVJUQOCP[QRVKQPUHQTTGUGCTEJKPICPF VQDGIKPVJGKTOQXKGGZRGTKGPEG5QYJKEJ VJGKPHQTOCVKQPVJG[YGTGNQQMKPIHQT RWTEJCUKPIKVECPDGFKHƂEWNVVQUVCPFQWV OGVJQFKUOQUVRQRWNCTCPFJQYOWEJ $WVKVUGGOUVJCVKPXGUVKPIKP[QWTFKIKVCN 9JGPKVECOGVKOGVQRWTEJCUGVJGKTVKEMGVU EQORGVKVKQPCTG[QWHCEKPIHTQOQWVUKFG RTGUGPEGQTRCTVPGTKPIYKVJCVTWUVGFXGPFQT QWTRCPGNKUVUTGXGCNGFVJG[oTGUVKNNUQOGYJCV EQORCPKGU!.GVoUCUMVJGCWFKGPEG YJQECPJGNRVQITQY[QWTTGCEJYQWNFDG VTCFKVKQPCNCPFQHVGPJGCFVQVJGVJGCVTG YQTVJVJGTGVWTPDGECWUGOCP[QHVJG (KTUVYGoXGIQVUQOGIQQFPGYUt KPRGTUQPRWTEJCUGFVJGOCVVJG $GJKPFVJG5ETGGPURCPGNKUVUQRVHQTVJGKT WUGVJGKTNQECNVJGCVTGoUYGDUKVGQT VKEMGVYKPFQYCPFCPQVJGTWUGFVJG VJGCVTGoUYGDUKVGQTCRRYJGPKVoUCXCKNCDNG CRRVQƂPFUJQYVKOGUCPFQVJGTOQXKG UGNHUGTXKEGMKQUMUKPVJGNQDD[5QOGYJCV $GKPICDNGVQRCTVKEKRCVGKPVJGCWFKGPEGUo KPHQTOCVKQPUWEJCUTCVKPIQTTWPVKOG WPUWTRTKUKPIN[/KNNGPPKCNUYGTGOQTGNKMGN[ OQXKGIQKPIGZRGTKGPEGCNNVJGYC[HTQO 6JCVoUGPEQWTCIKPICPFCUKIPVJCV[QW VJCPQNFGTIGPGTCVKQPUVQWUGVJGMKQUMU UJQYVKOGNQQMWRVQTQNNKPIETGFKVU!6JCVoU UJQWNFEQPVKPWGVQOCMG[QWTFKIKVCN IQVVQNQXGVJCVHGCTQHJWOCPKPVGTCEVKQP  VJGFTGCOVJGXGT[CEJKGXCDNGFTGCO RTGUGPEGCRTKQTKV[CU[QWFGXGNQR[QWT 9JGPCUMGFYJ[VJG[YQWNFQRVVQRWTEJCUG DWUKPGUUUKPEGOCP[RGQRNGYKNNWUGKVCUC KPRGTUQPTCVJGTVJCPFKIKVCNN[QHVJG To submit a question, email TGUQWTEGKHKVoUCXCKNCDNG6JKTFRCTV[YGDUKVGU TGURQPFGPVUUCKFKVYCUDGECWUGVJG[ [email protected] with your YGTGVJGUGEQPFOQUVRQRWNCTQRVKQPHQT YCPVGFVQCXQKFVJGQPNKPGEQPXGPKGPEG name, company, contact information, ƂPFKPIUJQYVKOGUCPFQVJGTKPHQTOCVKQP HGGQHVJGEQOOWPKV[RWTEJCUGFVJGKT and what you would like to ask the YKVJUC[KPIVJG[TGN[QPQWVUKFG VKEMGVUQPNKPGCPFCPQVJGTWUGFCPCRR Behind the Screens panel. EQORCPKGU1HVJQUGUKVGU(CPFCPIQYCU #U[QWoFGZRGEVCFWNVUCPF[QWPIGT

HOW CUSTOMERS HOW CUSTOMERS BEST PURCHASING FIND SHOWTIMES BUY TICKETS EXPERIENCE

IN PERSON # MOBILE APP BOX OFFICE TICKET WINDOW 1 VIA THEATRE’S/THIRD-PARTY 34% 42% THIRD-PARTY MOBILE APP ONLINE WEBSITE WEBSITE THEATRE’S/THIRD-PARTY # 47% OR APP 2 VIA SMARTPHONE/TABLET THEATRE’S 17% WEBSITE OR APP ONLINE WEBSITE VIA SMARTPHONE/TABLET # ONLINE WEBSITE 12% 3 VIA COMPUTER SEARCH 14% ENGINE ONLINE WEBSITE VIA COMPUTER # IN PERSON 14% 4 BOX OFFICE IN PERSON 1% 2% 4% BOX OFFICE KIOSK # IN PERSON NEWSPAPER OTHER GOING TO 12% 5 BOX OFFICE KIOSK THEATRE

PURCHASED AN ADVANCE TICKET TO STAR WARS: 67% THE LAST JEDI THROUGH THEIR LOCAL THEATRE

14 FILMJOURNAL.COM /MARCH 2018

Simon Says Come on Out OX F ENTURY C WENTIETH © T © OTHSTEIN R EN B

NICK ROBINSON, TALITHA BATEMAN, JENNIFER GARNER AND JOSH DUHAMEL STAR IN LOVE, SIMON.

Simon is in love, but it’s complicated ... he doesn’t know his anonymous object of affection, and his classmates don’t know he’s gay by Rebecca Pahle

t may be hard to believe, but in the century-long history of film dling his thumbs, waiting for an offer of work to come in. “For there has never once been a teen rom-com with a gay lead re- directing, I only do it when I really know I can stand before any- Ileased by a major studio. All that changes on March 16, when one—studio heads, press people, actors, any person—and say, ‘I’m Love, Simon makes its way into theatres from 20th Century Fox. the person to tell this story… I have to be a part of this,’” he ex- Adapted by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker from Becky plains. “I don’t know why that alarm goes off in me when it does on Albertalli’s best-selling young-adult novel Simon vs. the Homo certain things… For me, it’s so profound to know that this [story] Sapiens Agenda, Love, Simon found its director in Greg Berlanti. is going to be the number-one thing I think about, workwise, for It’s the director’s third film, following The Broken Hearts Club: every minute from now until the second it’s on movie screens A Romantic Comedy (2000) and Life As We Know It (2010). around the country, and maybe even beyond.” Between films, Berlanti’s kept busy—though that’s perhaps too The core subject matter of Love, Simon, placed up against such mild a word—as a prolific producer who helped usher in a new high-school rom-com classics as The Breakfast Club and Pretty in era of superhero TV with “Arrow” and “The Flash.” “,” Pink, is fairly standard: A teenage lead struggles to achieve self- “Black Lightning,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” “Blindspot” and acceptance against a backdrop of potential romantic partners and “Riverdale” have all borne the Berlanti stamp—and those are just the ever-shifting sands of high-school friendships. Simon (Nick the shows that are still running. Robinson) is obsessed with music, has a family he loves but doesn’t Suffice it to say, Berlanti wasn’t exactly sitting at home, twid- always connect with, and fits into the Molly Ringwald mold of

16 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 “cool because they don’t know they’re cool.” Love, Simon’s script, that’s unknowable and a mystery. That’s what people around Simon and the book it’s based on, blends comedy, drama and romance in a are feeling. He had all those things Simon had.” way that appealed to Berlanti, who came of age during the august In years past, one would hear stories about actors shying away era of teen filmmaking. “There were a lot of movies from playing gay characters lest it have a negative impact on their like that growing up,” Berlanti notes. “There are fewer now.” career. In contrast, Simon’s sexuality was never an issue for Robin- But there’s one major difference between Love, Simon and its son. “I think it says a lot about him and a lot about where we are ’80s predecessors: Simon just happens to be gay. He strikes up an [as a society] that he came in and never talked about the sexuality anonymous online correspondence with a gay classmate, nick- of the character,” says Berlanti. “Most of his questions were about named “Blue.” Problem: Even as their friendship blossoms into the tone of the piece. ‘Can you make this funny in the way that I romance, Blue is too scared to tell Simon who he really is. Their re- thought the script was funny and emotional in the way I thought lationship makes Simon question his own decision to hide his true the script was emotional? Can it be both those things but never self from family and friends. Or, as Berlanti puts it, “Who are you feel too broad? Is it going to be human and real and still filmic?’ to the world, who are you inside and how do you get those things A lot of ‘How are you going to do this? How are you going to do to align? You can’t really be happy until that?’… We discussed the heart and soul of you can be on the outside all the things Simon and what his relationships were like you are on the inside.” and what it means to be afraid of yourself at For Berlanti, then, himself a gay man, that age. It was so refreshing to me! I kept part of the appeal of Love, Simon was that thinking, ‘I’ll go there if he wants to go there “I would have loved to have seen this film and discuss this if he wants to.’ I’ve always when I was 16 years old. And I would been so impressed with him as a person. He love to be a part of putting something approaches his job like a real artist.” there that should be there, but for what- With Simon locked in, Berlanti did “a lot ever reason wasn’t.” of screen tests” for the other actors, followed When Berlanti and I spoke, Love, Si- by two weeks of rehearsals, all with the goal of mon had already checked off a handful of making sure the cast had the right chemistry. screenings, garnering a generally positive “We really wanted as much diversity in the film reception from audience members across as possible, too, in the casting of it in addition the sexuality spectrum. And, not for to the subject matter it dealt with,” Berlanti nothing, the geographic spectrum as well: says. “Our country’s more diverse than I think A screening in California was followed people realize. Audiences, from my experience, by another in “a very, very, very red state,” crave stuff that feels fresh and new.” where it tested “just as well, if not a little On the adult side, there’s Jennifer Gar- better. People there were just as desirous ner and Josh Duhamel as Simon’s parents ROWN of something that was emotional and told DIRECTOR GREG BERLANTI B and Tony Hale as a well-intentioned—if RIELL from the right place.” A more than little awkward—vice principal. “My own personal belief is that people For Simon’s friends, there’s Katherine Lang- are essentially the same and just want to ford (“13 Reasons Why”), Alexandra Shipp watch good stories and great acting,” Berlanti argues. “[There have (X-Men: Apocalypse, Tragedy Girls), Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. (Brigsby been] a lot of straight people saying that [Love, Simon] still repre- Bear), Logan Miller (“The Walking Dead”) and Keiynan Lonsdale sents their high-school experience, even though the lead happens to (“The Flash”). Notes Berlanti, “I really did feel like I was working be a gay character… [Simon’s narrative] is really specific to the gay with a generation of kids who will all do really great and wonder- experience, but also universal in that sense of ‘What if I’m not ready ful things, and 20 years from now we’ll be talking about them the to tell the world who I am, because I don’t know who I am yet?’” way we we’re talking about some of the cast of The Broken Hearts To play Simon, Berlanti had just one choice: Nick Robinson, Club”—Berlanti’s first film, a funny, heartfelt rom-com about a who “broke [his] heart in Kings of Summer,” the young actor’s 2013 group of gay friends that boasts Timothy Olyphant, Justin Theroux, breakout. A role in Jurassic World followed. “I tried to get him on Billy Porter and Zach Braff among its cast—“today. They’re all very TV stuff, but I couldn’t,” Berlanti recalls. “For me, whenever I’m special in their own way, independently, and then collectively they trying to cast something, I usually find one person that I’m linked were just terrific.” up with, and I feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, this person really captures The film’s in the can, and one question remains: Will audiences and expresses the heart and soul of the character, and now I can’t respond to a teen film with a same-sex romance at its core? If the imagine anybody else in the part, and I’m screwed if they don’t let film’s quality is an indication, it will. Berlanti himself is optimis- me cast who I want to cast.’” tic, citing the aforementioned screening responses and rapturous Happily, both the studio and Robinson concurred with Ber- reactions from people who have taken to social media to gush lanti’s casting decision. It was the beginning of setting the tone of about “what it feels like to even experience the trailer in theatres.” Love, Simon, a particular mix of comedy and poignancy Berlanti If all goes well, Love, Simon may be the firstmajor same-sex teen argues only Robinson could have achieved. “The movie could only romance, but it won’t even be close to the last. “There’s been a lot be as funny as him,” the director says. “It would only be funny in of great, wonderful LGBTQ content on television” in the last few the way he’s funny, really. And it could only make you feel as much years, Berlanti remarks. “But there’s been less in mainstream film. as he could. All the colors of the film really start with the lead Hopefully, this will be just the first of a lot of films that include a actor… [Robinson’s] sense of humor never feels shticky. It always lot of stories about people from all walks of life. There will be far feels believable. There’s a comfort and a warmth around him that more that people can reflect on, and we don’t have to be the burden you see through his eyes, and yet there’s something about him of being the only one out there.” ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 17 fromRusSia with laughs

18 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 n acclaimed veteran of U.K. television, AArmando Iannucci has advanced his reputation in recent years with scathing satires of the political establishment—first with the BBC series “,” a cheeky look at Britain’s corridors of power; then its Oscar- nominated 2009 feature spinoff In the Loop, about the fraught relationship between London and Washington; and finally with HBO’s wildly successful sendup of D.C., “,” about to commence its seventh and final season. But none of these previous efforts has been quite as savage as The Death of Stalin,Iannucci’s second feature film, which IFC Films debuts stateside on March 9. Adapted by Iannucci, and Ian Martin from the graphic novels by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin, the film is an uncompromising portrait of the totalitarian fear, toadying and madness surrounding the reign of Russian dictator Joseph Stalin and the vicious jockeying for power that followed his sudden and ultimately fatal stroke in 1953. With a mixture of elements that recalls Ernst Lubitsch’s 1942 comic masterpiece set against the Nazi invasion of Po- land, To Be or Not to Be, it also delivers breathtak- ing laughter amidst the terror. Iannucci agrees that he walked a creative tightrope in directing and co-writing this blackest of comedies. “The thing about tightropes is, if you get to the other side, people are impressed, but if you make one mistake, you need to call for an ambulance,” he laughs. “I was aware of that, but I thought: Well, we’ll just have to work very hard to make sure we get it right.” The constant anxiety and paranoia of his on-

. screen characters has a connection to the nature of

RELEASE comedy, he argues. “It’s all about trying to create MASTER SATIRIST

ILMS anxiety in the audience as well. Comedy does make you feel slightly anxious, because it’s building up to IFC F Armando ianNucCi N something. It’s all about setups and the punch line. . A

ILMS Comedy already trades with anticipation, but it also takes in: And someone might get shot!” asSembles IFC F OF Some of the wildest moments in The Death of Stalin that may seem to be inspired comic inven- stelLar ensemble OURTESY

. C tions are actually based on the historical record. They

OVE include the droll opening scene, in which a radio D producer played by Paddy Considine must frantical-

for his latest ICOLA

N ly reassemble the orchestra (and find a new conduc- political spoOf by kevin lalLy

STEVE BUSCEMI AS KHRUSHCHEV, ADRIAN MCLOUGHLIN AS STALIN, JEFFREY TAMBOR AS MALENKOV, DERMOT CROWLEY AS KAGANOVICH, AND SIMON RUSSELL BEALE AS BERIA IN ARMANDO IANNUCCI’S THE DEATH OF STALIN. tor) when Stalin demands a non-existent is the bad guy and that’s how it will stay recording of the Mozart concerto they’ve for the rest of the film. I rather like: OK, just performed live on-air. Other fun facts: here’s the bad guy, but by the end of the Stalin really did insist that his subordinates film you will know more about him and watch American westerns with him till the have slightly more complicated feelings wee hours of the morning. Stalin’s alcoholic about him. Similarly with Khrushchev, son Vasily really did conceal from his father as the film progresses you see other as- the death of the national ice hockey team in pects of his life and his personality. In the a plane crash, secretly replacing the players. end they’re all human beings, they’re all And Stalin really did lie in a puddle of his flawed individuals, and they’ve all been own urine for an entire day following his through terrible things together.” stroke because everyone was too afraid to Iannucci is a big believer in providing disturb him. enough rehearsal time to allow his actors “It’s that level of absurdity,” Iannucci to truly embody their characters. “We notes, “that people are frozen in fear, or rehearsed chronologically, so everyone got else carrying out the things people want to know everyone else’s story from begin- without even having to bother saying it. ning to end. So when they turned up for a Of course, the irony is that Stalin is killed ARMANDO IANNUCCI scene, everyone instantly knew where ev- by his own terror—he so terrified the eryone else was in the story. It reached the guards about interrupting him that they Stalin, and Andrea Riseborough as point where when it came to the rather didn’t, he so terrified everyone about the Stalin’s daughter, Svetlana. brutal scene towards the end, I just didn’t doctors poisoning him that they didn’t “The first person I wanted was Simon rehearse it. I knew they’d learned the call a doctor, and so on and so on. In the Russell Beale for Beria,” Iannucci recalls. lines and I said: Just go in there and get end he was killed by his own terror, which “Simon is very well known in the U.K. as it done in two minutes—the cameras will has a satisfying comic shape to it as well.” a stage actor but not really as a film or TV be there. And that’s what they did, and it One of the most striking creative actor. He’s a great actor as well. I liked became this gripping and dramatic mo- decisions Iannucci made was to cast an the idea that because we don’t really have ment. And that was because they had all ensemble of British, Welsh, Scottish, a conception of who or what Beria is, the grown into each other’s company. That’s Irish and American actors and encourag- audience is seeing an actor about whom not something you can shoot at the begin- ing them to retain their native accents. they don’t have a preconceived notion. ning of the process. It’s a wonderful feel- (Ukrainian Olga Kuryenko as a defiant Beria is very self-contained and still and ing when you’re directing that, because pianist is the closest to the real thing.) careful with his words and speaks in short you know that everyone is now absolutely “It’s a European-funded film for the sentences—everything is bottled.” in the character, and that’s when you can English-speaking market. I didn’t want Beria’s aloof persona is what led the get them to move off the page and start people putting on accents for the sake director to cast Steve Buscemi as Khrush- trying things out as an ensemble.” of an accent,” Glasgow-born Iannucci chev. “You want a contrast to that, you The Death of Stalin recently made explains. “When I showed it to the Rus- want someone who’s flamboyant and loud headlines when Russia withdrew its exhi- sian press, they all said: ‘Thank you for and talkative and speaks with his hands bition license and police halted a screen- not using fake Russian accents—actually and is demonstrative. But also someone ing at a cinema that dared to show the we hate that, it just drives us crazy.’ The who starts off the film as a clown in paja- film. “I had half expected Russia to be thinking is, once you decide it’s going to mas and becomes the next dictator. Steve dubious about the film, so I was pleased be in English, the Kremlin itself was full can do all that—he can turn from being when I heard it got a distributor and was of different accents and dialects: Stalin funny to being frightening. It’a great that granted a license,” Iannucci recalls. “I was from Georgia, Khrushchev was from we got Steve onboard.” thought: Well, there we go. The culture the Ukraine. So the way to replicate that Beale, a highly regarded Shakespear- minister said, ‘We don’t have censorship I thought was to have a variety of Eng- ean actor, is riveting as Beria, a ruthless, here, of course we’re going to show it.’ lish accents in the film: London English, abusive man who becomes a poignant And then just two days before the start of Northern English, Irish, Scottish and figure of sympathy as the film reaches its the release, they took the license away. So American. That gave it a sense of people climax. “Beria was actually regarded as there’s some kind of internal politicking from different backgrounds, different a very good employer—everyone in the going on. I don’t quite know where we strata of society, different classes and security forces said he was very generous are, but I’m hopeful that it will get shown. cultures all coming together.” to them, he would always remember their What’s been interesting is the support The sensational ensemble includes birthdays and their wives’ birthdays,” Ian- we’ve had: The Moscow Times published Steve Buscemi as then-minister of nucci observes. “And yet he was not just a huge backing for the film. About the agriculture Nikita Khrushchev, Jeffrey the chief torturer but a sadist who would claim that it insults the Russian people, Tambor as deputy general secretary pick up young girls off the street. It’s a they reported that people who went to Georgy Malenkov, Simon Russell Beale strange mix. And then politically he goes see it said, ‘No, it’s terribly respectful to as minister of home affairs and head of from Stalin’s henchman to trying to make what actually happened, it’s very honest. security forces Lavrentiy Beria, Michael himself a great liberator and reformer. The jokes aren’t about what happened to Palin as foreign secretary Vyacheslav I kind of like it when not everything is the Russian people, the jokes are all on Molotov, Jason Isaacs as Field Marshal black and white, and you don’t start the the politicians.’ So I just hope that maybe Georgy Zhukov, Rupert Friend as Vasily film going this is the good guy and this CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

20 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018

Teenage girls have murder on their minds in indie thriller Thoroughbreds

YOUNG BLOODS ABOVE AND AT RIGHT: OLIVIA COOKE AND ANYA TAYLOR-JOY

by Rebecca Pahle the power dynamics in wealth, and the hidden costs.” You “never see money change hands” between the super-rich, which ich teens are a strange and scary breed in writer- means “you’re unaware of the violence that underpins wealth in director Cory Finley’s debut feature Thoroughbreds, a fundamental way. And I thought it was a rich world to set this Rout March 9 from . Garnering story in—a story all about the lack of empathy and morality.” critical acclaim upon its bow at last year’s Sundance, The role of dressing Lily, Amanda and their various high-class Thoroughbreds stars Anya Taylor-Joy, breakout star of confrères went to Alex Bovaird, who between Thoroughbreds and ’ The Witch, and Me and Earl and the Dying Andrea Arnold’s American Honey has emerged as one of the most Girl’s Olivia Cooke as Lily and Amanda, two onetime best exciting up-and-coming costume designers working today. Lily’s friends from a wealthy Connecticut suburb. Their friendship wardrobe, in particular, is striking, transitioning as it does from recently rekindled after a scandalous act of violence sent Amanda prim and proper prep couture to something darker and slouchier in to the realm of social pariahs, the girls bond in their discussions a way that mirrors her psychological journey. of Lily’s hated stepfather, Mark (Paul Sparks). “The progression of costumes through the movie was Specifically…they should really hire someone to kill him, something we spent a lot of time on in pre-production, probably right? as much time as we did going through the script,” notes Finley. A razor-sharp thriller with a deep vein of dark comedy, “Alex came in with an amazing array of choices. She approaches Thoroughbreds was partially inspired by Finley’s own conflicted costuming from a very sociological point of view.” Instagram was feelings towards the rich. “I grew up comfortably, but certainly utilized for inspiration regarding the clothing habits of well-to- not in the kind of wealth that the characters have,” he says. do teens; beyond that, Finley and Bovaird narrowed down their “I always had a handful of friends in high school and middle options to outfits that “had stylization to them and captured a school that had these huge, palatial homes, and I definitely have little bit of that film noir silhouette.” formative memories of going over and playing their amazing Finley’s neo-noir stylings go beyond clothes. For videogames, and swimming in their pools and just loving the Thoroughbreds’ director of cinematography, Finley went with Lyle luxury of that world.” The ease and comfort of wealth appealed Vincent, whose work on black-and-white neo-noir A Girl Walks to Finley—as it does—but as he matured he came to “understand Home Alone at Night had impressed the director. The pair’s visual

22 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 PHOTOS: C LAIRE FOLGER © 2018 FOCUS FEATURES reference points included such classic noirs out of time, which is the sort of film Finley as Strangers on a Train, Double Indemnity himself is drawn to: “I love when movies and The Postman Always Rings Twice—“the can feel very of the times they’re made in, great amoral murder-plot movies of the but also have a weird, drifting sense of what ’40s and ’50s. We talked about the light is contemporary.” That sensibility is echoed and shadow in those. We’re both big fans by the movies Lily and Amanda are shown of the and the way Roger watching: “old, forgotten classic movies on Deakins shoots a lot of their great movies. some extended cable network in the middle of And we talked a lot about this great the night, rather than ‘Desperate Housewives’ photographer named Gregory Crewdson, or something I would watch.” who does very stylized, suburban noir-ish The cucumber-cool aesthetic makes images that use a lot of really vivid blues Thoroughbreds’ mordant humor really pop. OER and yellows and have a very particular B Tim, played by the late Anton Yelchin in DE lighting scheme to them.” one of his final roles, is a twenty-something

Finley’s other points of influence AARTEN wannabe drug kingpin desperate to prove his include David Lynch, for his use of sound DIRECTOR CORY FINLEY wrong-side-of-the-tracks bona fides to Lily design—an element that “people still and Amanda. His dramatic pronouncement © 2017 M don’t make enough use of” in movies, that “you don’t know where I come from” is Finley argues, and one that Thoroughbreds’ met by a deadpan Amanda, not missing a beat: supervising sound editor Gene Park handles particularly well— “Westchester.” and The Shining, for Kubrick’s roving Steadicam shots through the Much of Thoroughbreds’ comedy and its drama—not to Overlook Hotel. mention its more chilling moments—come from its characters’ Thoroughbreds’ version of the Overlook—one infested not by dogged attempts to present themselves a certain way. Within the the supernatural but the entitled rich—was a McMansion located first 15 minutes, Amanda makes the announcement that “I don’t south of Boston. “When we were initially doing location scouting, have feelings—ever,” a proclamation that’s challenged in small all the houses that we were looking at were too classy,” Finley ways over the course of the film. Lily’s situation is the reverse: recalls. “We needed something more over the top. And that was There’s a layer of darkness lingering under her aggressively spit- shined surface. “No one is fully what they’re saying they are,” Finley notes. “It’s this great trope of teenage movies, like The Breakfast Club: People trying to figure out what box they fit into.” Of course, that film’s Bender never considered hiring someone to murder his father—so in terms of content, at least, you can more accurately label Thoroughbreds a modern-day Heathers. American Psycho comes to mind, as well, its characters sharing with Thoroughbreds’ a love of the presentational. (A further American Psycho connection: Finley says Amanda’s character first came into focus when he imagined her as “a kind of junior capitalist [with] this Ayn Rand element to her,” a sort of teenage Patrick Bateman sans the obsession with skincare. In one of the film’s more amusing running jokes, she repeatedly invokes the memory of her idol, Steve Jobs. “I’ve found that there’s a particular kind of person that really idolizes Steve Jobs,” Finley explains. “And I was interested in that voice coming through in a character who’s talking about murder plots.”) That interplay between the fronts Lily and Amanda present what we found in this house.” The inviting personal touches of the to the outside world and who they really are inside—something family that lived there were cleared out, replaced by ostentatious that Finley wisely avoids going into in too much cut-and-dried accouterments that make Thoroughbreds’ primary location feel less detail, opting to keep things open to interpretation—makes the like a home than the world’s gaudiest museum. film’s central duo quite the psychologically complex pair. Much Remarkably, the house where Lily, her mother and her of that can be credited to the performances of Taylor-Joy and stepfather live manages to feel both cluttered and empty, side Cooke, who per Finley “were both very good with the technical tables adorned with expensive-looking statues placed just-so work of thinking about how these characters carry themselves and simultaneously bearing down on Lily and sucking any feelings how they dress and their physicality—their vocal timbre, all that of warmth out of the air. As with the sound design and the kind of stuff.” Initially written as a stage play,Thoroughbreds was costumes, Thoroughbreds’ set design is quite heightened; in one of always “wordy, by design,” but Taylor-Joy and Cooke’s nuanced the film’s showcase scenes, Lily and Amanda chat life and death performances—not to mention Finley’s ability to utilize close- in a yard dominated by a giant concrete chess set. The goal was for ups—enabled the director to chop away at the screenplay. “It’s a the house to feel “oppressive,” Finley explains, getting across the credit to both of their performances that in so many spots I was idea that “Lily is both a beneficiary of the privilege that she was able to eliminate lines or whole sections of lines. Because with born to and a prisoner of it.” something they were doing with silence or a subtext they were The pitch-perfect design work put intoThoroughbreds by bringing into an earlier line, they made a later line not necessary. Finley and his team results in a film that feels ever so slightly That’s how you know you have good actors.” ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 23 by trevor hogG

24 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 NICK PARK POSES WITH EDDIE REDMAYNE (VOICE OF DUG) AND MAISIE WILLIAMS (VOICE OF GOONA) ON THE SET OF EARLY MAN.

BELOW, PARK AND CREW WORK BEFORE A GREEN SCREEN.

ittle did a stop-frame animation student at the LNational Film and Television School in Eng- land know that his graduation project called A Grand Day Out would launch him into interna- tional stardom, and make a hapless, cheese-loving inventor and his genius dog cultural icons. “ have to pinch myself when I see Wallace and Gromit on TV every holiday in the U.K.,” admits Nick Park, who has won four , become a creative cornerstone at Aardman , and received a CBE (Commander of the British Em- pire). “I remember 20 or 30 years ago with the rise of CGI, and fantastic films from and Dream- Works, we wondered, ‘How long do we have to be using this old technique?’ Now, it helps us to stand out against the other films.” Stop-frame techniques have not changed over the years for the principal animation. “With Chicken Run and Curse of the Were- Rabbit, we shot them on good old stop-frame film cameras, but now we shoot digitally. It offers a big safety net. If something goes wrong in the middle of a three-day shot it doesn’t all get trashed.” Stop- frame and CGI work well together. “We have for a long time been using digital effects, like any movie does, whether it’s things that you can’t do with clay, such as lava, smoke and fire.” CGI was useful in expanding the prehistoric landscapes featured in Park’s new Early Man, where a community of cave dwellers challenge Bronze Age villagers to a soccer match in an effort to win back their homeland. “We shot as much as we could in the studio but didn’t have the space, so we would often shoot against green screen and put NSTITUTE I in the backgrounds afterwards.” ILM

F Early Man involved 40 camera crews each

RITISH utilizing a Canon EOS-1D X simultaneously to B HE T AND S.A.S TUDIOCANAL © 2017 S OHNSON J HRIS C HOTOS P

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 25 shoot 35 to 40 sets with a team of 35 ani- around fairly naturally,” Park notes. FROM RUSSIA… CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20 mators in order to produce five seconds to Casting was kept in mind during after the election next month in Russia, a minute worth of footage a week. “This the design process. “Eddie Redmayne, they will come up with a way of releasing is when good organization comes in. Clay Timothy Spall, Maisie Williams and Tom it. The thing is, now everyone in Russia animation and stop-frame is a cottage Hiddleston did a test and we’d animated knows about the film.” industry. We had to industrialize but keep the clay model to see if the voice fits. The day before our interview,Variety it feeling crafted in a loving way.” We would take their voice and, with the announced FilmNation’s financing of Ian- A practical issue is how much of the animator, video-record us miming to what nucci’s next feature, The Personal History character can be made of clay, as it adds they did and I would be able to point out of David Copperfield, a new version of the to the animation time. “Even though the what I wanted.” classic Charles Dickens novel slated to be- heads of the characters are made of clay, Park continues, “We spent a lot of time gin filming in the U.K. in June. Iannucci we have a system where you can unplug in the edit suite, but before that I sat for and Simon Blackwell wrote the screen- every mouth. Every character has a set of months with [co-writers] Mark Burton play. “It will be set in the 1840s, 1850s, 20 mouths made of clay, so the animator and John O’Farrell in a room sticking cards but the language of the book and the psy- can still manipulate them.” The technique up on a wall. Even after doing the animatic chology and emotions are so relevant and helped to keep the style consistent for the [storyboards with a rough soundtrack], you contemporary that I want to go in with characters and film. “It also makes the find that there are still problems and go that attitude as a director. I want the story animation quicker to do, because nothing back to cards to work some things out. It’s to feel directly relevant and contemporary, takes longer than the lip sync.” an organic process.” even though the setting will be of that For the first time, Park decided to be Sound design is a whole world in itself. time. It shouldn’t feel historic—we should the sole director on a feature film project. “I’ve worked with Adrian Rhodes since be present at that time, it should feel new. “We took our model from DreamWorks college to get the right amount of realistic London at that time was in the industrial and Disney, which had the two-handed and cartoon audio. It’s a rich soundtrack. revolution and the capital city of the big- technique because of the amount of work. For example, we have a scene in the stadium gest empire the world had ever seen, so I learned a lot working with Peter Lord on where Dug [Redmayne] creeps in to get it should feel exciting and modern… It Chicken Run and Steve Box on Curse of the some balls and falls down. It was always should feel absolutely contemporary rather Were-Rabbit. But I just wanted to be on the funny visually, but after a few months Adri- than looking through an old filter. Simi- helm this time and see what that was like.” an put these sounds of each chair springing larly, the way people speak should feel During a pitch session, the concept was back which made it incredibly real.” natural rather than heightened, not as if described as Gladiator meets Dodgeball. “Or The score was the responsibility of there are quotation marks around every- it’s Braveheart with balls,” laughs Park when composers Harry Gregson-Williams and thing they say.” reminded of the cinematic comparison. Tom Howe. “It seems that the music tells No doubt, Iannucci’s profile has been “Like a lot of these ideas they start with a half of the story. You can telegraph things heightened by the Emmy-winning success simple sketch or a doodle. I was doodling to the audience in all sorts of ways. It hap- of “Veep,” which he left after season four. the typical caveman with a club hitting a pened fairly late in the process. “It surprised me,” he says of its reception, rock. It made me think of a sport, like base- “I was excited to get into a world that “partly because I thought: Oh, here are ball. Then I wondered, ‘What if Stone Age was totally outside the normal world of Brits coming into America making fun people invented soccer? What if you have a Wallace and Gromit or Shaun the Sheep,” of their politics—we’ll be chased home bunch of idiotic but loveable cavemen who says Park. He saw soccer as an avenue to after the pilot. I didn’t realize that, de- are clumsy have to learn a different game incorporate Aardman Animations’ signa- spite the rhetoric of Donald Trump and and not fight?’ The whole thing that we call ture quirky humor into the storytelling. his supporters, America is actually a very football [in the U.K.] is so tribal.” “One of the biggest challenges was how to welcoming country. It welcomes ideas and The prologue that depicts an asteroid stage a game but make it cinematic. I had ability. A lot of people said you needed wiping out the dinosaurs provided an op- the film Gladiator in my mind a lot of the people from outside the two-party divide portunity to honor a childhood hero. “I’m time. There’s the big rush and roar of the to stand back and look at the whole thing a big fan of Ray Harryhausen and when crowd, and exciting camera moves.” and go, ‘This is chaotic!’ Also, hundreds of I was 11 years old One Million Years B.C. A number of underdog sports movies people make so many pilots for American was my favorite film. I had never seen a were watched by the British filmmaker, television and 99 percent of them don’t get prehistoric underdog sports movie before, with major inspiration drawn from Miracle, any further. And hundreds of people make so I got excited about making one. We which centers around the U.S. hockey team hundreds of TV shows in America and 80 have a couple of dinosaurs in the opening defeating the Soviet Union at the Lake percent of them are taken off air halfway scene called Ray and Harry.” Placid Winter Olympics in 1980. “When through. But for us: ‘Oh, we’ve been given Character design is an area where Park you see soccer on TV, it’s shot from above, another season!’ In my wildest dreams, I likes to keep a hands-on approach. “Even so you can tell which side is which and never thought we’d get to season seven. I when we’re writing, I’ll be drawing and who’s where. However, I wanted to get thought we’d be happy if we got this small doodling the characters. I will sometimes down, be cinematic and tell story all of the niche audience, but to realize it would get mock up a character roughly in clay but time. It’s not just back and forth like you’re this big audience and get the Emmy sever- have a whole team of people who make the watching a tennis match. It was all about al times, it’s been great and HBO has been stuff properly. I’ll maybe tweak the nose or how to execute that game and make it the fantastic to work with. And it helps the something about them.” Lord Nooth (Tom most compelling and exciting, but with next project, because you suddenly realize Hiddleston) was the most difficult to cre- gags. I wanted the audience to be rooting actors you really want to work with have ate. “The cavemen and cavewomen came for our guys.” ш watched ‘Veep’ and are aware of it.” ш

26 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 We will do what it takes to help you going from standard to different, as many of our customers are doing, from rocker through recliners. One room, different styles and we have them all. A New Vision Bud Mayo Maintains Oversight of Rising Theatre Circuit

t was very exciting to do headed a variety of innovative cinema ventures along the way. In fact, by Andreas Fuchs a restart with a bunch he pursued his theatrical ambitions with a decidedly “clear view” ‘Iof assets that are all over of what he wanted moviegoing to be like—creating a DigiPlex of the place.” Bud Mayo, chairman of New Vision Theatres (www. digital cinema “destinations” being just one of them. newvisiontheatres.com), is talking about 194 screens at 17 locations Geographically, New Vision Theatres are different from the early that he and his team of industry veterans and investor partners as- in the metro New York area. Mayo draws the sembled in the wake of AMC Entertainment’s March 2016 merger comparison to about 25 years ago: “Obviously, we always tried to with Carmike Cinemas. “Some are remodeled and wonderful, take the best assets in the areas that we are operating in.” With New beautiful theatres, and other ones we need to attend to and remod- Vision Theatres located across nine of the United States, “we address el. And that’s always fun to do as well, because you get to look at each location as if it were our only theatre. That is a philosophy we the audience and at the budget, deciding how to reasonably invest already tried to apply to Clearview, and we have learned from that. where the best results will come from, in any one particular place.” “We bring neighbors to the movies,” he says, quoting the lat- For the 2018 edition of our annual Exhibition Guide, Film ter circuit’s onetime tagline. “We are really trying to do the same Journal International can count on the ultimate exhibition expert and thing at New Vision Theatres by nurturing local audiences and by consummate elder statesman sharing some enlightening business becoming part of the fabric of the community itself. This allows us insights. Bud Mayo not only facilitated our industry’s transition to to choose content that fits the audience and to anticipate what we digital cinema by designing the virtual-print-fee model, but also can do around that program offering.”

