posted 06-07-2004 02:15 PM                    

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Madstone Theater closes its doors
Dennis Domrzalski
NMBW Staff

Albuquerque's Madstone Theater closed Monday, the victim of financial problems that caused the New York-based chain to shutter its seven remaining theaters.

"They closed three last week, which left us with seven, and this week the remaining seven are closing," said Sophie Martin, director of marketing for Albuquerque's Madstone Theater.

Three of the shuttered theaters -- those in San Diego, Tampa and Cary, North Carolina -- are expected to reopen under different management. It was not clear Monday if the Albuquerque theater would eventually reopen under different management, Martin said.

The Albuquerque theater, which opened in June 2002, had eight screens and employed 15 people. It also served beer and wine.

The Madstone Theaters, which show independent and foreign films, apparently weren't meeting their financial goals in other cities. Martin added, however, that the Albuquerque theater was financially stable.

"What is disappointing about it is that the theater in Albuquerque was doing OK," Martin said. "Albuquerque was one of a handful of theaters that were meeting their goals. This is a good market for foreign and independent films. This has been an incredibly supportive community."

Last week, Madstone closed theaters in Atlanta, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Chandler, Ariz.

The Albuquerque theater did open on Monday and showed "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind." The theater closed after the first showing, Martin said.

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posted 06-07-2004 02:19 PM                    

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It is with great sadness and regret that we inform you the Madstone Theaters
in San Diego has been closed effective June 7, 2004. The theater will reopen
on Friday June 11th under new management. We are currently working with the new
management and area businesses in order to honor your membership. We thank all
of our Madstone Members for their loyalty and support over the past years. We
will email you with details in the coming days. Thank you for your patience, as
it is greatly appreciated.

Warmest Regards,
Your friends at Madston

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posted 06-08-2004 01:11 PM                    

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Although we are no longer able to honor your Membership to Madstone Theaters, we hope that you accept on behalf of us, these special offers.

We have arranged for Madstone Members to receive invitations to special advanced screenings from several studios. Madstone Members will be mailed screening passes throughout the year for a variety of special advanced film screenings in your area. Also, The High Museum of Art will offer $1 discounts on general admission to regularly scheduled fill screenings at the High for Madstone Members. The High Museum discount will be honored until the latest expiration date of your Madstone membership. To receive these special offers, please enter your membership number below. You will be asked to verify your mailing information and email. As promised when you first joined our Membership Program, we will not share your information with anyone else. By verifying your information, you will be giving us permission to pass along your information to these two organizations. You will be eligible to receive the advanced screening tickets only if you verify your information by June 16th, 2004.

Also, Gallop Jewelry (www.gallopjewelry.com) has extended their offer of 15% savings (online items) for all Madstone Members. To take advantage of this offer, simply type "Madstone" in the coupon code box and press "Validate" to receive the discount.

As an added bonus, The Loop Pizza Grill, 6017 Sandy Springs Circle, will continue to offer Madstone members, through the month of June, the following deal: Buy one specialty pizza, receive one of equal or lesser value free. Simply present your Madstone card to receive this offer at The Loop through June 30, 2004.

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Although we are no longer able to honor your Membership to Madstone Theaters, we hope that you accept on behalf of us, these special offers.

We have arranged for Madstone Members to receive invitations to special advanced screenings from several studios. Madstone Members will be mailed screening passes throughout the year for a variety of special advanced film screenings in your area. To receive this special offer, please enter your member number and verify your mailing information and email. By verifying your information, you will be giving us permission to pass along your information to these organizations. You will be eligible to receive the advanced screening tickets only if you verify your information by June 16th, 2004.

Also, Gallop Jewelry (www.gallopjewelry.com) has extended their offer of 15% savings (online items) for all Madstone Members. To take advantage of this offer, simply type "Madstone" in the coupon code box and press "Validate" to receive the discount.

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Although we are no longer able to honor your Membership to Madstone Theaters, we hope that you accept on behalf of us, these special offers:

The Michigan Theater will be honoring Madstone Memberships. Please visit the Michigan Theater between the hours of 7pm-11pm at 603 E. Liberty Street in Ann Arbor before July 31, 2004 for details. You must have your Madstone Membership card present at time of trade-in.

