Possible theater partner emerges

International cinema chain National Amusements has recently entered negotiations with the University as a potential backer for the halted theater project along the 40th Street corridor. The Dedham, Mass.-based company would resume construction on the former Sundance Cinemas site at 40th and Walnut streets, after nearly four months of inactivity. "We have been discussing the location with the officials of the University," said Jennifer Maguire, spokeswoman for National Amusements. Maguire, however, refused to discuss specifics of the negotiations. "We are not at liberty at this time to release any further information," she said. Last month, Penn Executive Vice President John Fry said the University was speaking with several potential theater operators, with one emerging as a particular favorite. "We're in discussions with them right now," Fry said at the time, but declined to release the name of the potential partner. "We've identified a national chain and have entered into substantive discussions with them." Fry was unavailable for comment yesterday, and University spokeswoman Lori Doyle would not confirm that Penn is closing in on a deal with National Amusements. "We are having discussions with a number of theater operators," Doyle said. "We have not made a decision at this point." In October, General Cinemas, which was providing financial backing for the project, filed for bankruptcy protection. The company pulled out of the deal in November, leaving construction at a standstill. Sundance, unable to find a financial replacement for General Cinemas, subsequently canceled its deal with the University. Since construction on the site was halted, the future of the independent film-oriented theater and restaurant complex has remained hanging in the balance. Following the collapse of the General Cinemas deal last year, Penn officials said they hoped to avoid partnering again with a national theater chain. Over the past several years, the movie exhibition industry has been plagued by financial difficulties, with many national chains forced to close theaters and declare bankruptcy as a result. But the presence of National Amusements appears to mark a change in this strategy. In addition, National Amusements would likely bring more marquee movies to the theater -- another shift in plans that Fry identified last month. "My sense is that [the movies] will be more mainstream, but there will still be a strong bent towards independent film," Fry said in February. Doyle said yesterday that the University remains committed to giving the new theater some independent flavor. "Our desire is to end up with a development deal that tenants the building with the type of theater operator we initially envisioned," Doyle said. National Amusements raked in close to $3 billion in sales in 1998. It operates over 1,390 movie screens worldwide, although it owns only four theaters in the state of Pennsylvania, all in Pittsburgh. Media powerhouse Viacom is the parent company of National Amusements. Viacom has holdings in companies including the video retailer Blockbuster, Paramount Pictures and the TV networks CBS and UPN.