28 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018

He continues, “Our plan this year is to do reserved seating and to resist initially, Mayo admits to changing his mind. “Maybe we’ll to upgrade seats. We know all about recliners, but the other part of buy a few theatres just to keep some good people employed, and that is that we intend to obtain liquor licenses—at least wine and let’s see where it goes from there.” beer—in every location where we can. With that, we also intend The rest is (exhibition) history, as they say. “I was heavily to offer a menu of ‘good’ food. Not in-theatre dining, not gourmet recruited to put a bid in for the entire package… I was foods in most cases, but food and beverage choices that comple- encouraged actively by AMC and Carmike, and by the ment a one-stop shop at a reasonable cost for families.” Department of Justice, because of my history and reputation in Costs were certainly reasonable back in 1994, and options on the business. All those things told me, ‘Okay, if I can get my snack and content much more limited, Mayo recalls. “We did not team to sign up for this, and become chairman and not a CEO have to be as much of a curator of content as we are today. Our of the venture, then why not?’ I will put a package together, get business was to take whatever came down the pike, put it up on the right financial backing, and then let’s see if we can pave this the screen, making moviegoing a family-friendly atmosphere.” and build from there. It turned out a bit of a rollercoaster, to In addition to Clearview Cinemas’ signature fireplaces, “we had a be honest. We were on again, off again as a bidder, ultimately phone on the concession stand that allowed people to call home, getting back after we thought we had lost the bid.” because there were no cellphones in those days. You could call Mayo recalls receiving a call in the parking lot after grocery your babysitter and call a cab, whatever you needed to do... Our shopping with his wife. “If we are the only group you talk to from business has since evolved, and it is much more exciting today than now on, of course, we will get back in the saddle,” he told the it was then. Thankfully, we have a great team behind it all, many people on the other end of the call. “We did just that and closed of whom were with me at Clearview, Cinedigm and at DigiPlex in April last year. Only to find that we entered four or five of the Destinations,” Mayo notes, mentioning his other ventures. “They worst months the industry had seen in a long time. What a great are allowing me to be a true chairman of the board now, as opposed way to start! That told us a lot about our financial partners—that to somebody keeping the weeds [away].” they were big boys, and that they understood what we were go- With “many, many years of experience in dealing with a combi- ing through in transition to a platform that we had to create from nation of audiences and demographic data, which is far more avail- scratch. After all, we did not have a business in place.” able to us today than it certainly was in the Clearview days,” New “We had a bunch of theatres, and we had to scramble,” Mayo Vision Theatres aims for the best results in each location, Mayo says of the good-news/bad-news scenario that followed. “Putting says. “So, the challenge is different. In some ways it is greater and a platform together from scratch means you can cherry-pick the in other ways made easier by the availability of information and vendors and the choices of software and hardware to do something content choices that simply were not there before. DigiPlex Desti- that gives you the maximum amount of flexibility in the 21st nations was an evolution, and certainly a major step forward. After century.” Doing just that, “we really started running this business that, all we did was to take some 26 DigiPlex sites and folded them in September, for the first time as New Vision Theatres.” Some into Carmike Cinemas. We had a much bigger platform to work locations do go back, way back with Bud Mayo, however, such as with content, reaching 150 Carmike locations.” the Rialto in Westfield, , where corporate headquarters Mayo’s time at Carmike opened another opportunity for him are located. In a further nod to continuity, New Vision’s accounting when AMC Entertainment became interested in those very loca- department is based in Columbus, Georgia, near the former tions. “As a member of the senior team at Carmike, I was very Carmike offices. “Well, all our theatres are my favorites, as they much aware of all the discussions, and really understood that at the represent opportunity. Some are performing better. As every circuit, end of that year it was time for me to retire,” he contends. “I was we have our battleships. Three or four of those, and we expect to very happy to be able to do that, to go on a few boards, and at least have five or six more theatres that really anybody in the country keep my finger in the pie of business and try to bring my experi- would want to own.” ence to the table. And to play a little more golf, which I am ter- Mayo was able to weigh in on which theatres to acquire dur- rible at,” he chuckles. Tennis, sailing and spending time with nine ing the bidding process. “We did not take the entire package as it grandchildren also beckoned Mayo. “There’s a classic ‘Yeah, this is was presented.” In some cases that may have been a disadvantage, what I want to do’ phase. But, little by little, conversations started especially not knowing some of the AMC locations, of which six to come to me about the divestiture of certain theatres. ‘You could ended up with New Vision. “Let’s take each building,” he says of easily assemble a team,’ I was told, ‘and financing would be, for you, the process, “and strip it down to exactly what it is. What kind of a very easy thing to do.’ All of which was true,” he says. After trying product has been successful there? What can we do that would be

30 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 incremental to those theatres? Because some of them did not do entertainment and has evaluated numerous platform opportunities alternative programming at all. Those are the opportunities, and over the past few years. New Vision represents a compelling it means you need to do the work. That is really the secret to any platform given its size, geographic breadth, and the ability to business, as far as I am concerned: You do the work. You get into partner with such a complement of talented operators led by Bud the market, you get to know the audiences—not just for five or Mayo and Chuck Goldwater.” seven miles, but fifteen or twenty miles around each theatre. Who “We certainly kissed a lot of frogs as we interviewed potential lives there? What kind of content would they be interested in? And partners,” Mayo says, returning the compliment. “And we found how do we reach them?” a prince. John is a good guy. Very, very smart. And the most im- On the reach of his circuit, Mayo adds. “I know the industry portant part is that I can get his attention when we need it for our has evolved to the point where, in many cases and certainly the team. We enjoy being in constant contact with the partners.” big guys, companies are looking at the world and at their circuits All the team members “are perfect for the job” as well, Mayo as a global business. New Vision Theatres is very much a regional assures. “They are very excited about trying to build this business, business. We look at each one of our regions as a territory that and the opportunities that we can all bring to the table.” As for we address. We have no aspirations about going abroad, but we his part in the process, Mayo is “looking at the business from 500 certainly see opportunities for further consolidation in the United feet up, and toward where we are headed, with a focus on strategy States.” On his way to a board meeting in New York City with and on tactics, specifically. I am more interested in where the his financial partners when we spoke for this article, Mayo had business can go, what verticals are available to us. How do we make prepared “a full presentation of not only our results, but also our each show every week better than the week before? What can we plans for the coming year, which are very aggressive.” introduce that will make the business even better?” Speaking of those partners at The Beekman Group, Mayo Speaking like a chairman—and the industry statesman that we gives credit to managing partner John G. Troiano. “This boutique have all come to know—Bud Mayo’s outlook remains optimistic. private-equity firm is run by the gentleman who started it, who “I have great confidence in the team we have in place. They have had some success with the old Sony Loews circuit when he was been doing this for a long time and they know exactly how to working for a larger private-equity firm. John has a pretty good implement the decisions that they come up with and stay on course handle on what this business was all about and has been looking with building a unique circuit that is also capable of growth. We for an opportunity for years.” Indeed, when the investment in can access the capital markets very effectively through our partners New Vision Theatres was announced, Troiano commented, at Beekman. I am very excited about what the next three or four, “The Beekman team identified the exhibitor industry as a five years could look like in this business, and how far we can reach stable, attractive segment for reasonably priced out-of-home into becoming a very important circuit in this business.” ш

IMAGINATION, INVENTION AND INNOVATION “IS THERE A BETTER WAY TO BUTTER?” Special layered topping orders increase cost and slow everything down, costing you sales and making a mess. With our patented POPIT N’ TOPIT integrated butter topper, built directly into the inside corner of the popper, even self-serve operations can reduce transaction time and save valuable counter space. Happy moviegoers get popcorn how they want it – faster, easier and with little mess for you. And, quicker topping time means more people served. Contact Shelly Olesen at 847-616-6901 or [email protected] for product details.

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 31 Kodak Moments

by Bob Gibbons construction of the Dryden Theatre, a 535- “we had only the second department of seat auditorium attached to the museum. film in a museum in the United States. At The Dryden Theatre opened to the that time, there was very little ‘after-mar- n the third floor of his mansion in public on Wednesday, March 14, 1951, ket’ for movies; studios would release a film ORochester, NY, George Eastman, with a screening of the Jean Renoir silent and it would play in first- and second-run founder of Kodak and inventor of motion classic Nana. Today, the Dryden is the theatres and then it had no value to them.” picture film, had a screen that pulled down George Eastman Museum’s main exhi- Until 1951, all those old prints were on from the ceiling. He used it to show mov- bition space for showcasing its motion nitrate stock. ies to friends. picture collection, prints from the world’s “The studios had this problem,” Barnes Eastman never had a family of his finest archives, and premieres of select emphasizes. “The old film was highly flam- own, so when he died in 1932, most of his releases. To date, more than 13,000 titles mable and was difficult and expensive to wealth went to the University of Roches- have been screened; the theatre attracts take care of; they started disposing of that ter, but he did leave some to “his favorite more than 40,000 visitors annually. nitrate film in a variety of ways. So, there’s niece,” Ellen Dryden. Four years after the Dr. Bruce Barnes, director of the a huge amount of lost film from, particu- George Eastman Museum was founded in George Eastman Museum, picks up its larly, the early Hollywood years.” 1947 on the site of his estate, she funded story: “When we were founded,” he says, Studios—and even theatres, where

BELOW, FROM LEFT: THE DRYDEN’S PROJECTION ROOM (HOUSING TWO CENTURY PROJECTORS); THE FILM VAULT (28,000 TITLES, 6,000 OF WHICH ARE NITRATE PRINTS); AND THE AUDITORIUM, WHICH FEATURES A 27-FOOT-WIDE SCREEN. “WE’RE COMMITTED TO SHOWING FILM IN ITS ORIGINAL FORMAT,” SAYS ASSISTANT COLLECTIONS MANAGER PATRICK TIERNAN, “ SO WE HAVE LENSES AND GATES FOR SILENT, CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD, FLAT, SCOPE, AND WE CAN EVEN PLAY 1:1.8, WHICH WAS A SHORT-LIVED RATIO BETWEEN SOUND AND SILENT MOVIES.”

32 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 Eastman Museum’s Dryden Theatre Is About More Than Just

A NITRATE FILM STRIP: “THE STUDIOS HAD THIS PROBLEM,” SAYS DRYDEN DIRECTOR BRUCE Showing BARNES. “THE OLD FILM WAS HIGHLY FLAMMABLE AND WAS DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE TO TAKE CARE OF; THEY STARTED DISPOSING OF THAT NITRATE FILM IN A VARIET Y OF WAYS. SO, THERE’S A HUGE AMOUNT OF LOST FILM FROM, PARTICULARLY, THE EARLY HOLLYWOOD YEARS.” Movies sometimes prints were stranded—began The Dryden shows about 400 different to represent the breadth of perspectives sending their unwanted negatives and titles a year—including shorts and features. in film history. So, you’ll see silent films, prints to the George Eastman Museum. Every week, the theatre holds a Monday acknowledged classics, some documen- “Today,” adds Jared Case, head of col- matinee for seniors. On Tuesday through taries and foreign films. We try to make lection information, research and access, Saturday, they program at 7:30 in the eve- our programs interesting and relevant, but Moving Image Department, “we have ning. During the academic year, they tend we’re shaping audience’s tastes—not just 28,000 titles; about 6,000 of those are to show silent films on Tuesday evening. catering to their expectations.” nitrate prints. We have the original nitrate The theatre also hosts special events and When the Dryden was renovated in negatives for Gone with the Wind and The several film festivals. All screenings are free 2013, the number of seats was reduced to Wizard of Oz, among many others. But the to those 17 years old and younger to en- 500—250 in the balcony, 250 down be- ultimate goal of having a motion picture courage moviegoing among the young. low—all padded, with no cupholders. No collection is showing it. It’s about conser- “When we’re curating,” offers Jurij food or drink is allowed; the theatre is con- vation with a purpose.” Meden, curator of film exhibitions, “we try sidered an exhibition space, free from the

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 33 BRUCE BARNES JURIJ MEDEN JARED CASE

distraction of crunching popcorn. “We have changeover projectors,” explains elegant machines; they do what you tell The Dryden has another strict policy: Patrick Tiernan, assistant collections man- them to do.” If the movie was made and released on ager. “We’ll put up the first two reels, align The second set is Kinotons, German film—and is available on film—they will the projectors, move the masking. We’re projectors from the ’90s. They’re needed only show it on film. And, Barnes observes: committed to showing film in its original to show 16mm prints. Speed converters “Every foot of every film we show is in- format, so we have lenses and gates for si- attached to all projectors enable them to spected before it’s projected.” lent, classic Hollywood, flat, scope, and we show silent prints. The digital projector is “We have only one screening per day,” can even play 1:1.8, which was a short-lived a Barco 2K. Meden adds, “but an hour before, we begin ratio between sound and silent movies.” “Every time we screen a film at the a procedure where we test both projec- The Dryden has two pairs of film pro- Dryden, we try to put it into context,” tors we’ll be using to set the focus and the jectors in the booth. “The Century projec- Meden points out. “Every film is intro- sound levels and the framing—so it’s a tors we use are the same projectors that duced—the director and title and back- process.” were installed when the theatre opened in ground—but we always talk about the The screen is 27 feet wide. Because 1951,” Tiernan explains. “We believe that particular film print the audience is see- they show so many formats, masking is if we take care of them, they’ll last another ing: Where did it come from? What is its fully moveable left and right, up and down. 50 or 100 years. They’re wonderful old condition? Is it polyester or nitrate? Is it

THE BEST PRICE Even with import tax, our prices beat the competition. COMPLETE SOUND Stage speakers, subwoofer, surround speakers, amplifiers, rack and digital audio processors. Starting at $5,000 IMMERSIVE SEATING Works with every movie through sound channels.

WE SHIP WORLDWIDE Stetson Snell • [email protected] •505.615.2913

34 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 scratched? Also, we always remind people Barnes is proud of the festival. “People eighty years old can still be shown—and about who our projectionist will be and come from around the world because when look great. That’s something that will never which machines we’ll be using.” you’re watching a nitrate film, there is no be true about any of the carriers of digital “We believe that film is a performing question of its visual superiority. There’s images or any of the digital formats.” art,” Barnes reiterates, “and everyone and ev- much more silver in the film, so the blacks With film roots in the past, the Dryden erything that’s involved in that performance are much blacker, there’s more subtlety in Theatre looks ahead. “We want to be the is very important. We consider all of that the color, it’s just a much richer experience. place, the community, that invites people to part of the experience of seeing a film.” I’ve seen Casablanca several times, but on see cinema the way it was meant to be seen “The audience gets that little bit of a nitrate print it was absolutely magical; it and where we can teach people about cin- extra knowledge,” adds Spencer Christiano, was luminescent in ways you just cannot ema to make sure that legacy doesn’t die,” chief projectionist. “That might not mean imagine.” says Case. “It’s important to us not just to anything to them the first time they hear “The really special thing about nitrate,” preserve the film, but also to preserve the it, but over time they get a course in film says Meden, “is that a film print seventy or experience.” ш history.” “We show film in the Dryden The- atre both from our own collection—and we borrow from other archives,” Barnes acknowledges. “Less than half of what we show is from our own collection.” The Dryden is one of only five the- atres in the United States legally allowed to show nitrate film. They screen nitrate prints occasionally throughout the year. “One of the most exciting things we do is ‘The Nitrate Picture Show,’ a three-day film festival we hold the first weekend in May,” says Barnes. “It’s the only festival of its kind in the United States and we show only films on nitrate stock. We show about nine films in the festival and this year— May 4 through 6—will be our fourth year.” “At first, it was nerve-racking project- ing nitrate film,” admits Christiano. “You hear all of these tales about projectors bursting into flames and projectionists running out of the booth on fire. But once you’ve actually done it for a while, it’s just like any other projection. I mean, we treat every print as if it’s the last surviving print—because in some cases, it is.” “We use special fire magazines for showing nitrate,” Tiernan explains. “They’re closed cabinets on the feed arm and take-up reel; between them and the projector are ‘fire rollers’ which cut off oxy- gen to the closed magazines. So, when the projector is operating, everything is pretty sealed up to minimize the danger.” “When we project nitrate, we have three projectionists in the booth at all times,” Meden notes. “We have one at each projector to keep an eye on how the print is tracking; the third projectionist is there to pay attention to focus because some of those old prints are warped.” “For decades, it’s been believed that nitrate film is something that you keep in a vault,” Case laments. “These are old films, but they’ve been taken care of; why not have them be shown? If we want to know how people saw and made films in the 1940s, we should be watching the nitrate films.”

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 35 in ticketing and point of sale

Expanded Reach by Rob Rinderman Fandango Merges with MovieTickets and Plans More Consumer Innovations

n mid-October 2017, Fandango an- Inounced an agreement to acquire its longtime rival in the cinema ticketing space, MovieTickets.com. The transaction officially closed during the tail end of 2017, further expanding Fandango’s reach to all 40,000 screens across the entire United States. Several significant new exhibitors were added, including National Amusements and Cineplex, plus a variety of independently owned and operated North American FANDANGO locations. MovieTickets screens also ex- PRESIDENT panded the organization’s Latin American PAUL YANOVER reach and into the U.K. for the first time.

Merging with MovieTickets Complementary Brands “What most attracted us to the Fandango brands include Rotten Toma- acquisition was our organizational goal of toes, Flixster, Movieclips, Fandango Rewards, ubiquity,” says Fandango’s president, Paul FanShop and several other cinema-related Yanover. “The strategy has been to have assets. “In aggregate, these brands are all complete and comprehensive coverage and centered around ‘movie discovery.’ In order the ability to provide every possible ticket to have a positive impact and sell more tick- to anyone that wants to attend a movie ets, we need to be focused on that process,” anywhere in the country. Yanover emphasizes.

overview of innovations and trends overview innovations of “MovieTickets created and built a “There is a consumer journey that one great brand and they covered parts of goes through toward building interest in see- the country that we did not due to some ing a particular movie. You may have an inter- of their exclusive exhibitor relationships. est in a franchise, a genre, a style, an actor or It all ties to a belief system and our goal director, or even a book you read. We believe that Fandango has of driving attendance the best way to help the entire industry is to and creating win-win situations for the be there at that moment of consumer inter- entire industry, including moviegoers est, driving a set of capabilities into discovery, and our exhibition partners.” Fandango’s planning and purchase. The goal is really to majority owner is NBCUniversal, and take an intention to see a film and turn it Warner Bros. Entertainment holds a into the action of ticket-buying.” minority stake At the time of Fandango’s Flixster According to Yanover, prior to the acquisition, it was more intertwined with MovieTickets merger Fandango successful- the brand. Management ly capitalized on the opportunity to grow has been adamant that the two should be faster through corporate investments in separated and run as very important but technology and enhanced user experi- independent supporting properties of the ence, including innovation around mobile, corporate entity. Rotten Tomatoes is a social-media platforms, voice applications core brand for the organization, centered and related areas. The merger seems to be around discovery. It also happens to be very Film Int’l Journal working well so far, with all hands on deck popular in the U.K., an international market ensuring that full technological and partner Fandango recently added courtesy of TICKETING POS A integrations are running smoothly. MovieTickets. Flixster, on the other hand,

36 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018

is being operated with more of a is capitalizing on its wealth of technology your phone and in the home. The company focus on ticketing. partnerships to further facilitate ongoing is already integrated with Alexa Fandango has learned that overseas momentum. and the Echo Dot device. Consumers can the number-one way people plan ask Alexa about buying movie tickets and movie outings today is through Truth and Myth purchase them by voice command. some type of negotiation via Historically, the perception was that The company is also exploring how group text messages. That can during opening weekend and the early moviegoers can pick their actual seats by be through actual texting or take days of a theatrical release, Fandango voice and have Alexa remember where place on some type of organized ticket purchasers were driven by a sense you sat the last time you visited a par- social-networking platform. As a of urgency to buy advance admissions ticular theatre, among other features. The result, the company has put a lot for popular tentpole titles in major cit- end game is to make available information of thought and effort into how to ies when demand runs high and showings more useful. successfully and seamlessly embed often sell out ahead of time. “I think we are still in the early to Fandango into mobile movie plan- According to Yanover, “Although there middle days of mobile,” Vanover observes, ning environments. is some truth to that, I think that the prod- “and there are some really exciting tech- “We have been very tactical ucts and services we have created, along nologies that will find themselves into the about our implementations that with current consumer behavior, have really total journey on the way to the theatre accomplish this,” states Yanover. habituated people to the desire to use us and there is a lot more to unlock. We are

TICKETING“For example, our POS ticketing is for their everyday movie ticket purchases. very interested in augmented reality, for integrated into Apple’s Messages As an example, our share of non-opening instance, and other experiences of movie- and Facebook’s Messenger platforms. By weekend tickets is more than 50 percent going related to AR on one’s phone. design, when people are in a group plan- of our total tickets sold. This is spreading “If we do our job well, we make it a ning a movie outing, they can access Fan- across more and more markets and we see better experience for the consumer by dango without leaving their text-messaging it happening all over the country.” removing all of the friction from the tick- conversation. Users can access our app et-buying process, ultimately driving more via Facebook or iMessage with only a few Fandango’s Future people to take their interest and turn it clicks, where they find movie trailers, post- Fandango is a big believer in the future into a purchase to attend a movie and cre- ers and a PayPal option for purchase and of voice-driven AI technology, both on ate incremental attendance.” ш reimbursement.” Fandango has also been joining forces with other payment platforms including Apple Pay, Google Pay and others. “We are 100-percent aligned with all of our trade partners,” Yanover emphasizes proudly. Group Outings by Rob Rinderman International Expansion Atom Tickets Adds New Promotions Particularly in Latin America, the company has been growing proactively via to Its Social Movie-Ticketing Service acquisition in recent years. It purchased Brazil-based Ingresso in late 2015 and approximately a year later added Peruvian tom Tickets is a social movie-tick- line by pre-ordering favorite snacks on their ticketing company Cinepapaya to the fam- Aeting app that’s been around since mobile device. One in three customers cur- ily. “In many ways, Ingresso reminds us of 2014. Filmgoers can purchase admissions rently utilizes the app for this purpose, with ourselves and the early days of Fandango,” for approximately 19,000 North Ameri- popcorn being the most common purchase. says Yanover. can cinema screens via the app. National The marketplace isn’t as developed in Amusements’ Showcase Cinemas recently High Profile Investors Brazil yet, but Ingresso is market leader added its locations to the growing mix, In addition to AMC and Regal, finan- and Fandango has capitalized by bringing which already included AMC Theatres and cial backers include three of the leading its technological knowhow, talented team , two of the early investors Hollywood studios. According to Atom and a recognizable brand to the region. in Atom. Tickets co-founder/chairman Matthew The company is presently utilizing Peru as It’s free to download via the Apple Bakal, “Working with Lionsgate, Disney home base and headquarters for further App Store, Google Play Store and on the and Twentieth Century has overseas expansion, which to date includes company’s website, www.atomtickets. been instrumental in understanding the approximately a dozen countries across com. In addition to facilitating ticket pur- needs of the studios (including market- Latin America, including Colombia, Bolivia, chases via QR codes on Atom-branded ing, technology and data) so that we can Paraguay and Mexico. tablets and at in-lobby kiosks, consumers better deliver meaningful results to them. Positive trends that bode well for utilize the app for searching prospective We’re helping them to understand movie Fandango in Latin America include long- movie titles. consumers and their purchasing behavior. term economic growth, expansion of the Cinemagoers can easily invite friends or Our investors are very engaged with us middle class and active mobile-phone family to join them at the theatre via Face- and often share thoughts on our services usage. There is a large population that book or their contact list. Users also have and functionality of our product. They are enjoys attending movies and the company the option to skip the concessions counter also helping drive awareness of Atom.”

38 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 Influential Marketing Partners movie premieres and other “Lastly, from a technol- The company has been adept at forg- unique experiences, in ad- ogy perspective, we con- ing an impressive array of promotions with dition to receiving access stantly monitor and measure high-profile corporate allies. For example, to movie streaming sneak the performance, latency Atom recently teamed with the Chase Pay peeks courtesy of T-Mobile. and availability of the ser- banking app in conjunction with the cel- Amazon and Sony also vices that power our app ebration of National Popcorn Day on Jan. recently forged an alliance and website, and our partner 19. Movie fans that paid for their tickets with Atom, enabling early websites.” via Chase were treated to a free popcorn ticketing for a special Ju- of any size at participating theatre loca- manji: Welcome to the Jungle Looking Ahead… tions. Regal also got into the action, utiliz- screening offered exclu- Bakal expects to see a ing the promotion to herald their circuit’s sively for Amazon’s Prime ATOM CO-FOUNDER faster pace of innovation. recent Cheetos flavor launch. members a week before MATTHEW BAKAL Atom is in the process of A noteworthy partnership con- the movie was widely released. exploring technological ticket nected Atom to “Un-carrier” T-Mobile and “Creating this special ticketed movie innovations. It is working with Regal Cin- Twentieth Century Fox Film, one of the moment had never been done before emas to pilot dynamic pricing, looking for company’s aforementioned studio inves- and Prime members loved the VIP treat- the right way to approach ticket prices in tors. Pursuant to this promotion, T-Mobile ment,” reports Bakal. the future. customers are now eligible to purchase Exhibitors are in the process of con- discounted $4 Tuesday night tickets to five Analytics and Technology solidating and the larger ones are on a 2018 theatrical tentpole releases. “We believe analytics and measure- path to become worldwide businesses. “T-Mobile Tuesdays” officially kicked ment are core to what makes us a suc- Studios are also consolidating and are off Jan. 23 with Maze Runner: The Death cessful ticketing provider for customers, very focused on direct-to-consumer Cure, which will be followed later this year an advertising partner for studios and a moviegoer relationships. by Red Sparrow, Deadpool 2, Alita: Battle technology provider for exhibitors,” Bakal “Look for Atom to deepen relation- Angel and Dark Phoenix. Tickets are avail- declares. “We approach every problem ships with these partners and to grow able for purchase via the T-Mobile Tuesdays from a data perspective—problems that additional partnerships so that we can app and can be redeemed with the Atom range from testing the performance of provide the best consumer experience to app. As a bonus, customers of the mobile different features to the messages and help grow traffic and revenue in the the- network can enter to win trips to attend creative in our marketing campaigns. atrical window,” Bakal concludes. ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 39 How have the advances in ticketing and POS technology impacted your operations? Purchasing Power Advance ticketing has definitely improved the experience for the guest, Exhibitors Hail a New Age from just looking up showtimes to reserving their favorite seat. Patrons of Movie Ticketing and POS have access through their cellphones to movie times through a variety of sources that tie directly into our POS n this Film Journal Inter- numbers at the theatre level in advance, to reserve tickets instantly. Proprietary I national survey, five top which means we’re able to bring in apps are available for showtimes at exhibitors reflect on the ways additional staff if required on a particular your local theatre company or patrons technology has impacted how evening. Another example would be that can use popular apps for showtimes their customers purchase we’re able to reallocate staff from behind like Flixster, Fandango, Movie Tickets movie tickets and enhanced a box office and put them in front of it, and others. Patrons enjoy the con- the business operations of engaging and interacting one-on-one with venience factor of bypassing the box cinemas. Moviegoers are more our guests. Many of our guests love the office versus the traditional method of engaged than ever and seem experience of purchasing their ticket at standing in line at the box office. to have no reservations about the theatre and we will continue to offer POS systems have evolved to keep

TICKETINGreserved seating. POS it, but advances in ticketing and POS up with the ever-changing demand of technology provide others with a choice. the cinema business from just being a What percentage of your customers register. Online ticketing is just one Sarah Van Lange reserve tickets in advance? of the aspects of its main function. Director, Communications, Reserved seating is very connected to The POS links to several functions in Cineplex film product, so it’s hard to pull a specific a theatre. Just to name a few: time stat around that. What I can tell you that I management, DLP, inventory, analytical Ticketing/POS Technology: think makes a similar point is that the Cine- reporting, automated hotline, Rentrak, Vista Entertainment Solutions plex Mobile App was downloaded 17.3 digital signage, HVAC comfort settings million times and has recorded 918 for temperature, and smart building How have the million app sessions since its launch. controls. We have gone from the old advances in ticketing Have you seen a change in days of doing everything manually to and POS technology customer engagement thanks to the a more automated world that is more impacted your opera- web’s role in ticketing and providing efficient. tions? information about the movies you What percentage of your customers Advances in show? reserve tickets in advance? ticketing technol- Absolutely. Year over year, Before reserved seating, it was less ogy really have we’re certainly seeing higher en- than 12 percent on average for high- revolutionized the gagement on the Cineplex Mobile demand features; since we converted moviegoing experi- App and higher visitation to Cin- to recliner seating, this has created ence for many of eplex.com. On the guest services more of demand for advance tickets. our guests, par- SARAH VAN LANGE side, we’re seeing movie lovers I would say advance reserved-seating ticularly those that across Canada reaching out to us sales have at least doubled. The old are more comfortable more and more through the chat func- model is changing and this reserved using technology through our ATKs tionality on our website as opposed to ticketing model is quickly becoming [automated ticketing kiosks] in-theatre, picking up the phone and calling our call the norm in large to middle markets. the Cineplex Mobile App and through centre. More and more movie lovers are Patrons are quickly accepting the Cineplex.com. Mobile ticketing is partic- online—we’re listening and we’re engag- reserved model due to the wide ularly popular, as our app is a convenient ing with them there. acceptance of recliners. It’s the one-stop destination for guests to buy law of supply versus demand due tickets, browse showtimes and theatre to the loss in chair inventory. listings, as well as catch up on the latest Joel Davis It created a greater occupancy movie and entertainment news. Users VP & Chief and a higher revenue stream for can also view trailers and exclusive con- Operating advance tickets that did not exist tent, view box-office results and check Officer, before. their SCENE loyalty points balance. Premiere Have you seen a change in From an operations perspective, the Cinema Corp. customer engagement thanks to the deployment of these technologies— outreach efforts of companies like ATKs in-theatre and the Cineplex Mobile Ticketing/POS Fandango and Atom Tickets? App—has enabled us to better service Technology: RTS Companies are now our guests in many ways. For example, (Ready Theatre starting to see the payoff in they provide insight into attendance Systems) JOEL DAVIS infrastructure they invested in

