Two thumbs up to Prime 11 Cinemas CEO Ken Hill, who is the new owner of the Riverside Plaza Cinemas in Red Bluff.
The Red Bluff theater will be closed today through Thursday for renovations, Hill confirmed Monday.
The Anderson (CA) Prime 11 Cinemas opened in 2006 in a (pardon the pun) prime locale: the much-visited Prime Outlets along Interstate 5. Hill, who also owns the Trinity Theatre in Weaverville, west of Redding, said from the get-go that he wanted his theater to have a warm, personal feel.
“Prime Cinemas is born out of the notion that the movie-going experience can be a very unique experience. We believe that a cinema should be created and run by people who love movies, not by some cold and far-away corporate entity removed from their customers,” his Prime 11 Web site states.
Amenities at the Red Bluff theater eventually will include a new sound system, remodeled bathrooms and lobby, new seats with more leg room and bigger screens, Hill said.
“We have people coming from Red Bluff to Anderson right now, but hopefully we won’t be competing with ourselves,” Hill said. “Once we bring all those amenities to Red Bluff, hopefully people will stay there.”
Hill went up against the corporate Cinemark giant, which had a monopoly in the north state with Movies 8 and Movies 10. Looks like his David has stood up well against Goliath. Perhaps it’s because showing films means more to Hill and his staff than a simple paycheck.
“We have a passion for the movie business,” Hill said. “This sounds a little trite to say, but we also have a passion for the customer. I think about a mother and a daughter coming into our theater and I think, what is it they want and what would they like? I feel like I owe them a good experience. If we can keep that focus, I think we’ll be OK.”
Hill’s formula works. We’re not the only ones who would rather drive south to watch the big screen.
He remains committed to procuring independent films whenever possible — something Cinemark does sporadically in Redding. We’ve become accustomed to checking the Prime 11 listings for new indie films, grateful for the opportunity to see some of these gems in the plush, cozy comfort of the theater.
“If there were anything different I could do it would be to show more non-mainstream-produced films,” Hill said. “They’re so hard to get. In Anderson, we’re doing better and better. So it is getting easier.”
Here’s a few memorable indie flicks we saw at Prime 11: “The Painted Veil,” “La Vie en Rose,” “I’m Not There,” “Heart of Gold,” and the delightful “Mrs. Paltrey at the Claremont.”
Hill’s ultimate goal is to build a different type of corporation that makes independent, thoughtful films a priority and never takes the customer’s experience for granted. He hopes to one day have a chain of theaters that house at least 1,000 screens and use a percentage of those profits to produce films. Hill is a huge film buff who has written a number of screenplays and produced independent films.
He said his company also is close to breaking ground on an 11-screen theater complex in Galt, south of Sacramento. The theater will be called Marengo Prime Cinemas.
Wonderful news for us indie-movie-lovers, Jim. Thanks for letting us know and giving us a chance to publicly thank Ken Hill and his employees. (Hi, y’all. THANKS.) Prime 11 is where we go almost exclusively. Got to love that David-and-Goliath whup-ass.
Hill did a good thing with his Prime 11. It’s nice to visit a movie theater that doesn’t feel like just another stamped-out chain location.
Hal has it right. The chain theatres have no soul, no character. Prime 11 was a welcome addition, for sure.
I’m not really “in the loop” with Jim and his life, his wife and strife. But I have gleaned he left the Shasta Lake Bulletin after, what, 30 years? And is now working for the postal service? God bless the civil service test!
With peace and love,
Sweet Johnny Katsilometes
Kudos to Ken Hill for bringing such a wonderful, happening place to Anderson…..including “non-profit Mondays” where a portion of the snack bar proceeds go to local non-profit organizations every Monday of the year…and of course, those Tuesday specials (free popcorn with a paid movie ticket, inexpensive hot dogs), free summer flicks for kids and parents, the best staff giving the best customer service…also we owe our thanks to the Anderson Chamber of Commerce (especially Debe Hopkins) for selling Mr. Hill on the outlets as a home for his new theater….and the rest is history…all of this as well as the wonderful movies he brings to town.
Great seein’ ya Jim!
Haven’t seen a movie at “those other places” since P11 opened. Thanks Jim. Your theater brings back special memories of the Fifty’s when I worked in several theaters when I was a teenager.
thanks, everyone, for the great comments and jim for the kind blog. i’m really touched by the nice things people say about prime.
it’s been and continues to be a labor of love balancing a love for film and art with rising oil and corn prices and so on. still, there’s nothing like it when the lights go down and the familiar strains of john williams fills the full auditorium with the “duh duh, da da duh duh” strains of indiana jones…and people whoop and cheer and you just can’t help that silly grin born of nostalgia and expectation from contracting one’s face into an open-mouthed grin that would make dr. phibes proud…
anyway, i would have responded sooner, but the red bluff project has taken some time and, oh yeah, that thing i’m supposed to have called “a life.” after spending the past week backpacking in the alps in the rain, hail, snow and thuderstorms, i’m kinda glad to be back where the seats aren’t made of granite and where that wonderful smell in the air is fresh popcorn and not my damp clothes in the corner of the tent.
so larry, janet, uncle E, hal and kjb, thanks again for the positive reinforcement. and jim, best of wishes on this and your other ventures! congrats!
ken