Tallgrass Film Festival can’t use the Old Town Warren Theatre this year

WICHITA — The Tallgrass Film Festival won’t be held at the Old Town Warren Theatre this year.

“It was pretty staggering for us when we first found out, but we’re rebounding,” says Ann Keefer, president of the Wichita Association for the Motion Picture Arts.

Bill (Warren) is still a big supporter of the film festival,” says theater spokesman Ben Sciortino. “He’s been one of their lead supporters and champions of it for the last six years.”

The issue, Sciortino says, is Old Town’s new all-digital theaters and the contracts Warren has to show films in them.

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Theater owner Bill Warren turns down $2.25 million in advertising

warren.jpgWICHITA — At a time when most businesses are working to bring in more money, Warren Theatres owner Bill Warren is turning it down.

He says he rejected an offer from a national company that represents advertisers to make $450,000 annually in advertising over the next five years. That’s $450,000 net for each year.

“We’re probably one of the only theater companies in the nation that do not do screen advertising in our luxury theaters,” Warren says of places like his Warren Theatre East and Warren Theatre West.

“It was tempting,” he says.

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