40 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018

due to the recent changes in films more often at the theatre, sitting the 60 percent range. the large to middle markets to in a comfortable seat with immersive Have you seen a change in customer the recliner reserved-seating sound on a giant screen, enjoying engagement thanks to the web’s role in tick- model. On the flip side, smaller quality food, and in the communal eting and providing information about the markets have not seen that experience only movie theatres can movies you show? much increase. provide. Yes, customers are now wanting What’s your current stance on MoviePass has enhanced our ability showtimes more quickly so that they the Movie Pass scheme? to open hearts and minds by providing can reserve their seat. If showtimes There’s not enough a no-risk vehicle for moviegoers to aren’t posted quickly, customers are information at this time to make sample movies they might not otherwise frustrated, as they want to have the a prediction. I do, however, see. SMG was amazed to learn that in option of buying their seat earlier believe that anything that puts some cases, as with Lady Bird, MoviePass and earlier. patrons in seats and does generated a double-digit percentage of not compromise the pricing total attendance. We are in the business structure is a great thing. of creating the habit of moviegoing and Chris Johnson, CEO, we are excited to be an early adopter of MoviePass.—Schultz Brian Schultz Ticketing/POS Technology: Founder/CEO Titan Technologies TICKETING POS & Tearlach Hutcheson Brock Bagby Senior Director of Programming, Executive VP, How have the advances in ticketing Studio Movie Grill B&B Theatres and POS technology impacted your operations? Ticketing & POS Technology: Ticketing/POS Technology: They give us the ability to offer Vista Entertainment Solutions Vista Entertainment Systems our ticketing inventory through digital platforms in real time. The dial-up How have the advances in ticketing How have the advances in ticketing phone line is dead. Switching and POS technology impacted your and POS technology impacted your the majority of sales to credit cards operations? operations? reduces cash handling and fraud. Print- In the last 15 at-home and send-to- years I haven’t seen mobile help predict anything in POS sales. The ability to technology that has do reserved seats and advanced the way we have a quality loyalty do business. There program are also were big advances 15 advantages. to 20 years ago, but What percentage of advances since then your customers reserve have been minor.— tickets in advance? Hutcheson It completely What percentage depends on the movie of your customers and the location. Once BRIAN SCHULTZ BROCK BAGBY CHRIS JOHNSON reserve tickets in a theatre switches to advance? recliners, the percentage Fifty percent. Advance ticket sales and POS increases; then it goes up higher with Have you seen a change in customer technology have drastically changed reserved seats. Essentially, the frequency engagement thanks to the outreach efforts how we do business. An impressive of sellouts or getting a good seat at of companies like Fandango and Atom 40 percent of our screens now offer showtime is the biggest factor. So for Tickets? guests luxury-recliner reserved seating. theatres with general seating that rarely Fandango, yes. Atom’s market This enables a significantly higher sell out, it’s maybe two to five percent, share isn’t large enough yet to make a volume of online sales, so we are seeing Recliners without reserved seating 10 to difference.—Hutcheson many guests arrive with their seats 25 percent, and recliners with reserved What’s your current stance on the already reserved. This is helping box- seating 30-plus percent. MoviePass scheme? office lines and wait times shorten at Have you seen a change in customer If you love movies as much as we the theatre. engagement thanks to the web’s role in do at SMG, we should all embrace any What percentage of your customers ticketing and providing information about outlet that allows for ease of use for reserve tickets in advance? the movies you show? our guests. If MoviePass subscriptions In our reserved-seating recliner Yes, the guests can watch trailers, enable more frequent moviegoing and towns, we are seeing 30 percent of see reviews, audience scores, ticket exploration of movie content, then customers reserve early. On massive availability, and really be more informed we’re all for it! Our partnerships are blockbuster weekends such as Star of what is playing and whether they about creating the ability to see more Wars, we often see that shoot up into want to see it. ш

42 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 as the exceptional ticketing solution Win- TICKET, exhibitors now have the opportu- nity to use their data to increase their rev- Customer Convenience enue. They are already reaping the benefits of our fully equipped WinTICKET, which Ticketing and POS Companies offers: box office, retail POS, in-theatre service, cross-center sales, online sales, Showcase Their Latest Innovations mobile admittance, kiosk purchases, loyalty schemes, marketing tools, film booking and reporting, TMS interface, smart pricing and Atom Tickets screening exclusively for Prime members data analysis. Atom Tickets is chang- a week before the movie was released. Make your data count! That’s what ing the way people go to the Creating this special ticketed movie mo- we say at Compeso. (compeso.com) movies by creating a more ment had never been done before and convenient and more social Prime members loved the VIP treatment. moviegoing experience. The Atom Tickets is also focused on Atom Tickets app has revo- driving moviegoing innovation. One way lutionized the digital movie Atom is doing this is by partnering with ticketing process for consum- Regal Cinemas to pilot dynamic pricing, Dealflicks ers to seamlessly include looking for the right way to approach B&B Theatres, the seventh-largest inviting friends (via contact ticket prices. (atomtickets.com) movie theatre chain in the U.S., and lists or Facebook) and pre- Dealflicks have launched a mix of full- ordering concessions. Compeso priced tickets and deals across B&B’s 391 In an effort to create special theatrical Compeso is at the cutting edge of screens and 49 theatres. While online experiences that drive box-office atten- technology, applying big data to the cinema ticketing for all films and showtimes will dance, Atom partners closely with studios. exhibition business. With products such be available, a varied amount of ticket The company recently teamed up with and concession deals will be available for Amazon and Sony to enable early ticketing movies on certain days. Availability and for a special Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle prices will differ depending on time of

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 43 day, day of week, seat availability Fandango also offers Split Pay, making it itive touch screen. Housed in a beautiful and other factors. easier to share the bill for tickets with body, the kiosk has the system perfor- All B&B sales will run through multiple friends. mance and reliability Omniterm custom- movieXchange, Vista Group’s Recently, the company added Movie- ers have come to expect. The OMNI newest ticketing API, ensur- Tickets.com to its growing suite of tick- 7650, combined with the Integra Ticket- ing guaranteed seating and a eting properties, joining Fandango and ing Retrieval software, will help speed the seamless in-theatre redemption Flixster, as well as Ingresso in Brazil and line of customers waiting to see a movie. experience for the customer. Fandango Latin America, enabling the com- (omniterm.com) By compiling the sales and API pany to now serve hundreds of millions of inventory data, Dealflicks’ pricing moviegoers worldwide. (fandango.com) and inventory can get “smarter” POSitive Cinema as time goes on. Increase rev- Launched in 2012, Dealflicks enues, enable data has grown to over 500 locations mining and improve and raised over $4.2 million in customer satisfaction capital. While Dealflicks’ prod- by giving customers uct has traditionally been deals, the power to control this new partnership with B&B their cinema-going experience. Introduc- Theatres marks the beginning of ing POSitive Cinema’s enhanced mobile Dealflicks’ next phase—dynamic Jack Roe app. Features for your customers include: TICKETING POS pricing for all movie tickets. There was once a ticket system that Å Ticketing: Booking and pre-booking “Dealflicks has been the num- was very, very simple. Å Concessions: Pre-purchase conces- ber-one leader in the movie-ticketing deal Paper tickets were easy, but their sions and in-seat dining space for the past few years,” says Sean reporting rather dismal. Å Dine-In: Use their own device to Wycliffe, the CEO and founder of Deal- And so arrived the 386 with its RAM place and see status of orders flicks. “But now, we can be the first and and memory, Å Marketing: Receive app-exclusive last stop for moviegoers when they are Consigning chunking ticket machines campaigns looking to see a film.” (dealflicks.com) to distant history. Å Customer Service: On-demand And since then the ticketing compa- customer interaction and support for Fandango nies have made life even better. in-hall issues Fandango’s mobile With time clocks and EMV they’ve Å Loyalty: Earn, redeem and view sta- and social ticketing in- changed our lives forever. tus of points novations serve mov- And then came internetticketing.com Å Skip the Queue: No need to wait on iegoers and exhibitors with its graphs and pretty curves line when ordering in advance with best-in-class So gone are the days of shared desk- Å Profile: Manage their own customer movie information, tops getting on your nerves. profiles trailers and original With film booking and loyalty sys- Benefits to your cinema include: content for movie dis- tems, websites and mobile apps Å New Revenue Generation: covery, and ticketing They’ve everything you could possibly Through cross-selling and up-selling of to more than 33,000 need and if not only ask. movies and concessions. Fully integrated screens worldwide. Their software products are a candy with POSitive Cinema’s Campaign Man- Fandango works closely with tech- store as far as you can see agement Module nology partners like Apple, Facebook, Where you pick the suites that fill Å Savings: Reduce headcount as wait Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Snapchat your seats down in good old Tennessee. staff is no longer needed, only runners and others in building new mobile, social, —Alan Roe, CEO, Jack Roe (jackroe.com) Å Reduce CapEx: Allowing custom- AI bot, and voice-recognition tools that ers to BYOD enable moviegoers to discover movies Omniterm Å Increased Customer Satisfaction: and buy tickets—or ask Alexa which In today’s ever-changing cinema POS Complete control of the cinema-going movies are playing in nearby theatres. environment, theatres are demanding experience from before they select the Fandango ticketing is integrated into more from their POS suppliers. Omni- movie, through to seeing the movie, and Apple’s Messages platform and Face- term, as your true partner, is introducing following up on their experience book Messenger, so that when fans are the new, compact yet powerful 1.8 Intel Å Data Mining: Track customer activity planning a group movie outing, they can Celeron Quad before and during the cinema experience access Fandango without leaving their Core processor (lsisoftware.pl) messaging conversation. Fandango has POS terminal, also incorporated new digital payment the OMNI 7650. Retriever Solutions platforms, including Apple Pay, Google The OMNI 7650 Retriever Software, a leader in Pay, PayPal, Visa Checkout and Mas- is a fan-less POS theatre point-of-sale technology, is terpass, enabling ticket purchases via terminal with a expanding our product offerings to debit and credit cards, speeding through scratch-proof, include network and IT services for ticketing checkout with just one tap. projected capac- theatre exhibitors. Retriever can

44 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 now help with “all-things computer” Mobile Manager, Mobile Reports, Mobile En- in your operation. We maintain LAN try Control and Mobile Stock Taking round and WAN networks, phone and out the product portfolio. surveillance systems, and we can even The Dolphin product line is a highly support your office desktop computer integrated system for ticketing and con- hardware. Of course, we continue to cession sales, gastronomy, access control, supply ticketing software, digital signage, online and mobile ticketing. In addition to websites, mobile apps, film-rental the sales modules are extensive manage- tures, and many more, are now available ment and reporting modules. Dolphin using the RTS system. (rts-solutions.com) offers a central server solution with three-tier architecture, a central database ticket. International (Oracle 12, SAP Sybase SQL), application ticket. International offers inventory server (C++) and web systems (php). management systems for the leisure The central server is either located industry and especially for the cinema in the headquarters or in a data center. management and more, making us the industry. All products are fully integrated For smaller customers, we provide a comprehensive solution for technology and summarized in the product line Dol- safe and cost-effective hosting contract in your operation. Hence, we have phin. 550+ successful installations speak at our high-security Deutsche Telekom updated our name to Retriever Solutions. for themselves. data center. The integrated software Take a sneak peek at our new logo and ticket. Inter- deployment dramatically reduces the time look for more exciting updates from us national’s offering required for updates. Dolphin technology throughout the year. Contact us for the encompass box also requires very little bandwidth and solution. (RetrieverSolutionsInc.com) office, POS sys- minimal administrative effort. tems, hospitality/restaurant POS, responsive Finally, the new ticket.@WEB online RTS (Ready Theatre Systems) design and state-of-the-art developing tech- solution uses responsive design and state-of- Take your theatre to the next level niques, digital ticket, Orderman, kiosk sys- the-art developing techniques to unite previ- with Full Service Restaurant Mode, Easy tems, guided tour management and event ously separate sales channels into a modern, Bar Tabs, and Graphical Layouts (above management, access control and complex high-performance and flexible online sales center) with Seat Selection. These fea- management systems. Mobile solutions like channel. (ticket-international.com) ш

IN THEATRES NOW

PRODUCED BY JACK ROE

SALES AND PERFORMANCE DATA ANALYTICS AVAILABLE THROUGH INTERNETTICKETING.COM internet For sales and product information email: [email protected] ticketing .com www.jackroe.com by jack roe

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 45 Get Smart! About Ticketing by Andreas Fuchs UCI Kinowelt Counts on Dynamic Pricing

he cinema market in Ger- ‘Tmany is very open to the subject of pricing,” says Claas Eimer, commercial director of UCI Kinowelt, a leading circuit in the country and subsidiary of AMC Entertainment’s United Kingdom- based Odeon Cinemas Group (www.odeon cinemasgroup.com). “And, as an innovative exhibitor, TICKETING POS we are equally open to new ideas CLAAS EIMER JENS HEINZE and opportunities.” UCI KINOWELT COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR UCI MANAGING DIRECTOR As our industry is expanding on ever- so-new and differentiating options, ticket the airline and hospitality industries, to to speak with a very early adopter of and pricing has become the latest frontier, name but two of the pioneers. As with now leader in applying dynamic pricing, and possibly one of the greatest points all changes and new ideas, exhibitors are even though UCI Kinowelt’s Claas of debate going forward. With food and mulling over a variety of options, many of Eimer prefers the term smart pricing. beverage, upgraded seating and a variety of which are not that new at all in different More to that later. UCI Kinowelt is the premium offerings all moving along nicely, countries: pricing according to a film’s first chain to establish a model of ticket and ticket surcharges growing, attention length, popularity and/or budget; based prices changing according to demand and is once again focused on how much it all where you sit inside the auditorium, in constantly updated in real time. costs for the consumer. MoviePass and a preferred place or up front, and how Eimer explains how UCI Kinowelt Dealflicks are making waves, as is every comfortably—all the while allocating first connected with Berlin, Germany- official announcement of average ticket ticket discounts during off-hours and based Smart Pricer, a company that has prices across North America when issued extending bargain matinee/basement enjoyed much success in dynamically by NATO. We also keep hearing doomsday options. There is even talk about “surge pricing airline and event tickets. “We declarations on declining—or at least pricing for movies,” based on the policies were brainstorming about how to come plateauing—attendance numbers. used by ride-sharing services. up with a new and more dynamic pricing Addressing Regal Entertainment For this month’s exclusive roundup model for cinemas in general, and for Group’s numbers during their third-quarter of ticketing technology and services, Film UCI Kinowelt in particular. Already in earnings call in November, chief executive Journal International had the opportunity 2015, we embarked on a pilot phase officer Amy Miles also broached the subject of pricing. “With the help of our partner Atom Tickets, we expect to conduct a ticket-pricing test in several markets in early 2018. If an alternative pricing model is going to be successful, we believe that, one, it must provide a clear economic benefit to both exhibitors and our studio partners, and two, it should provide a compelling val- ue proposition for our consumers. This test could be the first step towards a pricing model that drives incremental revenue in peak periods and incremental attendance in non-peak periods. Changes to the historical pricing structure have often been discussed but rarely tested in our industry and we are excited to learn even more about how pricing changes impact customer behavior.” The cinema business is entering the age of dynamic pricing, based on actual and varying demand, as we know it from

46 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 at our Kinowelt Potsdam, in close Smart Pricer first uses algorithms to the up direction, the top admission price collaboration with Smart Pricer. The understand patterns of demand and to remains in place, essentially. Thanks results were positive and we added segment customers. External elements to smart pricing functionality, there two more locations in the fall of 2016. that affect forecasting such as weather are simply more categories whose Currently, we offer dynamic pricing in and overall interest are in a beta trial. availabilties adjust based on supply and ten locations and continue to roll out this The software then adjusts the size and demand.” In other words, he says, “it is offer over the next five months.” extent of seating categories to optimize not more expensive overall but ‘smarter,’ Just this January, the partners con- the “price mix” in real time. and offers more choices to guests where firmed that Smart Pricer’s airfare-style “Guests have the option, both online they want to sit and at what price.” pricing software will, in fact, be deployed and at the cinema, to choose between How does UCI Kinowelt effectively to all 23 multiplexes and 203 screens different categories of seating and communicate both the many already across the circuit (www.uci-kinowelt. prices,” Eimer says of the system, which established and the decidely advanced de). “After observing overproportional applies only to assigned seats. The term newer choices? “We explain all the revenue uplifts and good customer ac- “reserved seating’ is not used here, as options to our guests at the time of their ceptance at our test sites,” Eimer noted many exhibitors in Germany and other ticket purchase,” Eimer replies. “All the on the occasion, “there is no doubt that countries still offer a way of securing different categories are displayed online our choice to partner with Smart Pricer seats—making reservations—without along with the corresponding ticket and [POS provider] Compeso [www. payment in advance. Because seats have prices. We installed an additional display compeso.com] has been the right deci- not been purchased in this case, to fa- at almost every one of our ticket-selling sion.” Added Jens Heinze, UCI’s managing ciliate selling all available inventory, un- stations. They show the auditorium director, “It is a ‘plug and play’ solution claimed reservations and corresponding layout, prices and seating chart with that allows us to set the pricing rules in seats are released a certain amount of categories changing in real time. This way, the web interface, while the system op- time before the show begins. moviegoers can easily see where they can timizes the ‘price mix’ of all shows auto- “Auditorium segmentation into sit and at what price.” This has all been matically based on our settings.” regular and loge seats, as well as VIP working well, “and we did not launch any As Heinze describes the essential me- seating at some of our locations, has been special marketing campaign for smart chanics of price optimization, Smart Pricer’s in place before,” Eimer continues. “In pricing,” Eimer assures. “mission is to help cinemas get pricing right,” the dynamic model, these catgeories are Another possible misconception about the company promises (www.smart-pricer. differentiated further so that moviegoers smart pricing is that early buying and com). Before applying its “revolutionary pric- can chose between four or five prices, booking yields a discount. Although that ing software” to the cinema space, company including VIP. Dynamic adjusting does option makes sense as well, by reward- founders and executives Christian Kluge and not happen to the ticket prices, but ing fans and frequent moviegoers, it does Franz Blechschmidt worked in the areas of the number of available tickets in each take away from the upside with film hits airline ticketing and events. Their biggest cli- category is adjusted automatically.” and those high-demand titles. Discount ent in the latter realm is German Bundesliga This is the reason why Eimer and UCI days and extending rebates for attending team Hertha BSC. (Whether Smart Pricer prefer to use the term smart pricing. off-peak showtimes are other instances of had anything to do with the Berlin soccer “In the classic model of dynamic pricing, incentivized pricing that the cinema busi- club extending an offer of a lifetime ticket as we know it from booking airfare, ness has been and still is offering. Not so tattoo could not be established by press the difference is much more dramatic. with smart pricing, Eimer contends. “There time. Whether that is a smart decision by With smart pricing, there are always are no rebates and reductions with smart the wearer remains to be seen.) seats that are cheaper than before. In pricing. It is more like you can sit better and cheaper when you book early. After all, ticket prices remain fixed for each catego- ry of seats. With that, any given special film does not get more expensive. The number of seats associated with each category changes, but not the overall pricing struc- ture.” So, with smart picing, there is no need for surge pricing and/or the decidely negative perception that comes with it— one of “jacking up tickets” for films that “I, the moviegoer actually want to see.” As always, proof is in the numbers, and Smart Pricer confirms that “cinemas using our dynamic pricing software experience a significant revenue increase.” White papers and other documents issued by Smart Pricer speak of expected increases in ticketing revenue, ranging anywhere from five to ten percent as “moviegoers accept the price model.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 74

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 47 2018 INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION GUIDE

The Exhibition Guide Screens: 121 Pres. & CEO/Owner: States: CA, NV, AZ, CO is FJI’s annual listing States: CO, NM, AZ Robert E. Bagby Chairman of the Board: Pres. & Co-Owner: Russell Allen Chairman/Owner: Elmer Bills Johnny Brenden of leading VP & Co-Owner, Concession & EVPs: Brock Bagby, Bobbie Bagby, Pres./CEO: Bruce Coleman Mktg.: Heather Gandy Brittanie Bagby SVP/CFO: Lee Craner motion-picture VP & Co-Owner, Film Buying: VP Finance: Michael Hagan VP, Operations: Walter Eichinger theatre circuits, Asa Allen Exec. Dir. of Operations: Special Events & Mktg. Mgr.: VP & Co-Owner, Finance: Dan VanOrden Brian Epling both domestic Nathan Allen Exec. Dir. of Development & and international, Construction: Dennis McIntire CELEBRATION! CINEMA AMC ENTERTAINMENT INC. Dir. of Design: Jesse Baker 2121 Celebration Dr. NE including One AMC Way Circuit Operations Mgr.: Tyler Rice Grand Rapids, MI 49525 11500 Ash St. Film Buyers: Brad Bills, Ed Carl (616) 447-4200 executive rosters Leawood, KS 66211 Fax: (616) 447-4201 and screen counts. (913) 213-2000 celebrationcinema.com amctheatres.com 641 Danbury Rd. Founded: 1944 Founded: 1920 Ridgefield, CT 06877 Theatres: 12 / Screens: 156 Theatres (Global): 1,000+ (203) 659-2600 Owner & CEO: John D. Loeks Theatres (US): 600+ Fax: (203) 659-2601 Pres. & COO: J.D. Loeks Screens (Global): 11,000+ bowtiecinemas.com CFO: Nancy Hagan Screens (US): 8,100+ Founded: 1900 VP, Operations: Steve Forsythe States: AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, Theatres: 40 Director, Food & Beverage: NORTH AMERICA DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, Screens: 257 Kristin Kent

2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE 2018 KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MT, States: CT, MD, VA, CO, NY, NJ VP, Facilities & Presentation: ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE NC, ND, NE, NH, NM, NJ, NV, NY, Owners: Charley Moss, Ben Moss Michelle Felker CINEMAS OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, COO: Joseph Masher VP, Construction: Roger Lubs 612 E 6th St. UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY CFO: Ron Statile Chief Creative Officer: Eric Kuiper Austin, TX 78701 CEO & Pres.: Adam M. Aron VP, Operations: Ike Rivera VP, Programming: Ron Van Timmeren (512) 219-7800 EVP & CFO: Craig R. Ramsey VP, Food & Beverage & Mktg.: VP, Mktg. & PR: Steve VanWagoner drafthouse.com EVP, Operations: John D. McDonald Jared Milgram VP & CTO: Kenneth Baas Founded: 1997 EVP, Global Development: VP, HR: Jenifer Pellegrino Theatres: 29 Mark A. McDonald VP, Controller: Robert Schmiedel CHAKERES THEATRES Screens: 216 EVP & CMO: Stephen Colanero VP, IT: John Connelly PO Box 1200 States: TX, NY, CA, VA, CO, MO, EVP Worldwide Programming & VP, Gen. Counsel: Nesa Hassanein Springfield, OH 45501 MI, NE, AZ Chief Content Officer: Dir., Construction & Facilities: (937) 323-6447 Founder & CEO: Tim League Elizabeth Frank Steve Ventor [email protected] CCO: Mike Sherrill SVP, Gen. Counsel & Secretary: Dir., Accounts Payable: Patricia Soltis chakerestheatres.com CMO: Christian Parkes Kevin M. Connor Sales & Special Events Mgr.: Founded: 1908 Sr. Dir. of Programming & SVP, HR: Carla Sanders Joann Horwath Theatres: 3 Promotions: Sarah Pitre SVP & Chief Accounting Officer: Film Buyer: Frank Martinez Screens: 17 Sr. Dir. of Mktg.: Chaya Rosenthal Chris A. Cox Dir. of Safety & Security: CEO/Pres.: Phillip H. Chakeres Dir. of First Run Strategy: Kayla Pugh Jerry Cieremans Board Chair: Pauline Chakeres VP of Partnerships & Events: B&B THEATRES Dir. of Audit: Robert Cohen EVP: Valerie Chakeres-Baker Henri Mazza P.O. Box 129 VP: Harry N. Chakeres Liberty, MO 64069 BRENDEN THEATRE CORP. Film Buyer: Fred Schweitzer ALLEN THEATRES INC. (816) 407-7469 4321 West Flamingo Rd. Gen. Mgr.: Mark. W. Booth 1401 Don Roser Dr., Bldg. C bbtheatres.com Las Vegas, NV 89103 Las Cruces, NM 88011 Founded: 1924 (702) 507-1520 CINELUX THEATRES (575) 524-7933 Theatres: 49 Fax: (702) 507-1530 P.O. Box 54100 allentheatresinc.com Screens: 391 brendentheatres.com San Jose, CA 95154 Founded: 1912 States: FL, IA, KS, MO, MS,OK, TX Founded: 1990 (800) 954-7720 Theatres: 18 Theatres: 7 Fax: (408) 580-5000

48 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 [email protected] cinemark.com EVP, Filmed Entertainment: [email protected] cineluxtheatres.com Founded: 1984 Michael Kennedy classiccinemas.com Founded: 1966 Theatres: 507 Pres., Cineplex Media: Salah Bachir Founded: 1978 Theatres: 7 Screens: 5,746 SVP, HR: Heather Briant Theatres: 14 Screens: 47 States: TX, CA, OH, UT, NV, IL, AZ, CLO and Exec. VP, Real Estate: Screens: 111 Pres. & CEO: Paul Gunsky CO, KY, OK, OR, LA, IN, PA, IA, Anne Fitzgerald Pres.: Willis Johnson facebook.com/CineLuxTheatres NC, NM, VA, MI, MS, AR, FL, GA, SVP, Customer Strategies: CEO: Chris Johnson Twitter, Instagram: @ NY, SC, AK, DE, KS, MA, MD, MO, Susan Mandryk Corporate Secretary: CineLuxTheatres MN, MT, NJ, SD, TN, WE, WI, WV SVP, Exec. VP, Amusement & Shirley Johnson Countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Leisure: Paul Nonis Mktg.: Mark Mazrimas CINEMA CAFE Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El SVP, Corporate Development & 1220 Fordham Dr. Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Strategy: George Sautter COMING ATTRACTIONS Virginia Beach, VA 23464 Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Exec. VP & Gen. Mgr., Cineplex THEATRES (757) 523-SHOW Taiwan Digital Media: Fabrizio Stanghieri 2200 Ashland St. Fax: (757) 578-3437 Pres. & CEO: Mark Zoradi SVP, Sales, Cineplex Media: Ashland, OR 97520 [email protected] CFO: Sean Gamble Lori Legault (541) 488-1021 cinemacafe.com Pres., Cinemark Int’l: VP, Design & Construction: Bill Tishler catheatres.com Founded: 1986 Valmir Fernandes VP, Event Cinema: Brad LaDouceur Founded: 1985 Theatres: 5 EVP, Gen. Counsel & Secretary: VP, Finance: Susan Campbell Theatres: 18 Screens: 32 Michael Cavalier Sr. VP, Exhibition: Kevin Watts Screens: 149 CEO: John Walker EVP, Real Estate: Tom Owens VP, Lease Admin. Richard Wood States: AK, CA, OR, WA

Dir. of Operations: Mike Ogden EVP, Innovation: Robert Carmony VP, Purchasing & Supply Mgmt.: Exec. Chairman & CEO: 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE Mktg. & Events Dir.: Caitlin Walker EVP, Purchasing: Walter Hebert Ian Shaw John C. Schweiger facebook.com/cinemacafeva EVP, Global Theatrical Operations: VP, Cineplex Media: Robert Brown Pres. & COO: Al Lane Twitter, Instagram: @cinemacafeva Steve Zuehlke VP, Operations, Eastern Canada & VP, Film: Lee Fuchsmann SVP, Mktg. & Communications: Gen. Mgr., Quebec: Daniel Seguin VP & Controller: Desaree Hall CINEMA ENTERTAINMENT James Meredith VP, Software Solutions: Decio Silva Dir., Operations: James Sandberg CORP (CEC THEATRES) SVP, Global Content Planning: VP, IT Infrastructure & POS: Dir., Sales, Promotion & Mktg. 1621 West Division St. Justin McDaniel Scott Hughes Admin.: Kim Neufeld Waite Park, MN 56387 VP, Risk Mgmt.: Scott Behnke Dir., HR: Sarah Heiken (320) 251-9131 CINÉMAS GUZZO VP, Professional Services, Cineplex Dir., Maintenance: Mark Edwards Fax: (320) 251-1003 1055 Ch. du Côteau Digital Media: Steve Harris Dir., Mktg. & Concessions: cectheatres.com Terrebonne, QC J6W 5Y8, Canada VP, Legal: Thomas Santram Sean Darrell Founded: 1961 (450) 961-2945 VP, Mktg.: Darren Solomon Theatres: 20 Fax: (450) 961-9349 VP, Sales, Cineplex Media: John Tsirlis DANBARRY CINEMAS Screens: 160 cinemasguzzo.com VP, Communications & Investor 8050 Hosbrook Rd., Ste. 203 States: IA, MN, NE, WI Founded: 1974 Relations: Pat Marshall Cincinnati, OH, 45236 Pres.: Robert Ross Theatres: 10 SVP, Digital Commerce: (513) 784-1521 VP: Tony Tillemans Screens: 142 Christopher Allen Fax: (513) 784-1554 Dir., Film Buying: Dwight Gunderson Chairman & Owner: VP, VIP Cinemas: Biagio Di Carlo danbarry.com Corp. Operations Mgr.: Greg Carter Angelo Guzzo VP, Operations, Canada: Founded: 1989 Concessions & Equipment Buyer: EVP, COO & Owner: Jason De Courcy Theatres: 5 Andrew Bergstrom Vincenzo Guzzo VP, Talent Development, Total States: OH, KY Head Booth Technician: Sec. & VP, Community Affairs: Compensation: Dessalen Wood Owners: Daniel J. Hellbrunn, Craig Seidenkranz Maria Guzzo VP, Media Production, Cineplex Barry A. Kohn VP, Film: Vito Franco Media: Sheila Gregory Gen. Mgr.: Aaron Bates CINEMA WEST Treasurer: Jose Bruzzese VP, Food Service, Merchandising: Operations Mgr.: Thomas Sanders P.O. Box 750595 Dir., Construction: Shelley Felice Petaluma, CA 94975 Mario Quattrociocche VP & Gen. Mgr., Player One DESTINTA THEATRES (707) 762-0990 Dir., Operations & Managing: Amusement Group: Joe McCullagh 611 River Dr., Ste. 103 [email protected] James Dambreville VP, Real Estate: Chris Doulos Elmwood Park, NJ 07407 cinemawest.com VP, US Operations, Player One (845) 569-8181 Founded: 1985 CINEPLEX Amusement Group: John Kolliniatis Fax: (201) 796-2225 Theatres: 15 1303 Yonge St. VP & Gen. Mgr., The Rec Room: Showtime: (845) 569-0300 Screens: 145 Toronto, ON M4T 2Y9, Canada David Terry destinta.com States: CA, ID (416) 323-6600 VP, User Experience & Design: Founded: 2012 CEO: David Corkill Fax: (416) 323-6633 Deepika Malik Theatres: 1 / Screens: 12 Operations Mgr.: Sheri Meehan cineplex.com VP, Innovation & Product Theatre address: 215 Quassaick Ave., Film Buying/Advertising: Founded: 2003 Development: Frank Abreu Rte. 94, New Windsor, NY Nancy Andrews Theatres: 163 CEO & Gen. Mgr., WorldGaming: CEO/COO/CFO: Screens: 1676 Wim Stocks Martin S. Kenwood CINEMARK HOLDINGS Drive-ins: 1 Mktg. Dir.: Pamela Kenwood 3900 Dallas Pkwy., Ste. 500 Pres. & CEO: Ellis Jacob CLASSIC CINEMAS Plano, TX 75093 COO: Dan McGrath 603 Rogers St. (972) 665-1000 CFO: Gord Nelson Downers Grove, IL 60515 3221 W Big Beaver Rd., Ste. 301 Fax: (972) 665-1004 CTO: Jeffrey Kent (630) 968-1600 Troy, MI 48084

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 49 operations@emagine- Fax: (561) 776-2340 Pres.: Frank Moses ipic.com entertainment.com [email protected] VP: George Moses Founded: 2006 emagine-entertainment.com franktheatres.com facebook.com/GoldenStarTheaters Theatres: 16 Founded: 1997 Founded: 1921 Twitter: @gstheaters States: FL, NY, MD, NJ, IL, TX, AZ, Theatres: 19 Theatres: 19 Instagram: @goldenstartheaters CA, WI, WA Screens: 222 States: FL, GA, NJ, NC, PA, SC, Pres. & CEO: Hamid Hashemi States: MI, MN, IL VA, WV GOODRICH QUALITY COO, iPic Theaters: Alex Reid Chairman: Paul Glantz Emeritus: Al Frank THEATERS COO, Tuck Hospitality Group: Partner/Owner: Jon Goldstein Pres. & CEO: Bruce Frank 4417 Broadmoor Ave. SE Sherry Yard CEO: Anthony LaVerde CFO: Robert Reynolds Grand Rapids, MI 49512 VP Film: Clark Woods CIO: Dave Zylstra COO: Bill Herman (616) 698-7733 CFO: Mark Salter CMO: Melissa Boudreau SVPs: Joyce Frank, Deborah Frank Fax: (616) 698-7220 CTO: Tom Holmes COO: Trip Adams EVP: Chris Dugger goodrichqualitytheaters.com SVP & Gen. Counsel: Paul Safran CFO (MI/IL): Dirk Kjolhede Founded: 1930 VP HR: Donna DeChant CFO (MN): Christopher Becker FRIDLEY THEATRES Theatres: 31 VP Real Estate: Patrick Quinn Dir. of HR: Shelby Langenstein 1321 Walnut St. Screens: 288 VP Technology Group: facebook.com/emaginetheatres Des Moines, IA 50309 States: MI, IN, IL, MO, FL Darryl Leversuch Twitter, Instagram: (515) 282-9287 Pres./Secretary: Robert (Bob) VP Mktg./Advertising: Jim Lee @EmagineTheatres Fax: (515) 282-8310 Goodrich facebook.com/iPicTheaters youtube.com/user/EmagineTheatres fridleytheatres.com Treasurer/CFO: Ross Pettinga Twitter, Instagram: @ipictheaters flickr.com/photos/emagine- Founded: 1974 COO: Martin Betz entertainment Theatres: 20 Film Buyer: Jill Ashton KERASOTES SHOWPLACE Screens: 85 Dir. of Food & Beverage: THEATRES ENTERTAINMENT CINEMAS States: IA, NE Brian Nuffer 641 W Lake St., Ste. 305 7 Central St. Pres. & Treasurer: R.L. Fridley Mktg./Creative Director: Kelly Nash Chicago, IL 60661 South Easton, MA 02375 VP: Brian R. Fridley Group Sales Mgr.: Dan Lavengood (312) 775-3160 (508) 230-7600 CIO: Darren Pitcher Fax: (312) 258-9943 Fax: (505) 238-1408 GALAXY THEATRES Regional (Support) Mgr.: showplaceicon.com entertainmentcinemas.com 15060 Ventura Blvd., Ste. 350 Dan Lavengood Founded: 1909 Founded: 1986 Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 Regional (East) Mgr.: Reed Simon Theatres: 4 / Screens: 64 Theatres: 7 (808) 986-9000 Regional (Central) Mgr.: States: IL, MN, NJ, MA, CA States: MA, NH, RI, CT galaxytheatres.com Brian Eichstaedt Chairman & CEO: Tony Kerasotes Pres. & CFO: Bill Hanney Founded: 1998 Regional (West) Mgr.: Heath Thomas Co-Chairman: Dean Kerasotes Dir. of Motion Picture/Corporate Theatres: 11 Regional Mgr.: Jeremy Curtis COO: Tim Johnson Relations: Jo-Ann Overstreet Screens: 115 CFO: Chris Blum Admin. Asst.: Sue Anagnoston States: CA, WA, NV, TX VP of Construction: Mike Policicchio Booker: Marty Zides Pres. & COO: Rafe Cohen 7511 E McDonald Dr. IT Dir.: Andy Gift Accountant: CA Associates Chairman & CEO: Frank Rimkus Scottsdale, AZ 85250 Dir. of Real Estate: Robert Gallivan VP Operations: A.J. Witherspoon (480) 627-7777 Technical Dir.: Fred Walraven FP CINEMAS, LLC d/b/a VP Film Buyer: Alex Purcell Fax: (480) 443-0950 Film Buyer: Jim Weiss 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE 2018 (FLAGSHIP CINEMAS) harkinstheatres.com 55 Cambridge Pkwy., Ste. 200 GEORGIA THEATRE CO. Founded: 1933 KRIKORIAN PREMIERE Cambridge, MA 02142 50 Cinema Ln. Theatres: 33 THEATRES (617) 844-1751 St. Simons Island, GA 31522 Screens: 501 2275 W 190th St., Ste. 201 Fax: (617) 679-0800 (912) 634-5192 States: AZ, OK, CO, CA, TX Torrance, CA 90504 flagshipcinemas.com georgiatheatrecompany.com CEO & Owner: Dan Harkins (310) 856-1270 Founded: 1996 Founded: 1991 Pres. & COO: Mike Bowers Fax: (310) 856-1299 Theatres: 16 Theatres: 24 CFO: Greta Newell [email protected] Screens: 124 Screens: 254 SVP: Racheal Wilson kptmovies.com States: FL, MA, MD, ME, PA, VA, VT States: GA, FL, SC, VA VP: Tyler Cooper Founded: 1984 CEO: John J. Crowley Jr. Chairman & CEO: Dir., Construction: Troy Straub Theatres: 5 Pres.: Paul Wenger William J. Stembler Dir., Engineering: Kirk Griffin Pres.: George Krikorian VP of Operations: Andrew Poore Pres.: Bo Chambliss Dir., Facilities: Fred DiNapoli VP of Operations: Todd Cummings Asst. VP of Operations: CFO: Mike Warren Dir., Food & Beverage: Janet Oprendek COO: Jeff Mobley Matthew Janiec LAEMMLE THEATRES Asst. VP of Admin.: Pauline Mickle VP, Film: C.F. “Kip” Smiley Jr. Head Film Buyer: Barry Bruno 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. Dir. of Mktg. & Social Media: Dir., HR: Gina Thompson Los Angeles, CA 90025 Susan Silhan GOLDEN STAR THEATERS Dir., IT: Aron Barr (310) 478-1041 Dir. of Concessions: 2080 W State St., Ste.14 Legal Council: Richard Lustigar Fax: (310) 478-4452 Desmond Asberry New Castle, PA 16101 Dir., Mktg.: Whitney Murrey laemmle.com Dir. of Cinema Technology: (724) 658-7761 Dir., Theatre Operations: Dave Meza Founded: 1938 Dennis Benjamin Fax: (724) 658-9037 Mgr. of Sales: Danielle Betterman Theatres: 8 / Screens: 38 Dir. of Engineering: Mike Dyson [email protected] Owner & Chairman: goldenstartheaters.com IPIC THEATERS Robert Laemmle FRANK THEATRES Founded: 2005 433 Plaza Real, Ste. 335 Pres. & Film Buyer: 1003 W Indiantown Rd., Ste. 210 Theatres: 5 Boca Raton, FL 33432 Gregory Laemmle Jupiter, FL 33458 Screens: 47 (561) 886-3232 VP of Operations: Kevin Gallagher (561) 776-4747 States: PA, MD Fax: (561) 886-3258 SVP: Jay Reisbaum

50 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 LANDMARK CINEMAS Founded: 1915 SVP, Film: Samuel “Sonny” Gourley MJR THEATRES OF CANADA Theatres: 33 VP, Concessions and F&B: 41000 Woodward Ave., Ste. 135 E 14505 Bannister Rd. SE, Ste. 100 Screens: 354 Robert Novak Bloomfield Hills, MI 48304 Calgary, AB T2X 3J3, Canada States: TN, AR, MS, MO, KY, LA Chief IT Officer: Kim Lueck (248) 548-8282 (403) 262-4255 Chairman, Pres. & CEO: CMO: Ann Stadler Fax: (248) 548-4706 Fax: (403) 266-1529 Stephen Lightman VP, Sales: Clint Wisialowski [email protected] landmarkcinemas.com EVPs: Robert Levy, James Tashie VP, Operations: Matt Lee mjrtheatres.com Acquired by Kinepolis Group SVP Operations & Construction: VP, HR: Barb Gromacki Founded: 1980 Founded: 1965 David Tashie VP, Real Estate: Katie Falvey Theatres: 11 Theatres: 44 SVP CFO: Robert Harrington Screens: 169 Screens: 310 SVP Food Services: Larry Etter CEO & Founder: Michael R. Mihalich Provinces: AB, BC, MB, SK, ON, YT SVP Film & Film Mktg.: Jeff Kaufman 552 Ragland Rd. VP, Film Buying: Candice Mihalich Exec. Chairman: Brian F. McIntosh VP: James Lloyd Beckley, WV 25801 VP, Operations: Dennis Redmer Vice Chairman: Neil H. Campbell VP Digital Operations: Wes Lunsford (304) 255-4036 Regional Supervisor: Joel Kincaid CFO: Paul Wigginton VP Operations Admin.: Donald Terry Fax: (304) 252-0526 Dir. of Mktg.: Robin B. Hansen COO: Bill Walker VP Corporate Communications marqueecinemas.com Facilities Manager: Tony Penchoff VP, Film Entertainment: & HR: Alan Denton Founded: 1979 Kevin Norman VP & Dir. of Mktg.: Karen Melton Theatres: 17 MULLER FAMILY THEATRES VP, Mktg.: Jack Gardner Film Dept. Assts.: Jeff Martin, Screens: 161 20653 Keokuk Ave. VP, Operations: Ryan Dion Endy Carter States: CT, FL, KY, NC, NJ, NY, TN, Lakeville, MN 55044 VP, Food Services: James Mason District Mgr., Southern Region: VA, WV (952) 469-2883 VP, HR: Mary Pitts Andy Brunetz COO: James M. Cox Fax: (952) 985-5643

Dir., Distributor Relations: Alan Lui District Mgr., Western Region: CFO: Cindy Ramsden [email protected] 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE Michael Huggins Dir., Operations: Harry L. Newman mullerfamilytheatres.com District Mgr., Eastern Region: Dir., Mktg.: Robin P. Shumate Founded: 1978 2222 South Barrington Ave. Phillip Smith Operations: Rob Thompson Theatres: 8 Los Angeles, CA 90064 Dir. of IT: Kiran Hanumaiah Screens: 104 (310) 312-2300 Dir. of Digital Operations: METROPOLITAN THEATRES landmarktheatres.com Jimmy Beckford CORPORATION NATIONAL AMUSEMENTS Founded: 1974 Regional Dir. of Digital Operations: 8727 W 3rd St. 846 University Ave. Theatres: 53 Scott Barden Los Angeles, CA 90048 Norwood, MA 02062 Screens: 255 Website Admin.: John Tashie (310) 858-2800 (781) 461-1600 Markets: 27 facebook.com/malcotheatres Fax: (310) 858-2860 showcasecinemas.com States: DC, WA, MO, NY, GA, MA, Twitter: @malcotheatres metrotheatres.com Founded: 1936 IL, TX, CO, MI, IN, CA, MN, WI, Instagram: @malcotheatres1915 Founded: 1923 Theatres: 79 (29 U.S.) PA, MD, AZ, FL Theatres: 15 Screens: 925 (392 U.S.) CEO & Pres.: Ted Mundorff MANN THEATRES, INC. Screens: 77 Chairman of the Board: CFO: Schuyler Hansen 900 E 80th St. States: CA, CO, ID, UT Sumner M. Redstone CAO: Jason Sachs Bloomington, MN 55420 Chairman & CEO: Bruce Corwin Pres.: Shari E. Redstone VP Film: Mabel Tam (952) 767-0102 Pres.: David Corwin EVP: Thaddeus Jankowski SVP, Real Estate & Development: Fax: (952) 767-0103 CFO: Phillip Hermann SVP, Operations: Duncan Short Michael Fant [email protected] SVP, Planning & Development: SVP, Film & Event Cinema: VP, Theatre Operations: manntheatres.com Dale Davison Mark Walukevich Chuck Delagrange Founded: 1935 VP, Film & Mktg.: Alan Stokes VP, Film: Steve Cooper Dir., IT: Jeff Agnone Theatres: 9 VP, Finance & HR: Uy SVP, Information Tech. & CIO: Dir., Creative & Mktg.: Marilyn Joslyn Screens: 73 Food & Beverage Dir.: Joseph Mollo Dir., Advertising: Laura Louden Pres.: Stephen Mann Thanasi Papoulias VP, Finance & Admin. & CFO: CFO: Penny Mann Cody Mktg. & Comm. Dir.: Kevin Cardullo LARRY H. MILLER MEGAPLEX Natalie Eig SVP, Food & Beverage: Bill LeClair THEATRES MARCUS THEATRES Operations Dir.: Kim Tucker VP, Mktg.: Mark Malinowski 9295 South State St. 100 E Ave. VP, Real Estate and US & Int’l Sandy, UT 84070 , WI 53202 MITCHELL THEATRES Business & Legal Affairs: (801) 304-4505 (414) 905-1000 PO Box 427 Shawn Sullivan Fax: (801) 304-4515 Fax: (414) 905-2189 Elkhart, KS 67950 VP & Gen. Counsel: Paula J. Keough megaplextheatres.com marcustheatres.com (620) 697-4802 VP, Compensation & Benefits: Founded: 1999 Founded: 1935 [email protected] Brenda Monacelli Theatres: 16 Theatres: 68 mitchelltheatres.com VP, Construction: Kevin Barry Screens: 182 Screens: 885 Founded: 2005 Asst. VP, Mktg.: Rebecca Stein States: UT, NV States: IL, OH, MN, WI, ND, IA, Theatres: 15 Asst. VP, Food & Beverage: Pres.: Blake Andersen NE, MO Screens: 107 Patrick Micalizzi CEO: Clark Whitworth Chairman, The : States: AZ, CO, KS, MO, NM, OK, TX Asst. VP, Operations: Steve H. Marcus Owners: Kenny Mitchell, Paul Valerio MALCO THEATRES Pres. & CEO: Gregory S. Marcus Linda Mitchell, Brian Mitchell, Asst. VP, Risk Mgmt.: 5851 Ridgeway Ctr. Pkwy. CFO: Doug Neis Rosa Mitchell, Brent Mitchell, Roy Murphy Memphis, TN 38120 Chairman, Pres. & CEO: Debra Mitchell, Cory Ramsey, Asst. VP, Information Technology: (901) 761-3480 Rolando B. Rodriguez Kendra Ramsey Anna Marie Landers Fax: (901) 681-2044 EVPs: Mark Gramz, Jeff Tomachek, Asst. VP, Film US: Jack Monahan malco.com Bill Menke

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 51 NEIGHBORHOOD CINEMA States: VA, FL READING INT’L. USA Box Office & Purchasing Mgr.: GROUP (NCG) CEO: Mike Whalen 5995 Sepulveda, Ste. 300 Sally Panteleon 314 Comstock Pres.: Mike Wilson Los Angeles, CA 90230 In-Theatre Mktg. Manager: Owosso, MI 48867 COO: James Herd (213) 235-2240 Angie Haziza (989) 723-0319 VP of Mktg. & Publicity: Fax: (213) 235-2229 Dir. of Operations: Veronica Moreno Fax: (989) 723-0359 Niki Wilson readingrdi.com Mktg. & Operations Admin. Mgr.: ncgmovies.com Founded: 2002 Crystal Whittaker Founded: 1985 PHOENIX THEATRES Theatres: 20 Operations: Dwight Morgan, Theatres: 23 ENTERTAINMENT, LLC Screens: 203 Andrew Gualtieri, Tony Tsuruda, Screens: 221 9111 Cross Park Dr., Ste. E-275 States: CA, HI, NJ, NY, TX, VA, DC Raymund Cornelio States: MI, IN, IL, TN, GA, NC, Knoxville, TN 37923 Chairperson, Pres. & CEO: SC, FL (865) 692-4061 Ellen Cotter SANTA ROSA Pres.: Jeff Geiger Fax: (865) 692-4065 Pres., Domestic Cinema: ENTERTAINMENT GROUP COO: Mark Henning phoenixtheatres.com Robert F. Smerling 816 Fourth St. CFO/Film Buyer: Shelly Davis Founded: 2001 Santa Rosa, CA 95404 Exec. Officer: Gary Geiger Theatres: 13 REGAL ENTERTAINMENT (707) 523-1586 Screens: 119 GROUP [email protected] NEW VISION THEATRES States: AL, VA, FL, TN, NV, NC, 101 E Blount Ave. sregmovies.com 250 E Broad St. MD, PA Knoxville, TN 37920 Founded: 1972 Westfield, NJ 07090 Pres. & CEO: Phil Zacheretti (865) 922-1123 Theatres: 11 (908) 396-1360 SVP, Operations: Chris Gehring Fax: (865) 922-3188 Screens: 102 [email protected] VP, Accounting: Cindy Collin REGmovies.com Pres. & CEO: Dan Tocchini newvisiontheatres.com VP, Purchasing: Moya Myers Founded: 1989 Founded: 2016 VP, Operations & Food Theatres: 561 : 17 & Beverage: Vince Emmons Screens: 7,315 4630 N Loop 1604 W, Ste. 501 Screens: 194 Dir., HR & Compliance: States: AK, AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, San Antonio, TX 78249 States: NJ, PA, GA, FL, AL, OK, IL, Darlene Hunter CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, (210) 496-1300 WI, MN Dir., IT: Andrew Cummings KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, santikos.com Chairman: Bud Mayo Dir., Film: Nick Zacheretti MO, MS, MT, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NM, Founded: 1911 Pres.: Chuck Goldwater Mktg. & Advertising: Alison Station NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, Theatres: 8 SVP, Development: Brett Marks Special Projects Coordinator: TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WY Screens: 102 VP, Finance & Accounting: Jeff Cole Teresa Williams Additional locations: Guam, CEO: David Holmes VP, CTO: Jeff Butkovsky Saipan, Northern Marina Islands, facebook.com/mysantikos VP, Theatre Operations: Dean Gentile PREMIERE CINEMAS American Samoa Twitter: @mysantikos Controller: Megan Copner 109 W Fourth St. CEO: Amy E. Miles Dir., Theatre Operations: Big Spring, TX 79720 Pres. & COO: Gregory W. Dunn SHOWBIZ CINEMAS Tim Keefner (432) 267-6450 EVP, CFO & Treasurer: Churchill Tower, 12400 Coit Rd., Dir., Cinema Events & Technical Fax: (432) 267-9609 David H. Ownby Ste. 860 Operations: Gary Green [email protected] EVP, Secretary & Gen. Counsel: Dallas, TX 75251 Mktg.: Colette Weintraub, pccmovies.com Peter B. Brandow (214) 751-8180 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE 2018 Caryn Drake Founded: 1985 SVP, Chief Admin. Officer & showbizcinemas.com facebook.com/NewVisionTheatres Theatres: 29 Counsel: Randy Smith Theatres: 7 Twitter: @NVTheatres Screens: 312 SVP, CIO: Dave Doyle Screens: 73 States: AL, FL, MS, NM, TX, SC SVP, CMO: Ken Thewes Theatres Opening in 2018: 2 / Pres./CEO: Gary Moore SVP, Chief Technical & Theatre Pres. & CEO: Kevin Mitchell ARCLIGHT CINEMAS VP/COO: Joel Davis Operations Officer: Rob Del Moro CFO: Greg Ellis 120 N Robertson Blvd., 3rd. Fl. VP/CFO: Debra Calobreves SVP, Construction: Ronald Kooch COO: Rob Warnes Los Angeles, CA 90048 Special Ops: Martin Watson SVP, CCO: Steve Bunnell VP of Programming: AJ Roquevert (310) 657-8420 Technical Officer: Larry Delaney SVP, Film Finance: Bob Engel VP of Construction & Purchasing: pacifictheatres.com F&B Dir.: Jim Levinson SVP, Finance: Corey Coggin Chris Cline Founded: 1946 Admin.: Kathleen Epley SVP, Food Service & Theatres: 16 Accounting: Amanda Olson Cinebarre: John Curry SILVERSPOT CINEMA States: CA, IL Film: Tim Patton, Rick Slaughter SVP, Real Estate: Todd Boruff 150 SE 2nd Ave. CEO & Pres.: Miami, FL 33131 Christopher Forman R/C THEATRES MGNT. CORP. REGENCY THEATRES (609) 703-7903 COO, ArcLight Cinemas: 231 Cherry Hill Ct. 26901 Agoura Rd., Ste. 150 [email protected] Nora Dashwood P.O. Box 1056 Calabasas, CA 91301 silverspot.net Reisterstown, MD 21136 (818) 224-3825 Founded: 2009 PARAGON THEATERS (410) 526-4774 Fax: (818) 224-2173 Theatres: 5 1191 East Newport Center Dr., [email protected] regencymovies.com Screens: 63 PH-H rctheatres.com Founded: 1996 CEO: Francisco Schlotterbeck Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 Founded: 1932 Theatres: 27 Managing Dir.: Gonzalo Ulivi (954) 320-7112 ext.2560 Theatres: 10 Screens: 163 Chairman: Ilio Uvili [email protected] Screens: 85 States: CA, NV, AZ facebook.com/ paragontheaters.com States: MD, NC, PA, VA Pres.: Lyndon Golin SilverspotCinemaNaples Founded: 2010 CEO & Pres.: Scott R. Cohen VP: Andrew Golin Twitter: @SilverspotFilms Theatres: 4 CFO/COO/VP: David Phillips CFO: Monica Golin Instagram: @silverspotcinema Screens: 40 Controller: Jim Ferguson

52 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 SOUTHERN THEATRES/ Pres. & COO: Adam Saks VILLAGE CINEMAS MOVIE TAVERN VP, Theatrical Mktg.: Julie Bravo INTERNATIONAL 500 Chapel St. 935 Gravier St., Ste. 1200 Dir., Finance: Alex Tovar CIRCUITS South Yarra VIC 3141, Australia New Orleans, LA 70112 Dir., HR: Frances Tabor 61 3 9281 1000 (504) 297-1133 Fax: 61 3 9653 1993 Fax: (504) 297-1138 UNITED ENTERTAINMENT villagecinemas.com.au thegrandtheatre.com CORP. (UEC THEATRES) ARGENTINA Founded: 1954 Founded: 2002 3601 18th St S., Ste. 104 Countries: Australia, Singapore, USA Theatres: 44 / Screens: 499 St. Cloud, MN 56301 HOYTS CINEMAS Co-Exec. Chairman & Co-CEO, Exec. States: AL, CO, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, (320) 203-1003 Dardo Rocha 3194 Dirs.: Robert Kirby, Graham Burke NC, OH, PA, SC, TX, VA Fax: (320) 203-1229 Buenos Aires 1640, Argentina Deputy Chairman: John Kirby Southern Theatres includes the uecmovies.com hoyts.com.ar Group Finance Dir.: Julie Raffe brands Movie Tavern, Amstar Founded: 1993 Theatres: 13 Cinema Exhibition CEO: Cinemas, The Grand Theatres and Theatres: 19 / Screens: 165 Kirk Edwards The Theatres at Canal Place States: AR, CA, IN, MI, MS, NC, NV, AUSTRALIA Gen. Mgr., Programming: CEO: John Caparella OH, PA, TN, UT Gino Munari Pres. & COO: Ronald Krueger II Pres. & CEO: Mike Ross EVENT CINEMAS Chairman: George Solomon COO: John Shorba 478 George St. BELGIUM CFO: Jim Wood VP of Theatre Operations: Steve Ross NSW 2000, Australia COO, Movie Tavern: Don Watson Development Mgr.: Mike Daniels (612) 93 73 66 00 KINEPOLIS GROUP N.V. VP of Film: Doug Whitford Film Buyer: John Zenner Fax: (612) 9373 6534 Schelde 1, Moutstraat 132-146 VP of Mktg.: Danny DiGiacomo Controller: Carol Bowman [email protected] Ghent 9000, Belgium

eventcinemas.com.au (32) 9 24 1 00 00 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE STUDIO MOVIE GRILL (SMG) XSCAPE THEATRES Founded: 1913 Fax: (32) 9 24 1 00 01 12404 Park Central Dr., Ste. 400N 825 Northgate Blvd. Theatres: 140 corporate.kinepolis.com Dallas, TX 75251 New Albany, IN 47150 Screens: 1,102 Founded: 1997 (972) 388-7888 (812) 945-4006 Countries: Australia, Germany, Theatres: 93 cinema complexes Fax: (214) 295-9746 Fax: (812) 945-4076 New Zealand (50 in Europe & 43 in Canada) [email protected] xscapetheatres.com Event Hospitality & Entertainment Screens: 814 studiomoviegrill.com Founded: 1997 Ltd. CEO: Jane Hastings Seats: >180,000 Founded: 1998 Theatres: 5 / Screens: 70 Gen. Mgr., Entertainment Australia: Countries: Belgium, Netherlands, Theatres: 24 / Screens: 245 States: MD, OH, KY, NJ, & FL Luke Mackey France, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, States: TX, GA, AZ, IL, IN, NC, FL, CA, PA Owned by Patoka Capitol Gen. Mgr., Entertainment NZ: Luxembourg, Canada CEO/Owner & Founder: CEO: Chance Ragains Carmen Switzer CEOs: Eddy Duquenne, Joost Bert Brian Schultz VP, Operations: Scott Bagwell CFO: Nicolas De Clercq CFO: Ted Croft HOYTS CINEMAS PTY LTD. VP/Gen. Counsel: Jim Gdula YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD A division of Wanda Cinema Line BRAZIL Exec. Chef: Thad Kelley THEATRE Level 50, 680 George St. Senior Dir. of Film: 55 Cambridge Pkwy., Ste. 200 Sydney NSW CINEFLIX CINEMAS Tearlach Hutcheson Cambridge, MA 02142 6100, Australia [email protected] Senior Dir. of PR & Outreach: (617) 499-2700 (612) 8071-6100 cineflix.com.br Lynne McQuaker theatreinfo@ Fax: (612) 8071-6120 Founded: 2011 VP of Finance/Controller: yourneighborhoodtheatre.com hoyts.com.au Theatres: 16 Karen House Founded: 1985 Founded: 1908 Screens: 83 Sr. Dir. of Brand & Creative: Ted Low Theatres: 13 / Screens: 93 Theatres: 48 Sr. Dir. of Mktg.: Brandon Jones States: CT, ME, MA, NH, NY, RI Screens: 405 CINEMAIS Dir. of Purchasing: Janet Michels Pres.: Mark Benvenuto CEO: Damian Keogh Uberlândia Shopping Center, 2nd Fl. Regional Dir.: Brad Brown CFO: Vincent Lloyd Av. João Naves de Ávila, 1331 THE LOT/BOFFO Film Buyer/Programming Mgr.: MG 38408-902, Brazil 7611 Fay Ave. ZURICH CINEMAS Michelle Gater cinemais.com.br La Jolla, CA 92037 5181 Brockway Ln. Operations: Martin Bagley facebook.com/cinemaisoficial (858) 777-0069 Fayetteville, NY 13066 Twitter: @cinemaisoficial [email protected] zurichcinemas.com READING INTERNATIONAL thelotent.com Theatres: 11 Level 1, 98 York St. GNC CINEMAS Founded: 2015 States: CT, NY South VIC 3205, 745 Rua Sete de Setembro, 6th Fl. Theatres: 7 / Screens: 13 Australia Porto Alegre-RS 90.010-190, Brazil ZYACORP readingcinemas.com.au 55 51 32240877 ULTRASTAR CINEMAS ENTERTAINMENT’S Theatres: 28 gnccinemas.com.br 1531 Grand Ave., Ste. B CINEMAGIC STADIUM Screens: 190 Theatres: 53 San Marcos, CA 92078 THEATRES Countries: USA, Australia, (760) 798-4093 80 Palomino Ln., Ste. 204 New Zealand KINOPLEX Fax: (760) 798-4209 Bedford, NH 03110 Chairperson, Pres. & CEO: kinoplex.com.br ultrastarmovies.com (603) 622-8879 Ellen Cotter Screens: 250+ Founded: 1999 Fax: (603) 625-5875 Managing Dir. at Reading facebook.com/kinoplex Theatres: 2 [email protected] Entertainment Australia Pty. Ltd.: Twitter: @Kinoplex Screens: 19 cinemagicmovies.com Wayne Smith States: CA, AZ Theatres: 8 CEO: Alan Grossberg States: MA, ME, NH

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 53 UCI CINEMAS LTDA Pres., Wanda Cinema Line: CINEMAS GAUMONT PATHÉ Managing Dirs.: Wolfgang Theile, Part of National Amusements John Zeng FRANCE Gregory Theile, Paul Krüger Rua da Passagem, 123 – Botafogo, Pres., Wanda Cultural Industry 2 rue Lamennais 8th Fl. Group: Zhang Lin Paris 75008, France HONDURAS Rio de Janeiro 22290-030, Brazil 33 1 71 72 30 90 ucicinemas.com.br COLOMBIA cinemasgaumontpathe.com METROCINEMAS Founded: 1995 Founded: 2000 Centro Corporativo los Proceres Theatres: 23 CINE COLOMBIA SA Chairman: Martine Odillard Tegucigalpa, Honduras Screens: 194 Carrera 13 No. 38-85–Teusaquillo +504 2234-7472 Bogotá, Colombia UGC FRANCE metrocinemas.hn CHILE (571) 756-9898 24 ave. Charles de Gaulle Theatres: 7 Fax: (57) 1 756 9898 Neuilly-sur-Seine 92522, France HOYTS CINEMAS CHILE S.A. cinecolombia.com 0826.880.700 HONG KONG A Cinépolis company Founded: 1927 ugc.fr Avenida Presidente Kennedy 5413 Owner: Group Santo Domingo Theatres: 40 BROADWAY CIRCUIT, HONG Loc. 250 Las Condes Pres. & CEO: Munir Falah Screens: 422 KONG AND CHINA Santiago, Chile Head of Distribution: Pia Barragan CEO: Guy Verrecchia 1212 Tower 2 227560400 Head of Exhibition: William Torres 18 Harcourt Rd. cinehoyts.cl GERMANY Hong Kong Island Theatres: 25 /Screens: 148 CROATIA (852) 2529-3898 CINECITTA Fax: (852) 2529-5277 CHINA BLITZ-CINESTAR Gewerbemuseumsplatz 3 [email protected] Ulica Vice Vukova 6 90403 Nürnberg, Germany cinema.com.hk BONA FILM GROUP 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 0911/20 666 - 0 Founded: 1987 [email protected] +385 (0) 1 6396 702 cinecitta.de Hong Kong: 13 locations, 70 screens bonafilm.cn Fax: +385 (0) 1 6396 701 Founded: 1995 China: 48 locations, 355 screens Founded: 1999 blitz-cinestar.hr Owner: Wolfram Weber CEO: Lau Siu Man Tessa Chairman & Founder: Yu Dong Theatres: 18 facebook.com/BonaFilmGroup CEO: Jadranka Islamovic CINEMAXX AG LARK INTERNATIONAL Twitter: @BonaFilmGroup Valentinskamp 18 MULTIMEDIA LIMITED DENMARK 20354 Hamburg, Germay UA Cinemas in Hong Kong; CHINA FILM CO., LTD. cinemaxx.de UA and Studio City Cinemas Building E No. 7, Beizhan N St. NORDISK FILM BIOGRAFER A/S Owned by Vue Entertainment in China; UA Galaxy Cinemas Xicheng District Mosedalvej 14 Managing Dir.: Carsten Horn in Macau Beijing 100044, China Valby 2500, Denmark 23rd Fl., Legend Tower chinafilm.com 70 13 12 11 CINEPLEX DEUTSCHLAND 7 Shing Yip St. Chairman: Han Sanping [email protected] Hofaue 37 Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong nfbio.dk 42103 Wuppertal, Germany (852) 3104-1789 CHINA FILM STELLA CINEMA Theatres: 22 0202 - 51 57 01 00 Fax: (852) 2735 8869 THEATER CHAIN CO., LTD CEO: Asger Flygare Bech-Thomsen Fax: 0202 - 51 57 01 11 [email protected] 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE 2018 25 Xin Wai St. [email protected] uacinemas.com.hk Beijing 100088, China SANDREW METRONOME cineplex.de Founded: 1985 +86 010 6225 9308 Boulevarden 6, 2nd Fl. Theatres: 90 Theatres: 20 Fax: +86 010 6225 8622 Aalborg 9000, Denmark Managing Dir.: Kim Ludolf Koch Screens: 131 +45 96 303 600 IMAX Screens: 9 DADI DIGITAL CINEMA CO. [email protected] CINESTAR-GRUPPE Countries: Hong Kong, China, Macau No.1, Disheng West Rd., BDA sandrewmetronome.com Mühlenbrücke 9 Managing Dir.: Ivan Wong Beijing, China CEO: Verner Bach 90403 Lübeck, Germany Advisor: Bob Vallone (8610) 8712-9423 Gen. Mgr.: Michael Rosenkilde +49 (0)451/7030-200 Gen. Mgr., Hong Kong & Macau: Fax: (8610) 8712-9260 Fax: +49 (0)451/7030-299 Rosa Lin Theatres: 942 / Screens: 5,631 ECUADOR [email protected] Acting Gen. Mgr., Hong Kong & 2017 Attendees: 150 million cinestar.de Macau: William Tam SUPERCINES Founded: 1948 Gen. Mgr., China: Pamela Peng SHANGHAI FILM CO. LTD. Av. 9 de Octubre #719 y Boyacá Theatres: 54 Bldg. C, Shanghai Film Square Guayaquil, Ecudaor Screens: 414 MULTIPLEX CINEMA LTD. Xuhui District Caoxibeilu 595 Part of Corporacion El Rosado Managing Dir.: Oliver Fock 200 Tai Lin Pai Rd. Shanghai 200030, China supercines.com Unit 1, 27th Fl., Wyler Centre, 0086 21 33391000 KINOPOLIS MGMT. Phase 2 Fax: 0086 21 33391001 FRANCE MULTIPLEX GMBH Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong sfs-cn.com Wilhelminenstrasse 9 (852) 2418 8841 Pres.: Ren Zhonglun CGR CINEMAS 64283 Darmstadt, Germany contact_mcl@intercontinental. 8 rue Blaise Pascal +49 (6151) 2978-0 com.hk WANDA CINEMA CIRCUIT Périgny 17180, France Fax: +49 (6151) 2978-34 mclcinema.com No. 93 Jianguo Rd., 05 46 44 01 76 [email protected] Gen. Mgrs.: June Wong, Grace Wong Chaoyang District cgrcinemas.fr kinopolis.de COO, Intercontinental Group Beijing 100022, China Theatres: 47 Theatres: 17 Holdings Ltd.: Roberto L. Suarez +86 10-85588377 Screens: 474 Screens: 137 wandacinemas.com Gen. Dir.: Jocelyn Bouyssy

