The Big Picture

Christie Marchese is the founder of Picture Motion, where she led a team that’s involved in developing grassroots marketing and social action campaigns for films. Since its launch in 2012, Picture Motion has run campaigns for more than 150 feature and short films. Prior to launching Picture Motion, Marchese served as director of social action at Righteous Pictures and led digital strategy for the social action team at Participant Media, managing campaigns for Waiting for Superman, Food Inc, and The Cove among others. Prior to her career in film, Marchese ran digital strategy for Norman Lear’s nonprofit, Declare Yourself, and spent time at Human Rights Watch and the International Rescue Committee. Today she shares her experiences in utilizing film and storytelling to mobilize change, by presenting at film festivals and conferences, including Sundance, South-by-Southwest, and the Toronto International Film Festival, and for the Peruvian and Pakistani Governments.

As the motion picture business slowly but surely rebounds from the worst of the pandemic, there are signs that many exhibitors are rethinking the design and configuration of their theatres. Should they permanently remove some seats in case pandemics prove to be a recurring event? Should they tailor some auditoriums for games or eSports or other specialized content? New-builds and renovations often present different challenges but they all have one thing in common: seats. To understand the current state of seats and cinema design I recently spoke by email with Theresa English, principal at TK Architects International. The company has designed hundreds of cinemas and this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary in business. For English, any conversation about cinema design starts long before the house lights are dimmed, or the first movie ticket is sold. “The focus,” she says, “is on the patron and the seat.”

Later this week, as executive director of the professional association New York Women in Film & Television, Cynthia López will oversee the 2021 NYWIFT Summit: The Creative Industry Radically Reimagined. López is an award-winning media strategist, and former Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, where she implemented strategies to support film and TV production throughout the five boroughs. López is the recipient of many coveted industry awards including: 11 News and Documentary Emmy Awards, a Special Emmy Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, three Peabody Awards, and two duPont-Columbia Awards. In addition, she received the National Association of Latino Independent Producers Award for Commitment to Corporate Diversity. Prior to working as Commissioner, López was executive vice president and co-executive producer of the award-winning PBS documentary series American Documentary | POV and was involved in the organization’s strategic growth and creative development for 14 years. On January 1, 2019, she became executive director of New York Women in Film and Television. López recently agreed to do a Q&A via email; our conversation started with her legacy as an advocate for women and other minorities.

In a move that may offer some clues regarding the ways that exhibitors and streaming companies can work together effectively, Cinemark announced today that it will be showing Netflix’s Army of the Dead in both Cinemark XD and digital cinema auditoriums across its domestic circuit beginning May 14. Tickets are on sale now at Cinemark.com and on the Cinemark mobile app to watch the much-anticipated Zack Snyder film in theatres before it is available on Netflix on May 21.