Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

Motion Picture Distribution
and Exhibition

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Books & Videos

	"The Insider's Guide To Independent Film Distribution" [2007 bestseller] by Stacey Parks Focal Press 6x9 pb [5/2007] for $16.47 publisher's bookpage
	"Independent Film Distribution: How To Make A Successful End Run Around The Big Guys" [2006] by Phil Hall Michael Wiese Prodns 2nd edition 9x6½ pb [1/2011] for $16.47 Michael Wiese Prodns 8¾x6 pb [11/2006] out of print/used
	"Cinerama Adventure" documentary feature [indep Sept 2003] Written, directed & narrated by David Strohmaier; featuring experts Rudy Behlmer, John Belton, Kevin Brownlow, Thomas Erffmeyer, Leonard Maltin & Howard Rust video/DVD not available; full credits from IMDb • official website
	"Moviegoing In America: A Sourcebook In The History of Film Exhibition" [2001] Edited by Gregory A. Waller Wiley-Blackwell 9½x6¾ pb [12/2001] for $46.95 Wiley-Blackwell 10¾x7½ hardcover [12/2001] for $124.95

"America Goes To The Movies: One Hundred Years of Motion Picture Exhibition"
[1993] by Barbara Stones
National Assn. of Theatre Owners hardcover [10/93] out of print/used

Previews / Trailers
From the beginning of cinema, short preview ads were shipped out on standard movie releases.
The clips were spliced onto the tail end of one or more reels within a shipment, and thus the term 'trailer'.
Projectionists were and are expected to unsplice the trailer for any movie booked for showing by his/her employer.

"Festival of 3-D Movie Trailers" on DVD [2003] SabuCat Prodns 105-minute DVD [10/2003] for $29.95 45 trailers for 3-D movies, including 12 minutes of anaglyphic 3-D footage (red/blue glasses included!): trailers in real 3-D for "The Maze" [1953] and "It Came From Outer Space" [1953], and the famous "Train Arriving" footage shot in 3-D by Louis Lumière in 1934; extras include background & history of 3-D, posters, stills & other advertising more info (movies, books, glasses, hardware, links) on Magic Lantern's Stereoscopic {3-D} Cinema Page

"Coming Attractions: The History of The Movie Trailer" [indep April 2006]
A 128-minute documentary on the nearly 100 years of the movie trailer. Directed by Michael J. Shapiro &
Jeff Werner; written by Frederick L. Greene & Scott McIsaac; narrated by TMC's Robert Osborne
video/DVD not available • Kuehn Foundation official movie page • full credits from IMDb

"Classic Drive-In Intermission Ads" on DVD [2010] 136 minutes of intermission ads from the heyday of drive-in movie theaters for drive-in snacks such as hot dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks, pizza, candy, popcorn, ice cream, snow cones, and more! PR Studios color DVD [12/2010] for $14.99

Film Trailer entry at Wikipedia
'Coming Soon' website
Trailer Park at MySpace
Trailer Addict website
Movie Trailer Dept. at The Movie Box website
Movie Trailer Gallery at Fandango
Yahoo! Movies: Coming Soon To Theaters

Distribution
Domestic [U.S. & Canada] boxoffice revenue for 2009 was up 10 percent to $10.6 billion,
while foreign boxoffice revenue climbed 6 percent to $19.3 billion. {per M.P.A.A. 3/2010}

Movies released in stereoscopic 3-D accounted for 11 percent of domestic boxoffice revenue
in 2009, up from just 2 percent in 2008. A total of 20 films were released in 3-D in 2009,
compared with 8 the previous year. {per M.P.A.A. 3/2010}

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Acorn Media was founded in Silver Spring, Maryland in 1984 to sell British television fare on video & DVD; they expanded to U.K. in 1997, and to Australia in 2007. The company sells online and thru Acorn Catalog mailings. The sub-brand Acacia (yoga, organic lifestyle videos) launched in 2006; the sub-brand Athena (longer learning curricula on DVD) launched in 2009. Acorn TV online streaming launched in July 2011; free access is limited (registration required) and Premium Access to all Acorn TV content is $24.99 per year.

official Acorn Media North America website • no entry at Wikipedia
official Acorn Media U.K. website • entry at Wikipedia
official Acorn Australia website • no entry at Wikipedia
official Acorn TV website • no entry at Wikipedia

