IwerksÆ Entertainment Extreme Screenô Large Format Theatre Opens October 13 In Fargo At Newly Renovated CEC Theatres 10-Plex

16-Oct-00

IwerksÆ Entertainment Inc., (NASDAQ: IWRKC) a leading provider of special venue theatres, announced the opening of the seventh branded Iwerks Extreme Screenô large format theatre, as an anchor attraction at the newly renovated, state-of-the-art Century 10 Theatre complex in Fargo, North Dakota built by Cinema Entertainment Corp. (CEC Theatres). The 240-seat, 2D Iwerks Extreme Screen theatre features a giant motion picture screen four stories high, six-channel DTSÆ Digital Sound and state-of-the-art, 70mm large format projection technology. This marks the first large format installation for CEC Theatres, a commercial cinema chain based in St. Cloud, Minnesota, that operates 151 screens in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa.CEC Theatresí powerful marketing of the Iwerks Extreme Screen brand has built a high level of awareness within the Fargo/Moorehead community. CECís cross-promotions with the Go Radio Network, which controls five top local radio stations, have made ""Iwerks Extreme Screen"" a household phrase. ""In the world of conventional 35mm cinema, much of the marketing is done by the studios,"" notes Dwight Gunderson, CEC Theatres Director of Film and Marketing. ""With large format, you have to come up with your own unique forms of marketing and branding. Weíve relied extensively on the brand support program Iwerks provided, which helped us develop signage, billboards and advertising. The result has been a buzz of excitement and anticipation, reflected by substantial local media coverage and hundreds of consumer inquiries. The term ëExtreme Screení plays very well to the public.""""The Iwerks Extreme Screen brand was introduced in May 1999, with a comprehensive marketing support program that enables operators to get the best possible exposure for their large format theatres, especially at launch time,"" says Christina Frueh, Iwerks Vice President of Marketing and Publicity. ""CEC Theatres has used this promotional resource to the utmost. The Extreme Screen brand name and logo are highly evocative, conveying visually and verbally the grandeur and sensory impact of the giant screen experience. And the ways in which the brand can be applied are flexible, allowing our clients to build their own brands, not just ours."" CEC Theatresí new Extreme Screen theatre introduces two very popular large format films to the Fargo/Moorehead region - ""Everest,"" the blockbuster from MacGillivray Freeman Films, and ""Thrill Ride,"" from Sony Pictures Classics. ""Large format is in the beginning stages of development into more entertainment-oriented films,"" says Gunderson. ""We will lean towards showing entertainment films, but for daytime audiences, we hope also to build a school group program, for which we would exhibit educational films.""The Fargo installation is the first commercially operated Iwerks Extreme Screen large format theatre to open in the U.S. Other commercial Extreme Screen theatres are open at Warner Village Cinemas in Cheshire Oaks, U.K. and at UGC Cinemas (formerly Virgin Cinemas) at Fountainpark Leisure Complex in Edinburgh, Scotland. Three educational nonprofits also recently opened Iwerks Extreme Screen theatres - in Columbus, Ohio, Kansas City, Missouri, and Lehi, Utah. In Katoomba, Australia, an Iwerks Extreme Screen theatre operates as a destination cinema. Four more Extreme Screen theatres are set to open within the next ten months, in Montreal, Canada, Gothenburg, Sweden, Balloch, Scotland and San Antonio, Texas.For more information about Iwerks Entertainment Inc., visit www.iwerks.com.

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