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I would love to won my own theater and have a slightly different idea for owning a theater. I would like to offer the theater as a resturant with drinks and movies too. The thing that would make this place different is to have older movies shown as well as independent movies. Some examples could be Top Gun, prequals to movies - ie Oceans 11 when Oceans 12 is coming out in theaters. I think you get the idea. The main question - is there a company that specailzes in "classic" movies for theaters or is this not really an option. I know that movies like the Rocky Horror Picture Show are seen often in the theater. It is just an idea. As I said I am new so please be kind to me.

Thanks

The major studios have departments that handle their classic films. Some are available, some are not, all are expensive. In many instances, they will not rent their new or archive prints to theatres that use platters.

It's also a very difficult format to do on a regular basis and have it be profitable, unless you're in a major metropolitan area with huge population and lots of film buffs.

This may be a dumb questions, but what is a platter? Do you mean theaters that serve food, instead of normal movie theater food - Popcorn, candy, etc.?

Again, as I am new I have no idea about any of this I have more questions. What does it cost to lease a second run film and what do you think it would be to lease a "classic" film? Or is there a resource that I could call?

I am in the process of starting my own business and thought this might be something cool that I would enjoy, as would others. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

The concept you are talking about is sometimes refered to as "brew pub" theaters. Here in the Pacific Northwest, the McMenamin brothers have a chain of very successful brew pub theaters. Check out their site of www.mcmenamin.com

Reading books about motion picture projection, movie theatre operation, as well as the FAQs here and on other sites, as well as the ARCHIVES and the like, you will learn much and not have to ask questions that have been treated many times before. BUT, I will answer your question about "platters". No, the term has nothing to do with food, but with the means by which an entire movie is held on one large automated turntable (one of several "platters" stacked above one another) and the film enters and returns from the projector to one of these. Films are sent to theatres in 'cans' containing reels of film, and the theatre is responsible for removing the film reels and splicing them together and then winding all the now combined reels of film onto a single platter and through various sensors and guides, through the projector, and thence back to another platter. This is done in such a way that the film strip is endless and can be automatically replayed through the projector any number of times without human help, since a computer runs the show after initial setup. The whole thing was invented to eliminate the cost of paying for projectionists, though some cinemas still do have them, at least for initial setup and breakdown into original reels and return to provider. Soooo, never put food on a theatre's platters.

Platter Projection exists in contrast to the original Reel-to-Reel projection that has been around since film was invented. There are several brands of platters (Automated film projection) and if you read the Archived comments here, especiall in the Booth Forum, you will see that there are differences that affect the owner's/projedtionsit's sanity as well as the film itself, so you may want to review these to get insight into selection.

[This message has been edited by jimor (edited April 13, 2005).]

Just one slight correction about the platter systems used for projection of films today. Most platters, if not all, are not a continuous loop setup. The film returns to a different platter which still requires an operator to rethread the film through the projector for each showing.

There was a Potts platter that was a continuous loop system, but was not very reliable, and as far as I know isn't used any longer, but who knows there might still be a few of them in service somewhere.

[This message has been edited by RoxyVaudeville (edited April 13, 2005).]

Continuous loop platters have to wind the film with some looseness and contortions (e.g. scalloping), as feeding and taking up onto the same rotating platter has a different circumference at the outside vs. the inside of the roll. The looser wind and need to scallop the film wind requires careful control of winding parameters, dirt, and relative humidity. Platters that feed from one roll and takeup on another have proven to be more reliable, and usually worth the effort to rethread between shows.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
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Well put, Jimor!