AtomFilms was founded in 1998 as a broadband online venue, then was purchased by MTV Networks
and renamed & re-launched in June 2008 as a comedy venue.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

The first Blockbuster retail video store was opened in 1985 in Dallas, Texas. The still-small chain was
purchased by John Melk & Wayne Huizenga (both connected with Waste Management, Inc.), and rapidly
expanded; the company sold for $8.4 billion to Viacom in 1994, and was split off in 2004. Blockbuster had
over 9,000 stores in 25 countries worldwide (3,750 U.S. stores), and is recently began closing stores and replacing
them with Blockbuster Express kiosks. In August 2010, Blockbuster announced plans to file for Chapter 11
bankruptcy; the company has already shuttered 1,000 stores. Attempts to reorganize failed, so the chain was put up
for auction, with results from the judge due in April 2011; eager takeover investor Carl Icahn lost out, Dish Network's
bid of $320 million was accepted.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Boulevard Movies self-promotes as a distributor of "hard-to-find horror movies, cult classics, sci-fi,
exploitation & arthouse films" and their online catalog covers all those genres & more; the company
is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. is based in New Jersey, with offices in California, Minnesota & New York City; divisions include AccessIT, CineLive™, Trailer Xpress & UniqueScreen Media. The company was founded in 2000 by Bud Mayo, who retired in 2010. Cinedigm’s services include a digital movie delivery network, pre-show in-theater advertising, distribution platform for live events & independent movies, and digital theater conversion (Cinedigm has converted over 4500 movie theaters to digital, as-of May 2010). Announced in July 2011: Cinedigm is selling its physical & electronic distribution business to Technicolor, so that Cinedigm can 'concentrate on content creation'. In September, Cinedigm sold Unique Screen Media to Screenvision (below).

Cinedigm: official website • no entry at Wikipedia
UniqueScreen Media: official website • no entry at Wikipedia
AccessIT: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Announced 1/2012: A new partnership between digital exhibitor Cinedigm Entertainment Group and veteran indie
distributor New Video offers independent directors cross-platform theatrical release as well as digital & physical
distribution; the partnership will acquire & distribute independent films theatrically in North America, followed by
platform release across cable, VOD, digital & DVD/Blu-ray.

Cinema Libre Studio was founded in 2005 for production & distribution of foreign & independent films, especially
for antiwar, pro-environment & liberal-progressive causes; based in Los Angeles. Cinema Libre's film library
includes works by directors Philippe Diaz, Robert Greenwald, Danny Schechter & Oliver Stone.

Cinema Libre Studio: official website • no entry at Wikipedia • Cinema Libre Store

        
The Criterion Collection was founded in 1984 as a joint venture of Janus Films and Voyager Company, starting with
laserdisks, moving to DVDs and Blu-ray, and recently adding online downloads. After many changes, the company
is still privately held. The Eclipse brand/division began releases of budget-priced DVD box sets in March 2007.
Announced March 2011: Criterion made a deal to add their library of classic & recent foreign & independent films
to the online Hulu service {below}, starting with 150 titles and adding more each month.

Criterion: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Eclipse: official website • entry at Wikipedia

D Street Media Group is based in New York City; their D Street Releasing existed in 2007, then shut down,
but was reopened in April 2011. The website is a mess, maybe the movies are not.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

FilmBaby was founded in 2005 to distribute the work of independent filmmakers,
and the catalog now exceeds 2,000 films; based in Portland Oregon.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

The Filmbay 'global independent film community and shop' was founded in 2007 and is based in Oakville, Ontario, Canada; they will distribute your music or art or film material on CD or DVD; the free registration gets you on board (profile, etc.), then you can upgrade to for-fee services that include protected on-demand download via the internet.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Film Movement was founded in 2003 and describes itself as "a full service North American distributor of
award-winning independent & foreign film"; company is based in New York City. There are two main functions:
the DVD of The Month Club distributes new releases to subscribers only; after a time, all such DVDs are
available to anyone for purchase from their online general catalog.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

