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Author Topic: Film Booker Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 11-09-2007 02:22 AM                     Does a theatre have to use a booker from their are or could they use some one anywhere in the country? Our local booker has alot of our area theatres along with are and it seems like anytime we want to book a certain film our booker comes back with sorry you can't have it. Some of the many excuses are 1) There are no prints available. To which i wounder how can a print not be available when the number of screens drops the next week. Upon wich the other theatre down the road gets a print for that same week. 2) When we ask for a print that the other theatre has instead of getting something new they hold the print and play it once a day for the next few weeks. She say because they have it we can't get it. It seems to me that she really is not helping our house at all and that maybe a booker not in the area may suit us better. Any Ideas?  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 11-09-2007 02:30 AM                     Do your own booking. Find the phone numbers for each of the studio and arrange with them on doing your own booking. A lot of "indies" do their own so they don't have to hassle with booking agents. The plus side with a booker is that they are more apt to get the films you want with the right terms since they've got that "edge" with the film companies. But some just dive in head first with doing their own booking, and trust me, it can be a bumpy road at times. Good luck-Monte  |  IP: Logged Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 11-09-2007 04:22 AM                     At this point it seems as if we are paying this booker to use their edge for the other theatres. Anyone every have that feeling that they are getting screwed and not even know it.  |  IP: Logged Monte L Fullmer Film God Posts: 8367 From: Nampa, Idaho, USA Registered: Nov 2004 posted 11-09-2007 05:39 AM                     only thing that I can come across is that booking fees aren't being paid and bookers can be a little nasty in remembering this..  |  IP: Logged Barry Floyd Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1079 From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 11-09-2007 09:56 AM                        We run into some of the same things sometimes.... but not very often. We use a film booker in Ohio for our Drive-In in Tennessee. The best reason I have found so far for using a booker is the established relationship that booker already has with the studio reps, and the vast number of screens that booker represents. Sure, you could do your own booking, but you just don't have the leverage that a booker with 100's if not 1000's of screens represents. I could call Paramount and say, "I've got 2 screens here at my drive-in to put Transformers on - what's the best deal you can make me?" However, my booker can call them and say, "I've got 136 drive-in screens plus another 788 indoor screens I can put Transformers on... what's the best deal you can make me?" In that scenerio.. who gets the best deal? This time of year the print counts are lower and the studios tend to give the limited prints to the theatres who can give them back the most amount of money. If we can't get a print the week it opens nationwide, it may be week 3 before we're able to score a print. If there's not alot of new stuff coming out, then the other theatres that did get it may hold on to it (for the lack of nothing better to show), and we'll have to wait again. Most of the time if a biger theatre has multiple prints, they'll usually drop the multiple copies by week 3. Find yourself a different booker.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2007 10:17 AM                        It sounds to me like your booker is doing a bad job of explaining the "why" when something happens. To just tell you "you can't have it" is bad. You should always be able to understand the reasons why you don't get a print. First of all, there is almost always a two-to-four week minimum on all new prints. Not one week. It doesn't matter how many shows a day a print is playing....as long as it's making money where it is, the film company will allow it to stay there. There's also the possibility that the neighboring theatre might not have anything better to play...therefore they'll keep their print another week. As long as the neighbor theatre is making money on the print, they have the right to keep it. If your theatre will potentially gross relatively well on a given film, and the movie is a wide release (over 2500 screens), then you should be able to get it on the break if you're willing to pay the higher film rent and hold it for at least the minimum play time. If your booker can't secure you prints under those conditions, you might need a new booker. If you choose not to play a film on the break, then you just have to wait until a print is available. In that case the distributor will look to which theatre has the higher gross potential when deciding where prints will go. To address the first question in the first post -- I don't think you really need a booker in your area, but you should have one in your region at least. We used to have a booker in Salt Lake City (700 miles from here) who was familiar with all the mountain states. He retired; our current booker is in Montana.