More than Movies

Never fear. For a fraction of the price, you — and legions of bananas-for-Hannah tween girls — can enjoy Cyrus’ "Best of Both Worlds" tour for a lot less money, and a lot closer to home.

That’s because a 3-D version of the concert hits movie theaters nationwide Feb. 1 for a weeklong run, with tickets priced at $15.

Yet that’s only one of numerous attractions, coming soon to a movie theater near you, that have transformed the neighborhood multiplex into everything from a sports stadium to an opera house.

"All of it is generated by the mechanics of digital" distribution and projection, says Russ Nunley, vice president of marketing and communications for Regal Cinemas, which offers a wide range of programs through Fathom Events.

Fathom began in 2002 as a Regal-owned subsidiary and now is a division of National CineMedia, bringing alternate programs to several theater circuits, including select Regal and Cinemark locations in Las Vegas.

Initially, Regal created the division "to deliver pre-movie advertising," explains Fathom vice president Dan Diamond.

From there, finding digital attractions to present at nonpeak hours — which, at movie theaters, means everything except Friday and Saturday nights — became the goal.

ScreenVision, which also provides pre-movie advertising to theaters, began an alternative programming division in August, "to provide exhibitors with additional revenue at off-peak times," explains Darryl Schaffer, executive vice president of exhibitor relations.

With alternate attractions, "you can program your theater much like a television station," points out Michael Lewis, chief executive officer of Real D, the 3-D technology behind another anticipated concert blockbuster, "U2 3D," which opens in late January.

For exhibitors, development of alternate programming has been "the chicken and the egg," Nunley explains, with theaters needing digital programming to show — and digital equipment on which to show it.

For a 3-D production such as the Hannah Montana concert, "without digital, there’s no concert," acknowledges Chuck Viane, president of domestic distribution for Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Digital projection at more theaters means more special-event programming — which in turn means multiplexes are "the place to go for great movies — and a whole lot more," says Fathom’s Diamond.

"We are taking the approach that we’re a network of niche channels," he says, featuring everything from opera to pop concerts to revivals of movie and TV shows to attract diverse audiences.

Thus far, Fathom has presented more than 50 concerts, educational and entertainment events, from "Dirty Dancing’s" 20th anniversary to Celine Dion’s Caesars Palace spectacular, "A New Day."

Holiday season presentations range from a recent three-day run of the San Francisco Ballet’s "The Nutcracker" at Galaxy Theatres’ Cannery multiplex to the Metropolitan Opera’s English-language production of "Hansel and Gretel" (composed by the original Engelbert Humperdinck), to be presented live Tuesday at five Southern Nevada theaters. (An encore presentation of the latter is scheduled for Jan. 6.)

And while some might doubt opera’s appeal to multiplex audiences, the success of the Met’s series, now in its second season, has prompted other opera companies to get into the act.

Rave Motion Pictures’ new Town Square 18 multiplex is presenting monthly performances from Italy’s famed La Scala. (Next up, in late February, is Puccini’s "La Traviata.") The San Francisco Opera, meanwhile, announced last week that it will begin transmitting live performances to theaters in March.

"It really shows the diversity of our audience," Nunley says of the opera’s appeal.

Henderson resident — and opera fan — Mike Esposito thinks he knows why.

"I’m from New York, and I’ve been to the opera house in New York," he says, "and you cannot get a better seat for $22," which is how much he pays to see the Met at a local multiplex. "It’s giving people the opportunity of experiencing something they never could — and at a very affordable price, with the best seats."

In addition to charging higher admission prices for the special programs, alternative attractions enable theater operators to fill multiplexes at off-peak hours. (The live Met broadcasts, for example, begin at 10 a.m. Las Vegas time.)

"We hope the word ‘alternative’ relates to showtimes," Disney’s Viane says. "Weekends are made for movies."

Many observers expect the U2 and Hannah Montana concert movies to bridge the gap between the two.

"U2 3D," scheduled to open Jan. 25, is the first digital live-action movie to be shot in 3-D, according to producer Sandy Climan of 3ality Digital. (Previous digital 3-D attractions have been animated.)

"In the making of this film, we’re creating the next generation of 3-D," Climan says. "It’s not all special effects."

And "theater owners are thrilled" with the advances, he adds, because "you have a reason to leave your home."

Especially with audiences paying higher prices for tickets.

Theaters are recognizing that audiences have all kinds of other entertainment options, notes Jeremy Devine, Rave’s marketing vice president. So circuits "are trying to make the theater experience one you can’t replicate at home."

Not just in terms of wall-to-wall screens, surround sound and digital projection, but in terms of what’s playing.

For now, that means big-ticket concerts and, perhaps, multiplayer video game competitions.

Eventually, however, it could mean major sporting events, live in local theaters.

"We’re not there yet, because nobody’s doing it," says Rafe Cohen, president of Galaxy Theatres, whose Cannery theater has shown Monday night NFL games and college football’s Bowl Championship Series final to turnaway crowds. The theater also plans to present the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.

And this year’s NBA All-Star Game, held at the Thomas & Mack Center in February, sparked live Real D telecasts at Mandalay Bay, where VIP guests could catch the action without ever leaving the hotel.

"We had a lot of people coming over" and "saying, ‘This is a better experience than being there,’ " says Real D’s Lewis, who predicts that, in 2008, "you’ll start to see some live Real D broadcasts."

For the near future, that could mean ultimate fighting and extreme sports, he says.

Eventually, however, it could mean major-league deals, according to 3ality’s Climan.

"We are working with various sports leagues," he says. "We all believe that day is coming. The day that the Super Bowl is in 3-D — or (soccer’s) World Cup is in 3-D — will be incredibly exciting."

Contact reporter Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0272.