54 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 INDIA SPI CINEMAS PRIVATE LTD. shochiku.com MEGABOX CINEMA #25, Whites Rd., Theatres: 32 215, Tancheon-ro, Bundang-gu CARNIVAL CINEMAS Mamatha Complex, 5th Fl. Screens: 305 Seongnam 41 463-839, Korea 801/A, Express Zone, Malad (East) Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014, India Pres. & CEO: Jay Sakomoto megabox.co.kr Mumbai 400 097, India [email protected] 0771 0097 900 spicinemas.in TOHO CINEMAS LUXEMBOURG [email protected] Theatres: 7 Yurakucho, Hibiya Chanter 5F carnivalcinemas.com CEO: Kiran Reddy Chiyoda 13 100-8421, Japan SA Founded: 2015 Head of Experience: Bhavesh Shah 03-5512-1234 Kinepolis Kirchberg: 45 Ave. JF Theatres: 155 / Screens: 410 Dir. of Film Buying & Distribution: tohocinemas.co.jp Kennedy L-1855 Luxembourg Countries: India, Singapore Swaroop Reddy Pres.: Kazuhiko Seta Ciné Utopia: 16 Ave. de la Business Development Mgr.: Dir.: Masayuki Toshima Faiencerie, L-1510 Luxembourg CINEPOLIS INDIA PRIVATE LTD. P.V. Ravi Kumar Kinepolis Belval: 7 Ave. du 3rd Floor, Plot No. 58 facebook.com/spicinemasindia TOKYU RECREATION CO. Rock’n’Roll, L-4361 Esch-sur-Alzette Sector 44, Gurgaon, Haryana Twitter: @SPIcinemas 2-9 Sakuragaokacho Shibuyaku 42 95 11 80 122003, India Tokyo 13 1500031, Japan [email protected] +91 (124) 438 8521 INDONESIA tokyu-rec.co.jp kinepolis.lu cinepolisindia.com Pres. & CEO: Shinzo Kanno Part of Kinepolis Group Founded: 2009 CGV CINEMAS INDONESIA Theatres: 3 / Screens: 22 Screens: 265 (formerly BLITZMEGAPLEX) T·JOY CO., LTD. Ntl. Theatre Mgr., Luxembourg: Wholly owned subsidiary PT. Graha Layar Prima 4F Ginzatowa Bldg., 3-10-7 Christophe Eyssartier of Cinépolis AIA Central - 26th Fl. Ginza, Chuo-ku Country Mgr., Box Office Sales &

Managing Dir., Cinépolis India: Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 48 Tokyo 13 104-0061, Japan Mktg.: Stijn Vanspauwen 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE Javier Sotomayor Jakarta Selatan 12930, Indonesia t-joy.net facebook.com/KinepolisLuxembourg Dir. Strategic Initiatives, Cinépolis cgv.id Founded: 2000 Twitter: @KinepolisLU India: Devang Sampat facebook.com/CGV.ID Pres.: Yusuke Okada facebook.com/CinepolisIndia Twitter: @CGV_ID MALAYSIA Twitter: @indiacinepolis UNITED CINEMAS CINEMA XXI 6F Gate City Osaki East Tower GOLDEN SCREEN CINEMAS INOX LEISURE LTD. AND CINEMA 21 1-11-2 Osaki No. 1, Jalan SS 22/19 Viraj Towers, 5th Fl., JL K.H. Wahid Hasyim, No. 96A Shinagawa-Ku 141-8609, Japan Damansara Jaya Western Express Hwy. Jakarta 10340, Indonesia 81-3-6417-0600 Petaling Jaya 10 47400, Malaysia Andheri (East), 62 21 3190 1122 Fax: 81-3-5496-1585 (603) 7806 8888 Mumbai-400 093, India Fax: 62 21 3190 1133 unitedcinemas.jp Fax: (603) 7806 8800 +91 - 22 4062 69 00 [email protected] Founded: 1999 gsc.com.my Fax: +91 - 22 4062 69 99 21cineplex.com Theatres: 37 Founded: 1987 [email protected] Founded: 1987 Screens: 347 Theatres: 45 inoxmovies.com Theatres: 167 / Screens: 956 Pres.: Akihito Watanabe Screens: 390 Founded: 1999 Chairman: Suryo Suherman Countries: Malaysia, Vietnam Theatres: 122 / Screens: 488 Vice Chairman: Harris Lasmana KOREA Parent Company: facebook.com/INOXLEISURE Pres. & CEO: Hans Gunadi PPB Group Berhad Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat: @ VP: Arif Suherman CJ GGV Letter Box No. 115 INOXMovies (Hangangrodong) I’Parkmall 6th 12th Fl., UBN Tower CEO: Alok Tandon CINEMAXX Fl., 55, No. 10 Jalan P Ramlee Menara Matahari, 2nd Fl., Hangang-daero 23-gil, Yongsan-gu, 50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia PVR LIMITED Blvd. Palem Raya #7 Korea CEO: Koh Mei Lee Block A, 4th Fl., Bldg. No. 9 Lippo Karawaci +82 2 371 6660 Gen. Mgr.: Irving Chee DLF Cybercity, Phase III Tangerang 15811, Indonesia Fax: +82 2 371 6530 Gurgaon, 122002 Haryana, India cinemaxxtheater.com cgv.co.kr MBO CINEMAS 0124 - 4708100 Founded: 2014 Founded: 1996 Level 16, Uptown 1, 1, Jalan SS21/58 [email protected] CEO: Gerald Dibbayawan Theatres: 445 Damansara Uptown pvrcinemas.com Screens: 3,346 Petaling Jaya 10 47400, Malaysia Founded: 1997 JAPAN Countries: Korea, Turkey, China, 603 7880 2808 Theatres: 132 USA, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar Fax: 603 7722 3009/2023 Screens: 612 AEON ENTERTAINMENT CO. CEO: Jung Seo [email protected] Chairman & Managing Dir., PVR Ltd.: 2-3-1 Daiba, Minato-ku Asst. Managing Dir. & CFO: mbocinemas.com Ajay Bijli Tokyo 135-0091, Japan Sang Mook Hwang Founded: 2005 Joint Managing Dir.: Sanjeev Kumar aeoncinema.com Vice Chairman, CJ Corp: Theatres: 27 CEO, PVR Cinemas: Gautam Dutta Theatres: 91/ Screens: 772 Miky Lee Screens: 213 CFO, PVR Ltd.: Nitin Sood Operates in Japan under CEO: Lim Eng Hee COO, PVR Cinemas: Rahul Singh the brand name Aeon Cinema LOTTE CINEMA Dir. of Operations: Chief Business Dev. Officer, PVR Pres. & Representative Dir.: 4F, Lotte Castle Gold, 269, Mariam Yazmin El Bacha Cinemas: Ashawni Handa Nao Kataoka Olympic-ro, Songpa-gu CIO, PVR Ltd.: Rajat Tyagi Seoul 11 138-240, Korea TGV CINEMAS CEO Int’l Development, PVR Ltd.: SHOCHIKU COMPANY lottecinema.co.kr Level 6, Menara MAXIS, Renaud Palliere 4-1-1 Togeki Bldg., Tsukiji, Chuo-ku Founded: 1999 Kuala Lumpur City Centre Tokyo 13 104-0045, Japan CEO: Won Chun Cha Kuala Lumpur 50088, Malaysia 81359425575 603 2381 3535

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 55 Fax: 603 2381 3139 [email protected] (787) 727-7137 SINGAPORE tgv.com.my bergenkino.no Fax: (787) 728-2274 Founded: 1995 CEO: Elisabeth Halvorsen caribbeancinemas.com CATHAY ORGANISATION Theatres: 34 Operations: Hans Øksenvåg Founded: 1968 HOLDINGS LTD. Screens: 268 Programming: Stein Sørensen Theatres: 59 22 Martin Rd., #03-01 CEO: Yeoh Oon Lai Screens: 492 Singapore 239058 FILM & KINO Markets: Puerto Rico, Dominican 65 6337 8181 MEXICO Filmens Hus, Dronningens gate 16 Republic, St. Maarten, Trinidad, St. Fax: 65 6732 2506 Postboks 446 Sentrum Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Antigua, [email protected] CINEMEX 0104 Oslo, Norway Aruba, St. Croix, Guyana, Panama, cathaycineplexes.com.sg Javier Barros Sierra 540, PH1, 22 47 45 00 Guadeloupe Founded: 1935 Santa Fe, Álvaro Obregón [email protected] Pres. & CEO: Robert Carrady Theatres: 8 Mexico City, Mexico kino.no SVP, Real Estate: CEO: Meileen Choo [email protected] Managing Dir.: Guttorm Petterson Lorraine Carrady Quinn facebook.com/cathaycineplexes cinemex.com Dir.: Jorgen Stensland Managing Dir. Dominican Republic: Founded: 1995 Gregory Quinn EW CINEMAS PTE. LTD. PERU Dir., IT, Projection & Sound: 400 Orchard Rd. #16-06 Joel Matos Orchard Towers, Singapore S238875 CINÉPOLIS CINEPLANET Dir., Mktg.: Mayra Ramírez +65-67340028 Av. Cumbre de Naciones no. 1200 Av. Paseo de la Republica Cuadra 1 Dir., Expansion & Development: Fax: +65-62354897 Morelia MIC 58254, Mexico S/N, 4th Fl. Ross Astrachan [email protected] +52 443 3226220 Lima, Peru Dir., Head Film Buyer: Mike wecinemas.com.sg Fax: +52 443 3220548 +5116194400 Moraskie Founded: 1946 [email protected] cineplanet.com.pe Dir., Film Buyer Dominican Theatres: 1 cinepolis.com Founded: 1998 Republic: Michael Carrady Screens: 10 Founded: 1971 Managing Dir.: Goh Min Yen Theatres: 647 / PHILIPPINES Dir., Puerto Rico Theater Exec. Dir.: Bob Goh Screens: 5,313 Operations & Concessions: facebook.com/wecinemas Countries: Mexico, USA (CA & FL), AYALA MALLS CINEMAS Audie Serrano Instagram: @wecinemas Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, 4th Level Glorietta 4 Bldg. Dir., Dominican Republic Theater Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Colombia, Ayala Center Operations: Zumaya Cordero Chile, Brazil, India, Spain Makati 1224, Philippines Dir., Eastern Caribbean Theaters GOLDEN VILLAGE Chairman of the Board: Enrique myayalamalls.com/movies Operations & Concessions: MULTIPLEX Ramírez Villalón Theatres: 12 George Borges 3 Temasek Boulevard #03-373 CEO: Alejandro Ramírez Magaña Dir., HR: José Rosado Suntec City Mall, Singapore 038983 Global COO: Miguel Mier SM CINEMA Dir., Real Estate Leasing & +65 6653 8100 Dir., Film Programming: Miguel Rivera 11/F Mall of Asia Arena Annex Bldg. Operations: Frances Lozada Fax: +65 6836 6706 Coral Way cor. J.W. Diokno Blvd., Dir., Finance: José Feliciano gv.com.sg NETHERLANDS Mall of Asia Complex Acquisitions: Jason Quinn Founded: 1992 Philippines Theatres: 12 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE 2018 JT BIOSCOPEN [email protected] RUSSIA Screens: 100 Postbus 1824 smcinema.com CEO: Clara Cheo BV Amersfoort 3800, Netherlands CINEMA PARK jt.nl POLAND Ul. Vyborg, 16, p. 1 SHAW THEATRES Part of Vue Cinemas HELIOS S.A. Moscow 125212, Russia Shaw Centre Founded: 1932 +48 42 630 36 01 +7 495 933-2841 No. 1 Scotts Rd., 13th & 14th Fls. [email protected] Fax: +7 495 933-2845 Singapore PATHÉ THEATRES B.V. helios.pl [email protected] +65 6235 2077 Barbara Strozzilaan 388 1083 HN Theatres: 44 / Screens: 241 cinemapark.ru shaw.sg Amsterdam, Netherlands Gen. Dir.: Tomasz Jagiełło Founded: 1924 +31 20 575 1751 Managing Dir.: Katarzyna Borkowska FORMULA KINO Theatres: 7 pathe.nl Financial Dir.: Grzegorz Komorowski Presnenskaya nab., Screens: 57 Founded: 1995 d.6, str. 2, 5th Fl. Dir.: Mark Shaw Theatres: 28 / Screens: 210 PORTUGAL Moscow 123317, Russia Managing Dir.: Dertje Meijer +7 812 676 7776 SOUTH AFRICA Dir., Operations: Bram van den Broek NOS LUSOMUNDO CINEMAS + 7 495 332 37 88 Dir., Theatre Programming: Rua Ator António Silva, nº 9 [email protected] STER KINEKOR Daniella Koot 1600-404 Lisbon, Portugal formulakino.ru THEATRES Dir., IT: Barry de Bruin +351 217 914 800 Founded: 2009 PO Box 76461 Dir. Facilities: Nico Vertommen [email protected] Theatres: 35 Wendywood 2144, Dir., Commerce: Doron Kurz cinemas.nos.pt Screens: 264 South Africa Theatres: 32 27114457700 NORWAY KARO FILM [email protected] PUERTO RICO 24 ul. Novyy Arbat Moscow sterkinekor.com BERGEN KINO Moscow 121099, Russia Theatres: 63 Postboks 6153 Postterminalen CARIBBEAN CINEMAS + 7 (495) 980-88-91 Screens: 464 5892 Bergen, Norway 1512 Fernández Juncos Ave. karofilm.ru 55 56 90 50 Santurce, 00909, Puerto Rico CEO: Nick Hluszko

56 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 SPAIN VENICE CINEMAS Chairman: Derek Chin ODEON & UCI CINEMAS 320 Taoyuan City, Zhongli District, facebook.com/movietownetrini 6th Fl., Lee House ACEC CINES SA Jiuhe 1st St. Twitter: @movietowne 90 Great Bridgewater St. Plaza Letamendi, 37 3º 3ª Taiwan Manchester M1 5JW, Great Britain 08008 Barcelona, Spain 886-3-2805018 TURKEY odeon.co.uk [email protected] Fax: 03-280-5028 A subsidiary of AMC Entertainment cinesacec.es venice-cinemas.com.tw MARS ENTERTAINMENT Holdings, Inc. Theatres: 13 Founded: 2002 GROUP Theatres: 244 Screens: 147 Dereboyu Cad. Ambarlıdere Yolu Screens: 2251 Commercial Dir.: Isabel García VIESHOW CINEMAS CO. No: 4 Kat: 1 Support Office, London 8th Fl., 3 Sung Jen Rd. Ortaköy—Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey 54 Whitcomb St. CINESA Taipei, Taiwan 110 0212 978 00 00 London, WC2H 7DN C/Rossello I Porcel, 21, 5ª Pl., Edificio 886-2-8780-1166 Fax: 0212 270 55 58 United Kingdom Meridian Fax: 886-2-8780-0627 marscinemagroup.com.tr CEO: Mark Way 08016 Barcelona, Spain [email protected] Founded: 2001 (34) 93 228 96 00 vscinemas.com.tw Theatres: 90 VUE INTERNATIONAL Fax: (34) 93 425 31 99 Founded: 1998 Screens: 791 10 Chiswick Park cinesa.es Theatres: 13 CEO: Ilchun Kim 566 Chiswick High Rd. Founded: 1968 Screens: 127 London W4 5XS, Great Britain Part of the Odeon Cinema Group, Countries: Taiwan, China UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 0208 396 0100 owned by AMC Theatres Chairman: Dennis Wu vue-international.com Theatres: 45 facebook.com/vieshow NOVO CINEMAS Founded: 2003

Screens: 530+ Cayan Business Center—Barsha Theatres: 210 2018 EXHIBITION GUIDE THAILAND Heights, Dubai Screens: 1,858 YELMO CINES United Arab Emirates Countries: UK, Ireland, Taiwan, Paseo Del Club Deportivo 1, Bloque MAJOR CINEPLEX GROUP (971) 4 368 8995 Germany, Denmark, Poland, 11 Bajo Derecha PLC Fax: (971) 4 368 8797 Latvia, Lithuania, Italy, 28223 Pozuelo de Alarcon, Spain 1839, 1839 / 1-6 Phaholyothin Rd. [email protected] Netherlands [email protected] Ladyao, Jatuchak Bangkok, novocinemas.com CEO: Tim Richards yelmocines.es 10900, Thailand Theatres: 15 Deputy CEO: Alan McNair Founded: 1981 majorcineplex.com Screens: 158 COO: Steve Knibbs A Cinépolis company Founded: 1995 Countries: United Arab Emirates, Pres./CEO: Ricardo Evole Theatres: 91 Qatar, Bahrain VENEZUELA Country Mgr., Cinépolis Spain, Screens: 601 CEO: Debbie Kristiansen Yelmo Cines: Fernando Evole Chairman of the Board & Sales & Mktg. Dir.: Melissa Jarvinen CINES UNIDOS facebook.com/YelmoCines Independent Dir.: Somchainuk facebook.com/NovoCinemas Núcleo Ejecutivo La Pirámide, youtube.com/user/YelmoCines3D Engtrakul Twitter, Instagram: @NovoCinemas Nivel Planta Alta, Oficina N°1 Twitter: @yelmocines Dir. & CEO: Vicha Poolvaraluck youtube.com/user/NovoCinemas/ 1080 Caracas, Venezuela Dir. & Exec. Dirs.: Verawat videos cinesunidos.com SWITZERLAND Ongvasith, Paradee Poolvaraluck Founded: 1996 PATHÉ SUISSE Dir., Chief Films Officer: REEL CINEMAS Rue du Petit-Chêne 27 Thanakorn Puriwekin United Arab Emirates, Dubai CINEX 1003 Lausanne, Switzerland +971 (0) 4 449 1902, [email protected] pathe.ch SF CORP.. PUBLIC CO. Fax: +971 (0) 4 449 1918 cinex.com.ve Theatres: 8 10-12th FL. MBK Tower reelcinemas.ae Founded: 1998 Screens: 72 444 Phayathai Rd., Phatumwan Managed by Emaar Entertainment Theatres: 27 CEO: Thierry Hatier Bangkok, 10330, Thailand Founded: 2009 Screens: Approx. 155 +662 611 7111 Theatres: 2 Dir.: John Parra Plaza TAIWAN Fax: +662 611 7138 facebook.com/reelcinemasdubai [email protected] Twitter: @reelcinemas AMBASSADOR THEATRES sfcinemacity.com Instagram: @ReelCinemas 4F, No.23, Sec.1 Founded: 1999 ChangAn E Rd. Theatres: 56 UNITED KINGDOM Taipei, Taiwan CEO: Suwat Thongrompo 886 2 2536 8986 COO: Suvit Thongrompo CINEWORLD CINEMAS ambassador.com.tw Power Road Studios, 114 Power Rd. Theatres: 12 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Chiswick London W4 5PY Screens: 104 Great Britain Owner: Joe Chang MOVIETOWNE (44) 208 987 5000 Lot D, MovieTowne Blvd., Audrey Fax: (44) 208 742 2998 SHOWTIME CINEMAS Jeffers Hwy. cineworld.com No. 247, Linsen N Rd. Port of Spain, Trinidad Founded: 1995 Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 62-STARS (78277) Theatres: 226 / Screens: 2,115 Taiwan 104 [email protected] CEO: Mooky Greidinger (02) 2537-1889 movietowne.com Chairman of the Board: Anthony showtimes.com.tw Founded: 2002 Herbert Bloom Gen. Mgr.: Willy Liao Theatres: 3 CFO: Nisan Cohen Screens: 22 Deputy CEO: Israel Greidinger

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 57 INTERNATIONAL • SINCE 1934 • FOR THE LATEST REVIEWS WWW.FILMJOURNAL.COM BUYING & BOOKING GUIDE

VOL. 121, NO.3

ANNIHILATION gets pulled into a last-ditch expedition. Since Downsizing was marketed as Honey-I-Shrunk- soldiers seemed to have had no luck getting Matt-Damon fun when in fact it was a sober- PARAMOUNT/Color/2.35/Dolby Digital/115 Mins./ through the overgrown vegetation and send- minded satire, and audiences expecting one Rated R ing back messages, perhaps scientists will fare thing were disappointed in getting something Cast: Natalie Portman, , Gina Rodri- better. Lena joins withdrawn, dumpy physicist very different. Annihilation is tough—there are guez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, Oscar Isaac, Josie Radeck (Tessa Thompson, miles away firefights and gore—but it’s also subtle and Benedict Wong, David Gyasi. from her confident, commanding Valkyrie in thoughtful. It’d make a good double feature Directed by Alex Garland. Screenplay: Alex Garland, based on the novel by Jeff Thor: Ragnarok), anthropologist Cass Sheppard with 2016’s Arrival. —Frank Lovece VanderMeer. (Swedish actress Tuva Novotny), paramedic Produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich, Anya Thorensen (Gina Rodriguez, star of TV’s Eli Bush. “Jane the Virgin”) and the team’s leader, psy- Executive producers: Jo Burn, David Ellison, Dana Gold- BLACK PANTHER berg, Don Granger. chologist Dr. Ventress (Jennifer Jason Leigh). WALT DISNEY-MARVEL/Color/2.35/Dolby Atmos, Director of photography: Rob Hardy. Within The Shimmer, time behaves differ- Auro 11.1 & Datasat/134 Mins./Rated PG-13 Production designer: Mark Digby. ently, plant and animal DNA mix and meld like Editor: Barney Pilling. the stirring of carnival taffy, and the scream Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Visual effects supervisor: Andrew Whitehurst. Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Music: Ben Salisbury, Geoff Barrow. of a dying brain can live on in the cry of a Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, Angela Bassett, Forest Costume designer: Sammy Sheldon Differ. mutated, bear-like pig. Glass rises from sand. Whitaker, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, John Kani. Sound designer: Glenn Freemantle. Identity emerges from nothingness. All of life Directed by A and Skydance presentation of a exists in a drop of blood. Thank goodness Screenplay: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole, based on the Scott Rudin/DNA Films production. video cameras still work or we might never comics by and . Produced by Kevin Feige, David J. Grant. Kubrickian coolness underscores a journey know what happened. We are made up of Executive producers: Victoria Alonso, Jeffrey Chernov, by five women into the heart, brain, liver and cells, the story reminds us, and at what point Louis D’Esposito, Stan Lee, Nate Moore. spleen of darkness in this harrowing sci-fi hor- do those cells amount to us…to an “I”? What Director of photography: Rachel Morrison. ror film that tangles with the idea of identity. demarcates all life—plant life, bacteria—from Production designer: Hannah Beachler. conscious life? Do we genuinely have identity, Editors: Debbie Berman, Michael P. Shawver. N Music: Ludwig Göransson. ovelist-turned- or are we only a conglomeration of nerves Costume designer: Ruth E. Carter. filmmaker Alex and synapses creating the illusion of it? Visual effects supervisors: Geoffrey Baumann, Doug Garland, who wrote the Garland, adapting the novel of the same Spilatro. screenplays for 28 Days name by Jeff VanderMeer, creates a world of A presentation. Later... (2002), Never stark logic that remains somehow surreal, Let Me Go (2010) and and the team’s journey into the heart, brain, Black Panther succeeds where other (2012), and both NATALIE PORTMAN liver and spleen of darkness is magical while superhero movies fail. wrote and directed Ex still being rooted in procedure, chain-of- Machina (2014), emerges as a singular visionary command, maps and tents and meals-ready- The Marvel Cinematic Universe tacks in this science-fiction horror drama, in which a to-eat. Also of note is the eerie score by Ben another movie onto its hot streak with Black constant, low-key suspense can erupt into bru- Salisbury and Geoff Barrow, evoking that of Panther—a triumph for the MCU and for su- tally phantasmagoric metaphors about the core György Ligeti for Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A perhero filmmaking as a whole. Hell, go ahead of who we are. About, even, what we are. Space Odyssey. and call it a triumph in general. Moviegoers After a meteorite—or something— Her Oscar nomination for Jackie not- most likely will; with its combination of ac- crashes into a lighthouse on the Southern U.S. withstanding, a case can be made that this, tion, comedy, a much-loved cast and a strain coast, the area around the site is engulfed instead, may be Natalie Portman’s finest work of intelligence often missing from big-budget with what the government response team since Black Swan. For all her riveting presence blockbusters, this first solo outing from one logically calls “The Shimmer,” an iridescent in any role, she is not an actress of infinite of Marvel’s top-tier superheroes is poised to field of electromagnetic radiation that is range. Within her parameters, however, bring in a boatload of money. gradually growing concentrically. It’s already she is unparalleled in depicting intelligence, Chadwick Boseman, first introduced in Cap- overrun an evacuated swampland town, and in seriousness, emotional rigor and existential tain America: Civil War, returns as Prince T’Challa, a matter of weeks will claim the Area X facil- exhaustion. That she also looks startlingly who following the death of his father (John ity set up nearby to study it. Drones, animals real as an ex-soldier precisely handling a Kani) assumes two roles: those of the king and and soldiers all have entered The Shimmer to high-powered automatic rifle is also a little superpowered protector—known as the Black explore it. Nothing returned except one per- shocking, and gives her Lena a dangerous edge Panther—of the African nation of Wakanda, son, Sgt. Kane (Oscar Isaac), with no memory that makes the unfolding events credible and which keeps its riches hidden from the outside of what went on—and he almost immediately even thrilling. world under the guise of being a Third World goes into total organ failure. I worry that the marketing of Annihilation country. Like recent Marvel successes Guardians His wife, microbiologist and former seven- may make it seem a popcorn sci-fi adven- of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok, Black year Army grunt Lena (Natalie Portman), ture, maybe one adapted from a videogame; Panther feels somewhat insular; though the

58 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 For every stage of a film, comScore has a solution.

nt Book me ing re d & u an Fo s ic n r di B a ph tio str u e ra ma ib y g or ut i M o f io n m in n g e ic a e d h n c e p d S n a e im r o e t g x - o h ft i l i a h b d c w e i y t R i u s o a p n A r Box Office e

T Real-time geographic

E h x h e distinction i b g a s i t o t n m r i l e i i t f n r v s g e E n n a i t ffi o c m r o y c e c a ie r p n u d n o o s c F t e y in tt c le S i ht m o eg ig en lu t ns t m tio tra d i an ns S ea age g l ment Lon

Comprehensive industry solutions for film exhibitors and distributors across the globe.

comscore.com • [email protected] action does occasionally venture outside of THE DEATH OF STALIN surrounding him, who are often subjected to Wakanda, writer-director Ryan Coogler for the mandatory late-night viewings of American most part keeps things centered on Wakandan IFC FILMS/Color/1.85/107 Mins./Rated R westerns. When Stalin suffers a debilitating world-building and the new characters he’s Cast: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, stroke, he’s found the next morning lying tasked with introducing: stern Okoye (Danai , Jason Isaacs, Andrea Riseborough, in a puddle of his urine because no one had Gurira), T’Challa’s lead bodyguard; tech-savvy Rupert Friend, Olga Kurylenko, Paddy Considine, Paul the nerve to enter his office. The dictator Shuri (Letitia Wright, a standout), who needles Whitehouse, Adrian McLoughlin, Dermot Crowley, Paul eventually dies, partly because all the repu- Chahidi, Diana Quick, Karl Johnson, Jonathan Aris. T’Challa as only a little sister can; and local Directed by Armando Iannucci. table physicians in Moscow have been either leaders W’Kabi (Daniel Kaluuya) and M’Baku Screenplay: Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian imprisoned or executed. Then the jockeying (Winston Duke) among them. A few references Martin, Fabien Nury, based on the graphic novels by for power begins, most notably by Beria, aside, Coogler keeps intrusions from the rest of Nury, Thierry Robin. the calculating and acid-tongued head of the Additional material: Peter Fellows. the MCU at a minimum. The result is a movie Produced by Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun, Nicolas Duval security forces, played with wicked wit by the that feels like a movie, as opposed to—as the Adassovsky, Kevin Loader. great British stage actor Simon Russell Beale. lesser entries in the MCU sometimes are—a Executive producer: Jean-Christophe Colson. Iannucci has playfully assembled an mere puzzle piece in ongoing #franchise #brand Co-producers: André Logie, Gaetan David. ensemble of British and American actors Director of photography: Zac Nicholson. #synergy. Production designer: Cristina Casali. speaking in their native accents; the casting Not to harsh on the MCU too much—the Editor: Peter Lambert. of Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev may odd misstep aside, franchise ringmaster Kevin Music: Christopher Willis. seem incongruous at first, but his comically Feige has cracked the code for reliably turning Costume designer: Suzie Harman. calibrated exasperation and fury pay big A Quad and Main Journey production, in co-production out solid, entertaining blockbusters—but with Gaumont, France 3 Cinema, La Compagnie dividends. The irresistible cast also includes Black Panther shows up its predecessors Cinematographique, Panache Prods., AFPI. Jeffrey Tambor as befuddled, self-absorbed by effortlessly clearing hurdles that others deputy general secretary Malenkov; “Monty have stumbled over. To start with: Despite “Veep” creator Armando Iannucci makes Python” alum Michael Palin as dithering a run-time of 132 minutes, Black Panther dark, delicious comedy out of the chaos and foreign secretary Molotov; a hilarious Jason doesn’t leave you with a nagging sense of this calculation surrounding the demise of Russian Isaacs as uber-macho Field Marshal Zhukov; a could’ve been 20 minutes shorter. Or: The love dictator Joseph Stalin. manic Rupert Friend as Stalin’s paranoid, idiot interest—spy Nakia, played by Oscar-winner son Vasily, and Andrea Riseborough as Stalin’s Lupita Nyong’o—actually feels like a fully Not since Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not to Be assertive but naïve daughter Svetlana. fleshed-out character; to even refer to her as has there been a movie satire as audacious as Adapted from the graphic novels by Fabien the “love interst” feels specious. Armando Iannucci’s The Death of Stalin. You’ll Nury and Thierry Robin, the screenplay by Or, take this example: The MCU has recall that Lubitsch’s bold 1942 masterpiece Iannucci, David Schneider and Ian Martin is filled made a habit of enlisting talented actors to do found hilarity amidst the travails of a Polish with droll one-liners, vicious asides and zany nothing much of anything in supporting roles. acting troupe during the Nazi occupation of pieces of business befitting a political environ- (Remember Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel their country. The Death of Stalin, set in the ment gone mad. Iannucci’s trademark creative McAdams in Doctor Strange? Bobby Cannavale in 1953 Soviet Union, isn’t topically nervy like profanity never seemed more appropriate. Ant-Man? in Avengers: Age of Ultron?) that, but it has the same brazen mix of com- Laced with fear and dread throughout, this The cast list Coogler’s working with is large, edy and terror—the comedy coming out of comedy of scheming vipers goes extremely but everyone gets their moment. The film feels the absurdity of the totalitarian mindset. dark toward the end. And ultimately, its bleak more like an ensemble piece than Black Panther, Iannucci first gained notice as the creator but bracing portrait of naked self-interest mas- And Then a Whole Bunch of Other People. That’s of the British comedy series “The Thick of It,” querading as governance seems oddly timely, because Coogler’s script, though certainly about political spin doctors, which spun off despite the historical context. —Kevin Lally boasting as much action as you’d expect a to the witty feature filmIn The Loop. Then he superhero movie to (a car chase through the created “Veep,” the acclaimed, Emmy-winning streets of Busan stands up quite well), focuses HBO comedy series about Washington THE PARTY on relationships more than spectacle. By the politics. For his second feature, he’s imagined time the requisite climactic battle scene hits, the savage political infighting that ensued ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS/B&W/2.35/71 Mins./ Rated R you’ve become invested enough in the charac- with the demise of longtime dictator Joseph ters that it works, even if the action falls a bit Stalin—and savage is truly the apt description. Cast: Timothy Spall, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patricia on the generic side. Iannucci doesn’t soft-pedal the extreme, arbi- Clarkson, Bruno Ganz, Cherry Jones, Emily Mortimer, Black Panther succeeds at being emotionally trary cruelty of the era, which may lead some Cillian Murphy. Written and directed by Sally Potter. resonant in a way a lot of Marvel movies—a to wonder what scenes of sudden execution Produced by Kurban Kassam, Christopher Sheppard. lot of blockbusters, period—don’t. With Creed are doing in an ostensible comedy. It’s a valid Executive producers: John Giwa-Amu, Robert Halmi, Jr., and Fruitvale Station, Coogler has proven adept argument, but those moments accentuate the Jim Reeve. at tugging at moviegoers’ heartstrings, and insanity of the climate in which its vain central Director of photography: Aleksei Rodionov. Production designer: Carlos Conti. he doesn’t let up just because he’s in a bigger characters plot to undermine one another. Editors: Emilie Orsini, Anders Refn. playground. Not to do go deep into spoilery The tone is set in the opening scene, Costume designer: Jane Petrie. territory, but Michael B. Jordan’s villain—Erik inspired by real events: a radio broadcast of a A Roadside Attractions presentation of an Adventure Pic- Killmonger, wannabe usuper to T’Challa’s classical-music concert. The radio producer tures production, in association with Oxwich Media. throne—is the most complex, most intelligently (Paddy Considine) receives a phone call from written, most relatable, just plain best villain the Stalin himself demanding delivery of a record- British art-house legend Sally Potter turns MCU has ever had. (Yes, that includes Loki.) ing of the concert: Trouble is, the concert to black comedy, with a dryly wicked take Shot through his storyline, and those of the wasn’t recorded, and the producer must hast- on upper-class privilege and middle-aged other characters, are issues of race, responsibil- ily reassemble the orchestra and the audience adultery. ity and political activism. There’s nothing wrong for an encore performance, and replace the with a superhero movie being just entertain- conductor who has just been knocked uncon- Sally Potter’s The Party is like an invitation to ing, but Black Panther is entertaining and smart scious from a silly accident. When Stalin issues a classic comedy. Not the early in a way that earmarks it as the product of an order, everyone quakes. funny ones, though. The later, dark ones. Coogler’s distinct vision. —Rebecca Pahle That also applies to the high officials It’s shot in black-and-white and scored to

