Digestadd/turner/LK1st

Mann About Town

Mann Theatres is reportedly negotiating a deal to acquire about 100 movie screens in California owned by General Cinemas.

The deal, if approved, would be the first major expansion for Encino-based Mann since it was bought last year by a team led by executive Jeffrey Lewine for $165 million from a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. Mann, which owns 63 theaters in California and Colorado, is best known locally as the owner of the Mann’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

Officials from Mann and General Cinemas have refused to comment on negotiations. Boston-based GC Cos. Inc., owner of the General Cinemas chain, announced earlier this year that it plans to sell its U.S. theaters outside its core markets in the Northeast and Midwest.

Post-Production Pickets

The Motion Picture Editors Guild has begun a picketing campaign at Burbank post-production house Four Media Co.

The union says Four Media employees were forced to reapply for their positions and saw their wages cut by up to 50 percent after its predecessor company, Compact Video, was acquired in 1993 by a group who changed the company name to Four Media.

The guild accuses Four Media of refusing to negotiate, though company officials say negotiations are continuing.