John Fithian Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Celluloid Junkie

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NATO To Transform ShoWest Into CinemaCon

On the first day of this year’s ShoWest, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) has made it known that when they take back the event next year it will undergo a name change to CinemaCon. The logo being used for the annual convention of theatre owners and movie distributors can be se…

Fithian Keynote Kicks Off ICTA Tech Conference

[/caption] Not even a record setting rain storm could keep cinema professionals away from the Universal Hilton in Universal City yesterday where the International Cinema Technology Association was holding it’s annual tech conference. After a Monday evening cocktail reception, the program began…

The MPAA’s Motive In Upsetting Exhibitors Over Release Windows

Last Thursday when the Motion Picture Association of America made public an ex parte communication they sent to the FCC in defense of a waiver request it caused a flurry of headlines about studios going to war with exhibitors over release windows. To be sure, the letter sent by the MPAA’s lawy…

Booming U.S. Box Office Makes Headlines

[/caption] These days, with the global economic crisis at full force dominating headlines, it seems mainstream media will jump on anything that even smells like positive news. So, it’s no wonder with North American box office earning a billion dollars in January and an additional US $800 million in…

Paramount Goes Direct-To-Exhibitors With D-Cinema Deal

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 so…

Cinemas: “Recession? Bring it on!”

Recession is now a fact, but cinemas appear fairly nonplussed. Is this wishful thinking or actually born out by past experience? The UK’s The Guardian seems to think the latter, pointing out that box office takings rose in five out of the last seven recessions in the US: “Hollywood gets…

NATO and Warner Bros. Duke It Out

Even before the ink was dry on last Thursday’s Los Angeles Times article about the struggle Hollywood studios face in finding enough digitally equipped screens to distribute 3-D movies, The Hollywood Reporter published a story that had key industry executives debating who is to blame for the s…

Stop Whining And Be Grateful For Those Cheap Cinema Tickets

The LA Time’s cinema columnist ‘Projector’ has a humorous op-ed piece echoing the NATO/MPAA song that going to the cinema is still the cheapest form of entertainment. Not just compared to going to a sporting event or visiting the opera, but even compared to trips to the picture pal…

D-Cinema Frustrations Aired At NAB

Despite the slew of news stories coming out of the Digital Cinema Summit at the NAB Show this past weekend there was little new to report regarding technological advances and nascent business deals. In fact, the if the only real news that seemed to come out of the summit was the frustration over the…

2007 – the Year of Opera at the Movies

If there was one true surprise in the digital cinema industry this year it was that people were prepared to pay a premium for a night at the opera at their local multiplex. It was the New York Metropolitan Opera (The Met) that kicked it off in the early days of the new year withRead More