We have also arranged for Madstone Members to receive invitations to special advanced screenings from several studios. Madstone Members will be mailed screening passes throughout the year for a variety of special advanced film screenings in your area. To receive this offer, enter your member number and verify your mailing information. By verifying your information, you will be giving us permission to pass along your mailing address and name. You will only receive the tickets if you verify your information by June 16th, 2004.

As an added bonus, Gallop Jewelry (www.gallopjewelry.com) has extended their offer of 15% savings (online items) for all Madstone Members. To take advantage of this offer, simply type "Madstone" in the coupon code box and press "Validate" to receive the discount.

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quote: Mike Olpin

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We are currently working with the new management and area businesses in order to honor your membership. We thank all of our Madstone Members for their loyalty and support over the past years. We will email you with details in the coming days. Thank you for your patience, as it is greatly appreciated.

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due to the overwhelming community support in Tampa, the theater will continue to operate under new, third party management, and fulfill its mission of showing first-run foreign, arthouse, and sophisticated studio films. Special events, such as BYOBaby, art shows, and guest speakers, will continue as planned. The local management team will stay in place to see the theater through this transition period and beyond. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Theater Manager Margaret Murray with any questions. Thank you for your continued support and patronage.

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quote: Mike Olpin

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The theater will reopen on Friday June 11th under new management.

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posted 06-08-2004 01:20 PM                    

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IndieWIRE
Madstone Films, the production arm, also closed its doors. Madstone Films started a unique initiative to fund first-time directors as they made digital features; the first three filmmakers selected for the program were Lisa Siwe, Joan Stein, and Aaron Woodley. Woodley's film, "Rhinoceros Eyes," which premiered at the 2003 Toronto International Film Festival, is the only completed film in the program; it debuted in theaters this spring. The program is also now shut down.

In 2002, Madstone Films acquired stalwart indie distributor New Yorker Films; however New Yorker had continued to be run by Dan Talbot since the acquisition. "The closing of Madstone in no way affects Dan Talbot or New Yorker Films," Madstone's Owens told indieWIRE.

Madstone's third business area was a distribution network of digital projection systems, which was also shut down.

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The Denver Film Society on Tuesday said it will honor the memberships of approximately 390 Denver members of Madstone Theaters. Denver Post

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posted 06-11-2004 04:24 AM                       

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Show's over for Madstone Theaters

Sean P. Means
The Salt Lake Tribune

The Madstone Theaters chain shut down nationwide Monday, leaving 10 theaters dark -- including its renovated four-screen space in Salt Lake City's Trolley Square, which opened only 10 months ago.

"We were doing OK," said Rebecca McLoney, manager of the Madstone Trolley Square Theaters. "The audience that came loved us. We had a lot of repeat customers but it wasn't enough."

The New York-based Madstone announced Monday it was closing its theaters in Salt Lake City; Denver; Albuquerque, N.M.; Tampa, Fla.; San Diego; Baltimore; and Cary, N.C. -- after closing theaters in Atlanta; Ann Arbor, Mich.; and Chandler, Ariz., a week earlier. The Tampa theater will continue under new management, and theaters in San Diego and Cary will reopen under new management soon. Calls to Trolley Square management were not returned.

"The company was not able to achieve its business goals," a statement from Madstone said.

Those goals -- outlined by Madstone Chief Executive Chip Seelig when the Trolley Square theaters opened last August -- involved bringing "child-free couples" who had "given up Friday night at the movies" back to the multiplex. The Madstone formula included a mix of art-house films, sandwiches and smoothies, alcohol in the lobby lounge and special events for film buffs.

Madstone Trolley Square opened strong with some acclaimed movies, including the Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary "Capturing the Friedmans." It also became a second Salt Lake City home for the independent Slamdance Film Festival's documentary programs in January. "They had a great staff there -- everyone from Rebecca on down, they had a truly friendly staff," Peter Baxter, president and co-founder of Slamdance, said Monday from his Santa Monica, Calif., office. "They worked really hard, and we did well."

