Shasta Outlets in Anderson will be back in the movie business by Dec. 23, when the former Prime 11 Cinemas complex reopens as Valley 11 Cinemas, the general manager of an Idaho theater company said Thursday.
The new theaters will open two months after the Prime 11 complex abruptly closed its doors Oct. 23.
Prime 11 Cinemas, which opened in May 2006, closed two weeks after Shasta Outlets property owners went to court seeking to evict the tenant and collect three months of back rent and taxes totaling slightly more than $72,000.
“We are a small, family-owned company that specializes in operating first-run movie theaters,” said Clint Sanborn, general manager of Casper Management Co. of Boise.
Casper does business as The Reel Theatre at seven locations in four states.
In Idaho, the company manages Northgate Reel and Country Club Plaza Reel, both in Boise, The Reel Theatre in Pocatello and Nampa Reel Theatre in Nampa.
The company also manages The Reel Theatre 8 in Ontario, Ore., and Reel Theatres Richfield in Richfield, Utah.
Initially the Anderson cineplex will open with at least seven screens, one of which will offer digital projection, said Sanborn, 32, a 14-year-veteran with the management firm.
“We have ordered a silver 3-D screen, but the supplier cannot ship it in time for our Friday opening. I’ll probably be installing it Christmas Eve so we can offer 3-D movies on Christmas Day,” Sanborn said.
“My main technical installer is due to fly in Sunday (Dec. 18), so it shouldn’t take us too long to get the rest of the theater spaces up and running,” said Sanborn.
Valley 11 Cinemas will offer first-run movies from every major studio as well as some independent and foreign films, Sanborn said.
According to The Real Theatre website, the company shows feature films from studios such as Buena Vista Pictures, Universal Pictures, MGM/United Artists, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Miramax Films
Although Sanborn said he intends to keep movie prices comparable to what Prime 11 had been charging, he said there would be a surcharge for 3-D movies.
“We’re not going to come in and raise the prices and we have already heard plenty of comments from the community that real butter on our popcorn is a high priority,” Sanborn said.
Ownership of the theater complex will be retained by the Shasta Outlets’ landowners, the Branagh and Patterson family trusts, with Casper Management Co. receiving a percentage of the multi-plex profits as a management fee.
The eventual goal, Sanborn said, is to convert all 11 screens at Valley 11 Cinemas to a true digital format with either hard drive commercial movie players or movies downloaded directly from major studios.
“Our Northgate and Ontario theaters are 100 percent digital,” he noted, with all Reel Theatres offering the latest movies, Dolby Surround or DTS Digital Sound, wall-to-wall screens, spacious row-to-row cup-holder seating, video arcades and concession stands offering fresh, hot popcorn, hotdogs, nachos, candy and more!
Movie listings and show times will soon be available online at www.realtheatre.com via the Valley 11 Cinemas button.
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
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