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Thursday, June 06, 2002

By Barbara Vancheri and Ron Weiskind, Post-Gazette Staff Writers

On Hollywood, big is almost always better.

	The revitalization of the local movie business is evident at The Oaks, which is under renovation in Oakmont. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette) Top five ways to improve moviegoing in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh's screen scene vs. Cleveland's There's plenty of action off-screen locally

Big names. Big breasts. Big limos. Big special effects. Big budgets. But in Pittsburgh, surprisingly enough, it's the little guys who are pouring money and creative energy into the movie business while the national chains, at least for the moment, are resting on their laurels.

Nick Mulone, who owns the Waterworks, Harmar and Cheswick theaters, opened a new 10-screen theater in Sarver in May. And his former Waterworks partner, John Harper, is working with the Soffer Organization to build a 10-screen cinema on the South Side. It would show a mix of arthouse or independent movies and mainstream features.

Also, plans are afoot to rename and reopen the Cinematropolis in Penn Hills, the Melwood Screening Room in Oakland is gaining a cozy companion theater and cafe, while patrons at the Lonestar Cinema Grill in Latrobe can have burgers and beer with their blockbusters.

These local exhibitors are filling the void left by AMC Entertainment, which abandoned plans for a Downtown location; the parent company of Showcase Cinemas, which quietly shelved renovation plans; and Loews, which has had great success with its Waterfront theater in West Homestead but closed its $20 million theater in North Versailles less than two years after it was built.

Talking about this tilt away from the titans and other developments in this market, analyst Wade Holden says, "I haven't heard of that happening elsewhere." He works for Kagan World Media, located in Monterey, Calif.

Otherwise, he said, Pittsburgh seems to mirror what's happening in other parts of the country, where exhibitors rushed to build big megaplex theaters and then found themselves in a financial crunch due to the cost of building those complexes and closing down their older theaters.

"Their main focus in building new theaters now is to get into underserved markets," he said. "The big guys are mainly trying to shut old theaters."

In Pittsburgh, that has happened more in outlying counties than it has in Allegheny County. If the chains closed their older theaters here, they would probably have to replace them, and when it comes to building new theaters, Holden said, "They are being much more strategic."

But while they strategize, the little guys are building theaters.

Construction could start by August or September on the almost 2,000-seat theater at the SouthSide Works. It will be part of the sprawling complex being developed by Soffer on the former LTV Steel site running from the waterfront to East Carson Street between 26th and 29th streets.

Plans call for a retro-style marquee out front. Inside, the $5 million theater will have auditoriums with stadium seating on the second floor of the building, above stores and restaurants and accessible by escalators and elevators. "We're talking to not one, but two different large bookstores that will stay open long and late. ... We think there's a great synergy" between bookstores and movie theaters, says R. Damian Soffer, CEO and president of the company that bears his name.

With a theater, lofts and apartments targeted at the

	Number of U.S. Movie Screens In the past decade, the number of movie screens steadily rose, peaking in 1999, while drive-ins have been on a decline. Year Indoor DRIVE-IN TOTAL 2001 34,490 663 35,153 2000 35,627 667 36,264 1999 36,448 737 37,185 1998 33,418 750 34,168 1997 31,050 815 31,865 1996 28,905 826 29,731 1995 26,995 848 27,843 1994 25,830 859 26,689 1993 24,789 837 25,626 1992 24,344 870 25,214 1991 23,740 899 24,639 Source: National Association of Theater Owners

25-to-35-year-old crowd, eateries featuring outdoor seating and retailers found nowhere else in the city, Soffer is building a destination. Also factoring into the mix will be offices and a hotel.

"If you couldn't decide what you wanted to do tonight, you'd go to the South Side because there's always something going on. We're not just a shopping center, and we intentionally are trying to hand-select retailers that have not been to Pittsburgh yet," says Soffer.

If all goes as planned, the theater, designed to attract college students, art-house fans and mainstream movie buffs, could open in spring 2003. It may also serve as a site of the Three Rivers Film Festival and could factor into the future of Pittsburgh Filmmakers.

"Wouldn't it be nice if there was one location where you could have, in two or three days, all the films playing in the one location and have 12 restaurants and parking and everything?" asks Soffer. "And the arts cinemas in Pittsburgh, they're older film houses, so to speak. So, by building a state-of-the-art one for them, I think it will really bring the audiences back, and our location on the South Side is very convenient to everyone."

Soffer talked with some of the industry giants, including AMC, Regal and the owner of the Angelika Film Center in New York. The timing wasn't right for Angelika, AMC was still being targeted for the Fifth and Forbes project and its scale would have been out of proportion for the South Side.

Parking also was an issue, since some chains wanted to be surrounded by a sea of asphalt instead of the planned garages. But Soffer wanted the theater to be integrated into the development. In the end, he decided, "I like going with people who are local and who know the market."

