Newsday from New York, New York • 70

MiTmtIhwW IM I Theater owners say theyre trying. Would you believe wider seats, popcorn reservations and quiche? accommodate as many people as possible. Cineplex Od eons four-floor Chelsea Cinemas, which opened a year and a half ago, does have waiting space outside each of its nine auditoriums. So will City Cinemas seven-screen Village East, which opens Feb. 22 at Second Avenue and 12th Street, the site of the former Yiddish Arts Theater.

"New computerized ticket systems are the most effective ploy to reduce line size, say both theater executives. Cineplex Odeon sells tickets for same-day performances (and also accepts American Express), while City Cinemas sells tickets to performances up to two weeks in advance. Computers have permitted chains such as City Cinemas to experiment with reserved seating. We sell tickets just like cm Broadway. We did veiy well with little Dorit that way, and Im sure well try it again, Bays Millman.

H. Donald Busch, chairman of the National Association of Theater Owners, says computerization is the strongest element being used nationwide to making theaters more user-friendly. One new computer technique being developed will help in the design of theater seats so that sightlines for each seat will be made ideal. At Philadelphias American Multi-Cine- Ily Connie Passalacqua Li ETS FACE IT: Going to the movies in this town is to put it charitably not an easy undertaking. But its a big part of the weekend for thousands of folks who inevitably wind up shivering on block-long lines, scarfing down lousy food, straining to see the screen, seething at other patrons behavior and squeezing into tiny seats.

Although theres not much you can do about discourteous people movie houses have so far refrained from installing matrons with bullwhips or trap doors for the rude or metal detectors for gun-toting cinephiles city theater owners say they are trying to make things better. Really. Theater owners motivation may stem less from heeding customer complaints than from the threat real or perceived of home video. After all, its a lot more comfortable staying at home than dealing with the unpleasantries city moviegoers endure. We have to give moviegoers more bang for the buck, says Herb Millman, vice president of theater operations for City Cinemas (which operates Cinemas I.

II, III, the Quad, the Gramercy and others). We have to give them comfortable theaters. We have to give them clean theaters. For $7.50, they want the best for their dollar. They shouldnt be expected to have to climb over three boxes of popcorn as if they were paying $1.50.

Most New York chains have responded to home video by renovating their older theaters or by building new theaters specifically designed with what they claim are consumer conveniences. City Cinemas new Murray Hill Cinemas at 34th Street and Third Avenue (a four-screen theater that reopened in December) features business-class seats 21 to 22 inches wide, as opposed to regular seats, which usually are 18 inches across. It makes quite a difference, says Millman. It means fewer seats in a row, but we feel the comfort is worth it, he Bays. And each of our concessions has new, double popcorn kettles.

That means customers dont have to wait while the popcorn pops. Steve Carducci, director of promotion and publicity for the 67-theater New YorkNew Jersey Cineplex Odeon chain, also points to improvements made in his concession stands. We wanted to make it so theres not one long line, he says. In our newer theaters such as the ChelBea Cinemas on 23rd Street and Seventh Avenue, which had nine screens we built the stands big enough so we could spread the attendants out to make three or four faster lines. Theres more room to move.

When the Toronto-based Cineplex Odeon bought its first New York City theater in 1987, it courted patrons by publicizing the attention the chain paid to the cleanliness of its facilities. Its a matter of policy for our service staff to clean the foot spaces between each row in the auditorium and the lobby after each performance, Carducci says. But he admits, We cant live up to our guidelines a hundred percent of the time when you do big box office, and we have large crowds filling the auditorium three or four times a day. Its a little hard to keep up. Most moviegoers would give up popcorn and clean floors if it meant not having to wait on long lines.

Alas, having to wait outside especially in the winter is a problem that not even the most accommodating theater executive can solve. Space is at a premium, says Millman. In California, theaters have much more space for lobbies some look lilM football fields. Here, if your building is filled to capacity with five hundred people, you cant possibly jam in another three hundred or four hundred to wait in the lobby. Theres no space and there are fire laws.

Its all of matter of space, especially in older theaters, explains Carducci. Many of the theaters weve bought and renovated, like the Waverly and the Regency, have moderately sized lobbies that will not hold as many people as the auditorium does. So, unfortunately, our patrons have to wait on line," he says. When we build something from the ground up, we always try to build a lobby that will NEW YORK NEWSDAY, FRIDAY. FEBRUARY B.

1991 asnrr.