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Author Topic: Rave Motion Pictures. Who are they?
Mark Huff
Film Handler

Posts: 69
From: Springfield, IL, USA
Registered: May 2000


 - posted 08-29-2003 11:26 PM      Profile for Mark Huff   Email Mark Huff   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I generally want to know does anyone know anything about this company. They are headquarted in Dallas, TX.

Thanks,
Mark

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Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000


 - posted 08-29-2003 11:59 PM      Profile for Evans A Criswell   Author's Homepage   Email Evans A Criswell   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
All I know is they opened a 10-plex in Vestavia Hills not long back (southern part of Birmingham, AL) on November 1, 2002.

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Travis Hubrig
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 175
From: Minot ND, USA
Registered: May 2003


 - posted 08-30-2003 12:04 AM      Profile for Travis Hubrig   Email Travis Hubrig   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I Don't know much about them

The following was in the July 2003 'In Focus' magazine

quote:
RAVE RISING 79 BY YEAR'S END

Dallas-based exhibitor Rave Motion Pictures launched its 2003 expansion on June 27 with the opening of the West Chester Village 18 in West Chester, Ohio. The circuit, which currently operates 118 screens at eight sites, says it will construct 61 screens at four additional multis by the end of 2003. Upcoming locations include the East Baton Rouge 16 in Baton Rouge, La., the Destin Commons 14 in Destin, Fla., the Rave Motion Pictures 13 at Ridgmar in Fort Worth, Texas, and The Shoppes at Grande Prairie 18 in Peoria, Ill. The West Chester site, situated at the southeast corner of Interstate 75 and Union Center Boulevard, features wall-to-wall screens, 18-inch stadium-style risers with 48-inch row-depths, plush seats with retractable armrests, digital surround sound and a plethora of concession selections.

Doesn't say much except that they are expanding...

http://www.ravemotionpictures.com/corporate/default.html

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Nicholas Roznovsky
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156
From: College Station, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 08-30-2003 08:27 AM      Profile for Nicholas Roznovsky   Author's Homepage   Email Nicholas Roznovsky   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
It's run by the guys who ran Hollywood Theaters into the ground back in the mid-90's and ended up selling that chain to Wallace Theaters. They have a list of the big wigs at their website.

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William Hooper
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1879
From: Mobile, AL USA
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 09-01-2003 02:34 AM      Profile for William Hooper   Author's Homepage   Email William Hooper   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
All I know is they opened a 10-plex in Vestavia Hills not long back (southern part of Birmingham, AL) on November 1, 2002.
That's a nice theater doing some VERY nice business in a good location with pretty low-maintenance customers. The projection staff seemed to be pretty well-motivated.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-03-2003 01:13 AM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Why the name "Rave" for a theater circuit? Do the Cokes they sell come spiked with crystal meth or ectasy?

I'm skeptical about this circuit, given the past history of other circuits the Rave executives ran. Hollywood Theaters was a lackluster circuit. Anyone remember Starplex? Some near Dallas might. Just about any theater chain can open a fairly decent theater. But another thing is keeping it well maintained. I never saw Hollywood, Wallace or Starplex, etc. do any of that.

The Rave website is a little murky on their "theater amenities" section, claiming top of the line projectors and innovative digital sound. One thing missing: the phrase "in all auditoriums." It reminds me of the mall theater we have here that opened post-2000 but with only 2 of 12 screens equipped with digital surround. They keep from being specific so customers will hopefully assume the good gear is in every house.

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John Carpenter
Film Handler

Posts: 96
From: Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2002


 - posted 09-03-2003 04:11 PM      Profile for John Carpenter   Email John Carpenter   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
From what I have seen (I was able to tour one once) that they are putting a LOT of money into their theatres. All screens are digital sound and are very well designed. Everything seemed very clean and in its place. They also put a lot of money and effort into the lobby decor and showmanship. Time will only tell how well they end up maintained?

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Nicholas Roznovsky
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156
From: College Station, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-03-2003 04:59 PM      Profile for Nicholas Roznovsky   Author's Homepage   Email Nicholas Roznovsky   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
Anyone remember Starplex? Some near Dallas might. Just about any theater chain can open a fairly decent theater. But another thing is keeping it well maintained. I never saw Hollywood, Wallace or Starplex, etc. do any of that.
Gee, thanks. [Frown] Actually, considering that both of our locations in the Dallas area are discount theaters and have had traffic of at least 12,000 customers a week since they opened in 1995 and 1996, I believe that both of those theaters are in VERY good shape, especially considering the type of clientele they serve. Many of our customers in Irving, in fact, prefer us over the AMC first-run across the street. If I'm not mistaken, our theater in Mesquite is the only discount theater in the state to offer all three digital sound formats. I will admit that neither one is the best-looking theater in the world, but I think they are well maintained, especially for discount theaters.

Our other locations throughout the state of Texas are in even better condition than those two theaters. In the past, I have worked for companies which were unwilling to invest money in a theater after it opened, but I'm happy to say that's certainly not the case now.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-03-2003 05:36 PM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Sorry to be presumptuous about Starplex. Wasn't it an offshoot of the Hollywood chain and helmed by former Cinemark officers (like Hollywood)? Starplex was supposed to open a 14-plex in Wichita Falls, but the site never materialized (and neither did a Century 16-plex proposed for Wichita Falls either).

I suppose if the Hollywood guys aren't involved in Starplex' operations then that might be one reason why the Starplex locations are being maintained. Regardless of theater chain, the most important element in keeping a theater site in good shape is having managers and staff who give a damn.

