On the cover (page A1) on sidebar:

(picture of "Carmike Cinemas" sign on front of building)

Problems at the movie house

The occasional bad movie is not the only problem at one Decatur theatre. The theatre has problems that range from sticky floors to poor projection. (C1)

Page C1:

To right of headline: A picture of the front of the Carmike 8, seen through part of what looks like a shopping cart. (which I find curious, since I dont believe there is any business there that would have a shopping cart.)

Headline: Silver Screen Tarnish

Decatur moviegoers see stark contrast in city's theatres

by Franklin Harris
DAILY Online Editor

Moviegoers in Decatur face more than the occasional bad movie. At one local theatre, they must also brave poor projection, sticky floors, no heating and other problems.

The contrast between the aging Carmike Century Cinema 8 on 14th Street Southeast and the newer Regal River Oaks Cinema 8 behind Colonial Mall is striking, according to moviegoers.

"I've been to both of them recently, and the River Oaks is obviously the better one," said Leslie Smith, 17, of Hartselle. "It's newer and more people-friendly. I like the other one, too, but it needs to be renovated."

Lee Fanning, 15, of Hartselle agrees with part of that assessment, but still prefers the Carmike.

"It is easy to tell that Carmike is an older facility than Regal, because it is smaller and sometimes has the incurable problem of one's feet sticking to its floor," he said. "But it is still a fine building and always has the best coming attractions posters in their lobby. If I had to choose, I would probably go to the Carmike, just because it is smaller and generally has smaller crowds of people."

But Carmike's smaller crowds are indicative of the theatre's shortcomings, according to a computer scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, who has been rating Decatur and Huntsville's movie theatres as a hobby since 1996. Evans A Criswell has seen more than 300 movies, and more than 50 at the Carmike.

"I think a lot of people would rather drive to Huntsville to see movies shown properly," he said.

A recent visit to the theatre by THE DAILY showwed sticky floors and other problems. The heat in one theatre was not working, but theatre staff warned ticket buyers of the problem in advance. One moviegoer said the air conditioner was out in the same auditorium in September. Some moviegoers also complain about service at the concession stand.

During the recent visit, there were also projection problems, with the image off center for the entire movie.

"There seems to be a lack of skill and care on the part of the people taking care of the projection equipment there," Criswell said.

Structurally, while the building is showing its age, the facilities, including restrooms and auditoriums, appeared to be clean.

Criswell puts much of the blame for Carmike's problems on what he says is the company's policy of moving its managers from theatre to theatre.

"There have been 10 managers at the Carmike in the last five years," he said.

A spokeswoman from Carmike Cinemas, based in Columbus, Ga., said the company does not comment on its management practices.

Most major theatre chains are experiencing hard times. Carmike sought bankruptcy protection last year, and Regal did the same this year.

The entire theatre industry has faced financial difficulty during the past few years, in part because theatre companies expanded too quickly, and in part because of unfavorable profit-sharing arrangements with the Hollywood movie studios.

Suzanne Brown, a Carmike spokeswoman, declined to comment on the Decatur theatre in particular, but she did say nothing in Carmike's bankruptcy proceedings prevents maintenance.

"As far as new builds, that was put on hold," she said, "but as far as maintenance and upkeep, that was something that was deemed critical to our continued business, and we were allowed to do continued maintenance on our theatres."

Litchfield Theatres opened the facility in 1982. Since then, it has changed ownership twice. It underwent a major renovation in 1992, when Carmike doubled the number of screens, but has seen little improvement since.

"If the local staff wanted to improve it, they couldn't, because the company wouldn't put the money into it," Criswell said.

Although neither Carmike nor Regal releases attendance figures, Criswell said that he believes a lack of attendance at the Decatur Carmike is the reason for the neglect. He said he believes the company is focusing instead on its newer, more popular theatres, such as the Carmike 10 on Old Monrovia Road in Huntsville. And he says that past managers at the Decatur theatre have echoed that sentiment.

On the Net: www.hsvmovies.com

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

I feel flattered that this manager wants me to come in and check the screens and help find projection problems, but I find it a bit odd that Carmike doesn't have anyone working for them that does this. They're asking someone off the street (basically) to come in and help find their problems, rather than someone who should theoretically know projection much better than I do. I've never touched a 35mm projector, but thanks mainly to film-tech, I often know what the problem is when I see something wrong, although I doubt I could fix anything. Knowing the theory behind something and actually working with it are two different things.

If this article had been written about a theatre that was in bad shape and you were taking it over, with a very minimal budget, what steps would you take to correct the problems? Assuming that there are so many presentation defects that correcting them all quickly would be impossible, what would your priorities be? I'd be interested in hearing responses to that question.

For specific reviews and problem reports for the Carmike 8 theatre that was the subject of the article, go here.

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Information Site

But congratulations for getting Carmike's attention!

Here are the criteria for THX Certification:
http://www.thx.com/theatres/sound_criteria.html

Here are the Lucasfilm TAP Grading and Reference Materials:
http://www.thx.com/professional_services/tap_grading.html

Lack of heat: Thats a tough one, could be out of their hands. Or the management could be too lazy to get an estimate. Can't tell from the info.

Sticky floors: The janitors are more than likely not mopping the auditoriums every night like they should be, cutting corners instead and just mopping up spills, maybe not even that. The ushers may not be mopping up spills in between shows either.

Projection problems: A lot of the projection problems mentioned in the article and on your site are simple fixes-focus, frame, etc. With proper training the fix for this should cost $0.

Long concession lines: Every Carmike works on the same customer/staff ratio. I won't say what it is but its fairly reasonable. If things are taking too long they need to take a long hard look at their staff and concession procedures and make adjustments where needed.

Wear and tear: this is a tough one. The solution really depends on the specific problem. Are light bulbs burnt out? No excuse, either they're out and haven't ordered replacements or they're too lazy to put them in. Other things such as carpet cleaning, minor painting, etc can be done on a shoestring budget or none at all. You'd be surprised how much you can get done just by trading passes.