Winnipeg Free Press Newspaper Archives Aug 22 2015, Page 105

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - August 22, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE E5 winnipegfreepress. com ENTERTAINMENT WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2015 E 5 No purchase necessary. Deadline for entries is noon on August 31, 2015. Winner will be contacted by phone and must correctly answer a time- limited, skill- testing question. Employees of the Winnipeg Free Press and participating sponsors are not eligible to win. This information is used only by the Winnipeg Free Press and is not sold, bartered, traded or given to any other parties. MY NEWS MY WAY ENTER TO WIN AT winnipegfreepress. com / contests ON SMI TH STR EET & THE BU RT ON CUM MIN GS THE A TR E BB Q CO MP ET IT IO N & ST RE ET F ES TI VA L P E R F O R M A N C E S .. B Y .. B I G S U G A R D A V I D W I L C O X MIS SIS SIP PI HEA T .. 24 TH ST REE T W AIL ERS MI SS E. C . S COT T .. JA CK SEM PLE & MOR E! AU G 22 | MA NI TO BA P OR K PE OP LE ’S CH OI CE B B Q C O M P E T I T I O N ! BU Y SA MP LE S AN D VO TE F OR Y OU R FA VO UR IT E! * * A P PRO X. 6- 8 PM OR WH I LE SU P PLI ES LAS T WIN NIP EGB BQA NDB LUE S. C A TI TI TI TI CK CK CK ET ET ET S ON ON ON S AL AL AL E AT AT AT A AT FE AT UR IN G TH E See The Rider First & Their Disability Second EST. 1977 M a n i t o b a R i d i n g F o r T h e D i s a b l e d A s s o c i a t i o n I n c . Please Donate • 204.925.5905 www. mrda. cc CANADIAN cinemas will not be following the lead of an American theatre chain that has announced heightened security measures in the wake of recent theatre shootings. Regal Entertainment Group, the largest movie- theatre chain in the U. S. with more than 7,300 screens, has quietly added a new security warning to its website. “ To ensure the safety of our guests and employees, backpacks and bags of any kind are subject to inspection prior to admission,” the Regal website advises. Representatives from Canadian chains Landmark Cinemas and Cineplex Entertainment say they have no plans to follow suit. “ We have no imminent plans to be doing backpack checks or anything like that,” said Neil Campbell, president and CEO of Landmark Cinemas in Canada, which operates Grant Park and Towne cinemas in Winnipeg. “ We don’t see it as our issue.” “ We are not replicating a bag/ backpack check policy like the one announced by Regal in the U. S.,” said Cineplex Entertainment vice- president Pat Marshall, adding, “ We do have signage that is posted in our theatres that says we have the right to inspect guests’ parcels, backpacks and bags and it has been in place for at least 20 years.” Paul Dergarabedian, senior analyst for entertainment research company Rentrak, doesn’t think increased security will impact the box office at all. “ Regal has decided to make a concerted effort to show their patrons that they’re aware of security issues,” he said. It’s not clear when Regal added the security change, but it seems to have happened after a gunman killed two moviegoers in a theatre in Lafayette, La., last month. Earlier this month in Nashville, a man attacked theatregoers with pepper spray and a hatchet; the attacker was shot and killed by police. In 2012, a gunman killed 12 people and injured 70 in a shooting in an Aurora, Colo., theatre. — USA Today, with files from staff No bag checks for Canadian moviegoers C OMING soon to a theatre near you — if you happen to live near Grant Park Shopping Centre: a handsome, roomy — but not yet licensed — lounge area, sleek, new soft- drink dispensers and a spankingnew snack bar. It’s all part of a $ 2- million- plus upgrade to the Landmark Grant Park Cinemas at Grant Park Shopping Centre. Landmark president and CEO Neil Campbell proudly showed off the newly appointed cinema Friday morning just ahead of its launch this weekend. There are only a few finishing touches to be completed. It’s the most impressive facelift to an existing Winnipeg cinema space since the launch of the $ 4- million McGillivray VIP Cinemas on the site of a former second- run Cinema City in 2012. Behind the new mall- facing ticket booth, a spacious, fireplace- appointed lounge area is open to anyone, not just moviegoers. “ They don’t even have to buy a movie ticket,” says Campbell. “ The lounge can become part of their social world, a comfortable place where they can come and talk about movies or just come and enjoy the space.” The lounge appears to have the potential to be transformed into something similar to the licensed lounge space at McGillivray VIP, but Campbell acknowledges that may be some time coming. The McGillivray VIP lounge and cinemas are separated from the rest of the theatre and restricted to patrons over the age of 18 according to provincial law. “ In Ontario, that ( stipulation) is relaxed, so we’re studying Ontario to see if it’s adaptable, to see if we can do it,” Campbell says. It may help make the case that the Grant Park Cinemas has staked out a more mature clientele from other multiplexes in town. Earlier this year, the eight- cinema multiplex played the blockbuster Fast and Furious 7 and the comparatively low- key comedy- drama sequel The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel . Initially anticipating big crowds for the blockbuster F& F , the management had to switch theatres playing the two movies when Second Best ended up doing triple the business of the franchise tent pole. “ This theatre attracts a very specific kind of crowd,” says Campbell. “ The lounge is the type of things you want to bring in,” Campbell says. “ We want people to come in and stay longer as opposed to coming in, watching the movie and leaving.” All eight Grant Park cinemas offer reserved seating. They now also offer three Coca- Cola Freestyle machines that can serve some 131 different soft drinks, with the potential to mix and match Coca- Cola brands, from iced tea to Dasani flavoured water. Campbell laughingly recalls the old- school “ swamp water” mixes kids to used to create at drinking fountains, but asserts the Freestyle machines offer computer- blended concoctions to please the palate. “ You build it any way you want to build it,” he says, not only of the drinks, but the snack- bar combos blending popcorn, drinks and candy according to the customer’s desires. randall. king@ freepress. mb. ca By Randall King Theatre wants people to lounge around ‘ We want people to come in and stay longer as opposed to coming in, watching the movie and leaving’ Grant Park takes cover off $ 2- M renovation RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Above, Landmark Cinemas president Neil Campbell ( left) and Grant Park Cinemas GM Kellen Jasper check out the lounge area. Below, Jasper tries out a Freestyle Coke machine. E_ 07_ Aug- 22- 15_ PP_ 01. indd E5 8/ 21/ 15 3: 16: 34 PM