First Run Features was founded in 1979, and is an independent film distribution company based
in New York City. Their library includes U.S. & foreign independent drama & documentary films,
with an emphasis on gender issues & other human rights.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Chatsworth, California-based Gigapix Studios was formed to develop, produce & distribute CGI family-oriented film & television. Divisions include Recess Films (children's fare), Gigapix Animation, Gigapix Films, Gigapix Television, and Gigapix Releasing [est. 10/2010]. The latter is a joint venture with longtime print & advertising fund source partner New Legacy Media.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

The G.M.X. website provides contact between filmmakers and professional disributors, much like live film markets (without the travel and-or expense). Website created April 2008 requires vetting of participants; plans include online streaming of movies in full, and cross-indexing of content to market/territory availability. G.M.X. is a subsidiary of Ascent Media Group [est. 1999; spinoff 9/2008] formerly part of Discovery Holdings, which is connected to John C. Malone's Liberty Media.

G.M.X.: official website • no entry at Wikipedia
Ascent Media [est. 1999]: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Guangzhou Beauty Culture Communication Company, Ltd. was founded in 1993, and seems to have a hand in every facet of China's entertainment business, from live performance to animation to video distribution; headquartered
in Guangzhou City (formerly Canton), with many branches in China and a USA branch in the Los Angeles area.
Their library consists of over two thousand new and old Chinese movies and TV dramas, most of which have been
subtitled in English.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

The Independent Film Channel [est. 1994] launched its independent theatrical distribution arm in 1999.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Founded in 1981 as a public company, Image Entertainment, Inc. began as a distributor of laserdiscs, secured
exclusive contracts for VHS & DVD with major studios, and grew to become the dominant distributor of the
DVD format; the company merged with Nyx Acquisitions in November 2008, in a stock deal worth $100 million
(at $2.74 per share); headquarters in Chatsworth, California.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

IndieFlix was founded in 2005 to market independent films. Membership of around $8 brings online access to
the 2,500 shorts & features in the library; films are also available in DVD format and as a webstream download
(typically with a 30-day limit for a couple bucks). Company is based in Seattle, Washington.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

        
IndieGoGo is an incubator platform for independent film, music and other artisitic and community projects,
founded in 2008. Artists who join can then seek funding, collaboration, distribution – whatever is needed to realize
the project. In March 2010, IndieGoGo acquired the online distributor Distribber [est. 2009] which will add
your video content to the iTunes and-or Amazon Video-On-Demand and-or Netflix Watch Instantly streaming sites.
(The service requires an up-front fee and pays royalties.)

IndieGoGo official website • Distribber official website

                

Kino International was founded in 1977 in New York City, specializing in distribution of art house and early silent films, and most of the Janus film library. Most releases are digitally-restored and include many extras such as interviews, trailers, etc. Richard Lorber launched Koch-Lorber Films in February 2003 to distribute independent & foreign films for theatrical & video markets; Lorber serves as president with Michael Koch as CEO; the company's name was changed to E1 / Entertainment One in January 2009. Lorber purchased Kino in December 2009; Richard Lorber serves as co-president of Kino Lorber, Inc. with Kino founder Donald Krim. {At end of 2010, the info is unclear on the convoluted corporate interconnections; both Wikipedia pages & official websites are out of date.}

Kino Video: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Koch Lorber Films official website
E1 / Entertainment: eOne official website • entry at Wikipedia
KinoLorber, Inc.: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Alive Mind Cinema has been around since 2007, as a distributor of 'documentary programming in the areas of enlightened consciousness & cultural transformation', and at some point became a division of KinoLorber.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Founded in 2004, LoveFilm International is the largest online & mail-order movie rental service in Europe,
with operations in the U.K., Germany, Sweden, Norway & Denmark; merged with rival Video Island in April 2006;
based in London, U.K.; ads on the Amazon UK website say "Amazon's choice for DVD rental".
LoveFilm was purchased by Amazon in 2011.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Milestone Films was founded in 1990 to distribute films of the Silent Era and modern independent works;
website is confusing, but the offerings are often restored prints not available elsewhere; headquartered
in Harrington Park, New Jersey.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Millennium Media Solutions was founded in March 2009 as a joint venture of Sony DADC and First Look Studios
(which was later absorbed by Millennium); on contract to Best Buy; based in Los Angeles, California.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

                
Movie Gallery, Inc. was founded in 1985; expansion included an I.P.O. in 1994, purchase of Blowout Entertainment in 1999 and Video Update in 2001, and merger with Hollywood Entertainment in 2005, making Movie Gallery the second-largest video store chain in the U.S.A. (behind Blockbuster) with 4,700 stores. Movie Gallery began having financial problems in 2007; sold the MovieBeam division in June 2008, filed bankruptcy in February 2010, and announced closing of all Movie Gallery, Hollywood Video & Game Crazy stores effective May 2010.

