|
|
|
The big picture? Combine theater with conference center
Presentations,
some movies shown
in all-digital format
By ANDY NYSTROM
Redmond Reporter
Published Aug. 10, 2005
Mark Stern has been in the
movie-theater business since he
was a child, but the grown man
is still fascinated with the hightech
equipment that brings films
to life on the big screen.
While giving a tour of his Big
Picture facility in Redmond on
a recent afternoon, Stern
suddenly broke into a jog and
shot up the ramp that leads to a
booth containing something
magical in his eyes: a digital
projector.
After tinkering with it for a
few seconds, an Eagles rock
concert flashed onto the screen
and the band launched into its
hit, "Hotel California." The
digitally filmed gig is of such
crisp quality that someone
watching it might feel as if
they’re in the front row, just feet
away from singer Don Henley.
And accompanied with a killer
sound system — six 18-inch
sub-woofers and eight
surround-sound speakers — Big
Picture is giving people’s ears a
workout as well.
Although Big Picture shows
all of its art-house movies in
35-millimeter film nowadays,
Stern is hoping that Hollywood
will soon go all-digital so he
can put his projector into action
full time. Big Picture, which
doubles as a gathering place for
company meetings and social
events, allows clients to show
films or give PowerPoint
presentations in the digital
format.
"My mantra is death to film. I
want to see film in the
Smithsonian ... It doesn’t have
a place in modern screening
rooms," said Stern, a Chicago
native who was an usher at his
father’s movie theater in his
younger days and ran three
theaters of his own as an adult.
"You know, George Lucas
agrees with me. He filmed (the
latest) 'Star Wars’ in digital.
And I recently got a call from
'Star Wars’ producer Rick
McCollum at the Skywalker
Ranch. He said, 'I heard
you’re building digital theaters
out there. I’m going to put you
on 20th Century Fox’s radar
screen.' "That was one hell of
a phone call," Stern added
with pride.
Stern and his wife, Katie,
opened their first Big Picture
in Seattle’s Belltown area six
years ago and moved into their
Redmond Town Center digs
four months ago. Since then,
the couple has amassed
hundreds of clients —
including The Boeing Co. and
Microsoft Corp. — who have
used the facilities for moralebuilding
meetings, to celebrate
big moments in a company’s
history or to host high-school
reunions.
The Sterns said they’ve
experienced so much success
that they’re planning on
opening a Big Picture in Los
Angeles in the near future.
In Redmond, the 5,500-
square-foot Big Picture
features 140 Tempur-Pedic theater seats and a large
lobby/meeting area, which
includes a full bar, plush
couches and drapes and swags
hanging from the walls and
ceiling.
The boutique/old-
Hollywood-style lobby is
often used by companies for
break-out meeting sessions,
but Stern said that the main
feature takes place in the
theater.
"We think of (the meetings)
as PowerPoint on steroids," he
said of Big Picture’s digital
features and booming sound
system. "We say that business
meetings are like a Broadway
play. There’s a star (CEO or
president) who’s going to
perform, and there’s a live
audience who’s going to listen
and be engaged ... be
excited."
Stern, whose grandfather
owned a Chicago silent-movie
theater in the 1920s, isn’t too
thrilled with the big-budget
action movies coming out of
Hollywood these days. And
that’s exactly why he focuses
on art-house movies, which
are driven by dialogue — not
action — and feature strong
lead and supporting characters who are in conflict with each
other.
Stern noted that his favorite
art-house films are 2002’s
"About Schmidt" starring Jack
Nicholson and 2004’s
"Sideways" starring Paul
Giamatti and Virginia Madsen.
If there was a movie titled
"About the Sterns," it would
focus on the husband-and-wife
team moving from Chicago to
Seattle eight years ago and
making their mark in what
they feel is a cutting-edge city.
They then set their sights on
Redmond because they wanted
to turn Eastside people on to
art-house movies and cater to
the big local businesses that
needed a hip place to meet
with their employees.
"We spent an obscene
amount of money to make the
most glamorous space they’ve
have ever been to," Stern said
as two people dropped by Big
Picture and asked the owner if
they could have a look around.
"To start out where we did in
Belltown and move into a
major mall ... It’s mindboggling."
View PDF Version
Big Picture Seattle | 2505 First Avenue | Seattle, WA 98121
Phone: 206-256-0566 | Fax: 206-256-0588 | Email: info@thebigpicture.net
Big Picture Redmond | 7411 166th Avenue, NE | Redmond 98052
Phone: 425-556-0566 | Fax: 425-556-0138 | Email: info@thebigpicture.net
|
|
|
|
|
|