60 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 old records. It features a small cast populated although Potter seems to have fallen a bit too canteen of cool water slaking the thirst of his with very good actors (all undoubtedly work- much in love with April, too—the screenplay writer’s block. It also helps when she tells him ing for a fraction of their usual quote). It’s full gives her all the best jokes (just as Allen’s old Phoenix Time, his acclaimed first novel which of self-involved, privileged characters and set scripts routinely gave him all the punch lines). he’s been trying to follow up for a decade, “is in the sort of home most popcorn munchers Like Allen’s films, too, Potter’sThe Party like my favorite book in the universe.” When can only dream of. And it’s very bright, and can feel a bit exclusionary, a gag we’re not she asks him ever so meekly to read the first very bitter. quite in on. There isn’t a person of color in chapter of her pile of “pages in search of a That part, at least, isn’t surprising to a the cast, or even anyone under 40, and no one novel,” he of course accepts. More chapters real Potter fan. The fabulously idiosyncratic, seems to worry about money; several char- follow, mixing an overwrought analogy about fiercely independent British director started acters don’t seem to work at all, and the few eggs with heated passages about a young turning out films in 1969, while simultaneously academics on hand are, of course, comfortably woman having an affair with an older man. turning her back on conventional storytell- tenured. For some moviegoers, Potter’s latest Then the phone calls begin. ing. Her career reached a sort of zenith with will feel nearly as remote as her early experi- Swenson doesn’t just miss the freight train 1992’s Orlando. A perfect politically forward mental shorts, a slightly chilly exercise more that’s about to blast his life into smithereens, storm, it combined avant-garde direction with interested in positions than people. he steers right into it. He blithely ignores ev- a gender-shifting story from Virginia Woolf But it is undeniably fast, and wickedly ery warning sign, from the background on An- and a shimmering, early performance from the witty—and in the midst of the February gela provided by unimpressed fellow teacher already elusive Tilda Swinton. doldrums as bracing and perhaps as neces- Magda Moynahan (Janeane Garofalo, a bright Recently, Potter has made more accessible sary as a generous shot of gin. This is one and too-brief presence) to Angela’s alternately works, including 2000’s period romance The “Party” worth going to. sycophantic and demanding attitude. Because Man Who Cried, with , and 2012’s —Stephen Whitty that serene overconfidence is packaged by Ginger & Rosa, a female-friendship drama Tucci, who can deliver easygoing charm with set during the Ban-the-Bomb ’60s. The Party SUBMISSION less effort than almost any other working brings us up to the present day, stripping away actor, Swenson reads as far less insufferable any historical or artistic distractions. There is GREAT POINT MEDIA/Color/2.35/106 Mins/ than he should be. For a time, Swenson’s good Not Rated one set, and seven characters. The camera- humor with his highly accommodating wife work is handheld, and the story largely takes Cast: , Addison Timlin, Kyra Sedgwick, Sherrie (Kyra Sedgwick) and low-key rebel- place in real time. Janeane Garofalo, Peter Gallagher, Ritchie Coster, ling against school politics and lazy students It begins with Janet, a 60-ish politician, Jessica Hecht. almost masks the enormity of what he’s about Directed by Richard Levine. hosting a small get-together at her London Screenplay: Richard Levine, based on the novel Blue to demolish. townhouse to celebrate her opposition-party Angel by Francine Prose. Levine adapted Submission from Francine appointment as Shadow Minister for Health. Produced by Jared Ian Goldman, Wren Arthur. Prose’s 2000 novel Blue Angel. A rollicking sat- Her husband, Bill, seems to be already drunk, Executive producers: Robert Halmi, Jr., Jim Reeve. ire of academic pretensions and stultifying po- Director of photography: Hillary Spera. and unaccountably depressed, but soon the Production designer: Sara K. White. litical correctness, Prose’s book took its name guests arrive—the snarky April and her life- Editor: Jennifer Lee. and inspiration from Josef von Sternberg’s coach lover Gottfried, Martha and her wife Music: Jeff Russo. 1930 melodrama in which seductress Marlene Jinny (thrilled with the recent news that IVF Costume designer: Mirren Gordon-Crozier. Dietrich brings professor Emil Jannings to A Mighty Engine, Olive Films and Ospringe Media production. treatments have resulted in potential triplets). utter ruin. Levine’s adaptation works well with Meanwhile, Tom, an agitated banker, comes the spine of Prose’s book, the puffed-up fool sans wife but with a pocket full of cocaine, and Wonder Boys meets The Human Stain in this dashing toward his doom and the ice-cold a secret he’s desperate to spill. lightly amusing riff on Blue Angel in which a femme fatale coating her web in flattery. But The stage is set for a comedy of ill man- frustrated literature professor is energized the story is about more than the snapping ners, as the champagne is popped and old by the attentions, literary and otherwise, of a together of a cleverly laid trap. Nearly all of resentments uncorked, and the cast is almost young student. Prose’s satire on male vanity and the muddy uniformly superb. The effortlessly regal Kristin tangles of sexual-harassment politics is cleaved Scott Thomas shines as the always-in-com- The scenery that away, with only the odd reference to “safe mand Janet, while Timothy Spall quickly grabs greets viewers at spaces” trying to keep the movie relevant. our concern as her moody husband. Cherry the start of Richard That’s probably for the best. Cleanly Jones and Emily Mortimer sparkle as a nicely Levine’s Submission is written and brightly acted, Submission is an ef- mismatched pair, too—Mortimer’s girlish that of pretty much fectively delivered comedy on artistic conceit Jinny bubbling along while Jones’ Martha talks every movie ever set that probably would have buckled under the ponderously about her studies in “Domestic on a college campus: STANLEY TUCCI weight of more subtext. But it’s hard not to Labor Gender Differentiation in American fall colors, sun-dappled wish, especially in the final scenes where Utopianism.” And although Cillian Murphy quad, stately brick buildings, and all the Swenson deals with the fallout of his cata- over-emotes a bit as Tom—he acts as if he’s bourgeois trappings of cosseted small-town strophically bad decision, that the conse- playing another Christopher Nolan villain— intelligentsia. The narration running over the quences could have had at least a dash of the Bruno Ganz is a sweetly annoying presence as montage has more vinegar to it, as Professor pain that great novels are written about and the blissfully disconnected Gottfried, an aging Ted Swenson (Stanley Tucci) grumbles about Swenson thought he was risking everything New Ager who seems in constant search of a being trapped in this “isolated and inbred” for. drumming circle. sanctuary of intellectual mediocrity. What fol- —Chris Barsanti Best, though is Patricia Clarkson as April, lows is unfortunately more in keeping with the a leftier-than-thou radical who sneers at visuals then the dialogue. FIFTY SHADES FREED Martha’s lesbianism, Gottfried’s optimism and Swenson’s biting commentary sprawls UNIVERSAL/Color/2.35/Dolby Digital/105 Mins./ Janet’s idealism. Everything is a pose, to her, over into the writing class that he would ut- Rated R another distraction from the “real” struggle, terly despise teaching if not for the presence and every sincerely stated belief just another of Angela Argo (Addison Timlin). She is in pos- Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Arielle Kebbel, Marcia Gay Harden, Rita Ora, Tyler Hoechlin, hot-air balloon waiting to be pricked. It’s a session of two characteristics lacked by her Luke Grimes. great role and Clarkson clearly loves playing it, classmates: talent and perception. Angela is a Directed by James Foley.

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 61 Screenplay: Niall Leonard, based on the novel by E.L. James. the teen-noir Fear and the classic, corrosive play opens up the story, going back to the Produced by Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Marcus Glengarry Glen Ross—remains a little surpris- trio’s childhood in Sacramento, Calif. All three Viscidi. ing, but if this is a job for hire, the producers are troublemakers at school. Spencer under- Director of photography: John Schwartzman. Production designer: Nelson Coates. certainly got their money’s worth. The film achieves in college before failing at several Air Editors: David S. Clark, Richard Francis-Bruce. is prettily photographed by John Schwartz- Force positions. Alek goes from community Music: Danny Elfman. man and the pop that covers the soundtrack, college to the Oregon National Guard, ending Costume designer: Shay Cunliffe. wall to wall, is sure to provide a few hits. The up in Afghanistan. A presentation of a Michael De Luca production, in association with Perfect World whole thing will probably please the fran- Working with his longtime cinematog- Pictures. chise’s hard-core soft-core fans, right down to rapher Tom Stern, Eastwood shoots these the favorite-moment flashbacks that unspool scenes with customary efficiency, refusing for A saga of sadomasochistic romance reach- before the final credits. the most part to pump up emotions. As a re- es its end, in a well-produced, poorly acted But none of the actors makes any impres- sult, The 15:17 to Paris can seem dry at times, and thoroughly unnecessary installment. sion. Johnson, whose gaucherie was once with long stretches devoted to military train- refreshing, has lapsed into sullen immaturity; ing or to scenes that have no obvious payoff. Dakota Johnson posing and pouting as Anas- Dornan never rises above male-model posing. Eastwood begins the movie with glimps- tasia Steele, like some naughty sorority sister. (Although that both of them can be so con- es of Ayoub (Ray Corasani), the terrorist Eric Johnson sneering as the nefarious Jack stantly naked and consistently boring is a sort who brought guns and hundreds of rounds Hyde, his eyes as red as a rat’s. Jamie Dornan of achievement in itself.) Eric Johnson chews of ammunition aboard the Paris-bound train. as a puppyish Christian Grey, sitting down at a lot of indigestible scenery as the loathsome Later the story will occasionally flash for- a grand piano and launching into “Maybe I’m villain and the rest of the large supporting cast ward from a school scene to an incident on Amazed.” is completely wasted—including Oscar-win- the train. Sometimes the connections are Quick, quick, what’s my safe word again? ner Marcia Gay Harden, reduced to two quick obvious, like the history teacher who asks Unfortunately, there’s no escaping the scenes as Christian’s mom. his students if they would know what to do pain of Fifty Shades Freed, the definitely anti- And so, torturously, it all goes on and on, in an emergency. climactic finish to an S&M saga that began by beating a dead horse. Really, what was that At other times the shifts feel contrived, bringing out the whips and chains, and now safe word again? an expedient way to remind viewers that the ends only by pulling out some pretty pho- How about: Enough. scenes they are watching will eventually get tography and clichés. What once began with —Stephen Whitty somewhere, mean something. Throw in Spen- promises to get nasty now ends by threaten- cer’s obsession with guns and strong religious ing to bore us to death. THE 15:17 TO PARIS beliefs, and The 15:17 could easily be passed The porny publishing phenomenon began off as red meat for right-wingers. as amateur “Twilight” fan-fiction—what if WARNER BROS./Color/2.35/Dolby Digital/94 Mins./ But look again. Who are these heroes? Rated PG-13 Edward and Bella really let their hair down?— They are kids who were bullied, who came but eventually morphed from an online hobby Cast: Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Judy from broken homes, poorly educated, not into an actual, best-selling novel. The film ad- Greer, Jenna Fischer, William Jennings, Bryce Gheisar, too smart to begin with. They are the ugly aptation debuted in 2015 and two years later Paul-Mikél Williams, , P.J. Byrne, Tony Americans touring Europe, the ones with Hale, Ray Corasani. the movie version of the sequel, Fifty Shades Directed by Clint Eastwood. selfie sticks and sweatpants, the ones who Darker, followed it to the screen. Screenplay: Dorothy Blyskal, based on the book by don’t understand the language or the history The first picture, at least, kept things Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone and of the places they are visiting. They’re loud, simple, concentrating on the sex between Jeffrey E. Stern. they drink too much, and they pray. Produced by Clint Eastwood, Tim Moore, Kristina Rivera, naïve Anastasia and domineering Christian. Jessica Meier. What the movie points out is that if we The second, though, started amping up the Executive producer: David Berman. want to call them heroes, this is who they are. melodrama, like an abusive woman from Chris- Director of photography: Tom Stern. If you think what they do and say isn’t exciting tian’s past and Anastasia’s nefarious ex-boss, Production designer: Kevin Ishioka. enough, this is still the story they lived, the Editor: Blu Murray. the evil Hyde. (As you can see, corny character Music: Christian Jacob. story they wanted to tell. Eastwood asks us to names are one of this saga’s specialties.) Sound designers: Bryan O. Watkins, Kevin R.W. Murray. see beyond our prejudices and embrace lives By this go-round, though, all that’s left A Warner Bros. Pictures presentation, in association with that seem so different from ours. is the soap opera. In fact, the whole thing Village Roadshow Pictures, of a Malpaso production, The attack itself, shot aboard a moving in association with Access Entertainment and Dune feels a little bit like a very special episode of Entertainment. train, is a model of taut, focused filmmaking. “The Young and the Restless,” dragged out to Eastwood and editor Blu Murray cut out all feature-movie length and with the detergent Three friends help prevent a terrorist the flab, fashioning a sequence of textbook commercials replaced by soft-focus sex. attack on a train. No-frills account from intensity. Plush production values help distract director Clint Eastwood with the real-life The 15:17 ends with the heroes receiving from some of the padding. After a brief heroes as stars. the Legion of Honor from French President wedding sequence, the young marrieds fly François Hollande (a combination of real and off for a travelogue-worthy honeymoon in When they stopped recreated footage), then enjoying a parade in Paris; midway through the film, there’s a trip a terrorist attack Sacramento, Eastwood choosing not to exam- to a luxe sky lodge (where Dornan unveils onboard a high-speed ine the complications the three subsequently his Paul McCartney tribute). Private planes, train to Paris, Spencer experienced. snazzy cars and designer dresses all make Stone, Alek Skarlatos As actors, Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler their appearance, too. There’s also plenty of and Anthony Sadler look comfortable and believable, although not particularly involving plotting, including a won acclaim around SPENCER STONE without the obvious star power to suggest woman from Christian’s past and an adulter- the world. A best- future film roles. (Their performances aren’t ous architect, while Hyde returns for more selling book followed. When Clint Eastwood unprecedented—Congressional Medal of improbable villainy. decided to turn the incident into a movie, he Honor winner Audie Murphy played himself in That this film, like the last sequel, arrives took the unusual step of casting the three 1955’s To Hell and Back.) What Eastwood has courtesy of James Foley—the auteur who friends as themselves. done, with his customary skill, is show us why once gave us the prickly After Dark, My Sweet, Like the book, Dorothy Blyskal’s screen- we should care about them. —Daniel Eagan

62 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 PETER RABBIT and their running is wonderfully uncanny. If a person who had just seen Arnaud Desple- Both the voice work and live-action talent chin’s Ismael’s Ghosts were asked, “Did you /Color/2.35/Dolby Atmos & are top-notch: In addition to Gleeson and like the movie?” they could be tempted to DTS:X/93 Mins./Rated PG Byrne, we have Gleeson’s Goodbye Christopher respond, “Which one?” There is the romance Cast: James Corden (voice), Rose Byrne, Domhnall Robin co-star Margot Robbie as the narrator between an acting-out director and the wom- Gleeson, Sam Neill, Daisy Ridley (voice), Elizabeth and the voice of the bunny Flopsy, as well an who calms him; the seemingly dead person Debicki (voice), Margot Robbie (voice), Marianne Jean- as Daisy Ridley as the voice of Cotton-Tail, who comes back to life, the other filmmaker Baptiste, Sia (voice), Colin Moody (voice). Directed by Will Gluck. Elizabeth Debicki as the voice of Mopsy, losing his mind; the spy story being filmed by Screenplay: Rob Lieber, Will Gluck, based on characters “Broadchurch”’s Marianne Jean-Baptiste as the first director; the biographical backstory created by Beatrix Potter. Thomas’ former boss, and James Corden as to that story; and so on. The movie’s restless Produced by Will Gluck, Zareh Nalbandian. the voice of Peter. The story gets going di- spirit slides and leaps from closely observed Executive producers: Doug Belgrad, Jodi Hildebrand, Catherine Bishop, Susan Bolsover, Emma Topping, rectly from the opening sequence. No scenes romantic drama to glass-shattering melodra- Rob Lieber, Jason Lust, Jonathan Hludzinski. are wasted; nothing drags the tale down. ma to bug-out farce and back again. About the Director of photography: Peter Menzies. The trouble is the tone of the film. only thing missing here is a music number. Production designer: Roger Ford. Between the narration (“In a story like The polestar in Desplechin’s swirl of story Editors: Christian Gazal, Jonathan Tappin. Music: Dominic Lewis. this…”) and the jocular, winking dialogue of is Ismael (Mathieu Amalric), a director in the Animation director: Rob Coleman. the rabbits (“That’s my character flaw!”), middle of shooting an espionage thriller. We Visual effects supervisor: Will Reichelt. there are enough meta-asides to border start inside Ismael’s movie, a crisply shot Costume designer: Lizzie Gardiner. on cynicism. Peter is very loud and very flurry establishing the larger-than-life legend A Columbia Pictures and presentation, in association with 2.0 Entertainment, brash and all-around exhausting. He, like of charming and polylingual “diplomat” Ivan of an Entertainment and Olive Bridge the movie, does have a heart, and the film Dedalus (Louis Garrel), who everyone as- Entertainment production. tries to espouse a moral, showing how both sumes is actually a spy. Disappointingly, we are Peter’s and Thomas’ revenge ploys lead to wrenched out of that intoxicating fabulist’s The charm of Beatrix Potter’s beloved unhappiness. But the balance seems to be world and thrown into the more mundane bunny is buried in a cacophonous movie. off. There is too much wham-bam shtick and turbulence of Ismael’s life. Haunted by the far too much winking to the audience. It is memory of his wife Carlotta, who went It is an unequivocally bad sign when, a half- exceedingly loud, exceedingly fast, so that missing and was declared dead two decades hour into a movie made for children, a child the impression of noise is great…of sub- before, Ismael has found some solace in the can be heard to say, “I don’t like this movie.” stance, in comparison, small. We are taken arms of an astrophysicist, Sylvia (Charlotte No amount of shushing from his mother could out of the story too many times to enjoy Gainsbourg). (Their meet-cute is handled in erase the echo of these words. A grownup it. What worked 17 years ago when Shrek a flashback where the offhand and self-aware critic feeling particularly curmudgeonly is one was released no longer charms, or else the comedy of one of their exchanges—she asks thing—but when the intended audience voices meta-comedy fails in Peter Rabbit because “You sleep with your actresses?” and he re- its displeasure, you know there is a problem. the movie takes this approach to such an plies jovially, “Of course!”—can’t help but feel The titular hero of Peter Rabbit is an extreme. What sincerity there is simply sour in the post-Harvey Weinstein era.) animated bunny based on the popular cannot compete with the cacophony of But although Sylvia acts as a balm to children’s-book character from Beatrix wrecking-ball action sequences and fourth- Ismael’s restive spirit, demons lurk. In the Potter. He is, as the film’s marketing loudly wall destruction that surrounds it. middle of the night, Ismael is summoned to proclaims, “a rebel.” He likes to dash into Which is too bad, because the Beatrix the apartment of Carlotta’s father Henri the garden of mean old Mr. McGregor, even Potter books are terrific, and you just (László Szabó). A decorated filmmaker who though—or perhaps because—his father know that somewhere in the world there has never recovered from his daughter’s met his end at McGregor’s hands, which then is an unsolicited screenplay that does her death, Henri now rages about anything and swiftly gave him over to Mrs. McGregor, who characters justice. For this Peter Rabbit, everything, his nightmare-chased spirit a hint baked the patriarch into a pie. Peter’s mother character is regrettably beside the point. of the mania that would be waiting for Ismael has also passed away, but Peter, his three —Anna Storm down the road were Sylvia not in his arms. sisters and his cousin, Benjamin, have found a They’re a great match. Amalric is puckish substitute mother figure in the kindly human ISMAEL’S GHOSTS as ever, his eyes occasionally glinting with a Bea (Rose Byrne). threat of true madness that serves as a perfect Things are looking particularly sunny MAGNOLIA PICTURES/Color/2.35/114 Mins./Rated R foil to Gainsbourg’s solid directness. when old Mr. McGregor suffers a heart attack Cast: Mathieu Amalric, Marion Cotillard, Charlotte But then, Desplechin detonates the land- and is carted away in “an ice-cream truck Gainsbourg, Louis Garrel, Alba Rohrwacher, László mine buried just under the movie’s surface. with lights,” but soon McGregor’s persnickety Szabó, Hippolyte Girardot. Carlotta, or at least a woman claiming to be great-nephew Thomas (Domhnall Gleeson, Directed by Arnaud Desplechin. her, returns in the form of Marion Cotillard. Written by Arnaud Desplechin, Léa Mysius, Julie Peyr. who, like Byrne, is really too good for this) Produced by Pascal Caucheteux. Wandering into a relaxing respite for Sylvia arrives. Thomas is not only intent on keeping Executive producers: Oury Milshtein, Frantz Richard. and Ismael at his beach home—as in most the rabbits from his garden, but, even more Director of photography: Irina Lubtchansky. French movies about the creative class, easy galling, on wooing Bea. Fight between rabbit Production designer: Toma Baqueni. access to gorgeous real estate is a given— Editor: Laurence Briaud. and redhead ensues. Music: Grégoire Hetzel, Mike Kourtzer. Carlotta explains away her disappearance It isn’t that Peter Rabbit, from Easy A A Why Not Prods. and France 2 Cinéma production, with with a frank flatness that recalls an ex-cult director Will Gluck and his co-writer Rob the participation of Canal Plus, Cine Plus and France member and asks for a place to crash. This Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, Télévisions. sends the newly shattered Ismael into another In French with English subtitles. No Good, Very Bad Day), is poorly made. It is whiskey-soaked and nightmare-plagued tailspin sleek and swift and has a partying vibe due in that leaves Sylvia to decide whether it’s large part to a soundtrack of ultra-contem- Arnaud Desplechin’s movies-within-a- worth hanging around to put the pieces back porary pop songs, the majority of which I’m movie Gallic star vehicle (Cotillard! Amalric! together again. not sure we will still be listening to a decade Gainsbourg!) shuffles moods nearly as often Ismael’s Ghosts finds a worthwhile story of hence. The animation is excellent: You can as the manic director whose past threatens to ghostly l’amour fou in this uneven love triangle see the individual bristles of the rabbits’ fur, destroy his present. where nobody is certain about what they want.

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 63 As the exasperated paragon of normalcy, Sylvia curiosity-piece movie about nostalgia, stuff, THE YOUNG KARL MARX is left with the least to do while Carlotta and and the things (in all sense of the word) that Ismael rake over the embers of their relation- we leave behind. THE ORCHARD/Color/2.35/Dolby Digital/118 Mins./ Rated R ship. Cotillard’s fascinatingly inscrutable take on Nostalgia begins as the misadventures of the ephemeral Carlotta is the most engaging of the preternaturally even-keeled Dan (John Cast: August Diehl, Stefan Konarske, Vicky Krieps, the three performances. Her blasé nature hints Ortiz). An abnormally empathetic insurance Olivier Gourmet, Michael Brandner, Alexander Scheer, at great secrets to be divulged, a madness to agent who seems to have seen it all, Dan acts Hannah Steele, Ivan Franek, Niels Bruno Schmidt. Directed by Raoul Peck. match Ismael’s, or both. as point person for the company whenever Screenplay: Pascal Bonitzer, Raoul Peck. Before Desplechin gets even close to that people make claims about either insuring Produced by Nicolas Blanc, Rémi Grellety, Robert moment, though, he spins the movie off into their valuables or wondering why they Guédiguian, Raoul Peck. tangential subplots, flashbacks, and further haven’t gotten paid yet. The first assignment Director of photography: Kolja Brandt. Production designer: Benoît Barouh. scenes from Ismael’s Ivan spy movie. These am- of his that we see has Dan going to the Editor: Frédérique Broos. plify the tone of a story that had settled into a house of an old man (Bruce Dern) to assess Music: Alexei Aigui quieter place after the initial chaos of Carlotta’s whether everything looks kosher before Costume designer: Paule Mangenot. return. Some of the segments have a worth- the appraiser shows up. It’s not the most An AGAT Films and Cie, Velvet Film, Rohfilm GmbH and Artémis Prods. production. while energy, especially the further adventures auspicious of beginnings, with a tiresome In French, German and English. of Ivan—a worthwhile movie on its own—and debate racketing around subjects such as “Is the unexpected slapstick furor of the storyline anything worth anything?” and Ortiz’s serene Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck where Ismael’s producer Zwy (Hippolyte unflappability banging up against Dern’s usual delivers an intellectually engaging, if not Girardot) desperately tries to bring the crazed glint of teeth-grinding irritation. terribly exciting, biography of Marx and his filmmaker back to his stalled project. But the Suggesting nothing so much as the pilot cronies launching a movement. shuffling of mood and style without enough of episode of a new hour-long CBS drama a guiding principle saps the movie of its mo- about a mild-mannered insurance agent, A compelling por- mentum. It also cheapens the borderline-tragic Dan goes off to his next assignment. Helen trayal of the fruitful material featuring Henri and wastes Szabó’s (Ellen Burstyn) is a widow whose house just meeting of great furiously committed performance. burned down. She is first seen wandering in minds, the multilingual As a quasi-comedy about an artist chasing the ashes, talking to Dan about the horrible biographical drama his own tail, Ismael’s Ghosts eventually falls drama of the moment where you have The Young Karl Marx prey to many of the same tendencies it initially to “decide what you take from a burning plots a wordy course AUGUST DIEHL appeared to be satirizing. —Chris Barsanti building.” Grief-stricken, almost as though through the origins she had lost her husband again, Helen lives of Marx and co-writer Friedrich Engels’ in a kind of fog where each piece she finds seminal political pamphlet Manifesto of the NOSTALGIA triggers another poignant memory. “These Communist Party. are the remainders of our lives,” she narrates The outspoken philosopher and BLEECKER STREET/Color/2.35/114 Mins./Rated R in one of many such arch pronouncements in journalist Marx (August Diehl), a German Cast: Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn, Catherine Keener, Bruce Alex Ross Perry’s script. “What is the value Jew, resides in 1840s Paris with his wife Dern, Nick Offerman, John Ortiz, James Le Gros, Am- of anything?” she asks in another all-too- Jenny (Vicky Krieps), a loyal believer in her ber Tamblyn, Annalise Basso, Mikey Madison, Jennifer obvious query. husband’s theories on labor and society. Mudge, Patton Oswalt, Chris Marquette. For the second half of Nostalgia, the task Born of an aristocratic family in the couple’s Directed by Mark Pellington. Written by Alex Ross Perry. of symbolic significance is handed off none hometown of Trier, Jenny is happy to forgo Produced by Tom Gorai, Mark Pellington, Josh Baraun. too neatly to Will (Jon Hamm), a Las Vegas the trappings of wealth, and any relationship Executive producers: O’Shea Read, Alex Ross Perry, Jim dealer in pricey memorabilia, who agrees to with her kin, to stand by her middle-class Steele. take a look at the key item in Ellen’s limited husband’s struggle for the poor and working Co-producer: Bobbi Sue Luther. Director of photography: Matt Sakatani Roe. stash of fire-surviving objects, an autographed class. “Happiness requires rebellion,” she Production designer: Paul L. Jackson. baseball hit by Ted Williams that had been pronounces. Editor: Arndt-Wulf Peemöller among her husband’s family heirlooms. This Deemed arrogant by his colleagues, Marx Music: Laurent Eyquem. leads to more rumination on the nature of generally lives up to his principles and Jenny’s Costume designer: Laura Precon. A Bleecker Street presentation of a Pellington/Gorai things, especially after Will flies home to faith in his vision. He’s more than willing to production. help his sister (Catherine Keener) clean out spend a few nights in a Prussian jail to stand their childhood home following their parents’ against censorship and defend his subversive, This curious and dull think-piece of an decision to downsize and move to Florida. antimonarchist articles and essays. Marx’s anthology movie strings together stories on This part of the movie hits with slightly writing gains him some notoriety among the theme of objects and the memories they more force, in part because of a surprise Europe’s great thinkers of the day, and he and trigger without ever finding the right tone. tragedy that leaves a father trying to Jenny’s growing family gets by, barely, on his figure out how to find things to display at sporadic writer’s income, supplemented by When Susan Sontag wrote that the funeral when his dead daughter kept the generosity of friends. But no friend can photography “converts the whole world everything important on her computer. come to their aid when they’re brusquely into a cemetery,” she could have easily But Pellington—who has transitioned exiled from France, along with several other expanded that to include just about any unfortunately from a helmer of visually rabble-rousers of their political cohort. personal possession. Everything we own, striking and oddball thrillers like Arlington Landing in Brussels, Marx crosses paths from a favorite album from adolescence Road and The Mothman Prophecies to this with fellow twenty-something iconoclast to a souvenir spoon from that visit to the brand of unaffecting drama—shoots Friedrich “Freddie” Engels (Stefan Konarske), Grand Canyon, stands ready as a potential everything with such unremarkable cool blue the German son of a factory owner. repository of some memory of us after detachment that nothing happening onscreen Presented on a parallel story track destined we are gone. That prehistoric sense of has much of an impact. to collide with Marx’s, Engels moonlights possessions being imbued with some kind Nostalgia doesn’t turn the world into a from his desk job at his father’s textile mill of animist spirit is shot all through Mark cemetery. But it doesn’t exactly make it into in Manchester, England, to study the union Pellington’s dramaturgical flatline of a a lively place, either. —Chris Barsanti activism of workers like Mary Burns (Hannah