Movie Gallery [1985-2010]: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Hollywood Video [1988-2010]: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Game Crazy [1999-2010]: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Movielink was bought by Blockbuster in August 2008

MovieMart is India's first online DVD rental and online movies store.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Founded in 1978, Movies Unlimited is a Philadelphia-based mail order DVD and video distributor;
made a deal to distribute for Turner Classic Movies in February 2007.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Music Box Films was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 2007 and is one of the leading independent distributors of
arthouse feature films in the U.S. in theaters, on DVD & Blu-ray, and via Video-on-Demand.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

          
Netflix, Inc. is the online & mail-order movie rental service; founded in 1997; headquartered in Los Gatos, California. Signed a non-exclusive 2-year contract with CBS-TV for their library in February 2011. Raised their rates to big uproar
in November 2010, then increased package rate by 60% in mid-2011: $7.99 for disks and $7.99 for streaming.
Announced 9/2011: Per CEO Reed Hastings, Netflix is splitting in two, keeping its name for streaming-only
services and separating the DVD rentals into a new separate company called Qwikster; after a media and public uproar, the Qwikster division was cancelled in October.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

        
New Video Group was founded in 1991, and is based in New York City; the company distributes movie & TV
content in all markets and all formats, including online streaming. New Video created Docurama Films in 1999
specifically for the distribution of documentary shorts & feature films. Other brands & partners include
A&E Networks, China Lion Film Distribution & Flatiron Film Company.

New Video Group official website • entry at Wikipedia {empty}
Docurama Films official website

Announced 1/2012: A new partnership between digital exhibitor Cinedigm Entertainment Group and veteran indie
distributor New Video offers independent directors cross-platform theatrical release as well as digital & physical
distribution; the partnership will acquire & distribute independent films theatrically in North America, followed by
platform release across cable, VOD, digital & DVD/Blu-ray.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Founded in 2003, Redbox Automated Retail was funded by McDonald's Ventures. CoinStar bought 47% in 2005,
and the rest in February 2009. The company now has 22,400 kiosks around the world, and in 2010 negotiated
with the movie studios for the policy of starting kiosk sales 28 days after the official retail DVD release.
Redbox added Blu-ray disks to kiosk inventory (same price) in Summer 2010. The company confirmed in
February 2011 plans to launch an online streaming subscription service similar to that of Netflix.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Founded in 1997, Rialto Pictures very successfully specializes in restoring & distributing
reissues of foreign & domestic films.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

"10 Years of Rialto Pictures" Anniversary DVD Box Set [2008] Criterion Collection widescreen b&w/color DVD set [10/2008] 10 disks for $129.99 contains "Army of Shadows" [France 1969, USA 2006] written & directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret & Paul Meurisse; "Au Hasard Balthazar" [France 1966] directed by Robert Bresson; "Band of Outsiders" [France 1964, USA 1966] directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina, Sami Frey & Claude Brasseur; "Billy Liar" [U.K. 1963] directed by John Schlesinger, starring Tom Courtenay & Julie Christie; "The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie" [France 1972] directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier & Jean-Pierre Cassel {won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film}; "Mafioso" [Italy 1962, USA 1964] directed by Alberto Lattuada, starring Alberto Sordi; "Rififi" [France 1955, USA 1956] co-written & directed by [blacklistee] Jules Dassin, starring Jean Servais, Carl Möhner & Robert Manuel; "The Third Man" [U.K. 1949, USA 1950] directed by Carol Reed, starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles & Alida Valli; and "Touchez Pas au Grisbi" [France 1954, USA 1959] co-written & directed by Jacques Becker, starring Jean Gabin, Jeanne Moreau & Lino Ventura