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Nicholas Roznovsky
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156
From: College Station, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-03-2003 11:13 PM      Profile for Nicholas Roznovsky   Author's Homepage   Email Nicholas Roznovsky   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Hey, no offense taken. We're not exactly in the same spending league as the large chains, but we do try to maximize our budget with an emphasis on facility quality.

Actually, the gentlemen who run Starplex now used to own Trans-Texas Theaters, which had quite a few screens throughout the southwest but was based primarily in small towns in Texas. They were always run locally with the appearance of an indepent theater (no visible chain name), but were all owned and managed by the same company. Anyhoo, that company was bought out by Hollywood in early 1995. In fact, the exorbinant price they paid for Trans-Texas and their inability to curb spending in general led to their financial troubles.

Our owner decided that getting rid of all those facilities was a blessing (plus the money from selling Trans-Texas didn't hurt either [Big Grin] ) and decided to set up shop again as a new entity, Starplex Cinemas. Our owner, J.C. Mitchell is the brother of Leeroy "Cinemark" Mitchell, which is why many presume that we're some wayward cousin of Cinemark. We're completely indepedent from Cinemark and have never been involved with their company in any fashion, other than some friendly fishing trips and some great barbeques at the Mitchell mansion.

We did have plans for 14-plex in Wichita Falls, but had to back out when Cinemark purchased land and made it clear that they would build right across the street from us if we decided to do anything there. To make the story short, we didn't build anything and neither did Cinemark, but they still own that land and will presumably build something there in the future to compete with the two Carmike theaters in town. I wish that we could have gone ahead with that theater (because the Carmikes there are very poorly run and don't feature stadium seating), but we certainly don't have the resources to go head-to-head with the deep pockets of Cinemark. We are currently building a six-screen, all-stadium facility in Sulphur Springs, TX and are looking to expand some of our current facilites and build some more big ones in the future.

Now, since I've rambled on and on about my own company, here's something on the topic of the thread:

quote:
Regardless of theater chain, the most important element in keeping a theater site in good shape is having managers and staff who give a damn.
That's exactly right. We've been fortunate to have dedicated managers at our locations, but the vast majority of management staffs are part-timers waiting for a paycheck. Every chain, no matter how big or small, is only as good as the person they put in charge of their facilities.

I usually get onto Carmike because I've visited a lot of their theaters in Texas which are below sub-standard, but even in that chain I have seen examples of managers who have made the effort to keep their theaters in shape and it really pays off.

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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."

Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-05-2003 01:56 AM      Profile for Bobby Henderson   Email Bobby Henderson   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote:
I usually get onto Carmike because I've visited a lot of their theaters in Texas which are below sub-standard, but even in that chain I have seen examples of managers who have made the effort to keep their theaters in shape and it really pays off.
Carmike's Sikes Ten in Wichita Falls is not a very good theater. It sure does get that company some excellent numbers though, so much so that the Century City Six across from the mall has trouble getting bookings (even though their screens on the whole are a bit better). I've been to other Carmikes and been pretty disappointed in them. I guess that's why I feel lucky the Carmike here in Lawton is a well-run theater. The management is the big, positive difference there. I agree Cinemark will probably make a pretty good amount of money if they ever build in Wichita Falls.

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Chris Hipp
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1462
From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas)
Registered: Jul 2003


 - posted 09-08-2003 11:50 PM      Profile for Chris Hipp   Email Chris Hipp   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I don't know anything about the chain, but I remember seeing a theatre called the rave in pennsacola, florida when I was there last year.

Nicholas,
Does starplex have any kind of booth guideline or training program for the booth operators? I go to the starplex in mesquite if I lose a movie before I got a chance to see it. The prints are always trashed; I know it is a sub run but there is no way that every single print that they get is like that.

Either that or the sound is messed up or shadows on screen, I always wnat to to say "let me go upstairs and I will fix it."

I'm not trying to trash Starplex, I see a lot of potential for Starplex, but I also know that it, at least the one in Mesquite, does a lot of business and they should at least be able to keep up the equipment so the prints wont get trashed. I can't remember the last time I Saw a movie there on a friday or saturday night that wasn't sold out.

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Nicholas Roznovsky
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 156
From: College Station, TX, USA
Registered: Apr 2001


 - posted 09-09-2003 04:53 PM      Profile for Nicholas Roznovsky   Author's Homepage   Email Nicholas Roznovsky   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Actually since we have to wait for almost all product to be completely cleared out of the first-run DFW market, a lot of the prints that we do get are pretty shabby.

Of course, that's a lame excuse and certainly doesn't account for all of them though. [Smile] We've had a "revolving door panel of short-term guest projectionists" at that theater in the past which led to a lot of the problems there, but I think they've finally found a couple of guys willing to stick around and actually do some decent work. I look for the projection situation to improve there dramatically in the future.

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Chris Hipp
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1462
From: Mesquite, Tx (east of Dallas)
Registered: Jul 2003


 - posted 09-09-2003 05:11 PM      Profile for Chris Hipp   Email Chris Hipp   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I spoke with one of the guys there about a year ago, he seemed to care about what he was doing. I don't know if it was one of the guys you are referring to.

I tried to get a job there a while back. I thought it would be fun, but they didn't like me.

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Dennis Benjamin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1445
From: Denton, MD
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 09-13-2003 04:47 AM      Profile for Dennis Benjamin   Author's Homepage   Email Dennis Benjamin   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Regardless of what anyone thinks of this company (Rave). Go to their website, they have some serious growth going on.

www.ravemotionpictures.com

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