Independent theatre owners band together re: liquor laws

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The owners of 35 independent theatres across the province are putting on a united front, demanding more changes to BC’s liquor laws. They’re not satisfied with recent moves designed to accommodate the Rio on East Broadway.

“As the rules are right now, if you want to show movies, you always have to have a pre-determined schedule for months in advance,” explains Ken Charko with the Motion Picture Theatre Association of BC.

He doesn’t feel the rules are practical. “It doesn’t work. I own the Dunbar Theatre and I just concluded my negotiations with Lions Gate to be able to show Hunger Games.”

Independent theatre owners can serve booze now, thanks to changes made after the Rio complained. But what they want is the ability to switch between showing movies without booze and operating as a live venue on a night-to-night basis.

Charko feels bad economic conditions and the spread of pirated material has put independent theatres in a crisis situation. He adds if they continue to run into hassles with liquor laws, there may be more programming cancellations and venue closures.

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