Screenvision was founded in 1995 as a joint venture/merger of Thompson SA & Britain's I.T.V., and is presently the world’s leading cinema advertising company, operating at 2,400+ U.S. theatre locations (15,000+ screens) and nearly 400 U.S. universities, plus locations in Europe. The company provides cinema advertising sales & media management; production services; high definition digital network installation & management; digital entertainment preshow production; live special events production & distribution; and alternative content services. Announced in September 2010: I.T.V. is selling its entire 50% stake. Thomson/Technicolor will retain a minority stake; Carmike Cinemas will take on a 20% stake; and the majority owner is now Los Angeles-based Shamrock Capital Holdings, which was founded by Roy E. Disney in 1978. In September 2011, Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. sold its Unique Screen Media direct distribution subsidiary to Screenvision.

Screenvision: official website • entry at Wikipedia
UniqueScreen Media: official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Shorts International represents over 3,000 short films for showing on their cable channels in USA, U.K.
& France, and other venues; acquisitions are handled thru their London headquarters.

Shorts International official website • Shorts TV entry at Wikipedia
Shorts TV U.K. official website
Shorts HD [USA] official website
Shorts TV France [est. 2007] official website

Shout! Factory was founded in 2003 by three execs formerly of Rhino Records & Warner Music; the company
focuses on music reissues, retro TV shows, and independent short & feature films; they have a long-term deal
with DIC Entertainment, and distribute thru Vivendi & Sony.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

SkyLand Entertainment was formed in August 2011 by Relativity Media as a joint venture to distribute American
movies in China, as well as to develop, co-produce, and distribute new China-themed motion pictures around the
world. Partners include China’s Huaxia Film Distribution, SkyLand (Beijing) Film-Television Culture Development,
the S.A.I.F. Partners private equity firm, and the I.D.G. China Media subsidiary of Boston’s International Data Group.

Relativity Media • no entry at Wikipedia

          
Anchor Bay was founded in 1985 as distributor Video Treasures in Troy, Michigan; sold to Handleman Company
in 1989; changed name to 'Anchor Bay Entertainment' in January 1997; acquired by I.D.T. Entertainment in 2003;
telecomm giant I.D.T. sold off its U.S. video distribution operation to John Malone's Liberty Media in September 2006,
which became Starz Media. In January 2011, The Weinstein Co. purchased a 25% stake in Starz Media.

Starz Media: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Anchor Bay: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Strand Releasing - independent film distributor [est. 1989]

Tai Seng Entertainment was founded in 1996, and describes itself as 'the leading content provider
& distributor of Asian motion pictures & television series in the United States'. Tai Seng also operates
Chinese & Vietnamese video channels on DirecTV in U.S.A.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Tidepoint Pictures was founded in 1996, and bills itself as "a motion picture distribution company
that bridges the Pacific to bring contemporary and cutting–edge Asian films to North American audiences".
Tidepoint is based in San Francisco and run by filmmaker Tetsuki Ijichi.

official website • {empty} entry at Wikipedia

Zeitgeist Films was founded in 1988, and is an independent film distribution company based in New York City. Their library includes U.S. & foreign independent drama & documentary films.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Founded in February 2004, Zip Canada is the largest online & mail-order movie rental service
in Canada; the company is privately owned & based in Ottawa, Ontario.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Online Channels
As online delivery of motion pictures morphs into new territory, what were adjunct websites to larger companies
have now become a major force in distribution of cinema content. The entries included are companies that
are not a direct part of any movie studio or media conglomerate, but provide users with free or for-fee content directly
delivered online, or using 'set-top box' devices: instant downloads, streaming video, live channels, and such.

