1. What are some of your favorite movie related sites?
The web has a number of great movie related sites. We like:

• imdb.com - Extensive database and links to information for current and past films
• mrqe.com - Simple, straightforward, links to reviews
• rottentomatoes.com - Overview of review highlights, pro and con.
• indiewire.com - Great source for the latest on the independent movie scene
• bigscreenbiz.com - If you want to run a movie theater check out the forums on this site.
• the-numbers.com - Just the stats, ma'am, nothing but the stats.

There's plenty more so surf away!

2. Can I buy a ticket and change my mind and just go into another movie?
First, we have to keep track of how many seats are available for each showing so we know when to stop selling (remember Fahrenheit 9/11?) Second, we pay for the films based on a percentage of the gross, and the distributors insist on accuracy for some strange reason. So if you change your mind just let us know and we will exchange your ticket.

3. Why can't I bring my own food into the theater?
It's simply a matter of business. Each year the film distributors take a larger percentage of ticket sales. This means that, in turn, our concession sales must become an increasingly important part of our revenues. Quite frankly, there is a direct correlation between our profitability and our concession revenues. We do our best to make the popcorn fresh, serve real butter and offer a variety of drinks and candy. We hope you'll partake, but if not we simply ask that you not bring in outside food or drink.

4. I love the films you show! Who picks them?
We have a professional film booker whose job it is to select the films we play with our input. He's been doing this for a very long time, sees all the movies and knows the business inside and out. He's a big part of our success.

5. I hate the films you show! Who picks them?
See above

6. Some movies stay for a long time, some only a week. What's up with that?
Perhaps the biggest misconception about our business is that we get to play whatever movie we want, when we want and for how long we want. Unfortunately it's not as simple as selecting a pay per view event on cable television. Each film is a separate contract with the distributor negotiated by our booker. One of the terms is the length of time we are required to play the film. Generally, the big Hollywood films insist on longer commitments than the smaller independent films. In the end, some combination of that contract and the amount of business a film is doing determines what stays and what goes. Also, with only four screens we need more rapid changeover to keep our programming fresh.

7. I'm sometimes surprised that there are films that don't play at the Triplex. Why is that?
There are a lot of movies released and with only four screens there are many we'll simply never get around to. And frankly, the shelf life is very short for most films. Either you get them while their hot or they're yesterday's news. The long commitments insisted on by distributors coupled with our few screens in a small community mean we have to be very selective. On the independent side, some of these niche films don't draw enough of an audience even for us.

8. Do you take credit cards?
Yes, MasterCard and Visa only.

9. I'm thinking about opening a movie theater. Any advice?
Yes. Go to bigscreenbiz.com and read all the forums. You will get a real education there on all phases of the business. Read and ask questions, they will be very helpful.