Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is a network of movie theaters that was founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, by Tim League as a single-screen theater. Shelli Taylor serves as the CEO of the Texas-based company. It is well-known for its diverse selection of newly released films, as well as its active repertory program, its fan events, its premium on-site food and drink, and its stringent no-talking and no-texting policy during showings of films.

In April of 2020, when League took over as executive chairman, Taylor was given the position. She worked on the March 2021 sale of the company's assets to senior lenders such as Altamont Capital Partners and Fortress Investment Group, League, and other investors while the epidemic was going on. The business decided to voluntarily file for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 so that it could undergo a financial reorganization that would better prepare it for future expansion.

In the end, Alamo theaters were able to reopen their doors, but five locations were permanently shut down (one each in Austin, Dallas, and Kansas City, and two in the San Antonio region). The Alamo network still maintains a total of 36 theatres around the United States. Pandemic's projects include a curated video-on-demand platform called Alamo On Demand as well as private rentals for friends and relatives. Alamo Drafthouse made the announcement earlier this year that it will be adding seven additional locations around the nation, and some of those locations include Washington, DC, Staten Island, and Chicago.

The highlights of Taylor's executive career prior to joining Alamo include the following: serving as vice president of Disney English, China's leading immersive English-language provider for children; and most recently serving as president and COO of United PF Partners, overseeing 169 US fitness facilities. Taylor worked for Starbucks for 20 years, during which time she was instrumental in the company's expansion into China.

In light of the epidemic and the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy, what is the current state of the company's finances?

We are in a strong situation now. We, along with everyone else who went through Covid-19, were forced to make extremely challenging decisions, but we made the most of the time we had by doing things like taking a look at the possibility of bankruptcy, renegotiating all of our leases, and working through all of our significant contracts and terms. That helped us enhance the economics of each individual unit in our company. I am grateful that theaters can once again welcome customers and that business has, for the most part, returned to normal. During the pandemic, we did have to shut a few stores because the financial situation in those places was untenable. We were forced to make those difficult choices, but doing so has enabled us to run a healthy business today and, more significantly, to open up more sites.

Why should people bother going to the movies in this day and age?

It's the shared atmosphere of the entire thing. You may see Everything, Everywhere, All at Once, which is one of my favorite films right now and was selected to start the SXSW film festival. You will ultimately be able to view it on a smaller screen someplace else, but it will not have the same effect as when you are in a community with several hundred other people enjoying a highly enjoyable and surprise movie.

There is a very wide range of choice. The pressure on our industry is not about the choice — choice is good and increases audience viewership and increases opportunity for filmmakers to get their stories out in different ways — but how do we create the best experience, whether it be presentation, facilities, the cleanliness of facilities, the type of food we're providing, the people we're hiring, and that experience of joy that we can uniquely create? Choice is good and increases audience viewership and increases opportunity for filmmakers to get their stories out in different ways.

Has going to the movies as a form of entertainment achieved its pinnacle, and if not, what are the next logical steps for its development?

Never in a million years. If anything, the epidemic heightened people's desire to engage in activities outside the house that provide them pleasure. This desire is a direct result of the pandemic. You can expect to see the Rolling Roadshow and Alamo Drafthouse Movie Parties both make a comeback this year, with the latter returning in a more significant capacity over the summer. For our company, the question is how we can do more of what we have already been doing, discover new methods to surprise and excite our customers, and then keep expanding our number of theaters.

Tell us more about the Rolling Roadshow, which does not take place at a particular site, as well as the Alamo Drafthouse Movie Parties, which are held anywhere.

We bring a movie to life in a manner that no one else can, and we do it at Roadshow, which is a pop-up theater that is often held outdoors but may also be held indoors. The most well-known instance of this is when we screened Jaws on a pop-up large screen while our audience members sat on inner tubes on the water. This event became known as "Jaws On The Water." We are currently working on one for the Top Gun: Maverick franchise. The concept of Movie Parties is similar. The programming and marketing teams at our company will see a film and then brainstorm ways to bring the story to life. It may be glow sticks, caps, or other items like that; alternatively, it could be a special feast that was produced in conjunction with the movie.

