William Morris to represent Hollywood & Highland Apparently everyone and everything needs an agent these days, or so it would seem now that a real estate development has one. The Hollywood & Highland project in Hollywood, Calif., is now represented by The William Morris Agency (WMA), Beverly Hills, Calif.
The project's developer, San Diego-based TrizecHahn Development Corp., retained the agency to tap its vast experience and deep connections in the entertainment industry.
The alliance should aid TrizecHahn in developing new relationships in the Hollywood scene to bring even more innovations to the 640,000 sq. ft. project. Upon completion, Hollywood & Highland will house retailers, restaurants, entertainment, clubs such as Q's Jook Joint (created by Quincy Jones), television broadcast facilities and the eventual home of the Academy Awards ceremony.
These elements, combined with the project's location near such area highlights as historic Mann Chinese Theater, have L.A. leaders calling Hollywood & Highland the cornerstone of a Hollywood renaissance.
WMA's Corporate Advisory Group, which provides consultancy services to a wide range of clients, will oversee the Hollywood & Highland account. The account team will be led by Richard Rosenberg.
IAFEC bulletins The International Association of Family Entertainment Centers (IAFEC) is offering a leisure industry management school for FEC, LBE, CEC and UBE professionals beginning next year. Titled Oglebay Entertainment Business Institute (OBEI), the annual two-year program will be presented by leisure industry teachers and will take place Jan. 16-21, 2000. Enrollment will be limited to 100 students.
The intensive one-week curriculum is designed for multiple levels of facility management and operational staff, whether they are seasoned managers or people new to the industry.
Leisure industry professionals will administer the school and serve as its board of regents, while staff and service professionals of the Oglebay Conference Center Continuing Education Department will facilitate the program.
The IAFEC has also recently developed the first edition of the Developers Handbook, a manual providing information on topics such as market analysis,/project viability, market penetration potential, site selection/site analysis, thematic considerations, financing and more.
The book is free to IAFEC's developer members and is available to non-developer IAFEC members for $39. Non-members may purchase the book for $150.
In addition, the IAFEC has released its Family Entertainment Sales & Marketing Management Manual. The manual covers details on developing a marketing plan and strategy, implementing marketing tactics, the advertising budget, pricing, product planning, promotions, publicity and more. The price is $39 for IAFEC members, $59 for non-members, plus shipping and handling charges.
For information on the OBEI program, the Developers Handbook or the Family Entertainment Sales & Marketing Management Manual, call the IAFEC at (603) 464-6498.
G movies more profitable than R movies, study concludes A 10-year study conducted by The Dove Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Grand Rapids, Mich., reveals that the average G-rated movie is eight times more profitable to filmmakers than R-rated films. The study was conceived and underwritten by C. Frederick Wehba, Dove boardmember and chairman of The Bentley Forbes Group, a Los Angeles-based commercial real estate firm.
The Dove Foundation, which seeks to encourage the creation, production and distribution of wholesome family entertainment, worked with Paul Kagan Associates, a noted research organization, Arthur Andersen accounting firm and the Seidman School of Business to collect, analyze and verify the accuracy of its results.
The release of R-rated films reached an all-time high of 169 in 1997, while PG and G releases dropped 25% from 1994 to 1997.
New theater development * AMC Theatres has signed a ground lease with Alexandria, Va.-based Hoffman Management Inc. to build a new facility at the company's Hoffman Center. The 24-screen theater will seat up to 6,000 moviegoers, making it the largest multiplex on the East Coast. Construction on the building is set to begin this spring with completion expected by fall 2000. It will also house several restaurants.
Hoffman Center, an office, retail and hotel complex being developed on the western edge of Old Town Alexandria, is seeing more retailer interest as a result of the lease signing. The developer hopes to include 50,000 sq. ft. of retail to the 56-acre property. The site, which surrounds the Eisenhower Metro station, is a candidate for the 20-year lease of the U.S. Patent and Trade Office.
* Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Muvico Theaters has purchased three Florida sites. Construction has commenced on Tampa's Muvico 20, which will provide 4,000 stadium seats. The '50s drive-in themed location is set to open in fall 1999. Also, construction began early this year on Boynton Beach's Muvico 20, an ultra-modern cinema also seating 4,000.
The Muvico 20 in Boca Raton will be the height of the moviegoing experience. The 20 stadium-seating auditoriums will feature balcony areas where, for an additional amount, guests can relax in luxury seating while enjoying their movie and a cocktail. Other amenities include a 200-seat restaurant and bar. Completion has been set for spring 2000.