ShoWest Day Three: Looking at Alternatives

By Kevin Lally

A sizeable chunk of the day three agenda at ShoWest was devoted to programming alternatives, from live sports and concerts, to videogames on the big screen, to yet more groundbreaking 3D.

The morning began with four exhibition executives discusing their experiences with alternative content: moderator Tom Stephenson, president and CEO of Dallas-based Rave Motion Pictures; ShoWester of the Year Ellis Jacob, president and CEO of Canada's Cineplex Entertainment; Tim Richards, CEO of the U.K.'s Vue Entertainment; and Galen Kerasotes, VP of alternative programming at Chicago's Kerasotes Theatres.

Jacob noted that he's been doing alternative programming for nine years, before Rave and Vue even existed, beginning with wrestling matches and branching out to hockey and performances by the National Ballet of Canada and New York's Metropolitan Opera. He opined that new programming options could grow dramatically if the studios got involved, and that the financial incentive for them is there.

Vue's Richards has programmed concert events with Brit music stars Genesis, Queen, Pink Floyd and Take That, and U.K. comic Ross Noble (with "interactive heckling"), opera performances from the famed La Scala, and the British Grand Prix. In his view, video gaming at the cinema has "massive untapped potential."

Rave's Stephenson is a great believer in 3D--he feels that true growth and transformation of the cinema experience lies in "content that's an alternative to putting the 2D image on the screen." He also marveled at the impact of the recent Hannah Montana 3D concert film, noting that 29 of 33 consecutive shows sold out, and even eight a.m. shows at his theatres were 75% full. And, he boasted, Rave's 48-inch row spacing allowed Hannah's teenage fans plenty of room to get up and dance.

The program also included a look at rap star Missy Elliott's new 3D music-video "Ching-A-Ling," directed by Dave Meyers, a wildly colorful piece in which Elliott and her dancers gleefully reach out to the audience. As always, Elliott is on the music-video cutting edge, and the only place to see her latest in its proper form is on the big screen. I'd watch a full program of 3D music-videos. How about you?

Be sure to check out Katey Rich's exclusive FJI interviews with Tom Stephenson, Tim Richards and Galen Kerasotes on this site and in our current issue.