As much as we may complain about how corporations are ruining everything, the people of Massachusetts have to thank large, international conglomerates today. National Amusements, part of the mega-company Viacom, is teaming up with The Kraft Group, which owns everything from paper manufacturers to the New England Patriots. Unlike when many corporations team up, though, they're actually up to something good. They'll be building a live entertainment venue near the Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. (owned by Kraft, naturally), which can serve as a spot for dinner theater, concerts, and more.
According to Reuters, the venue, called Showcase Live!, will opened in August 2008, next door to one of National Amusements' Cinema de Lux theater. Basically this means that National Amusements and Kraft will have a hold on all the entertainment options in the area, and in pretty unusual ways-- Cinema de Lux offers luxury seating and food service during their movie screenings, and the Gillette Stadium is the home to the Patriots, pretty much the biggest name in football at the moment. Shari Redstone, the president of National Amusements, explains that she got the idea for a music venue “We started experimenting with live entertainment at our luxury cinemas and people responded.” So we're letting the richest of the rich moviegoers decide for us these days, huh?
What does all of this mean to the average movie fan? Not too much at the moment, but it could be an interesting sign of whats to come, as movie theaters look at declining profits thanks to rising cost of popcorn, increasing piracy and a generally slow economy. We've seen theaters experimenting with broadcasting live shows, 3D concert movies and even the opera; now we may see big brands like National Amusements, Regal or Loews stepping out of the movie business all together.
