Larry Collins, Carmike Cinemas VP of film

ShowEast Honoree: 'Show E' Award

By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK

Larry Collins got his start 40 years ago as a student booker for Universal Pictures in Philadelphia, his hometown. In 1973, he became a film buyer, and he's never looked back.

Today, he is senior VP of film for Carmike Cinemas, the fourth-largest circuit in North America. Collins joined Carmike -- which has 262 theaters in 36 states -- in 1994. He was upped to his current position in 2005.

Carmike avoids big markets in favor of midsized ones primarily located in America's heartland and the South. In many of those markets, Carmike is the only circuit.

That means Collins and his film buyers can target the specific needs of a market when buying films, an unusual luxury in today's consolidated world.

"You get to use your imagination more," Collins explains.