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-09-2007 12:17 PM                     If you use a booker you need to use one that is VERY familiar with your area and the other competition. Using a booker thousands of miles away from you is a joke (So was that booker in SLC for that matter! I'm glad he retired)! I have three customers that book their own stuff and all three of those are sub run/move over locations. If you're doing first run and unless you have alot of screens to book then a booker is the only way to make any headway with the distributers. I completely disagree with Monte that being your own booker has advantages. I have in fact seen many people try to book their own shows put at great disadvantage as far as split and play dates. A booker that is booking 300 to 500 screens weekly has alot more power than you booking just 6 or 8 screes on your own... he can also move the dogs out sooner for you. In fact many bookers at distribution frown on having to deal with such irrelevant first run bookings. In the long haul a good booker will make you added money and get you the films you want to play. There is no perfect booker out there and sometimes a theater has to play the crap to get the good stuff... but you WILL be getting that good stuff unlike the guy trying to wade through it himself. In the short haul booking stuff yourself your profits will be minimized and you'll probably go out of buisness. quote: Monte L Fullmer A lot of "indies" do their own so they don't have to hassle with booking agents. I like that line the best! If your booker is a hassle its time to find another booker. Mark  |  IP: Logged Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 11-09-2007 01:54 PM                     Any one have any info on a booker in the upstate NY area? Or one that is not in the area that you would recomend? We are thinking about changing to a different booker.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 11-10-2007 08:49 AM                        The main reason there are "not enough prints" is that the exchange did not order enough. If you are a high grossing theatre, this is inexcusable, but helps the distrib make more money. If you are a low grosser, it is somewhat understandable. It is your booker's JOB to move you into the "have a print" catagory as soon as he can. Louis  |  IP: Logged Mark Ogden Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 943 From: Little Falls, N.J. Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-10-2007 09:46 AM                     Elmira is my hometown, and years ago I worked in theatres in Upstate New York. In fact, I first stepped into a projection booth at the old Colonial on Main Street in Elmira, with the late Paul Shay as head. At the time the big name in first-run booking was Frontier Amusements out of Tonawanda. They handled most if not all of the Dipson screens, which meant all of Elmira except the old GC Arnot Mall twin. 'Course, this was back in the days of the old "exchange" system, not only would they book your screen, they would also handle print delivery, someone from Frontier used to come around in a panel truck and drop the print off to you (does anyone still do that?) According to this website, they are still going (or are they who you are using now): http://www.manta.com/coms2/dnbcompany_dd7xq0 Might be worth a call.  |  IP: Logged Ky Boyd Hey I'm #23 Posts: 314 From: Santa Rosa, CA, USA Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-10-2007 02:09 PM                       As an indie operator in both first run and move over situations, I have to agree with Mark that having a professional film booker more than pays for itself, if you have the right booker. Of course having the right booker is only half the equation. The other half is that you, the theatre owner/operator, as the client have to be willing to play an active role in the process. That means keeping your booker informed about changes in the marketplace on a real time basis. Watching what happens at theatres similar to yours in other markets and asking appropriate questions. Listening to the advice you are given and doing your part on the promotions and operations front to make sure that your theatre is a "desired" location. And finally, and this is a big one, do you send your box office reports to the studios in one time? Do you pay your film rental on time and at the proper amount? Do you pay your booker on time? If you don't pay on time to either the studios or the booker you are a problem client. I should also note that I am only in favor of booking service fees that are flat. I don't believe in paying a % of revenue to the film booker. But I do bonus my film buyers at the end of the year based on the theatre's box office performance because they play an essential role in our success. Finally, as I believe was noted here and elsewhere, not doing your own booking frees you up to focus on operations and promotions that will help keep your theatre at the front of the pack.  |  IP: Logged Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 11-11-2007 05:17 PM                     Mark that could be who we use. I grew up in the Colnial, Capitol and the 123 as well. You might have known my Grandfather John if you worked with Paul. My dad said he quit running projectors before he started working in those theatres, his name is tom and i also have an uncle john that worked in those theatres. [ 11-28-2007, 12:41 PM: Message edited by: Scott McGuire ]  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 11-11-2007 05:42 PM                     quote: Louis Bornwasser The main reason there are "not enough prints" is that the exchange did not order enough. Another problem that digital will solve easily and cheaply. Mark  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 11-11-2007 06:07 PM                     The reason that there are not enough prints is that the local multiplex operators have requested that it be withheld from you until they have played it a couple weeks and gotten the max attendance.  |  IP: Logged Scott McGuire Film Handler Posts: 94 From: Elmira, NY/United States Registered: Oct 2007 posted 11-11-2007 06:49 PM                     Is that because they use the same booker and have asked them to do that or because they have asked the studio to do so. Is it true that studios will not let other theatres that are within a certain distance from each other have the same movie.  |  IP: Logged

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