The man who forever changed our movie going experience has taken his seat in that ultimate balcony in the sky.

You know we here at AICN spend alot of time covering film and filmmakers. We talk about Directors, Writers, The Stars and Star Wannebes, Effects Teks, Animators, the list can go on and on, but we seldom mention any one at the other end of the spectrum, the distributers end of the business. The local theater is just accepted as being there. Oh, we'll mention the local venues here in Austin from time to time in reviews and if we're writing about a World Premiere we'll make note of "The Chinese", or "The Egyptian", or "The Westwood", but never the people, its always just the places, the hallowed halls of motion picture viewing. Except for Tim at The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema here in Austin I don't think once in our 5000 stories we've given you the name of the owner of a venue, or the name of a distributer. That's a shame. They do alot to mold our movie going experiences for either the good or the bad.

Well, ol' FATHER GEEK is going to take a little time and space, and devote it to a man who has changed forever the enviroment in which we enjoy our favorite flicks. STAN DURWOOD has died at the age of 78 in Kansas City. Unless you're in the film distribution game you've never probably heard of him, but you have definitely seen, heard and sat-back in his handy work. You have undoubtedly benefited from his vision, his energy, and his investments. STAN DURWOOD is credited with inventing the multiplex theater. He built his first four-plex movie theater in Kansas City in 1966. In 1969 he came up with his first six-plex movie house. In 1960 he took over the family owned company and has steered it out of Kansas across the country and around the world. His company now operates complexes that house up to 30 screens each.

Under his leadership and vision STAN DURWOOD's little family-run business has blossomed over 30 years into today's AMC Entertainment, one of our nation's largest grossing movie theater chains. His vision of the multiplex entertainment facility now dots every suburban mall in the country. DURWOOD's company now operates 2,729 cinema screens in 23 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Spain, Portugal, Japan, and Hong Kong, and its still just a growing boy. It was people like STAN DURWOOD that made today's blockbuster possible. He helped to move the Motion Picture Theater out of the center city and into the suburbs where the people lived, where most of us lived. He moved the cinema into the next century. Like it or not movie going was never the same after STAN DURWOOD came on the scene. Enjoy your new reserved seat in the balcony STAN, you earned it! Save a good one for FATHER GEEK when he gets there in about 25 years or so.