Richmond Times-Dispatch from Richmond, Virginia • 17

PRINTED IH COLOR Movies Restaurants Comics TV radio WEEKENDER 13 14 Sirbmonb Simrs-BUpairh Friday April 1 1988 Cinemas lift curtains lavishly By Carole Kan TtaKS-Diipatcfc staff writer How do you launch a $3 million movie house? With a 110000 Butlery buffet lavish enough for a fancy wedding with a short address by Garth Drabinsky the 39-yearold tycoon whose Cine-plez Odeon Corp has grown from zero to 1 billion in nine years and with an acetate cut by Andy Spaulding director of the Virginia-Film Office Yesterday a red carpet extended from the dusty parking lot of the new Cloverleaf Mall Cinemas to the peach and gray marble lobby entry The ceremonies to which Drabinsky traveled from Toronto by plane heli- i copter and limousine officially opened the barely finished eight-auditorium 280-seat theater complex decorator coordinated with a splashy purple carpet printed with halfmoons of coral claret blue and green Two large modern oil paintings by Canadian David Thauberger add a finishing touch The admission price will according to Drabinsky that is H50 in the evenings and $3 on weekday afternoons The concession stand which stretches between the four theaters ranged on each side of the lobby is designed like a wide with an eight- station counter A small bag of popcorn costs 2 plus tax Missing is a Cineplex Odeoa cate a coffee- and-pastry feature found in some of the New York Los Angeles and Toronto theaters South ready for said a Cineplex-Odeon spokesman But Drabinsky feels the South is ripe for more movie houses especially state-of-the-art-equipped theaters like those in the Cloverleaf each of which is decorated in Art Deco with a SiemensSiennheiser Infrared Listening System for the hearing impaired and a Dolby Stereo Sound System Two of the auditoriums contain Lu-casfilm THX sound with 70 mm pro- i i jGcion Drabinsky said he is on this part of Virginia" He added that the Cloverleaf complex is the first visible Staff photo by Alexa Welch billion attended the lavish opening of Richmond's new Cloverleaf Mall Cinemas yesterday MOVIE MADNESS Garth Drabinsky whose Cineplex Odeon Corp has grown from zero to $1 opened Dec 18 1987 Cineplex Odeon also purchased the Circle Theater chain last year giving it about 50 percent of the screens in the Washington area like Richmond very much The theaters are well run under the direction of Sam Bendbeim who like his father has been involved for years in theater real estate and film booking at Drabinsky said like the strong audience graphics here and the fact that we can show Louis Oscar nominated Revoir Les here and do However he would not say which theaters would become showcases for art films until after the Willow Lawn quartet are constructed and can examine audience viewing Canada in 1979 as a foreign filni distributor then moved into the film exhibition business is now widely diversified It operates more than 1600 screens in the United States and Can-ada and is making its first stab at movie bouses in London It is also involved in the production of starring with Christopher Plummer and Glenda Jackson which will open soon on Broadway with a 1500000 advance ticket sate Drabinsky said yesterday It is financing and distributing movies ii3 eluding the recently released John upcoming with Shirley MacLaine and Peggy Ashcroft David By starring Charlotte Rampling and an untitled film to be directed by Stephen Frears Continued on page 5 col 1 and Cindy 1-3 pm 34 sstwnrt-lng tour 3 pm SUM Virginia Ball (bine-gram) 14 pm 34 pm Blackwatsr (country) 33 pm 44 pm AOsUner (bat-bsrshop) pm pm Carioatums Easter on Parade Activity Map Cineplex Odeon which started in HandbsU Carillon: pm 33:46 pm Blchmond Pops Band 36 pm CbUdmrtV ActMUee Clown show 1-6 pm Andy (WshJ Patotaak pm 44 Sourmst effort in Richmond of the Cineplex Odeon style since the corporation bought Neighborhood Theatre Inc in 1980 He announced that the Ridge Cinemas will be refurbished before the summer Included in the Cineplex Odeon growth plans are a nine-theater complex scheduled to open at Genito and Hull Street roads before Christmas the expansion of the Willow Lawn into four theaters by the end of the year an eight-screen theater to be erected at Pembroke Mall in Norfolk six screens in Colonial Park and six more screens in Spotsylvania The Cineplex Odeon Virginia expansion stems from the purchase of the Plitt Theaters in 1985 Drabinsky said Neighborhood Theatre Inc had already begun erection of the Wisconsin Ave six auditorium cinema in Washington which Cineplex Odeon or Lsm Monts pA DUMand Struttms (Hew Orisons' Jam 1-3 34 pm Slcbmand Concert Band: pa 3-4 PA Strath James Pipes fc Drums: pm Jass Ladlss: pm 44 pm 3-3 Boring Barter Bunny Franklin Struct Kstralli painted PRINTED IN coip (talk) 3-3 pm Photo-buttons popcorn Wagon: popcorn Is monads cotton candy balloons Woman's Club open 14 pm ff a Blun Champagne (dance) 36 pm Bonnot coots it: 4 pm.