Famous News (Summer 1990)

FAMOUS NEWS SUMMER /1990/VOL. 3 NO. 10 RON EMILIO: THE INTERVIEW Ron Emilio, Famous Players president and chief executive officer, has been extremely busy in the three months since he assumed his new position. He sat down for an interview with Famous News and talked about his plans for the company. Here are some of the questions we asked, with Mr. Emilio’s responses: Will Famous Players continue to expand in the coming years? Over the past three years the company has been through a rationalization. This means we have opened many new theatres but we have also closed some of the theatres which do not fit into the company’s future. Most of the closings have been old, single-screened operations and their replacements have been modern, multi-screen complexes which allow greater flexibility in programming film. We will continue with our building program where we feel we need more screens and I expect new complexes to open in Vancouver, Montreal, Sarnia and Toronto in the coming year-and-a-half. What about the older theatres in the circuit? People who run theatre circuits must continue to spend money on facilities. Audiences are more sophisticated in their expectations and in order to earn their entertainment dollar we must respond by building modern complexes and maintaining those already in service. Famous Players is in the middle of a large renovation program and we are working very hard to have all of our theatres brought up to standard. Of course, it is important to spend our renovation budget in the most efficient manner and our district managers are helping us in the allocation of the budget. In addition to the theatres being the best that they can be, what would you like to see happen at Famous Players? I think it is important for everyone to understand that we are in a service industry. To date, we have been fortunate in continuing to attract large audiences to our theatres, but we have to make sure that we give each and every customer a pleasant night out at the movies. In an age where it has become increasingly attractive for people to remain at home cocooning, the marketers call it we have to make sure that a visit to a Famous Players theatre is worth a trip out of the house. My focus in the coming months will be on improving the service we offer to our customers and that means that we will be working with all of our employees to create a special feeling of hospitality at our theatres. What about theatre-level promotions? Famous Players must continue to build on the good relationships we have with the distribution companies. This company’s fortunes rise and fall with those of our suppliers and anything which we can do to support our distributor’s efforts in promoting their films will be fully supported by my office. I am very interested in having our theatre managers work on the promotion of film and I am confident that our theatres will begin to see an increased emphasis on the * promotion of film. I know Cyrano de Bergerac, Fantasia and Bethune have been identified as project pictures for the Fall and I am hoping that everyone in the field will use their ingenuity and expertise to get out and bang the drum for these films. How does Famous Players fit into the structure of our parent company? Paramount Communications Inc. is comprised of two large areas, entertainment-related businesses and publishing interests. Frank Mancuso, the chairman and chief executive officer of Paramount Pictures, is responsible for the entertainment-related businesses. Famous Players is one of this group of companies, which also includes the Mann Theatres circuit, Madison Square Garden and Paramount Pictures. Finally..... How are you enjoying your new job? A while ago I said that working for Famous Players was what everyone in the industry in Canada hoped to do before they retired. I love what I do and I want everyone at Famoiis Players to enjoy themselves while working hard to accomplish our goals