The theater is being described as a "quasi-joint venture," with Soffer and Harper jointly developing the bricks and mortar and Harper operating the theater.

Alliance with Filmmakers?

Harper, owner of Pittsburgh Theater Corp., which runs theaters in New Castle and Kent, Ohio, envisions half of the South Side screens being devoted to arthouse or indie movies -- the sorts of films playing at places such as the Regent Square, Harris, Manor, Squirrel Hill and Denis.

"You play some 'Star Wars' probably, but that would be less important than 'About a Boy' and 'In the Bedroom,' " he says. "We'd like to do it in conjunction with Filmmakers, although we have not made a deal with them," says Harper, who is on Filmmakers' board.

Charlie Humphrey, executive director of Filmmakers, isn't ready to talk specifics but he likes what he sees and hears. "We're just beginning to figure out how a film festival would work there" and whether Filmmakers would move all or part of the festival to a new venue. In Cleveland, for instance, the festival takes over half of a downtown multiplex for two weeks.

Humphrey says such a change would not influence the sorts of titles booked. In fact, the 2002 festival will see an increase in experimental films. If anything, this would provide an opportunity to place non-mainstream work in a more mainstream setting.

As for an ongoing relationship, he's been happy that R. Damian Soffer has kept him plugged into plans and sees no reason why a not-for-profit cannot work with a for-profit company. "That open spirit really gives us a lot of room to figure out how we can work together. ... We tend to think pretty entrepreneurial here, anyway."

At a time when chains are retrenching, isn't Harper taking a gamble?

"It's always a risk to open something new. ... We want to make it, certainly, technically wonderful with great sound and seats and screens and so forth, but we're trying to keep our costs where it would be economical to do the project. The West Homestead theater is 130,000 square feet, and we're trying to do this in about 40,000 feet" and only 10 screens.

	Tony Serrao cleans up concession counter at the Oaks, where the lobby, marquee and concession stand are being renovated. (Peter Diana, Post-Gazette)

Alternative market

One by-product of the recent changes in the Pittsburgh movie scene is the growth of alternative cinema -- independent and foreign films. This includes movies from around the world, as well as American films ranging from the Oscar-winning "Shakespeare in Love" (from independent heavy-hitter Miramax) to bizarre little documentaries like "Hybrid," about the man who perfected the cross-breeding of corn.

Pittsburgh Filmmakers, a longtime specialty exhibitor, operates the Harris -- the city's only Downtown theater -- and now owns the Regent Square Theater in Edgewood. It also has the Melwood Screening Room at its headquarters in Oakland.

The Squirrel Hill Theater and the nearby Manor Theater, both owned by CineMagic, offer a combination of art films and commercial movies. The newer megaplexes -- Loews Waterfront in particular, but Destinta and Star City as well -- have also booked alternative films on occasion.

The newest player in this game is the Oaks Theater in Oakmont, which has started playing some first-run specialty films in addition to offering second runs of alternative titles.

But CineMagic really raised the ante on specialty films when it converted its Mt. Lebanon venue, the Denis, to an art house. With four screens to fill and more competition for the top titles, the Denis has been casting a wider net and bringing movies to Pittsburgh that would not have played here before.

"Pittsburgh is starting to mean more to us," said Bob Berney, senior vice president of marketing and distribution for IFC Films, a New York-based company that circulates such titles as "The Business of Strangers," starring Stockard Channing; "Y Tu Mama Tambien," a critical and popular success from Mexico; and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which opens here tomorrow.

As in other markets, the addition of megaplex theaters featuring 16 screens and more have caused some older, smaller theaters to turn to specialty films as a means of competing. IFC is seeing enough box-office potential in Pittsburgh to be encouraged.

"I imagine all of our pictures will be able to play there," Berney said, lauding the willingness of local exhibitors to promote the films.

In terms of art-film bookings, he said, "You're getting more than your share. You're getting some small films that are not playing other markets. Can the market support it? That remains to be seen.

"But you're doing OK as far as [box-office] grosses. They are inching up. It's a market that's building," Berney said. "Increased revenue makes distributors want to get out there quicker."

The evidence is mostly anecdotal, as exhibitors and distributors don't like to talk about specific box-office figures. But it is clear that Pittsburgh is getting more specialty titles than it used to, and that they are getting here sooner than in the past -- often within a few weeks of the film's New York premiere.

As for mainstream films, Hollywood is en route to shattering box-office records, thanks in part to "Spider-Man," "Star Wars," and word-of-mouth picks such as "Insomnia" and "About a Boy."

As a result, analyst Holden says, "There's a new enthusiasm among exhibitors" and, maybe, light at the end of the tunnel as many of the biggest chains emerge from bankruptcy.

Whether that means they will build again in Pittsburgh is problematic. But Pittsburgh is plunging ahead without them.