The Big Picture

Later this week, Cliff Marks is retiring from National CineMedia. His long tenure there dovetails precisely with the adoption of digital cinema technology and he had a hand in many, if not most, of the innovations the new technology has made possible. Marks joined NCM in 2002 as an original member of the company’s leadership team, when it was then the Regal Entertainment Group media subsidiary known as Regal CineMedia Corporation. He was named president of sales and marketing when Regal CineMedia became National CineMedia in 2005 with the addition of AMC and later Cinemark as founding member theatre circuits and was named president of NCM in 2016. Marks was the visionary behind the creation and evolution of NCM’s groundbreaking movie pre-show — the first to combine entertainment content and advertising — turning cinema into not only a powerful sight-sound-and-motion medium, but a key premium video option in today’s fragmented media landscape. Today NCM’s Noovie pre-show is seen by more than 750 million moviegoers a year. Before joining NCM, Marks was a 14-year veteran of ESPN/ABC Sports overseeing its $2 billion sales organization. He currently serves as a director on the executive board of the Screen Advertising World Association and serves on the marketing committee of the International 3D Society. He has also served several terms as president and chairman of the Cinema Advertising Council. I recently interviewed Marks via email about his time at NCM, his plans for the future, and his thoughts on the state of the cinema business. Our conversation started with the earliest days of digital cinema.

Kino Industries, creator of the interactive CtrlMovie technology that gives film and TV audiences real-time collaborative influence over the direction of a project’s plots and characters, has entered into a creative and co-financing partnership with Rocketman financier Starlings Entertainment. The announcement was made by Kino Industries CEO Chady Eli Mattar, president Scott C. Silver and Starlings Entertainment CEO/executive producer Karine Martin.

This June 22-27, a consortium of trade associations, movie theatre chains and other cinema-related businesses will launch Cinema Week as a means of celebrating the culture of moviegoing—and supporting the hard-hit exhibition industry. During Cinema Week exhibitors will showcase exclusive in-theatre content and activities, as well as giveaways and special guests, in hopes of reenergizing audiences around the theatrical experience.

The grand opening of Cinemark’s Totem Lake and XD theatre within The Village at Totem Lake in Kirkland, Texas was held last Friday, March 19. “Cinemark is thrilled to be opening a brand-new theatre in The Village at Totem Lake,” said Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi.