New theater to showcase independent films

Movie theaters inside casinos have been a Las Vegas fixture for more than 25 years.

But the new Giordano Theatre location opening Friday at the Las Vegas Hilton bears little resemblance to the chain-owned multiplexes that dominate the local movie market.

For one thing, there's only one screen -- in an auditorium with fewer than a hundred seats, located upstairs from the Hilton showroom.

For another, that one screen will feature several rotating programs.

But rather than present high-profile summer blockbusters, the boutique-style Giordano Theatre will concentrate on independent features, shorts and documentaries.

Topping the bill: "American Sunset," a thriller starring the late Corey Haim, who attended the movie's January premiere in Las Vegas.

It's distributed by Giordano World Entertainment, which also is distributing another of the theater's opening-week attractions: the comedy-drama "Reach for Me." Directed by LeVar Burton -- who won "Breakthrough Accomplishment" recognition in AARP magazine's annual Movies For Grownups Awards -- and starring Seymour Cassel and Alfre Woodard, the feature premiered in Las Vegas in February.

Rounding out the opening-week schedule: the romantic comedy "Amanda" and "The Outlaw Emmett Deemus," a program of six comedy shorts starring "Reach for Me" co-star Larry Hankins as the title character.

A celebrity red carpet scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday will mark the boutique theater's official opening.

Eventually, the theater will show as many as seven movies a week, providing a showcase for Giordano World Entertainment titles and other independent releases, explains founder Angelo J. Giordano. (His company also produces the live show "Voices," with Lani Misalucha, in the Hilton's Shimmer Cabaret.)

"The driving force is this: There's no place, really, to show independent films," he says. "Nobody will really take these independent films. They're tough to get into theaters."

Giordano hopes that some of the movies featured at the Hilton will do well enough to play other theaters in Las Vegas and, eventually, elsewhere.

If not, they'll turn up on video-on-demand programs in various hotels, he says.

Giordano went from movie producer to distributor in 2001 when another distributor, Lionsgate, pulled the plug on a theatrical release for "WiseGirls," a crime drama starring Mira Sorvino, Melora Walters and Mariah Carey. Carey's well-publicized personal problems prompted Lionsgate to skip a theatrical release and premiere "WiseGirls" on cable television instead, Giordano recalls.

"That's the day we became our own distributors," he says.

As a distributor, Giordano World Entertainment receives "probably 30 movies a month" from filmmakers and production companies with "no place to play them."

That is, until now.

The new Hilton theater features digital sound and projection. Daily showtimes begin at 10:45 a.m. and continue at 1, 3:15, 5:30, 7:40 and 10 p.m. and midnight.

Individual tickets are $12 ($32 for an all-day pass) and include complimentary unlimited popcorn with admission; light dining and cocktails also are available. Tickets may be purchased at the Hilton box office; call 732-5755 for ticket information. For showtimes, call 650-7677.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.