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Landmark pulling out of Dobie
Photos: Scenes from the Dobie Theatre through the years
Landmark Theaters is leaving the Dobie, where Richard Linklater’s “Slacker” premiered and two film festivals were born. But the center’s landlord is talking to potential operators to take over the four-screen arthouse and return it to its tradition as an independent film space with a strong local flavor.
Long regarded as a mecca for indie, foreign, art house and speciality films, the Dobie “has a rich history and a special place in Austin, and we want to get back to its roots and work with that,” said Noah Davis, an asset manager with New York-based Carlton Strategic Ventures of the Carlton Group, an international real estate investment bank that owns Dobie Center, on Guadalupe Street across from the University of Texas campus.
“Austin has a very unique brand and local feel to it, and while we’re not local ownership, we’re very committed to the local concept. … We want to go with the grain.”
Davis said Landmark Theaters won’t be renewing its 10,000-square-foot lease at the Dobie. Davis said it is his understanding that Landmark’s decision to leave the Dobie is part of a strategy to focus more on its theaters in other areas, including Boston and California.
In an e-mail, Ted Mundorff, CEO of Landmark Theatres, said: “We do not comment on the status of lease negotiations. However, we can confirm that our current lease expires in the fall of this year.”
Davis said that Carlton is in ongoing talks with “a half dozen to a dozen” prospective operators “to see who is the best fit to bring (the Dobie) back to where it was and ought to be.” However, he declined to identify any of them, citing the “sensitive nature” of the discussions. While the search for a replacement tenant has been an “ongoing” process, it “definitely heated up” in the new year, Davis said.
Davis said Carlton’s goal for the Dobie is to have it feature “more film-festival style films,” as well as artsy and foreign films, “things that appeal to Austin and the UT market,” he said.
“We want to get back to its heyday,” Davis said, which in the latter 1990s included director Quentin Tarantino launching his famous QT film festivals, in which he showed his personal collection of movies and held question-and-answer sessions with audiences.
In the mid-1980s, the Dobie became the first home for Austin Film Society screenings, organized by filmmakers Linklater and Lee Daniel. In 1990, the Dobie premiered Richard Linklater’s Austin-made cult classic “Slacker.”
The theater also is the place where its former owner, Scott Dinger, founded the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival in 1987.
Davis said he is optimistic that Carlton will be able to bring in a new operator that will allow the Dobie to remain a theater. He said an “internal frontrunner” has emerged, but added that “we have to see how things play out,” adding that Carlton needs to weigh the suitors’ individual financial packages and also determine which of them would be in keeping with “the best interests of the property and the community.”
Davis did not give a timetable for when Carlton expects to make a decision. The company wants to make the decision as quickly as possible, Davis said, while also giving it “the due diligence it deserves.”
Additional material from Chris Garcia.
Comments
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By Robert, Austiin Texas
March 2, 2010 8:35 PM | Link to this
By all accounts, the management of the theater had been going downhill in recent years. Hope whoever takes overs uses more than one person at a time to man projectors and concessions.
By Lovin' It
March 1, 2010 10:30 PM | Link to this
I sure hope Mr. Davis cuts a deal that stays true to his words. The Dobie has been an incredibly fantastic resource for decades. Let’s hope it only gets better.
By Brent
March 1, 2010 9:42 PM | Link to this
Maybe a small alamo?
By Famous Original Bob
March 1, 2010 9:24 PM | Link to this
But who else can I find to charge me $4 for a bottle of Aquafina?
By b
March 1, 2010 8:58 PM | Link to this
shonda, i thought i was reading matthew’s blog. thank YOU for the report.
:)
By b
March 1, 2010 8:56 PM | Link to this
booooooo
just about to see ‘an education’ felt so thankful that i could at a central austin location, and then…
…what the what!??
i truly hope the new ownership will commit to adding to the cultural richness of austin. YES on prop foreign films! ( fingers crossed) is there anyone we can contact to try to ensure this happens?
would value info.
thanks for the report, mo.
By Deanna
March 1, 2010 5:29 PM | Link to this
It will be sorely missed.