Expo panelists in digital debate

Money, politics are obstacles, sez Mouse House's Barlow

By MARLENE EDMUNDS

AMSTERDAM -- A heated debate on the cost of digital cinema and who is going to pay for it provided a dramatic opening to the 10th edition of Cinema Expo Intl., whose four days of screenings and panels kicked off Monday.

In a packed morning session titled "Digital Cinema: Why the Wait?," Phil Barlow, exec VP for the Walt Disney Co., told panelists that money and politics were holding back the progress of digital cinema.

"Some see digital cinema as an opportunity to talk about American cultural imperialism and others are worried about the cost and who is going to pay for it," said Barlow, adding that it was perfectly clear "the studios are going to pay for it."

The remarks brought bitter comments from Richard Segal, chief exec of U.K. cinema operator Odeon. In an emotional exchange, he asked Barlow if he spoke for all of the studios. "No one has sat down with the cinema operators" to resolve the issue, Segal said.

Joost Bert, CEO of Belgian-based plex builder Kinepolis, agreed that it was not clear who was going to pay, but he added that when it comes to Kinepolis, the issue had been decided. "Kinepolis will pay because we want to control what happens inside our own cinemas."

Bert set off more sparks among panelists when he warned that "exhibitors could become a threatened species." Later, he told Daily Variety, "There are no clear job descriptions for exhibitors, none for distributors. We need laws to protect our roles."

Both Segal and Bert, who have invested in limited digital cinema experiments, also complained of a paltry number of prints available for digital cinema and said it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between digital and traditional cinema. That's another reason, Segal pointed out, that distribs should bear the brunt of conversion costs.

In an earlier panel, "Difficult Times in the U.S.: Will It Affect European Growth?," Karsten Grummit of Dodona Research told delegates he did not expect Europe to follow in the footsteps of the U.S., with widespread exhib bankruptcies and restructurings. Grummit said bankers were frightened by U.S. developments and were capitalizing fewer screens in Europe, a move he said would likely forestall overscreening on the continent.