Magic Lantern's Motion Picture
Distribution - Online Channels Page

Exhibition

Natl. Assn. of Theatre Owners
MovieTunes [est. 1992] {website parked?}
Access Integrated Technologies & PreFlix services
in-theater advertiser National CineMedia LLC

list of U.S. movie theater chains at Wikipedia

Allen Theatres of New Mexico [est. 1912] official website

A.M.C. Theatres
second-largest U.S. chain, with over 5,000 screens

American Cinematheque

Brenden Theatres
Brenden Theatres was founded in 1990, and currently operates over 90 screens in Arizona, Southern Nevada,
and the East Bay Area of Northern California from its headquarters in Las Vegas, NV. The owner/president/CEO
is Johnny Brenden, who is the grandson of movie exhibitor Ted Mann and movie star Rhonda Fleming.

official website • no entry on Wikipedia

Brown Paper Tickets bills itself as "the fair-trade ticketing company". Founded in 2000, headquartered
in Seattle, Washington, with operations also in Europe; call center speaks English, French & Spanish.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Carmike Cinemas

Cinebarre

Cinelux Theatres is a local chain operating 33 screens in 7 cities
in California's Bay Area - from east of Oakland southward to Santa Cruz.

official website • no entry on Wikipedia

        
CineMark Theatres Corp. {now Cinemark Holdings} was founded in 1984, and is third largest in the U.S.
with 3,842 screens at 296 theatresin 39 states; in Latin America, they operate 1047 screens at 128 theaters in
13 countries; the corporation operates the CineMark chain, the Century Theatres chain, the CinéArts chain &
the Tinseltown USA chain.

CineMark USA: official website • Wikipedia
CinéArts official website
Century Theatres [est. 1941, sold to Cinemark in 2006]: redirect • Wikipedia
Tinseltown Cinemas has no separate website

Cineplex Entertainment is the largest exhibitor in Canada, based in Toronto, Ontario. Famous Players Theatres, a division of Paramount Pictures, was founded in 1920. Odeon Theatres of Canada was founded in 1941, sold to Britian's Rank Organisation in 1946, and merged with the Canadian Theatres chain in 1978, becoming Canadian Odeon Theatres. In April 1979, Nathan (Nat) Taylor and Garth Drabinsky opened the first multiscreen theater, the 18-screen Cineplex complex in the basement of Toronto's Eaton Centre; backed by Bronfman family money, they purchased Canadian Odeon and formed Cineplex Odeon Corp. in 1984. In 1998, Bronfman's Seagram had gained control and merged Cineplex with Loews; Loews Cineplex filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2001. Venture capitalists Onex & Oaktree bought Loews Cineplex in 2002 and sold the U.S. assets to Carlyle Group; the A.M.C. Theaters chain absorbed the U.S. Cineplex theaters in 2005. Two former Cineplex execs formed Galaxy Entertainment in 1999, with backing by Onex and Famous Players; in October 2003, Loews Cineplex merged its Canada operations with Galaxy, forming Cineplex Galaxy Cinemas; in July 2005, they purchased Famous Players from Viacom. The corporation currently operates 1,353 screens at 131 locations in Canada.

Cineplex: official website • entry at Wikipedia

        
Longtime family-owned Cobb Theatres was founded in Alabama in 1921. They built the first-ever four-plex location in the U.S. in 1971, purchased the General Cinema chain in 1992, and reached 643 screens before a $200 million merger with Regal Entertainment in 1997. Theaters were re-branded and Cobb shrank, but recently expanded to 200+ screens at 18 locations. In 2008, they launched the CinéBistro {7 locations} 'premium movie experience' chain. Headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama; the company now operates in AL, CO, FL (11), GA & VA.

Cobb Theatres: official website • entry at Wikipedia
CinéBistro: official website • no separate entry at Wikipedia

Edwards Theatres

Founded by Regal Entertainment to prevent MovieTickets.com from having a monopoly; acquired by Comcast
in April 2007; purchased the movies.com website from Disney in June 2008.

Fandango: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Movie Trailer Gallery at Fandango
Movies.com: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Hold My Ticket LLC, the 'event ticketing & box office solutions' service is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico
and serves clients there and in nearby Santa Fe & Taos, as well as venues in other states from California to Maine.
Clients in New Mexico include venues Kimo Theater, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Sunshine Theater, and events
such as the Albuquerque Film Festival, ¡Globalquerque!, and the annual Zozobra Festival.

official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Hollywood Theatres chain [est. 1991] of Portland, Oregon {48 theaters}

The IMAX {Image Maximum} system originated at Expo 67 in Montreal, Canada; the first permanent IMAX
theater opened in Toronto in 1971; IMAX 3-D launched at Expo 86 in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The system uses
70mm by 48.5mm frames, projected in various ways to a gigantic screen that is usually 22 metres (72 ft.) wide and
16.1 metres (53 ft.) high; there are currently 320 IMAX theaters in 42 countries {23 in Canada, 200+ in USA}.

official website • entry at Wikipedia

Kerasotes Theatres

Laemmle Theatres chain [est. 1938] official website

     
The Landmark Theatres independent 'art house' chain began in 1974 at the Nuart Theatre in
West Los Angeles, California. The chain expanded and was purchased by The Sam Goldwyn
Company, circa 1995. Landmark now operates 224 screens at 55 theaters in 15 states,
and is owned by The Wagner/Cuban Companies (based in Dallas, Texas).