64 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 Steele), an Irish-born proto-Norma Rae who EARLY MAN M.V.P. and game-changer, however, turns out raises hell with management at the mill over to be the film’s Gromit substitute, Hognob, a the treatment of child labor. LIONSGATE/Color/1.85/Dolby Atmos & DTS: X/ saber-toothed wild-boar sidekick who hangs 85 Mins./Rated PG Freddie tracks Mary down in the city’s with Dug. Irish slum, where he hopes to find subjects Voice Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie As if he didn’t have enough to do in his for his treatise on living conditions of the Williams, Timothy Spall, Miriam Margolyes, Richard solo directing debut, Nick Park grunts and working class in Manchester and Leeds. In a Ayoade, Mark Williams, Rob Brydon, Nick Park. growls out this porcine beastie as well. In Directed by Nick Park. similar fashion, he hunts down Marx, whom Screenplay: Mark Burton, James Higginson. addition, Aardman Animations’ star writer- he recalls meeting at a salon hosted by the Story: Nick Park, John O’Farrell. producer conjured this Flintstone-y slice of famed writer and artist Bettina von Arnim. Produced by Richard Beek, Peter Lord, Carla Shelley, prehistory, then passed it on to scripters The film, directed by Raoul Peck David Sproxton, Nick Park. Mark Burton and James Higginson to punt Executive producers: Alicia Gold, Ron Halpern, Didier (I Am Not Your Negro), spends much of Lupfer, Danny Perkins, Ben Roberts, Natascha and pun across the finish line. its first hour flagrantly name-dropping Wharton. The Bronze new-agers have some prominent figures within, and opposed to, Cinematography: Dave Alex Riddett, Charles Copping, Paul hilarious heavies, most prominently Lord Marx and Engel’s fast-evolving movement. Smith, Peter Sorg. Nooth, who ruthlessly misrules the kingdom Art directors: Richard Edmunds, Matt Perry. Even a well-informed viewer might need Editor: Sim Evan-Jones. of Queen Oofeefa. Miriam Margolyes weighs several addenda of footnotes to tell all Music: Harry Gregson-Williams, Tom Howe. in deliciously and imperiously as Her Majesty, the historical players apart. Ultimately, A , StudioCanal, BFI and Aardman but her thunder (and everybody else’s) is whether one is well-versed in the works Animations presentation. stolen by Tom Hiddleston’s Nooth, who of Hegelians, Anarchists or Communists, The very, very B.C. Early Man welcomes speaks in a fractured French rarely heard or none of the above, the film shuffles you to a wonderfully ditzy world of sports as outside of a Monty Python flick. He has names and faces into fairly uncomplicated played in the Neo-Pleistocene era by plasti- trouble making himself understood. Once, categories of those who agree with Marx cine figures. when his guards capture Dug, he orders and those who don’t. Those who don’t them, “Take him away and kill him—slowly.” usually are summarily put in their place with Should you require a The next shot is the guards marching Dug some withering polemic delivered by Marx cartoon-feature recap away in slow-mo. “No no no,” Nooth or his proxies, Engels and Jenny. of this year’s Super amends, “Take him away at a normal pace— Diehl, Krieps and Konarske each find a Bowl upset where the and then kill him!” credible, dynamic approach to playing the flawed and unexciting Another happy invention is a message lead trio’s impenetrable idealism. Diehl’s Philadelphia Eagles parrot transporting info from queen to Marx is confident but not incapable of sent the puffed-up and ROB BRYDON AND Nooth and back again. He’s mouthed off by expressing vulnerability. He smokes cheap mighty New England TOM HIDDLESTON Rob Brydon, who dutifully repeats rude and cigars, makes love, cuddles with his wife, and Patriots to the showers inappropriate reactions to the messages, in his own words is no anarchist, even if he’s without their usual win, you might check out much to Nooth’s shamed chagrin. determined to upset the world order. Krieps, the football melee in Early Man where the One passing note: What the British building on her recent fine performance in Brutes go head-to-head with Real Bronzio. call football will reach American eyes as ’s Phantom Thread, The Brutes are the dirty underdogs soccer. That game was accidentally invented, essays an enthralling version here, too, of you’re to root for—a mangy little colony of according to this film, when a red-hot meteor devotion guided by intelligence, not just Stone Age stragglers which civilization ran fragment landed in a caveman village and they submission. off and left to their own meager devices. The started kicking it around to one another. Pictured as young rhetorical warriors elite, neo-epochal Bronze Age colonizers Early Man wears well the many ready to mount a revolution wielding the who invaded their domain and usurped their technological advances that have been made pen or the sword, Marx and Engels, and era are represented by the swaggering, in claymation and stop-motion photography to some degree Jenny, gather an aura of assured Real Bronzio, a team led by a vain, during the 28 years that Park and his Bristol romance and righteousness that can come hair-flowing, lantern-jawed hunk patterned elves have toiled in animation. It makes a real off as propagandistic. Engels woos Marx after you-know-who. nice paleontological clambake. into philosophical and political partnership The game is pretty high-stakes as these —Harry Haun by praising the wild-haired writer as “the Age collisions go: If the Stoners win, the greatest materialist thinker of our time. Bronze invaders will leave and there will be You’re a genius.” The movie appears to peace in the valley; if the interlopers win, support the sentiment. the Stoners will become mine minions of the For the Latest Reviews And any actual romance in the story conquering football champs. www.filmjournal.com inspires mixed results: While Marx and Throwing the match further off-kilter Jenny are like soul mates, the coupling of is the fact that the Brutes missed football Freddie and Mary feels like a complete practice in its entirety. All this is written on afterthought. Depicting period pleasures is the walls in hieroglyphics: A row of cavemen not this film’s priority, as could be inferred mooning each other translates as this from the dour palette of browns and happened “many, many moons ago.” grays and lengthy, complex debates about Dug, who captains these underdogs and capital and Communism. Rather, The Young is boyishly voiced by Oscar-winner Eddie Karl Marx endeavors to characterize the Redmayne, refuses to be intimidated by the committed visionary behind an era-defining warning on the wall. He assembles a ragtag worldview, and it succeeds by depicting team from his fellow hunters-and-gatherers how the power of his thinking—influenced to rise to the challenge. Coached and cheer- by Engels and anarchists like Bakunin led by Goona (Maisie Williams of “Game and Proudhon, among others—led to a of Thrones”), a pot-peddler and athletic manifesto that moved all of civilization. feminist barred from the sport by her gender, —André Hereford they sally forth in their silly fashion. The

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 65 INTERNATIONAL • SINCE 1934 • FOR THE LATEST FILM NEWS AND RELEASE DATES WWW.FILMJOURNAL.COM CALENDAR OF FEATURE RELEASES

VOL. 121, NO. 3

A24 (646) 568-6015 THE CINEMA GUILD (212) 685-6242 FILMRISE (718) 369-9090 Now THE DISASTER ARTIST (310) 724-5678 2/23 EL MAR LA MAR Now THE BOY DOWNSTAIRS , Dave Franco 6/29 SORRY TO BOTHER YOU Dir. Joshua Bonnetta, Zosia Mamet, Matthew Shear C/Atmos/103 mins/R Lakeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson J.P. Sniadecki 90 mins Now LADY BIRD 105 mins 3/9 CLAIRE’S CAMERA TBA WOMAN ON FIRE Saoirse Ronan, Dir. 10/19 WHERE’D YOU GO BERNADETTE Dir. Hong Sang-soo Dir. Julie Sokolow 93 mins./R Cate Blanchett 69 mins TBA MOTHERLAND Now THE FLORIDA PROJECT 12/14 UNTITLED ADAM MCKAY MOVIE TBA THE DAY AFTER Dir. Ramona S. Diaz Dir. Sean Baker 3/29 UNTITLED BABAK ANVARI FILM Dir. Hong Sang-soo C/112 mins/R Armie Hammer FIRST RUN FEATURES 3/2 THE VANISHING OF SIDNEY HALL TBA THE SISTERS BROTHERS CJ ENTERTAINMENT (212) 243-0600 Logan Lerman, Elle Fanning Jake Gyllenhaal, Joaquin Phoenix 2/23 GOLDEN SLUMBER 4/6 ACORN AND THE FIRESTORM 120 mins/R TBA IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Dir. No Dong-seok Dir. Reuben Atlas, Sam Pollard 3/30 LEAN ON PETE Dir. Barry Jenkins 4/13 NANA Travis Fimmel, Steve Buscemi COHEN MEDIA GROUP Dir. Serena Dykman 121 mins (310) 622-9000 (646) 380-7929 100 mins 4/13 A PRAYER BEFORE DAWN 3/9 THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT Now DOUBLE LOVER TBA AMERICAN SOCIALIST: THE LIFE AND Dir. Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire Christina Hendricks, Marine Vacth. Dir. François Ozon TIMES OF EUGENE VICTOR DEBS 6/8 HEREDITARY Martin Henderson C/108 mins/NR Dir. Yale Strom Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne 8/17 THREE SECONDS Now THE INSULT TBA STRANGERS ON THE EARTH 126 mins Joel Kinnaman Dir. Ziad Doueiri 2018 FIRST REFORMED Fall SERENITY C/DD/112 mins/R FOCUS FEATURES Ethan Hawke Matthew McConaughey Now FACES PLACES (646) 543-3303 108 mins TBA DRUNK PARENTS Dirs. JR, Agnès Varda Now PHANTOM THREAD 2018 HOT SUMMER NIGHTS Alec Baldwin 89 mins/PG Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps Timothée Chalamet TBA DESTINATION WEDDING 2/23 KING OF HEARTS [reissue] DD/132/R 2018 WOMAN WALKS AHEAD Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder Alan Bates, Dir. Philippe de Broca Now DARKEST HOUR Jessica Chastain 102 mins Gary Oldman, Dir. Joe Wright 101 mins BLEECKER STREET (212) 951-5700 4/6 SPIRAL Atmos/115 mins/PG-13 TBA HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES Now NOSTALGIA Dir. Laura Fairrie 3/9 THOROUGHBREDS Dir. John Cameron Mitchell Jon Hamm, Ellen Burstyn 79 mins Anya Taylor-Joy, Olivia Cooke TBA UNDER THE SILVER LAKE C/114 mins/ R 4/27 GODARD MON AMOUR 90 mins Andrew Garfield 3/23 UNSANE Louis Garrel, Stacy Martin 3/16 7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE TBA SLICE Claire Foy, Joshua Leonard 7/20 GAUGUIN Rosamund Pike, Daniel Brühl Dir. Austin Vesely 98 mins/R Vincent Cassel 4/20 TULLY TBA BACKSTABBING FOR BEGINNERS 4/13 BEIRUT 8/3 MY SON Charlize Theron, Dir. Theo James Jon Hamm, Rosamund Pike Guillaume Canet 94 mins/R 109 mins 8/24 RODIN 6/8 WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? ABRAMORAMA (914) 741-1818 4/27 DISOBEDIENCE Vincent Lindon Dir. Morgan Neville Feb. CHASING GREAT Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams TBA THE ASPERN PAPERS 94 mins Richie McCaw 114 mins Jonathan Rhys Meyers 8/17 CAPTIVE STATE 105 mins 6/15 ON CHESIL BEACH John Goodman, Ashton Sanders 3/23 WHAT WE STARTED Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle 8/31 THE LITTLE STRANGER Dirs. Bert Marcus, Cyrus Saidi 105 mins (310) 277-3500 Domhnall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson 94 mins 6/29 LEAVE NO TRACE Now HOSTILES 9/28 BOY ERASED 2018 THE FIRST TO DO IT Ben Foster, Dir. Debra Granik Christian Bale, Rosamund Pike Lucas Hedges, Dirs. Coodie Simmons, 108 mins C/127 mins/R Dir. Joel Edgerton Chike Ozah 7/13 MCQUEEN 3/2 HONDROS 11/2 MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS Alexander McQueen Dir. Greg Campbell Saoirse Ronan. Margot Robbie 8/14 PAPILLON 89 mins 2018 ANGEL HAS FALLEN 3/9 GRINGO [STX] Charlie Hunnam 3/9 THE HURRICANE HEIST Gerard Butler Charlize Theron, Joel Edgerton 9/21 COLETTE Toby Kebbell, Maggie Grace 2018 BLACK KLANSMAN 4/6 YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE Keira Knightley 103 mins/PG-13 Dir. Spike Lee Joaquin Phoenix, Dir. Lynne Ramsay TBA THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE 3/16 DEMON HOUSE TBA PATIENCE [ID] 85 mins/R Jesse Eisenberg Dir. Zak Bagans Scr. 5/11 DON’T WORRY, TBA WHAT THEY HAD 3/23 SHIFTING GEARS TBA THE TRAP HE WON’T GET FAR ON FOOT Hilary Swank 3/30 AFTER LOUIE Benicio Del Toro, Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill Alan Cumming Dir. Harmony Korine 113 mins/R CBS FILMS (310) 575-7700 4/6 CHAPPAQUIDDICK TBA MUSTANG 9/21 LIFE ITSELF Now WINCHESTER Jason Clarke, Ed Helms Matthias Schoenaerts Olivia Wilde Helen Mirren, Jason Clarke 107 mins/PG-13 TBA LORO TBA BEAUTIFUL BOY 99 mins/PG-13 6/28/19 48 METERS DOWN Dir. Paolo Sorrentino Steve Carell, TBA CORDUROY [ID] Dir. Johannes Roberts TBA ON THE BASIS OF SEX Timothée Chalamet Dir. Tim Story Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer TBA PETERLOO FILM MOVEMENT (212) 941-7744 TBA REFLECTIVE LIGHT Dir. CINEDIGM ENTERTAINMENT Now OH LUCY! Scarlett Johansson TBA SUSPIRIA 2/23 THE CHAMBER Shinobu Terajima, Josh Hartnett Dir. Luca Guadagnino Dir. Ben Parker 95 mins FOX SEARCHLIGHT TBA A RAINY DAY IN NEW YORK 87 mins Winter JASPER JONES (310) 369-1000 Dir. Woody Allen 3/2 DANCE ACADEMY: THE COMEBACK Dir. Rachel Perkins Now THE SHAPE OF WATER TBA THE AERONAUTS Dir. Jeffrey Walker TBA BAD LUCKY GOAT Sally Hawkins, Dir. Tom Harper 3/16 DEAR DICTATOR Dir. Samir Oliveros Dir. Guillermo del Toro Michael Caine, Katie Holmes DD/123 mins/R

Listing includes release date (TBA=To Be Announced), film title, cast or director, and technical information: C=Cinemascope • D=Dolby • DD=Dolby Digital • DTS=Datasat Digital • SD=Sony Digital • EX=Surround EX • LF=Large Format • ID=In Development

66 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 Now THREE BILLBOARDS 3/23 PYEWACKET TBA A SIMPLE FAVOR Summer ASSASSINATION NATION OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Dir. Adam MacDonald Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively Odessa Young Frances McDormand, 3/30 LOVE AFTER LOVE [SUNDANCE] Dir. Paul Feig 110 mins Woody Harrelson Chris O’Dowd. Andie MacDowell TBA THE MERCY Fall MONSTERS AND MEN C/115 mins/R 91 mins Colin Firth Dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green 3/23 ISLE OF DOGS 4/13 WILDLING TBA SHAUN THE SHEEP 2 TBA THE BEACH BUM Voices of Bryan Cranston, Liv Tyler Dir. Richard Starzak Matthew McConaughey Edward Norton Fall WILDLIFE Dir. Harmony Korine Dir. Jake Gyllenhaal, Carey Mulligan MAGNOLIA PICTURES (917) 408-9530 TBA ROXANE ROXANE PG-13 104 mins 3/9 LEANING INTO THE WIND: Dir. Michael Larnell 4/20 SUPER TROOPERS 2 TBA LET THE SUNSHINE IN ANDY GOLDSWORTHY Dir. Jay Chandrasekhar Juliette Binoche Dir. Thomas Riedelsheimer NETFLIX 10/19 CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? TBA GHOST STORIES 93 mins Now MUTE Melissa McCarthy, Martin Freeman 3/23 ISMAEL’S GHOSTS Alexander Skarsgård, Paul Rudd Dir. Marielle Heller Marion Cotillard 126 mins TBA THE AFTERMATH JANUS FILMS (212) 756-8822 C/114 mins/R 3/23 GAME OVER, MAN! Alexander Skarsgård Now 24 FRAMES 3/30 THE CHINA HUSTLE Dir. Kyle Newacheck TBA OLD MAN AND THE GUN Dir. Abbas Kiarostami Dir. Jed Rothstein TBA TRIPLE FRONTIER Robert Redford, Dir. David Lowery 114 mins 82 mins Dir. J.C. Chandor TBA THE FAVOURITE 3/14 EIGHT HOURS DON’T MAKE A DAY 4/13 MARROWBONE TBA BIRD BOX Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder George MacKay, Anya Taylor-Joy Sandra Bullock Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos 472 mins 4/27 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ Dir. Susanne Bier TBA PALE BLUE DOT April COLD WATER André Leon Talley TBA APOSTLE Natalie Portman Dir. Olivier Assayas 94 mins Dir. Gareth Evans 5/11 BOOM FOR REAL: TBA FIRST MATCH GKIDS (212) 349-0330 KINO LORBER (212) 629-6880 THE LATE TEENAGE YEARS Dir. Olivia Newman Now MIND GAME Now TEHRAN TABOO of Jean-Michel Basquiat TBA HOLD THE DARK Dir. Masaki Yuasa Dir. Ali Soozandeh 6/8 UNDER THE TREE DIR. JEREMY SAULNIEr Now MARY AND THE WITCH’S FLOWER 96 mins Dir. Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurðsson TBA QUINCY Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi Now LEGEND OF THE MOUNTAIN [REISSUE] 7/4 NICO, 1988 Dirs. Alan Hicks, Rashida Jones DD/103 mins/PG Dir. King Hu Dir. Susanna Nicchiarelli TBA THE AFTER PARTY Now THE BREADWINNER 191 mins 7/20 GENERATION WEALTH [AMAZON] Dir. Ian Edelman Dir. Nora Twomey Now WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER Dir. Lauren Greenfield TBA THE ANGEL 94 mins/PG-13 Dir. Amos Gitai 106 mins Marwan Kenzari Feb. THE BIG BAD FOX & OTHER TALES 84 mins TBA RBG TBA THE IRISHMAN Dirs. Patrick Imbert, Now THE SACRIFICE [REISSUE] Dirs. Julie Cohen, Betsy West Dir. Martin Scorsese Benjamin Renner Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky 97 mins TBA THE KISSING BOOTH 83 mins/G 3/16 KEEP THE CHANGE Dir. Vince Marcello Summer SATELLITE GIRL AND MILK COW Dir. Rachel Israel MGM TBA THE WEEK OF Dir. Chang Hyung-yun 3/30 PERSONAL PROBLEMS [REISSUE] 3/2 DEATH WISH Adam Sandler TBA LU OVER THE WALL Dir. Bill Gunn Bruce Willis, Dir. Eli Roth TBA THE WITCHER Dir. Masaki Yuasa 4/11 HITLER’S HOLLYWOOD 6/29 VALLEY GIRL Dir. Tomek Baginski TBA NIGHT IS SHORT, WALK ON GIRL Dir. Rüdiger Suchsland Jessica Rothe TBA THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD Dir. Masaki Yuasa 105 mins 8/10 NASTY WOMEN Dir. Morgan Neville 4/13 GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson TBA THREE-SIXTY GRAVITAS VENTURES (310) 388-9362 Dir. Sophie Fiennes 9/14 FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY Dir. Rock Davis Now BOMB CITY 115 mins Dwayne Johnson Dir. Jameson Brooks 9/21 OPERATION FINALE (323) 464-6034 95 mins LIONSGATE (310) 314-2000 Oscar Isaac 3/23 MIDNIGHT SUN 2/23 7 GUARDIANS OF THE TOMB Now EARLY MAN 11/21 CREED 2 Bella Thorne. Patrick Schwarzenegger Kelsey Grammer, Kellan Lutz Voices of Eddie Redmayne, Michael B. Jordan 5/18 SHOW DOGS Tom Hiddleston 10/11/19 THE ADDAMS FAMILY Voices of Allan Cumming, GREAT POINT MEDIA Atmos-DTS:X/85 mins/PG Voice of Oscar Isaac Stanley Tucci 3/2 SUBMISSION Now THE COMMUTER 6/8 THE SILENCE Stanley Tucci, Addison Timlin Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga Kiernan Shipka C/106 mins/NR C/DD/105 mins/PG-13 Now LOOKING GLASS 8/10 A.X.L. 4/13 AARDVARK Now WONDER Nicolas Cage, Robin Tunney 1/18/19 UNTITLED PLAYMOBIL MOVIE Zachary Quinto Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts 2/23 HALF MAGIC Dir. Lino DiSalvo C/Atmos/113 mins/PG Heather Graham, Angela Kinsey TBA LABYRINTH GOOD DEED ENTERTAINMENT 4/6 SPINNING MAN 100 mins/R Johnny Depp PERMISSION BEAST OF BURDEN FINDING STEVE MCQUEEN Now Guy Pearce, Pierce Brosnan 2018 TBA Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens Rated R Daniel Radcliffe Forest Whitaker 96 mins 4/13 OVERBOARD TBA ARCTIC JUSTICE: THUNDER SQUAD 3/16 JOURNEY’S END , Eugenio Derbez (312) 492-9364 Jeremy Renner Sam Claflin, Paul Bettany PG-13 3/9 OUR BLOOD IS WINE 107 mins 7/17 BLINDSPOTTING Dir. Emily Railsback (310) 449-3000 Daveed Diggs 3/23 BACK TO BURGUNDY Now EVERY DAY GUNPOWDER & SKY 95 mins Dir. Cédric Klapisch Angourie Rice, Maria Bello 3/16 RAMEN HEADS 8/3 THE SPY WHO DUMPED ME 113 mins 95 mins/PG-13 Dir. Koki Shigeno Kate McKinnon 5/4 THE GUARDIANS TBA DESCENDANT 93 mins 9/21 ROBIN HOOD Dir. Xavier Beauvois Taylor Schilling Taron Egerton, Eve Hewson 138 mins (479) 521-5774 Fall 2018 HARD POWDER Summer A MEMOIR OF WAR THE ORCHARD (212) 201-9280 2/23 DEATH HOUSE Liam Neeson Mélanie Thierry Now BPM (BEATS PER MINUTE) Dir. Harrison Smith 1/11 HELLBOY Dir. Robin Campillo 3/23 GETTING GRACE David Harbour NEON C/144 mins Dir. Daniel Roebuck 2/8 FLARSKY Now I, TONYA 2/23 THE YOUNG KARL MARX Charlize Theron Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan Dir. Raoul Peck IFC FILMS (212) 324-8500 3/1/19 CHAOS WALKING C/DD/121 mins/R C/DD/118 mins/R Now THE CAGE FIGHTER Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland Now BEFORE WE VANISH 3/16 FLOWER Dir. Jeff Unay TBA JULIET, N AKED [ROADSIDE A TTRACTIONS] Dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa 90 mins/R 81 mins Rose Byrne 129 mins , Adam Scott Now THE FEMALE BRAIN TBA THE NIGHTINGALE Spring GEMINI 3/30 OUTSIDE IN Whitney Cummings, James Marsden Sam Claflin Lola Kirke, Zoë Kravitz Edie Falco, Jay Duplass 98 mins TBA THE EXPENDABLES 4 [ID] 93 mins 109 mins Now THE HOUSEMAID Sylvester Stallone Spring BORG VS. MCENROE 4/20 THE DEVIL AND FATHER AMORTH Derek Nguyen TBA PLUS ONE [ID] Shia LaBeouf Dir. William Friedkin 2/23 THE CURED Jessica Chastain, Cecily Strong 107 mins 4/27 KINGS Ellen Page TBA JEKYLL Spring RACER AND THE JAILBIRD , Daniel Craig 96 mins/R Dir. Ruben Fleischer Matthew Schoenaerts 92 mins 3/2 MIDNIGHTERS TBA HIGHLANDER [ID] Spring REVENGE TBA UNDER THE EIFFEL TOWER Dir. Julius Ramsay Dir. Chad Stahleski Matilda Lutz Matt Walsh 3/9 THE DEATH OF STALIN TBA MONSTER HUNT 2 Spring THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS TBA AMERICAN ANIMALS [MOVIEPASS] Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale Dir. Raman Hui Dir. Tim Wardle Evan Peters 107 mins/R 96 mins

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 67 LABORATORIES TBA ENZO FERRARI [ID] 8/3 THE EQUALIZER 2 STRAND RELEASING (310) 395-5002 (212) 219-4029 Dir. Michael Mann Denzel Washington Now HAVE A NICE DAY Now SONG OF GRANITE TBA UNTITLED WORLD WAR Z SEQUEL 8/17 WHITE BOY RICK Dir. Jian Liu Dir. Pat Collins Brad Pitt, Dir. David Fincher Matthew McConaughey 77 mins 104 mins TBA SONIC THE HEDGEHOG [ID] 8/24 SLENDER MAN Now SOUVENIR Now BRIMSTONE & GLORY Dir. Jeff Fowler Joey King Isabelle Huppert Dir. Viktor Jakovleski TBA YOUR NAME 9/14 ALPHA 90 mins 67 mins Prod. J.J. Abrams Kodi Smit-McPhee 3/23 THE WORKSHOP Now THE ROAD MOVIE TBA COMING TO AMERICA SEQUEL 9/21 GOOSEBUMPS: HORRORLAND Dir. Laurent Cantet Dir. Dmitrii Kalashnikov Dir. Jonathan Levine Jack Black, Dir. Rob Letterman 113 mins 2/23 NOVEMBER TBA INSTANT FAMILY 10/5 VENOM Dir. Rainer Sarnet Mark Wahlberg Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams STX ENTERTAINMENT (310) 742-2300 TBA SUMMER 1993 TBA PET SEMATARY 12/14 SPIDER-MAN: I NTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Now DEN OF THIEVES Dir. Carla Simon Pipó Dirs. Kevin Kolsch, Dirs. Bob Persichetti, Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber 96 mins Dennis Widmyer Peter Ramsey C/140 mins/R TBA BEAUTY AND THE DOGS TBA 12/21 HOLMES & WATSON Now MOLLY’S GAME Dirs. Khaled Walid Barsaoui, Scr. Nick Stoller Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly Jessica Chastain, Kaouther Ben Hania TBA 48 HOURS 5/17/19 UNTITLED MEN IN BLACK SPINOFF Dir. Dirs. Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie 6/7/19 CHARLIE’S ANGELS C/140 mins PALADIN (212) 337-9500 Dir. 3/9 GRINGO [AMAZON STUDIOS] 3/2 THEY REMAIN PURE FLIX ENTERTAINMENT 8/9/19 UNTITLED CHARLES MANSON FILM Joel Edgerton, Charlize Theron William Jackson Harper (480) 991-2258 Dir. 110 mins/R 102 mins 2/16 SAMSON 11/8/19 JAMES BOND 25 6/1 ADRIFT April WHERE IS KYRA? Taylor James, Billy Zane 5/8/20 BARBIE Baltasar Kormákur Michelle Pfeiffer, Kiefer Sutherland PG-13 Anne Hathaway 6/29 I FEEL PRETTY 98 mins 3/30 GOD’S NOT DEAD: 11/6/20 VIVO Amy Schumer, Michelle Williams A Light in Darkness Dir. Kirk De Micco 1/25 UNTITLED STX ACTION/THRILLER PARAMOUNT (212) 654-7000 / TBA DOC SAVAGE 5/10/19 UGLY DOLLS (323) 956-5000 RLJ ENTERTAINMENT (301) 608-2115 Dwayne Johnson Dir. Robert Rodriguez Now DADDY’S HOME 2 3/23 I KILL GIANTS TBA UNCHARTED TBA THE IRISHMAN [NETFLIX] Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg Zoe Saldana Tom Holland, Dir. Shawn Levy Robert De Niro, Al Pacino C/98 mins/PG-13 TBA THE BRINGING [ID] Dir. Martin Scorsese 2/23 ANNIHILATION ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS Michael Peña TBA KURSK Natalie Portman, Tessa Thompson (323) 882-8490 TBA MULAN Colin Firth C/DD/115 mins/R Now THE PARTY Dir. Alex Graves TBA SECOND ACT 3/23 Patrick Clarkson, Dir. Sally Potter TBA 21 JUMP STREET SPINOFF Jennifer Lopez Voices of Johnny Depp, C/71 mins/R Scr. Rodney Rothman TBA STEEL SOLDIERS James McAvoy Now FOREVER MY GIRL TBA DARK MATTER [ID] Prod. Robert Zemeckis 4/6 A QUIET PLACE Alex Roe, Travis Tritt Dir. Roland Emmerich Emily Blunt, John Krasinski C/104 mins/PG TBA MARIAN [ID] 20TH CENTURY FOX 5/11 ACTION POINT 3/16 I CAN ONLY IMAGINE Margot Robbie (213) 277-2211 / (212) 261-2500 Dir. Tom Kirkby Dirs. Andrew & Jon Erwin TBA INNER CITY Now MAZE RUNNER: THE DEATH CURE 7/27 MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE—FALLOUT 3/30 FINDING YOUR FEET Denzel Washington, Dir. Wes Ball Tom Cruise, Imelda Staunton, Timothy Spall TBA SON OF SHAOLIN C/Atmos-Auro/142 mins/PG-13 Dir. Christopher McQuarrie 111 mins Dir. Rick Famuyiwa Now THE GREATEST SHOWMAN 10/26 OVERLORD 5/11 BEAST TBA FOR LIFE Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson Wyatt Russell Dir. Michael Pearce Will Smith C/DD/105 mins/PG 12/21 BUMBLEBEE TBA UNTITLED WHITNEY HOUSTON DOC TBA MORBIUS THE LIVING VAMPIRE Now THE POST Dir. Travis Knight Dir. Kevin Macdonald TBA YOU ARE MY FRIEND Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, 1/11 WHAT MEN WANT TBA JULIET, NAKED [LIONSGATE] Tom Hanks Dir. Steven Spielberg Taraji P. Henson Rose Byrne, Ethan Hawke TBA BURIAL RITES [TRI-STAR] 115 mins/PG -13 2/22/19 THE RHYTHM SECTION 105 mins Jennifer Lawrence Now FERDINAND [3D] Jude Law Dir. Carlos Saldanha 3/15/19 AMUSEMENT PARK SABAN FILMS (310) 203-5850 C/Atmos-DTS:X/106 mins/PG Voices of Mila Kunis, 3/9 THE FORGIVEN (212) 833-8833 3/2 RED SPARROW Jennifer Garner Forest Whitaker, Eric Bana Now LOVELESS Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton 4/12/19 UNTITLED TYLER PERRY MOVIE 115 mins Dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev C/Atmos/139 mins/R 6/28/19 TRANSFORMERS 7 TBA TRUE CRIMES 127 mins/R 3/16 LOVE, SIMON 7/12/19 TOP GUN: MAVERICK Jim Carrey Now A FANTASTIC WOMAN Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner Tom Cruise TBA LIZZIE Dir. Sebastián Lelio C/109 mins/PG-13 7/26/19 Untitled Terminator Project Kristen Stewart, Chloë Sevigny C/104 mins/R 5/18 DEADPOOL 2 9/27/19 EVEREST 105 mins/R Now CALL ME BY YOUR NAME Ryan Reynolds Dirs. Tim Johnson, Todd Wilderman TBA THE YELLOW BIRDS Armie Hammer, 7/20 ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL 10/4/19 GEMINI MAN Alden Ehrenreich Timothée Chalamet Dir. Robert Rodriguez Will Smith, Dir. Ang Lee DD/131 mins/R 8/3 PREDATOR 10/11/19 ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK? [ID] Now FILM STARS DON’T DIE Dir. Shane Black 3/27/20 GI JOE (310) 860-3100 IN LIVERPOOL 9/14 THE DARKEST MINDS 5/15/20 UNTITLED 3/16 SWEET COUNTRY Annette Bening, Jamie Bell Amandla Stenberg 7/31/20 THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE Dir. Warwick Thornton C/105 mins/R 11/2 X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Voice of 110 mins 3/2 FOXTROT Sophie Turner, Jessica Chastain 10/16/20 MICRONAUTS [ID] 3/16 ALLURE Dir. Samuel Maoz 12/25/18 BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY [ID] 7/23/21 DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Evan Rachel Wood 113 mins Rami Malek, Dir. Bryan Singer TBA THE DEVIL IN THE WHITE CITY [ID] 105 mins 3/9 THE LEISURE SEEKER 2/22/19 THE NEW MUTANTS Leonardo DiCaprio, 2018 SUBMERGENCE Helen Mirren, Dir. Josh Boone Dir. Martin Scorsese James McAvoy, Alicia Vikander, Donald Sutherland 6/7/19 GAMBIT TBA LUNA PARK Dir. Wim Wenders C/111 mins/R Channing Tatum Tom Cruise, Dir. Doug Liman 112 mins 3/23 FINAL PORTRAIT 7/17/20 BOB’S BURGERS TBA UNTITLED STAR TREK FILM , Armie Hammer 12/18/20 AVATAR 2 Chris Pine, SONY (310) 244-4000 / 90 Mins Dir. James Cameron TBA SUPERMODEL SNOWPOCALYPSE [ID] (212) 833-8500 4/13 THE RIDER 3/5/21 FOSTER [WORKING TITLE] Prod. Paul Feig Now PETER RABBIT Brady Jandreau, Dir. Chloé Zhao Animated TBA THE GREEN HORNET [ID] Voice of James Corden 104 mins 12/17/21 AVATAR 3 [ID] Dir. Gavin O’Connor C/Atmos-DTS:X/93 mins/PG May THE SEAGULL Dir. James Cameron ORIGIN [ID] JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE AVATAR 4 [ID] TBA Now Annette Bening, Saoirse Ronan 12/20/24 Prod. Jerry Bruckheimer Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart PG-13 Dir. James Cameron TBA KOLMA [ID] C/Atmos-Auro-DTS:X/119 mins/ June BOUNDARIES 12/19/25 AVATAR 5 [ID] Daisy Ridley, Dir. Marielle Heller PG-13 Christopher Plummer, Vera Farmiga Dir. James Cameron TBA 77 [ID] 3/28 PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST TBA THE WIFE TBA ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK [ID] Dir. Jared Leto Jim Caviezel Glenn Close TBA ANUBIS [3D] [ID] TBA TONI ERDMANN REMAKE 6/15 SUPERFLY TBA MARIA CALLAS: IN HER OWN WORDS Animated Jack Nicholson Jason Mitchell Dir. Tom Volf TBA MORE SOUL FOOD [ID] TBA THE BLACK HAND 7/13 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3: TBA PUZZLE Scr. George Tillman Jr. Leonardo DiCaprio SUMMER VACATION [3D] Kelly Macdonald TBA THE LITTLE MERMAID [ID] TBA UNTITLED DICK CHENEY FILM Voice of Adam Sandler 103 mins Dir. Rebecca Thomas Dir. Adam McKay

