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From www.abiworld.org on July 12, 2001:

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AMC Makes $62.5 Million Proposal for GC Cos.

In a surprise move, AMC Entertainment Inc. signed a letter of intent to acquire substantially all the assets of motion picture theatre operator GC Cos. for $62.5 million in cash, according to Dow Jones. The proposal is $20 million more than a proposal by Onex Corp. and Oaktree Capital Management LLC earlier this month. AMC made the proposal to acquire the parent of movie theater chain General Cinema Theatres Inc. at a hearing yesterday afternoon in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The court was considering a request by GC Cos. for approval of bid procedures it planned to use to help ensure that the Onex-Oaktree proposal was the best deal out there. The court called a recess in the hearing to allow GC Cos. to go over the terms of what AMC had proposed. The hearing was expected to proceed later yesterday.

Aside from offering $20 million more than Onex and Oaktree, AMC said it would reduce to $1.5 million the breakup fee that would be payable in the event GC Cos. was eventually sold to a competing bidder. GC Cos. had proposed paying Onex and Oaktree a $3 million breakup fee. In court filings, the creditor group said it had agreed on the terms of an internal restructuring for GC Cos. and was prepared to file a plan in the company's chapter 11 case based on that proposal. GC Cos. and some of its subsidiaries filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 11, 2000, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. They listed assets of $328.9 million and liabilities of $195.1 million as of Aug. 31, 2000.

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From www.abiworld.org on November 14, 2001:

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GC Cos. Wins 30-day Extension of Co-exclusivity Period

GC Cos. won a 30-day extension of the exclusive period during which only it and a committee representing its unsecured creditors can propose reorganization plans in the company’s chapter 11 case, according to Dow Jones. GC Cos. and its creditors’ committee now have until Nov. 26 to file a reorganization plan, according to the order signed by Judge Erwin I. Katz of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The company’s previous exclusive period expired on Oct. 26. The company will use the 30-day extension to continue negotiations with potential purchasers.
This is the sixth extension granted to GC Cos. and the fourth that grants co-exclusivity to its committee of unsecured creditors. Still, the company may be forced to petition the court for a seventh extension next month if it can’t wrap up negotiations with the potential purchasers. GC Cos. and some of its units filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 11, 2000, listing assets of $328.9 million and liabilities of $195.1 million as of Aug. 31, 2000. Units in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Tennessee filed for chapter 7 liquidation.

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From www.abiworld.org on November 30, 2001:

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U.S. Trustee Wants GC Cos. to Set Deadline for Chapter 11 Plan

The U.S. Trustee acting in GC Cos. Inc.'s chapter 11 case has asked the the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., to make the company pay its quarterly fees and to set a deadline for the company to file a reorganization plan or take other steps, Dow Jones reported. The request comes as GC Cos., the parent of General Cinema Theatres Inc., and the committee representing its unsecured creditors are seeking to extend the exclusive period during which only they can propose reorganization plans in the chapter 11 case. The extension would extend the period 30 days, through Dec. 26 from Nov. 26. Hearings on both requests are scheduled for Dec. 20. GC Cos. and some of its units filed for chapter 11 protection in October 2000, listing assets of $328.9 million and liabilities of $195.1 million.

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I have to respond here thanks to what William T said:

"The GCC Barton Creek 14 in Austin is a nice theatre. I would hate to see what AMC would do to it as far as Quality goes since AMC seems to be lacking in it all the way around..."

Sure, and I can sell you Manhattan for $24. GCC used to be a major player in New Jersey. Now it's losing ground fast and for good reason:

GCC Bridgewater Commons 7: Screwed up Jackie Brown first show on its first day (12/25/1997). Exit snipe hit the screen out of frame. One trailer was a scope trailer -- and Jackie Brown is a flat film. Another trailer was spliced 1 sprocket out of frame. To top it off, the box office window said Jackie Brown was in Dolby Digital but the movie was actually playing in a mono hall -- they put The Postman in a Dolby Digital hall. I have not been back to that theater since.

GCC Rutgers Plaza 6: I walked out of Set It Off at this theater because a woman had to bring her baby into that movie on a Saturday night and the baby wouldn't stop crying. Theater closed 10/19/2000 -- 8 days after GCC filed Chapter 11. Building and signs are still standing with 102 Dalmatians/Rugrats kid art still on the windows.

GCC Blue Star 4: Speeded up projection in at least 1 auditorium. I walked out of Set It Off at this theater because I could tell from the music that the projector was speeded up. Theater closed 8/17/1998. Torn down and replaced by a clothing store.

GCC Essex Green 9: Sound cut out twice during Road Trip -- and this in a stadium theater built in the late 1990s.

GCC Clifton Commons 16: Also a stadium theater. When I go for upmarket/arthouse pictures (Small Time Crooks, Saving Grace, Best in Show) I never have any problems. I go to a mainstream movie (Charlie's Angels) and -- again! -- a woman brings in a baby that won't stop crying. Worse yet, this woman tried to have ME thrown out of the theater! I have not been back since.

Get ready to preserve those "Candy Band" snipes!

Once I worked with a projectionist who would carefully plot out the reels so that he could make change-overs (in the days of running 2000ft reels) at the ends of certain reels so as to keep a fairly credible continuity yet be able to drop 10-15 min off the total running time of the film at the last show, just so he could leave early. Once he figured that he could drop out an entire reel of one of the Matt Helm films (Dean Martin) and the audience never complained about it. Geez, it's a good thing he hadn't hear of this motor speed-p scam. Yesterday I ran LEGEND OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER -- I bet I could have dropped two reels and no one would have known (or cared).