Meetings and podcast experimentation have kept me away from the computer screen for much of the day, so I’m just now getting around to watching a clip that Scott Kirsner posted early this morning at CinemaTech. It’s an interview with Mark Stern, who owns and operates a budding chain called the Big Picture Theaters. Located in a Seattle mini-mall but inspired by the “hip boutique hotels” of Studio 54 impressario Ian Schrager, the Big Picture reflects an attempt to revitalize the exhibition business by offering a luxury option. Stern’s screening rooms are equipped with Tempurpedic seats and digital projectors; you can order a martini from your seat, and hang out in a lounge and play pool after the show.

Stern’s got a lot of interesting things to say, but my takeaway was this quote about how he’s able to compete with the Cineplex Odeon across the street: “It’s like having two girls. One is pretty fair-looking, and one is beautiful. Cineplex Odeon, you look at it, and it’s a fair-looking girl. And if you go to the prom, and you have your choice between the two girls, would you rather have the beautiful girl, or the fair-looking girl? They’re both sitting right next to each other, and you can actually have your choice.”