Panoramic Screens to Try to Widen Films’ Appeal

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Panoramic Screens to Try to Widen Films’ Appeal
Spreading Out: Ted Schilowitz.

In an effort to get people off the couch and out of their homes, movie theaters are lifting the curtain on a new technology that boasts a huge, 270-degree panoramic viewing experience.

Last week, the Cinemark at L.A.’s Howard Hughes Center was among the first five theaters in the country to show portions of 20th Century Fox’s “Maze Runner” in the three-screen format.

Movies can either be shot in a format compatible with the ultrawide, multiscreen experience, called Barco Escape, or can be reformatted in postproduction, as was the case with “Maze Runner.”

The offering was developed by Barco, a Belgian maker of digital projectors, and was brought to the United States by Ted Schilowitz, who works for both 20th Century Fox, where he holds the title of futurist, and Barco, where he is “cinemavangelist.”

Schilowitz said the response from viewers to the first screenings has been encouraging, and he plans to roll out more of the systems to theaters across Los Angeles and the rest of the country.

The future of the theatrical business, he said, depends on the success of such innovations.

“People are making the decision to stay home rather than go to the theater,” he said. “We need to show people that what you go out to see can be different from what you stay in to see.”

Cinemas can retrofit a theater to Barco Escape at a cost of between $120,000 and $150,000, which includes installing two projectors and placing an additional screen on either side of the main screen.

There was no extra charge to moviegoers to see the Barco Escape screenings of “Maze Runner.” Schilowitz said there’s an ongoing discussion about whether to use a surcharge model for the format. Another option is to sell sponsored videos to brands to air before movie showings.

Dukes Up

Longtime TV exec Michael King jumped into the pro boxing world earlier this year when he launched Brentwood fight promotion company King Sports Worldwide. Now, his new company is set to make its TV debut.

King Sports will stage its first nationally televised match Oct. 1 at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. The three-hour telecast will air on ESPN 2 and ESPN Deportes.

This will be King’s second event. The first, in April, was not televised and lost money. White is hoping the TV licensing money for this event will help it to be profitable.

ESPN is paying in the low six figures for the broadcast rights.

King paid about $80,000 in July for the rights to promote the main event of the night, which pits Hassan N’Dam against Curtis Stevens. King promotes N’Dam’s fights and outbid Stevens’ promoter, Main Events. The fight will determine the challenger for the International Boxing Federation middleweight championship.

It will cost King about $600,000 to stage the event, and White said he is aiming to recoup the remainder of his outlay from ticket and other on-site sales.

King made his money selling shows such as “Wheel of Fortune” and “Oprah” to TV stations in syndication deals.

He got into the sports world as a part owner of the New Jersey Devils, then-New Jersey Nets and New York Yankees.

He sold those stakes and raised $25 million five years ago to help develop a heavyweight training program for the U.S. Olympic boxing team. He invested about $10 million in that effort before turning his attention to pro boxing.

He’s hoping to build a series of televised boxing events, rather than just one-offs, in the hopes of creating big ratings and big licensing deals from networks. The Oct. 1 telecast will be the first step in that process.

“This is our pilot,” he said. “We want a series.”

Magazine Moves

C Publishing of Santa Monica, publisher of C Magazine, C for Men, C Weddings and C Home, has hired Bernard Scharf as creative director, Heather Severs as style director, Amanda Tisch Weitzman as home and design editor, and Lesley McKenzie as deputy editor. … The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard have hired Jeremy Colfer as head of video.

Staff reporter Jonathan Polakoff can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 226.

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