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Author Topic: Feedback wanted on Wallace/Hollywood Theaters Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-11-2003 04:55 PM                     I did not know the same fellow running Wallace Theaters is also the guy who started up the ACT III circuit in Washington State. Really, it is pretty shocking. In the early 1990s, ACT III was one of the more aggressive circuits when it came to building theaters with digital sound in every auditorium or making an entire multiplex 100% THX certified. Some of their theaters in the late 1990s, before the Regal takeover, featured all-THX and all three digital formats on every screen. So, I'm fairly surprised that this fellow is overseeing such a disgraceful movie theater circuit. Poor show quality, poor maintenance and poor customer service seem to be the big deals at most any Wallace site.  |  IP: Logged Michael Coate Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1904 From: Los Angeles, California Registered: Feb 2001 posted 03-11-2003 05:25 PM                     Okay, I confess. I once worked for Wallace. True story. This conversation occured in the fall of 1993. Mike: So, what are the chances you can equip some of your screens with digital sound? Wallace General Manager: No chance. People can't tell the difference anyway. This conversation took place in spring 1994. Mike: Any chance you can order some new letters for the marquee? It seems every week there's at least one movie title that ends up with a missing letter or two. Wallace General Manager: No need. People can figure out what the missing letters are. Mike: But it's bad presentation. It reflects poorly on the company. Wallace General Manager: Having a good presentation doesn't help us sell any more tickets.  |  IP: Logged David Stambaugh Film God Posts: 4021 From: Eugene, Oregon Registered: Jan 2002 posted 03-11-2003 05:34 PM                        Back in the mid-90s Act III renovated Cinema World 8 here in Eugene, expanding from 4 to 8 screens in the process. All 8 screens were THX-certified, all 8 had both DTS and Dolby Digital sound, plus they had 2 roll-around SDDS units. Around the same time, they also renovated The McDonald Theatre. They installed new projection, seats, screen, and all 3 digital sound formats. They also went the extra mile with the McDonald and restored all the elaborate gold leaf paint on the sculpted ceiling and things like that.  |  IP: Logged Ken Layton Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1452 From: Olympia, Wash. USA Registered: Sep 1999 posted 03-11-2003 10:53 PM                     Wallace Theater Corp. 919 S.W. Taylor St., Suite 800 Portland, Oregon 97205 Phone: (503) 221-7090 Fax: (503) 796-0229 URL: www.wallacetheaters.com Funny but they're in the same offices as ACT 3 Theatres and for the most part have the same ACT 3 personnel running the company. Also, suite 900 is Tom Moyer's office! [ 03-12-2003, 12:36 AM: Message edited by: Ken Layton ]  |  IP: Logged Doug Willming Film Handler Posts: 45 From: San Antonio, TX, USA Registered: Jan 2001 posted 03-12-2003 07:55 AM                        Wallace Theaters has been a client of mine for many years. I provide them with logo trailers and lobby preview DVDs and tapes. I dealt with Scott Wallace personally when Act III bought out Santikos here in San Antonio back in the '80s and found him to be one of the toughest negotiators I've ever run across. Hollywood Theatres was also a client of mine (I did their "Mr. Stubbs" policy trailer). When Wallace bought out Hollywood (they were either bankrupt or about to go under), I believe they got a bunch of old theatres that Hollywood had swapped with Dickinson in an effort to reposition themselves better zone-wise. I know some of those theatres have been closed. I have never actually been to a Wallace Theater - they have quite a few in Texas, but none in San Antonio or the surrounding area - so I can't comment first hand as to their condition or quality or lack thereof. I would like to say in their defense (since I believe the original post was asking about the company business-wise) that they have always been one of my fastest paying clients, even during the downturn when a lot of my other clients were either going bankrupt or taking 6 months to pay their bills. If I were looking for a tenant, I would feel confident with them that I wouldn't be faced with a Chapter 11 manipulation to get out of lease. Knowing Scott Wallace, he is not going to invest a lot of money fixing a place up that he doesn't have to, particularly if it's a leased property. I don't think that makes him different than other circuits such as Cinemark, UA, Loews, etc. that still have some real stinkholes that, because of their location, are still packing enough people in to make them profitable. Unfortunately, I have a rather cynical view that most of the audiences out there still just plain don't care that much about quality (look at what they're going to see and what Hollywood is grinding out that they keep flocking to!!). Crappy theatres will still be around as long as people keep going to them.  |  IP: Logged Don Sneed Master Film Handler Posts: 451 From: Texas City, TX, USA Registered: Aug 2001 posted 03-12-2003 01:46 PM                        I can add something...Hollywood Theatres was a company started in Dallas, theatres in Texas, Oklahoma, Missiouri, Alabama, they built too many theatres, too fast, plus was buying up old theatres in the town they were building a megaplex to run off competion, a megaplex would closed doors on old theatres anyway, but money was short, Wallace brought and bale them out. when Hollywood theatres had the theatres, they were kept up, clean, ect....Wallace took over & booth parts stopped unless booth is down...pit-i-ful !!!  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 03-12-2003 06:31 PM                     I would agree with the part about a good number of people not caring at all about presentation quality. But I feel 100% right in saying ALL of those people are IDIOTS. I feel like dumping a truckload of flyers in the Wallace Cache 8 parking lot in Lawton with the phrase: "if you are willing to pay $7.50 to watch a movie in this dump, you are f**king stupid." The thing I can't understand is how distributors are willing to allow their product to be booked to play in such deplorable houses. Paramount made some noise last year about how they would pull their product from the Cache 8. Never happened. I guess the only thing I can hope for is the theater catching fire and burning down to the ground.  |  IP: Logged Dominic Espinosa Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1172 From: California, U.S.A. Registered: Jan 2004 posted 01-06-2004 12:23 PM                     Ok, so I'm a little late...But here's some skinny on the matter. Hollywood now owns Wallace. Scott sold it off to Steve Guffey around the same time this thread was started. As a result costs have been cut big time on everything, including payroll. I use to work for a 13 that did over 2 million in the first two years. This all in a town of just over 65,000. I was head projectionist there and we maintained a high quality presentation. Until we had no payroll to do our jobs. The ushers couldn't clean theaters since...well, there weren't any. They faxed a budget down that didn't include any payroll time for our ushers! In addition they eliminated the Movie Host position which the patrons really enjoyed at our location. With the new pay cut and the increasing trouble with getting them to order parts such as xenon lamps in a timely fashion the projection booth went to hell. Was that enough? Hell no! Let's fire the highest paid assistant manager at the location...FUN! The GM quit as a result and so did most of the management and floor staff. Virtually the whole building turned over. Next they sent down an alchoholic violent jackass 21 year old to manage the place. Now the theater does less than half of it's old business. People would rather drive to signature 37 miles away than come there. There are quite a few intermissions now since the new projectionist they hired to replace me hasn't been able to keep a show off the floor for quite some time. His reputation preceeds him in this way But I'm getting ahead of myself. The fact of the matter is, Wallace Theaters does dirty things to avoid their obligations. Such as not paying employees for overtime. In other cases employees are punished for not calling in Coke orders by driving to the DC and picking up the order...Clocked out. Does anyone else smell the dirtiness? In South Lake Tahoe (their district office for California, Arizona, Nevada, and Montana) where Scott sued ACT III for some lunacy and gained controll of the company. The city has actually voted them out, when their lease is up, they're gone. Not to mention the city wont allow them into a vacant theater, they'd rather have it empty than have Wallace in it. Many places there have to hire outside of Tahoe will work on the theater (janitorial services and such) because they don't get paid for it! My opinion of Wallace Theaters? F And it's great since there are other ex-employees who share my opinion. It's kind of freaky.  |  IP: Logged

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