What were the important takeaways from the epidemic that we discovered?

that the people that patronize your business are the single most essential component of it. We are responsible for the whole of the experience, while they are responsible for the other half. We are going to continue to put an even greater emphasis on delivering an outstanding experience overall. It involves ensuring that everything, including the projectors, chairs, and carpet, is of the highest possible quality.

The second thing I've learned is that the majority of our customers are unaware that we have many stores in a variety of states all across the United States, and I don't ever want to get rid of that sensation. We are certain that we provide the best possible cinematic experience, and because of this, we would want to make our services accessible to a greater number of individuals.

When did Alamo Drafthouse and the rest of the exhibition community first see that there was a light at the end of the tunnel?

For us, getting through bankruptcy was the beginning of being able to look back and say that we had sufficient capital and [operational] structure to ensure a very short-term profitability and, as a result, viability over the long haul. This is important to note because emerging from bankruptcy does not necessarily mean that you are immediately profitable.

In a broader sense, what occurred between the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of this year was that this fantastic movie slate returned and it remained. People came out in droves to see Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the box office performance of that film was extraordinary. However, it was not only a one-hit wonder since there have been a lot of other fantastic movies released in the years after then. We are in an excellent position to have the greatest quarter [Q1 2022] since the pandemic and even before that, on par with the years that came before. We see nothing but opportunities, and we are grateful that the studios are presenting themselves in the manner in which they are.

The epidemic caused by Covid-19 has caused the exclusive theatrical window to become smaller. What kind of effects has this had on Alamo Drafthouse?

These figures, 90 days and 45 days, have always left me with a little bit of a puzzled feeling. They are completely arbitrary. Every movie should have its own marketing plan, which may include staying in theaters for 90 or 120 days, going directly to streaming services, or any combination of the three. We view [the expanding possibilities for distribution] as giving our consumers even more leeway to choose how they consume our content. We are able to engage a diverse group of people. We are all working toward the same goal of supporting a movie in the manner in which it might and should be supported, so providing it with the best opportunity to reach the most number of people possible.

What are your thoughts on the concept of dynamic pricing for tickets?

Because, from what I can see, dynamic pricing or variable pricing, depending on how you want to describe it, has been a constant in the market for years, this is such an important issue. There are, without a doubt, some standards that you cannot go below, as well as certain limits to what your audience will tolerate. The larger [issue] is that price is a result of the experience that you create; so, when filmmakers develop fantastic goods and the studios supply those products to us, we build an unbelievable experience that is wrapped around that film. After that, we will have earned the right to charge.

It is an oft-repeated sentiment that exhibitors must improve their use of alternative programs. Alamo excels at this. Has this been an essential component of Tim League's vision from the beginning?

When Tim first came up with the idea for Alamo, he essentially stated, "I love movies and enjoy attending, so how can I make it the experience I want, which is film, food, and fun? How can you provide opportunities for individuals to grow that they otherwise may not have? Because there is such a wide variety of options available, we do not want to limit the scope of our audience in any way. Instead, we would want to broaden their horizons and provide them with the chance to investigate a variety of literary subgenres. Since the beginning, it has been an integral element of the Alamo.

The Alamo Drafthouse on Staten Island, which has a kung-fu motif, is going to be one of your forthcoming locations. It will be a lot of fun, and depending on when permits are received, it should open in either May or June. We are going to establish a pub called The Flying Guillotine, and although kung-fu films are going to be our speciality there, and we are going to over-index them, we are also going to screen other types of movies.

Do you have any intentions to establish Alamo Drafthouse theaters in countries other than the United States?

The primary objective of today's efforts is to demonstrate that we are here to stay and to get on with the process of rebuilding our company. Who can say what will happen in the long run? I come from a background in international business and have a strong interest in expanding fantastic companies into other nations, but this is not a short-term goal of mine; rather, it is a long-term vision.