68 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 TBA THE CASE AGAINST 8 [ID] 9/18/20 THE CROODS 2 7/10/20 INDIANA JONES 5 6/14/19 SHAFT Dir. Marielle Heller 12/25/20 SING 2 Harrison Ford, Dir. Steven Spielberg Samuel L. Jackson TBA WOMEN IN BUSINESS [ID] 4/2/21 FAST & FURIOUS 10 7/19/19 THE LION KING 9/6/19 IT SEQUEL EMMA STONE 9/17/21 SPOOKY JACK Donald Glover, Beyoncé, Dir. Andy Muschietti TBA MADAGASCAR 4 [3D] TBA EXTINCTION Dir. Jon Favreau 10/11/19 THE GOLDFINCH TBA PUSS IN BOOTS 2: NINE LIVES Michael Peña 11/8/19 NICOLE & 40 THIEVES TBA THE INVISIBLE MAN 11/25/20 GIGANTIC [PIXAR] [3D] 11/01/19 WONDER WOMAN 2 [DreamWorks] [3D] Johnny Depp Dirs. Nathan Greno, Meg LeFauve Gal Gadot Dir. Chris Miller TBA RED NOTICE TBA MULAN 1/17/20 UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM TBA THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY Dwayne Johnson Liu Yifei, Dir. Niki Caro 4/3/20 CYBORG [ID] OF A PART-TIME INDIAN [ID] TBA MAMA 2 [ID] TBA CAPTAIN NEMO [ID] Ray Fisher Hugh Jackman Dirs. Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kolsch Dir. James Mangold 5/15/20 NEW SCOOBY-DOO FEATURE TBA UNDERWATER TBA BAD BLOOD [ID] TBA CRUELLA Dir. Tony Cervone Kristen Stewart Jennifer Lawrence, Dir. Adam McKay Emma Stone, Dir. Alex Timbers 5/22/20 GODZILLA VS. KONG TBA THE HATE U GIVE TBA CURIOUS GEORGE TBA THE ROCKETEERS [ID] Dir. Adam Wingard Amandla Stenberg Dir. Andrew Adamson Prod. 6/5/20 UNTITLED DC FILM TBA FEAR STREET TBA INVINCIBLE TBA SPLASH [ID] 7/24/20 GREEN LANTERN CORPS Dir. Leigh Janiak Dirs. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg Channing Tatum, Jillian Bell Scr. David Goyer, Justin Rhodes TBA THE WISHING SPELL TBA UNTITLED BERMUDA TRIANGLE MOVIE TBA JUNGLE BOOK 2 1/15/21 UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM Chris Colfer Dir. Sam Esmail Dir. Jon Favreau 2/12/21 UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM TBA ARTEMIS TBA BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN TBA SNOW W HITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 5/21/21 UNTITLED WB EVENT FILM Dirs. Phil Lord, Chris Miller Dir. Bill Condon Scr. Erin Cressida Wilson TBA THE STAND [ID] TBA X-FORCE TBA THE PAPER BAG PRINCESS [ID] TBA OLIVER TWIST [ID] Dir. Josh Boone Ryan Reynolds Dir. Elizabeth Banks Dir. TBA SAN ANDREAS 2 [NEW LINE] TBA CLUE TBA THE TEMP TBA DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW [ID] Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds Tiffany Haddish [ID] Kevin Hart Dir. Brad Peyton TBA GOLDIE VANCE [ID] TBA GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3 TBA THE BATMAN Dir. Rashida Jones Dir. Ben Affleck, Dir. Matt Reeves TBA TURTLES ALL THE WAY DOWN [ID] (424) 238-4455 TBA JUNGLE CRUISE TBA JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK TBA DEATH ON THE NILE Now GOLDEN EXITS Dwayne Johnson TBA GOTHAM CITY SIRENS Kenneth Branagh DIR. ALEX ROSS Perry TBA PRINCE CHARMING Margot Robbie, 94 mins/R Scr. Stephen Chbosky Dir. David Ayer UNIVERSAL (818) 777-1000 / 3/9 SHEEP & WOLVES TBA THE MERLIN SAGA TBA QUEEN OF THE AIR [ID] (212) 759-7500 Dirs. Andrey Galat, Maxim Volkov Ridley Scott Margot Robbie Now FIFTY SHADES FREED April 10X10 TBA UNTITLED WILLY WONKA MOVIE [ID] Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan Kelly Reilly, Luke Evans WARNER BROS. Scr. Simon Rich C/DD/105 mins/R TBA IN DARKNESS (818) 954-6000 / (212) 636-5100 TBA LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS REMAKE Now INSIDIOUS: THE LAST KEY Now THE 15:17 TO PARIS Dir. Greg Berlanti Lin Shaye Dir. Clint Eastwood TBA FATHER DAUGHTER TIME C/103 mins/PG-13 WALT DISNEY (818) 560-1000 C/DD/94 mins/PG-13 Dir. Gavin O’Connor Now PITCH PERFECT 3 Now BLACK PANTHER Now PADDINGTON 2 TBA BLACK ADAM Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson Chadwick Boseman, Dir. Paul King Dwayne Johnson DD/93 mins/PG-13 Dir. Ryan Coogler C/Atmos/103 mins/PG TBA NIGHTWING 3/23 PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING [3D] D/Atmos-Auro-DTS/134 mins/ Now DETECTIVE CHINATOWN 2 Dir. Chris McKay Dir. Steven S. DeKnight PG-13 Dir. Chen Sicheng TBA LIVE DIE REPEAT AND REPEAT 4/6 BLOCKERS Now STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI [3D] Now 12 STRONG Dir. Doug Liman Leslie Mann, John Cena Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Chris Hemsworth TBA BATGIRL 5/11 BREAKING IN Dir. Rian Johnson C/Atmos/129 mins/R Dir. Gabrielle Union C/Atmos-DTS:X/152 mins/PG-13 2/23 GAME NIGHT TBA THE JETSONS 6/22 JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Now COCO [PIXAR] [3D] Rachel McAdams, Jason Bateman Dir. Conrad Vernon Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard Dirs. Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina 100 mins/R TBA THE BILLION BRICK RACE Dir. J.A. Bayona C/Atmos/109 mins/PG 3/16 TOMB RAIDER [MGM] Dir. Jorge Gutierrez 7/4 THE FIRST PURGE Now THOR: RAGNAROK [3D] Alicia Vikander, Dominic West TBA PULSE Dir. Gerard McMurray Chris Hemsworth, Dir. Taika Waititi C/Atmos-Auro-DTS/PG-13 Scr. Jessie Nickson-Lopez 7/13 SKYSCRAPER C/Atmos/130 mins/PG-13 3/29 READY PLAYER ONE TBA SUPER-INTELLIGENCE Dwayne Johnson 3/9 A WRINKLE IN TIME Dir. Steven Spielberg Prod. Melissa McCarthy 7/20 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN Oprah Winfrey, Chris Pine C/Atmos-Auro/PG-13 TBA THE CONJURING 3 Meryl Streep, Lily James Dir. Ava DuVernay 4/20 RAMPAGE Prod. James Wan 9/21 THE HOUSE WITH A CLOCK C/Atmos/Rated PG Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris TBA MARGIE CLAUS IN ITS WALLS 4/6 MAGIC CAMP 5/11 LIFE OF THE PARTY [NEW LINE] Melissa McCarthy Cate Blanchett Adam Devine, Jeffrey Tambor Melissa McCarthy, Dir. Ben Falcone TBA SWEET TOOTH 9/28 NIGHT SCHOOL 5/4 AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR [3D] 6/8 OCEAN’S 8 Dir. Nico van den Brink Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish Dir. Joe Russo, Anthony Russo Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett TBA THE KITCHEN 10/12 FIRST MAN 5/25 SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY [3D] 6/15 TAG Tiffany Haddish Ryan Gosling, Dir. Damien Chazelle Alden Ehrenreich, Rashida Jones TBA JUST MERCY 11/9 THE GIRL IN THE SPIDER’S WEB Dir. Ron Howard 7/13 THE NUN Dir. Destin Cretton Dir. Fede Alvarez 6/15 THE INCREDIBLES 2 [PIXAR] Dir. Corin Hardy 11/9 DR. SEUSS’ THE GRINCH [3D] Dir. Brad Bird 7/27 TEEN TITANS GO! THE WEINSTEIN CO. (646) 862-3400 Voice of Benedict Cumberbatch 7/6 ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Voice of Will Arnett TBA THE WAR WITH GRANDPA 11/21 THE WOMEN OF MARWEN Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly 8/10 THE MEG Dir. Tim Hill Steve Carell 8/3 CHRISTOPHER ROBIN Jason Statham TBA THE UPSIDE 1/18 GLASS Ewan McGregor 8/17 CRAZY RICH ASIANS Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart Dir. M. Night Shyamalan 11/2 THE NUTCRACKER Constance Wu TBA RICHARD PRYOR: 3/1/19 HOW TO T RAIN Y OUR DRAGON 3 [3D] AND THE FOUR REALMS 9/7 UNTITLED NEW LINE HORROR FILM IS IT SOMETHING I SAID? [ID] Dir. Dean DeBlois Dir. Lasse Hallström 9/14 SMALLFOOT Mike Epps, Dir. Lee Daniels 3/15/19 UNTITLED JORDAN PEELE PROJECT 11/21 RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET Voice of Channing Tatum TBA HOTEL MUMBAI 4/12/19 VOYAGE OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE Dirs. Phil Johnston, Rich Moore 10/5 A STAR IS BORN Dev Patel, Armie Hammer Robert Downey Jr. 12/25 MARY POPPINS RETURNS Dir. Bradley Cooper TBA THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN [ID] 5/10/19 DETECTIVE PIKACHU Emily Blunt, Dir. Rob Marshall 10/19 THE JUNGLE BOOK [3D] Mark Wahlberg, Dir. Peter Berg Ryan Reynolds 5/3/19 UNTITLED AVENGERS MOVIE [3D] Dir. Andy Serkis TBA THE KIDNAPPING OF EDGARDO MORTARA 6/7/19 THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 Dir. Joe Russo, Anthony Russo 11/16 FANTASTIC BEASTS: Mark Rylance, Dir. Steven Spielberg Dir. Chris Renaud 3/8/19 CAPTAIN MARVEL [3D] THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD 6/28/19 COWBOY NINJA VIKING Brie Larson, Jude Law Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law WELL GO USA (972) 265-4317 Chris Pratt 3/29/19 DUMBO 12/21 AQUAMAN Now DETECTIVE K: 7/26/19 FAST AND FURIOUS SPINOFF Colin Farrell, Eva Green Jason Momoa, Dir. James Wan SECRET OF THE LIVING DEAD Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham Dir. Tim Burton 2/8 The LEGO Movie Sequel [3D] Dir. Kim Suk-Yoon 9/6/19 UNTITLED BLUMHOUSE 5/24/19 ALADDIN Dir. Rob Schrab Now THE MONKEY KING 3 PRODUCTIONS PROJECT Dir. Guy Ritchie 2/14 ISN’T IT ROMANTIC Aaron Kwok 12/20/19 WICKED 6/21/19 TOY STORY 4 [PIXAR] [3D] Priyanka Chopra 2/23 OPERATION RED SEA Dir. Stephen Daldry Dir. 3/22/19 GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS Dir. Dante Lam 4/10/20 FAST & FURIOUS 9 8/9/19 ARTEMIS FOWL Millie Bobby Brown 3/23 THE ENDLESS Vin Diesel Dir. Kenneth Branagh 4/5/19 SHAZAM! Dirs. Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead 4/17/20 TROLLS 2 12/20/19 STAR WARS: EPISODE IX Zachary Levi 112 mins 4/17/20 UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM Dir. J.J. Abrams 5/24/19 MINECRAFT: THE MOVIE 2018 IP MAN: CHEUNG TIN CHI 7/3/20 MINIONS 2 Dir. Rob McElhenney Yuen Woo Ping

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 69 EUROPE by Andreas Fuchs FJI Exhibition / Business Editor

BERLINALE DISHES OUT them, 20-year-old “culinary With virtual reality in the er Randy Gitsch, who have over- DELICIOUS CINEMA prodigy” Flynn McGarry, is al- marketplace, the “VR Cinema seen the digital remastering and While a huge array of global ready the subject of his very own at Marriott” was added to the recombination of these pictures, cinema offerings are listed on the documentary. According to the lineup of screening locations, present a historical backstory menu of the 68th annual Interna- Berlinale, “He is looking forward including mainstream movie and and restoration demonstration. tionale Filmfestspiele Berlin (www. to the premiere of his film and to art houses. A standalone screening of berlinale.de/en), the festival’s “Culi- cooking in the Culinary Cinema’s Windjammer: The Voyage of the nary Cinema” sidebar this year is kitchen.” Also on McGarry’s ARRI SAYS BIGGER Christian Radich is slated for the serving nine documentaries and agenda is cooking with school- IS BETTER “Ultimate Screen” at Colosseum one feature film under the motto children during “Youth Food The legendary designers at Kino in Oslo, Norway, where of “Life is Delicate.” According to Cinema” day, Feb, 22, in collabo- Munich, Germany-based Arnold the Norwegian-American “Cine- programmers, these offerings fo- ration with Engagement Global & Richter Cine Technik (ARRI) miracle” co-production originally cus “on the relationship between and the German Federal Ministry unveiled a complete large-format premiered in 1958. Check out the food, culture and politics.” Explains for Economic Cooperation and camera and lens system. ALEXA trailer at youtu.be/Gbri0NLucas. festival director Dieter Kosslick, Development. Guten appetit! LF is based on a 4K version “When it comes to cultural and of the ALEXA sensor, that is CTC WELCOMES political matters, sensitive deci- MORE TIME “slightly bigger than full frame” NEW GOVERNORS sions have to be made all the time. FOR EURO FILM MARKET and records native 4K on differ- The global cinema technol- It’s like in a kitchen, where it’s also Also during the Berlinale, ent formats, including uncom- ogy network CTC (www.cinema- tricky to make, at the very least, the European Film Market (EFM) pressed, unencrypted ARRIRAW technology.com) announced the something edible and, at the very extended its EFM Horizon sec- up to 150 fps. The resulting 4448 appointments of Sarah Lewth- best, something delicate.” tion to five days (Feb. 16-20, x 3096 image “doesn’t just add waite, managing director and Walking a decidedly delicate www.efm-berlinale.de/en). That definition,” explained the compa- senior VP, EMEA, at Movio, and balance between one’s truly bodes well for the workshop ny’s product manager for camera Sandie Caffelle, sales and market- German guts and the fact that and presentation series, just one systems, Marc Shipman-Mueller, ing manager at Jack Roe, to its the Berlinale coined the theme as year after its launch. After all, “it creates a whole new look— board of governors. “Life is Delicate” in English, this EFM Horizon focuses on noth- one that is truly immersive, with Delighted to welcome both columnist believes the intended ing short of “the future of film a three-dimensional feel.” women to the team, CTC’s wordplay does not quite work. business and pioneering develop- The Academy of Motion Pic- president Richard Mitchell noted: In German, “delikat” means both ments in the media and enter- ture Arts and Sciences has recog- “Whilst traditionally CTC has subtle and fragile, as well as “deli- tainment worlds,” organizers nized ARRI’s engineers and their focused on technological devel- cious,” when it comes to food. note. And plenty of future there contributions to the industry opments within the auditorium, Ready for some delicatessen, is. For the 2018 edition, some of with 19 Scientific and Technical technology has spread rapidly anyone? the “hot new themes” are arti- Awards. For more information, throughout the cinema estate Either way, the 12th edition ficial intelligence, virtual reality, visit: www.arri.com/largeformat. from ticketing through to point- of this culinary film feast does blockchain (a database that runs of-sale, loyalty programs, digital indeed provide some tasty offer- cryptocurrencies) and diversity in …AND CINERAMA signage and interactive experi- ings. Following the screenings, the . CERTAINLY AGREES ences.” With the appointments, an assembly of top chefs will In addition to such digital The Cinerama Restoration CTC can count on their “signifi- take their turns in the Gropius innovations and current develop- Team is on tour again, screening cant knowledge and expertise” in Spiegelrestaurant serving menus ments in technology, horizons will a variety of three-panel Cin- those areas. inspired by the films. One of be widened on “the storytelling erama process triptych motion Before joining the leading of tomorrow and ideas for new pictures from its legacy library global marketing data-analytics business models and strategies.” As at events in New York City (“To company, Lewthwaite was Andreas Fuchs also runs the Vassar always, EFM Startups will be bringing Save and Project,” Museum of marketing VP at Cineplex En- Theatre in Vassar, MI. “the film industry into contact with Modern Art), Amsterdam, the tertainment in Canada. As one original and lateral thinkers in the Netherlands (EYE Filmmuseum) of Celluloid Junkies’ “50 Top creative industries and technology and Paris, France (“Toute la mem- Women in Cinema 2017,” she scene.” Ten startups from Berlin and oire du monde,” Cinématheque also received mentoring under Europe as well as two from Canada, Française). During these special UNICs Women’s Cinema Lead- the focus country at the EFM2018, presentations, Dave Strohmaier, ership Scheme. Caffelle has been have already been selected. chief restorationist, and produc- at turnkey cinema IT systems

70 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 RUSSIA

by Vladislav Vorotnikov FJI Russia Correspondent

provider Jack Roe for over 26 RUSSIAN CINEMAS Based on these statements, Russian social-media years. She is widely respected, CHAMPION PADDINGTON users have created series of Internet memes, jokingly Mitchell added, “for delivering The federal government of Russia was accused of suggesting Weinstein “urgently flee to Russia, where tailored solutions to exhibitors biased actions against foreign films after the Culture his attitude would meet the full understanding of and supporting these with out- Ministry tried to postpone the premiere of Paddington some particular women.” standing customer service.” 2 by two weeks. The majority of Russian actors are bothered by the In time for CinemaCon, The Ministry ruled to delay the screening license sexual-harassment scandal. Alexander Nevsky, speak- CTC will also be naming further for the movie one day before it was slated to be ing to , said he felt really sad he governors and be announcing released on cinema screens, with no official explana- hadn’t punched Weinstein “in his freaking face” when he its new advisory council. The tion except obscure wording that “there was another met him in the United States. Irina Bezrukova revealed 15 people have been chosen movie scheduled to be released on the same date.” that she once was subjected to sexual harassment by a “to help provide steering and In fact, Jan. 18—the original date when Paddington 2 Russian film director, but she quickly solved the prob- support on key focus areas and was scheduled to appear on big screens—was also the lem by “punching that guy in his face.” future outputs for the organiza- premiere date for five other movies in Russia. But the tion,” making sure these are Russian cinema business has no doubt that it was the RUSSIA SEEKS FOREIGN ATTENTION aligned to the objectives of the historical action filmThe Scythian, produced by local ma- FOR PATRIOTIC FILMS industry. For further informa- jor STB, that the Culture Ministry cared so much about. Russian film directors are enhancing their efforts tion on CTC including mem- The Scythian is the kind of patriotic film the Cul- to bring their movies to foreign markets, seeking rec- bership opportunities, e-mail ture Ministry is very proud of. The move was clearly ognition if not commercial success. [email protected]. aimed to remove a dangerous competitor from the Fedor Bondarchuk managed to bring his sci-fi schedule and bolster the box office for a movie of blockbuster Attraction, with a storyline about an alien KINEPOLIS ON COURSE Russian origin produced with state money. invasion of downtown Moscow, to 3D IMAX screens IN CANADA This hasn’t been confirmed officially although, in the U.K. Attraction is considered one of the most Belgium-based Kinepolis commenting on the scandal around Paddington 2, Min- commercially successful Russian movies of 2017, and Group announced the first two istry head Vladimir Medinsky claimed that he “doesn’t although its makers don’t expect to see huge box new projects since acquiring give a darn about Hollywood movies” and that it’s office overseas, the fact that it made it to foreign Landmark Cinemas Canada last only Russian movies he looks after. markets is considered a first step on the way to in- December (www.landmark- The Association of Russian Cinema Owners, in turn, ternational acknowledgement of the Russian cinema cinemas.com). The company blamed the Ministry for an “unprecedented overreach” industry, according to Bondarchuk. reached an agreement with in the domestic cinema market. Russian cinemas report- It is also likely that Russia will be able to arrange Magic Lantern Theatres to take edly had to repay around US$12,000 to viewers who successful international promotion for the sports dra- over and complete their Brigh- had purchased the tickets for Paddington 2. ma Going Vertical, the new all-time box-office champion ton Marketplace development However, just like in the movie, the bear tri- in Russia, with $33.4 million tallied in only three weeks. in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, by umphed, as on the wave of the scandal the Ministry The movie, however, was made with the money June this year. At the same time, had no choice but to reschedule the film for Jan. 20. allocated by the Cinema Fund, an organization con- Landmark Cinemas announced trolled by the Culture Ministry, and foreign viewers a real estate partnership to RUSSIAN ACTRESSES may notice some patriotic colors in the script. Going open a premium movie theatre PRAISE SEXUAL HARASSMENT Vertical focuses on the victory of the Soviet at CF Market Mall in Calgary, Two Russian actresses have made controversial team at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where the U.S. Alberta. The latter will feature statements expressing sympathy toward Harvey Wein- team was defeated for the first time in 36 years. Giv- five auditoriums and luxury stein and other men accused of sexual harassment in ing the current political situation, the contest between recliner power seating by spring Hollywood. Russians and Americans has attracted Russian viewers, of 2019; the Brighton site will Speaking to the local press, popular Russian actress but the patriotic theme would hardly intrigue anyone have seven with premium re- Lubov Tolkalina said that, in her opinion, sexual harass- abroad, according to Russian pundits. cliner seating. ment is a “wonderful thing, for real” and that harassment Another movie shot in Russia with clear political European and Canadian is the “exact reason why men exist in the world.” Tol- content is Crimea, which has received only negative re- holdings combined, Kinepolis kalina also suggested that women making allegations views from foreign viewers. Although Attraction at first Group now operates 93 cinemas against Weinstein “acted not in a girl’s way,” adding glance seems to be a different kind of film, the review (43 of which it owns) in eight that “if an actress eventually gets a role, it doesn’t from The Times also found it packed with elements of countries, with a total of 814 matter how it happened.” Another Russian actress, propaganda. Which leads to a reasonable question—is screens and more than 180,000 Agniya Kuznetsova, suggested that to avoid sexual this the kind of recognition Russian directors really seats (www.kinepolis.com). ш harassment, actresses “should not act like prostitutes.” want to achieve internationally? ш

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 71 ASIA

by Thomas Schmid FJI Far East Bureau

BUSAN FEST NAMES NEW Diving Bell). Back then, the city Market and BIFF deputy director. cinema before a film screening—a CHAIRMAN AND DIRECTOR government had demanded the The festival board last December ruling order that the court itself The Busan International Film screening be cancelled because formed a committee to seek had given in 2016. The reversal Festival (BIFF) appointed Lee of the film’s harsh criticism of replacements for former chair- apparently came in response to Yong-kwan, a former festival authorities over their handling man Kim Dong-ho and festival a government request to recon- director, as its new board chair- of a ferry disaster that had cost director Kang Soo-youn, both of sider the controversial edict. man during a special organizing hundreds of lives, but Lee defied whom had resigned in tandem While prior to 2016 the govern- committee assembly held on Jan. the order. right after last year’s festival, ments of all 29 individual Indian 31. During the same meeting, Jay Lee has also worked as a leaving BIFF pretty much rudder- states could decide if the anthem Jeon, the former deputy director, professor of the Department of less for almost four months. As should be played in cinemas and was appointed as new festival Theatre and Film at Kyungsung new chairman, Lee is to serve a whether audiences must stand director. University in Busan, as director term of four years, while Jeon or not during the playing, it only Lee Yong-kwan is one of of Cinematheque Busan and as will serve as festival director for became nationwide law in 2016. BIFF’s founding members and dean of the Graduate School of the next three years. But the ruling had triggered much previously held the positions of Art at Chung-Ang University in opposition among film fans and program director and deputy Seoul. He is currently dean of the NATIONAL ANTHEM even led to a string of arrests director. He later became festival Im Kwon Taek College of Film NO LONGER COMPULSORY and even physical assaults against director but had to step down in and Media Arts of Busan’s Dong- IN INDIAN THEATRES individuals who refused to stand 2016 because of political pressure seo University. India’s Supreme Court in for the anthem. For example, in caused by the 2014 screening of Jeon, meanwhile, also is a early January reversed an order 2014 a man in Kerala state was the documentary film The Truth BIFF founding member and used that the country’s national an- arrested and charged with sedi- Shall Not Sink with Sewol (a.k.a. to be director of the Asian Film them must be played in every tion for refusing to stand. Last year, a group of moviegoers were forcefully removed from a cinema hall in Mumbai for remaining seated; and in October 2017 a handicapped man was beaten by fellow audience members because he “refused” to stand up. The Indian government has reportedly requested the Supreme Court to reverse its ruling until a panel is formed to study the issue and decide on further procedure.

PADMAAVAT TRIGGERS VIOLENT CLASHES IN INDIA Hardline Hindu groups in northern India violently clashed with police and threatened mov- AT CINEASIA, ATTENDEES WILL GET THE CHANCE TO HEAR ABOUT iegoers after controversial Bol- THE CURRENT TRENDS AND NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGIES lywood romantic fantasy drama IN THE MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY. NOWHERE ELSE IN ASIA CAN YOU ACCOMPLISH Padmaavat opened across the AS MUCH IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME TO SUSTAIN, AND HELP GROW, country on Jan. 25. According to YOUR BUSINESS IN THE YEAR TO COME. JOIN YOUR CINEMA EXHIBITION, local newspaper reports, several buses carrying advertisements for DISTRIBUTION, AND MOTION PICTURE INDUSTRY COLLEAGUES TO NETWORK; the film were pelted with rocks, AND SEE PRODUCT PRESENTATIONS AND SCREENINGS OF MAJOR HOLLYWOOD while outraged mobs allegedly FILMS SOON TO BE RELEASED IN ASIA. ATTENDEES WILL ALSO GET also attacked and vandalized a THE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT THE TRADE SHOW WHERE YOU WILL FIND THE LATEST number of theatres that screened EQUIPMENT, PRODUCTS, AND TECHNOLOGIES TO HELP MAKE YOUR THEATRE the movie. A cinema owner in Ut- tar Pradesh state and at least one A MUST-ATTEND DESTINATION. CINEASIA WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE HONG KONG film fan were physically assaulted, CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE ON DECEMBER 11-13, 2018. reports said. But trouble over Padmaavat

72 FILMJOURNAL.COM / MARCH 2018 DOWN UNDER

by David Pearce FJI Australia / New Zealand Correspondent

had been brewing for some time he move to digital projection at cinemas has is killed by a rival gang, he must make some major life already. Even when the film was T led to a rise in the number of films released. decisions. Written and directed by Tarry Mortlock and still in production, Hindu hardlin- In Australia, an average of more than 12 films based on a true story, the film stars Wayne Hapi and an ers protested against its release were released every week to cinemas in 2017, with impressive cast of amateur actors. because they deemed it disre- the total number of films screened for the year spectful for depicting a “forbid- at 651. This means that it is harder than ever for A major new retail and hotel development den romance” between a Hindu a single film to get noticed and perform to its full is planned for the outskirts of New Plymouth in queen, Padmavati, and a Muslim potential. Despite more films being released, box the north island of New Zealand. The complex, ruler, Alauddin Khijli, played by office dropped in both Australia and New Zealand which has yet to get council approval, will house a Bollywood stars Deepika Padu- in 2017. The Kiwi box office total dropped from six-screen cinema and a 75-room hotel, plus food kone and Ranveer Singh, respec- NZ$207 million in 2016 to NZ$190 million last year. outlets and retail stores. tively. Although both the figure Australia recorded a 4.6% drop from A$1.259 billion of Queen Padmavati and the down to A$1.201 billion at the box office. Caloundra, on Australia’s Sunshine Coast in storyline of the 16th-century epic Top Australian film for the year wasLion, with a Queensland, is set to get a new six-screen cinema poem “Padmaavat” in which she total local box office of A$29.5 million. Despite total complex as part of the expansion of Stockland’s appears are entirely fictional, the box office dropping, the result for Australian films Caloundra Shopping Centre. Included in the new Queen nevertheless is revered as was a major improvement. In 2016, local films only development will also be a tavern, a range of a deity by the Hindu Rajput caste. took 1.9% of total box office. Led by Lion plus Red specialty retail stores and extra parking. Following rumors, the Rajput Dog: True Blue, Jasper Jones, Dance Academy and more, We have reported on a large number of caste organization last year al- the local take jumped in 2017 to 4.1% of the total new cinemas in Australia in the last year. This is leged that the movie contained cinema takings. The increase in films released for the expected to increase the number of screens in a controversial scene in which year has led to an increase in older patrons, a trend Australia by 10 to 15%, and a similar increase is the Muslim ruler dreams about that has also been noted in the U.S. and U.K. expected in New Zealand. Let’s hope that the box an intimate tryst with the Hindu office rebounds this year, or many complexes will queen. However, director San- The new Kiwi film Broken opened at number one at be facing a drop in revenue. jay Leela Bhansali has always the NZ box office on Feb. 1. An independent film, it fo- consistently denied that such a cuses on a gang member who straightens out his life and Send your Australia/New Zealand news to David “dream sequence” existed in his concentrates on raising his daughter. When the daughter Pearce at [email protected]. film. It was only late last year that India’s film censorship body, the Central Board of Film Certifica- tion (CBFC), finally cleared the film’s release. While no cuts were ordered, the CBFC nevertheless recommended a change of the film title from the original Pad- mavati to the current Padmaavat, apparently in an effort to take the focus off the female character and placate Hindu protesters. Direc- tor Bhansali obviously complied, although it seems not to have done him any good. But despite the threat of violence—and per- haps in defiance of it—Padmaavat still opened in around 5,000 theatres across the vast country, although many cinemas especially in the north also said that they will not screen it, for the sake of safeguarding their properties and customers alike. For feedback and inquiries, contact Thomas at thomas.schmid@ filmjournal.com.

MARCH 2018 / FILMJOURNAL.COM 73 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX MARCH 2018 GET SMART! CONTINUED FROM PAGE 47 Even before beginning to work with five exhibitors, Smart Pricer BARCO ...... 2 spent time analyzing the market specifics in Germany and moviego- CHRISTIE DIGITAL ...... 5 ers’ willingness to pay. In the country’s capital, Smart Pricer found CineStar CUBIX (www.cinestar.de/kino-berlin-cubix-am-alexan- COMSCORE...... 59 derplatz) to have the largest price spread of nearly 200 percent C. CRETORS & COMPANY ...... 31 to see the same film in the same theatre—ranging from €6.50 to DOLPHIN SEATING ...... 29 €13.30—depending on day of the week, seat quality and the book- ing channel a customer chooses. ENPAR AUDIO ...... 34 Smart Pricer goes on to predict that “recent pricing innovations FANDANGO ...... 37 that are likely to spread throughout the German market over the FRANKLIN DESIGNS ...... 35 coming years are discounts for online purchases, bundling of ticket and concession sales, installation of premium seats, offering up to I SEATING ...... 21 RWIN four price categories for the same show and switching to true- JACK ROE USA...... 45 demand-based dynamic pricing.” While “various price surcharges LIGHTSPEED DESIGN/DEPTHQ ...... 74 and discounts give customers more choice in what they are willing to pay,” company research further suggests “not all techniques are LSI SOFTWARE ...... 39 beneficial to customers and exhibitors.” MOBILIARIO...... 27 UCI Kinowelt, for one, has observed a higher utilization of on- line ticketing. “This behavior is based on several external factors as NEC DISPLAY ...... 7 well,” Eimer elaborates, “of which smart pricing is one of them.” As OMNITERM DATA TECHNOLOGY ...... 41 for revenue development, he remains upbeat. “The effects on our PACKAGING CONCEPTS INC...... 73 average ticket price cannot be fully determined yet and they vary by location. Overall, however, we do see and expect a generally RETRIEVER SOFTWARE ...... 43 positive impact on the average ticket price. We do need some more SPOTLIGHT CINEMA NETWORKS...... 15 time to analyze and evaluate all the details.” VIP CINEMA SEATING ...... 76 Another vital element to the success has already been fully established. “The integration with our POS system from Compeso W ROGERS FOUNDATION ...... 75 ILL was indeed a key to the successful implementation of smart pricing. Changing did require a lot of work and investments. Our collabora- tion did work very smoothly, so that we have a solid basis for the rollout. Manual adjustments to the system at the cinema level were reduced to virtually none, and that was one of the main criteria to begin our coverage across the country.” Smart Pricer adds that while its optimization software has been integrated with several POS offers, even without such integration the effort merely involves “five to ten minutes per day for daily price updates done by the local theatre or central pricing team.” While Eimer says UCI Kinowelt is now concentrating on the operational aspects of the ongoing rollout, he is still excited about seeing the results come in. And, of course, there is always more to get excited about. “For us, smart pricing represents a new model in our general pricing tools. We see other offerings, such as subscrip- tions and discounted days, as independent from smart pricing. Our UCI Unlimited Card has been successully established for guests to watch all films at a flat monthy rate. And we still maintain that offer for film fans who are very loyal.” No matter how many pricing opportunities and options are available and still to come, Claas Eimer knows that growing rev- enue and attendance is not about the ticket price alone. “In our view, general reductions do not have the potential to significantly change the marketplace for moviegoing. For that to happen, the guest experience needs to continue to improve. We have to upgrade our cinemas and make them even more modern and attractive. Going forward, UCI Kinowelt will continue to deploy premium concepts such as IMAX and our very own iSens [www. uci-kinowelt.de/isens] or UCI Luxe brands. Very soon, we will open the first UCI Luxe Kino in Germany, fully equipped with recliner seating. Just like smart pricing, this will be something entirely new in Germany.” Smart move, all around. ш

Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Film Journal International, P.O. Box 215, Congers, NY 10920-0215. Canadian Publication Mail Agreement #41450540. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: MSI, P.O. Box 2600, Mississauga, On L4T OA8.

A Magical Experience. Transform your theatre from a place to go to THE PLACE TO BE.

Contact us today. +1 662.539.7017 www.vipcinemaseating.com

101 Industrial Drive • New Albany, MS 38652