Sony Pictures Entertainment Dedicates New State-Of-The-Art Mixing Theatre To Burt Lancaster

13-Jul-00

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) inaugurated a new mixing theatre in honor of the Columbia Pictures icon, Burt Lancaster, with a dedication ceremony including a tribute reel and a premiere screening of the newly restored 1966 classic ""The Professionals."" The Lancaster family, friends and colleagues were in attendance. Michael Kohut, President, Post Production Facilities, SPE and Beth Berke, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, SPE hosted the event. Remarks focused on the Burt Lancaster legacy and the unveiling of the uniquely designed state-of-the-art mixing theatre. ""The Burt Lancaster Theatre represents the culmination of an extensive ten-year post production facilities' expansion and analog-to-digital modernization program to consolidate our leadership position in the post production industry,"" explained Mr. Kohut. ""The design philosophy behind this new theatre is to provide our clients and sound crews with an elegant and aesthetically-pleasing environment to work in and one that inspires the creative mind."" Modeled on a Venetian palazzo, the 2,400 square foot mixing theatre is equipped with the finest digital audio technology including Sony Digital Audio Disk Recorders (Sony DADR-5000) and a Harrison MPC mixing console. ""The Burt Lancaster Theatre continues our proud tradition of linking the studio's landmarks with the names of its illustrious stars. Burt Lancaster is a treasured part of the studio's history and we are delighted to have the Lancaster family join us in our celebration,"" said Beth Berke. Burt Lancaster's acting career spanned over 48 years and 78 films. He received his first Best Actor Academy AwardÆ nomination in 1954 for his role as Sergeant Milton Warden in Columbia Pictures' ""From Here To Eternity"" - one of the studio's twelve Best Picture Academy Award-winning films. He went on to win the 1961 Academy Award for Best Actor in ""Elmer Gantry,"" followed by Best Actor nominations for ""Birdman Of Alcatraz"" (1962) and ""Atlantic City"" (1982). The Burt Lancaster Theatre will be crewed by acclaimed re-recording mixers Gary Bourgeois and Greg Orloff. With 31 years of experience at the mixing console, Mr. Bourgeois joins Sony Pictures after 15 years at Todd AO's Stage S in Burbank, California. Mr. Orloff has worked as one of the studio's key feature film mixers since 1995 and previously at Skywalker Sound South, Taj Soundworks and Group IV Recording. Sony Pictures Post Production Facilities offers the industry a total of nine film and television mixing theatres as well as the renowned scoring stage, nine DVD audio mastering suites, three ADR and three Foley stages, 204 editing rooms, 55 digital audio workstations, two sound design suites, 15 non-linear picture editing systems and film and video transfer.The SPE Digital Studios Division was formed in 1997 to integrate digital technologies into studio operations. The division encompasses Post Production Facilities Sony Pictures HD Center, Sony Pictures DVD Center, Worldwide Satellite Operations, Advanced Entertainment Systems and Worldwide Product Fulfillment Group. Sony Pictures Entertainment's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home video acquisition, operation of studio facilities, development of new entertainment technologies and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries worldwide. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.spe.sony.com.

Read More:
http://www.spe.sony.com