Landmark Theatres: official website • entry at Wikipedia

     

Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 in Arizona as a ticket sales & distribution company, mostly for live performance & concert venues. Live Nation was spun off from Clear Channel Communications in 2005, quickly becoming the world's largest concert/live performance promoter. In 2010, the two companies merged, with plans to operate the tickets and promotions functions under the Live Nation Entertainment name; there is much concern about antitrust & monopolist practices, and the merger is not yet approved in the U.S. {as-of August 2010}.

Ticketmaster fees are too durn high: tickets purchased online in July 2010 for several movies at an out-of-town festival
were $2.00 for the actual admission and had $10 in fees added to each ticket.

Live Nation: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Ticketmaster: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Mann Theatres chain [est. 1973] official website

Mann Theatres chain in Minnesota [est. 1935]

The Marcus Theatres chain was founded in 1935 in Ripon, Wisconsin; now part of a larger
entertainment & lodging concern, the theaters division is based in Milwaukee and operates 684
screens at 55 locations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Ohio.

Marcus Theatres: official website
Marcus Corporation: official website • entry at Wikipedia

Maya Cinemas North America, Inc. was founded in 2005 by Hispanic movie producer Moctesuma Esparza;
the chain operates 30 screens in California, while searching for financing to expand into Texas & New Mexico.

official website • sub-entry at Wikipedia

MovieTickets.com service

          

Founded in 1936 as the Northeast Theatre Corporation by Michael Redstone; son Sumner Redstone [b. 1923] holds 80% ownership, and his daughter Shari Redstone owns the remaining 20%. The company owns major stakes in C.B.S., Viacom, MTV Networks, B.E.T., Paramount Pictures, MovieTickets.com, and DreamWorks. Headquarters is in Dedham, Massachusetts; theater divisions include Showcase Cinemas, Multiplex Cinemas, Cinema de Lux, and KinoStar de Lux in Russia; company operates over 1500 screens worldwide.

National Amusements: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Showcase Cinemas: official U.S. website • entry at Wikipedia
Cinema de Lux: no separate website • entry at Wikipedia

Premiere Cinemas of Texas operates 187 screens at 18 locations in Texas, Alabama & Florida
official website • no entry at Wikipedia

Premiere Cinemas of California [est. 1994] operates in Hollister & Los Banos, CA

Krikorian Premiere Theatres, LLC [est. 1996] of Southern California filed for bankruptcy in May 2010

R/C Theatres

     
Rave Motion Pictures was founded in 1999; Rave Cinemas LLC acquired the company in 2009,
and then bought 35 theaters from National Amusements, including the several sites of The Bridge
Cinema De Lux chain. The combined company is the fifth largest exhibitor in the U.S. market,
with 61 theatres and 918 screens; the theaters were being re-branded during the Summer of 2010.

Rave Motion Pictures: official website • entry at Wikipedia
The Bridge Cinema De Lux: official website {broken 6/2010} • no entry at Wikipedia

Regal is the largest U.S. exhibitor, with 6,698 screens total {1/2011}.
Regal Cinemas • United Artists Theatres • Hoyts

Roush Cinema Group of Atascadero, California
Roush Cinemas currently operates 27 screens in California.

Roush Cinema Group: official website • no entry on Wikipedia
Lemoore Stadium Cinemas 10 in Lemoore, CA
Park Cinemas 9 in Paso Robles, CA
Heavenly Village Cinemas 8 in South Lake Tahoe, CA

Trans-Lux Theatres Corp. was founded in 1923, and operates 69 screens in New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado & Wyoming; the chain was sold to venture capitalists Marwit Capital in July 2008,
who renamed the company Storyteller Theatres (though still using the Trans-Lux website URL).

