League of Historic American Theaters & Emerging Pictures Team to Promote National Network of Digital Theaters

To Bring Digital Technologies to Restored Movie Palaces
Focus on Independent & International Films to Under-Served Communities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis, St. Paul, July 11, 2002

As the League of Historic American Theaters (LHAT), www.lhat.org, opens its 26th Annual Convention on July 17th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it will announce a strategic alliance with New York-based Emerging Pictures, www.emergingpictures.com, for the promotion of a national network of satellite-fed digital cinemas, some of which are to be housed in restored historic "movie palaces." LHAT and Emerging Pictures’ plan is to install state-of-the-art digital projection systems and satellite receivers to enable member venues to present independent and international dramatic and nonfiction feature films. Alternate content such as live HDTV closed circuit broadcasts and pre-recorded classical and pop music concerts, theatrical productions, lectures and other mission appropriate presentations, as well as corporate events, will be available at member venues.  Emerging Pictures will provide, at its own expense, the technology and the content in a digital format to selected partner venues.

"The mission of LHAT is to assist communities and, in some cases, local entrepreneurs, in their efforts to rescue, restore, and reuse classic American movie theaters," stated Terry Demas, Executive Director of the Baltimore-based LHAT. "In learning more about Emerging Pictures’ digital cinema plans, ‘EmergingCinemas’ or ‘EmCi’, we decided that the opportunities for our members to participate are quite extraordinary. Since an educational seminar on the transition to digital cinema was presented by Emerging Cinemas during our 2001 national convention, held in New York last summer, interest has only grown, leading to our recently agreed upon alliance."

Emerging Pictures is led by Barry Rebo, an independent television producer and longstanding champion of new digital technologies such as HDTV; Ira Deutchman, a twenty-five year veteran of specialty film production, exhibition and distribution, and founder of ground-breaking art film companies such as Cinecom and Fine Line Features; and home theater/consumer electronics executive Giovanni Cozzi.

Rebo stated "We're thrilled to work with LHAT to bring the newest digital technologies to the classic American movie palaces of old. For many, this will be a return to their original callings as cinemas, since many LHAT members have ceased to show films on a regular basis. Most are now used primarily as live performing arts centers. Many venues have told us they would love to return to showing movies to their communities, especially the ‘art house’ fare that is often not available in the immediate surroundings. It’s just the perfect marriage of classic theaters, new technologies, and terrific content that makes this an important endeavor, on a national as well as a local level."

Deutchman's extensive background in the indie film world and his firsthand knowledge of the business problems it faces drew him to the possibilities an EmCi/LHAT relationship: "Digital technologies have recently made extensive headway in the production of all sorts of films, from highly-acclaimed indies such as Rebecca Miller's ‘Personal Velocity’, a DV feature that earned the Grand Prize award at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival in 2002, to major commercial blockbusters like George Lucas' most recent Star Wars episode, which was shot on the new 24p HD professional equipment and, in a limited amount of locations, screened digitally. What’s been lacking to date is an installed base of digital cinemas designed to widen the distribution for specialty films to include an audience we're firmly convinced exists in all sorts of communities throughout the U.S.—not just in the major media markets. EmergingCinemas and its LHAT-associated venue partners are designed to broaden the national audience for quality cinema and to provide a true alternative to the multiplex experience.  Leading specialty distributors such as Miramax, Sony Classics, United Artists have pledged their support and their willingness to supply selected films to the network."

Cozzi’s role in the venture is the management of the technical issues of the network. With his many years of experience in the high-end home theater industry, Cozzi has manufacturers vying to be the system providers for the initial installations, estimated to reach over three hundred sites in the next three years. "We've seen tremendous strides made in the projection and storage technologies of digital cinema over the past eighteen months. While many have focused on the conversion of the commercial multiplex to digital, our targeted market includes museums, cultural centers, science & technology venues, and now, via LHAT, restored ‘movie palaces’. We'll pay for the installation of the technologies into the venues we elect to go forward with, provide training, maintenance, and local and national marketing, and, most importantly, supply the right content to help our venue partners build an ongoing cinema audience for their communities and membership."

Demas will join the Advisory Board of Emerging Pictures and will assist both LHAT members and nonmember theaters in explaining the benefits digital cinema can provide community-based cultural centers. Emerging Pictures will conduct regional educational seminars and special events presentations for local venues in order to better acquaint them with the benefits network membership can hold for them and their communities. "We believe that, for restored movie theaters that join in the conversion to digital presentations, financial incentives exist not only in expanded entertainment programs, but also in enhanced revenues from a broader usage of their facilities as desirable destinations for large-screen digital multimedia presentations by corporations and distance learning organizations," he added. "In today’s funding environment, theater management has to look to increase their patronage not only by adding new strands of presentations such as specialty films, but by incorporating outside commercial revenues as well. Being part of—in fact, being in the leadership of—this transition to digital just makes sense to us for our membership, and it’s something we look forward to introducing."

About The League of Historic American Theaters

Founded in 1976, the League of Historic American Theatres (LHAT) is an international not-for-profit membership association. LHAT is a network of people who appreciate the cultural and architectural heritage of historic theatres and who work locally and nationally to rescue, restore, and reuse them to serve communities throughout North America and abroad. Members of the League collaborate with one another, share their expertise and provide inspiration, information and a broad perspective to those working in the field of historic preservation. Members of the League include theatre operators and managers, preservation activists, architects, structural engineers, design and acoustical consultants, urban planners, restorationists (painters, plasterers, metalworkers), vendors (seats, marquees, stage equipment), booking and artist management firms, fund raising consultants, and many other types of service providers and members of the general public who serve or are interested in historic theatres.

About Emerging Pictures/EmergingCinemas

Emerging Pictures is a vertically integrated organization that will aggressively take advantage of the dynamic revolution in digital technologies to transform the traditional processes of production, distribution and exhibition of filmed entertainment. The company is launching a network of digital theaters - EmergingCinemas - which will specialize in independent film programming. The company will equip, with state of the art digital exhibition technology, existing venues at cultural centers, museums and restored movie palaces in markets that are currently under served by distributors of independent content. Emerging Pictures will supply its digital cinemas with feature films that are distributed by traditional film studios, films that are acquired at film markets and festivals as well as other unique sources of original programming.