The chain ran into controversy in January, when Madstone executives in New York backed out of plans to show "Latter Days," a romantic comedy centering on a gay LDS missionary, saying it was "lacking in artistic merit." The cancellation drew protests from gay-rights advocates, and the Broadway Centre Cinemas later screened the movie to great success.

Madstone's top-down management structure contributed to its downfall, said Brooke Harper, executive director of the Salt Lake Film Society, the nonprofit organization that runs the city's other art-house theaters, the Broadway and Tower Theatre. Madstone, she said, "entered markets in which their competitors were entrenched, excellent exhibitors like Landmark [Theatres] and local film societies like ours. The audience for art film was already fully served by existing theaters."

Ultimately, McLoney said, Madstone Trolley Square was caught in a pinch between downtown theaters, losing first-run films to Larry Miller's Megaplex 12 at The Gateway and the best art-house titles to the Tower and Broadway.

"We weren't competing with the Broadway or Larry," McLoney said. "We were competing with both."

Madstone's announcement follows Thursday's closure of the neighboring Trolley Corners Theatres, built in 1977 and run since 2001 by Salt Lake City's Westates Theatres. A fitness club is planned for that space.

For fans and makers of independent film, Baxter said, Madstone's departure is "a double hit. The audiences don't get to see some of the films made by independent filmmakers, and the filmmakers lose an exhibition opportunity. And that's got to be counted as a pity."

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Theater chain ends run

Independent-film firm owned a Denver site

By Kristi Arellano
Denver Post Staff Writer

Denver's independent-film scene lost a player Monday when New York-based Madstone Theaters LLC closed down nationwide.

The privately owned company operated a six-screen art-house theater at Tamarac Square on East Hampden Avenue in Denver. It also closed theaters in Albuquerque; Baltimore; Cary, N.C.; San Diego; Salt Lake City; and Tampa, Fla.


Madstone Theaters' Mark Bowes, right,
and Joseph Marchione stand in the
Denver theater around the time of its
grand opening in May 2002.

Company officials were unavailable for comment Monday. In an e-mail, Madstone's marketing manager, Erin Owens, said the theaters were closing because "the company was not able to meet its business goals."

Madstone Theaters formed as an offshoot of Madstone Films, an independent film production company. Madstone Theaters operated in 10 markets. Last week, the company closed its theaters in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Atlanta; and Chandler, Ariz.

"It comes as a surprise for the Denver market," said Eric Beteille, a spokesman for the Starz FilmCenter, which is operated by the Denver Film Society. "We do have a really good core of independent filmgoers. I'm surprised they couldn't make a go of it."

Madstone Theaters opened its Denver theater in May 2002, taking over space occupied by the former Mann Tamarac 6. The opening of the theaters was met with enthusiasm as it nearly doubled the number of independent film screens in the Denver area.

Since then, the Starz FilmCenter opened up with six theaters devoted to daily features. Shortly after Madstone announced it was opening a theater in Denver, Austin, Texas-based Magnolia Pictures Co. said it was opening a six-screen art-house theater in Boulder.

Landmark Theatre Co., which operates the Chez Artiste, Esquire and Mayan theaters in Denver, took over the The Magnolia in September.

A Landmark spokesman said Madstone's closing isn't a reflection of the independent film scene.

"They tried to grow very quickly; they were not as selective in their locations as they could have been," said Ray Price, vice president of marketing for Landmark. "This is a fragile business. You have to be careful where you go and what kind of rent deals you make. They were anxious to build a national circuit, and they ignored a lot."

A woman who identified herself as the manager of Madstone's Denver theater said the venue employed 18 people.

She did not know whether the company planned to give refunds to people who bought memberships to the theater. A one-year adult membership to Madstone Theaters cost $45.

Scott Schroeder, a spokesman for Developers Diversified Realty, which owns Tamarac Square, said the company is trying lease the 22,000-square-foot theater space.

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