After the positive response the National Association of Theatre Owners received from their meeting last June with manufacturers and service providers to review their Digital Cinema System Requirements, they decided to hold another meeting last Friday in Burbank, CA to go over version 2.1. Brigitte Buehlmann , NATO’s Industry Issues Liaison, organized the meeting which was moderated by Michael Karagosian, a NATO consultant who oversaw the drafting of the latest requirements document. [Full Disclosure: I attended this meeting on behalf of my employer, DTS Digital Cinema.]
Version 2.1 of the Digital Cinema System Requirements was published in December of 2008, just ten months after version 2.0 was published and two years after version 1.0. This is a much speedier turnaround then the nearly three years it took the studios to update their phonebook size DCI Specification from version 1.0 to version 1.2, the latter of which was released in March of 2008. No doubt, the dialogue NATO and its members began with manufacturers and service providers back in June expedited their ability to put a little meat on the bones of the first version of their requirements.
Indeed, version 2.1 of NATO’s Digital Cinema Systems Requirements is 21 pages in length, up from 14 in the previous draft. And while there are definitely remnants of version 1.0 in the document, it’s remarkable how different this latest draft is in certain areas from the one that preceded it. Read More »
Popularity: 16% [?]
New Weinstien Company President Tom Ortenberg (Genaro Molina/LA Times)
Tom Ortenberg, president of theatrical films at Lionsgate, is ditching the studio he’s spent 12-years at for a similar title and position at The Weinstein Company. In his new role, Ortenberg will take on some of the same responsibilities at TWC that he oversaw at Lionsgate, including distribution, marketing, publicity and domestic acquisitions.
Over the past two decades, Ortenberg has gained a solid reputation of being a savvy executive who had real talent for acquisitions and marketing. He was integral in planning the campaigns behind some of Lionsgate’s most successful movies, including the “Saw” series and “Crash” which won the Best Picture Oscar for 2005. In 2008, Ortenberg was interviewed by Dan Rather at the Sundance Film Festival and he explained some of the traits he looks for in a film when making an acquisition.
Certainly the Weinstein brothers must have been excited to land a veteran exec such as Ortenberg, especially after all the recent turnover within TWC’s senior executive ranks. In a press release announcing the hire, Read More »
Popularity: 17% [?]
Danny Boyle at the premiere of "Slumdog Millionaire" in India (EPA/STR)
Less than 24-hours after “Slumdog Millionaire” picked up 10 Oscar nominations on Thursday, filmmaker Danny Boyle’s rags-to-riches movie about a teenage boy from the slums of Mumbai opened on Friday in India stirring up a bit of resentment and controversy. In fact, rather than being greeted by long lines of moviegoers, according to The Times of India the release of the film caused a small riot at the Inox Multiplex in Panaji.
As a story in the Los Angeles Times details, some in India are dismayed over what they see as the stereotypical portrayal of their country as filled with corruption and impoverished throngs. Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS), a pro-Hindu group, petitioned the government to ban or censor “Slumdog Millionaire” stating that the movie would upset the religious values of millions of Indians due to references of Hindu deities and a misrepresentation of the Lord Ram. Then on Friday, a large group of Shiv Sena activists vandalized the only multiplex in Panaji (the capital of the Indian state of Goa) when theatre managers would not cancel showings of the film. Read More »
Popularity: 43% [?]
On the eve of the National Association of Theatre Owners’ meeting with equipment vendors to review digital cinema requirements on Friday, Paramount Pictures has thrown the exhibition industry a curve ball in the hopes of resuscitating the stalled rollout of the technology. Rather than work solely through integrators such as Digital Cinema Implementation Partners (DCIP) and Cinedigm (formerly AccessIT), Paramount has become the first Hollywood studio to offer North American exhibitors financial assistance for digital cinema installations.
What’s significant about Paramount’s announcement is that previously studios have refused to cut deals to reimburse exhibitors for digital cinema installations directly with exhibitors for fear of future anti-trust litigation. Instead, they relied on digital cinema systems integrators to provide a buffer between themselves and theatre owners. But, with the digital cinema rollout at a near stand still, Paramount seems to be throwing caution to the winds.
Paramount has a vested interest in seeing digital cinema take off, specifically to increase the number of 3-D capable projection systems. This March the studio will be releasing Dreamworks Animations’ “Monsters vs. Aliens” in 3-D and presently the United States and Canada only have about 1,200 screens properly equipped with 3-D systems. Paramount has been promoting the film heavily for nearly a year at industry trade shows and will be airing a 3-D commercial for the movie during the upcoming Super Bowl telecast.
Read More »
Popularity: 58% [?]
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