Storyteller / Trans-Lux Theatres official website

The Sundance Cinemas 'art house' chain was announced in May 2005,
a joint venture of Robert Redford and the Landmark Theatres chain.

Sundance Cinemas: official website • entry at Wikipedia
Sundance 608 [opened May 2007] in Madison, Wisconsin
Sundance Kabuki [re-opened Dec 2007] in San Francisco, California
eight-screen Sundance Cinemas [to open Spring 2009] in Chicago, Illinois
six-screen Sundance Cinemas [to open Spring 2010] at Metropolitan Gardens in Denver, Colorado

Wehrenberg Theatres

Winchester Theatres

Movie Exhibition Equipment

Amazon Buying Guide: What Do You Need To Get 3-D At Home?

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Soundies: The Music Videos of The 1940s
'Soundies' were three-minute short films produced from 1940 to 1946 and exhibited on coin-operated
Panoram™ jukebox machines in bars, restaurants, etc. The content was usually music-oriented, and
ranged across all genres; comedic non-musical content was less popular.
Soundies entry at Wikipedia
Soundies U.K. fansite

	"The Soundies Book: A Revised & Expanded Guide" [2007] by Scott MacGillivray & Ted Okuda iUniverse 9x5¾ pb [2/2007] for $26.95 iUniverse 9x6 hardcover [2/2007] for $36.95
	"Soundies: A Musical History" [P.B.S. March 2007] Co-producd, co-written & directed by Chris Lamson; hosted by Michael Feinstein Adrenaline Records DVD [10/2007] for $17.99 full credits at IMDb • official movie site {placeholder}
	"Jazz Legends: The Big Bands, Volume 1 - The Soundies" [2007] Storyville Films color/b&w DVD [7/2007] for $14.49 not listed on IMDb "Jazz Legends: The Big Bands, Volume 2 - The Soundies" [2007] Storyville Films color/b&w DVD [10/2007] for $14.49 not listed on IMDb

Da-Lite Screen Company was founded in 1909 and is today the "leading producer of high-quality
commercial and residential projection screens worldwide"; headquartered in Warsaw, Indiana.

Da-Lite Screen Co. official website

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Epson® Home Theater Projectors

Model 25 Projector with built-in DVD/music combo player out of prodn/used MovieMate® Model 50 Portable Projector with built-in DVD player list $800, Amazon price available online MovieMate® Model 55 Portable 3 LCD Projector with built-in DVD player    list $700, Amazon price available online MovieMate® Model 72 Projector with built-in DVD/music combo player Amazon price $1,088 MovieMate® Model 72 HD 720 pixel Projector with built-in DVD player   list $1200, Amazon price available online PowerLite® Model 77c Portable 3 LCD / 2000 lumen Projector weighs 6 pounds; Amazon price $1,156 Model EX30 Portable 3 LCD / 2000 lumen Projector weighs 6 pounds; list $550, Amazon price available online Model EX50 Portable 3 LCD / 2000 lumen Projector weighs 6.2 pounds; list $650, Amazon price available online Model EX70 Portable 3 LCD / 2000 lumen Projector list $800, Amazon price available online Model S5 800x600 pixel Portable 3 LCD / 2000 lumen Projector Amazon price $713

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InFocus® Corporation in Wilsonville, Oregon
InFocus Corp. [est. 1995] bills itself as "the industry pioneer in digital projection"

InFocus Corp. official website • InFocus products at Amazon

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LightspeeD Design, Inc. [est. 1993] in Bellevue, Washington

exclusive distributor of DepthQ® Stereoscopic HD 3D Video Projectors

       
LightspeeD Design official website

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Related  Links
Drive-In & Hardtop Intermission Films Archive
Filmack Studios in Chicago - stock trailers [est. 1919]
Andrew J. Kuehn, Jr. [1937-2004] Foundation

Magic Lantern's Drive-In Movie Theaters Page
Magic Lantern's Movie Palaces Page

Magic Lantern's Drive-In Movie Theaters Page

Magic Lantern's Movie Palaces Page

Magic Lantern's Stereoscopic {3-D} Cinema Page

Magic Lantern's Motion Picture Distribution - Online Channels Page

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