Moving one step closer to finally bringing a movie theater to 40th and Walnut streets, Executive Vice President John Fry said this week that plans with the site's future operator would soon be finalized.
Fry confirmed months of speculation, explaining that a deal will shortly be completed with the entertainment powerhouse National Amusements, whom the University has been courting since February.
"I'd say we'll be able to make an announcement in 60 days," Fry said.
Fry has said that spring 2002 remains the target opening date for the theater.
Most plans for the site have been on hold since last November, when Sundance Cinemas -- with whom Penn had originally partnered to bring an independent film theater to campus -- pulled out of the deal following the bankruptcy of its major financial backer.
Although a lease has not yet been signed, the University is moving forward with the construction of the theater to satisfy some of National Amusements' desires.
Describing the ongoing construction as "asset protection," Fry noted that the University and the theater company, along with National Amusements' subsidiary, CineBridge, had "reached a level of cooperation" beyond the normal relationship between a developer and operator.
"There are some things they'd like to see on the outside and there are some things we'd like to see on the inside," Fry said.
Traditionally, the developer of a theater -- in this case, Penn -- builds the outside shell of a theater, while the operator adds stylistic touches to the inside.
National Amusements spokeswoman Jennifer Maguire was unable to comment on the nature of the negotiations, only to say that talks between the two parties are "ongoing and progressing forward."
The theater will be designed by acclaimed designer Dayna Lee, whose California firm, Powerstrip, is famous for its designs of hotels nationwide.
National Amusements, part of the entertainment giant Viacom, operates more than 1,350 motion picture screens worldwide.
Its newest spin-off, CineBridge, is an attempt to "cross over to a modern and enhanced overall experience for moviegoers," according to a CineBridge statement.
Two months ago, the company opened its first movie theater in Los Angeles, calling it The Bridge. The theater was also designed by Lee.
The opening was attended by a group from Penn, according to Fry.
"The idea is to break the mold of the traditional trip to the movies," CineBridge President Paul Heth said. "The combination of new-age style and technology will introduce a whole new level of entertainment that speaks to the digital generation."
The Bridge theater in Los Angeles shows both major studio and high profile independent films and a "directors' hall" auditoriums with premium wide leather seating, a restaurant lounge with a full-service bar and live pre-show entertainment.
"They have some very interesting things in the way they're handling food service, the way they're doing decorating," said Jerry Snyder, founding partner of the J.H. Snyder Company, which developed The Bridge. "It's a very unique experience."
But whether all of those features will be present in the theater here remains to be seen.
The theater in Los Angeles seats 4,000 people, while the current plan for the West Philadelphia theater calls for six screens plus a basement theater.
Fry confirmed that the theater, should it be completed, will have a combination of retail and cafe space.
What the theater will not have is classroom space, a feature that was anticipated when the space was to be operated by Robert Redford's Sundance.
Despite the lack of classroom space, Fry said that there will be five "programmable spaces" inside the theater complex, noting that "`classroom' is too static a term."
"There's some space along Locust and spaces on the second floor and in the basement," Fry said. "One of the things I'd like to do is to figure out some sort of space for Film Studies and other types of academic activities."
